tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35013952011-04-21T21:02:37.622-07:00Middle East and Morality[An exploration of the events of the Middle East, the morality of the globalizing world chained by energy demands, and the movement to create a better world.]Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comBlogger1411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1057684843347054192003-07-08T10:20:00.000-07:002003-12-27T20:27:14.716-08:00This blog has moved to www.arielbeery.com. I do not plan on updating the other attached pages either, so for all info see my new site. Thanks.Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1057081875604087432003-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:002003-07-01T10:51:15.700-07:00NEW SITE
My new weblog is up. Please visit and bookmark www.arielbeery.com, where you will be able to better comment, link and search.
I will leave this weblog up for a while, but will only update the new weblog from now on.
Thank you,
Ariel BeeryArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1057071843461866462003-07-01T08:04:00.000-07:002003-07-01T08:04:39.883-07:00Rebuilding my Site
Back from LA, and I finally got a replacement for my computer. For the next few days I will be working on building the new, non-blog*spot blog, at ArielBeery.com--so do not be suprised if you do not see any new posts here. Thanks.Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056749172549741082003-06-27T14:26:00.000-07:002003-06-27T14:26:12.590-07:00James Bennet a Nice Guy
Still in LA, although the conference has come to a close, so please continue to excuse my grammer and spelling.
I was speaking to an Israeli government employee who knows James Bennet from the New York Times personally, and who vouched for his being "a good guy." Fine, I trust this person, and maybe Bennet is a nice guy over all, but today's article on the RefridgeratorArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056551999996828982003-06-25T07:39:00.000-07:002003-06-27T14:19:17.976-07:00Anti-Semitism on the Wings of the Saudis in Iraq
It has begun. Islam Online is reporting that the Sunni establishment in Iraq has begun preaching of an Israeli/Jewish attempted take-over of the cradle of civilization--which, by the way, was one of the centers of ancient Jewish history. Moreover, there has recently been a revival of Jewish art and music among Iraq's Arab citizens, and relationsArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056518368524951302003-06-24T22:19:00.000-07:002003-06-24T22:19:28.586-07:00Moral Clarity When Dismantling Outposts
First, I must forwarn that I'm blogging from LA, where I am serving as the student representative for the executive committee of the American Jewish Press Association. This gives me little time to write, and a basic inability to hyperlink or spellcheck, so please excuse the sloppy nature of the next few posts.
The topic of outpost dismantling came up Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056399770234543812003-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:002003-06-23T13:22:50.286-07:00Press Freedom in Iraq
Another quick reference to events in Iraq and a plug for my paper: in an article for The New Republic (needs subscription to access), Hassan Fattah argues against L. Paul Bremer's censorship of the Iraqi press, saying that while the press is much freer than under Saddam, recent actions by Bremer to limit incitement in the press have allowed back in the ghost of Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056399319755973072003-06-23T13:15:00.000-07:002003-06-23T13:15:35.550-07:00
I am having a lot of problems with my computer lately, so please understand if you will be redirected to Blog*Spot for the coming weeks, until I can fully reformat and reboot this machine. Until then, though, I will be blogging at every chance I get.
A New Iraqi Army?
Debka is reporting that L. Paul Bremer has begun on the quest to constitute a new Iraqi Army, with a 40,000-person goal of Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056137246383060322003-06-20T12:27:00.000-07:002003-06-20T12:27:26.423-07:00Bremer and Pollack Take on Iraq
Good op-eds on Iraq today. The first, by L. Paul Bremer in the Wall Street Journal, gives an interesting look into the mind of the chief civil administrator in Iraq, and he sounds optimistic, which is good. Yes, he does seem a bit zealous when it comes to free-market economics--and I'm sure a few of you out there are using his remarks as evidence for the Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056135229909040392003-06-20T11:53:00.000-07:002003-06-20T12:18:03.243-07:00
This article was published by the Spectator on Wed. I'm presenting it in the longer, uncut and yet first-round edited form on this website. If you would like to view the published version click on the link on the top-left section of the site, or click here.
Selling Out Democracy
Without good information one can simply not make good decisions—it is because of this principle that the founders Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1056128839629850412003-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:002003-06-20T12:03:26.186-07:00
Nukes in the Mideast
With all the talk on Iran's nuclear program, the media has seemed to have forgotten the broader regional trends in nuclear proliferation, namely that Saudi Arabia has been funding the Pakistani program, that North Korea provides missiles to the region, and that Iran's bomb will be just another weapon of mass distraction from the repression these states actively engage in Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055943703234268562003-06-18T06:41:00.000-07:002003-06-18T06:41:43.140-07:00Cheers to Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister and premier multi-billionaire, has rebuffed France--"smacks down" is how MSNBC has it--while leading what could turn out to be a revolution in European power politics, offsetting the traditional power of France and making the European Union's policies more responsive to the feelings of the other member states.
PM Berlusconi'sArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055870022278679032003-06-17T10:13:00.000-07:002003-06-17T10:14:42.393-07:00The Story They've Missed
I have been saying for a month now that the New York Times is dreadfully underreporting the movements of Yassir Arafat, and that they would pay for such omissions in the future. Well, it looks like that future is ever closer.
