Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Judging from this article from Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper, appearing to favor policies of the United States – even if they are in the interests of Iraq in general – could be dangerous to your political health. Kitabat columnist Zahraa’ Al Hussayni warns politicians who appear to be turning their backs on past resistance to the U.S. that ‘lovers of power and self interest’ will...

Is America so unreliable and does it have such a long history of lies and deception, that Pakistan leaders should dismiss out of hand U.S. offers of aid and its professed desire for greater cooperation? Stretching language to the limit to express boiling outrage and exasperation with U.S. claims that Pakistan is harboring terrorists like Osama bin Laden, this Frontier Post editorial says in small part: Although...

Try as she might to persuade suspicious Pakistanis of America’s good intentions and determination, it appears that Hillary Clinton’s charm campaign and promises of billions of dollars in aid have fallen short. According to this editorial from Pakistan’s Frontier Post, American promises have historically not been kept, so why should anyone believe them now? The Frontier Post editorial says...

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

I looked at a summary of my TMV posts over the past 2 years and I think I’ve been rehashing some ideas and talking points too often. I also noticed that when I (or other TMV writers) discussed matters of sex, we got the most cross-posts on other blogs and the most reactions from readers. Thus, let’s go back to everyone’s favorite subject: Sex. I certainly hope deep down (and pray as only a Catholic agnostic...

I just heard that the list of those invited to Chelsea Clinton’s wedding contains about 400 names. It would be fascinating to learn what considerations and criteria Bill and Hillary Clinton had when they were making up the list and what emotions they experienced. I know exactly how my wife and I felt when we drew up the list of those to be invited to our daughter’s wedding. I am sure that we experienced...

Judging from the the last few articles we’ve translated from Iraq, the closer the United States gets to leaving, the more jittery become Iraqis. The mixed emotions are clear: a hatred for the invasion but a fear of the withdrawal. In this article from Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper, columnist Ghaalib Zanjeel, while lamenting America’s conduct for the last seven years, rips the United States for...

When I first started my Twitter account, I referred to “Tweets” as “Twits.” A few people emailed me noting that a Twit had a different definition, and by golly it did. Your Dictionary explains: ….a foolish, contemptible person Sarah Palin has created a mini-political firestorm with her Tweets about a Muslim mosque being planned in NYC. And, yes, these qualify as…Twits.

Readers may remember the unconscionable appearances by members of a so-called religious group from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, at military funerals claiming that the deaths of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are God’s punishment for America’s acceptance of homosexuality. They show up at military funerals regardless of whether the fallen hero was gay or not. They appear at funerals...

In response to Jerry Remmers article by same name… He recommends, in a comment, another perspective besides instant condemnation of unknown people on this ‘list’ of alleged ‘violators on immigration laws.’ Remmers recommends that others ought consider walking in the shoes of those on “the list”: In response to commenters supporting the publishing of a private list,...

Argentina’s had a pretty crazy, if not uninteresting, political history — from a military regime in the ’40s, to Juan Perón and “peronism” (and Eva “Evita” Duarte, his famous second wife) in the ’40s and ’50s, to various coups and a succession of short-lived governments in the ’50s and ’60s, to an authoritarian military dictatorship in the ’60s...

If forced to choose between Israel and Iran, which side would Arabs in the Arabian Gulf be on? This article from Kuwait’s Al Seyassah makes it hard to guess. Al-Sayasseh editor and chief Ahmad Abdal Aziz Al Jarallah accuses the Iranian regime of following the policies of the former Shah to economically and culturally take over Arab lands, starting with calling the ‘Arabian Gulf’ the ‘Persian...

The saga of the disappearance of Iranian nuclear researcher Shahram Amiri appears to have ended, with his arrival in Iran to a hero’s welcome. But reading between the lines of this news item from Iran’s state-run Kayhan newspaper, which calls this a ‘ fascinating but inevitably obscure story,’ it appears that the Tehran regime would rather not address open questions on whether he defected...

A Republican group is challenging the constitutionality of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law in a federal court in California this week. The Washington Post’s Ed O’ Keefe interviewed the group’s executive director. One of the questions was why the group has fought for six years to end “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The director answered: It’s to directly challenge the constitutionality of...

Ariel Merari, a retired professor of psychology at Tel Aviv University in Israel, adds yet another interesting dimension to the plethora of research work that exists to study the minds of suicide bombers. Professor Merari says in his latest book that among the suicide bombers he interviewed “none were any more militant than the average Palestinian. For many, the suicide mission was their first involvement...

Just when you thought the economy and deficits were going to be more prominent in the mid-terms than social and religious issues, you read something like this: … that’s one of the things that’s most destructive about the growth of government is this taking away that freedom, the freedom, the ultimate freedom, to find your salvation, to get your salvation, and to find Christ for me and you,...

Frustration with democracy is growing in Iraq, where four months after nationwide elections, a new government has yet to be formed. According to this article by columnist Abd Al Aziz Al Maqaleh of the Iraq News Agency, the delay, and Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s clinging to power, prove that U.S. plans for a ‘democratic Iraq’ were bogus from the start, as are its claims that we intend to...

About six weeks ago, we had a spirited debate here at The Moderate Voice on the policy, the strategy and the tactics of the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the interception of and subsequent violence aboard the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla, which intended to challenge, perhaps break, Israel’s authority and control over what goes in and out of Gaza. The debate covered all aspects...

EDITOR’s NOTE: This was run under the wrong headline. TMV regrets ther error. The Forgotten Minority by Jonathan Spyer On March 21, 2010, the Syrian security forces opened fire with live ammunition on a crowd of 5,000 in the northern Syrian town of al-Raqqah. The crowd had gathered to celebrate the Kurdish festival of Nowruz. Three people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed. Over 50 were injured....

Why is it that those who have abandoned the Taliban to join the Afghan government aren’t using their connections and understanding of the Taliban to help the Karzai government defeat them? Furthermore, why is it that people who have been elected by the people, continue to endanger their constituents by allowing the Taliban to operate in the country? According to columnist Jawad Rahmani of Afghanistan’s...

In complimenting Barack Obama, Muhammad Khodr Aarif of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Madina may inadvertently provide fodder for the president’s political adversaries, even as it shows support for him in the Muslim world. For the usually U.S.-unfriendly Al Madina, Khodr Aarif compliments the White House for acknowledging the importance of Islamic charities and expresses gratitude for Washington’s decision,...

When it rains it pours for Mel Gibson — and we don’t mean in his use of racist words when talking about Jews or African-Americans. Amid a host of p.r. and legal problems, Gibson has now been dumped by a major Hollywood agent: Add another log to the Mel Gibson inferno. A spokesman for the William Morris Endeavor agency confirmed Friday that the embattled actor is no longer a client. The decision...

There are enough outrages to write about to keep a writer busy for life, no matter his or her age. This is the outrage that Terry Savage, who apparently writes a column for the Chicago Sun-Times, chose to fill her valuable newspaper real estate:

…but I can’t help but ask, WTF????? From a tweet by Representative Jack Kimble (CA-R; Twitter page here: RepJackKimble): There’s a war going on between traditional America and those who would like to take Christ out of The 4th of July Excuse me? Is it that the time for the whining about the so-called “War on Christmas” too far away, or is this the loony right-wing version of Christmas...