From Beirut to Jerusalem

Grrr. I just wrote a long review of this excellent book and blogger killed it. Grrr.

So you have to read the book. I'll tell you the one part that I found most intriguing. Friedman writes that Israel founders had three goals for their state: (1) Jewishness, (2) democracy, and (3) location in the whole of historic Israel. The UN Partition Plan in 1947 gave them the first two goals, but only half the third. David Ben-Gurion and his cohorts took the deal, and had no choice but to live with an unment third goal for 20 years. When Israel snagged the West Bank and other areas during the 1967 war, they found they could realize their third goal. However, to realize it would have been to disregard one of their other goals: either they could integrate all the occupied Palestinians and give up Israel's Jewish character, or they could oppress the occupied Palestinians and give up her democratic character. Lastly, they could abandon the territories and remain Jewish and democratic in half the land of Israel.

The decision was never made. Israel just let time pass, and eventually it caught up with them when Palestinians revolted in 1987 and again in 2000, with a failed Peace Process in between. An article today in Ha'aretz highlights the difficulty of running Israel and trying to grasp all three goals. How can Israel be democratic if it represses political views such as the right of Palestine to statehood? Can Israeli Arab politicians support forces at war with Israel on moral or tribal grounds but still be a loyal citizen of a Jewish state? Will Israel ever face up to the fact that it has to choose 2 of 3 - but not all 3? I doubt it; they'll probably hang on to the myth that you can have it all until some aspect is forcibly taken from them. Many would say they have already chosen to give up democracy and keep the other two. Implicitly speaking, that may be true, but it's not part of the Israeli consciousness, and Israeli rule over the West Bank is far from complete in terms of annexation.

I would recommend "From Beirut to Jerusalem" to anyone with even a passing interest in the Middle East. It's an easy read, steers clear of jargon, and has enough entertainment that you won't realized you learned some serious theory until it's all over.

Mourning in Yemen

It's old news by this time, but I don't want my readers to be ignorant of the murders of three American humanitarian missionaries working at a hospital in Yemen. May their blood cry loudly for God to have mercy on the people of Yemen.

Their attacker, a fanatical Islamist student, was caught. Though I have sincere respect for devout Muslims, I believe that Islam is fundamentally a flawed religion: the deeper you go, the less it is about compassion. This is partially true of Christianity, for Christians never believe that compassion is an end - because salvation is so much more important. However, never in dogmatic Christianity will murder be justified. Christian extremists may do crazy things like withdrawing from society, going for voluntary poverty or going off to Yemen to be a missionary, but when's the last time you read about a Christian acting violently with the blessing of his denomination? Sometime in the 1600's, I think.

Rejoicing in Democracy

Instant Replay congratulate's Kenya's peaceful transition of power as Daniel arap Moi, who has ruled autocratically for 24 years, stepped down as required by the 1991 constitution and handed over power to a fairly elected successor of another party, Mwai Kibaki. Moi did a good job at keeping Kenya stable, but failed to realize the country's potential for economic growth. Many Kenyans remain desperately poor despite the country's image as one of Africa's stronger, stabler nations.

Kibaki has promised a lot, and he won't be able to deliver it all. Hopefully, however, he'll crack down on corruption and attract strong foreign investment, which could yield substantive long-term results. It's not an easy situation: HIV infects almost a tenth of Kenyans, and about half of Kenyans live on $1 a day or less.

Oh, and the transition wasn't entirely peaceful, as the Washington Post reports. A grim-looking Moi stepped down after he read a short speech that was drowned out by Kenyans pelting the stage with mud and singing, "All is possible without Moi," and "Go Away."

George III cuts loose

King George III went on record ripping his star shortstop, Derek Jeter, and his commissioner, Bud Selig. Of Jetes he said, "I tell him this all the time. I say, 'Jetes, you can't be everything to everybody. You've got to focus on what's important.' ...When I read in the paper that he's out until 3 a.m. in New York City going to a birthday party, I won't lie. That doesn't sit well with me. That was in violation of Joe's curfew...I want to see Jetes truly focused. He wasn't totally focused last year. He had the highest number of errors he's had in some time..."

George minced just a few words coming after Bud: "I am a Bud Selig man. I consider him a good friend. ... But while I'm loyal to Bud Selig, the biggest beneficiary in this whole plan are the Milwaukee Brewers. That doesn't seem quite right. I don't know how he sleeps at night sometimes." Ouch.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox snagged lifelong Yankee Ramiro Mendoza.

Who Would Jesus Mock?