Danny Rubenstein, a very well known and well respected Israeli analyst and commentator, has written a great article on the return of Arafat. Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055865371573594102003-06-17T08:56:00.000-07:002003-06-17T08:56:26.563-07:00Joining the Revolution
I'm joinging the revolution. Andrew Sullivan has called for a blogosphere day for democracy in Iran on July 9, and I'm in on it. Here is his rational:"Here's my proposal. On July 9, as many blogs as possible focus on the struggle for freedom in Iran. It's the anniversary of the pro-democracy protests that have been going on for years. I'll devote the week after July 4 toArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055773923695330812003-06-16T07:32:00.000-07:002003-06-16T07:32:03.756-07:00The Problem is Arab Hate
Ruth Wisse, the author of the seminal essay on anti-Semitism in Commentary, has returned to my radar screen with an amazing article in the Wall Street Journal on what really has to be done for there to be peace in the Mideast. Here is a quote:"Unfortunately, the Arab war against Israel is no more a territorial conflict than was al Qaeda's strike against America, and it Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055433773697940682003-06-12T09:02:00.000-07:002003-06-12T09:13:16.030-07:00The Great Artifact Hunt
One of the major ways that the anti-war academic and arts community continued to oppose the war for Iraq after it already occured was by pointing out the theft of artifacts from the Baghdad Museum--however, more and more evidence is coming out that the story was overblown, exaggerated and harnessed for political purposes.
It turns out that the number of artifacts Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-1055426252616744692003-06-12T06:57:00.000-07:002003-06-12T06:59:29.930-07:00New York Times: Blaming Israel for Palestine's Troubles
The New York Times has painted itself into a corner: without previously reporting that Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, is basically powerless due to Arafat's continued control of the Palestinian security forces, the New York Times now finds itself having to explain Abu Mazen's inability to do anything based on Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955556602003-06-11T10:03:00.000-07:002003-06-11T10:03:35.280-07:00Interview on ISM
Yup, it's over. The interview/debate was broadcast on KOUW in Seattle.
It was interesting, to say the least.
If anyone can get me a copy of the broadcast, or if anyone heard and would like to respond to my comments and tell me if, by their ear, I was or was not persuasive, please contact me. Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955516302003-06-11T08:18:00.000-07:002003-06-11T08:18:54.000-07:00Terrorist Attack Today in Jerusalem
One of the main points being made in the coverage of the terrorist attack in Jerusalem is that "Palestinian militants had threatened revenge attacks after a failed Israeli assassination attempt on Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi on Tuesday."
Just a point: terrorist attacks normally take atleast a week to recruit, plan and then carry out. For this attack to Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955466122003-06-11T05:54:00.000-07:002003-06-11T05:54:43.740-07:00Statement on Rantisi and Bushs' Finger-Wagging
The following editorial was published by the Jerusalem Post, and I absolutely agree.
After sentencing al-Qaida shoe-bomber Richard Reid last January, US District Court Judge William Young turned to Reid and said, "You are not an enemy
combatant. You are a terrorist. We do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955348322003-06-10T21:01:00.000-07:002003-06-10T21:02:32.000-07:00Debate with the ISM on Seattle's NPR
Tomorrow, June 11th, at 10:00am West Coast time (I think that's right--it's 12:00pm est, that's for sure), I will be interviewed on Seattle's NPR and asked to debate a member of the International Solidarity Movement. I'll post more information as it comes.
As for the ISM, I have gathered quite a lot of information about the organization, and have written Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955342132003-06-10T20:44:00.000-07:002003-06-10T20:44:31.760-07:00Saddam Humor
There have been two remixes post-Iraq that have thrown me off my rocker. The first is a remix of the YMCA classic and the second is a parody of Eminem's"the real Slim Shady."
Pump up the volume and enjoy.Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-955088582003-06-10T08:18:00.000-07:002003-06-10T11:36:29.000-07:00The Short on Abdel Aziz Rantisi
Don't say I did not warn you--the campaign to blame Israel for the failure of the peace-process has kicked into full swing. While I do not think it was the best idea for Israel to attack Dr. Rantisi at this very juncture--to tell the truth it was an incredibly stupid idea, given that he is a public figure that could have been attacked at any given moment, and for Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-954521682003-06-08T22:12:00.000-07:002003-06-08T22:12:02.920-07:00What, Professors Supporting Terrorists? Never
Another quick update, this one on the Sami Al-Arian case. Professor Sami Al-Arian, a professor of the University of South Florida who founded WISE, a think-tank which served as a front for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the US as it turns out from numerous public sources, is being protected by the American Association of University Professors, whoArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-954487272003-06-08T20:34:00.000-07:002003-06-08T20:34:56.750-07:00Quick Update
Sorry for the hiatus. It happens. For the next couple of days I will be low on the postings, and I hope you'll forgive me.
