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POPSThe Jew Problem Let's see how many people click on that title! I hope I have your attention now, because this is important! Some politically active Jews, although certainly passionate, often have trouble telling friend from foe. The belief among Jews that the Christian Fundamentalist Evangelical community is a friend is a big mistake. Some worry that Obama is part of the nation of Islam, or Palestinian, or that he won't help Israel. But they think the GOP will. But what is the Christian Right's agenda in helping Israel? Clearly, right-wing evangelical fundamentalists like Hagee have no tenderness or fondness for Jews. They believe Israel is simply a part of God's ultimate plan leading to the apocalypse. Although they support the Jews returning to Israel, they also believe it is Biblical prophecy that there will be continuous warfare, so they don't support peace, but an Israel besieged. Many believe this is the prelude to the final destruction of the Jews by a wrathful God.
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POPSLosing Hearts and Minds; Empowering Extremism Before anyone asks why we aren't winning the War on Terror yet, consider these sad headlines. All around the world, reasonable people are being dragged into the slipstream of extremism. The cause is blatant moral bankruptcy. Greed, corruption and exploitation, fortified behind the twin bastions of ignorance and righteousness, are discrediting the institutions that are instrumental in overcoming extremism, intolerance, and global violence. Particularly America remains the store house of the world's hopes and dreams. We are not merely a nation but an ideal, and we must live up to our promise. Obama and McCain are both men of admirable morals and transparent character. Meanwhile, as Hillary obfuscates over her finances, we must realize she lacks the moral authority needed to restore America's international credibility. Being Righteous is not nearly as important as being Right.
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POPSThe Miracle of Jihad This is the opposite perspective that any American should consider very carefully, especially if they espouse military strategy. Although we see them as "Evil" and "Terrorists" of course, they don't see themselves that way. Since the Napoleon's expedition in Egypt, the Islamic world has found itself besieged by overwhelming European Empires. Although once the dominant force that defeated Europe, with the decline of the Ottoman and Persian Empires, they found themselves weak and helpless against the Europeans. During the 20th century, when much of the Islamic world was colonized, this anxiety became acute. Now, against an overwhelming enemy of superior strength, they are winning back ground. To us it is a disaster, but to them it is a miracle. It is to some in the Islamic world what the American Revolution was for us - a victory of the people. Ask yourself: If I were not blinded by my social context, would I still believe as I do?
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POPSDebating the Color of Europe: Point-Counterpoint between Marine Le Pen and Tariq Ramadan What people fail to appreciate is that Europe was never as pure as we imagine it. Western culture developed in tandem with Eastern culture, not separately. Most European ethnicities originally came from Central Asian populations. The process of redefinition and cultural influence has been going on in Europe for centuries. Short-sighted people like Le Pen are not just foolish for wanting to stop it, but for even thinking they can. A culture cannot isolate itself from the world. This was true during the Medieval Crusades, and it is even more true today. Immigration is the fundamental nature of man. Isolation is the basic reaction of the ignorant and fearful. Of course, Europe has never been bashful about imposing its culture over local cultures around the world. Could the immigration debate be a vestigial reflex of imperialism?
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POPSThe Cost of the Iraq War: A Pundit's Guilt This is a stark moment of humanity for Christopher Hitchens, who I must admit, is not always a lovable character. He has had to soberly (or, maybe not soberly!) face the consequences of his punditry. Political opinions do not exist in a vacuum. These are not simply ideas we are talking about. This nation is overwhelmed with flippant armchair strategists on both sides who have no real understanding of what is actually going on. The Iraq War isn't a failure of American ideals, it is a disaster of well-meaning ignorance.
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POPSHistory of Coffee Austin's clipping brought to you by: COFFEE! It is my firm belief that coffee is at the root of all modern western scholarship.
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POPSThe Spread of Ideologies: ClipCast v. The Rise of Bengali Islam Although I've always enjoyed using clipmarks as a tool to research social trends and ideologies, with Clipcast, Clipmarks is rapidly becoming a subject worthy of such research itself. Consider this: The effect of making Clipmarks (and it's community of ardent followers) mobile, and capable of organizing in more than one internet context is remarkably similar to the way in which Islam spread over much of South and South Eastern Asia. For those who are interested, I heartily suggest reading Richard Eaton's "The Rise of Islam on the Bengal Frontier." I've clipped its thesis here. It is one of the most interesting and insightfully approaches to understanding the interaction between social and ideological groups. It goes well beyond the coarse but popular theories of war and mercantilism in explaining the reason for Islamic success in a part of the world that America has failed miserably at influencing.
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POPSRHETORIC OF HATE In case you didn't know this week is "Islamo-Fascist Awareness week on over 200 campuses" If that makes you as sick as it makes me wear green to show your support for the islamic world, muslim americans, and just being a human f*cking being. This is the rhetoric of hatred and intolerance - FIGHT IT.
