by Jim Geraghty, New York Sun
It's a teaser link, but the good part is in the first two paragraphs
Odd as it may seem, the annual release of the survey results of the Pew Global Attitudes Project has evolved into the American equivalent of the bloody Shia ritual of Ashura. During Ashura, devout Shiites commemorate the suffering and martyrdom of the grandson of Mohammed, Husayn, by flagellating themselves bloody with bladed chains.
For several consecutive years, the Pew study has disclosed that large majorities of foreign populations despise Americans, spurring international pundits to call for Americans to embrace a vigorous round of metaphorical self-flagellation, and for the Bush administration to seek penance by changing its policies. |