[lbo-talk] RE: Hitchens and Ali

[joanna bujes]

Dennis P writes:
"Why? Is Tariq Ali beyond criticism? I read his "Clash" book, and apart from
some interesting bits about the history of Ba'athism, I didn't think it was
all that great (and inferior to "Taliban" by Ahmed Rashid, against whom Ali
seems to have a grudge). His appearances on Canadian TV and public radio
reveal a guy who is quite full of himself, convinced of his superiority,
much like Hitchens himself. They do mirror one another, and I await their
Fox show should "Hannity & Colmes" drop in the ratings."

I know that Ali is nominally on my side; but there really is a problem: he IS full of himself, he writes too fast and he is often superficial. Sometimes his writing seems like one long string of sound bites.

Joanna