[If I was a Stanford alum, student, or faculty, seriously, I’d be embarrassed. (thanx Maryam)]Â
SF Chronicle: Donald Rumsfeld is coming to the Bay Area.
President Bush’s former defense secretary, who resigned in 2006 amid escalating criticism over the war in Iraq, has been appointed to a one-year stint as a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, joining fellow conservatives George Shultz and Newt Gingrich.
“Don has had immense experience in public service, and has much to contribute to society as a result,” said the institution’s director, John Raisian. “I am pleased that he will spend time during the coming year in thinking, writing and advising on important matters of public policy.”
While he’s at Stanford, Rumsfeld will participate in a task force examining national security and world peace in the post-Sept. 11 era, Raisian said.
Some Stanford faculty and students said they were outraged by Rumsfeld’s appointment, saying he lacks the academic credentials to be at the Hoover Institution and criticizing his central role in the Iraq war.
“I’m appalled,” said Stanford history Professor Barton Bernstein. “He is a profoundly immoral man. The Hoover Institution has long been a refuge for right-wing Republicans, but what makes this unusually disgraceful is Rumsfeld’s involvement in a war started for reasons unprovable, unproven and demonstrably wrong.”
Rumsfeld was unpopular in the hometown of UC Berkeley in March, when the Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to support prosecuting him for war crimes.
Rumsfeld might soon be joined at Stanford by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said in recent interviews that she’s looking forward to returning to Stanford to teach in 2008. Rice is on leave from Stanford, where she served as provost for six years until she joined the Bush administration in 2005.
Ugh. Look, its one thing to hire people with despicable and racist views (re: Hamid Algar at UC Berkeley), its quite another thing to hire people involved in WAR CRIMES (thats murder on a massive scale) like Rumsfeld at Stanford and Dan Halutz and Harvard. Go Bears, I say.
And on another note. I cant sum up my feelings on the upcoming Ramadan better than Asad Abu Khalil can!!
I dread Ramadan for several reasons: 1) all those religious shows and clerics on Arabic TV; 2) Arab leaders increase their pretensions of piety; 3) the rhetoric of Hamas and House of Saud and Hizbullah increases the citations from the Qur’an; 4) you watch all those scenes of wonderful Middle East food and we have none of that here in northern California; 5) people will pay less attention to Suha Arafat; 6) I will have to watch as Bush poses as culturally sensitive leader, posing with those leaders of lousy Muslim and Arab American organizations in DC; 7) I hate it when people answer the simple question of “Are you fasting” by saying “If God is willing.” To that, I always say: No, you decide if you are fasting or not. Cut it out; 8) People who fast will not be able to consume potatoes during the day, and that hurts my feelings; 9) the issuance of fatwawawawas will increase substantially; 10) US news will air more stories on madrasssaaaaaaassaaa; 11) Saudi King will be compelled to read from a speech that no one will understand–not even him; 12) Muslim/Arab masses will remember to express their outrage at Danish cartoons and less–much less–at injustices.
Pouya, if there is any way, try to get him to come to Harvard to debate some pathetic Zionists. oooooh the massacre that would take place if abu khalil debated Alan Dershowitz. wow! Imagine me versus the pudgy occupation soldier with no neck x 10000000000000.
Do some fanatical Zionists have anything in common with Nazis? You be the judge: Here is what Daniel Pipes wrote today on his web site:
“In a Jerusalem Post piece six years ago, Preventing war: Israel’s options I called for shutting off utilities to the Palestinian Authority as well as a host of other measures, such as permitting no transportation in the PA of people or goods beyond basic necessities, implementing the death penalty against murderers, and razing villages from which attacks are launched.”
RAZING VILLAGES? Hitler and the SS would be proud, I think.