baghdad skies

2004-04-11T08:25:00.000Z

Baghdadskies continues in Baghdadskies 2

2004-04-08T09:07:00.000Z

REPOST & COMMENT 9 APRIL 03The U.S. is a clever, benign nation - but brash and naive in certain respects. The reason why the Stars and Stripes ended up covering Saddam's statue in Firdos Square on 9 April 2003 - before it was removed and replaced with a less decorously tucked in Iraqi flag - is that the U.S. does not seem to have officers in charge of its soldiers at critical times. Do they

2004-04-07T10:09:00.000Z

The chaos theory in action Mark LeVine, assistant professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Co-editor, with Pilar Perez and Viggo Mortensen, of Twilight of Empire: Responses to Occupation (Perceval Press, 2003) and author of the forthcoming tentatively titled, Why They Don't Hate Us: Islam and the World in the Age of Globalization (Oneworld Publications, 2004). "It is

2004-04-01T23:18:00.000Z

UK Muslims dazed and Britains confused I wrote it straight down. On the premier British news and comment programme on Radio 4, "Today", interviewer John Humphreys asked the usual sort of "where do your loyalties lie" sort of questions of a pillar of the British Muslim community, who dodged and weaved so annoyingly that Humphreys sounded if he was going to blow a fuse. The answer that made any

2004-04-01T07:50:00.000Z

swapping Husseins Great Guardian piece by replacement Baghdad Blogger Ghaith Abdul Ahad The modern Voltaires amongst you will be tearing your hair out and laughing like drains in equal measure. Though, to be honest, beyond the tragic-comic images of over-heated young students on the campus, I fear that this tripe will get worse before it gets better. Unless an Iraqi government lays down the

2004-03-31T11:45:00.000Z

Hillary and Tenzing I was going to start this personal memory with a recollection that was stimulated by recently accessing a site to do with the economic/commercial concerns of Iraq. Before I do so, I think I ought to congratulate Faiza on starting her Arabic course. I hope you will keep putting up vocab and useful everyday phrases. I would love to learn tp speak Arabic again. I remember my

2004-03-27T22:05:00.000Z

www.reason.com An article by Nir Rosen which I was directed to by long extracts in Juan Cole's latests posts. Is this Shia technocrat Chalabi? Guardian 27 March 2004, Jonathan Steele in baghdad

2004-03-26T08:56:00.000Z

Ahmad Chalabi This 26 March 2004 New York Times piece on Chalbi's current position is an interesting insight into the shifting tides of Iraqi politics post 9/3(2003). I didn't know his organisation was being paid a retainer by the Dept. of Defence to keep a tab on things. I wouldn't have thought this was a very good way of ingratiating himself with the Iraqi people. The big question is

2004-03-25T21:56:00.000Z

Rashid Street Looking for street maps of Baghdad I came up with this atmospheric 2003 piece from Al Ahram.

2004-03-25T09:47:00.000Z

A way forward I have posted up the text of the interim constitution and with it an article by Juan and Shahin Cole on Women in the constitution. Last night on the BBC2 TV programme, "Newsnight", Salam Pax did a piece (the second so far) on the Shia celebrations in Karbala. I am not sure but I think he was saying he was Shia, though he seemed constitutionally unsuited to blood-letting in

2004-03-23T12:03:00.000Z

ABU HADI'S FIRST POST Hi everybody, Tuesday 22 March 1200H Abu Hadi's first letter is now up on baghdadjournal * You can get to this from the main page link below, or the side link (top left). ** Any problems accessing it from the links, try typing in the whole website address www.baghdadjournal.blogspot.com into your web browser, then remember to save the website in your

2004-03-22T11:33:00.000Z

Abu Hadi Messages will be coming through from your friend at baghdadjournal.blogspot.com The link is at the top right, for your convenience.

