There is no public evidence that Sami al-Hajj committed any crime other than journalism for a television network the Bush administration doesn’t like.

But the U.S. has been holding Mr. Hajj, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, for nearly five years without trial, mostly at Guantánamo Bay. With the jailing of Mr. Hajj and of four journalists in Iraq, the U.S. ranked No. 6 in the world in the number of journalists it imprisoned last year, just behind Uzbekistan and tied with Burma, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Sami's Shame, and Ours - New York Times

The 21st century may become to Islam what the 16th was to Christianity, for even in hard-line states like Iran you meet Martin Luthers who are pushing for an Islamic Reformation. One of the most surprising elements of this push for reform has to do with the emergence of a school called “feminist Islam.”

Looking for Islam’s Luthers - New York Times

James Carville, the legendary Clinton campaign adviser who coined the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid,” knows a gut issue when he sees one. So when Mr. Carville contacted me the other day to tell me about the newest gut issue his polling was turning up for candidates in the 2006 elections, I was all ears.

“Energy independence,” he said. “It’s now the No. 1 national security issue. ... It’s become kind of a joke with us, because no matter how we ask the question, that’s what comes up.”
...
Mr. Carville and Mr. Greenberg are professional campaign advisers. They get paid to get people elected — not to offer feel-good nostrums. So when they tell you that their polling and focus groups around the country show that “reducing dependence on foreign oil” is voters’ top national security priority, you know that this issue has finally arrived. The party that captures it most credibly will be rewarded.

if the numbers are right then this would be seismic

The Energy Mandate - New York Times

Europe appears to be crossing an invisible line regarding its Muslim minorities: More people in the political mainstream are arguing that Islam cannot be reconciled with European values.

the article seems to articulate the spectre of that terrible stage and precursor to a larger conflagration the collapse of the center
this stage has been noted in the English and French Civil War/Revolutions - not that I believe things will escalate to that extent but it is certainly an indiction that certainly in Europe with our relatively large Muslim populations the level of violence is going to rise considerably before it starts to subside - I think it will be a relative level of violence rather than any sort an insurgancy

The collapse of the center is a dangerous sign - we need bridge builders not bridge demolishion. In this context Jack Straw's recent contribution is entirely negitive.

Dyab Abou Jahjah, a Lebanese-born activist in Belgium, said that for years Europeans had emphasized "citizenship and human rights," the notion that Muslim immigrants had the responsibility to obey the law but could otherwise live with their traditions.

"Then someone comes and says it's different than that," said Jahjah, who opposes assimilation. "You have to dump your culture and religion. It's a different deal now."

I also think it is wrong to "oppose assimilation" - we must ask what assimilation means - both sides must be prepared to compromise - we must find ways that communities can live side by side - some areas of my city are predominantly white European and some are predominantly Asian (I know in America you call people from South-East Asia or China Asian but in Britain if someone is referred to as Asian or as British-Asian then it means they are from or are 1st or 2nd generation desendants of people from the Asian sub-continent). There are probably few streets which aren't racially and culturally mixed at least to some extent.
We must hold the center through dialogue and compromise. Muslim women should no more be expected to reject the veil than male Hasidic Jews should be expected to cut off their locks. People must be free to express a distinctive cultural identity. Similarly Muslims can protest against the publication of the Danish cartoons but must understand that we have a free press and perceived insults to Islam must be tolerated. If a line is crossed and it becomes racist abuse then there are legal avenues which can be pursued. All communities have their red lines (issues about which they can not or will not compromise) which is natural but it is not wise for either community to be too rigid and declare too frequently "thus far and no further".

Moderate Europeans losing faith in Islam - muslims, europe, eu, islam - Europe - International Herald Tribune

Unless China and Russia get their act together and understand that the post-post-cold-war world is a much bigger threat to their prosperity than a post-cold-war world in which U.S. power is pre-eminent. You read me right — the post-cold-war world can be preserved only if Russia and China get over their ambivalence about U.S. power and if the Bush team gets over its ambivalence about Iran and North Korea.

How so? The U.S. is sanctioned out when it comes to Iran and North Korea. We don’t have any more unilateral sanctions with which to pressure either regime to halt its nuclear adventure. The only countries that could have an impact on North Korea and Iran are China and Russia.

If China told North Korea that unless it dismantled its nuclear program and put its facilities under U.N. inspection, Beijing would cut off its energy and food, Kim Jong-il would relent. He is not suicidal. Anything less than such an explicit Chinese threat will mean a nuclear North Korea and eventually a nuclear Asia — which will certainly not be good for China’s growth prospects.

