Aug 28 2011
By MJ Rosenberg, 27 Aug 2011 13:21
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It has been just about a decade since Islamophobia exploded in this country. That was of moment that the World Trade Center and Pentagon were hit by al Qaeda terrorists. It existed prior to 9/11, but the losses that day and the general terror it inflicted upon this country made many, many Americans much more wary of Arabs and, fairly quickly, fearful of the religion … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/28/politics-of-hate/
Aug 27 2011
…stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame.
(from a hymn by George Bennard, 1873-1958)
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For at least the last two thousand years, Jerusalem (Yerushaláyim or al-Quds) has been in the business of building tourist attractions for religious pilgrims. Shiny, hi-tech Davidson Center, not far from the spot Constantine’s mother pegged as Golgotha, is but one of the latest and most controversial. Built just a snub and a sneer from one of Islam’s holiest sites, it … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/27/on-a-hill-far-away/
Aug 23 2011
By Robert Fisk, Tuesday, 23 August 2011
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The remaining Arab potentates and tyrants have spent a second sleepless night. How soon will the liberators of Tripoli metamorphose into the liberators of Damascus and Aleppo and Homs? Or of Amman? Or Jerusalem? Or of Bahrain or Riyadh? It’s not the same, of course.
The Arab Spring-Summer-Autumn has proved not just that the old colonial frontiers remain inviolate – an awful tribute to imperialism, I … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/23/ils-sont-les-memes/
Aug 18 2011
The Daily Star, August 17, 2011 01:45 PM
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BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament Wednesday endorsed a law banning smoking in all enclosed public places, including restaurants, bars, cafes and offices.
The law was presented for vote with an amendment that would see owners of businesses fined if they fail to prevent their costumers smoking, and will also fine individuals who violate the ban.
Under the new law tobacco advertising and promotion will be illegal, including … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/18/end-of-a-world/
Aug 17 2011
By Paul Burk, August 2011
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Here we go again. As you know, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, is contemplating a presidential run, which means that any day now, your boss will be sending you down here to take the measure of the man. Though he managed to avoid the 2012 spotlight longer than any other candidate, Perry, the nation’s longest-serving governor, has lately become, in the words of a recent NPR report, “the eight-hundred-pound … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/17/are-you-fired-up/
Aug 17 2011
By Hussein Ibish, August 17, 2011, 6:21pm
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I may be trying people’s patience a little with my recent riff on nationalism in general, and particularly the Israeli and Palestinian versions, but further exchanges with some of my interlocutors, particularly Jewish ones, prompt me to make one final point. I’d like to illustrate how nationalist discourses use sleight-of-hand to create illusions of historical continuity … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/17/how-such-rhetoric-performs/
Aug 16 2011
By Harold Meyerson, Tuesday, August 16, 6:41 PM
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Rick Perry’s Texas is Ross Perot’s Mexico come north. Through a range of enticements we more commonly associate with Third World nations — low wages, no benefits, high rates of poverty, scant taxes, few regulations and generous corporate subsidies — the state has produced its own “giant sucking sound,” attracting businesses from other states to a place where workers come … [more]
Permanent link to this article: http://levantium.com/2011/08/16/manchurian-candidate/