In-depth article about Christian consumerism. Has some very intelligent and objective observations, some of which are downright sickening. For example, "Examining popular evangelical books of the 1950s through the early 1980s, University of Virginia sociologist James Davison Hunter found prominent strains of hedonism and narcissism, those staples of the secular self-help genre... the seeming commandment to be fruitful and accessorize, the gimme gospel of Jabez, the materialism suffusing material Christianity, the T-shirt drawers where J. Crew lies atop J. Christ (the Word become logo), plus the suspicion that the reigning credo isn't "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," but rather "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." "

The Bible says that the light came into the darkness but the darkness did not recognize it. In our day, we could say that the light came into the darkness and the darkness didn't notice it. Thanks to Mute Troubadour for the link.

Hanger Over

It's a cross between hung over and jet lagged. That drained, tired feeling you get from having flown all the way around the world only to return to the time zone you started in. Well, I actually don't know if that was the world, or just the Logan Airport tarmac, but we spent 3 hours on the ground yesterday before finally taking off at 9:15. I had left home five hours earlier to catch my 5:55 flight. My poor uncle Danny also left home - and waited three hours to pick me up. AirTran had just one employee on the ground in Baltimore yesterday; she worked the baggage claim. So they had zero information coming in on what flights were late, etc. We had a good - but late - evening; opening presents at midnight with two sets of cousins and then driving home only to get up for work four hours later.

Christmas at home was good, too, and the Lord of the Rings thing was almost lived up to its considerable hype, no thanks to a three-hour-late departure going to Boston!

For Christmas I received Best Buy and Barnes & Noble gift cards, stocking stuffers, two "real" shirts (that's what my French uncle said), a fleece jacket, some poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye, a program that helps design family trees, and probably some more things I'm forgetting.

Actions speak softer than words

The New York Times has a very informative article on Hezbollah, the Shiite parastate that runs southern and eastern Lebanon. Unfortunately, the title of the long article (all that most people are likely to read) makes the baseless claim that "Hezbollah Becomes Potent Anti-US Force". Nothing in the article backs up that claim, let alone anything in reality. Sure they don't like the US, but to say that it is "more menacing than al-Qaeda" is preposterous. The US is actively at war with al-Qaeda, who has attacked with such deadly efficiency that they caused mass death in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon! For crying out loud, you don't get much more menacing than that!

The NYTimes article is fine on the facts, but draws no logical geopolitical conclusions from the facts. "Hezbollah's incessant oratory about destroying Israel reflects more psychological warfare than the reality along Lebanon's southern border. Only periodic, carefully scripted attacks have occurred since Israel withdrew its military from southern Lebanon in May 2000 after 22 years there. Hezbollah, whose reputation soared with the Israeli withdrawal, launches small Katyusha rockets every few months against the disputed Shabaa Farms area in what analysts call a means of maintaining its resistance credentials." Basically, Hezbollah won its battle - forcing Israel to withdraw from South Lebanon. Now they maintain the fiery rhetoric, but their actions are confined to hucking a rocket or two across the border, and occasionally taking revenge on Israel - assassination for assassination.

The article is correct in saying that Hezbollah is very strong. It is. But, unlike al-Qaeda, it has a lot to lose by angering the West, and it has gone to lengths to establish links with the EU, and I believe wants to cement its role as a regional actor rather than go down in a blaze of glory. The sensationalist title slapped on an otherwise excellent article should be an embaressment to the Times' international editor.

Trent Lott, RIP

Trent Lott will never live down the day he got carried away at Strom Thurmond's birthday party. Whether he becomes bitter at the "liberal media establishment" and the lefty ACLU types or makes an effort to get in touch with the America of the 49 states in which's names the letter "S" makes fewer than four appearances. I hope the latter is true, for his sake and for America's. Let's all agree to get over this, seeing as Lott has paid dearly for what would classified as a minor slip for a northern politician. (Actually, if a northern politician said anything good about the Dixiecrat party that would just be weird).

A lot of conservatives have pointed out that Democrats have abundant ties to the Dixiecrats and to segregation in general. That's true, but the non-revised fact is that the Republicans "went hunting where the ducks were" and took the low road on the segregation in order to take over the white South. It has paid off in the electoral college, especially as the Sun Belt grows at the expense of the Rust Belt, but winning elections by appealing to racism is a dangerous game, and the Goppies who remain from the 60's and 70's have an ugly skeleton in the closet. Trent Lott opened his closet door - just a crack was enough for America to be horrified by what it had tolerated for far too long. The Right was right to repudiate Lott's statement and to compel him to step down from his spot as 3rd highest elected official in the country. That's way too high for someone with his history.

Instant Replay would like to thank Lott for stepping aside and allowing the GOP to move forward.

DJN

In honor of his frequent comments and excellent website, I've linked up my pal DJN under "Journals". His is more a mini-portal or something than a journal, but don't lose sleep over that.

I'm also adding Google, the search engine that I use all the time, and Mapquest, which I also use frequently. Useful links, no endorsement or exlusivity intended. "New & Analysis" is renamed "News & Tools", and I have a new "Sports" section to satiate my and my readers' appetite for Boston sports teams (even though they all suck...).

