RSSArchive for July, 2005
Bin Laden’s Fiendish Chemical Warfare
So is this what all those politicians mean when they tell you Al Qaeda is out to destroy America’s way of life? Or is it just a sign of just how gormless some news organizations can be? The New York Post on Tuesday devoted its front page to a story suggesting Osama bin Laden [...]
Lost in Translation
When a U.S. spyplane collided with a Chinese fighter and was forced down in Hainan on April Fool’s Day in 2001, I wrote a commentary on TIME.com inviting American readers to imagine the incident through Chinese eyes, in order to appreciate the depth of anger the incident caused in Beijing.
“Imagine a Chinese plane flying a [...]
Madrid: Not a Real Football Team
It could be considered a little pathetic for ostensible superclub Real Madrid to be humiliated 3-0 by no-hopers Tokyo Verdy (losers even in the not exactly world-class Japanese league), but that would be missing the point. As Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo so helpfully explained after the match, “Real Madrid want to win things but we [...]
Sharon’s Gaza Initiative
Sharon’s planned “disengagement” from Gaza is not connected to any peace process, not even President Bush’s “roadmap” which Sharon has made clear may or may not eventually go into effect - but only after the Palestinian Authority dismantles the militias of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Fatah movement. In other words, not for the foreseeable [...]
Free Mandela (From the Prison of Fantasy)!
Monday was Nelson Mandela’s 87th birthday, and on these shores, I sometimes feel he’s in need of rescuing, trapped in some pretty bizarre narratives that have nothing to do with his own story or politics. Full disclosure: I freely admit that Nelson Mandela is the only politician for whom I’ve ever voted; that I celebrate [...]
London and After: What al-Qaeda Fears
Five Thoughts on the London bombing
1.
God, I love the Brits!
Prescient? ‘My Son the Fanatic’
Their collective response to the London bombings is infinitely courageous, infinitely dignified, unflappable, sober, inherently collective, and educated and worldly in their assessment of the event, its meaning and the necessary response. Listening to the BBC all day that day, the [...]
Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You!
Digging through my archives of “Tony Karon Weblog” emailings, I came across this gem sent out on December 14, 2002. Re-reading it reminds me of how clear it was, even then, that the Weapons of Mass Destruction case for invading Iraq was bogus, and that the “liberal hawk” case for supporting the invasion as an [...]
Where do France’s Jews Belong?
A version of this story appeared on TIME.com published 7.21.2004
Ariel Sharon’s belief that the Jews of France belong in Israel and ought to get there as soon as possible lest they fall victim to anti-Semitism gone wild has opened a major diplomatic row between France and Israel. But it’s also a signal of deeper tensions [...]
McDonald’s Simply Wants to Blend in
This story was first published on TIME.com in January, 2002
Extract:
Like the Romans before it, the empire of the Golden Arches has finally succumbed to the indomitable spirit of Asterix the Gaul. As of Wednesday, Ronald McDonald has been retired as the icon of McDonald’s France, replaced by the Gallic nationalist comic-book hero. Ironies abound, [...]
Of Fries and Getting Fried: The Allure of Death Row Menus
This article appeared on TIME.com in August of 2000. Note, the Texas Death Row Final Meal request page has since been taken down by the State’s Department of Correctional Services
Extract:
Just two weeks, ago, for example, murderer Juan Soria wanted “chicken, three pieces of fish, burgers, pizza, fruit (grapes, plums, peaches, apples, tangerines), doughnuts, walnuts, chocolate [...]
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Who Lost Fatah?
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More Iran Hysteria from the NY Times
The surest sign that another neocon bill of goods is being hawked in respect of the Iran "nuclear peril" is the revival of Rumsfeld-esque "unknowable unknowns", a la Iraq WMD panic circa late 2002. In the real world, of course, solid progress is being made towards a plausible diplomatic deal to ...99c Blogging
The 'Metrics' of Obama's Vietnam
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More Dennis Ross Dissembling
Obama's Iran point man can't seem to get his head around the reasons for Israeli emigrationA Wondering Jew
Obama, Foxman and Israel's Purpose
Having spent decades drumming home the idea that Israel is rooted squarely in the Holocaust experience, and should be viewed by the world as the state of the survivors, Israelis and some of their most fervent backers in the U.S. are suddenly insisting that this is a misleading, even hostile idea.Annals of Globalization
The Shebab, the Shahids and the Champion's League Final
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Congo's Not Africa's WWI, It's Worse Than That
If there is a European analogy to be applied in the Congo, it would be the brutal Thirty Year War in Germany that ended in 1648Shameless Cronyism
Embedded with the Jihadis
My crazy friend Nir Rosen goes on embed with the Taliban, and finds out just why the U.S. can't win in AfghanistanCould Die Laughing
Whatever Became of that Nice Mr. Blair...
The problem with a global conversation between Muslims and Christians refereed by Tony Blair? Two words: Tony Blair.The 51st State
A Teachable Moment in Basra
It should come as no surprise that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's disastrous offensive against the Mahdi Army of Moqtada Sadr in Basra has had the exact opposite effect of that intended -- strengthening rather than weakening Sadr, and making clear that he, and the Iranians, have far greater in...Futures Market
Will Russia Partition Kosovo?
Why my tea-leaf reading suggests that Moscow has a nasty surprise in store for Washington in the BalkansCuisine
Yummy yummy Umami
Why a leftover lamb bone turned a bean stew into an ecstatic eventHousekeeping
'Lost' Entries on Rootless Cosmopolitan
Previous entries that now register as "not available" are ones that got left behind in a server migration. We're working on retrieving themNew York Moments
The Debka Made ‘Em Do ItFrom Tony's Archive
A Playground Lesson for Bush
How a spontaneous alliance of jocks, do-gooders and lesser bullies against the biggest bully at the school changed the balance of power at Milnerton Primary