2004-03-22T11:27:00.000Z

what do islamists mean when they talk about democracy? Lee Smith, who apparently lives in Brooklyn and Cairo (Is this man a Gulliver?), asks this question in Slate, under the title, One Immam, One vote. There are several important links and references to book titles.

2004-03-19T20:39:00.000Z

Abu Hadi Messages will be coming through from your friend at baghdadjournal.blogspot.com The link is at the top right, for your convenience.

2004-03-19T19:40:00.000Z

Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri I posted this link a few weeks ago to a long, interesting and informative article in The New Yorker about this Egyptian doctor who is said to be the brains behind Al Qaeda. It is well worth a read for anyone keen to understand much of the history of the Middle East (in particular, but not exclusively, Egypt) from the days of Saddat (and before). And, more importantly, to

2004-03-07T17:51:00.000Z

new link Re-oranising my hard-drive, I came across an article by Henry Pachter in Logos. The link to the home page is now up. There is an author/ index page, which lists alphabeticaly, from which you can find many older articles discussing the Middle East and Iraq. Pachter 's piece,Who are the Palestinians?, takes us through the whole history and is useful for anyone coming to it this

2004-02-17T16:57:00.000Z

repost > from Saturday, March 29, 2003 Gargoni 1953. Our first house in Baghdad was a single storey Californian style villa, with walled garden, on the eastern edge of the old colonial estate in Alwiyah, where Gertrude Bell may have lived for a while in one of those mud-walled, whitewashed colonial bungalows in large, luxuriously verdant gardens. I think they had thatched roofs. Memory is

2004-02-13T11:13:00.000Z

some more background on Iraq Debate (1) "A scholar argues that Bush's doctrine of preemption has deep roots in American history." Laura Secor, Globe Staff, 2/8/2004, summary of Yale historian John Lewis Gaddis' thinking, plus counter arguments (2) Opendemocracy 5 February 2004 Iraqi realities, American dilemmas: a New York debate "What political choices should the United States now

2004-02-13T10:11:00.000Z

murder and mayhem I am sure I was not the only person to feel shocked to the core and very, very upset to see the pointless carnage in Baghdad and environs in the last week. One particular thing jerked my heart strings: a UK TV reporter interviewed a recruit - a man in his 40s who said he was an engineer - who in broken English explained that he loved being an engineer, but that he loved Iraq

2004-02-07T11:31:00.000Z

Bernard Lewis's influence on US Middle East policy This WSJ article on Bernard Lewis, the British born historian, might be described as a primer on current US Iraq policy. It is is quite balenced, mentioning Edward Said's "Orientalism" as well. Chris at worldinquiry.blogspot.com beat me to it on this one, quoting from it at length.

2004-02-05T09:57:00.000Z

"Say no more... [tap nose]...nudge-nudge, wink-wink -- Monty Python Anthony Barnett's article in OpenDemocracy is a favourite of mine. What can the ordinary guy say that hasn't already been said more fluently by others about my Prime Minister's dubious leadership in foreign policy over Iraq? But here we get more to the nub. I do not need to repeat Barnett's notions in my words. Read it for

2004-01-17T18:56:00.000Z

What took them so long? Women in Iraq Decry Decision To Curb Rights - Council Backs Islamic Law on Families Pamela Constable Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, January 16, 2004 comment Riverbend also talks long and hard on this one. When you hear this retrograde thinking, it becomes clear that the religious groups realise they will have no power in the New Iraq, so are trying to

2004-01-15T18:59:00.000Z

· Can you be racist about a Muslim? Excellent article on Islamophobia by Theodore Dalrymple - provoked by the debate on UK talk-show host Kilroy-Silk's outburst on "the Arabs" in the Express newspaper last week.

2004-01-15T14:59:00.000Z

heroic Iraqis New York Times Colourful piece on two heroic Iraqis I'll give 'em £10 towards a robot [ rubber tracked things they used in Northern Ireland] What about y' all? Can someone organise the funding?