Kahil's Cartoons

Kahil draws cartoons. They've been pretty amusing of late.

"Keep your city clean". "No punching below the belt". "The Ostrich".

Blixen

Hans Blix, the Swedish reindeer-cum-Chief UN Weapons Inspector, has always had my distrust, disrespect and distaste. He's been known as a world-class wuss in the years he's been in charge of watching Iraq and finding out all there is to know about their weapons of mass destruction. Obviously, he's done a piss-poor job.

He's known as a bureaucrat, unwilling or unable to think outside the box and use ruthless measure to get his info. Basically he's investigating Saddam's regime as if it were the Swedish royal family. However, to the best of my knowledge, Saddam has never had the embarressment of being confused with King Carl at a party.

Anyway, I'm pleased to see in the Post that he's agreed with the U.S. that the Iraqi 12,000 page document "the Iraqi weapons document provided "relatively little . . . evidence" to prove Baghdad's claims to have no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs." Don't hold your breath though; I don't think he's going to find anything very dramatic any time soon, whether it exists or not.

But what else would you expect from a reindeer?

Atrocious

It's not an atrocity, but it's still atrocious. California INS are arresting hundreds of immigrants from Iran and Arab countries. Reuters reports that they "were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars."

Between 500 and 1,000 people have been detained and are overcrowding local jails. This is both ethically unacceptable and politically suicidal. The INS thinks it's a law unto itself - it's refusing to even release the official number of detainees, and it's not doing what it should be doing: making friends in the Islamic community. Having pro-American immigrants - who are much more likely than Joe Smith to notice suspicious activity among Islamist militants in the US - on good terms with authorities is crucial. Arresting people when they come forward to comply with government regulations is horrible. At the very least they should be given a day or two to say goodbye to their families or something. Associating cooperation with the government with arrest is a terrible message to send people who come from oppressive countries (600,000 Iranian exiles live in California alone) and whose opinions on the nature of the American government are still being formed.

The article explains that "the arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities. Monday was the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan."

This new muscular attitude of the INS reflects their new role as bully post-9/11. They took their role in allowing the hijackers into the US to heart, and - understandably - want to make sure it never happens again. Good - that's their job. But unless someone is in this country illegally or can be proven in court to be plotting harm, then they must be allowed to walk free. If we have to rely on evidence collected in inadmissable ways to protect America, then I for one would rather see America less protected. The cost of 3,000 lives on September 11 is nothing compared to the cost that will be incurred if the most important of all civil rights - the right to due process under law - is stripped away. All our other rights hinge on our individual protection from the government. Our individual liberty and protection from the government is far too high a price to pay for collective security from small-scale outside attacks.

Kudos to the IDF

For upholding the rule of law in Hebron against settlers as well as Palestinians. Israeli settlers, an arrogant breed of people I have minimal tolerance for, often think that they are above the law. In Hebron particularly, where a tiny group of settlers controls 20% of the city (having displaced Palestinians from the historic old city), the settlers abuse soldiers with rotten fruit and rocks; they want the soldiers to be harsher on the Palestinians. Well, I'll bet the soldiers were glad to get back at the settlers, evacuating 200 of them and arresting 6 or 7 for placing an illegal outpost. Of course, the settlers will eventually get what they want, because they're noses are tougher than the State of Israel's backbone. But it's refreshing to see them at odds with the army... I'd love to see the army pull out completely and leave them to fight the Palestinians on fair terms.

Countdown

"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is set to open in 10 hours. The book is excellent, though I found Tolkien's neat split of the tales of the two halves of the Fellowship a bit sterile; I'm glad to hear Director Peter Jackson has mixed them up.

TIME magazine's cover story from December 2 says the Two Towers "begins in medias res, as though you had just stepped out for a few seconds to get more popcorn. If you didn't see last year's The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson, the trilogy's wizardly director, isn't about to cut you any slack."

Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post takes a more enigmatic view. As well as reporting that "the last hour of "The Two Towers" is pure combat and it's mind-blowing", he talks about his own preferences - "Because I have no imagination for little critters, I preferred the third team, comprising warriors Aragorn (Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom). They could have sailed in from that old Viking dragon ship on the beach there, or perhaps they came with those Huns and their yurts off the Asian steppes, or possibly they fought with the Green Berets at Tan Phu, the Spartans at Thermopylae or Henry at Agincourt, but, no doubt about it, they are the soldiers and their business is war." He also spends considerable time criticizing things he finds poor in the movies, particularly hair. "I suppose if you're shooting three movies back to back on the other side of the world and it's one of the biggest gambles ever in the entertainment industry, a detail might have slipped your mind. In Jackson's case, that little detail was shampoo. He either couldn't afford it or he forgot all about it. The result is that you never saw so many greasy, tangled, thorny, wet, lusterless protein brambles as are on display in this movie. Viggo Mortensen, with a haircut that looks like a drowned swamp rat floating belly up in a bayou, leads the troop. A man named Viggo ought to do better than this."

