Politics

Missing the Point

Indeed. I don’t know anyone who wanted to close the detention facility at Gitmo because of where it was — but rather because of what it was. It’s not merely a symbol, but is the embodiment of the implementation of a bad policy. If you close Gitmo but carry on the same bad policy elsewhere, you’re playing a shell game, Mr. President. [From Missing the Point]

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Current Affairs Music Religion

Michael Jackson is Dead, so is Neda [update]

Yesterday, June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson died; God rest his soul. I was not going to blog about his passing. He is an artist, a celebrity, why is his death more important than any other? He was an artistic genius, of that there can be no doubt. What he did for music and dance in pop is unparalleled. However, he was still a human being. He had an impact on my childhood, but I did not know him. In many respects, because of his fame, he was unreal. He was no closer to me than Rumi, whose poetry speaks to…

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Television

Television Documentaries and the #IranElection

Recently PBS ran a Frontline documentary from 2002 on Iran. While I applaud the effort to give some necessary background to the situation in Iran, there were some problems. Jordan Robinson wrote a letter offering some critique to the piece. I quote it below with permission: Subject: Rebroadcast of 2002 “A Clash That’s Centuries Old” a disservice to US public Dear Frontline Senior Editorial Team, I just finished watching your 2002 broadcast of “A Clash That’s Centuries Old,” part of your “Terror and Tehran” series. While I appreciate your effort to inform the American public life about life in Iran…

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