23 November 2001

Fast and loose with the possible Right wing U.S. commentator William Safire reveals his punditry trade secrets in the New York Times this morning: "Let me break all the rules of punditry and reveal the single source for this stunning report of musical chairs: It's my thumb, on which I suck while I stare at the wall and dream up this stuff. Here is the trick in the political prognostication dodge: Take what you know to be true and then play fast and loose with the possible." (Via Lance Knobel) Israeli Ultra Orthodox like the Taliban? Pork Feeds Religious-Secular Tension in Israel: Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about eight percent of Israel's population, but their power has grown in a politically fractured country established by socialist Jews -- many of them atheists or anti-religious -- more than 50 years ago... There is enormous resentment among secular Israelis, already fuming that while they send their sons to fight in the army for three years of compulsory service, ultra-Orthodox seminary students are exempt under law. "The (ultra-Orthodox) stole our country which used to be a social-democracy where religion played a tiny part," said Tzvi, a secular Beit Shemesh resident. "If they had guns, we would call them the Taliban. There is no difference, not in the way they act nor in their ideology."... But for the ultra-religious, pork violates all they hold sacred. It is the ultimate slap in the face. Invoking religious superstition, some religious Beit Shemesh residents fear allowing pork to be sold in their city brings pestilence and bad luck. "Pig meat is a danger to the city," said Yitzhak Levi, a rabbi of Yemeni descent. "God punishes the city because pork is being sold and we are not stopping it. It's not an issue of democracy. People can't do whatever they want. They must listen to God."" (Via Jorn Barger) This isn't a war against terror; it's a war against America's enemies. Since the 9/11 attacks I've pointed to a number of articles by Robert Fisk, the London Independent's Middle East correspondent. He's interviewed here on The Progressive (a site I'd never come across before). Fisk debunks a whole truckload of myths cast as truth by the Bush's administration and propagated by a compliant U.S. press. A must read: The most decorated British foreign correspondent, Fisk has been based in the Middle East for the last twenty-five years, and his knowledge of the area is unparalleled. He has interviewed Osama bin Laden three times, once in the Sudan and twice in Afghanistan, and his take on the man is instructive. So, too, is his warning about the current war, which he views as a trap. Here's what he said in his article of September 13: "A slaughter by the U.S. in retaliation for the New York and Washington bloodbaths might just move the Arab masses from stubborn docility to the point of detonation... Q: Bush says this is a war of freedom-loving people against the evil ones. What do you make of that? Fisk: The three main Muslim partners of this so-called coalition are Uzbekistan, whose president, Islam Karimov, has 7,000 political prisoners, no opposition, and no free press; Saudi Arabia, which is a complete autocracy, with absolutely no representation, and women treated more or less as women are treated by the Taliban, with regular Friday amputations and head-choppings; and Pakistan, which has a military dictator running the show. The three main local Muslim props of a famous coalition have nothing to do with democracy at all, nor are we trying to bring democracy to these countries. This isn't a war against terror; it's a war against America's enemies. (Also via Jorn Barger) 7:09:30 AM