Apr 27 2009
For the sake of argument, let’s suppose torture works… For the sake of argument, let’s also suppose that 9/11 was inevitable. Let’s suppose that it wasn’t a circus of errors and missed opportunities and hot pursuits that were allowed to grow cold. Let’s suppose that the CIA and the FBI were a model of harmonious …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/04/27/tortured-logic/
Feb 28 2009
Having just finished a book that extols the virtue of harmonizing right-wing elements of Protestant and Roman Catholic Christianity (see http://tinyurl.com/b3levz and http://tinyurl.com/ahashg), I found the following Fisk commentary on papal perspective most interesting. And more than a bit alarming… http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-examine-the-popes-words-and-theres-only-one-thing-to-conclude-1634266.html and/or ttp://tinyurl.com/avwuz3 Fisk’s last paragraph And what do I make of all this? Well, I don’t think the …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/02/28/all-along-the-watchtower/
Feb 25 2009
My suspicion, somewhat validated by the more critical articles I’ve read, is that Colson’s alarmist worldview stems in large part from what he sees as an Islamic encroachment on his prison ministry. He has become a darling of the right-wing “news” entertainment circuit — Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc. — by bashing gays, espousing unregulated capitalism, and hawking Bush’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/02/25/book-review-the-faith/
Feb 21 2009
Since this movie has been much talked about, on this list and among Oscar buzzers, today’s review by Gideon Levy in Haaretz offers a perspective I’ve not seen elsewhere: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1065552.html “…the film is infuriating, disturbing, outrageous and deceptive. It deserves an Oscar for the illustrations and animation – but a badge of shame for its …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/02/21/gideon-levy-waltz-with-bashir/
Jan 08 2009
Friends, Yesterday, Al Staggs sent me the poem-prayer below; he has today given permission to share it so please feel free to pass it along. Al is a former pastor and presently a performer and a poet. He is probably best known for his portrayals of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Clarence Jordan and just recently published a book …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/01/08/a-prayer-for-israel/
Jan 02 2009
Here’s an interesting response from my Irish bard-friend, a linguist (and Russian-language expert) in Dublin… Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:54 PM Subject: Re: AA/ACS Katyusha, Katyusha O’Brien is apparently not aware that the Russian nickname for the small and highly unsophisticated rockets (launched en masse in barrages) that Hamas and Hizbullah use comes from a …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2009/01/02/2-of-2-katyusha-katyusha/
Dec 23 2008
There is an important section in Friedman’s “From Beirut to Jerusalem” that talks about the Phoenician-descent myth that Lebanese Christians invented for themselves, and how the Israelis bought into it hook-line-and-sinker as they were preparing for their first Lebanese invasion and occupation (circa 1980). I continue to be dismayed by how much residual resentment still …
Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2008/12/23/lebanese-ness-and-phoenician-genetic-markers/