Boston.com's quickie review offers witicisms..."We hear this is the series' "Empire Strikes Back". We also hear it's the only Lord everybody in Hollywood worships."

The New York Times analyzes and comes out in support of Director Jackson's decision to start the movie with no setup whatsoever. For the record, though I haven't seen the film yet I agree with that decision. Says the NYTimes, "Never has a film so strongly been a product of a director's respect for its source. Mr. Jackson uses all his talents in the service of that reverence, creating a rare perfect mating of filmmaker and material. Mr. Jackson's ploy in this beautifully considered epic is to give viewers the same feeling of confusion that his characters are experiencing. By doing this he simultaneously answers those who complained that too much of the previous "Rings" was about setup."

Red Letters

Matthew 5:23-24
“If therefore you are presenting your offering… and there remember that your brother has something against you… first be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your offering.”

A few in the Old Testament knew that obedience and love were better than sacrifice, and Christ here makes it clear in an application of that principle. Man cannot make God beholden to him by offerings and sacrifices; man is subordinate to God. Cain’s sacrifice is the perfect example of a technically acceptable sacrifice - sheep - which did not please God because of the anger against his brother in his heart.

This imperative is clearly applicable to modern worship and offerings; do not go before God and try to please Him with worship while your brother has something against you.
***

Matthew 5:23-24
“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law…”

A proverb on timely importunity. The underlying attitude is one of humility, saying that it is better to settle out of court than to assume that the judge will exonerate you.

Crackpot History

To imagine that I lived all my life without realizing that the Holy Roman Empire of ~1000 A.D. and the biblical state of Judah ~700 B.C. were one in the same. It's interesting stuff, and anyone with a taste for conspiracy theories should check this out.

End of the Rule of Law

Another painful pun, but the peanut gallery is calling for some discussion on the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law, and it's a worthwhile topic, so here goes. I haven't stayed abreast of the pedophile priest scandal since I moved south, but I think it's a good thing that Law resigned. And I don't necessarily think he should have done this way sooner: by remaining in office through the worst of the storm (we assume) he can take the blame for everything and be the scapegoat. A new archbishop can win over Boston's Catholic tribes and start cleaning the mess up.

A Lott More

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Good analysis of the GOP and the race issue in the NYTimes:

Ever since the Republican Party in the South was reborn by hostility to the civil rights legislation of the 1960's, the national party has increasingly depended on Southern votes while insisting to Northern moderates that it is still the party of Lincoln... Those balancing efforts usually work. But occasionally they blow up in the party's face, as seemed to occur this week... This week, the juggling has been less than nimble. For six days after Mr. Lott approvingly recalled Strom Thurmond's segregationist Dixiecrat campaign for president in 1948, Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, brushed off the episode as completed by Mr. Lott's apologies. But the controversy did not subside. And the political reality, Mr. Wirthlin said today, is that "Republicans cannot afford to alienate the South, but to alienate the suburbs on a racist charge would even be more damaging."

Powell Power

In a long-awaited speech that outlined the Bush administration's most comprehensive thinking on the issue, Powell announced a U.S.-funded initiative to stimulate political, economic and education reforms in the Middle East... The program to help modernize Arab society offers an initial contribution of $29 million and pledges to seek more from Congress and rich Arab countries.

On the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Powell said that the Palestinians are required replace their leadership, establish new institutes and put an end to terror in order to achieve peace, and that the Israelis will have to stop building in the territories.

Hmm, $29 mil isn't much, but it can't hurt. I hope we don't get a nation-building backlash. Maybe it's chauvinism on my part as a Middle East student, but I think that the unique complexities of Arab countries demand a very different approach from the standard U.S. approach to problems in Latin America, Africa, or Europe - sphere's where we've done a lot more.

Thanks to Ha'aretz for the quotes.

Vacant Lott

Instant Replay isn't sure what Senator Trent Lott was thinking, either. But we are sure glad to hear this news: Bush Assails Lott's Remarks as 'Offensive' and 'Wrong'. Thank you, Mr President! Someone in the administration realizes that the only possible way to exorcise the shadow of Lott's comment is to castigate Lott publically and distance the party from the remarks. This would have been more appropriate 2 or 3 days ago, and Lott's apology would have been more appropriate 4 or 5 days ago, but its much, much better than never.