As for some blog-relevant news, I will be taking up Dean Esmay on his offer and participating in the Blogspot Jihad--now remember, this is the good Jihad, the internal struggle for self-betterment, not that murderous kind we're more used to seeing. It is Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-953270322003-06-05T07:05:00.000-07:002003-06-05T07:07:42.000-07:00Bennet Just Can't Get Enough
I meant to keep my criticism of the New York Time's reporter James Bennet limited to my last article, but today's report from Aqaba must have crossed every journalistic red line there is.
First of all, Bennet has yet to write an article focusing on the domestic problems Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas--Abu Mazen--faces, namely: he has no power. None. So, Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-952945532003-06-04T11:30:00.000-07:002003-06-04T11:30:48.493-07:00Of Course They Hate Us
For some reason, the reports coming out following the Pew Global Attitudes Project poll on Muslim attitudes is news to the New York Times, who is taking yet another opportunity to show its opinion on the war for Iraq.
Well, let's make it clear: this is not news. Of course the Arabs will hate the US more. Why? Because their governments, who are scared shitless that Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-952905472003-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:002003-06-04T09:50:54.563-07:00Taking on Incitement
When reflecting on the task ahead of Palestinian prime minister Mahumud Abbas, or Abu Mazen, I think it serves well to read a portion of Ruth Wisse's article in Commentary, On Ignoring Anti-Semitism.
"Unlike the Germans who unleashed their war against the Jews under cover of a wider European conflict, the Arab nations, through the PLO, placed the destruction of Israel Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-952841102003-06-04T07:16:00.000-07:002003-06-04T07:19:56.000-07:00Sharon's Words at Aqaba
Israeli PM Ariel Sharon has certainly impressed me with his statements at Aqaba. Not that I fully trust him--remember, he was the one who convinced former PM Menachem Begin that the war in Lebanon would be brief, and then lied to the cabinet about not driving for Damascus--but his speech was pretty impressive, especially the point of "territorial contiguity."
What Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-952462732003-06-03T10:52:00.000-07:002003-06-03T10:53:08.000-07:00Syria Cowed Colin
Amir Tahiri, one of my favorite reads, published a piece now on the Syrian view of it's relationship with the United States--that which we, in the West, have no idea about.
Just a few quick quotes from the article:
"Hours after the Security Council vote, the Syrian media began to boast about " our courageous stance" and " President Bashar al-Assad's rejection of aggression Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-952104152003-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:002003-06-02T15:49:37.000-07:00America, the Human Rights Offender
Comparing and contrasting the positions on America's Human Rights record of Amnesty International and those expressed in an open letter from an Arab-American student (brought to my attention by LGF) is astounding.
Amnesty writes that "While the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has brought greater freedom for the Iraqi people, the politics and distraction of the Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-951995472003-06-02T10:29:00.000-07:002003-06-02T10:29:59.953-07:00Maybe That's Why Syria is No Longer the Issue
The official Syrian news agency has reported that Syria Grants American Oil Companies Exclusive Rights to Sector of Northeastern Syria on Saturday. Do you think that is why our attention has shifted to Iran?
Granted, Iran does pose a much greater threat, and, in a sense, has a lot of influence on Syria. I'm just bummed that we didn't take Assad toArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-951912592003-06-02T07:05:00.000-07:002003-06-02T07:07:08.000-07:00Cognitive Dissonance on WMD
The more those of the anti-war community protest that Bush and Blair "made up" the evidence concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the clearer it becomes that mixing ideology and information makes a dangerous elixer. These same people who, before the war, said "of course the US knows Saddam has biological and chemical weapons, the US sold it to them," are nowArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-951537532003-06-01T07:54:00.000-07:002003-06-01T07:55:43.000-07:00Since I planned on keeping the post on the Salute to Israel parade as the most prominent--so visitors would not have to search for the information--I will only make one quick comment: I enjoy reading from all sides of the political spectrum, as I think that it is my duty as a democratic citizen to make an effort understand as many points of view as exist regarding a problem. Yet this one really Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-950899332003-05-30T11:02:00.000-07:002003-05-30T11:08:34.000-07:00Protesting Israel, Again and Again
I am sick and tired of this constant focus of the left on Israel, and their inability to allow Zionists to just support the idea of Israel without involving politics. Below are two emails going out at the same time. The first, called Peace Begins with Justice, calls for people to "Come tell Israel's supporter that peace begins where oppression, racism, theft Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-950803582003-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:002003-05-30T07:09:09.000-07:00Full Frontal: The New York Times on Attack
Far from humbling itself, or apoligizing for the amazing string of events that have ripped apart it's credibility, the New York Times has gone on the attack today. It's target: the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Both Krugman and Kristoff fire serious vollies at the administration, accusing it with everything from concocting the war to protect Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-949938942003-05-28T09:05:00.000-07:002003-05-28T09:05:46.520-07:00[The following article was published by the Columbia Spectator today. Note: I made a mistake in the article--Benny Elon is from the National Union, not the NRP, which recieved 5.5% of the electoral vote in 2003, and not 4.2% as did the NRP. I fully apologize for the simple fact-checking error, and find it especially ironic and even karmic that I would make a mistake in an article about Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-949488812003-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:002003-05-27T10:43:13.000-07:00Some Things Are Right Even if Kristof Says Them
One of the problems with the prominence of the Palestinian question is that it draws the eyes of the world away from the truly gruesome conflicts. That is not to say that the Palestinians do not have a right to protest--it's just that while they continue and deepen their misery through acts of terrorism and violence against innocents, millions of Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-949484772003-05-27T10:29:00.000-07:002003-05-27T10:44:54.000-07:00Some Things Are Right Even if Rumsfeld Says Them
Hate to say it, but I harbor some respect for our Secretary of Defense. Not for his track-record before office, not for his person, but for his ability to cut through the crap and bring people--and the military--up to speed.
