Nonviolence Finally Gets Some Action on American TV

The most important interview on any global affairs issue the Daily Show has ever had happened last night with the appearance of Mustafa Barghouti and Anna Beltzer, both advocates for a nonviolent solution in the Israel Palestine conflict. There are so many great sound bytes in the unedited version that appears on the Daily Show [...]

Pro-Life & Pro-Choice Need to Get Real

Its about time I brought up the A-Bomb again. The A word that is everybody’s favorite polarizing political talking point: Abortion! If you haven’t already, please review my opinion on this issue.

I was reading an article (and here) on how bans on abortion don’t actually decrease the amount of abortions actually occurring. Based on the [...]

Film Review: Pluralism in America

This Fourth of July I had the extreme pleasure of going to the world premiere of Islam in America, the latest project of Dr. Akbar Ahmed and his wonderful team of motivated youngsters. The film takes a look at the various Muslim communities across America, from big cities in the East to small towns in [...]

Demilitarize This!

Obama’s speech in Cairo threw down the gauntlet for Israeli leaders to respond.  The New York Times observed that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was as much done for the Israeli evening news as it was for the Obama administration.  I found it boring, infuriating, and tend to agree with Aliyana Traison of Haaretz that it [...]

Obama Talks the Right Talk

Cairo is an ancient city that has become a modern urban hub of the Arab world. It is the primary place to produce Arabic pop music, the favored study abroad location for Americans looking to study the Arab world, and the birth place of Pan Arabism and the Muslim Brotherhood. Ponder all those contradictions for [...]

Sri Lankan Clash of Identities

As per my resolution to cover a wide breadth of topics, I’ve delved myself into the conflict in Sri Lanka. And yes, most of my reasons for doing so also have to do with my idolization of Sri Lankan-British rapper and popstar extraordinaire MIA. I suppose I’ve also been inspired to learn more by the [...]

Prose, Violence, and Problems with Aslan’s Cosmic War

In a post-college world, looking at grad school and gainful employment on the horizon, it appears I need to step up my reading habits. So in an effort to make this a more regular segment of the blog, I’m going to read and review at least one book a month. This month, I bring to [...]

The Bible, The Constitution, and the Treatment of Prisoners of War

This blog post comes to you from a lengthy discussion via Facebook about a chain letter that was sent around. And you know, I just had to comment on it.
When Chain Letters Get Political
The original letter claims to have been written by a Canadian Christian woman. Here are the relevant excerpts from the chain letter [...]

Obama’s Election Didn’t Defeat al-Qaeda, Surprise!

Al-Qaeda has released a new tape directed at the US administration, and many are calling it a “mild” approach.
In the tape, the leader of al-Qaeda’s Iraqi division “calls on the incoming US administration and allied Western leaders to embrace Islam, withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and release Muslim prisoners from there and from Guantanamo [...]

(Re)Discovering Iraq: Restoring Sovereignty or Undermining Security?

Members of Iraq’s 37-member cabinet voted on Sunday to approve a security agreement setting conditions for the U.S. presence in Iraq.

The Latest Deal
The Iraqi Cabinet has agreed to a new pact with the US military. The terms of the pact are an agreement to place US troops in Iraq under the authority of the [...]