Foreign Dispatches

The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates

Andrew Sullivan nails the crux of the whole matter nearly perfectly: the ruckus raised by this whole issue - especially on the part of those rushing to accuse Henry Louis Gates of "playing the race card" - is in itself indicative of how much racism remains a problem in America, the reality of a black President notwithstanding.

Ireland - the Iran of Europe?

The Irish Republic has certainly taken a huge step in the direction of Iran and Saudi Arabia with its adoption of a blasphemy law. Quite why "God" needs defending in such a manner - especially in what one imagined to be a modern, secular European state rather than a Middle-Eastern theocracy - is quite beyond me. Even stranger still is that it should be left to the likes of Sinn Féin to do what Ireland's main parties will not, by forcefully rejecting this legislative abomination. I mean, Jesus Christ, what god-damned nonsense politicians are capable of!

The Genius of "London Hearts"

While I happen to like a lot of Japanese television - which I find on the whole to be far more entertaining than the government-subsidized drivel served up on most European channels - I realize that Japanese TV isn't necessarily to everyone's taste; in particular, the author of the hilarious Gaijin Smash blog is one of those who would disagree mightily with me on the issue.

More Hamas TV

When one says that it is a pity certain Palestinian groups seem to hate Israelis' children more than they love their own, one opens oneself up to accusations of "racism" and "spouting Israeli propaganda", but how else is one to interpret creating television programs targeting children with the message that suicide bombing is something noble and praiseworthy?

It is tempting to think Israel's support for settlement building in the West Bank is the "root cause" of all the conflict in that part of the world, but while I do agree that most of the settlements must go (especially the ones far away from the "Green Line"), I am not so naive as to think that a desire for peace would suddenly bloom in the hearts of the Palestinians if every last settlement were simply to vanish into thin air. At heart, this is a conflict with a religious basis, and one which does not allow for any peaceful resolution: the Palestinians (and much of the rest of the Muslim world) believes that all of the former British mandate is holy soil which belongs to them by right, and the very existence of a Jewish state on any of it is therefore considered unacceptable. Seeing as the Israelis aren't about to either let themselves be driven into the Mediterranean sea or submit to becoming subservient subjects of a Muslim state, this conflict will run and run regardless of anything foreign politicians might do to try to bring it to a close.

Confirming Sonia Sotomayor

There's no question that Sonia Sotomayor is going to be confirmed as Justice Stevens' replacement on the Supreme Court: given the Democrats' dominance of the Senate, and the GOP's wariness of alienating Hispanic voters even more than it already has, it would take a Harriet Miers level of incompetence to fail the process, and in glaring contrast to Bush's unacceptable crony, Sonia Sotomayor is nothing if not qualified. Still, one might think the process itself would prove of interest, but the reality is rather less exciting; Dahlia Lithwick wrily spells out the predictable steps the process is likely to take. An amusing (and almost certainly accurate) excerpt:

The Evolution of a Photographer

Of late, I've been reflecting a great deal upon my progression in the field of photography, thinking both about how I viewed the subject in the past as well as what I'd like to pursue in the future. Of particular interest is how the things I once viewed as most important have gradually fallen away, while the things I'm most concerned about today would simply never even have occurred to me when I was a complete beginner.

Of Pity and War

I've just come across an article in the Guardian, written by a certain Peter Beaumont, which goes on in some detail about what the aftermath of Israel's Operation Cast Lead has been for some families in Gaza. The details are harrowing, and I think it's worthwhile that such things be more widely known, if only to ensure that no one ever starts to fall under the illusion that war is something else than a hellish, murderous undertaking, never something to plunge into lightly.

The Megan Fox of Politics

After reading about yet another dumb utterance issuing from the mouth of Transformers starlet Megan Fox, and subsequently reading yet another revealing article about the snowbilly from Wasilla, a revelation struck me: Sarah Palin is to American politics precisely what Megan Fox is to American film-making, a woman who's certainly pleasant to look at (though by no means nearly as dazzling as all the press hype would have one believe), but who only succeeds in making everyone outside of her coterie of devotees cringe every time she opens her mouth and says something incredibly stupid - which is pretty much any time either woman is allowed to speak to the press without being limited to a set of canned responses. Suffice to say that both women would be phenomenally successful in their chosen careers if only all they had to do was shut up and look pretty for an all-male audience ...

UPDATE: Sarah Palin has just resigned as governor of Alaska. Perhaps she does have a thing or two on Megan Fox after all.