Talk about chutzpah: Palestinians: Israel to steal artifacts Orly Halpern, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 21, 2005 Palestinian archaeologists say they fear that when Israel withdraws from Gaza it will also take priceless archeological artifacts. Israeli officials have acknowledged this is… Read moreIsrael stealing Palestinian antiquities?
The New York Times today notes the growing cult of Zheng He in China, the 15th-century mariner who led gigantic fleets across the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Ming Dynasty’s brief but impressive expansion of naval prowess. Statues are… Read moreSinophobes fear cult of Zheng He
This is pretty Orwellian. The government says it has the right to hold accused “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla without charge as an “enemy combatant” for the “duration of the conflict.” The “conflict” in question is a completely open-ended undeclared war… Read morePadilla’s lawyer: Indict my client!
Arrested for “spreading hatred”? Sounds frighteningly arbitrary and subjective. From UPI, July 20: Pakistan arrests 200 extremist suspects ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has detained more than 200 suspected Islamic militants in a new security crackdown this week. The government of President… Read moreSweeps in Pakistan
We’ve been waiting for London’s famously leftist Mayor Ken Livingstone to state the obvious about the bombings. Finally, he has. Blair, meanwhile, remains in denial, at least officially. We wonder: is he really this deluded, or just sticking to a… Read moreKen Livingstone: Yes, it’s Iraq
Shades of Soylent Green. “The plankton is dying!” From AP July 14, via TruthOut: Scientists Raise Alarm about Ocean Health SEATTLE – With a record number of dead seabirds washing up on West Coast beaches from Central California to British… Read moreMeanwhile, the oceans are dying…
A report in today’s Newsday tells of a meeting at London’s Finsbury Park mosque, where prominent Muslim leaders signed a statement condemning the 7-7 attacks, under a banner reading “A New Beginning.” But there was also a sign at the… Read moreTolerance tested in UK
Another factory forced to halt operation by heroic Chinese peasants protecting their lands from the industrial onslaught. We question how “violent” it is to tear down a security fence. In contrast, the security forces’ response to the rising tide of… Read moreMore militant anti-pollution protests in China
Well, the pending US nuclear aid to India is now official, with India hailed as a beacon of “responsible” nuclear development (which we argue is as oxymoronic as “authentic reproduction,” “corporate responsibility,” “military music,” etc.). This despite the fact that… Read moreIndia gets US nuclear aid; oil issues in background
A little deja vu hearkening back to the ’90s, when the stereotypical terrorist was a redneck—Angry White Male, to use the argot of the day. What’s interesting is how much Eric Rudolph’s rhetoric mirrors that of the jihadis. From the… Read more“American terrorist” sentenced
From Reuters, July 19: UK court convicts Afghan warlord LONDON: A British court has convicted Faryadai Sarwar Zardad, a former Afghan warlord, of torturing and terrorising civilians in his homeland for four years in what prosecutors said was the first… Read moreUK convicts Afghan warlord
Egyptian Prosecutor General Maher Abdel-Wahed has indicated that Egyptian biochemist Magdy El-Nashar, arrested in Cairo over suspected involvement in the London bombings, will not be extradited even if he was charged. He said that the country’s constitution bans the extradition… Read moreEgypt won’t extradite 7-7 suspect