And if China and Russia told Iran that they would join in the toughest possible U.N. economic sanctions on Tehran if it persisted in its nuclear program, the ayatollahs would also back down. Because then the Europeans would have the spine to join in sanctions and Tehran would face a united front.

The Bus Is Waiting - New York Times

The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

"The DPRK ignored universal opposition of the international community and flagrantly conducted the nuclear test on Oct. 9. The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to it," the statement said.

It said China strongly demands the DPRK live up to its commitment to non-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, stop any activity that may worsen the situation and return to the six-party talks.

It has been the firm, unshakable and consistent stance of the Chinese government to realize non-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and oppose proliferation of nuclear weapons, the statement said.

The Chinese government calls for calm response from all parties concerned and urges them to stick to peaceful resolution of the issue through consultations and dialogues, the statement said.

It said that maintaining peace and stability in the Northeast Asia region conforms to the common interests of all parties concerned, and China will continue to make unremitting efforts to this end.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing talked over telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday afternoon, exchanging views on the latest development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The entire North Korean situation is dependent on China. They are the DPRK's last lifeline. If they cut off aid, the regime will begin to collapse. There is little else that can be done.

If all aid from China is cut off, the PLA enforces the northern border, and a US naval blockade put in place, then it's game over for the DPRK regime. This should come with a very strong line, that unless Kim is ousted and the "military-first" doctrine is dropped, the trade/aid blockade will continue.

Of course, that's the point where all the shit would hit the fan. This would be a good time to read the Kaplan article I posted recently. There are no "good" options for how to handle North Korea. There is only a bad problem rapidly growing worse.

Xinhua - China resolutely opposes DPRK's nuclear test

President George W. Bush has described today's Iraq as a "young democracy." He even boasted at one point that the advance of democratic institutions in Iraq is "setting an example" that others in the area would be "wise to follow." But when it comes to one of the most basic tenets of democracy - freedom of speech and the press - Iraq is not setting an example that even the youngest of democracies would be wise to follow.

New laws in Iraq criminalize speech that ridicules the government or its officials, and any journalist who "publicly insults" the government or public officials can be subject to up to seven years in prison.

In Iraq, freedom to insult - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune

n the days since the killings in a schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., the tone from the grieving Amish community has been not of despair or revenge, but of forgiveness.

A relative of 13-year-old Marian Fisher, one of the children shot by Charles Carl Roberts, 32, extended an invitation to Roberts' widow to attend the girl's funeral. The Amish woman told a reporter, "It's our Christian love to show to her we have not any grudges against her."
...
Still, anyone who has ever set out on the winding road to forgiveness knows it is easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk. This week the Amish have offered all of us a superb lesson on how to make the talk and the walk intersect.

Forgiving the unforgivable | Chicago Tribune

this applies to everyone here.

YouTube - White & Nerdy

“That society which has the least resistance to the uninterrupted flow of ideas, diversity, concepts and competitive signals wins,” says Nandan Nilekani, C.E.O. of the Indian tech giant Infosys. “And the society that has the efficiencies to translate whatever can be done quickly — from idea to market — also wins.”

The old left thinks free trade is something that benefits only multinationals. In fact, it is now critical for small businesses and individuals, who can now act multinationally. They are the ones who create good jobs.

Last week, I was in Nebraska, where I met Doug Palmer. He and his partner, Pat Boeshart, make insulated concrete forms for buildings. The traditional way to insulate concrete with foam is to make the foam and then truck it around the country to building sites to be attached to concrete. Mr. Palmer’s company, Lite-Form, found a Korean machine that, when combined with devices added by his firm, can make the foam and concrete together on site, saving big dollars in trucking. Today, Mr. Palmer’s South Sioux City company imports these machines from Korea, attaches its devices and exports them to Kuwait. His company has an Arabic brochure that tells Kuwaitis how to use the device. The brochure was produced by a local ad agency owned by the Winnebago Indian tribe of Nebraska. The agency was started by the tribe’s economic development corporation. Midwest Indians publishing Arabic brochures for Nebraskans importing from Koreans for customers in Kuwait ...

“Protectionism scares me,” said Mr. Palmer, who has 28 employees. “If we put up a moat and keep doing what we’re doing, thinking we’re the smartest in the world, we’re going to die. We have to have that flexibility to barter and trade.”

Big Ideas and No Boundaries - New York Times