http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:03:41 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/28/230341.php NirajDr. Fakhruddin Ahmed has escaped from the insane asylum and somehow got hold of a computer, the results of which is utter nonsense. He attacks New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for being an accomplice for MEMRI, a non-profit organization that translates news stories published in the Middle Eastern press:In your July 22 piece, you accuse the Imam of Islam's holiest mosque in Mecca of saying the following: "calling Jews 'the scum of the earth' and 'monkeys and pigs' who should be 'annihilated.' Other enemies of Islam were referred to by Sheik Al-Sudayyis as 'worshippers of the cross' and 'idol-worshiping Hindus' who must be fought." Incendiary stuff! In one statement he manages to alienate the world's Christians, Hindus, and Jews. I wonder why he left out the Buddhists! If it is true that he has really used that kind of despicable language, he has polluted Islam's holiest shrine, and I will be the first to condemn him and ask for his firing. Here is the problem though. You attribute the information, not to an impartial and respectable source, but to "Memri Translation Service," and "Yigal Carmon, the founder of Memri, which monitors the Arab-Muslim media." This is where you sink into deceit, Tom. What you hide from America is that Yigal Carmon is a virulent Zionist, whose organisation, Memri, is dedicated solely towards painting the most negative picture of the Islamic world to the west. (Does Memri have an agent in the holy mosque, I wonder.) Yet, to unsuspecting Americans you pass off anti-Muslim Jewish extremist Carmon as a respectable mainstream American. This crucial information changes the complexion of your expose entirely. You are so powerful Tom that no newspaper in America will dare to expose your deceit and publish this truth. Yigal Carmon supplying information about Muslim preachers is as believable as Baruch Goldstein fighting for the rights of Palestinians......If you really want to be "nondiscriminatory," Tom, why don't you ask Memri to secretly tape the sermons of militant Jewish Rabbis and expose them to the world? If militant Imams' sermons inspire Muslim extremists, surely militant Rabbis' sermons must be inspiring, in your own words, "Jewish settler extremists who wrote 'Muhammad is a Pig' on buildings in Gaza." I can't wait to read your column denouncing Jewish hate speech.It's obvious Dr. Ahmed doesn't really know what MEMRI is, or what it really does. I strongly believe Dr. Ahmed knows exactly what MEMRI is and does, he just chooses to attack Yigal Carmon, MEMRI's founder, for being a right-wing Zionist--shooting the messenger, so to speak.The issue of contention is a sermon given by one Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis, imam of Islam's most holy mosque, Al-Haram in Mecca. Dr. Ahmed contends it's a fabrication, when in reality it is a fact. If Dr. Ahmed is not convinced, he can see the video of the offending sermon at MEMRI's sister website, MEMRI TV, which covers the electronic media in the Middle East.Sheik Al-Sudayyis' sermons are broadcasted not only in Saudi Arabia but all over the Middle East, and much of the Islamic world as well. I would like to know how MEMRI can manufacture such a lie? Culture33298@blogcritics.org Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:03:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/20/214056.php NirajHere's a list of the Top 25 World's Most Expensive Cities. No real surprise except for entry no. 22, Douala, Cameroon. I didn't think any African city would place on the list, except may be for Johannesburg, South Africa.The Top 10:1. Tokyo, Japan 2. Osaka, Japan 3. London, Britain 4. Moscow, Russia 5. Seoul, South Korea 6. Geneva, Switzerland 7. Zurich, Switzerland 8. Copenhagen, Denmark 9. Hong Kong, Hong Kong 10. Oslo, Norway Culture31344@blogcritics.org Mon, 20 Jun 2005 21:40:56 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/18/003945.php NirajOur knowledge of Greek and Roman literature is going to expand substantially with the recent discovery of lost classics by such giants as Sophocles and Euripides. It's a virtual treasure trove of new material:Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.Literature is a cultural indicator of any civilization worth its salt, and with these new discoveries we will know substantially more about ancient Greek and Roman societies. Personally, I'm a big fan of Sophocles, and hope to read his newly discovered works as soon as they're translated. Books28278@blogcritics.org Mon, 18 Apr 2005 00:39:45 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/07/143548.php NirajThis article in Wired explains the reasons why I left Blogger long ago -- even before it was acquired by Google: too many technical snafus led to too many missed