Categories
Uncategorized

Nostalgia for something you’ve never had…

…Someone really ought to define that. I wonder if any other languages have a special term for this phenomenon that I have experienced all too many times before. One of my favorite things about traveling – perhaps even the primary reason I do it – is catching glimpses, however brief, into the lives of others. […]

Categories
Blogging Blogging for Change

Free Hoder?

Following my posts here and at the Huffington Post regarding the “arrest” of blogger Hossein Derakhshan (aka Hoder), I realize that perhaps my pronouncements were premature. Many of you are following this story with skeptical eyes, and I want you to know: so am I. For those of you who aren’t so aware of what’s […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Brouhaha over Al-Manar

It’s amazing to me to hear outrage in the U.S. over Germany’s decision to block Al-Manar TV. Al-Manar is a Beirut-based TV station considered the “mouthpiece of Hezbollah” (media’s words, not mine). It is also banned in the United States, hence my surprise (another point of surprise comes from intelligent liberals who are arguing for […]