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*** A "Moderate Muslim" (or "Humanistic Muslim," as Ali prefers to be called) does something about Islamic reform:

At my regular blog which you came to know and love, and which was fortunate to be nominated for an International Best of the Blogs award, Unwilling Self-Negation, I sought to bring pertinent issues of Islamic reform to the forefront of new media. Now I have tried to take the 'next step.' I have, therefore, launched the first truly interactive and truly global blog community (complete with reader diaries) about Islam. It is called Eteraz.Org: States of Islam.

Not only will I be talking about these important issues but so will three of the most promising writers on Islamic Reform, a novelist and PhD candidate from Columbia University and the most honored blogger within the WesternMuslim blogosphere, a NYT and Atlantic Monthly published writer, script-writer and resident of Cairo, and a British-Muslim blogger.

At Eteraz.org , I am taking the goal of humanist Islam a step further: connecting these ideas with the activists, journalists, academics and concerned citizens who can put them into practice. From dialogue to grassroots social work, Eteraz.org will serve as a hub of Islamic reform on the web.

Good for him.

*** Milton Friedman has died. Watch him give "the best case for limited government ever made."

*** Christopher Hitchens nails an underappreciated finding of the Borat movie (and TV skits):

Borat reveals the painful politeness of American society.

I've thought the same thing myself. With notable exceptions (like the owner of a big-game hunting preserve agreeing that it would be cool to "hunt Jews"), many of the individuals that Borat sends up actually show quite a bit of patience and class. While Hitchens is correct that this politeness undermines one aspect of the joke (spoofing the targets as malignant fools), watching Cohen stumble around while nice people exercise patience still has its moments. So on some level, dumb humor usually works for me. For example ...

*** ... Donnah busts my chops.

*** Friday Night Lights Fights: a brawl breaks out at a Pee-Wee Football game. Keep an eye on the woman in the navy blue "Davila 59" jersey as she sneakily runs up and kicks another woman into the melee (00:46 in).

Posted by Bill at November 16, 2006 04:00 PM | TrackBack (0)

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