Of melancholy is a fearful gift;
What is it but the telescope of truth?
Which strips the distance of its fantasies,
And brings life near in utter nakedness,
Making the cold reality too real!
Lord Byron, The Dream
What is Happening in Russia?
A Timeline of Recent Events
On September 24, 2011, it was announced that Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who served as president from 2000 – 2008, and has been prime minister since 2008, would once again run for president in March of 2012, with current president Dmitri Medvedev to serve as his prospective prime minister. This effectively meant that Russians would be faced with 12 more years of Putin, since there are no viable contenders for president. To add insult to injury, Putin also added that this arrangement had been the plan all along, and was decided “several years back.”
The Hazard, Hubris, and Hypocrisy of an Attack on Iran
Lately there has been much talk of Israel and/or America attacking Iran. The most recent conversation started with a column published (in Hebrew) on October 28 by Israel’s most influential journalist, Nahum Barnea (though Seymour Hersh wrote in the New Yorker in 2007 that the Bush Administration was planning to attack Iran). Barnea contends that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and defense minister Ehud Barak are conspiring to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Haaretz later reported that Netanyahu and Barak recently persuaded foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who had previously opposed attacking Iran, to support an attack. There’s currently only a “small majority” left in the Israeli cabinet who oppose such a move.
My Notepad
I smile as they cringe when they see you. You are my samurai sword. You have the power to save lives and dispel lies, to end wars and help the poor, to shed light unto injustice, and to conjure fear into the hearts of the corrupt. You are my badge, signifying who I am. You are my License to Ask, my affirmation of identity, and my legitimacy. You are an umbrella against a downpour of doubt. You are my compass, my lantern, and my map, guiding me towards the Truth. You are the birthplace of ideas and the incubator of thoughts. You are my faithful sidekick, going where I go. You give me herculean memory, seamlessly receiving my thoughts and diligently recalling them on command, knowing that each entry brings you closer to your end. You give me the resolve to go where I need to go, and to do what I must. You are an impetus to turn curiosity into questions, questions into answers, and answers into ideas. You give me courage and remind me of who and what I am, and where I want to go. You are not simply a notepad. You are self-empowerment. You are identity.
The Assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki and President Obama’s Impunity
The Obama administration’s decision to assassinate American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without any shred of due process sets a very dangerous precedent for executive power in the United States, and is further evidence of President Obama’s complete disregard for both domestic and international law.
On the Causes of Terrorism, Part 1: A Thought Experiment
Someone recently told me that they could not imagine what would compel a terrorist group to do something as abhorrent as targeting civilians. It was a very reasonable statement, and indeed targeting civilians is a horrible thing to do.
I do not wish to demonstrate the audacity required to say that I could explain such a decision, since I’ve never been in a situation where such a decision needed to be made. However, I think a short thought experiment would be useful to at least attempt to put oneself in the mindset of desperation required to turn to such a method. I won’t draw any parallels to any specific group or country, in order to keep the concept as universal and objective as possible.
The Dubious Moral Differences Between States and Terrorist Groups
What is the moral difference between a conventional military and a terrorist organization? They both use violence or the threat of violence in the pursuit of long-term political goals. Most people would presumably assert that what distinguishes a terrorist group, and what specifically renders it uniquely immoral, is the intentional targeting of civilians. However, this definition is fraught with inconsistencies. For example, when terrorist groups target soldiers, are these actions therefore not to be considered terrorist attacks? And when a state intentionally targets civilians, as they have so often, shouldn’t these also be considered terrorist actions?
An Ode to Journalism
Journalists have always held a special place in my heart – noble pursuers of truth, keeping the electorate informed and providing a sense of community; thankless guardians of democracy, holding any and every holder of power accountable for their actions; a voice for the voiceless, providing the last best hope for countless victims of tyranny and injustice; the Fourth Estate, of no less value than the legal system.
Vampires and Butterflies
For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.
– Rainer Maria Rilke
On The French Veil Ban
© Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
On July 13, 2010 the French National Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of a bill prohibiting the wearing in public of clothing which conceals the face, with 335 votes for the bill and one against (most of the opposition boycotted it). In the following September, the bill easily passed through the Senate by 246 to one, and the Council of State ratified the law in October, despite previously warning the government that it could not find any legal basis in support of the ban, and that it would likely violate both the French constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. On April 11, 2011, the ban came into effect. Violations of the ban incur the penalty of €150 or the humiliating attendance of French citizenship classes. This ban has nothing to do with secularism, and nothing to do with clothing. It is about politicians catering to voters who have been infected with a growing epidemic of Islamophobia. It is unjust, prejudicial, and dangerous.