His op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the topic of Iraq is especially commendable. Check it out for yourself, and here Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-949202282003-05-26T19:15:00.000-07:002003-05-26T19:16:54.000-07:00Want Refugee Rights? Give Them to the Jews Too
I recieved this in the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East digest, I guess quoted from the Israel Info Center, and I fully support it.
ACTION ALERT: The Jewish Refugee Problem
Situation: Even though last week in Israel was one of bloodiest in recent memory, the Road Map push is still chugging along. To that end, I suggest that rather than Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-948668272003-05-25T11:25:00.000-07:002003-05-25T11:25:51.096-07:00Israel Verbally Accepts the Road Map
One of the major problems in this conflict is in discerning between the fact and the fiction. Mostly, what is said is fiction, and what is done is fact. Therefore, while Israel has finally accepted the road map by word, it means nothing as far as I am concerned just as the Palestinian acceptance has not changed anything on the ground. We will have to wait Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-947667102003-05-22T19:42:00.000-07:002003-05-22T19:48:33.000-07:00Reading the Roadmap From Behind the Veil
While I might agree with the theoretical post-modernist assumption that there is no such thing as an objective truth, one must admit that there are certain things, such as actions, that can be taken as facts and stripped of ideologically biased commentary. To do so, in the words of Rawls, would be to don the Veil of Ignorance: one would assume that he orArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-946875162003-05-21T07:46:00.000-07:002003-05-21T07:46:38.790-07:00The Arab World's Refugees
We should not forget or cast aside the Arab world's refugees of 1948--the Jewish ones, that is, from Arab lands. Hey, if the Palestinians will not let the past be forgotten, why should we?
My grandmother was born in Marakesh, Morocco, to a relatively wealthy family. When the Second World War broke out, her family was forced to move to Casablanca, and hid away from Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-945809092003-05-19T07:08:00.000-07:002003-05-19T07:14:39.000-07:00The Palestinian Solution Illusion
The tsunami of terrorist attacks washing the Middle East in blood over the past week should claim among its victims our belief that all the problems of the region would be solved if only we solved the Palestinian question. The bombings in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Israel are only a fraction of the violence that will erupt in the coming years, as Islamists race Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-944607412003-05-16T10:42:00.000-07:002003-05-16T10:48:20.000-07:00Don't Play Up the Saudis' Reaction
There has been a dangerous trend in the media to compare the bombings in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to the attacks of September 11th, with all they entail. These pundits would have us believe that the Saudi's are now undergoing some sort of awakening, and that the attack will produced a Saudi enlightenment on the evil of terrorism.
Not true, or at leastArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-944259562003-05-15T19:47:00.000-07:002003-05-15T19:57:43.000-07:00French Can't Stand the Heat
After routinely opposing America for no other reason than it was America and that France wanted to make this a "multipolar system" with it as the other pole; after helping Saddam in his quest for nuclear weapons in the 1970s and continuing to grant him aid up till the days before the war; after delaying the actions and pressure against Baghdad for 12 years by Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-943302972003-05-14T07:44:00.000-07:002003-05-14T07:44:31.610-07:00Sharon Is A Good Driver on the Roadmap's Winding Roads
An important point has been lost in the discussion of Sharon's latest assertion about settlements: while some pundits argue that Sharon is showing his true colors by protecting the settlements at any cost, in reality his moves are tactically brilliant and strategically sound.
I should preface my remarks by saying that I was a staunch Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-942715772003-05-13T08:59:00.000-07:002003-05-13T09:00:12.000-07:00The Day the Music Died
Today, on the 13th of May, 2003, my beloved cousin Orit Beery passed away from cancer in the north of Israel. May her memory be eternally blessed.
Her passing makes geopolitics seem distant, somewhat unreal. Orit, a beautiful young woman with a beautiful heart and a singing-voice to match, was a consummate composer, a brilliant artist, and sad. Her sadness permeated Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-942154352003-05-12T10:59:00.000-07:002003-05-12T10:59:15.153-07:00[In the News section of this weblog I make a case for bringing French President Chirac up for charges of aiding and abetting genocide in Iraq in front of the ICC]Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-942074772003-05-12T08:30:00.000-07:002003-05-12T08:33:38.000-07:00Keeping Our Eyes on the Ball
As the situation in Iraq continues to be influx, following the Bush Administration's reorganization of the American presence and leadership with the appointment of L. Paul Bremer III, we should hope the American forces will do a better job then they have been doing up to this point. Maybe we should pick up a few pointers from the British, who have managed to calm Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-941582222003-05-11T11:26:00.000-07:002003-05-11T11:28:07.000-07:00Weapons of Mass Destruction
The discovery of the mobile lab underscores not only the justification given for the War--although, as I had written earlier, just freeing the Iraqis from tyranny would be justification enough in my book--but also underscores why no matter how many teams of inspectors the UN would have sent, Saddam would have been able to continue with his murderous intentions.
I Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-940602632003-05-09T09:39:00.000-07:002003-05-09T09:40:01.000-07:00Iraqi Poet Comments on the Fall of Saddam and America
As many of the antiwar left continue in their knee-jerk reactionism to President Bush (a blind hatred that stops them from proposing realistic and pragmatic policies now that the war is over), Iraqis have continued to air their reflections on the fall of Hussein.
Awad Nasir, an Iraqi poet, writes the following:
Let me confess something: I Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-939692782003-05-07T20:52:00.000-07:002003-05-07T20:56:23.000-07:00De-Ba'athification Must Be Complete
I was very, very disturbed to read in the New York Times that US officials may be allowing senior Ba'ath officials to take positions of power in Iraq.
Yes, amnesty is important, especially when you are trying to calm down a situation and not give incentives to deposed elites to gather backing for a fight to the finish, but they should also be barred from Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-939314312003-05-07T08:23:00.000-07:002003-05-07T09:11:33.000-07:00Rashid Khalidi Knows Little to Nothing About Iraq
In a post-war attack on the US government and the "neocons" supposedly running the show, the future director of the Middle East Institute, Rashid Khalidi, shows that he either knows little to nothing about Iraq, or he is so politically motivated that he cannot admit the facts.
I will go one by one to show this lack of knowledge and insight--if Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-938709392003-05-06T09:39:00.000-07:002003-05-06T13:52:59.000-07:00Remembering Democracy's Guardians
Today being Israel's memorial day for the fallen soldeirs and the victims of terrorism, I find it appropriate to post the speech of Moshe Ya'alon, Cheif of the IDF General Staff in its entirety. Not out of respect for him, but for the emotions conveyed by his speechwriters at the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, of which I am a proud Alumnus.
Order of the Day of the Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-938081492003-05-05T09:37:00.000-07:002003-05-05T09:37:56.946-07:00Is the ISM Supporting Terrorists Again?
The pattern is beginning to become clear: the International Solidarity Movement, so vaunted among many anti-Zionist and Human-Right's circles, is a full-fledged supporter of terrorism.
Today's acknowledgement by ISM member Raphael Cohen that the group met with the two British suicide bombers before they went on to strike Tel Aviv is just another striking Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-937686742003-05-04T17:05:00.000-07:002003-05-04T21:09:42.000-07:00e tu, Fuad?
Amram Mitzna's resignation is just another blow to the all but defunct Israeli pragmatic left--and may well be the final blow to the dying Labor party. It is with historical irony that the strike came from within.
The long history of Israel's Labor party, back from the days of Mapai and the Alliance, is rife with internal bickering and back-stabbing. David Ben Gurion himself was Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-936754072003-05-02T15:10:00.000-07:002003-05-02T15:10:41.733-07:00Iraqi Nuclear Scientists Working for Peaceful Means?
An interesting Al-Jazeera report on Iraqi nuclear scientists was translated by MEMRI, the world-class Arab-press translation mecca--and, while reading through the text, I became rather confused.
My confusion stems from these two quotes:
Dr. Hamid Al-Bahali, an expert in nuclear engineering and a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Nuclear Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-936322822003-05-01T20:13:00.000-07:002003-05-01T20:13:52.000-07:00Iraq After the Dust Settles
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in conjunction with the Columbia Antiwar Coalition, the Columbia Political Union and The New Republic will be holding a event Monday called Iraq After the Dust Settles: A Panel Discussion on the Future of Iraq, with the speakers will be focusing their remarks on the US's post-war role.
Since I am writing a policy paper Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-934268152003-04-28T15:41:00.000-07:002003-04-28T15:42:08.000-07:00Further Proof of Racism Rising
Since two of my last columns dealt with the issue of the rising anti-Semitism, I find it important to reference an article published in Ha'aretz about the phenomena.
This is the clause that worries me the most, especially since such activity is taking place on college campuses:
According to Dr. Becker, "the rise of anti-Semitism in Western Europe comes in the Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-931745252003-04-24T06:04:00.000-07:002003-04-24T06:04:11.586-07:00[ As published in the Columbia Spectator]
The Burning Flames
At the age of 71, Chaya Bornstein is a psychologically broken woman who, still mentally able enough to demand her independence, travels the Tel Aviv boardwalk in her old cocktail singer's dress. She picks legal battles with the authorities as revenge on the world for what, she cries, it did to her half a century ago.
Chaya--my Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-929941152003-04-21T11:00:00.000-07:002003-04-21T11:00:22.030-07:00IDF Spokesperson's Unit in Mourning
Sgt. Lior Ziv gave his life so that others can see the truth about the situation in southern Gaza--just around the spot that the late Rachel Corrie gave herself to protect terrorists and weapons tunnels. Although I do know him--I barely missed him by a month--I mourn him just the same.
