There is some speculation why the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, now visiting India for five days, is not visiting neighbouring US-ally Pakistan as her predecessors have always done. On the other hand, Hillary declared that Pakistan houses a ‘syndicate of terrorism’. The Indian Express reports that Hillary stated that “her country is watching the actions being taken by Islamabad against the...

Let’s say you have a baby in a stroller but you find a deal on a used appliance that you just can’t pass up. What to do? Fresh from the camera, another of those scenes that makes you ask, What the Heck? When you see images like this, they are often accompanied by stories about rednecks, trailers, and something south of the Mason-Dixon line. Except this one is an original, taken today, and it’s...

America’s legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite, who passed away at age 92, would be long remembered among the journalist fraternity in the world for the basic things he upheld/promoted as a professional all his life: Excellence, Integrity, Accuracy, Fairness, Objectivity. Really, the world would be a better place if journalists left aside the frills and returned to these basic values in journalism....

Blaming Iranian political reformers and the West for yesterday’s horrific air crash in northwest Iran, this article by columnist Kian Mokhtari of Iran’s state-controlled Kayhan lashes out at former President Khatami for seeking to replace Iran’s passenger fleet with Western aircraft – and the West for not selling them to him. On the other hand, he also blames the bad reputation of Russian...

To Love My Country has posted an analysis about White House salaries, based on a previously released list that came from the White House (talk about excellent primary source blogging). First, the idea behind the post, as explained by the blogger: The commentary here is intended to provoke thought about why men dominate the higher positions– where’s the disconnect? Is it women not majoring in Poli Sci at...

OBAMA’S BLACKBERRY: ‘AHMADINEJAD WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW YOU ON TWITTER’ CAPTION: ‘AHMADINEJAD WANTS TO FOLLOW OBAMA’ Can the United States expect Russia to help Washington approach the Iranian regime – and if so, what can they do for us? In an attempt to answer these questions, we’ve posted this Iran-centric interview with Victor Kremenyuk, the deputy director of the...

This morning’s Plain Dealer editorial page features a column by senior political reporter, Mark Naymik, titled, “Small tax issues still matter in a heated campaign, even among two Democrats.” (And hey, I read it in the printed version, not online first). In it, Mark writes: Taxes seem to matter to U.S. senators when people come before them seeking confirmation to administration positions. Senate...

If only pipsqueak dust was as magical as fairy dust. Two pipsqueaks sitting around talking Hattip to Jay Rosen and Chris Geidner for the heads up about this video, posted this morning and featuring Plain Dealer news impact editor, John Kroll. Kroll responds to reactions to Reader Representative Ted Diadiun’s video from last week, which was about reaction to Connie Schultz’s column from...

In recent times, there have been clear indications that male of the human species is on a suicidal path. Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the macho rule of men? Here I am not talking about the mess created by myopic/desperate men (and not just in Iraq and Afghanistan), but the British scientists’ recent claim that they have created human sperm in the lab. If there’s no need for sperm,...

I have to agree with some of our readers. We are spending entirely too much time on frivolous issues such as the Palin “Higher Calling” resignation and Sanford’s sultry Argentinean love affair. And I won’t even touch the Michael Jackson “issue.” There are too many other real issues to be discussed and analyzed. One of them is, of course, the “What Happened in Vegas”...

As more is revealed on the secret warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance of American citizens that President George W. Bush authorized illegally, supposedly to fullfill his “duty” to “keep Americans safe from the terrorists” this quote comes to mind: When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty. -George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) We...

Sri Lankan journalist Nalaka Gunawardene notes in his blog how the twin technologies of satellite television and the Internet transformed far-away Michael Jackson into a local icon across Asia. He also mentions about a 2001 documentary named Michael Jackson Comes to Manikganj that probed how far and wide satellite television was influencing and impacting culture, society and even politics of South Asia. See...

Sorry, PETA, I find this traffic-stopping story from Reuters a riot. UPDATE – A drunken Englishman passes out (pardon the pun) thousands of cash Euros at an airport in Spain that would have caused a riot if he didn’t smell so bad. It reminds us that the world is an intoxicating experience, seen through the glass, darkly. You think I’m kidding? Booze is making a comeback to lure men to go shopping....

During my appearance on CNN.com/LIVE on Monday (7/6), I mentioned that one of the side effects of soon-to-be-former Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s decision to not run for re-election as governor and to resign as of July 26 is that, seeing that she has done it (run for her state’s highest office and then leave it with 18 months to go) and justified those decisions...

For those of us who love our Blackberry devices (my Blackberry Storm has made me too organized) and love blogging, Wordpress has given us another reason to love our Blackberries even more: WORDPRESS FOR BLACKBERRY! Yes it is public beta mode right now, still in development, and has some bugs but I have to say one word: COOL! Yeah yeah… I’m displaying my inner geek (well protected in the body of...

At The Huffington Post, there is a very unsettling entry titled “Trying to Fix the Broken 401(k) System“. It reveals that as has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt in the past year, those on Wall Street are more than ready to utilize any and every means to exploit their “customers” in the quest for profits. Sigh… With pension plans disappearing, the 401(k) was pretty much the...

One may hate Michael Jackson, or love him madly, or remain totally indifferent to him, but one just can’t ignore this musical phenomenon and his mass appeal. Jackson’s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles is expected to be an even bigger global internet video-viewing event than the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, reports ANI. A Michael Jackson page at Facebook has already...

In Renaissance Europe, and in the ancient and medieval Hindu and Mughal societies, the young courtesans were much in news and played a vital role. Even in this computer age the tradition continues as exemplified by a Romanian teenager who auctioned off her virginity for $20,000. Alina Percea, 18, has spoken for the first time about her night with the highest bidder, reports LiveNews. Percea (photo above) auctioned...

Could it be that Lance Armstrong, the American that continues, year after year, to win France’s most renowned sporting event, has been using banned substances all along? Is this a legitimate gripe or just sour grapes? This article by Fabrice Rousselot of France’s Liberation would lead one to believe that after all these years, Armstrong has lost none of his capacity to raise the hackles of his...

Tibet and Xianjiang provinces in China have remained turbulent spots often plagued with ethnic violence. Last weekend 156 persons were killed and hundreds injured in Urumqi, the capital city of the Xianjiang province, in what is being described as” bloodiest clashes in the country since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.” The details remain murky, but the real figure is likely to be far higher...

A montage of Chinese newspaper front pages on June 27, the day after Michael Jackson’s death. As has already been well-established, huge portions of the world are in mourning over the death of Michael Jackson. This news item from the state-controlled SC News, a Web site of the Chung Shan Daily News Newspaper Group, recounts Michael Jackson’s first and only visit to Mainland China, which took...

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature...

We all get sucker punched by clever advertisements.This one is from Air New Zealand which headlines its latest ad of nude pilots and stewards in body paint in order to get passengers’ attention on safety precautions. Bummer. I demand a refund.

The Delhi High Court today declared Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), a relic of the British Raj, “violative of articles 14, 21 and 15 of the (Indian) Constitution in so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private.” That means, from now on, police will no longer be able to arrest adult homosexuals having consensual sex. Gays have so far been living under terror in India...

What’s at the intersection of politics and technology? More than a thousand people at 60th and Broadway on June 29 and 30th, aka Personal Democracy Forum 2009. I attended Day 2 of PdF and suggest that first, before anything else, you check out the new IT Dashboard that lets you see how your taxpayer dollars are being spent by the federal government in a way you’ve never seen before (the system is...