There is something very interesting happening right now: Senators Levin – Democrat – and Warner – Republican – recently came back from a trip to Iraq and had some things to say about the surge. Certain newspapers and bloggers interpreted their words to mean that they – most notably Levin – believes the surge is working. Other bloggers argue the exact opposite. Since the two sides cannot possibly both be right, the question is who is right? Let’s first take...

According to Jules, Representative Bob Filner (a Democrat) suffers from pre-traumatic stress syndrome: it seems that, on his way to Iraq, the honorable Mr. Filner attacked an United Airlines bag claim employee. Head on over to Jules’ blog – I especially liked the “you can’t stop me” part. Jules shows that this is not exactly the first time that a Democrat misbehaved like that. It seems to me, though, that Republicans are not innocent either. Having said that, “you...

When I received the screener of Cities of Light a documentary about Islamic Spain, it was also mentioned to me that if I wanted to ask questions to one of the producers, I could. After watching it – and writing the review published yesterday – I decided that I could not let this opportunity pass, so I send out an e-mail, got in contact with Michael Wolfe – executive producer of Cities of Light - and we did an interview. Meanwhile, do not forget to watch the documentary about Islamic...

A fascinating article at the Washington Post by Peter Baker: By the time he arrived in Prague in June for a democracy conference, President Bush was frustrated. He had committed his presidency to working toward the goal of “ending tyranny in our world,” yet the march of freedom seemed stalled. Just as aggravating was the sense that his own government was not committed to his vision. As he sat down with opposition leaders from authoritarian societies around the world, he gave voice to...

When I returned from vacation, there were several books waiting for me to read (and review). I published a post listing all of them. Books, however, were not the only thing sent to me: I also received a screener for the documentary Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, scheduled to debut on PBS on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 9PM. After reading the introduction which accompanied the actual documentary, I could not wait to watch it. It seemed – to put it mildly – like...

The Independent has an article up in which it is claimed that British military commanders have told Prime Minister Gordon Brown that “we’ve done all we can in the south [of Iraq].” According to them, nothing much can be done to improve the situation. It is therefore that they have told Brown that the best thing is to withdraw (prematurely). Where the Army’s aims were – when the war began – “to bring stability and democracy to Iraq and to the Middle East as...

Much has been written about Rudy Giuliani’s foreign policy plan (called “Towards a Realistic Peace”), most of which is negative. Liberals – of course – wasted no time attacking Giuliani’s plan which they consider to be too hawkish and, again of course, neo-conservative. However, not just liberals criticized Giuliani: conservatives like James Joyner were not exactly impressed either. Joyner wrote: It is not particularly realistic — let alone Realist —...

Gideon Rose wrote a great post for the blog at the Economist, in which he criticized progressive bloggers for their constant criticism of (attacks towards) experts – whether those experts be Middle East experts, Social Security or Military experts. Matt Yglesias responded to Gideon’s post, and makes some good points, but I find Gideon to be the more convincing of the two; especially because I speak out of personal experience. Let me, therefore, quote from Gideon’s article first: The...

Lord Deedes – a well known and much respected British journalist – has died at his home in Kent. According to the Telegraph, he was ill. His last column can be read here. The subject: Darfur. His main point: what is going on in Darfur is comparable to what happened in Nazi Germany, and it is time for the world (the West) to do something about it. The Telegraph explains: “Combining his experience and compassion – particularly for the plight of Africa in his latter years –...

The New York Times reports that the Democrats are now worried about the bill they recently supported, which gave the administration more power to spy on people: Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches on American soil and the collection of Americans’ business records, Democratic Congressional...

there you go: Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has investing ties to subprime lenders who are foreclosing on victims of Katrina, according to a report published Friday. The Wall Street Journal said there are 34 homes in New Orleans that face foreclosure from the subprime unit of Fortress Investment Group. Edwards has about $16 million in Fortress (Charts), a hedge fund and private equity manager, the newspaper said. Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, has been a vocal critic...

Ed Morrissey has a highly interesting post up about Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It seems that al-Maliki has decided that – if he wants to save Iraq and wants to prevent his government from collapsing – he has to work with Sunni tribal leaders. He even went to Tikrit: bastion of the Baath Party, and the place where Saddam Hussein was born. The most important leaders of Saddam’s regime, all came from this city. Maliki tried to convince the tribal leaders that they...

Are Republicans rushing for the exits? The New York Times certainly seems to think so: A rash of retirements among House Republicans is adding to the party’s electoral challenges and raising questions about a rush for the exits. Four House Republicans — Representatives J. Dennis Hastert and Ray LaHood, both of Illinois; Deborah Pryce of Ohio; and Charles W. Pickering Jr. of Mississippi — have all announced in recent days that they will not seek re-election next year, worrying...

