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Torture: America v. America

Mona tells an Egyptian view of American torture: I think of that hooded demonstrator in the orange jumpsuit often. The occupant of the White House might have changed but America still hasn’t had the necessary conversation about torture that he insisted on starting. Instead, it avoids engaging and prefers to walk away like the girl’s chaperone. The continuing love affair with President Barack Obama must not blindfold America to the reckoning it must have. Which is why I hope that hooded demonstrator is still there outside the White House with his board saying “End Torture Now.” Only now, with a…

Beyond the Clash of Civilizations – NYTimes.com

Beyond the Clash of Civilizations – NYTimes.com. On the one side were the radicals, who would use more and more demonstrative violence to underline the weakness of the powers-that-be in an attempt to mobilize the masses on their side, and who would finally find themselves isolated and ostracized by those same masses, as the failure of Egyptian and Algerian radicals had proven in the 1990s.  On the other side, a growing amount of Islamists were converting to the creed of pluralism and democracy, as was already then the case in Turkey. That change would not take place without turmoil within…

Politics and Kids Cartoons

Maybe I’m more aware of this now that I have kids, but do politicians always sound like kids’ cartoons? In the movie Beauty and the Beast, the character Gaston says “you’re either with us or against us.” Sarah Palin sounds like the squirrel from Higglytown Heroes, ya betcha. And of course, Barack Obama channels Bob the Builder with “Yes we can.” Election 2008, kids shows