2004-01-13T13:12:00.000Z

CIA "The National Intelligence Council has begun a project that will help uncover the most important influences that will shape our world to the year 2020. This ambitious, yearlong study will engage a broad range of foreign and domestic experts who will be challenged to think in new and provocative ways about the forces that will drive global developments"

2004-01-13T13:00:00.000Z

Ha'aratz reports Syrian President Bashar Assad ready to resume peace negotiations with Israel without any preconditions and if Israel insists, from the starting point, according to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (Dem.-Florida), who met with Assad on Saturday. According to the senator, Assad repeated those assertions several times during their meeting, saying that while he believes it would be best -

2004-01-12T09:40:00.000Z

news update No sooner is there a fag packet analysis than the news tells us that Israel and Syria are to have talks! This must must be all to the good.

2004-01-11T11:30:00.000Z

another link from neo-troll A Seattle Times piece about Syria back of cigarette packet analysis Though not an expert on the Middle East, I have read enough over the years to understand that certain states in the region - unable to do so in any other way - project power through proxy wars and other political, military, terrorist activities. In the same position I would probably use the same

2004-01-10T12:48:00.000Z

background A 1999 Le Monde article with some background details

2004-01-08T13:12:00.000Z

theories of forgetting BABYLON Father took all the photographs we still possess and he only appears in a one or two. Though he liked taking photographs, he hated appearing in them. With a casual glance these two photographs look identical: only with further examination is it clear that these are "before" and "after" shots. Both show a lady in long flowery skirt and white short-sleeve top, a

2004-01-08T08:49:00.000Z

New Yorker article Headed THE MAN BEHIND BIN LADEN, How an Egyptian doctor became a master of terror, written by LAWRENCE WRIGHT Issue 16 September 2002 this long and informative piece details the history of fundamentalism from its source in pre-Nasser Egypt, showing connection between Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Usama bin Laden and Said Qutb's ideas. Good detail on Qutb : biog. & philosophy.

2004-01-04T10:02:00.000Z

Palestinian Authority Sermons 2000-2003

2004-01-03T08:52:00.000Z

Oh, What? A Proxy War? Glenn Reynolds hits one into the crowd Glenn links to European Union Parliament member Ilka Schroeder's address entitled, "The European Union, Israel, and Palestinian Terrorism" at the Center for German Studies of Ben Gurion University on Monday. and, Transition Complications > Who the Coalition is facing in Iraq. By Amir Taheri at Guest Comment, NRO,

2003-12-31T12:18:00.000Z

how the U.S. did it in Central America link courtesy of Neo-Troll how the British did it in the 1920s * links to source material from GlobalPolicy Forum - many articles relate directly to current events ** This organisation appears to be a UN set-up so will necessarily be "anti-American". Needs must - if you want to find facts you have to dodge and weave through the sources....

2003-12-30T19:34:00.000Z

overview Attacks Force Retreat From Wide-Ranging Plans for Iraq Rajiv Chandrasekaran Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, December 28, 2003

2003-12-30T11:06:00.000Z

Neo-Troll comments Neo-Troll posted this link on the events in 1963. Titled: CIA Lists Provide Basis for Iraqi Bloodbath By Hanna Batatu the article is an excerpt from The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978). "Hanna Batatu describes the ferocious violence of the Ba`athists when they came to power in their first coup in

2003-12-30T10:47:00.000Z

new year's review The Observer Sunday December 28, 2003 The year Britain invaded Iraq - and tore itself apart "War against Saddam divided friends, families, nations, and traditional alliances. And here at The Observer two of our leading writers held opposing positions in their weekly columns. In this sharp exchange of views as the year closes, David Aaronovitch and Mary Riddell tackle head-on

2003-12-29T09:08:00.000Z

TAWHID Saudi Arabia's two most powerful princes have taken opposing sides in this debate: Abdullah tilts toward the liberal reformers and seeks a rapprochement with the United States, whereas Nayef sides with the clerics and takes direction from an anti-American religious establishment that shares many goals with al Qaeda.

