agathopsis

Reviving Richard’s Blog

agathoptes — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:59:25 +0000

I’m writing this very brief message to let everyone know that agathopsis is returning to life. I haven’t developed the new mission statement yet, but when I do, I expect that it will involve activities I hope to pursue in the future. Retirement? Well, sort of… but I expect to be far more active than the old cliche indicates, so I won’t be hanging out any “Gone Fishing” signs soon.

In general, look for commentary here on domestic politics, U. S. policy in the Middle East, as well as Arabic translation, and organizational consulting. I invite you to share your comments.

CNN, when will you start doing real journalism?

agathoptes — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:02:28 +0000

I thought that I had grown used to mainstream media in the U. S. reporting from a pro-Israeli stance. Sometimes it’s subtle, these days it’s unabashed, a reportage that sounds more like the government-controlled media one finds in many controlled societies around the world. No, they don’t come right out and say, “We are for Israel!” It’s built into the editorial framework: how they ask questions; of whom; whether or not they follow up with challenging questions based on good prior research; whether or not they examine all sides of a question with equal diligence; and finally, what they train their cameras on. What moved me to talk about this is my frustration at watching CNN coverage of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. I sent the following feedback to CNN: (more…)

THERE IS A WAY OUT OF HELL

agathoptes — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:27:53 +0000

A friend recently passed this on to me in an e-mail. The comment claims to summarize “Reality in the Middle East”:

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel’s part for whatever reason, the following two sentences really say it all.

If the Arabs put down their weapons today there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today there would be no more Israel.

I have a very different reaction to that author’s picture of “Reality in the Middle East.” (more…)

Ahlan wa-Sahlan!

agathoptes — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 17:19:33 +0000

Welcome to Agathopsis. Here’s a preliminary look at our new site, but we’re still getting it up and running. Please be patient, and check back in a few days! We’ll start posting as soon as we get some of the technical stuff resolved. Looking forward to your activity and seeing your posts. Ciao for now,

Richard