Bush chose the perfect forum to make his rebuke: "Any suggestion that the segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive and it is wrong," Mr. Bush said in remarks to religious leaders in Philadelphia. "He has apologized, and rightly so." That Mr. Bush took the rare and extraordinary step of publicly criticizing a senior Congressional leader of his own party partly reflected deep Republican concern over the potential for political damage caused by Mr. Lott's gaffe. Republicans and Democrats alike have said Mr. Lott's comments would make it more difficult for Republicans to attract black and other minority voters, which has been a goal of President Bush.

The great upside of this whole debacle is for bloggers. Lott's misspeech was largely winked at by the national media, who were perhaps gunshy of picking up the torch after being labeled as scandal-seekers over the past few years. Instead, the people who built the furor around this were online. This may represent the finest hour of the blogmos, which escalated an issue to the point where the media and politics were forced to pick it up.

Rushing to Lambast Lott
One more name pun... "What Lott said is utterly indefensible and stupid," Rush Limbaugh declared..

OK, I know you want equal time: Hannity tried to get Lott off the hook by playing the Clinton card:
"We have back in October of this year, William Jefferson Clinton, in Arkansas saying wonderful things, what a remarkable man J. William Fulbright, former senator from Arkansas is, a known segregationist. He gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, a known segregationist, one of 19 senators who issued a statement entitled 'The Southern Manifesto', condemning the '54 Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education, defending segregation. Why hasn't anyone condemned Bill Clinton for doing far worse than what Trent Lott has done here?"

The Democrats who couldn't be bothered to comment are now body-slamming Lott all over the place. John Kerry has called for Lott to give up his leadership post (what constituency could he have his eye on?) Ted Kennedy and Joe Lieberman have hit Lott. Terry McAuliffe is demanding that President Bush denounce Lott's remarks. Jesse Jackson has entered the fray. People for the American Way has called for Lott to resign, as has the New York Times editorial page. The outrage industry is in full swing.

Hence Bush's castigation.

Bush was interrupted repeatedly by applause and ``amens.''
During the same appearance - it was in front of religious leaders, you recall - Bush unveiled new rules for the faith-based initiative. Instant Replay applauds his removal of the blockage of funding to faith-based organizations that discriminate based on faith. Bush appropriately turned the ACLU-esque rhetoric on its head, saying, "The days of discriminating against religious groups just because they are religious are coming to an end.''

2,385

1,717 Palestinians and 668 Israelis have been killed since the end of September, 2000. Five Palestinians were killed trying to climb a fence into Israel, probably to seek work. Over about 813 days since the second intifada began that's about 2.93 deaths per day. It's not on the scale of violence in places like the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda or Timor, but it's still a lot - though less than died on September 11 - and it's exacerbated by the apparent hopelessness of the conflict. God save us!

Scuds

Fifteen scud missiles and eighty-five drums of chemicals were found under 40,000 sacks of cement on a North Korean ship flying no flag. The Yemeni government - a US ally - protests that the scuds were for them. And the chemicals, too? It's iffy business, but Yemen isn't a stable enough ally to want them developing chemical weapons. Scuds, fine - they deserve self-defense capability. One good thing is that the Spanish are in this with us, so Europe can't get all high horsed about it. According to the NYTimes, the Spanish warship Navarra 'signaled for the cargo ship to halt but it "did not cooperate," one Pentagon official said. "It took evasive maneuvers. It tried by all means to avoid inspection."'

And, 'Pentagon officials said the Spanish warships had full legal rights to stop the ship because it was not flying a flag and its official markings were covered by paint. "It appeared as a lawless, stateless vessel," one official said.' Hmm, doesn't look like an entirely above-board government to government transaction. Yemen would be advised to buy its weapons from a more reputable source if it wants to continue to get serious U.S. support.

Some Work

This is a second draft of the second section I have to write for my second National Model Arab League. I am chairman of the Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior. Last year I was in environmental where I was, ahem, second in command.

Regulating Internet resources that promote internal political instability.
I. Facts
In researching this topic delegates will find a plethora of information on one side of the debate and a dearth on the other. Internet sources are uniformly in favor of free net usage and access. In fact, it can be hard to remember that the governments and organization that we represent are often opposed to these principles, and that the thrust of this topic is in cooperating to censor internet material that each government finds dangerous. On methods of censorship, not surprisingly, precious little exists online, and I applaud any delegate who can come up with hard facts on the methods and data of online censorship in the Arab world. That said, we must not allow this information discrepancy to hobble our discussion of the Internet issue.
The internet is quite a new phenomenon in the world at large, and particularly in the Arab world, where it has “one of the lower and slower rates of Internet growth in the world”, according to Jon W. Anderson, whose article “Producers and Middle East Internet Technology” has data on usage that is relevant to our discussion. His April 1999 estimates for Internet usage, in absolute numbers of subscriptions, are:

