Provocate.org

An interesting convergence: Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams is a Lincoln scholar; he has drawn favorable parallels between Lincoln’s suspension of legal niceties during the Civil War and the Bush Administrations prosecution of the war on Islamic extremism; and he has been appointed the Chief Judge on the United States Court of Military Commission Review. Should be a very interesting talk. (more…)

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Find out if it’s possible to have a non-political, evidence based discussion of the costs of the Iraq War … and of how high a cost we should be willing to continue paying. (more…)

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The emergence of India, China, Brazil, Egypt, and others on the world stage as increasingly more powerful actors is causing a major transformation of the global political system. What does it mean for the United States … and for Indiana. (more…)

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Who’s funnier, the comedian Billy Crystal or the neocon pundit Bill Kristol? Depends on how you like your humor. (more…)

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Johann Galtung is coming to Indy. The most influential living social scientist, he is the founder of the academic study of peace and conflict studies, a discipline now offered as a major or a minor on virtually every college in America and Europe. He’s the author of more than a hundred books and more than a thousand articles. He is reported to have served as a mediator in more than 40 internaitonal conflicts. Think of one degree of seperation: if an academic uses the word “peace,” either she has read Galtung or she studied withsomeone who read Galtung. But is it all just a “peace racket”? (more…)

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For decades Colombia has been at the same a country in shambles (civil war, drug lords dominating the economy, terrorism, etc.) with the happiest people on the planet. What gives? This raucous satire on everything dark about COlombia might provide some clues. (more…)

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What do al-Husseini, Hitler, and John Rothmann have in common? They are all going to be featured at Barnes & Noble, of course!*

But the similarities pretty much stop there. Hitler and al-Husseini were perpetrators of crimes against humanity, while Rothmann is the humble co-author of Icon of Evil: Hitler’s Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam.

The book, which Rothmann co-wrote with David G. Dalin, was released June 24th. It’s got the goods: near-unlimited linguistic resources, access to primary documents, and all the dirt on the honorary Aryan’s support of Hitler and his Final Solution. It’s a page-turner (according to the author’s in-laws) and it’s got verve (according to their publisher).

Publishers Weekly (the 7th review down) and the Middle East Times have given it stamps of approval.

Rothmann will be at the Clearwater Crossing Barnes & Noble in Indianapolis on July 9th at 7:00 p.m. to talk about his work and perhaps sell a few copies. The event promises to be an interesting and thought-provoking one, and plus there will be food.

Barnes & Noble @ Clearwater Crossing

3748 E 82nd St.

Indianapolis, IN 46240

*Thematically only! No in-person appearances by al-Husseini or Hitler

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Having reached the 50th anniversary of the great experiment in European integration, it is time to take stock of the united Europe. Has the integration of new members been successful? What does the debate on Turkey’s membership say about the future of EU integration and its changing demographics? (more…)

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There could be no headache awaiting the next president that’s bigger than North Korea, with its nukes and crisis-ridden economy. That’s why James Schoff has to worry that “the six party talks” doesn’t sound like much of a party at all. (more…)

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David Horovitz, editor of The Jerusalem Post, fell from optimism to despair about the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Hear whether he has made it back to pragmatic pessimism yet. (more…)

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