Are those who died heroes and martyrs for free speech and tolerance? Not every victim is a martyr, and one does not become a hero simply by offending people.
I am sad for France of course, for the journalists and the others who died. But mainly I am sad for mankind. For the person who got shot, but also for him who fired.
Written before he and seven fellow monks were kidnapped and beheaded in 1996, this personal journal reflects story of Algeria in crisis and courageous spirituality.
A low voice emerged: “Welcome to my home. Please, sit.” My host and I shook hands, and I took the chair opposite. I remember the details because he was a terrorist.
Ancient religions that have survived centuries are often the most persecuted: Mandaeans, Yazidis, Zoroastrians, Druze, Samaritans, Copts, and the Kalasha.
Recent evidence suggests that if we intervene in Syria, we are less likely to end the suffering than to compound it, stretching the killing out over decades.
Gates saw himself as a manager working to get things done. But managerial skills used in the service of getting the wrong things done is of little help to anybody.
If you doubt the cost of indulging in political pieties rather than political organizing, compare the influence of Occupy Wall Street with the Tea Party.
A fear that the United States not only has decisively lost its power in the region, but is also responsible for why everything seems to be going wrong.
‘The Irony of American History’ shines a klieg light on the so-called war on terror and the current debate over the operations of our “national security state."
Many Syrian Christians who wouldn’t deny Assad’s record of repressing political opponents would rather put up with that than live under the rule of Islamists.
It's not an all-or-nothing debate: We can be far more mindful of privacy than we have been without gutting the government's ability to stop future attacks.