opportunities. Ideas, especially in the blogosphere, are perishable, and if not disseminated in time, quickly become stale and irrelevant. Sci/Tech27875@blogcritics.org Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:35:48 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/24/153303.php NirajFor all those fans of zines, Factsheet 5, the zine of zines, is planning to start publication again. First issue is tentatively set for May 23, 2005. Culture27223@blogcritics.org Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:33:03 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/23/154734.php NirajInteresting news on the literary front. It seems an unpublished novel by French author Alexandre Dumas was discovered in the French National Library.Dumas is one of my favorite writers in classical literature; both his books, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, are not only literary masterpieces, but great beach reads. I can't wait to get a hold of his latest work, titled The Knight of Sainte-Hermine, which will be published in July. Hopefully, an English translation is in the works. Books27171@blogcritics.org Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:47:34 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/08/220719.php NirajJohn Bolton is definitely a polarizing character. He's a tough-talking diplomat; a real bull in the china shop sort--perfect for the role of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Yet critics are aghast at the choice. They claim Mr. Bolton wants to destroy the U.N. This is true, nothing would please Mr. Bolton (and many others, I might add) more then to obliterate the U.N. But Mr. Bolton is speaking metaphorically when he says this. Like many neo-conservatives, he holds the U.N. in contempt: a black hole for corruption (like the Oil-for-Food program); a place where petty despots hold sway. He wants the U.N. to be more effective, but this isn't going to come about through backroom dealings, as is current practice, but through open and frank discussions and, yes, even some arm-twisting. That Mr. Bolton's brusque manner will alienate allies and enemies alike is of little concern to me. It has been proven that talking nice will get you nothing but contempt, especially in the rarified air that is the Security Council. Everyone--including liberals--agree the U.N. needs tough love, so who better to give it then its most vocal critic? Politics26470@blogcritics.org Tue, 8 Mar 2005 22:07:19 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/01/192232.php NirajI can't believe A & E is going to pay a king's ransom-- $2.5 million per episode-- to broadcast The Sopranos. I think David Chase, the series creator, producer and writer, is making a mistake by selling the show to A & E, who will cheat the viewers out of watching one of the finer dramas on the small screen.Viewers will get a heavily edited, FCC-friendly version of The Sopranos. Each episode will be scrubbed for profanity, excessive violence and sexual content; not to mention truncated to for commercials. In my opinion, this will make an honest show dishonest.The least A & E can do is notify its viewers that The Sopranos they'll be watching is nothing like The Sopranos that originally aired on HBO. Video26187@blogcritics.org Tue, 1 Mar 2005 19:22:32 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/01/191112.php NirajOver at Slate, there's a nice interview with the legendary Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, who discovered and produced many of the best-known pop acts in music history, including such luminaries as:Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding--who called him "Omelette"--Bette Midler, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Booker T. and the MGs, Sam and Dave, Cream, the Bee Gees, Led Zeppelin, the Coasters, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus, Roberta Flack, the Spinners, the Allman Brothers, Genesis, Foreigner, Pete Townshend, Stevie Nicks, Buffalo Springfield, the Blues Brothers, Tori Amos, and Phil Collins, among others.Though pop music has been the chief focus of his life, Mr. Ertegun has an abiding interest in Turkish politics--not surprising given the fact his father was a prominent Turkish diplomat, and a contemporary of Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey. It's a good interview. Mr. Ertegun gives his take on many different issues. Go check it out. Music26186@blogcritics.org Tue, 1 Mar 2005 19:11:12 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/11/10/091904.php NirajIs digital technology forever? Not if you're trying to store your precious memories they're not. After reading this New York Times article, I didn't realize how perishable data was; even when it's stored on mediums that were advertised to survive a nuclear holocaust. Were we all sold a shoddy book of goods? Culture22063@blogcritics.org Wed, 10 Nov 2004 09:19:04 EST