If even half of the media outlets would be braver than Eason Jordan and Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-929832662003-04-21T07:29:00.000-07:002003-04-21T07:36:55.000-07:00Freedom From Europe: The Real Anti-Colonialism
It is actually quite remarkable that the anti-colonialist left hasn’t seen through the ruler-straight borders of the Middle East created and imposed by the imperial forces of Europe, and even more remarkable that it took the conservatives to popularize such a notion.
Let’s be honest: Iraq doesn’t really exist. There is not unified state of Iraq Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-929402032003-04-20T11:31:00.000-07:002003-04-20T21:41:02.000-07:00Cancel Iraq's Debt
It seems rather odd to me that the French and the Russian governments would really hold the Iraqi people to the debt accrued by their tyrant, who used the money for his lavish palaces and weapons of mass destruction instead of feeding his starving peoples. I seem to remember the newfound Soviet state relieving itself of all debt after the revolution, and the French shaking Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-927163992003-04-16T07:25:00.000-07:002003-04-16T07:27:34.000-07:00[I have posted a glimpse of Arafat in the post-Saddam era on the news section of this site, and Prof. Martin Kramer's latest on Said on the Columbia section of this site.
As a post-script to my last article, Between the Narrow Points: I understand that it has raised quite a bit of "umbrage" in the words of an editor of a school publication that I respect very much, some even going so far as toArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-925825152003-04-14T07:02:00.000-07:002003-04-14T07:04:52.000-07:00[This is the version before it was published in an edited-version by the Columbia Spectator]
Between the Narrow Points
As the people of Baghdad dance in the streets, as the women of Iraq look forward to a future when they will not be raped for the disloyalty of their husbands or their fathers to the Ba’athist regime, and as Iraqis taste the sweetness of freedom for the first time in half a Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-925108342003-04-12T19:33:00.000-07:002003-04-12T19:33:48.246-07:00Jews Feeding Anti-Semitism
A Jewish Anti-Semite is not an oxymoron: anti-Semitism, a term invented in the end of the 19th century to replace the German word for Jew-hater with a more civilized version that took into account the emerging racial theories of the day, is the grouping of Jews together into a class and assigning them a negative moral weight.
Jews can be anti-Semites just like anybodyArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-924460082003-04-11T12:35:00.000-07:002003-04-11T12:39:11.000-07:00Looting as Catharsis
All of the pundits and experts who had thought that Iraq would put up stiff resistence are now licking their wounds and clicking their tounges at America's inability to stop the looting throughout the cities of Iraq. At a closer look, though, such criticism seems misplaced: this is not Western Europe or America--you cannot expect a people who have just been liberated from aArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-923749702003-04-10T11:26:00.000-07:002003-04-10T14:42:57.000-07:00How can people be antiwar at a time like this?
I know it is a provocative question, but that makes it no less valid. As the people of Iraq are dancing in the streets of Baghdad, it makes one question if those who once opposed the war should reconsider.
Yes, I know that companies are going to profit from the war, but I do not see that as making it any less valid. If capitalism leads to Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-922456032003-04-08T14:22:00.000-07:002003-04-08T14:22:12.920-07:00The Short on Columbia
I have not commented on the De Genova scandal because I thought that other's had written enough: the press it has been getting is truly impressive, what with a war and all.
I did, however, want to shortly note that De Genova is not the only faculty member at this University that has stepped out of line, and that I hope that this scandal will have Columbia's officers Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-921494272003-04-07T07:13:00.000-07:002003-04-07T07:13:48.140-07:00[Check out the News section of my site for an interesting article on the conditions experienced by Palestinian-Israelis]Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-919452842003-04-03T15:48:00.000-08:002003-04-03T15:49:49.000-08:00Israeli Film Festival
I encourage all to come to the Israeli film festival this weekend, April 5-6, at Columbia University.
As a student-run initiative, the festival is aimed to present the human side of Israel and deal with the tough questions that face it at this time. Personally, I think it should be noted that no Center, Institute or Department of Columbia University found it right to Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-917598292003-03-31T21:53:00.000-08:002003-03-31T21:53:20.280-08:00[This article was published in the Columbia Spectator on March 31, 2003]
Racism Rising
The war in Iraq has awakened a racism thought to be long-gone from this earth--a form of hatred and blame that has existed for generations now grips our very own. This specter of racism paradoxically finds fertile ground in those who claim tolerance, from the halls of our government to the hallows of our Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-915452592003-03-28T05:55:00.000-08:002003-03-28T05:56:25.000-08:00International Solidarity Movement Shows Its Colors But No One Cares
Earlier in this weblog I wrote about the death of the late Rachel Corrie from the International Solidarity Movement, and how she was very well aware of her choice to be where she was and do what she did.
A number of reports came out during the week, showing how the ISM blatently lied about the circumstances of the tragedy, Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-914930412003-03-27T10:12:00.000-08:002003-03-27T22:26:28.000-08:00Stalin's Child
Pundits in the press have begun to wonder why the Iraqis are still fighting, and why they aren't rising up in joy and tearing down the Ba'athist regime.