Saudi Arabia	340,000
UAE	290,000
Egypt	210,000
Lebanon	160,000
Kuwait	105,00
Bahrain	80,000
Jordan	70,000
Oman	45,000
Morocco	35,000
Qatar	20,000
Tunisia	10,000
Yemen	5,000

Growth rates from 1997-1999 are generally proportionate to total number of 1999 subscriptions, and growth rates were higher in 1999 than in previous years. Keep in mind that the user per subscription ration is high in the Arab world, and inversely proportionate to the ratio of subscriptions per person. Edmund Ghareeb cites a 2000 Internet survey indicating 1.9 million users in March of 2000, but projecting growth to 12 million users by the end of 2002 (Ghareeb, 415).
Moving beyond simple facts, delegates must understand the theoretical debate about the actual effects of the Internet on the “Arab street”. It is worthwhile to research and understand the opposing camps in the endless debate about the effects of a new technology - be it the crossbow or the fax machine - on a society. Briefly, the "technological determinists" on one end and the "instrumentalists" on the other occupy the two extreme positions of the debate. Determinists believe that technologies have innate values, and will thus affect any society to which they are introduced in a similar fashion. For instance, the musket has been called a “democratic technology” because when it was introduced it took military power out of the hands of the trained military elite, sidelining Teutonic Knights and Samurai alike. Marshal McLuhan is a well-known determinist academic in the field of communication; he said, “The medium is the message,” and maintained that a means of mass communication has an innate message (McLuhan and Fiore). Many contemporary pundits inadvertently agree with McLuhan, assuming that new communication technologies will overthrow traditional or oppressive regimes in the Middle East and elsewhere. Mamoun Fandy’s article in the Middle East Journal’s special issue on the Information Revolution (v.54 no. 3) contends with McLuhan and with the media perception, and claims that the new media of communication have not effected change in the Arab world, where trust is vested in personal reliability more than in expert opinion. Fandy’s viewpoint can be characterized from a theoretical standpoint as “utilitarian.” Utilitarians believe that a new technology will be utilized by a given society within their cultural context and its effect (or lack thereof) will be a product of the society and its worldview. For utilitarians, objects and technologies hold no values except those imbued on them by the user. Thus, the printing press, though it caused tremendous upheaval in Europe, did not have even a shadow of that effect when introduced in the Arab world: different societies used the same technology with different effects.
In the context of this theoretical debate, it is vital to keep in mind the size and influence of the Internet in the Arab world vis-à-vis older forms of mass communication, including television, newspapers, radio, the mosque and the souq. While we are specifically discussing the Internet, the wider significance of mass communication and information access in your country, not your personal experience of Internet use as an American (or other) university student, should serve as your base of reference.

II. Legislation, etc.
The Internet is probably the most unregulated sphere of modern life, due to its newness, complexity, and sheer size. Most governments are unsure how to - or if they should - regulate Internet usage, tax e-commerce, and combat Internet crime. Western governments have taken a laissez faire approach to the Internet, and do very little to interfere in the online world. Arab governments differ in their level of regulation, but are typically wary of the World Wide Web, and quicker to regulate it. The small number of Arab users and hosts makes a regulating government’s job easier. Exactly how effective Arab regulators are is anyone’s guess. To cite an anecdote, a friend of mine attests that the Syrian blockage of YahooMail can be circumvented with a bit of simple hacking.
Internationally, legislation is virtually nonexistent. International law protects intellectual property online as well as on paper, and international agreements exist to outlaw hacking and other obvious crimes. However, very little consensus exists on what to do or how to do it, and most Western governments are content to do nothing, leaving legislation on the world’s most borderless facet up to local governments. The United Nations has passed resolutions on “questions relating to information” (e.g. A/RES/64/56), but they tend to focus on freedom of speech, journalism, bridging the digital divide, and even the U.N. website - they do not explicitly encourage regulation of politically destabilizing material.

III. Responsibilities of the Delegate
As always, the delegate must accurately research and represent his or her country’s relevant facts and viewpoints. Of particular interest in this topic area are the extent and methods of regulation or censorship used in your country; are they successful? Is the internet really a relevant issue in mass communication in your country? Furthermore, research your government’s desired level of internet use and regulation. What are its long term goals regarding information technology?
In your theoretical approach to technology, adopt your government’s or prevailing national attitude. Is the government utilitarian, determinist, or something in between? Do you suspect a hidden agenda regarding the Internet?
Find out whether your government feels threatened by other groups or governments, and if you can, visit websites that may be considered dangerous by your government. I would encourage delegates to use creative means of research to find difficult to come by information; speaking to expatriates from your country is a worthwhile, if non-academic, means of research.
Needless to say, these directives and questions are not exhaustive, and it is the delegate’s responsibility to come fully prepared and well read on this topic.

