Monthly Archives: October 2012

"Listening to this "kinder and gentler" Romney, two questions came to mind. Was all this a tactical ploy to sway undecided voters? Or was this the candidate's declaration of independence from his neo-conservative advisers (three-quarters of whom are George W. Bush alumni)? Since Romney has also selectively veered away from many of his other "severely Conservative" views during the last few weeks of the campaign, I tend to believe that it is more of a crass tactical move than an assertion of independence."

"Qatar has also been active on Palestine, to the anger or pleasure of different groups and at different times. A supporter of Palestinian rights from the beginning, Qatar has tried to keep good terms with all parties, with the Palestinian and even with the Israelis, and of course with the US and other internationally influential players."

"This “security concept”, as the Israeli army termed it, involves the wholesale destruction of a community’s infrastructure to immerse it so deeply in the problems of survival and reconstruction that other concerns, including fighting back or resisting occupation, are no longer practicable."

"This is not to say that other smaller factions are not guilty of this as well. But given Fatah’s history, clout and sheer size, we would have thought that lessons of the past would have been learned for the future."

"It was obvious that both contenders avoided any specifics that would have demanded even the slightest knowledge from the listeners. 1.5 billion plus Muslims were considered to fall into just two categories – “moderates” and “Islamists”. Israel is one bloc, no differentiation. What do viewers know about 3000 years of Persian civilization? True, Romney knew – rather surprisingly – what or where Mali is. Most viewers surely didn’t."