If you are a U.S. citizen and wondered why back in the fall when the U.S. signed the agreement in Tokyo you didn’t hear anything about ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, it might be because U.S. media ignored the event. Newspapers Reporting On ACTA, Sept 1 - Nov 1, 2011According to LexisNexis[1], only 13 newspapers covered the story between September 1 and November 1, 2011; the agreement was...

The Nazi legacy is an understandably heavy burden for Germany, even today. This leaves Germans emotionally vulnerable to comparisons to their 20th century forebears. And with the country exercising ever-more influence over its European Union allies, cutting remarks that include such comparisons are blossoming like mushrooms after a spring rain. So how to deal with it? For Germany’s Die Zeit, Bernd...

Is it possible that American citizens, now under arrest in Cairo, were involved with a plot to partition Egypt into four smaller states? According to columnist Muhammad Dunia of Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram, maps that were discovered during a raid on the Cairo offices of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute prove that at least some of the foreign NGOs operating in Egypt are actively involved...

UPDATE: A wave of unusually severe cold is gripping Europe. But the weather is not the only thing that is chilling over there. Under the headline “A Chilling Verdict in Spain,” the New York Times reports that “The enemies of Judge Baltasar Garzón have finally gotten their way” as Spain’s Supreme Court has found Judge Garzón guilty of misapplying the country’s wiretap law and suspended him from...

When it comes to the oppression of dissent in Syria, are the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council undermining global peace and security by issuing ‘reckless vetoes’? According to this editorial from Japan’s Kochi Shimbun, by concerning themselves with the interests of their own countries rather than what is best for the world, China, Russia, America, Britain and France are demonstrating...

Would the United States, utilizing what is known as a ‘false flag’ strategy, sacrifice a nuclear aircraft carrier to persuade the world that a war against Iran must be waged? According to columnist Anna Pinderak of Poland’s Wprost24, a theory is making the rounds that the Pentagon has sent the famed USS Enterprise to the Persian Gulf – to sink it – and then to blame Tehran...

As compared with the Brits, few Americans have made India their home. Among those Americans who became well-known, I wrote about the legendary Samuel Evans Stokes Jr who fought along with Mahatma Gandhi to free the country from the colonial rule, and also brought horticulture revolution in the hills. The other well-known figure is an Indian actor of American origin – Tom Alter – who is now a household...

When you find yourself agreeing with Donald Trump, it’s time for a sanity check. Still, The Donald knows about beauty contests (pace Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado), so he may be qualified to comment on the results: “Rick Santorum was a sitting senator who in re-election lost by 19 points, to my knowledge the most in the history of this country for a sitting senator to lose by 19 points. It’s unheard...

Reinventing yourself is a promise of the American Dream. Barack Obama, once a community organizer, is now in the Oval Office. Ronald Reagan, a movie actor, transformed himself into the same role. But evolution stops short of fantasy and now, as the GOP demonizes our 44th President and deifies the 40th, come reminders of the limits. Speaking near Reagan’s grave, Haley Barbour, a conservative, tells colleagues:...

For a global business community still experiencing economic pain, Facebook’s humongous $100 billion Initial Public Offering has been an emotional shot in the arm. For French business newspaper Les Echos, columnist Philippe Escande praises the story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as being at the heart of what still makes the American business sector the greatest in the world. For Les Echos, Philippe...

Are young people in America less stridently nationalistic than their predecessors? Columnist Fyodor Lukyanov of Russia’s Gazeta, citing recent Pew Research Center polling data, asserts in this detailed evaluation of U.S. public attitudes, that there is a declining tendency on the part of the U.S. population to believe in American exceptionalism, and concludes that U.S. foreign policy will be increasingly...

One of the most anticipated and commented upon 2012 Super Bowl commercials was Honda’s which kind of updated “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. Here’s the Honda explanation on You Tube: To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller’s Day Off back in a big game commercial. We cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and...

WASHINGTON — We have seen the world created by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, and it doesn’t work. Oh, yes, it works nicely for the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country, especially if they want to shroud their efforts to influence politics behind shell corporations. It just doesn’t happen to work if you think we are a democracy and not a plutocracy. Two...

How should we characterize the impending end of Western military operations in Afghanistan? Was it a painful defeat, a hard-won success, or something in between? Columnist Danièle Fonck of Luxembourg’s Le Jeudi writes that nothing worthwhile has been gained by the Afghanistan invasion, and the soldiers who died – whether Westerners want to admit it to themselves or not – did so in vain. For...

NBC scored a media touchdown with its Super Bowl ad — a promo for its shows, using the show-stopping song from the smash Broadway Musica “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” called “The Brotherhood of Man.” It is witty, fun, slick, smart — and will rank as one of the best ever: < /center> Here’s an abridged version of the show stopper as performed by...

Chances are if you (among the millions) watch the Super Bowl today you’re going to see one ad that turns out to be highly controverial. The Hill: Super Bowl advertisements have a long history of attracting political controversies, and this year is no different. While the match-up between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will be country’s focus on Sunday, the high-priced ads during the...

Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News Pundits had been predicting it would happen but you can’t obscure the real impact: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won big in the Nevada caucauses yesterday — further consolidating his candidacy, after a gaffe-peppered week adding to the positive image of someone who’s on a political roll, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s candidacy continues...

By now most readers know my (changed) position on the Afghanistan War. I have expressed concern among other about rampant corruption and backstabbing at the highest levels in the Afghanistan government, incompetence of and disloyalty among its military and police and continuing human rights violations. I have mourned our casualties and fretted about our huge financial costs. But — perhaps insensitively...

The French version of the fashion magazine Elle recently posted an article about ‘Black Power Fashion’ that has triggered a wave of indignation. The article, which has since been pulled off the Web, appeared to belittle Black people and their fashion sense by implying that thanks to the Obamas, African Americans have learned to ‘dress White’ while retaining their ‘Blackness.’...

Five reasons why Donald Trump is a joke — five cartoon reasons, via Daryl Cagle HERE.

Microblogging in China: Unstoppable!? by Stephanie Kopf There is a special beauty to blogging. It unleashes a feeling almost akin to reverence. We live for exchange and communication, for feeling connected. Now maybe more than ever before. Each in our different ways, but still, I do believe it’s there in everyone. There is something indescribably thrilling about this mix of freedom of expression and responsibility...

Warren Buffett’s complaint about his secretary paying more in taxes than he does is having a global ripple effect. According to columnist Helena Garrido of Portugal’s Jornal De Negotios, the debate on tax fairness in the United States should be food for thought in Portugal, where the economy is in a tailspin and thanks to widespread tax evasion and tax avoidance, tax revenue has plummeted. For the...

After spending all that money to win Florida big, the $21.7 million-a-year man takes a victory lap and disgorges a perfect line for attack ads on him in the future. “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there,” he tells CNN. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America,...

Yesterday, in a YouTube/Google Plus town hall, President Obama finally admitted to what the world has known for years: that the United States has been using drone aircraft to kill militants in among other places, America’s supposed ally, Pakistan. This editorial from Pakistan’s The Nation welcomes this admission of the obvious, but wonders how the president could claim that most of those killed...

The South Carolina and Florida Republican presidential debates will be pointed to as turning points for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaigns. But they’ll also be remembered for two moments underscoring the uneasy relationship between the news media and politicians who often seek to control, intimidate or politically use the news media —...