World AIDS Day 2008

I was invited to speak at the Chautauqua Institute this summer on the theme of The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion and Violence. The initial calendar event is here. A pre-talk write-up is here, and post-talk write-up here, both from the Daily Chautauquan.  A video of the talk is embedded below.  

I will be honest, I did not see Condi Rice’s testimony to the 9/11 commission yesterday. I have been reading commentaries, conservative and liberal, and the news doesn’t appear to be good. The reasoned right won’t muster a strong defense, and in some cases are actually questioning (link via TPM) what new information the testimony gave. The left of course is having a field day. If you read the conservative article above, and the following Boston Globe op-ed – especially the last paragraph – the testimony seemed to be dependent on people not having any sort of memory. Bush is…

istanbul Originally uploaded by سامراء. A procession marking the martyrdom of Imam Husayn in Turkey, a predominately Sunni nation.