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Horrible music videos
From opposite sides of the political spectrum, here and here. (Hat tips: David Bloom and The Plank, respectively.)
Support the Euston Manifesto
Go here to read about this new initiative of the democratic left. I’ve signed and sent a brief statement, although I think there’s little to add to this bit by Harry of Harry’s Place: If once the question was are you with the Hungarian or Czech revolutionaries or the Soviet tanks which crush them – now it is about being,
An album appearance
I play acoustic guitar on two tracks (“Wake Up,” “Cupid”) from a really nice album by singer-songwriter Nicholas Naylor-Leyland. It’s called Chocolate Tiger: The End of an Error, and it’s available here.
Tarik Shah article
For those interested in reading my Jazz Times column on Tarik Shah, the jazz bassist accused of conspiring to aid al-Qaeda, you can access it here [pdf]. In the time since I filed the piece, it has come to light that Shah’s trial will not begin until October, and that he will remain in solitary confinement until then. Although I
Greater Kurdistan and the PKK
In this earlier post, I touched on Kurdish nationalism. But I haven’t really weighed in on the issue of “Greater Kurdistan,” i.e., the idea of sovereignty for a Kurdish nation straddling parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. In short, it’s not going to happen. And it seems to me that the violent and authoritarian outlook of the Kurdistan Workers
In conclusion
Before Michael Totten set out on his late February-early March trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, he made reference to a PR campaign called The Other Iraq, which touts the Kurdish region as safe and prosperous. “Here’s what I want to know,” Totten wrote. “[D]oes Iraqi Kurdistan live up to the hype? Is it actually a nice place? Or is Iraqi Kurdistan
Farewell, Kurdistan
[This is the penultimate post in my Iraqi Kurdistan series. Visit my April 2006 archives for the complete list of entries. Thanks very much for your interest!]On Friday, March 24 it was time to leave Suleimaniya, in Iraqi Kurdistan, and head back to the Turkish border. In normal circumstances it’s a four-hour drive, but it takes six to bypass the
Kurdistan field notes
One of the most surprising sights in all of Iraqi Kurdistan was Spice Platinum, a hardcore porn channel available on satellite in our hotel in Suleimaniya (Diyarbakir too). Dozens of channels were scrambled and unavailable, but not Spice Platinum. In a bustling food joint right next to the hotel, I did a double-take at a conservative woman in a headscarf.