Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Does the global “Occupy” movement reflect the very best of Western dedication to social and economic justice – or is it just a craven reflection of a civilization in moral decline? Columnist Iulian Leca of Romania’s Voxpublica writes that juxtaposing the mad rush for Black Friday shopping bargains against images of the protests exposes the ‘Occupiers’ as no better than the...

In “The Iraqi Phoenix Rises Again,” I described how the once proud and powerful Iraqi Air Force(IqAF) — at one time the sixth largest air force in the world — was decimated as a result of both the 1991 “Persian Gulf War” (Operation Desert Storm) and Saddam Hussein’s desperate concealing, disassembling and “stashing abroad” of its remaining aircraft before the 2003 U.S. invasion of...

Bill Day, Cagle Cartoons This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Will the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States, the new organization that pointedly excludes the U.S. and Canada, prove to be more than a footnote of history? This news item from Venezuela’s El Universal, the first of a series of CELAC articles we are working on, covers the opening session of the event, which featured a speech by Venezuela President Hugo Chavez. Chavez implored his guests...

The criticism expressed by the pundits of the slate of Republican presidential wannabes has been quite fierce — from the Left and from the Right. Judging from the muted, lethargic responses by Republicans — sometimes even agreement — including here at TMV, one would think that the GOP, this time, has decided to “Send in the Clueless” — or at least the “cynics” — to, first,...

WASHINGTON — The contest for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has been described as a reality show and a circus. But what’s happening inside the GOP is quite rational and easily explained. The obvious Republican nominee was Texas Gov. Rick Perry — obvious because his government-bashing, ideology-mongering, secessionist-flirting persona was a perfect fit for a Republican primary...

Calls for the legalization of drugs are coming from the strangest places these days – like from the president of the world’s leading cocaine exporter. Columnist Antonio Caballero of Colombia’s Semana writes that while he may be ‘the most submissive servant of the United States among world leaders,’ Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has done something not even Washington’s...

It’s been slightly more than three years since President George W. Bush signed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) into law (October 2008). TARP authorized $700 billion to bail out the financial sector, a Congressional effort to forestall another Great Depression. Most American think TARP was too large and that the money was wasted. Unfortunately for President Obama, 1-in-2 Americans think TARP...

Disastrous Friendly Fire Event in Pakistan Could Grind the U.S. Afghan Campaign to a Halt by John C.K. Daly NATO recently literally shot itself in the foot, imperiling the resupply of International Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan by shooting up two Pakistani border posts in a “hot pursuit’ raid. Given that roughly 100 fuel tanker trucks along with 200 other trucks loaded with NATO supplies...

As the global financial crisis has worsened, Europeans could only look on with envy as the United States continued to issue debt and successfully sell it – and at amazingly low interest rates. That’s because America has a central bank empowered to be the ‘lender of last resort,’ which means that if private investors don’t buy U.S. Treasury Bonds, the FED will. According to Ulrike...

Republican congressfolk have stayed unfailingly on message in the run-up to the 2012 election: They vote no on everything that might possibly enhance Barack Obama’s standing even if it means allowing the economy to continue to stagnate and keep millions of Americans to remain out of work. Meanwhile, the Democrats have pretty much flailed, the president’s famous leadership qualities often have been...

Al Franken, who used to be a comic and perhaps still is, has created a holiday solution to the Senate’s civility shortage—-a “Secret Santa” exchange of gifts between the opposing parties. Just as in grade school, 21 Republicans and 37 Democrats have drawn names from a Santa hat and will present each other with gifts worth $10 or less in mid-December. That won’t violate lobbying laws, and there is something...

WASHINGTON — Two politicians from different countries and with very different political pedigrees made news this week. Both spoke difficult truths and reminded us that we shouldn’t use the word “politician” with routine contempt. The better-known story is the retirement of Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who was never afraid to make people angry — or to make them...

With the world looking to Berlin to save the euro, Germans may be reevaluating their decades of nearly constant criticism of the way the United States wields its influence. Die Welt columnist Clemens Wergin warns his readers not to expect gratitude from Europeans for saving the common currency, and lays bare the irony of Europe’s growing need for German help – and its fear of German power. For...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from The Daily Beast’s John Avlon who looks at polling numbers and other data and notes that Republicans are being blamed more by many voters — including crucial swing voters — for the Supercommittee’s spectacular failure. Here are a few highlights: Dig beneath the surface of Gallup’s new poll showing that 55 percent of Americans blame both parties...

South Sudan offers Khartoum “package” over oil shipments by John C. K. Daly Call it a “package,” though a more accurate word might be “bribe.” South Sudan’s government has offered Sudanese authorities in Khartoum a “package” to break the rising tension-filled gridlock over South Sudan using its northern neighbour’s pipeline network to ship out its oil exports. Sudan People’s Liberation...

Wright, The Detroit News This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

BEIJING — Even the briefest acquaintance with this smoggy, sprawling capital is basis enough to conclude that much of the campaign rhetoric we’re hearing about China is unrealistic, dishonest or just dumb. This is my first visit to China, and I plan to spend the next few columns reporting what I see and learn. I spent enough years as a foreign correspondent to know how tricky first impressions...

Update: The Daily Mail headlines, No wonder they looked sheepish! Wealthy bankers who claimed record $254m jackpot accused of collecting fortune as a ‘front’ for mysterious client. Who says it’s the poor who play the lottery? We all like the lottery. 3 Asset Managers Won $254 Million in Connecticut’s Powerball Lottery: Timothy C. Davidson, Brandon E. Lacoff and Gregory H. Skidmore, three...

WASHINGTON — The deficit that should most worry us is a deficit of reasonableness. The problems the United States confronts are large but not insoluble. Yet sensible solutions that are broadly popular can’t be enacted. Why? Because an ideological bloc that sees every crisis as an opportunity to reduce the size of government holds enough power in Congress to stop us from doing what needs to be...

Martha’s Big Adventure — Who’s in Charge Here? by Martha Randolph Carr The Congressional Super Committee of Twelve has failed to put together a plan to save the country’s fiscal butt before the January 2013 deadline. Despite having specially mandated super powers to be able to speed through red tape and deliver a plan, they were unable to agree on much of anything. They have not even been able to agree...

Things are moving in the right direction. Despite the evictions of protesters from public spaces across Canada, Linda McQuaig writes that the Occupy Movement has managed to “change the public discourse, putting inequality front and centre — something activists and writers, myself included, have failed to accomplish despite decades of trying.” Even members of the elite are switching sides. Last...

Here are a couple of interesting developments. After announcing last week that he will nationalize Venezuela’s gold industry, Hugo Chavez is now “repatriating” his country’s gold reserves. According to the BBC, Chavez plans to bring home approximately 160 tons of gold, worth more than $ 11 billion, mostly from London where the vast majority of Venezuela’s gold is held. The first shipment of gold bars...