Islamic History Series There are two contextual parts to understanding the rise and rapid spread of Islam in the 7th century: the Arabian context and the wider world with which Arabia interacted. Students learning the history of Islam are usually taught the wider context first, probably because the Arabian context really flows directly into the … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 2: The pre-Islamic world
Month: May 2013
you get a cookie! part 7 of ???: michael o’hanlon
Full confession: this was going to be about Howie Kurtz and his courageous effort not to let being completely wrong about a story detract from the truthiness of the story itself, but then the Daily Beast, in a rare and tantalizing hint that somebody there has a clue, up and canned his ass. Not much … Continue reading you get a cookie! part 7 of ???: michael o’hanlon
Positing the “underpants gnomes theory of punditry” (UPDATED)
Way back in 2006, Matt Yglesias formulated the "Green Lantern Theory of Geopolitics" (can't find his original, but go here instead), which he applied to a number of pundits who seemed to believe that the only thing preventing Iraq from being a smashing success was a lack of will on America's part. Named after the … Continue reading Positing the “underpants gnomes theory of punditry” (UPDATED)
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 