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The Guardian retracts
The Guardian has retracted the Emma Brockes interview with Noam Chomsky, about which I commented here. It appears that Brockes was sloppy on some key points, yet the Guardian‘s correction statement is just as misleading. Bill Weinberg gets it right, I believe: Chomsky did not merely come to the defense of Johnstone’s freedom of speech. He praised her work as
Items of interest
Time’s been short for the past few days, but these items merit comment: **Rep. John Murtha’s call for troop withdrawal: I approve, with a sigh. Responsible writers like Spencer Ackerman at TNR have been calling for withdrawal for some time. It has to be done. But I tremble for the Iraqi people. On “Meet the Press,” Murtha dodged some tough
Music in space
Alex Ross, in this week’s New Yorker, writes about the late composer Giacinto Scelsi and his use of monotone patterns. (Now I’m kicking myself for missing the five Scelsi string quartets at the Miller Theather recently.) Ross ends on an astronomical note about the mother of all monotones: Scientific researchers have recently observed a musical event that employs a curiously
Bush’s new Iraq line
Two good responses to Bush’s Veterans Day speech, which cast war critics as irresponsible. Marc Cooper weighs in here and Fred Kaplan here. Kaplan shows us the money: President Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said today that the arguments over how and why the war began are irrelevant. “We need to put this debate behind us,” he said. But
Tarik Shah
I’ve received an email from Margaret Davis, NYC avant-jazz promoter, regarding a benefit for bassist Tarik Shah. Now in jail awaiting trial, Shah stands accused of expressing a desire to aid al-Qaeda. Davis writes the following: Our brother in the music, bassist Tarik Shah, a wonderful musician who has played and recorded with Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln, among many
Today in torture
Andrew Sullivan, anti-torture polemicist par excellence, posted the image at left in response to a Wall St. Journal editorial denying that waterboarding is torture. Note the caption on the 16th-century drawing.Sullivan also links to this AP report on Senator Bill Frist: WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he is more concerned about the leak of information regarding
Israel, phantom villain
A good NY Times piece on “Israel did it” conspiracy theories circulating in Jordan following the bombing. Money quote: While it appears that most Jordanians have accepted that Mr. Zarqawi was involved – with many saying they are sickened by his actions – there is little criticism for those who scapegoat Israel. A former prime minister, Tahir Masri, who said