Back in my more liberal days, I heard alot of Tariq Ali lectures and read some of his stuff. Even in retrospect, he seemed smart and eloquent, though he is a classic example of a Muslim blaming the problems of the Muslim world on the existence of a tiny non-Muslim state the size of New Jersey. If guys like Ali would put half the energy they put in criticizing Israel into trying to reform countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc. the Middle East would be a very different place.
Ali now has truly gone off the deep end. My jaw dropped when I saw the cover of his new book at a local bookstore:
No, you are not hallucinating. That is a halo over the head of Fidel Castro. Here's the synopsis of the book, via Ali's site:
A revolution is moving across Latin America. Since 1998, the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela has brought Hugo Chávez to world attention as the foremost challenger of the neoliberal consensus and American foreign policy. Tariq Ali shows how Chávez's views have polarized Latin America and examines the aggression directed against his administration. Pirates of the Caribbean guides us through a world divided between privilege and poverty, a continent that is once again on the march.
I'm going to try to publicize this book as much as possible, since it reveals what the Left is really about without me having to say a freakin' word.
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