2003-12-26T11:07:00.000Z

have a Happy Xmas but don't stop thinking..... This link is to a Washington Post opinion piece, After Iraq, Shrinking Horizons Morton Abramowitz Thursday, July 31, 2003; Page A19 And while you are at it stay with the WP for Bush the Believer By Richard Cohen Tuesday, July 22, 2003; Page A17 for a Yule Tide Morality tale.....

2003-12-24T18:16:00.000Z

santa's cut his beard off but is still planning to hand out presents Perhaps they ought to take all that money they gave Pakistan back.....

2003-12-21T17:07:00.000Z

full access to baghdadskies * This site does not fully load in Internet Explorer since it was constructed through Netscape v. 7.1 * If you wish to see the side links use Netscape, Mozilla or other browser * It is possible to open up several browsers at the same time the pity, or lack of it Inside Saddam’s Mouth > Open democracy > Anthony Barnett > 18 - 12 - 2003 when a beard

2003-12-21T12:33:00.000Z

Rumsfeld Visited Baghdad in 1984 to Reassure Iraqis, Documents Show

2003-12-20T10:26:00.000Z

ludo a conversation in three easy pieces * My Friend, What do you think of these three? Aristotle: Poetics "Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of activity, not a quality. Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions -

2003-12-20T05:45:00.000Z

hijab in the heat nawar says: "Because the things I need are so many it got to the point where it started negatively affecting my mood, and that didn't need another thing bothering it, I finally decided to go to the market. Ignoring, although only superficially, the danger and trouble of going out without veil specially to a place like the market. I wore for the first time a very wide and long

2003-12-19T09:29:00.000Z

Alaa posts "Although I dislike the subject, I have to put in this before leaving. You give the subject of Religion too much importance. Sectarianism is not about religion, it is about temporal privileges. Iraq in particular has never been a theocracy, and will never be one. The matter simply is not as important to us as you think." comment (1)Those who do not believe in God fear the use of

2003-12-19T09:04:00.000Z

Iraqis > where are they now? Farthil Jamali, Minister of Culture, 1958

2003-12-19T08:31:00.000Z

NIETZCHE On the Use and Abuse of History for Life, 1873 Thus the beast lives unhistorically, for it gets up in the present like a number without any odd fraction left over; it does not know how to play a part, hides nothing, and appears in each moment exactly and entirely what it is. Thus a beast can be nothing other than honest. By contrast, the human being resists the large and ever

2003-12-18T22:24:00.000Z

question Amy Lamboley asks for an, ",,, explanation of how functionally excluding deeply religious children from public education could possibly help heal the growing religious divides in French society? I would like to think that there is some motivation for this legislation beyond a desire to keep French society looking stereotypically French, but I am having a great deal of trouble

2003-12-18T21:38:00.000Z

meme NYT > "Coming Soon to Arab TV's : U.S." By Jim Rutenberg December 17, 2003 I have always said that a media onslaught was the way to win hearts and minds - certainly more effective than the British Council Summer Tour. Though we must not totally denigrate the efforts of more sedate ways of pushing our culture and values. It is just that an unbiased professional TV & radio project such

2003-12-18T02:24:00.000Z

Iraqis struggling & coming to terms Fine New Yorker colour piece on every day life for ordinary Iraqis

2003-12-17T22:54:00.000Z

Zebari kicks ass at UN NYT reported 16 December Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari castigated the UN for: "... having failed to help rescue his country from Saddam Hussein, and he chided member states for bickering over his beleaguered country's future." an Egyptian view confirms Zebari's claims Al Ahram,11 - 17 December 2003, Issue No. 668, Opinion runs an interesting article by

2003-12-17T10:01:00.000Z

The Unmentionable Name's future, short or long? Healing Iraq posts up some new adverts including this bust your sides one Reasons for secularism # 1 We want to hear the sweet sound of music.... At a Glance Says this : ....they were insisting on the execution penalty. BUT, I say Saddam should not be executed, he should imprisoned for the rest of his life and watch how Iraq, the country