IV. Bibliography and Recommended Resources
Anderson, Jon, “Producers and Middle East Technology: Getting Beyond ‘Impacts’,” Middle East Journal 54:419-431 (Washington, D.C.: Middle East Institute, 2000).
Eickelman, Dale, “Bin Laden, the Arab “Street” and the Middle East’s Democracy Deficit,” Current History 101:36-39 (New York: Events Pub. Co., 2002).
ESIS Program, http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/esis/default.htm.
Fandy, Mamoun, “Information Technology, Trust, and Social Change in the Arab World,” Middle East Journal 54:378-394 (Washington, D.C.: Middle East Institute, 2000).
Georgetown University, Working Papers on New Media & Internet Technology in the Middle East, http://nmit.georgetown.edu.
Ghareeb, Edmund, “New Media and the Information Revolution in the Arab World: An Assessment,” Middle East Journal 54:395-418 (Washington, D.C.: Middle East Institute, 2000).
Human Rights Watch, MENA IT Study, http://www.hrw.org/advocacy/internet/mena/int-mena.htm.
“Internet Use Skyrocketing in the Middle East,” NUA Surveys Ltd, 9 March 2000. http://www.nua.net/.
McLuhan, Marshal and Quintin Fiore, The Medium is the Message (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967).
United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2002, http://www.undp.org.
United Nations General Assembly, “Combating the Criminal Misuse of Information Technologies”, Resolution Adopted By The General Assembly 55/63. 22 January 2001. Document number A/RES/55/63.
United Nations General Assembly, “Questions Relating to Information”, Resolution Adopted By The General Assembly 56/64. 15 February 2002. Document number A/RES/56/64.
Special thanks to Dr. Karla Cunningham, SUNY Geneseo, on this section.

Ha'aretz Digest

The centrist Israeli news source has a few good articles up, as well as the mandatory reports of the latest violence.

Hezbollah - the Shiite parastate in southern and eastern Lebanon - is sticking to the "rules of the game" in its relations with Israel. That's a very good thing, since it gives a level of predictability to at least one relationship in a very unpredictable region. It also reflects a Syrian willingness to back out of the Israeli conflict in return for Israel backing all the way out of Lebanon. Another article compares oft-mentioned corruption in the Palestinian Authority with Israeli corruption - and ends up defending the PA.

I hadn't read this in US media, but a Palestinian woman was killed in front of her three young children - all of whom were injured - by machine gun fire from an Israeli tank in Gaza. Why oh why does Israel insist on staying there?

In the twisted machinery of Israeli politics, there are two primaries for each party (I guess): one for prime minister nominee; one for listees. So, although Sharon beat Netanyahu for the prime ministry, the latter gained a lot of high-placed seats in voting by Likud's 3000-member "central committee". The story and full list are available.

Red Letters

Matthew 5:21-22
“…‘whoever commits shall be liable to the court’. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court and whoever shall say to his brother … ‘you fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Not only does Christ uphold the Law in its entirety, he extends the predominantly outward law to inner and root sins. Anger, inner and verbal, are put on the same standing as murder. This also extends the inadequacy of man and cognizance of his need for redemption.

The passage is also another precept of the kingdom of heaven, and another sin to be avoided.

Thomas Friedman

I'm in the middle of "From Beirut to Jerusalem", Tom's landmark work on the Lebanese and Israeli-Palestinian struggles, published originally in 1989. It's great so far - I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Friedman's positively prophetic about Ariel Sharon, though he was writing when Sharon was in a political coma.

He writes, "I am convinced that there is only one man in Israel that [Syrian President] Hafez Assad ever feared and that is Ariel Sharon... Assad knew Sharon well; he saw him every morning when he looked in the mirror," and "These two men [Yasir Arafat and Lebanese Christian leader Camille Chamoun] had sent so many young men to die in defense of their own personal power and status, and now they were sending bouquets. That was Beirut. Beirut was a theater and Arafat though he could star in it forever. Then one day an outsider stormed in, without even buying a ticket. He was a big man, a fat man, and he did not understand the logic of the play.

Ariel Sharon never sent Yasir Arafat flowers.

Friedman still works for the New York Times, but now in the Big Apple as the foreign affairs columnist. NYTimes provides his biography and some of his latest work.

"From Beirut to Jerusalem" even had a quote that was germane to my work here in the Press Office: It actually ended up hurting the PLO more than helping it, because the PLO leadership fell in love with their own press clippings. Headlines became a narcotic substitute for truly meaningful grassroots political or military actions and gave the PLO leaders a much exaggerated sense of their own strength. They mistook news reports for real power and theatrical gestures themselves into thinking that history was on their side, that they were getting stronger, and that this was no time for making concessions.

Enjoy watching the snow fall?

Then check out December 6th on Hoopla's Advent Calendar. Via Davezilla.

