Category: Current Affairs

No US veto. UN Story NYT Gaza

Updates from 12/28-12/29 and 12/30. The Dove quotes an American general on the folly of the current incursion. Money quote of the money quote: Politically, the ultimate result of ’06 was to make Hizbullah, and their Christian allies under General Aoun, the arbiters of events in Lebanon. “We have now seen the Israelis run through their target list in Gaza. Hamas is still firing at Ashkalon and Beersheba. One wonders just who has who by the testicles in this situation. If the Israelis back away with some sort of unilateral ceasefire, then the ’06 judgment of the Muslims on them…

Starting a new page, the other one was getting too crowded. Israelis ram a relief boat that is also carrying a former US Representative. One Palestinian family loses five daughters in the same night after a mosque is targeted. If I’ve done the math right, according to the article 16% of all victims are confirmed civilians – that’s using the UN’s numbers. (h/t MJ Rosenberg) Compare to the total of 4 Israelis who have been killed. Can we just call it even and stop now? No, because that’s not the way the cycle of violence works. I have little hope…

Haroon says Obama is silent, and that’s bad. MJ Rosenberg says Obama is silent, and that’s good. As a matter of political principle, as painful as it is for me to say it, Obama must be silent. He is absolutely correct; with three weeks before his inauguration the US cannot be seen as speaking with a forked tongue. Bush is absolutely, 100% wrong now, as he has been on most of his Israel policy. It’s been bad for Israel, it’s been bad for Palestinians, and it’s been bad for the US. However, we must respect the Office of the President,…

I tend not to post on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because I do not perceive it as an issue of religious conflict from the Muslim perspective, and with the sizable number of Christians there, it is easy to make this obvious. However, the recent Gaza bombing, immediately following a blockade of food and certain medical supplies, is horrific. Haroon is covering, as is the excellent Global Voices. Mark Lynch, Abu Aardvark, posts some possibilities  for how this may destabilize the entire region. Not a good scenario. Brian adds more. Apparently the strike has been in the works since before the ceasefire. (h/t…

SOUTH ASIA PEACE VIGIL December 6th, 2008 We join the people of India and Pakistan in condemning the violence in Mumbai and calling for peace and unity in South Asia. This latest episode of violence claimed the lives of at least 200 people and injured many more. The victims hailed from different countries, belonged to different religions, and had different class and caste affiliations. We express our profound sorrow and solidarity with all those directly and indirectly affected by the violence. We are concerned that this tragic event and the loss of innocent lives in Mumbai may be used as…

Thomas Friedman asks where are the Pakistani protests are about Mumbai. Fair enough question. If only he would look. This is the English language stuff. I’m trying to figure out how to post the Urdu language material, you know, the actual language of most Pakistanis. —– Information about vigils: DEC 4: Karachi, London, & Boston, Worcester (MA) & Providence, RI DEC 6: San Fransisco Already held: Dec 2, UPenn Forthcoming: Dec 4 (TODAY): – KARACHI: 5.00 pm, Karachi Press Club, Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) & Peace Karachi, candle lit vigil for Peace against carnage in…

Suketu Mehta, author of the magnificent Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, has a moving Op-Ed in the NYT about the Mumbai tragedies. Anna at Sepia Mutiny does a close reading of the text. Both are worth your time. Mumbai

Mumbai bloodbath We are deeply shocked and horrified at the bloody mayhem in Mumbai, which has claimed more than a hundred and ninty lives and caused grievous injuries to several hundred people, besides sending a wave of panic and terror across South Asia and beyond. We convey our profound feelings of sorrow and sympathies to the grieving families of the unfortunate victims of this heinous crime and express our solidarity with them. As usual, all sorts of speculations are circulating about the identity of the perpetrators of this act of barbarism. The truth about who are directly involved in this…