Apparently there were major, nationwide protests today in Turkey against the government of PM Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party. The protests began in Istanbul as a reaction to government plans to develop considerable portions of that city's already scarce green space by bulldozing Gezi Park and running a third major bridge … Continue reading What’s in a (bridge) name?
Month: May 2013
we’ve got other things to do
Hands are being wrung in consternation because MSNBC finished in fourth place in the cable news ratings wars in May, repeating their April performance, behind not only the sitcom-masking-as-news-operation that is CNN, but also behind CNN's mentally unhinged cousin, Headline News (Fox is obviously first always because Amercia). Another month of big crime and disaster … Continue reading we’ve got other things to do
Islamic History, Part 8: The Caliphate of Abu Bakr (632-634)
Islamic History Series Muhammad's death in 632 seems to have caught his followers by surprise, because the sources describe a period of effective chaos right after he died and I think this is one area in which the sources can be mostly trusted. Yes, the sources are late and unreliable, but if they were doctored … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 8: The Caliphate of Abu Bakr (632-634)
if the economy is doing so well, why does the economy suck so bad?
Evan Soltas has a very important question to ask all of us out there in the internets, namely: "If austerity is so bad, why is the economy doing so well?" Now this is a very serious question, because all this time long-hairs and the like have been warning that cutting back government spending and raising … Continue reading if the economy is doing so well, why does the economy suck so bad?
why “battlefield earth” illustrates the democratic party’s biggest fear
No, not really. But it would make about as much sense as this. (via)
modern weekly standard: a punditry book for idiots
When I was in high school, one year while I was at some camp or another I was introduced to my roommate's copy of P.J. O'Rourke's Modern Manners: An Etiquette Book for Rude People. I'm sure if I read it again today, much (seriously, much) older, familiar with P.J. O'Rourke's oeuvre and with a better … Continue reading modern weekly standard: a punditry book for idiots
Islamic History, Part 7: Alternative theories of the early Islamic community
Islamic History Series When you combine a major world-changing historical event with a near-total dearth of reliable primary sources, you inevitably get a lot of revisionist attempts to reconstruct the "real" history. For the origins of Islam and the nature of its earliest community, we have arguably the most world-changing event of the past 1500 … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 7: Alternative theories of the early Islamic community
sully’s on a roll…
Today's shorter Andrew Sullivan: "If non-racists refuse to take racist junk pseudo-science seriously, pretty soon the racist junk pseudo-science business will be totally run by racists. P.S. I am not a racist, some of my best friends, yadda yadda."
remember: there is a club…
and you're not in it. Shorter Andrew Sullivan: "Sure, Jon Karl became a reporter via a program designed to plant conservative ideologues into the mainstream media, but there's no way he's a right-wing mole because Please. This FAIR report that clearly outlines Karl's ongoing pattern of right-wing hackery is obviously an attempt to pile on … Continue reading remember: there is a club…
Islamic History, Part 6: The problem with early sources
Islamic History Series We've reached a point in our overview of Islamic history where we need to stop talking about history and talk historiography, or the study of how history gets studied. Because the material regarding the life of Muhammad is so slim and presents so many challenges to the historian, I feel like I … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 6: The problem with early sources
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 