David Adler
Hezbollah confirms: interview a fake
Final word on this dreary matter, from Hezbollah’s press liaison, Hussain Rahhal: “Our secretary general Nasrallah has not made any interviews with any Turkish or other non-Lebanese journalist during the month of August. In front of this imaginary interview that is untruthful, and hence does damage to journalism, credibality [sic] and objectivity, Hezbollah reserves its right to take legal action
Sheehan’s remarks
Cindy Sheehan is someone I view sympathetically, and not just because of her personal loss. But she’s been led down a blind alley by the far-left activists who’ve been whispering in her ear from the beginning. This account from Green Left Weekly is regarding a speech she delivered in Australia in May of this year: Sheehan said her son, Casey,
Rumsfeld’s remarks
Rather than do the right thing and resign as secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld has lashed out at critics of the Iraq war and the war on terror generally, comparing them to those who would have appeased Hitler. “[A]ny kind of moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies
George Allen’s racism no “mistake”
Max Blumenthal has a detailed piece in The Nation concerning Senator George Allen of “macaca” fame. Allen has had dealings with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization; in his statements of support for neo-Confederate groups he has described the Civil War as “the War Between the States” and “a four-year struggle for independence and sovereign rights.” He
JFA: Helping musicians in need
One great way to aid post-Katrina New Orleans is through the Jazz Foundation of America. Check out their website and give if you can, or spread the word.
Cockburn responds
Alexander Cockburn has responded to charges that he picked up and reprinted a fraudulent interview with Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah. He refers to the original source, Evrensel, as “a serious newspaper.” [Insert laugh track.] He also cites a philosophy professor, Idris Samawi Hamid of Colorado State University, who argues: Instead of shouting “fake!” we should be encouraging the kind of broad
A. Roy and the Naxalites, postscript
Hate to keep beating up on left activist/author Arundhati Roy, but this story in the Monitor struck me as important. Not long ago I criticized Roy’s claim that she is “doomed” to support violent resistance movements, including the Maoist “Naxalites” of rural India. In Anuj Chopra’s account for the Monitor, we learn of villagers’ efforts to create social change through
Spike Lee: a final note
Acts 3 and 4 of Spike Lee’s masterly Katrina documentary “When the Levees Broke” did not disappoint. The emphasis in this half was the political economy of disaster and the long-term impact of the government’s outright negligence. Act 3 begins with harrowing images of destruction and grief, set against a breathtaking piece of music by trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard. Last year,