Red Letters

Matthew 5:17-20
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets…until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

This is a problematic passage, as it upholds firmly even the least of the commandments in the Law and the Prophets (incidentally would that be the one about cooking baby goats in their mother’s milk?). These are commandments completely ignored by modern Christians, whose behavior is based on the clear examples in Acts and the Pauline epistles.
Christ applies the law in its entirety to all people and all time until the end of the world, so it does not seem to allow an easy way out for Peter and Paul and the church which followed them. This paradox is not frequently addressed, given the strength and volume on the other side of the question, but this passage definitely is hard to place in Christian doctrine.

“…unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Perhaps the key to this and the last passage is the difference between entrance and rank in the kingdom. Law-breakers are said to be “least in the kingdom” while those who do not surpass the Pharisees will not enter the kingdom at all. The Pharisees were as close to keeping all the law - outwardly at least - as anyone, yet would not enter at all.
The Law, as Paul realized, serves to show us our own inadequacy. Christ is upholding the impossible standard, but His sacrifice provides the bridge across the gap left by our infinite shortcomings.

Snow Day

But I had to come to work today anyway... Fortunately they cancelled school, but they didn't do it until 8:01, after a lot of people were on their way. My cousins were getting ready when I left at 7:45. It took a long time to get to work: the bus never came, but fortunately I had decided to walk along its route to Friendship Heights.

It's a bona fide snowstorm: five inches have fallen all ready, and it's still going strong. Not many people at work today, but us interns are all here. The Director (whom we almost never see) came around to see what the floor was like a few minutes ago, and chatted with us for a few seconds.

Instant Review: Nixon Agonistes

Garry Wills's 600-page tome on Nixon, the '68 campaign, the nation's angst, political philosophy and a lot of other stuff bears the wonkily appropriate title "Nixon Agonistes." The title is drawn from the book (I forget by whom) Simon Agonistes, for "Agonistes" means "actor", similar to "protagonist" (=first actor). Titular vagaries aside, the book is an enjoyable read, if you like serious political philosophy, and bears the marks of a journalist, which Wills is. Will's eye for detail and his ability to bring anecdotes to life saves what would be an otherwise hopeless work.

The book follows no strict chronology as do most biographies; it instead examines the four markets Nixon - as a Classical Liberal - dealt in and believed passionately in (according to Wills). First the moral market, typified by Ralph Waldo Emerson, then the Intellectual Market, typified by John Stuart Mill, then the moral market, and lastly the political market, typified by Nixon's hero: Woodrow Wilson. Wills argues that firm belief in the market uber alles typified Wilson, Hoover, and Nixon, all of whom were classical liberals. He closes his book by arguing strongly against liberalism, saying that the individualism and myths that accompany liberal ideology are incapable of dealing with the complexities of modern society.

To really understand his work I would need a lot more background on philosophy and on Nixon himself; lacking that I am a student more than a critic of Wills' work. I would recommend the book to anyone who really needs to think: that's what I felt the desperate need for a month ago, and now my need has been fulfilled.

Dems 1, GOP 0

As far as national conventions go, I'm rooting for the Democrats. Bambino's Curse points out that in the last 30 years, the city that hosts the Dem's convention gets a major sports championship during the following four years, and generally within the first year or two. So 2004-2008 is our window. Of course, the Bruins are looking pretty hot right now, the Celtics and Patriots are playoff teams, the Revolution won the East, and that leaves... the Late, Great Red Sox Nation.

Instant Review: Schindler's List

I saw this classic film for the first time tonight. It was all I had been told to expect: jarring, chilling, and remarkably well made (which goes for any Spielberg film). Another Spielberg in the same vein which I saw recently was "Amistad"... one of my faves.

Schindler's List has a lot of upside, including the superb acting, gut-wrenching realism, and genuine sorrow all around the film. The downsides I'd list would be gratuitous nudity: it's relevant that Schindler's partier/womanizer side be portrayed, but there's just too many scenes that show too much.

As a Christian, the most poignant part of the film is the ending. Spielberg shines by not allowing the end of the film to get caught up in the joy of Allied victory. Instead, the protagonist breaks down in open weeping - after 6 years of war waged with suave panache - thinking of all the other people he could have saved. He looks at his car, and sees 10 Jews who could have been saved. Likewise his parties and affluent life: instead of self-congratulation, we see contrition and sorrow. As Christians, we serve a role not altogether different from Schindler's. We have been entrusted with our generation of fellow men and women, who will suffer a fate worse than genocide without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ which we hold. I didn't cry during the movie, but I'm almost brought to tears thinking of how many lives my self-serving (most of the time) lifestyle has cost. It's sickening... but will another prophecy change the momentum of my life and the American church in general? I hope so, but past performance tends to be a pretty good indicator of future results.

God I need Your Spirit!