By Sarah Ruden Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation, By Elaine Pagels, Viking, 246 pp., $27.95 The Book of Revelation is a jolt at the end of the New Testament: thrilling, baffling, or embarrassing to many Christians, shocking or laughable to many others. The monsters lumbering across its Read more
Continue ReadingThe End of Populism by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The Arab Spring has provided scholars and analysts with a laboratory to observe radical social change. Tunisia and Egypt taught us about non-violent resistance and the power of the people to overcome regime repression. In Libya, we saw tribal, regional, national, and international actors whose interests intersected Read more
Continue ReadingThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness; by MICHELLE ALEXANDER; The New Press, Paperback, $19.95. The New Jim Crow Ever since Barack Obama lifted his right hand and took his oath of office, pledging to serve the United States as its 44th president, ordinary people and their leaders around the globe have been celebrating our Read more
Continue ReadingGeorge F. Kennan: An American Life, By John Lewis Gaddis, Penguin Press, 784 pp., $39.95 George Kennan was the J. Alfred Prufrock of American diplomacy—acutely observant, toxically self-absorbed, and to borrow T. S. Eliot’s words, “full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; / At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— / Almost, at times, the Read more
Continue ReadingExperiment Eleven: Dark Secrets Behind the Discovery of a Wonder Drug; By PETER PRINGLE Reviewed by Marc Parrish According to the famous German physicist Arnold Berliner, scientists are “a cross between a mimosa and a porcupine”: one part bubbly, intoxicating sweetness and one part prickly brawler. Along with their commitment to the intellectual pursuit of Read more
Continue ReadingKnowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance With Israel is Coming to an End. By Norman Finkelstein. OR Books; 472 pages; $18 and £12. IT HAS become increasingly common for prominent liberal Jewish Americans to voice anguished disquiet over Israel’s behaviour. The most visible signs of this trend are books, such as Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* In a couple of days, Morsi will be declared the winner of the presidential contest. Although we just witnessed events that reminded us that nothing is certain in post-revolution Egypt, having a president 15 months after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak will bring some political stability and predictability for the country. Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Before his ouster, Hosni Mubarak fired a desperate, last shot. He handed over all his authorities to the military, from whose ranks he rose to power. He reasoned that if he cannot keep power, he should preserve influence. Since then, the military has walked a tight line between appeasing the powerful Read more
Continue ReadingThe politics of journalism by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Photo used by BBC, the photo was later taken down. Following a horrific massacre that took place in Houla, Australia, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the United States decided to expel diplomats from Syria. The action was swift despite the Read more
Continue ReadingUntil before Cablegate, when in February 2010 WikiLeaks began releasing classified U.S. cables, Saudi Arabia was known for its quiet diplomacy. Then its secret dealings were revealed and exposed its actual dealings. Regionally, released documents exposed Saudi Arabia as an enthusiastic proponent of military intervention in Iran. Privately, the Saudi rulers told U.S. officials that Read more
Continue Reading