Seems to me that the answer is pretty apparent: Saddam is a student of Stalin, a loyal one at that, and has perfected the Stalinist tactics of pure fear.
Stalin, if I remember correctly, issued orders during the Soviet push intoArielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-913820192003-03-25T17:44:00.000-08:002003-03-25T17:44:00.920-08:00A Little Semantics
Just a quick note--the actions being carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom in Iraq should really be called the "War for Iraq," as opposed to the most-often used the "War with Iraq" or the "War in Iraq."
The reason is straightforward: since the stated goal of the action is to remove the Iraqi leadership and effectively capture control of Iraq, for whatever Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-913814322003-03-25T17:32:00.000-08:002003-03-25T17:33:26.000-08:00The Rebellion Has Begun
A number of media outlets have begun to report on the uprisings building throughout Iraq, especially in newly-targeted Basra. The New York Times has a good piece on it, although I chose a report from the Al-Iraq list, which I posted in full on the News section of my site.
One part of the report truly struck me, and I think it is important to keep in mind, and to Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-912843462003-03-24T07:54:00.000-08:002003-03-24T07:58:56.000-08:00[This post was also published in the Columbia section of my weblog, which I will add to with shorter asides on the going-ons at Columbia University. As with the News section, until all of the pieces are worked out, I will publish selected posts on this page too. Thank you for your patience.]
Bravo, Maestro
John Corigliano, the famous composer who rocked Columbia University's John Jay Awards Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-912569232003-03-23T19:36:00.000-08:002003-03-23T19:39:14.000-08:00[This post was also published on the News section of my weblog, which I will add to daily with shorter asides on the news. Until all the pieces are in place, though, I will publish selected posts on this page too. Thank you for your patience.]
Chemical Weapons Plant Captured in Iraq
In times of trouble I find it best to look at the world media. Although I agree in theory that American has Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-910640482003-03-20T07:56:00.000-08:002003-03-20T08:01:01.000-08:00The War Has Begun--Do Something About It
A short message to those now marching in the streets to oppose the war: you are wasting your potential.
I agree that there are many logical reasons to oppose the war, but it has already begun, and we should be realistic: nothing the protesters will do will stop it.
Instead, the protesters can take the opportunity to voice their concern for Iraqi Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-908657972003-03-17T09:53:00.000-08:002003-03-20T09:36:12.000-08:00Putting Themselves in Harms Way
An International Solidarity Movement Activist, Rachel Corrie, was killed Sunday, when she was run over by an IDF bulldozer in the middle of clearing a house used for cover by Palestinian gunmen.
The death of Activist Rachel Corrie is truly a regrettable event, as is the loss of any human life.
But there is something to say about being responsible for your Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-907132102003-03-14T07:32:00.001-08:002003-03-14T07:35:38.000-08:00Shalom Abu Mazen
Although it is hard to think about anything else with the ax of war hanging above our heads, the developments in the Israel-Palestine ring of the Middle Eastern circus have come to such a critical mass that we must divert our gaze from Baghdad and focus for a second on Ramallah.
Arafat, in a move so ingenious that politicians everywhere should take good notice, appointed his Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-907131972003-03-14T07:32:00.000-08:002003-03-14T07:32:23.046-08:00[due to technical difficulties the below item is not a full item, and was republished above. Thank you.]Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-907125302003-03-14T07:18:00.000-08:002003-03-14T07:25:11.000-08:00Shalom and Abu Mazen
Although it is hard to think about anything else with the ax of war hanging above our heads, the developments in the Israel-Palestine ring of the Middle Eastern circus have come to such a critical mass that we must divert our gaze from Baghdad and focus for a second on Ramallah.
Arafat, in a move so ingenious that politicians everywhere should take good notice, appointed Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-905893032003-03-12T07:09:00.000-08:002003-03-14T07:26:13.000-08:00Does the US Really Need UN Approval?
An important point was raised today by Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post:
"The United Nations did not sanction the Kosovo war, surely a just war, and that did not in any way make it illegitimate. Of the scores of armed conflicts since 1945, exactly two have received Security Council sanction: the Korean War (purely an accident, the Soviets having Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-904586882003-03-10T07:00:00.000-08:002003-03-10T07:00:15.343-08:00[The following was printed in the Columbia Spectator on March 10, 2003]
Middel East Certitude
While we edge ever closer to war with Iraq and members of our faculty take their positions on the front lines of debate, we should take a closer look at the services our University provides on the Middle East. It is common knowledge that the great majority of faculty members in Columbia University's Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-902977842003-03-07T05:10:00.000-08:002003-03-07T05:13:57.000-08:00[the following article was printed in Kol Columbia, the newspaper of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel. It was written before the No Service University article, and deals somewhat with the Palestinian film festival]
At Every Opportunity
When it comes down to it we should admit that, when it comes to what goes on in the classroom, Columbia University at the Undergraduate level is little better than Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-901923152003-03-05T12:25:00.000-08:002003-03-07T05:14:23.000-08:00The No-Service University
With the geopolitical arena heating by the fires burning in the Middle East, and members of our Faculty taking positions on the front lines of debate, it becomes necessary to some basic questions regarding the service our Academy provides us as consumers: Why purchase a Higher Education? What is the value of an education in the first place?
