Rest In Peace: Mistislav Rostropovich

Yesterday, sadly, Legendary Russian cellist who became one of the symbols of the resistance against Soviet rule, the man who played his cello at the berlin wall as it came down,  [[Mstislav Rostropovich]], died at the age of 80. 
It always feels so sad, when a wonderful musician of his kind dies.  But we shoudl [...]

Rapex

From the "things that make you go hmmm…" file, comes the new ANTI-RAPE PRODUCT: Rapex.
Quoting The First post:
Rapex – dubbed the ‘rape trap’ – is a product worn internally by women. The hollow inside is lined with rows of razor-sharp hooks, which are designed to latch on to a rapist’s penis during penetration. They can [...]

What US’s invitation of Iran to talks might really mean

I’m sure we’ve all heard the news of the conference on Iraq security wherein Iran and Syria have also been invited along with the US. And so far Iran has not given a clear answer other than saying, it would want to attend if for no other reason than to help stablize iraq and thereby [...]

And the other 90% ?

Just a simple question.
If iran should be attacked because they are supposedly funding Shi’ite militias against the US, which account for around 10% of attacks on the US troops; Should they US not be nearly 10 times more concerned about who is funding the Sunni Insurgents which account for 90% of attacks on Americans?  [...]

Reading List: Iran, will the US attack (and other stuff…)

Here is a list of interesting short articles by various specialists done by Harper’s Magazine as part of an online forum on whether the US will engage Iran in military action:

Part I : Independant Analysts

This includes commentaries by Richard Norton, professor of international relations at Boston University; Wayne White, an adjunct scholar with Washington’s Middle [...]

No George, No Iran

A great article in the Huffington Post by George Karel Bouley, on Bush/Cheney and the lack of their legitimacy in the argument to confrotn Iran. Here are some excepts:
You see we should not invade Iran because of they give or gave weapons to Iraqi fighters for one solid, very real reason: our hands are [...]

Juan Cole on Iran (On Olbermann’s Countdown)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/v/pD6t0Mo-ee4[/video]

A vs. B

I’ve shamelessly borrowed this from Homeyra’s wonderful blog (a must-read if you don’t already)…
Country A, Country B
February 2nd, 2007 · 8 Comments
I guess most ot you have seen this article. Just in case here is an excerpt:
January 31, 2007
Thomas Friedman, NYT
Here’s a little foreign policy test. I am going to describe two countries , “Country [...]

Another overt act of provocation …

… and goading into war.
Iranian Envoy seized by Iraqi army unit which reports directly to the US army.
Why is everyone so silent and just watching? All those countries in europe, in asia, in north america… who are not sayign anything, not doing anything, once this war gets started by those warmmongers, the flames of [...]

The Unspoken (American) Presidential Candidate

There is an excellent article in the recent issue of ROLLING STONE, on the unspoken-of Democratic Presidential candidate who is Al Gore.
Here is an excerpt:
A stiff vice president campaigns on his administration’s legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in [...]