This morning, I learned that a friend, Creative Commoner, and colleague–in the most congenial sense of the word–has been detained in Syria since March 15. From freebassel.org: On March 15, 2012, Bassel Khartabil was detained in a wave of arrests in the Mazzeh district of Damascus. Since then, his family has received no official explanation […]
On June 18, Foreign Policy Magazine (to which I subscribe) issued its annual list of the ‘Top 100 Twitterati‘. The list was good, if predictable, certainly a helpful way for foreign policy wonks new to Twitter to find some conversation partners. What this year’s list was seriously lacking, however, was women. Though I did not […]
Sheherazade is a particularly lovely name, evocative of the legendary 1001 nights. It was unfortunate, then, when news emerged that the former Assad aide newsanchor Barbara Walters had bent over backward helping held the name: Sheherazad Jaafari. More unfortunate, however, is the low to which several prominent newspapers sunk in trying to cover the story. […]