|
Windows on the current global
crisis |
David R. Loy, "A new holy war against evil? A Buddhist Response"
Sunthar Visuvalingam, On invoking the "Song of God" (Bhagavad-Gîtâ) to sanction a 'just' war
Rajiv Malhotra, "Gita on Fighting Terrorism" (Nov. 5th, 2001; Sulekha column - reader's comments are also interesting...)
Sunthar Visuvalingam, "Wendy
Doniger and the Interpretation of Hindu Mythology - Krishna in the
Mahâbhârata" (10/7/2001)
Rabbi Michael Lerner, "Where the Violence comes from: Newer version of A World out of Touch"
Tarot cards on the Lightning-Stricken Tower and on Judgment
Alexandre Adler, "Pakistan's good hand" (French; Le Monde: 28 Nov. 01) - is the rejection of the Taliban a reaffirmation of an 'Indian' Pakistan?
Anna Quindlen, "Honestly—You Shouldn’t Have" (MSNBC/Newsweek: 03 Dec. 01 issue)
Samuel Huntington, "The risk of a conflict of civilizations" (French; Le Monde: 20 Oct 01 ) - conflict or cooperation-cum-rivalry?
Amaya Bloch-Lainé, "Great global crisis, small Gallic debate" (French, Le Monde, 19 Oct 01), i.e., is French policy really more enlightened?
Daniel Strieff, "British anti-terror proposal under fire: Legislation more stringent than U.S. counterpart" (MSNBC: 23 Nov 01)
George Lardner Jr (Washington Post), "Concern increases on anti-terror moves" (MSNBC: 16 Nov 01)
Morton H. Halperin, "What happened to civil liberties?" (Newsweek/MSNBC: 16 Nov. 01)
John W. Dean, "The closed-door presidency: George W. Bush’s appetite for secrecy" (MSNBC: 15 Nov. 01)
"The antiterrorist pretext of Brussels" by a group of European lawyers (French; Le Monde: 14 Nov. 01)
John W. Dean, "Liberties lost: Unintended consequences of the anti-terror law" (MSNBC: 07 Nov. 01)
Alain Touraine, "Today and Tomorrow" (French; Le Monde: 26 Nov. 01)
Jean Birnbaum, "Inquiry on a French detestation" (French; Le Monde: 25 Nov. 01) - Why are the French the most anti-American?
Alain Fraichon, "America. the ill-loved" (French; Le Monde: 24 Nov. 01)
Robert Redeker, "The discourse of voluntary blindness" (French; Le Monde: 21 Nov. 01)
Daniel Bensaïd et Willy Pelletier, "By God! these wars are holy!" (French; Le Monde: 21 Nov. 01)
Edgar Morin, "The world-society against the world of terror" (French; Le Monde: 21 Nov. 01)
Jean Clair, "Surrealism and the demoralization of the West" (French; Le Monde: 21 Nov. 01)
Jacques Julliard, "The bankruptcy of anti-Americanism" (French; Liberation: 13 Nov 01)
Ulrich Beck, "The demise of neo-liberalism" (French; Le Monde: 09 Nov 01; translated from the German)
Gérard Huber, "Refusing to praise terrorism" (French; Le Monde: 09 Nov 01); critique of Baudrillard's analysis by a psychoanalyst
Alain Minc, "Intellectual terrorism" (French; Le Monde: 06 Nov 01); systematic critique of Baudrillard's analysis
Jean Baudrillard, "The Soul of Terrorism" (French; Le Monde: 02 Nov 01)
John Le Carré, "The Theater of Terror" (French; Le Monde: 26 Oct 01)
Edward Said, "The Clash of Ignorance" (22 Oct 01; read the article in French; Le Monde: 26 Oct 01).
Arundhati Roy, "Insult and injury in Afghanistan: America’s ill-conceived war on terror" (MSNBC: 20 Oct. 01)
Francis Fukuyama, "We are still at the End of History" (French; Le Monde: 17 Oct 01- from Wall Street Journal - English original)
Arundhati Roy, "Ben Laden, America's family secret" (French; Le Monde: 16 Oct 01)
Andrew Sullivan, "This Is a Religious War" (New York Times: 07 Oct 01)
Sullivan confuses two distinct, though related issues, in dealing with Islam, namely fundamentalism of all stripes and the religious sanction of violence. The 'war on terrorism' would be a defense of the (separation of church and state enshrined in the) U.S. Constitution, which alone can guarantee the free exercise of multiple religions, against a violent fundamentalism that would ultimately be destructive of those very liberties that foster the growth of religious values. Is a Buddhist 'fundamentalism' more likely to prone the resort to arms or would it be rather even more susceptible to the sway of the original ideal of non-violence? [to be completed - in the meantime, see correspondence].
Jacques Le Goff, "The triumphs and failures of globalizations" (French; Le Monde: 15 Nov 01)
"The well-oiled retinue of George W. Bush" (French; Le Monde: 12 Nov. 01) - extracts from chapter 6 : "Chronicle of a forbidden negotiation" (5th February 2001 - 2nd August 2001)
Sylvain Cypel, "When Washington was negotiating with the Taliban" [before Sep 11] - Review of The Suppressed Truth
Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil & Fundamentalism in Central Asia - Amazon reviews
Ahmed Rashid, "Osama Bin Laden: How the U.S. Helped Midwife a Terrorist" (chapter from above book)
Ahmed Rashid, "Kandahar 1994: the Origins of the Taliban" (chapter 1 from Rashid's book)
Recognizing the Opposition: Understanding Osama bin Laden, Fundamentalist Islam and the Jihad (web-site)
Islam: Empire of Faith (documentary series by Robert Gardener that has
appeared on PBS)
To Laugh or Not to Laugh? The best (or the worst) humor often surpasses (or falls short of) itself to become a mere semblance of humor (hâsyâbhâsa in Sanskrit). Here are some gut perceptions--through the binoculars (read: 'bisociation') of wit--into the self-contradictions of public policy and our own all-too-human follies.
What goes around comes around.....teaching karma at the kindergarten (courtesy of John David Prabhu)
Complete Idiot's Guide to understanding turbans: telling the safe from the dangerous (courtesy of John David Prabhu)
Jeff Conklin's Wicked Problems - Fighting Terrorism