The late great Bartlet Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-901787322003-03-05T07:19:00.000-08:002003-03-05T07:20:39.000-08:00An interesting point was sent to me today by a number of people:
Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel's part for whatever reason, the following two sentences really say it all.
If the Arabs put down their weapons today there would be no more violence.
If the Jews put down Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-901268202003-03-04T11:21:00.000-08:002003-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00I apologize for the delay in the third installment in the Iraq series. I am in the midst of revising the site to make it a better resource for you, and battling to get a column published concerning the bias at Columbia University.
Until then, this was sent to me, and I think it is an important read.
Ariel Beery
Subject: "I Am a Jew"
I ask each of you to read this and perhaps reflect how Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-894947032003-02-21T05:30:00.000-08:002003-02-21T06:21:34.000-08:00[Iraq Series Article II]
Progressiveness: The Creation of a New World
One of the many reasons floated for why the US should not attack Iraq is that it would set a bad example to the rest of the world, and give a legal precedent for unprovoked attacks. Although the logic here seems sound, there is a different way to interpret the ramifications of such an attack on international law: a war of Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-892470302003-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:002003-02-19T22:35:32.000-08:00The World Turns Around Its Axis
It has become necessary to address the Iraq issue from the more academic side, as so many intelligent people have been given only parts of the picture concerning the question of war in Iraq, and only those parts that oppose such a war. As an ardent supporter of the liberation of Iraq, for what I will show to be humanitarian and democratic reasons, I thought to Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-887032302003-02-07T05:19:00.000-08:002003-02-09T06:56:58.000-08:00Free Palestine, Not Iraq
It is especially confusing to me how some people can, in the same sentence, call for the freeing of Palestine through armed struggle or international intervention, and the stopping of any such struggle or intervention in Iraq.
One of the numerous examples of what my brother Tal calls the "close-minded liberal paradox" is a recent posting to the Columbia Student Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-884793772003-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:002003-02-03T09:37:16.000-08:00I stand together with the American people and the Jewish people in mourning over the Columbia space shuttle disaster. May their memories be blessed, and their families be strengthened.
[the following article was published by the Columbia Spectator on Feb. 3, 2003]
We Are All Columbia
Saturday morning, while most of us were still sleeping, the human race once again awoke to a tragedy that Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-883267312003-01-31T06:27:00.000-08:002003-01-31T06:28:32.000-08:00Report: Iraqi spies in U.S.
This report by the daily news brings up some interesting questions:
"Iraq sent spies from Canada to New York and Washington this month to snoop and stir up anti-war demonstrations, according to a government report . . . . The Iraqi Embassy in Ottawa sent operatives to New York and Washington with instructions to 'intensify spying activities and to carry out Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-882132322003-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:002003-02-01T17:11:10.000-08:00US Protects Saudis, Not Israel
Maureen Dowd has, in today's article The Empire Strikes First, continued to perpetuate the myth that the war on Iraq is being fought for Israel.
"After removing the super-rat, Mr. Wolfowitz, Mr. Libby and their fellow hawk Richard Perle can turn his country into a laboratory for democracy in the Arab world — creating a domino effect to give Israel more security."Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-881535362003-01-28T05:24:00.000-08:002003-01-28T05:26:18.000-08:00Statistics
The following statisics were published by the Daily Alert Felix Frisch (Yediot Ahronot) and speak for themselves:
3/4 of Israelis Killed in 2002 were Civilians -
436 Israelis were killed in 2002, compared with 198 in 2001.
76% of Israelis killed in 2002 were civilians.
Among the Palestinians,
45% were civilians
55% were fighters;
95% men and only 5% women - disproving claims Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-879650172003-01-24T09:28:00.000-08:002003-01-27T12:47:15.000-08:00Two Things to Note on the Liberal Debate on Iraq
Although I have always considered myself a liberal, and, for most of my life, I even thought of myself as a staunch Marxist, I could never understand the Liberal/Marxist bias against Israel.
How could they, I would ask myself, grant the right of self-determination to some--the Palestinians--but not to others--the Jews in Israel. Their moral Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-878050792003-01-21T14:25:00.000-08:002003-01-21T14:27:35.000-08:00[As published in the Columbia Spectator on Jan. 21, 2003]
Dreams of a Debate
The phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" has special significance when it comes into play in the Middle East. The use of the visual medium to convey messages continues to be common practice in the Middle East: Arab dictators have their faces plastered throughout the streets of their capitals, and Muslim Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501395.post-876835822003-01-19T08:37:00.000-08:002003-01-19T20:12:33.000-08:00Defending the Idea of a Hate Free University in Troubled Times
Provost Cole just doesn't get it. In his "Defending the Idea of the University in Troubled Times," published by the Record in the December 18th, Cole does defends the idea of the untouchable professor instead of the idea of a balanced education. Provost Cole twists the debate surrounding the incitement to murder issued by Tom Arielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02337712680587251498noreply@blogger.com