*"Observation by Lawrence: *We see from the above that this golden period of Cordoba described in the "time" article was relatively brief. The Caliphate began in 929 as a sort of parenthesis, as though the Islamic conquerors forgot why they were there. But by 997 general Al-Mansur got them back on track. So at the very most, this period lauded by Tharoor lasted 68 years -- after which Muslims resumed to slaughtering Spanish Christians. Islamists looking back on this period are ambivalent about it." Reminds me of a Doonesbury strip. An American soldier is driving a jeep down a road in Iraq with an Iraqi soldier. The Iraqi suddenly shouts: "Stop! Stop!" "What? What? Why" the startled GI cries searching out danger. "That's Hassan Mohammed Karami, I must kill him." "Why?" "Because his family killied one of my family." "When?" "In 1342. Stop. Pull over." "1342?! Dear god, what is it with you people?" Lawrence carries a grudge even if no one in his family is involved. What's with the man? Mike Geary Memphis On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 4:33 PM, Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote: > My response to Tharoor's article is at > http://www.lawrencehelm.com/2010/08/tharoor-and-what-sort-of-symbol-is.html > > > > Lawrence >