With YouTube now participating in presidential primaries and digital media poised to overtake traditional sources of news and information, it isn’t surprising that virtual political action now poses a serious threat to democratic nationalism. As human rights align across borders and the distance between the world’s poor and basic information technology shrinks, digital advocacy like this “Change the Policy” video is bound to increase — and with dramatic political effect — in what might become the first truly global evolution of human values. Stay tuned…

Another topical analysis from the team over at Stratfor. This time, they tackle a much older problem, the relationship between religion and fundamentalist war. When taken in context, the 14th century passage that has outraged Muslims around the planet is not so much a challenge to Islam itself as it is a warning shot across the bow of its more fanatical elements. If Friedman is right, Pope Benedict may have just done for the war-torn Middle East what his predecessor did for the Soviet Empire. If he isn’t, this might be the beginning of another global crusade…
Faith, Reason and Politics: Parsing the Pope’s Remarks
By George Friedman
On Sept. 12, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a lecture on “Faith, Reason and the University” …

Often referred to as a ‘private CIA,’ Stratfor just released an update on their coverage of the escalating violence in Iraq, the threat of another Sunni-Shi’a Civil War, and the challenge of unbridled Iranian imperialsm. Definitely worth a read if you haven’t been following the not-so-mainstream news…

Thoughts from the frontlines of the war in Lebanon. What I know I’ve included, and what I don’t I’ll leave up to you. Internet has been tough to find but I’ll try to keep things updated as often as I can. For more background on the conflict, check out our ongoing coverage of the Middle East…
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | 12:01PM
Twelve plus hours after we landed in Beirut, the only civilian airport in the country was bombed by the Israeli Air Force. Apparently Hezbollah commandos crossed the Green Line last night and kidnapped two young Israeli soldiers, just weeks after a soldier was held for ransom by Hamas guerillas in Gaza City. Israel retaliated swiftly by taking half of the …

Few scholars have had such a profound impact on their field of study as Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. In this recent Q&A, he addresses the untold roots of Arab rage, the complex challenges of expanding Western empires, the rise of the Islamic mullahcracy and the mystery of the Danish cartoons. Now into his 90s, the outspoken orientalist continues to search for the ultimate compromise, contrasting “a nation divided into religions” with “a religion divided into nations”. The transcript is a little bit lengthy but well worth the read…