saMvaad

Death of a Princess

I just watched the Frontline re-broadcast of Death of a Princess. The film (a docu-drama) is very well made, deeply stirring, and no doubt controversial.  Unfortunately, no home videos of this will be available, and I am not sure when is the next time PBS will air it. There is still very little that I know about the Arab culture, but the Death of a Princess no doubt furthered my understanding of the complicated nature of the Arab, specially Saudi society. A job well done by Frontline, again.

What the Pope also stood for...

Juan Cole reminds us about some of the things Pope John Paul II stood for.

John Paul II was often an inconvenient man, whose moral vision would be upsetting to the US Republican establishment if it were taken seriously. He opposed the death penalty, to which George W. Bush is so attached. He opposed the Iraq War. He condemned laissez-faire capitalism and cared about the exploitation of workers, who he felt should have a dignity that is seldom bestowed upon them by the Walmarts and other firms in the US. And he cared about the rights and welfare of the Palestinian people in a way that virtually no one in the American political establishment does. He symbolically blessed the Palestinian claim that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian people.
That is, the Pope's message sometimes had a strong progressive content, and he was in some important ways on our side. That progressives might have had differences with him on some issues should not forestall our celebrating his progressive legacy.

I think that Cole's argument is very persuasive. I would encourage you to read the entire post.