2003-12-17T02:08:00.000Z

Ctesiphon We used to believeCtesiphon was something to do with Nebuchadnezzar. Standing under that arch the first thing you'd ask would be, How does it stay up? I did, as a young boy, when I stood right in the middle, straining my neck back, awestruck. A family day out involved a visit to the ruins and, later, to a nearby shrine, which we went inside, though we weren't Muslim: in the centre was

2003-12-16T21:00:00.000Z

why are some Sunni angry about TUN's capture ? My text for this is: "By hegemony, Gramsci meant the permeation throughout society of an entire system of values, attitudes, beliefs, and morality that has the effect of supporting the status quo in power relations. Hegemony in this sense might be defined as an "organising principle" that is diffused by the process of socialisation into every area

2003-12-16T20:08:00.000Z

hot off the TV Israelis have made a gun which fires around corners. It is being trialed immediately. True. I saw it being used on Palestinians with my very eyes! Perhaps they could use their undoubted ingenuity to quickly design a blind man's white stick that sees round corners, while they are at it. Send Yasser Arafat - and to be strictly impartial, Ariel Sharon - job lots to try out?

2003-12-16T09:04:00.000Z

16 December 2003 EveTushNet asks her readers to re-read the Reason.com article of January 2003 Should We Invade Iraq? discussion by John Mueller and Brink Lindsey Eve has a compilation of We Got Him! Iraqi reaction. She has posted up memorable abstracts from these Iraq Blogs. I like this from HealingIraq "...When he announced 'We got him' everyone in the room cheered out loud. The

2003-12-15T13:29:00.000Z

The Unmentionable Name checked out by his former friends So close to achieving his evil aim Source > Telegraph (UK) author > David Blair 15 December 2003 * profile * ambitions - achievements BBC > Iraq Economics

2003-12-15T10:21:00.000Z

What Next in Iraq? Source > Time.com author > Tony Karon Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003

2003-12-15T08:45:00.000Z

In Iraq, an Ayatollah We Shouldn't Ignore Source > Washington Post Author > Robin Wright Date > Sunday, December 14, 2003

2003-12-15T04:26:00.000Z

comment > Prof. Coles's Latest Post Pre-empted his piece in my earlier posts, but he says it better. We both agree that this is the last chance for the radical Shii to make a mark. It could amount to a Revolution within the Occupation. Practically speaking, if forces occupied key areas in central Baghdad, - excluding the red Zone - the Coalition military would be in a fix. If they removed the

2003-12-15T02:30:00.000Z

SADDAM IN CUSTODY Time Online's BRIAN BENNETT details the interrogation ATTITUDES IN ARAB COUNTRIES Short summaries country by country and Links to articles

2003-12-14T20:02:00.000Z

GO FOR THE LAOGAI The Iraqi crisis is surely not over, though Iraqis in Iraq can breath a further sigh of relief that they will not be terrorised for criticising the former leader and his regime. Pundits say there will be more bombs and bullets to follow - it will get even worse before it bets a bit better. In a sense, the story is now over. Logically, the US will stay in Iraq in the medium

2003-12-14T18:16:00.000Z

IRAQIS Straight rip from BuzzM: apologies for wrap failure in letter A most wonderful post... from Iraq This week, I got the best email I have received since ... well, since there has been email. Some of you will remember that I've been pushing the idea that Iraq needs weblogs to free the voices of the Iraqi people in Iraq and in the world. I said we needed a thousand Salam Paxes. Well,

2003-12-14T17:10:00.000Z

no more bets Baghdadskies Bookies No More Bets Goitres 1723 GMT AN UNATTRIBUTABLE SOURCE CLAIMS: TUM's safely tucked up in his bunk on USS {x} - slightly sea-sick mind you - a nice cup of cocoa, watching Fox. Those nice Americans have also seen to it that he has some cream to sooth his sore face: never had such a quick shave in years. Claimed he asked, very politely, if he can

2003-12-14T12:50:00.000Z

AND HERE'S WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE NOW Now you know why I was making jokes about beards.......

