As we’ve all heard by now, Western Europe is relieved, and Eastern Europe is aggrieved, over President Barack Obama’s decision to scrap Bush-era missile shield bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. This article by Marek Magierowski of Poland’s Rceczpospolita offers a good sense of how Poles view the decision. So why did Obama do it? Magierowski gives three reasons: “First, the Americans...

Prof. John K. Galbraith, a former US ambassador, once described India as a “functioning anarchy”. Galbraith’s famous quote comes to mind on hearing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent helpless cry that the country’s fight against Maoists/Naxalites is failing. Such public display of vulnerability appears pathetic, although it is a fact that governing a large democratic and diverse country like...

Women in the military have been—by tradition, by law, policy or regulation—excluded from various duties. One of the last remaining exclusions is women serving in “front-line combat jobs.” But, even here, according to the Navy Times, “combat roles have become blurred during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which irregular warfare marked by insurgent roadside bombs and a lack...

Legendary keyboardist and bassist Larry Knechtel, 69, performed with top-selling artists for nearly half a century. His most famous piano work is his 1970 Grammy Award winning contribution to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. Larry earned fame performing and recording with a broad range of artists, including his work as a session musician with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy,...

Continuing with our global coverage of President Obama’s decision to put an end to Bush-era anti-missile bases in East Europe, this is a German editorial roundup of nine regional newspapers from the Financial Times Deutschland. They are unanimously supportive of ditching the bases. For example, medium-sized newspaper, the Fuldaer Zeitung of Fulda, opines on the president’s decision: “From...

So who comes out ahead of President Obama’s decision to freeze or scrap Europe-based, Bush-era anti-missile sites? According to this op-ed by Dominique Jung of France’s Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace, Barack Obama is looking like a pretty good card player right at the moment. For Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, Dominique Jung writes of why East and West Europe differ in their reactions...

Once again Hollywood is on the attack. This time with a “PSA” about Protecting Insurance Companies. Click HERE to view the video via Funny Or Die (a new window will open). NOTE: I didn’t embed the video due the preview slowing down the site. Of course the predictable “Hollywood are a bunch of stupid, clueless, latte liberal elites” (implied not said) from various sources in...

Continuing with our global coverage of President Obama’s decision to scrap Bush-era missile shield plans for Eastern Europe (more from Poland, Germany and France later this evening), we just posted something by Alexander Golz of Russia’s Yezhednevniy Zhurnal that is likely to surprise many American cable news viewers. What people of the neocon persuasion are calling the mistake of an amateur is...

A misunderstanding of the meaning of victory in asymmetrical wars is a main reason why the US remains stuck in the bloody quick sands of Afghanistan and Iraq. Since military power is unable to deliver a sustainable peace, alternative strategies deserve consideration. As President Barack Obama seeks world esteem for US leadership during top-level talks in New York and Pittsburg this week, it is worth remembering...

Iraqis ponder the impact of September 11 on them. So how were Iraqis feeling on September 11, 2009, eight years after the attacks that led – justifiably or not – to the invasion of their land? Judging by this op-ed from Iraqi magazine Iraq of Tomorrow, the people of the country are anything but grateful for the role America has played in their nation’s recent history – despite being...

So the long-rumored deed is done: American has decided that the anti-missile shield, parts of which were to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic – is best set aside for other considerations. When one get’s past all the bravado and one-upmanship of foreign affairs, what impact will it have on Russian behavior? This editorial from Russia’s Gazeta newspaper, notably owned in part by Mikhail...

This is a day late since International Talk Like a Pirate Day was yesterday, but it’s worth putting up anyway. When I lived in France I visited Lyon and ran across this restaurant, the Resto Pirate, which offers “wild food”: A little bit of silliness is good for the soul… — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : International Talk Like...

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has a reputation of creating ripples with his irreverent words and deeds. Now a storm has broken out over Rudd’s use of four-letter words while arguing with some Members of Parliament. Interestingly, Rudd defended his outburst. The PM said in the presence of three female MPs: “I don’t care what you f***ers think,” News Limited has reported, says AAP...

I guess if you’re James Bond it does: Melting Ice Caps Expose Hundreds Of Secret Arctic Lairs — Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. — Technorati : humor Del.icio.us : humor Zooomr : humor Flickr : humor

One of the many under-reported stories in our nation’s media are U.S. plans to build a number of new military bases in Colombia and expand others around the region. This article by Angel Guerra Cabrera from Mexico’s La Jornada reflects the views of a huge swath of Latin American opinion – and it’s anything but music to U.S. ears. For La Jornada, Angel Guerra Cabrera writes in part: “Over...

I know I just posted about some whimsy associated with space, but you know, we need more of this: Out of this world: British teddy bears strapped to helium weather balloon reach the edge of space It may sound silly or inconsequential, but as someone I once knew said to me, “It’s the small things, Jack, the small things add up to a lot more than the big things in the end.” — Cross-posted...

From the NASA Image of the Day gallery: The Return of Buzz Lightyear Disney’s space ranger Buzz Lightyear returned from space on Sept. 11, aboard space shuttle Discovery’s STS-128 mission after 15 months aboard the International Space Station. His time on the orbiting laboratory will celebrated in a ticker-tape parade together with his space station crewmates and former Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz...

Is it time to, “completely forget the classic Left-Right dichotomy and apply what we’ve discovered about left- and right-handers to today’s problems?” In this tongue-in-cheek article from Frederico Bastiao of Portugal’s Jornal de Negocios, a completely new way of addressing the world’s problems needs to be considered. For the Jornal de Negocios, Frederico Bastiao writes...

After bitterly contesting the case, a British oil trading giant has agreed to a multimillion-pound payout to settle a huge damages claim from thousands of Africans who fell ill from tonnes of toxic waste dumped illegally in one of the worst pollution incidents in decades, reports The Independent. The Western world has shown remarkable tolerance towards economic/business/environmental/political criminals, while...

Ever since the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the doomsayers are having field day predicting the break-up of India and Pakistan. Last year, a leading Russian political analyst stated that the economic turmoil in the USA had confirmed his long-held view that the country would divide into separate parts. Cashing on this phobia, Slate offered last month a “week-long thought experiment” on “the...

Here is some “simple arithmetic” about projected health care costs from the Kaiser Family Foundation:

What is it about Libyan despot Mouamar Qaddafi that Western leaders find so irresistible? There’s no mystery about that, nor the unmistakable hypocrisy it represents. Expressing bile over Western tolerance for the man known in Libya as ‘the Guide,’ this editorial from France’s Le Monde sums it up this way: “His record is damning. The dashing officer who modeled himself on Egypt’s...

Victory Day in Russia, 1945 Continuing with our coverage of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, this article from Izvestia reflects the outrage Russians feel about being called allies of Hitler, as responsible as Germany for the last ‘War to End All Wars.’ For Izvestia, Vyacheslav Nikonov writes in part: “What a remarkable thing: the more time passes since the Second World...

ON GLASSES: ‘CARE PLAN’TITLE: ‘FRAGILE’ Gravitas and the power of “the word.” Gravitas is that ancient Roman measure of a leader’s influence and credibility – and “the word” is a key tool that leaders must use to exercise that ancient virtue. Continuing with our sampling of global reaction to the issue of health care in America, according to columnist...

As we have been seeing for months, when it comes to provisioning the population with health care, the behavior of U.S. Republicans is far more incomprehensible to Europeans than even for most U.S. Democrats. According to columnist David Francis of Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress on health care came close to sealing the deal while exposing...