Instead of ignoring Ann Coulter completely, John Edwards seems to have decided that attacking her might pay off (politically): ABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: Former Sen. John Edwards on Friday fired the latest round in his ongoing verbal feud with Ann Coulter, calling her a “she-devil” at a public event before quickly adding that he shouldn’t engage in name-calling. Edwards, D-N.C., was railing against the right-wing media — including Fox News and Rush Limbaugh —...

Justin Gardner published an interesting post yesterday about Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Justin’s conclusion: This is going to be one interesting race. I still think Huckabee is a second tier candidate, but he’s definitely the front runner for a VP nod. One last thought about Ron Paul…it would do him well to leave the GOP race immediately and start a 3rd party campaign. He doesn’t have much time, and if he wants to have an effect on the debate, he’ll jump ship soon....

The New York Times reports: Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street again today in the latest reverberations of the crunch in the American credit market. After the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 300 points in early-afternoon trading, stocks pared their losses. At 2 p.m., the Dow was down more than 133 points, or 1 percent. And the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index and the Nasdaq composite were down by comparable amounts. But today’s declines still left the indexes on...

At his own blog, The Gazette’s Dustin Metzger quotes the following paragraph from this article: Immigrant advocates said Wednesday that they are weighing a variety of legal and legislative challenges to slow down or halt the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal workers. Laura Reiff, co-chairwoman of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, said her organization had sought support from Congress to block funding for the enforcement of the no-match rule, which would require...

Ace (of Spades) has a post up that will, most likely, scare the you know what out of most (American) Catholics. It seems that a Dutch Roman Catholic Bishop has suggested that, from now on, Christians refer to God as “Allah.” According to Bishop Tiny Muskens, God does not care what we call Him. If we, then, can “foster understanding” between Christians and Muslims by calling God Allah, what’s the problem? Muskens wonders. Ace responds: You ever get the feeling that European...

The Washington Post reports that the ‘United States has decided to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a “specially designated global terrorist,” according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group’s business operations and finances.’ The reason? Iran’s constant and increased meddling in Iraq, Afghanistan and, well, the entire the Middle East for that matter....

The Van Der Galiën Gazette’s latest co-blogger, Kevin Sullivan, wrote an interesting post about Iran. Kind of like Michael and Turkey, I have developed a mixed fascination with the Islamic Republic of Iran. I’ve touched upon the current state of affairs there pretty frequently on my own blog, and have tried my darnedest to debunk arguments that reject the totalitarian tendencies of the regime. Well, I believe that Amir Taheri’s piece in today’s NY Post only confirms...

An interesting article at the Washington Post about Don Rumsfeld, former US secretary of defense: Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was spotted today having lunch at Morton’s on Connecticut Ave. What was remarkable was not what he ordered, or with whom he dined, or how quintessentially condescending he may have been to the waiter. No, what was remarkable was how, according to our (Republican) source, Rumsfeld’s handlers had to help him onto the escalator and “held his elbow”...

Because quite some of you read my blog as well as TMV, I thought that you all might appreciate it if I informed you about some changes at my blog, thus not at TMV. The changes? I will get myself co-blogger (besides the columnists), I will blog less myself, it will be more of a joint effort, I hope “to go mainstream” as it is called and… the blog has been renamed. From now on it is The Van Der Galiën Gazette. Again, I am talking about my blog, not about TMV. You can read more...

Turkish Daily News has two interesting articles up about Erdogan and Gül. - The first one: “Gül’s presidency will fade Turkey’s apartheid, not secularity.” - The second one: “Is ErdoÄŸan undecided, or trying to impose?.” In the second article, Yusuf Kanli wonders, “What should we understand from the remarks of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan that while the July 22 election message of the nation cannot be ignored, democracy requires protection...

This will break quite some hearts I am sure: Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson dropped out of the race for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination tonight, a day after he finished a disappointing sixth in the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa. Thompson explained: “I have no regrets about running,” Thompson said in a statement released by his campaign. “I felt my record as Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services gave me the experience I needed to serve as President,...

A blog, owned by a fellow Dutchman who works and lives in Istanbul: Internations Musings. He writes about various issues: sometimes politics, then entertainment, then traveling, and then business. Click on the link and check it out yourself (he has been added to my blogroll). When you are there, also click on the “My Columns” link. Hans writes columns for Turkish Daily News – yes, the same newspaper that will most likely publish an article by yours truly coming Friday. Note: “Check...