2003-12-14T12:39:00.000Z

TRUE OR NOT > does it matter any more ? September 11 terrorist 'trained by Saddam'

2003-12-14T12:12:00.000Z

FEEL LUCKY? Place your bets!! Book on Comments! Odds at 12112 GMT <<2:1>> *that TUM will be shifted pronto onto an aircraft carrierby night fall*

2003-12-14T12:05:00.000Z

bbc.co.uk

2003-12-14T11:16:00.000Z

BBC Radio 4 News 1103 GMT The Unmentionable Name reported captured in Tikrit - found in a cellar now read this Despite the Prof. not having posted this news, 'cos he's probably tucked up in bed with night-cap on, his last two posts are the core of the discussion about what will happen now. What will Ayatollah Sistani and the Islamic Parties announce in relation to TUM's

2003-12-14T09:44:00.000Z

Is that Beirut 43-67-03 ? When we were teenagers in the 60s a joke was doing the rounds, which I always found very funny. A man rings up a house. A little girl answers the phone. He asks, "Is mother there?" "Yes, she's upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Jo. I'll call her. MaaaaaaaaM! Dad's on the phone." There is a great commotion, which he can hear over the phone. He asks the girl to go up

2003-12-13T06:16:00.000Z

La' la' lil irhab. Na'am, na'am lil dimucratiya. Iraqis for the "Occupation" By Dr. Walid Phares December 11, 2003 "...open participation of labor unions. Unexpectedly, Iraqi workers were the most excited participants in the march against Wahabi and Baathist Terror. "We need factories, we need peace, no fascists, no fanatics," sang the laborites, as though they were in Manchester or Detroit

2003-12-13T03:28:00.000Z

IRAQIS Profile: Entifadh Qanbar

2003-12-12T05:16:00.000Z

PHILO AND THEO Sounding more like characters in the sumptiousness of Lawrence Durrell's half-imagined Egypt than the core, the essence, the supposed root of the debate between Islam and the West - that between the philosophers of liberalism and the theologians of Islam - according to a recent NYT commentary on the life and works of Sayyid Qutb, hanged by Nasser in 1966. Paul Berman, The

2003-12-11T19:33:00.000Z

A RECENT VISITOR ForNow put me right on a few points of stylistics & constitutionology and looks like a winner. He recommmends this article which I am now going to read accompanied by a substantial glass of Tempranillo and a welcome roll up. God bless you all. We'll get there. I feel it in my bones. Long live enlightened progressive thought (and action), or any thinking, actually. As for

2003-12-11T18:56:00.000Z

An Iraqi, who should know about these things, has said: "I am beginning to think that a Hasmite king (whichever pretender does not matter in this ugly game of politics), perhaps even would be the best solution to save Iraq from going headlong into the abyss. After all, England, the oldest democracy in Europe, is a monarchy, and after all, our mother England --well, you know General Maude and

2003-12-10T03:44:00.000Z

SAYWELL, WRITE WELL Standing at the door in trepidation, holding my mother's hand, probably rather tightly. After a short interval, an elderly white-haired lady - with a severe hair-do in the style of Agatha Christie's elderly female detective, Mrs. Marple - arrived. This was the legendary, indomitable Mrs. Saywell. September, 1953. I was five in the previous April: it was my first day at the

2003-12-08T10:09:00.000Z

LEHRER INTERVIEWS JUAN COLE with GARY SICK ON SISTANI'S DEMOCRATIC CREDENTIALS Aardvark questions prof's assertion that Sistani is a democrat. This is the PBS interview Aardvark based his views on. COLE CLARIFIES HIS POSITION Abu Aardvark questioned my description of Sistani as a pure democrat. What I meant by that was only that in his fatwas since June, he has consistently said that

2003-12-07T11:29:00.000Z

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Robert Fisk entertains.

