The Kominas Tour Poster

I’m trying really hard not be political, but darn it, it seems that we as Americans are most threatened whenever the current administration opens its mouth. Iraq has yellow-cake, WMD (oddly enough, it’s meant as non-conventional weapons, not necessarily nuclear which is why it can different from the yellow-cake claim), Al-Qaeda is in bed with every Muslim in the world, etc., etc., etc.. I was feel better when they are quiet, not because ignorance is bliss – in their case quite the opposite – but because then the truth starts to come out into the open. That’s when I feel…

Two articles by Ted Swedenburg on Islam and Hip-Hop. One on the 5% and one on the international context. Man knows his stuff, and it helps mark a new face of Islam that’s growing world-wide, the Western Muslim. No more gharabzadegi for us, we sit (un)comfortably in all worlds.

For those of you unaware, Dick Clarke is former head of counter-terrorism under the Clinton and Bush, Jr. administrations. He’s written a book analyzing the failures of both groups – not just Bush as has been widely reported – in dealing with Al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, I have not yet read the book, but this review is one of the least partisan ones I’ve read so far. It’s really chilling what we don’t know. I’ve often joked – as have others – that the color-coding scheme of terrorist alert is nothing more than a scam to get Bush re-elected. What if it’s…