Month: April 2008

  • News and Analysis (4/19-20/08)

    Pentagon’s establishes and uses secret relations with TV military analysts to enact “a coherent, active policy” of systematically spinning media coverage in favor of Bush administration policies: Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand (New York Times) Data compiled by US government experts finds 542 out a record-high 658 suicide bombings in 2007 took place in…

  • News and Analysis (4/18/08)

    Although some unease with the Pope’s earlier comments exists, Muslims at the grassroots level enjoy relations … Wary Reception Among Muslims Who Recall Pontiff’s Remark About Muhammad (New York Times) … while the Minaret of Freedom Institute issues a call to the Pope to adopt a scholarly approach towards interfaith dialog: Our Message to the…

  • Our Message to the Pope

    Our Message to the Pope Yesterday, I joined with 150 others Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the John Paul II Cultural Center at Catholic University. There was speculation in advance of the meeting as to the Pope’s sincerity. Would it be an opportunity for true interfaith dialog…

  • Democratization in Turkey: Stumbling Blocks and the Prospects

    On April 15, 2008 Georgetown University hosted former Turkish Parliamentarian Merve Kavakci to discuss “Democratization in Turkey and Stumbling Blocks and the Prospects”. The event was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Muslim Students Association, the Lecture Fund and the International Students Association. The event kicked off with an introduction by Georgetown senior Hafsa Kanjwal. She provided…

  • News and Analysis (4/17/08)

    Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar argues that no peace between the Israelis and Palestinians can be achieved without first allowing discussions to begin without any preconditions… No Peace Without Hamas (Washington Post) …meanwhile 20 Palestinians are killed in Israel’s latest bombing campaign, including 13 civilians and among them were 5 children and a Reuters cameraman: Fighting…

  • The Economic Impact of the Iraq War

    Some critics of the war in Iraq have called for a military draft as means of building pressure for growth in the anti-war movement. They forget that the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam followed the ending of the draft by several months. A draft makes extended unjust wars possible. The popular notion to the contrary is…

  • News and Analysis (4/16/08)

    The surge shows more limitations of its so-called success as 291 Iraqis are killed or wounded, more Iraqi soldiers continue to desert their posts and disagreements arise between the US military and Iraqi government over what do about Sadr’s political and military presence: Tuesday: 2 Marines, 125 Iraqis Killed; 166 Iraqis Wounded (Antiwar.com) Iraqi Unit…

  • News and Analysis (4/15/08)

    Congress pushes back against Big Brother’s encroachment on liberties, by seeking to rein the FBI’s abuse of national security letters through tighter legislation… Lawmakers Want FBI Access to Data Curbed (Washington Post) …and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford slams REAL ID legislation for its lack of debate in Congress and its financial and privacy costs…

  • News and Analysis (4/14/08)

    The Bush administration continues undermining liberties in the name of establishing a (false) sense of security by personally approving systematic torture abuses that have netted hundreds of innocents, like Al-Jazeera reporter Sami al-Haj… Bush Approved Meetings on Interrogation Techniques (Washington Post) The Torture Drawings the Pentagon Doesn’t Want You to See (Alternet) …forging ahead with…

  • News and Analysis (4/12-13/08)

    With increasing pressure to respect the rights of Guantanamo detainees under American law Afghnais are sent to Afghanistan where lawyers allege they are denied their rights under Afghani law: Afghan Detainees Sent Home to Face Closed-Door Trials (Washington Post) President of the New America Foundation, Steven Coll, argues Pakistan’s re-democratization, not Bush’s counterterrorism policies, is…

RSS
Follow by Email