2003-12-07T10:30:00.000Z

ARGUFY ? ARDVAARK v. OLD KING COLE Ardvaark replies: [empahasis added] [..] agree with Cole completely {..}, although [..] Sistani's thought [..] rests on an important distinction between government (hakumah) and sovereignty (siyada). Government can rest with the people, but sovereignty is reserved for god; the trick is to determine what aspects of life are legitimately within the bounds of

2003-12-07T07:52:00.000Z

SELIM 2 One evening, quite late - probably in the summer of '56 - there was a loud altercation outside on the pavement. Nothing could be seen because the garden wall was so high, but the rumour circulating was that it involved a member of Selim's family. In the morning, I went through the door onto the wide pavement, finding, to my horror and fascination, that there was a now dried trail of

2003-12-06T08:10:00.000Z

RECENT POST FROM JUAN COLE Census Plan bypasses IGC verbatim: THE IRAQI CENSUS BUREAU Made up a plan that would have allowed a census to be completed by September 1, but the plan was immediately rejected by the US and did not reach the Interim Governing Council before their Nov. 15 vote on creating a transitional government through caucus elections. According to AFP, angry council members

2003-12-05T07:37:00.000Z

GRAND AYATOLLAH SISTANI Guardian gives extended profile based an article by Amir Tahiri in Asharq Al-Awsat. Hammorabi (Wednesday, December 03) has filled out more of the gaps from an Arabic website. BBC gives potted biogs of some of the major players. SISTANI = SIEYES Elsewhere argued, tongue in cheek, Sistanti for the role of Sieyes in The French Revolution Game. Please give me

2003-12-03T18:08:00.000Z

ZARA KAZEMI A disgusting, terrifying, informative programme on UK channel 4 TV, Wednesday 2 December, Iran Undercover, on the death of Zara Kazemi, who was beaten to death on 10 July 2003, by people linked to the Iranian Prosecutor General. Zara, a Canadian Iranian, had lived outside Iran for years. She made the mistake of being caught filming student protests, was arrested and beaten.

2003-12-03T12:33:00.000Z

Baghdadskies recollections of a childhood in Baghdad in the 1950s, useful links and some ideas on current events

2003-12-02T10:47:00.000Z

Baghdadskies recollections of a childhood in Baghdad in the 1950s, useful links and some ideas on current events

2003-12-02T10:34:00.000Z

ACCESSING BAGHDADSKIES > PROBLEMS WITH SIDE LINKS * I use Netscape 7.1 for accessing Blogger and of course, for adding the HTML through the Blogger site. * Accessing Baghdadskies with Internet Explorer seems to leave out links * Would be grateful for reports if you use IE (state version) * If you Netscape/Mozilla (or other) please confirm if links are present * If you

2003-12-02T00:56:00.000Z

COMCAST.NET COMCAST have done a piece from Associated Press on who they think the guerrillas are. A nice touch: the description of how the FBI team worked out who had carried out one of the attacks. It goes against my principles to go into the technical side of things. I just like forensics. There is a link on that page to a piece on the Palestinian/Israeli "Accord" reported on British TV

2003-12-01T17:41:00.000Z

IRAQIS Imad Khadduri Profile by Riverbend * Baghdad in the 1950s and 60s * Quotes from Imad Khadduri's book * available by instalment online "Iraq's Nuclear Mirage"

2003-12-01T12:59:00.000Z

NEW LINKS 1 DECEMBER O3 Following the theme of, Is Democracy the Right Model for Iraq? (1) Interview with Bush > he mentions the notion of "a democracy suitable for Iraq" (2) The Mises Review has a series of articles, including these two "Stand alone" book reviews: * Blood for Unity : Why We Fight : Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism * The Trouble with Democracy

