The Rant

Bob: Earlier I recommended reading Kite Runner. Well I just started Khaled Hosseini's new book A Thousand Splendid Suns. Put it on your summer reading list. Us in the land of opportunity might gain some insights about the world we live in.

______________________________ P olitics Imitates Art; Gordon Brown is Cornelius Fudge. [ Lisa Schiffren ] The struggle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement is, of course, an eternal literary theme. Still, one can't help but notice the astonishing manner in which Gordon Brown has taken a page directly from Harry Potter — and the just released film of Book Seven, [Actually, Book Five] at that. Specifically, Brown's strong desire not to call Islamic terrorism by name echoes the insistence of the head of the Wizard government, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge — to refer to their mortal enemy, Voldemort, as "he who must not be named." So, even greater kudos to J.K. Rowling, who understood back in the 90's that the world's youth needed a rousing tale of heroism in the face of evil. Whatever her politics — and I believe she has not indulged in a discussion of them — she has made the point again and again in her books, that, in the face of the grav...

______________________________ T he evil Davey Jones, in the last two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, before he commences negotiations, asks a key preliminary question: "Do you fear death?" The majority of ordinary mortals who fear death are willing to listen to his proposal: death or enslavement. The answer to this question is also what distinguishes violent religious fanatics from ordinary people, and what makes religious fanatics so dangerous. If my enemy is an ordinary mammal, I am protected by his own self interest. He wishes to gain some benefit from me in this material world, and as long as I offer him some reasonable bargain, there is a basis for compromise and peace. He will not easily risk his own life for some small material gain, as he fears death. He thinks in terms of cost benefit analysis on a rational basis. But when my enemy is a Moslem bent upon Jihad, his mind has been convinced that if he does the bidding of his religious master, he will be benefited, not...