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POPSThe Biggest Threat to the West Lies Within Itself, Not with Islam Simon Jenkins on threats to peace and democracy. This defeatism led the American Congress to allow its president to authorise torture and detention without trial in what Senator Robert Byrd called “the slow unravelling of the people’s liberties”. It enabled a British Home Office to curb free speech and habeas corpus. It arms police, fortifies buildings and impedes the free movement of citizens. It makes every Christian suspicious of every Muslim.
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POPSKilling Missionaries - Travesty or Fair Game? Not to suggest in anyway that it is not unfortunate that these two South Koreans lost their lives, but I don't think anyone can say they can't figure out how oh how this all could ever happen. Lets face it you go into a Taleban hotbed promoting a religious Islamic state and you try to convert people to Christianity thinking you'll survive on Christ love alone occupational risks be damned - Guess what Jesus may love you but he ain't Rambo - you're on your own. Seriously when someone commits the act of disrespecting other cultures in order to propagate one's own ideology in a war zone where battle lines are drawn on ideologies, are these people victims? Or are they instead casualties to their cause? Perhaps it is time to reevaluate these global church institutions - are they really selfless? are they really performing humanitarian work? and when they get people killed are they responsible? No offense meant, and all comments welcome
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POPSIslam, Turkey, and Why We Should Be Worried...
By "Centers of Evil" General Buyukanit is referring to the likely future president of his country, as well as the majority of their parliament. Now I know that calling a President evil has become kinda banal lately for most Americans, but I think this guy sounds like he means business. (Although what 'evil' means to a secularist is up for grabs, I guess!) What will the US do? On the one hand we might fall into the old pattern of supporting a military coup over an inconvenient democratic election. (We've done it before... a lot!) This would just re-confirm for the rest of the world their belief that America is anti-democratic and imperialistic. It would send a disastrous message to the Afghans and Iraqis, forever damaging our ability to convince them that we are not invaders. What is more, it would confirm for many that the US is anti-Islamic. But on the other hand, does anyone have the political stones to embrace and protect an Islamic Democracy?
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POPSTragic Escalation This is another tragedy burst open as Iraqi society loses its coherence. But do not think that these Islamic militants are barbaric or insane. That would be just as wrong as saying the same of the American soldiers. They are simply one more crowd caught up in a moral earthquake. They are enveloped in a conflict so savage and so pervasive that it obscures the horizons. Like a giant storm, from with in there is no memory of normal life, and no one can see out to the sunny world of peace and happiness. One atrocity builds upon another untill there is no sanity left in the world at all. Having unleashed this conflict, I can't help but feel we all bear part of the responsibility. Not just the conservatives who didn't think through the consequences of their actions. Not just the liberals who only made empty symbolic gestures of resistance. Even myself, who was too proud to compromise and participate when I might have made a difference. And now I am heartbroken.
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POPSName Terrorism As a conniseur of radical Islamic groups, its too bad to see the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (one of the coolest names for a terrorist group) change it's name to the much more boring Al Qaeda knock-off. But what does this mean? Do they actually share the goals of Al Qaeda, and upon which Al Qaeda was founded? Maybe, but then again maybe not. I think what it shows is that the Al Qaeda network, and the name have gained significant credibility around the world thanks to the foreign policy failures of the Bush Administration.
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POPSHostages, Negotiation, and Misunderstanding Cultural Norms I am sure that "terrorist" is a term few people apply to themselves. This gets at a core component that is missing in our military and diplomatic strategy: know your "enemy." The government says it doesn't negotiate with terrorists, but they overlook the fact that traditionally, in Arab and Islamic societies, exchanging hostages was (and still is) a common part mediating conflicts. In Islam, many crimes, especially murder, are punished by secular authorities through fines or blood money. Exchanging money and hostages has been business as usual in the Middle East, and it isn't thought of as a terrorist tactic. In cases where Islamic communities have taken hostages, killing them has been a new development, in response to Americas puzzling unwillingness to negotiate like civilized people. We should also consider that those we take prisoner, especially the non-combatants, and hold in Guantanamo or Abu Grhaib can be viewed as hostages we have taken. Not negotiating is a bad strategy.
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POPSMath Behind Ancient Islamic Tile Patterns Decoded When Peter J. Lu traveled to Uzbekistan, he had no idea of the mathematical journey that he was about to embark on as well. See the full research article as published in Science . It's a wonderful example of original, multidisciplinary academic research bridging history and mathematics that happens to force us to re-think the sophistication of ancient geometrical knowledge. When Lu looked at photographs of Islamic buildings, he found that he could break the patterns on their surfaces up into the same shapes, even though the shapes often weren't immediately visible. "I couldn't sleep for days," he said. "I skipped Christmas break to work on it."
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