2006 Weblog Award Finalists


New-ish Month Open Thread

Matthew Hogan | Comments (12)
November 3, 2008 05:11 AM

You know the drill. Try to be as penetrating....[More]

(UPDATE) Starving for Detention: Pro-Saudi-Dissident Hunger Strike

Matthew Hogan | Comments (1)
November 1, 2008 10:46 PM

A hunger strike in Saudi Arabia on behalf of Saudi dissidents in custody is set for November 6-7. It is apparently the first such hunger strike in Saudi Arabia, or at least the first publicly known one. "To the government, we want to say that you can't put prisoners of...[More]

Seeders of Lebanon? Local Banking System Stability Noted

Matthew Hogan | Comments (8)
October 29, 2008 09:10 PM

This NY Times article (may need to register) reports that Lebanon has remarkably stable and well-capitalized banks. In the midst of global turmoil in finance, they have eschewed speculative investments in favor of storing high levels of deposits. This stability has begun to attract hedge funds from outside. But to...[More]

He's an Arab

Shaheen | Comments (23)
October 10, 2008 10:31 PM

You certainly have all heard about that retard old woman making her “he’s an Arab” comment to McCain. For those of you living under a rock: “I don't trust Obama, I have read [sic] about him. He’s not… He’s not… Errr… He's an Arab.” McCain interrupts her and replies: “No,...[More]

Eyes of Ramadan

The Lounsbury | Comments (7)
October 4, 2008 03:02 PM

A perennial issue at the start and end of Ramadan - who and how to determine it - is fairly well described in this FT article, with the essence of the issue around using eyes (unaided or aided) or astronomical calculations to make the determination, with the differences taking a...[More]

New Month Open Thread and Eid Mubarak

Shaheen | Comments (8)
October 2, 2008 01:16 AM

No comment......[More]

Marshall Plan vs Iraq War: Costs

Shaheen | Comments (7)
September 30, 2008 01:30 PM

Another trivia about costs: Several sources indicate the war in Iraq has cost about $550 billion so far. Comparatively, the Marshall Plan which helped repel communism in Western Europe by bringing prosperity and stability there, cost $13 billion, which in today’s money is equivalent to anywhere between $100 and $750...[More]

Now Hear the Nerds of the Lord: Monks Battle in J'lem

Matthew Hogan - November 9, 2008 03:02 PM | Comments (5)
Filed Under: Ethnic Minorities , Levant , MENA Region General , Political Development , Religious Minorities , Society & Culture

Not since the pocket-protectors flew maniacally in my high-school Chess Team intramural conflict between Star Trek and Star Wars clubs have I seen such a significant Battle of the Nerds (I was Trek). In Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre, alleged tomb of Christ, Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks have been busted after exchanging hard blows (no relation to child sex scandals, btw).

The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.
No word on his Rubik's cube, but the monastic mayhem is all part of the long-runnning turf wars of Christian sects over a site that even the big JC walked out of after only three days (theologians debate still what happened to the 30-day deposit). This conflict is dwarfed by the larger mostly Muslim Arab versus mostly Jewish Israeli contentions over the whole city, but could conceivably outsize it in being even stupider. On the other hand, such intra-Xtian things did give us the Crimean War which produced Tennyson's great Charge of the LIght Brigade.

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Barack Hussein Obama MENA Open Thread

Matthew Hogan - November 4, 2008 10:31 PM | Comments (2)
Filed Under: Foreign Policy & MENA , Iraq War , MENA Region General , Political Development , Terrorism , US Foreign Policy

Looks like America's first Hawaiian-bred, Kenyan-derived, Indonesian-educated, 1960s-born, Muslim-middle-named President-elect is about to be. What does the success of Obama/Biden portend, if anything, for the Middle East North Africa region? Obama's foreign affairs team seems not wildly new, at least in terms of the conventional US spectrum. Some discussion has already started on the monthly open thread.

Books & Media

The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony

Matthew Hogan | Comments (16)

Let's be upbeat: this book, released last month, doesn't totally stink. The author's personal politics might lead one to expect the worst, but neoconservative Stephen Schwartz does manage in his book to provide both interesting information and genuine thoughtfulness about...[More]

Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success

dubaiwalla | Comments (5)

Christopher Davidson's study of Dubai aims to evenhandedly tackle the city's history, politics, security, economics, and society. The city's rulers were so unhappy about the subjects discussed that they initially attempted to ban it. So why did I not lap...[More]


Journals

A November Check in

The Lounsbury - November 4, 2008 02:54 PM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: Blog Notes - Admin

4 November: The US is about to hopefully do great things for global spirits, etc. Or maybe not. I am afraid I remain terribly unmotivated in the area of comment - drained by real duties to be frank. Since becoming...[More]

The Domestic Euro

eerie - November 17, 2008 01:48 AM | Comments (9)
Filed Under: Personal

As mentioned in a previous entry, the Euro flew down to visit me for a long weekend. Thinking he might enjoy a glamorous night out, I surprised him with box seats to the opera. He enjoyed this immensely, but afterwards...[More]

Gender Observation & Hair Care

Matthew Hogan - November 15, 2008 08:59 PM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: American Culture , Humor Attempts , Irony Watch , Random Personal , Rants- General

I've come to the realization that no matter how destitute, bankrupt, broke, foreclosed-upon, forlorn, bereft, or empty-handed a woman may be, she always has enough to buy hair color. I picture in some post-feminist future a lost all-woman astronaut exploration...[More]