Reid @ Planomenology

He has another take on the recent situation:

http://planomenology.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/the-future-of-philosophy-sic/

Palestine

Egyptians are reacting very positively to the use of the word “Palestine” rather than just “Palestinians”.

They are also reacting positively to the tone. He said a number of things that will never be popular or even accepted here, but there is a big difference between a generally warm and co-operative tone and its opposite. People know the difference, and in some sense it’s what matters most in all communication.

the speech

The speech seemed pretty well-received as it was underway, but what blew me away was the praise from a Hamas official on BBC al-Jazeera afterward. (ADDENDUM: Didn’t realize what network I was watching. The British anchorman fooled me.)

In the audience I recognized our University President and VP’s for Development and Student Affairs. That was uncanny. I just wish I’d gotten a ticket.

(ADDENDUM 2: Obviously, it’s the sort of speech that would have been harder for a typical white guy President to pull off. That’s the first time I’ve seen Hamas and an Israeli diplomat praise the same speech afterward.)

waiting for Obama

It really was true… almost nobody came out to campus today. There’s a small amount of food available, but otherwise the offices are closed.

So, why did I bother to jump on a 7:10 AM bus for a one-hour ride in already heavy Obama-related traffic?

1. I don’t own a television, and the faculty lounge on campus is my best location from which to watch the speech.

2. There’s a big going-away party for departing faculty tonight in El Rehab City, the close-to-campus development where I lived until the proliferation of bad omens caused me to move back into the city.

For those new to this blog, those omens included being attacked by a rabid dog two hours after my arrival, finding a live rat in my bathroom, the rat biting the washing machine hose in the middle of the night and causing me to step out of bed into 3 inches of water throughout the flat, and finally an ominous swarm of 200 or so flies in the bathroom. Much of this was later explained by purely rational means, but at the time it felt like nothing less than a curse, which is what the Housing Director literally called it.

The dogbite scar is now sufficiently healed that I have to look very hard to find it. It’s been a little over 10 months.

editorial board

Following up on Burns, the editorial advisory board for the open access journals he mentioned IS LISTED HERE. I am almost surely the most “minor” person on that list.

news of the rude

IMPLERI weighs in.

bad traffic day

I’m truly glad that Obama will have time to see so much of Cairo, but this spells “city traffic nightmare”:

“In Cairo, Mr. Obama is scheduled to give his much anticipated speech from the domed hall at Cairo University, meet with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and visit the Great Pyramids of Giza and the historic Sultan Hassan Mosque.”