2003-11-30T17:40:00.000Z

WHY IRAQ? No not the invasion. Have you ever asked yourself why media and bloggers are concentrating on Iraq rather than, say, troubled states in Africa or Asia? There was a surfeit of Warblogging in the early days, but they seemed to have dissolved into the morning mist - at the hint of less carnage and military hardware - to be replaced by the politicos, of course. The warblogging seems, on

2003-11-29T18:22:00.000Z

WILL NATIONALISM PLAY ANY PART IN THE NEW IRAQ? "Nationalism has been a long illness since the 19th. Century. Dictators take advantage very effectively. If France cannot recover from the sickness of nationalism, what hope is there for countries where the peoples have no information?" Mario Vargo Llosa Rather disappointed at not having any offers for a debate on the topic of, shall we call it,

2003-11-29T11:56:00.000Z

REAL IRAQ Iraqis challenge 'Arabism', Thomas L. Friedman, Times Union, 17.08.03 Mock me for coming to this a tad late, but there is no date stamp on the facts, ideas and values (FIV) expressed here. Propose to do regular profiles of 'Real Iraqis'. Some copy from Real Iraqis about Real Iraqis would be welcome. * politicians * intellectuals * poets, artists, musicans * top 10 players

2003-11-29T10:38:00.000Z

NEW LINK : CURRENT AFFAIRS iraq-today.com

2003-11-29T09:26:00.000Z

NEW LINK Salam seems to have filled up his tank with good quality Iraqi petrol (or gas if you are from the New World)

2003-11-29T06:54:00.000Z

RELIGIONS OF THE BOOK Stimulated, after reading Mess Pots latest post, to relay something interesting I read. Umberto Ecco, the Italian professor of semiotics and well-known novelist ("Name of the Rose", "Foucault's Pendulum", etc), prolific writer for press, recently gave a lecture at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on the subject of "Vegetal and Mineral memory: The Future of Books. In it he

2003-11-28T09:01:00.000Z

DOES BAGHDADSKIES HAVE SIDE LINKS? I use Netscape 7.1 for accessing Blogger and of course, for adding the HTML, but I checked out the site using Internet Explorer (5 or 6) tonight - to my horror the side links are not there ! I would be greatful if you access Baghdadskies with Explorer, if you would report what it looks, or, if you use Netscape/Mozilla and Explorer let me know if there

2003-11-27T12:01:00.000Z

< NEW LINKS > CHENEY'S ROLE Via Issandr El Amrani found Josh Marshall's link to a set of three articles, "What Cheney Really Believes", in New Republic Online. SEE side link CHENEY < COMMENT > RICH MIX A blogger yesterday wrote he was going to stop writing about Iraq because there were enough indigenous Iraqi weblogs - currently about 10 or so - to make his remarks superfluous. I

2003-11-27T07:50:00.000Z

Issandr El Amrani has made up for his excuses in not posting to encourage us to read Josh marshall. How refreshingly informative he is, too, about The Power That Is. This is a stimulus to read more and try to think less. However, I can't resist saying something. I seem to have good instincts on this. Only yesterday I was reheating the notion that the U.S. would tolerate a certain amount of

2003-11-26T13:16:00.000Z

< DEBATE > REPLY TO FIRAS AL ATRAQCHI In The Iraqi Governing Council Continues to Baffle Firas, a Canadian-Iraqi journalist, with knowledge of Middle East issues, oil and gas markets and the telecom industry, reports disapprovingly on the appointment of an American Iraqi woman to the position of Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. Dear Firas, You are right in what you say, but who else is available

2003-11-25T17:16:00.000Z

Dad (2) This particular day I regularly recall in cinematic detail. Connotative, catenative memories enjoyed with intense pleasure: pleasure at being able to remember; pleasure at knowing I had had such simple, pleasing experiences. This was the place where I ran around with my cowboy suit of tassle-fringed waist coat, wide-brimmed hat, holster slung low on hip, percussion-cap pistol in hand,