Category Archives: Politics

In his February 2, 2007 New York Times column, The Oil-Addicted Ayatollahs (registration required), Tom Friedman argues that oil addiction can be just as bad for the selling nation as it is for the buying nation.  He traces the influence of … Continue reading →

In the January 8, 2007 edition of The New Yorker, Milan Kundera writes a lengthy and somewhat wandering article titled Die Weltliteratur.  Towards the end of the article, he quotes Polish noveliset and dramatist Witold Gombrowicz on tha acceleration of … Continue reading →

George Packer’s article, Knowing the Enemy, published in the December 18th, 2006 issue of the New Yorker is a fascinating account of recent work by an Australian lieutenant colonel named David Kilcullen for the US State Department.  Kilcullen’s career has … Continue reading →

  I’m a big fan of New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman.  I think his articles are must-reading for anyone interested in world affairs.    However, his November 29, 2006 column, Ten Months or Ten Years (registration required), … Continue reading →

On his four day trip to Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI has called upon religios leaders to reject violence.  According to the report here: The Pope called on all religious leaders to reject attempts to wield political power and called on them … Continue reading →

Despite a not-quite-full apology by Pope Benedict XVI, protests by offended Muslims continue around the world.  If the Pope intended to highlight ambiguities or tensions within Islam around the issue of violence, then ironically, some of the protests and reactions … Continue reading →

A speech given by the Pope at the University of Regensburg in Germany on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, has caused outrage across the Muslim world.  See the Washington Post report here and a somewhat more insightful analysis in the Telegraph here.  … Continue reading →

Interesting article in the New York Times, here, about some Baptist colleges severing ties with churches, largely over the conflict between academic freedom and religious doctrine.   I especially liked this paragraph: David W. Key, director of Baptist Studies at the … Continue reading →

CNN (among others) reports here that the White House has sharply criticized Pat Robertson for remarks implying that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke on January 4 were divine retribution for Sharon’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.   The best … Continue reading →

A federal judge has ruled that the Dover Area School Board in Pennsylvania violated the U.S. Constitution when it ordered "intelligent design" added to its biology curriculum.    Districut Judge John E. Jones III wrote in his ruling:  "The citizens … Continue reading →