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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
Pat Robertson’s battle
I’m late in posting this, but post it I must. Pat Robertson, sorry, God, has it in for Dover, PA voters who yanked anti-evolution school board members from office — a crystal clear rejection of the intelligent design “controversy” that’s been foisted on their community by oustide Christianist agitators. (Read my earler post here.) You’ve already seen it, but let’s
On a lighter note…
Odds and ends from my CD player: Angie Stone, Stone Love (J Records): Especially the single “Lovers’ Ghetto,” with a sample of Dynasty’s “Adventures in the Land of Music.” Great production. Stone is refreshingly free of the hyper-acrobatic singing that plagues a lot of today’s R&B. Yellowjackets, self-titled (Rhino reissue): New liner notes by my colleague Bill Milkowski. Four unearthed
The Jews knew? Again?
I guess we should resign ourselves to a seeing a variation of this lie after every single Al Qaeda attack. Post-Jordan bombing, a friend alerts me to a dispatch from Haaretz, of all places: Israelis evacuated from Amman hotel hours before bombingsBy Yoav Stern, Haaretz CorrespondentA number of Israelis staying on Wednesday at the Radisson hotel were evacuated before the