Free Speech

So there has been much ado about the arrest of Muslims related to terrorist charges. We all see the headlines. However, how many of them are actually holding up to close scrutiny? John Walker Lindh was plead out of the system. Jose Padilla was declared an enemy combatant once Ashcroft realized the evidence he had wouldn’t fly in the criminal justice system. Yaser Hamdi might be released after two years, with NO charges being brought against him. Brandon Mayfield was the latest Richard Jewel. Anybody know what’s going on with Lackawanna Six? Today’s news stories have to do with Michigan.…

Updates: There’s a move to push Khalidi’s book, The Iron Cage, into the public consciousness. I haven’t read this particular book, but it’s en route. Get yours here. Juan Cole has some more information. Rosenberg at TPM Café (one of my favorite writers over there) [/end update] ———- Prof. Rashid Khalidi is under fire once more. Apparently John McCain gave him some money and some Republicans don’t like the fact that McCain is running a virulently xenophobic campaign, and borderline anti-Semitic one that treats Jews as mindless, sub-human, single-issue voters, while at the same time funding a xeno. Prof. Khalidi…

The Death of Arafat and the Myth of New Beginnings by Mark Levine in Juan Cole’s Blog Here is a graf: "In the weeks leading up to Palestinian President Yassir Arafat’s death American politicians and pundits have repeatedly called on the Palestinian people to use the opportunity of his passing to transform the intifada from a violent uprising into a non-violent, democratic and pragmatic program for achieving independence. This is very good advice, needless to say, except for one small problem: Palestinians have been trying to build such a movement for the last two decades, and the Israeli Government, IDF…