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Chomsky blacklisted?
David Hirsh of Engage recently debated David Landy, an Israel-boycott advocate in Ireland, on that country’s RTE Radio 1. (The discussion is very brief and begins about seven minutes in.) The moderator, though capable and fair-minded, makes one major misstatement of fact: He contends that Noam Chomsky has been “blacklisted” in the U.S. for his criticisms of Israel, among other
Jazz notes
UK jazz musicians are in an uproar — as they should be — over the decision by the Mobo Awards to drop jazz as an award category. “Mobo” stands for “music of black origin.” As saxophonist Courtney Pine has argued (hat tip: Norm), “Jazz was the stepping stone for rock’n’roll, rhythm and blues — all popular music.” Great to know
Israel/Kurdistan
Wow, I guess it just became a lot more dangerous for American Jews like me to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan.
“The devil”
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has made this UN General Assembly an event to remember, referring to President Bush as “the devil.” Interesting that he should resort to religious symbology. During Ahmadinejad’s recent Venezuela visit, Chavez declared that Islam is “revolutionary.” (In fairness, he said the same of Christianity, though he probably didn’t have “Jesus Camp” in mind.) Marc Cooper notes that
IAEA and Iran
The UN General Assembly is meeting here in New York, and United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is rallying against a potential U.S. military strike on Iran. Fine with me — I’m 100 percent opposed to any such attack. But UFPJ’s sample letter to the UN Security Council contains the following inaccuracy: The IAEA is unequivocal that there is no
Islam and the pope
It’s not often that I find myself in a Catholic church. But this past weekend I happened to hear a priest deliver a noxious homily, one that sheds light on the current controversy involving the pope’s remarks on Islam. In this homily, a priest and a Buddhist monk are trekking through the Himalayas in search of a remote monastery. Along
Torture: the real stakes
An essential post from Marty Lederman [all italics in the original]: — “It’s important to be clear about one thing: The question is not simply whether, in the abstract, it would be a good or acceptable idea for the United States to use such techniques in certain extreme circumstances on certain detainees. I happen to think that the moral, pragmatic,
Sunday rally for Darfur
New York info here. There are rallies taking place in other cities around the world. James Traub had a piece on Chinese diplomacy in the NY Times Magazine of September 3. You want to talk about blood for oil? Learn about China’s underwriting of the Darfur genocide.