RSSArchive for April, 2006
As the Rebbe Goes, So Goes Hamas
Satmar Hasidim bury Rabbi Teitelbaum
in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Hamas-led Palestinian government is facing all manner of economic and political sanctions because of its refusal to “recognize” Israel’s right to exist. (There’s an absurd quality to this discussion, both because Hamas obviously recognizes Israel’s existence as a reality that it has no means of reversing — [...]
Does the New York Times Know Who Rules Iran?
Iran, as Condi often notes, is run by unelected clerics. President Ahmedinajad is not one of them
The election of President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad in Iran was the best thing that ever happened to the “real men go to Tehran” crowd in Washington. Here was a real live Iranian leader with the title of President who rattled [...]
What We Learn from Adidas
Zidane has a word with his player-coach
I caugt Adidas’s hilarious new World Cup “equipo” ad (click here to view as MPG), whose conceit involves two ten-year-old boys in an unnamed Latin American country picking imaginary teams to play each other in a game of soccer, and then the players appear.
The ad shows the unevenness of [...]
You, Too, Can Invade Iran
If you see this man, kill him, quickly and quietly…
This from Assault on Iran, one of the latest offerings from Kumawar.com, an online gaming company that offers live-action missions that allow you to solve all of today’s geopolitical problems in a hail of bullets:
“Your mission is to infiltrate the Natanz nuclear facility in [...]
Iran, Not Iraq, Fuels the ‘Rumsfeld Rebellion’
Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld in theirFord Administration days
The retired generals (presumably, as is typical in U.S. public life, speaking on behalf of those still on active duty, since they can’t speak for themselves) who have — in a political sense — dumped Donald Rumsfeld’s body on the White House lawn, are not men prone [...]
Osama, the Gunners and Me
Why Argentina? Yet another OBL photoshop
job found on the Web
Note to CIA Bin Laden trackers: If you want to catch OBL on Wednesday April 19, find a pub anywhere in Waziristan that has ESPN access, or conversely, do a sweep of all ESPN-enabled satellite TV accounts in the area. (Update: The same is true for [...]
Toasting God’s Terrorism and Other Passover Themes
1. Passover is About Liberation; Not Simply About Jews
In that hungry eternity of singing and praying in an alien tongue that spanned from your first taste of haroset on matzoh to the arrival of the matzoh ball soup, you could sometimes get to thinking about the meanings of the passover in universal context rather [...]
Win-Win Solution on Immigration and Empire
Rather than British ground troops, Britain relied on
an 80-percent Indian force to police Iraq. And when that
couldn’t do the trick, the Royal Air Force pioneered the
art of dropping bombs on population-centers
Far be it from me to tell America how to run its immigration policy or police its empire, it does [...]
Why Germany Won’t Win the World Cup
Mourinho’s white flag: Robert Huth
1. They’re too home-based
Most of the world’s best footballers earn their living in one of three domestic leagues: Spain’s La Liga; Italy’s Seria A; and the English Premiership. In other words, Germany’s Bundesliga is not one of them. Today you don’t expect the likes of Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund or [...]
Ten Reasons Why Oslo Failed
I recently found this piece I wrote for TIME.com in October of 2000, trying to come to grips with the reasons for the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. This was two months after Camp David, just as the Israelis were cranking up the spin machine to pump out the line that it failed [...]
The Latest
A Skeptical Read
Rosner, Haaretz's Itchy Beard
The right-wing nationalist blogger always seemed a little out of step with his paper's editorial line. Now, Carter's visit has provoked him to growl menacingly at the editorsA Wondering Jew
Healing Israel's Birth Scar
With the 60th anniversary of Israel's birth -- and of the Palestinian Nakbah (catastrophe) -- which are, of course the same event, almost upon us, I was reminded this week that April 9 was also the 60th anniversary of an event that has long epitomized the connection between the creation of an et...99c Blogging
All Hat, No Cattle #7682
President Bush loves playing the Bad Cop, but anyone vaguely familiar with the routine knows not to take the Bad Cop seriously.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 BalkansGuest Columns
Iraq and U.S. Faith in Violence
Guest Column: Alastair Crooke warns of a dangerous fantasy that persists in Western capitals in which the West faces an "onslaught" from "radical Islam." The problem is that this intersects all too tragically with a the persistent belief in Washington and elsewhere that by applying its overwhel...Cuisine
Yummy yummy Umami
Why a leftover lamb bone turned a bean stew into an ecstatic eventGlancing Headers
Spare Us More 'Globalization & Football'
The claim that Egypt's Cup of Nations win "proves" that stronger domestic leagues make stronger international sides is not born out by football's bigger picture. In fact, the teams that do best internationally are those with weaker domestic leaguesShameless Cronyism
Is Israel-Iran Enmity Irreversible?
No, it isn't. Two of my favorite commentators, Daniel Levy and Trita Parsi, explain whyHousekeeping
'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 themUnholy War
U.S. Pours Gasoline on Gaza Fires
Once upon a time, Israelis and Palestinians looked to the U.S. to intervene at moments of heightened confrontation to mediate between the two sides and contain the damage. The Bush Administration, however, has proved entirely incapable of playing this role, because its own interventions are hidebou...The Whole World's Africa
South Africa's Racist Present
Guest Column: Sean Jacobs. What to make of the racist torture incident at a South African campusFeatured Analysis
Obama and the 'Jewish Vote'
The problem with Obama, for the Zionist establishment, is that they can't be sure he hates the Palestinians enough. The deeper problem for the Zionist establishment, of course, is that Jewish Americans are flocking to Obama despite their coded warningsAnnals of Globalization
Honey, I Shrank the Superpower
In a snide reference to Bill Clinton's 1992 promise to "build a bridge into the 21st century," Barack Obama recently quipped that what Hillary Clinton really offers is a bridge back into the 20th century. Yet, a bridge back into the last century may be what all the major candidates are offering when...Could Die Laughing
Mearsheimer, Walt and the Erudite Hysteria of David RemnickNew York Moments
The Debka Made ‘Em Do ItFrom Tony's Archive
A Playground Lesson for BushRebellion Into Money
The Rebel Grace of Patti Smith
