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November 17, 2001: This message was distributed by Papyrus News. Feel free to forward this message to others, preferably with this introduction. For info on Papyrus News, including how to (un)subscribe or access archives, see <http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/papyrus-news.html>. |
Some miscellaneous comments and links below. The beginning of Ramadan
brings back fond memories of Cairo. To all my Muslim friends, Ramadan Karim!
Mark
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Al Jazeera
One of the most interesting media phenomena in today's world is the
rise of Al Jazeera, the free-wheeling, pro-Islamist, Arabic-language satellite
television station that has caught the attention of much of the Arab world, and
has now risen to international prominence during the current war. The US
government seems caught in a bind, not knowing whether to send its
representatives to appear on it or to bomb it (both of which it has done). Most
analysis of Al Jazeera in the US press, and even in scholarly journals, has
been remarkably shallow. A deeper analysis of Al Jazeera--its genesis, content,
and role, together with some recommendations for US policy makers--has appeared
in the magazine section of the New York Times, available online with free
registration at
<http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/magazine/18ALJAZEERA.html>.
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Divided We Stand?
How can countries best defend themselves in the age of "netwar" -- and
by netwar I'm not referring to attacks on the Internet, but rather war waged by
distributed networks such as Al Qaeda. One way is through not putting all their
own eggs in one basket--distributing their population centers, communications
systems, transportation systems, etc., to leave themselves less vulnerable to
attack. The latest issue of Wired has a good article on the topic (available
now at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/defense.html).
[And how do we protect our communications systems? See: To Forestall a 'Digital
Pearl Harbor,' U.S. Looks to System Separate From Internet
<http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/17/technology/17INTE.html>]
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We Can't Squander Language Skills
Another element of defense is our nation's language skills, which we
have been shamelessly squandering, especially through the lack of heritage
language programs to help immigrant groups maintain their native tongues. For a
comment on the topic, by long-time colleague Joy Kreeft Peyton and her
associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics, Donald A. Randard, see
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ranard05nov05.story>
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Education, Modernization, and the Darkness of Caves
A Pakistani writer: "Oxford and Cambridge were the `madrasas' of
Christendom in the 13th century. Look where they are today - among the leading
institutions of education in the world. Where are our institutions of learning?
...True Jihad today is not in the hijacking of planes, but in the making of
planes...The last things Muslims need is the growing darkness of [Bin Laden's]
caves...." See
<http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/16/opinion/16FRIE.html>.
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Liberation of Kabul
When I suggested that military action was justified in Afghanistan, I
heard and read things like "this is anti-Muslim," and "this will cause a
humanitarian disaster" and "why should Afghans suffer for the actions of Al
Queda". Well, let's look at the situation now. A humanitarian disaster has been
going on for years in Afghanistan, with one out of four children dying of
malnutrition and disease, due to the horrific policies of the Taliban and their
interference with socio-economic development and humanitarian relief. Far from
causing a humanitarian disaster, the US military intervention has likely helped
avert one, by helping create conditions allowing for massive shipments of food
aid, which are now beginning. As for this being an action that is
"anti-Afghani" or "anti-Muslim", it's pretty clear that the Afghan people
(including the mostly Pashtun population of Kabul) don't feel that way. They
are out in the streets celebrating, putting up posters, getting out their TV
sets, listening to music, and, for women, going back to work and school for the
first time in years. (And most of Afghan's neighbors, themselves Muslim
countries such as Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikstan, are also feeling relieved,
with the notable exception of the other neighbor that foisted the Taliban on
Afghanistan in the first place.) Of course the credit for this goes not only to
US military action, but also the active resistance of the Afghan people, led by
the military forces of the Northern Alliance. For an alternative perspective on
the often-criticized Northern Alliance, see:
<http://www.thenewrepublic.com/112601/kaplan112601.html>
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Democracy, Shefocracy!
I received a catalogue today from University Press of America (http://www.univpress.com/), a press that seems to offer a way for people to publish their academic monographs without any review. As they say on their Website, "Newspapers and academic journals around the country have reported extensively on the difficulties facing scholars seeking publications for academic books...University Press of America offers a bright alternative to this grim scenario, with innovative publishing programs designed for scholarly monographs." I suppose that meets a need, but some of the titles that they advertise are truly bizarre. How about this for a book: "DEMOCRACY--a failure, SHEFOCRACY--the solution for human welfare". (And no, I'm not making it up :-)).
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