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Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
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28 Nov, 5 tweets, 3 min read
You've got to love @LRB's choice of writers. To write about the "war on terror" (presumably critically), they turn to the dude who supports Putin and Assad's "war on terror" and slanders Syrian rescuers and medics as "Al Qaeda". lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/…
This was @LRB's "war on terror" expert Andrew Cockburn's timeline on the day the Netflix documentary The White Helmets won an Oscar. Yes, he's slandering Syria's heroic rescuers and medics as "Al Qaeda" and yes that is clearly racist and Islamophobic.
Here is the @LRB writer promoting the head of the pro-Assad lobbying group British Syria Society (actually funded by Assad's father-in-law) as some kind of a revelation.
Here he is in defence of Assad's army, which unlike Syrian medics, he seems to have great fondness for.
Here he is in 2018, again slandering Assad's opponents as "Al Qaeda".

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More from @im_PULSE

Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
24 Nov
There are few people more predictable and boring than the professional contrarian.

This made me think about all the other types of people I find insufferable. So here's a thread.
The social media ironist: this person is invincible because nothing means anything and everything is permissible because its "mere irony". Opinions without the burden of responsibility.

Irony is a potent rhetorical tool used in moderation, not when it becomes the default mode.
The "free speech" liberal.

Doesn't have any strong opinions on more fundamental rights, but is an absolutist on free speech and thinks the only measure of its vitality is if you can test it against the sensitivities of people in inferior positions.
Read 9 tweets
Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
23 Nov
I'm reading Barack Obama's memoir and appreciating his skill as a writer in making tedious details about his life during his political ascent readable. The book is an indulgent humblebrag about a presidency that would be viewed dimly if weren't for the horror of what followed.
He is a likeable person and his personally story is certainly compelling. But the book also reveals all the character flaws that led to a presidency lacking in boldness and imagination. The description of how he chose his economic team is particularly grating.
Obama wanted to appear "responsible" so he thought he'll go with the safe choice, so he went with the Bill Clinton team, the same guys who had championed the Glass-Steagall Act that contributed to the financial crisis. He describes Larry Summers misogyny as an endearing trait.
Read 5 tweets
Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
22 Nov
A thread for book lovers: Some stories and photos about the best bookshops and libraries. Which ones are yours?

#Bibliophilia
This one I haven't visited, but I've marked it as a post-pandemic must-see.

truththeory.com/turkish-garbag…
I loved this story by my friend @kshaheen. Loved the idea of a bookshop run by a Syrian for Syrians in exile. Loved the photos. Alas, by the time I visited, the bookshop had closed down.

theguardian.com/world/2017/jan… Image
Read 10 tweets
Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
30 Sep
Tonight's debate was a horrible but revealing spectacle. If anyone is undecided after tonight, it's because they are indifferent to the issues. The contrast on stage could not have been starker. There was only one bully, liar, and opportunist on stage. #debates
I doubt anyone who watched today's debate switched from Biden to Trump. But it's very likely the less rabid of Trump's supporters rethought their choice. @JoeBiden came across as dignified, reasonable, substantive, and, where necessary, cutting. #Debate2020
Biden had some good lines. "It is what it is because he is who he is" was good. And "Law and order, with justice" was the best. #Debate2020
Read 4 tweets
Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
29 Sep
A short thread in praise of @Showtime's "The Comey Rule". As a political sociologist and a film geek, I watched with a critical eye, but I think @BillyRay5229 has created an outstanding political drama.

I have read the memoirs that have come out of the Trump administration. I have read Comey, McCabe, Bolton, the Mueller report, and also investigative works including the two Woodward books, the two Michael Wolff books, Greg Miller, Corn and Isikoff, and Leonig and Rucker.
When you are that immersed in a political period, it generally sets you up for disappointment when it comes to fictional portraits. Everyone film or drama about the Bush administration was underwhelming or awful.
Read 5 tweets
Idrees Ahmad Profile picture
29 Sep
You won't be surprised that Bashar al Assad's leading American apologists is now sharing material from the far right dirty tricks outfit Project Veritas (see Washington Posts expose on this nasty group)
Yes, the former Democratic presidential candidate is promoting information from this group: politico.com/story/2017/11/…
And of course what she is sharing is another one of James O'Keefe's dirty tricks.
Read 4 tweets

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