Taking a break

I’ll mostly be off-line for the next few weeks, getting to know my new little daughter.

Understanding the Surge

This looks like it’s going to be well worth watching. Kim Kagan’s documentary about the surge in Baghdad. (via Abu Muqawama)

more about "Understanding the Surge", posted with vodpod

A note from Texas

There are so many overlooked aspects of big news stories worth remembering. Here’s an example of one. A Facebook note from an old Vermont connection, transplanted to Texas:

Hey Matt,

Our family has had the pleasure of being actively involved in the Killeen/Fort Hood community for the last 6 months. My son plays baseball on a team from of Killeen. He has teammates who live on post, go to school on post or have parents who work on post, or are former military and go shopping on post. Some of the parents are currently deployed or working as civilian contractors overseas. In spite of everything that happened yesterday we still had baseball practice last night as a way of keeping things normal and making sure that this situation didn’t consume these kids. About half the team came to practice, the other half was still on post under lockdown. The people of Fort Hood, Killeen, Copperas Cove and the surrounding area are salt of the earth, hard working people who are doing their level best to provide for their families and enjoy every day. If there is a way that you can bring to light this aspect of this tragedy I would be very appreciative. Yes, there was one Army doctor who snapped, but there are at least a hundred thousand hard working men, women and children in that area who are continuing on with their lives and trying to maintain a sense of normalcy while they honor their communities hero’s and grieve for the fallen from yesterday’s tragedy.

Jim

Fears of an anti-Arab, anti-Muslim backlash

I interviewed Ray Hananiya for my radio story today about fallout from the Ft. Hood tragedy. He’s a Christian Arab American from Chicago, an Army veteran and he belongs to a group called the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military. Hananiya also a does a morning radio show in Chicago about Arab American issues. He told me when incidents like the one at Ft. Hood happen, people call into his show and ask, “why did your people do this?” Here’s another example of the kind of ignorance Hananiya says he’s run into: “I had a woman come up to me and say, ‘I can’t believe you abandoned your Christian faith to become an Arab.’”

UPDATE: More on fears of a backlash from BBC online.

Better baseball

Blah, blah, blah, baseball in the good old days was better – because it was faster, says Michael Tomasky. I’m sure the beer tasted better then too.

Israeli left in crisis

As the US-based pro-peace group J Street gets started with its big to-do in Washington today, Gershom Gorenberg provides context. Basically, the political left in Israel is on life support. The leaders with the mojo to pull off a breakthrough with the Palestinians don’t want to. And the Palestinians are divided in more ways than one.

J Street and its supporters believe that peace won’t happen between Israel and the Palestinians without serious, hard-headed, sustained effort from the United States. Not everyone agrees with that, especially in Israel. Skeptics look at key events like Sadat’s 1977 visit to Jerusalem, Israel’s talks with Jordan that led to normalization, and even the Oslo process in the 1990s (preceded by secret talks between Israel and Palestinians) as examples of Israeli leaders taking the initiative, with Washington’s involvement adding to the momentum.

Boston terrorism arrest

Here’s the search warrant for Tarek Mehanna, arrested today on terrorism-related charges.

Tell us how you really feel

Spencer Ackerman on some of the right-wing attacks on J Street.

Madeleine Albright and “Tito’s Ring”

Host of PRI’s The World, Marco Werman talks with former secretary of state Madeleine Albright about Tito’s ring.

more about “Madeleine Albright and “Tito’s Ring”“, posted with vodpod

Reality-based pitch

Lindsay Graham here perhaps making some overtures to the reality-based wing of the Republican party, on anti-Obama conspiracies and Glenn Beck.