Recommendation: Bahram Rahman, "The Library Bus," Gabrielle Grimard (illustrator)

 

Bahram Rahman's The Library Bus is an excellent means to introduce to Muslim (and non-Muslim!) children the value of reading and the harms gender discrimination causes.

I hope this book is eventually translated into all the languages spoke in Afghanistan and nearby countries and published and distributed widely.

Review: Spencer Ackerman - "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump"

 

Spencer Ackerman's Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump aims to convince liberals to stop their support of the Global War on Terror in all its forms. The premise of the Global War on Terror is that the proper response to attacks against the United States, its allies and its interests is escalation of violence and tightening of control. This inevitably leads to the strengthening of illiberal elements within the United States, whether they be the national security state or everyday believers in American Exceptionalism who, despondent at the terrible cost of the national security state and lack of results it produces, seek to use its tactics against ever-widening circles of internal enemies, including United States Muslims, racial and ethnic minorities, migrants and liberals.

Review: Afghanistan and the Artificial US War on Terror by Anand Gopal

Afghanistan and the Artificial US War on Terror (Anand Gopal's New Book) - http://t.co/g6Xxdvf6zD pic.twitter.com/qyeu0gqjHj
— Juan Cole (@jricole) June 23, 2014

Entry on IndieBound.org

Review: Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq by Michael Scheuer

Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq by Michael Scheuer (Twitter)


As I was listening to this abridged book on CD, I pictured its author Michael Scheuer as a combination of Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now and Cersei in Game of Thrones. His commitment to no principle other than the cohesiveness of the United States and his view that ultra-violence is a necessary tool to preserve that cohesiveness made it difficult for me, a proponent of non-violence and globalism (his term is antinationalist), to keep an open mind to his ideas. Yet I'm glad I did persevere and finish the book, and there is some value in it.

Review: Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control by Medea Benjamin

Tom Hayden wrote a review of Medea Benjamin's Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control. Medea is a cofounder of Code Pink.

I have not read the book.

Updated July 24, 2016 - I read the book several years ago. It's good. Read it!

Review: Equal Worth: When Humanity Will Have Peace

Adil E. Shamoo, Equal Worth: When Humanity Will Have Peace. ISBN 978-0-7618-5820-1. Hardcover, 167 pages. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America; 2012.

Review: Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism by Joel Andreas

The peace groups in which I participate distribute this book. It's an easy read which introduces most of the basic premises of the U.S. peace movements. Most residents of the United States will not know the basic facts introduced in this book. It also contains a directory of national peace organizations and a list of references for those who want to take the next step in advocating for peace.

At its website, you can read the book for free online and order printed copies.

Three Cups of Tea

Dr. Faroque Khan reviewed Three Cups of Tea in Vol 40, No 1 of the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

Obviously there's been some controversy regarding the author Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute.

My initial take is, "Where is 60 Minutes and the rest of the U.S. media regarding the tens of billions disappearing in Iraq and Afghanistan through the US military?" If the Central Asia Institute is corrupt, then should not there be daily stories on how rotten things are with the US occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Lucinda Marshall (@MedusaMusings on Twitter) discussed the situation with FAIR Media Watch. She previously wrote a blog entry entitled A Cup of Rancid Tea, in which she argued that our belief in the effectiveness of the Central Asia Institute was based more on our romanticization of a hero than a genuine belief in human development through education.

Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I had no intention of reading this book because of the negative publicity surrounding Khaled Hosseini's previously published novel, The Kite Runner, and the movie based on it. I know some people who will not watch any movie with rape scenes. Unfortunately, I'm not that ideologically consistent, as my favorite director is Sergio Leone, and his films have a lot of rape scenes.