Friday 3/9/2010
The ripples from Tony Blair's memoirs continue to spread throughout the news although I am not sure whether I will take the time to read them yet; I have a lot of other books to read and not very much time. Not surprisingly, the latest revelation from Blair's BBC interview is that he supports the use of force against Iran, claiming that it would be unacceptable for the Islamic republic
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Slowly making cautious forays into the international arena, Britain's new prime minister David Cameron has recently stated he feels 'anger' at the slow pace of Turkey's admittance into the EU. I'll bet he does. The strategy of keeping Europe as an exclusive Western club and keeping out the West's traditional and long time enemies, especially Muslim ones, has meant that Turkey, long the crown jewel of European powers in the
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What is happening to Sudan is absolutely ridiculous and completely unacceptable. Omar Bashir has been an unmitigated disaster for the country and weakened it to the point where its enemies are now seeking to disembowel it. By enemies I mean the United States, Israel and France in particular. 2003 saw not only a grab for the resources of Iraq but also those of Sudan. Yet the dismemberment of Sudan is
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The Economist is always an interesting newspaper to read. For myself, I'm especially fascinated with the uniquely Western perspective that it portrays as neutral and balanced. In their recent issue they ponder over Iraq's uncertain future and in one part of the article they say:For their part, the people of Iraq never learned to trust, let alone like, the Americans. Yet public opinion has shifted remarkably in recent weeks. After
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There are few writers I enjoy reading for more than Joseph Conrad. The style he pursues in some of his stories is one of abandoning the modern, along with the illusion of safety that it gives us. Our twitter, facebook and ipod-toting world seeks excitement, life and drama through the misery of others - viewed through a television screen. We have no feelings of our own, so we want others
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A friend of mine introduced me to this new series which is being aired. I think the guy who is presenting this programme is a fantastic person with lots of enthusiasm and the series itself is excellent. Enjoy.
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Today I helped somebody sad feel a little bit happier, somebody angry feel a little bit calmer, and somebody lost to find their way. A very strange day. I also had several discussions with somebody else and wisdom came from my lips this time. They shook my hand in gratitude for showing them something - gratitude! Me! I don't know anything, what could I possibly give and I'm blind myself?
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I think you'd have to have been living in a cave to not hear about Richard Dawkins and his famous book The God Delusion. The man is a respected scientist and he has written some highly successful books on popular science but he attacks religion with a ferocity that I find unsettling. At some point I will make the time to read what he has to say and digest it
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I first heard this song when I watched Waltz with Bashir. The song is quite catchy, but it struck me how there are some people who actually live in this world and there are some people today who live their life like it is an MTV video clip. In this I mean both Israeli and Arab people that I have met. I don't even know if what I just wrote
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I had a strange dream last night. I dreamt that I was back in Syria and that I was in a government building trying to pay a bill. I waited for ages before the person spoke to me and then he told me he was finishing for the day and to come back tomorrow. I asked him if he could just do this small thing for me. He told me
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A Syrian Arab (emphasis on Arab) awakening in a modern and bewildering world gone insane.