Iran simply can’t make up its mind it seems: One of the diplomats told The Associated Press that Iranian government officials in Tehran were discussing maintaining their freeze on uranium conversion because of a warning from key European countries that such a move would result in “consequences … that would only be negative for Iran” — diplomatic code for likely action by the U.N Security Council. In Tehran, Hasan Rowhani, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, appeared...

Cross-posted at Random Fate under “Letters from Europe“. GRENOBLE, France - The Real ID Act was passed today by the United States Senate as an amendment of a spending bill on the war in Iraq. While I am too much a cynic (in the Shaw definition of the term) to truly be surprised by this development, I am still disheartened. I despise hyperbole when used in political discussions because it weakens arguments and causes a loss of credibility when the fine line between spicing up the writing...

When a small Cessna 150 containing a pilot and student pilot veered into restricted air space, within 3 miles of the White House, sparking evacuations throughout the capital, it inadvertently brought up a key issue: How well-prepared is Washington after the bitter experience of 911? If Wednesday’s evacuation was looked at as a fire-drill, how did Washington do? Although it’s still a bit early to give a definitive judgment, some things have already become clear: Military aircraft were...

Greetings from Lansing, Michigan. Once again today we will likely see some posts from our great Guest Bloggers. (TMV personally thinks this site looks a lot BETTER with the addition of the guest perspectives given by people who truly know how to write). Our posts may resume here today a bit more frequently after 12 noon EST. There are some things we kept on hold due to our all day-travel. But this trip was highly interesting: for the first time ever, TMV travelled in a plane with Direct TV…so...

Over the past decade, comity between the two parties has deteriorated rapidly. The specter of the “nuclear” option looms over the United States Senate, and an impending ethics battle threatens to envelop the House. Some have even claimed that bipartisanship in Washington is dead. However, as the AP’s Jim Abrams reports today, Democrats and Republicans have finally found at least one thing they can agree on: pork. In a rare breach with their president, Senate Republicans joined Democrats...

TMV loves Wendy’s which is a few minutes drive down the street. So today he craved chili. And he couldn’t resist. “I’ll have a large chili,” he told the shift manager. “Without the finger.” She cocked her head and asked him something so he said in Spanish. “Queria un chili. Sin el dedo.” And she roared with laughter. See? Some people DO have a sense of humor. PS: The fingerless chili was great but the earlobe got stuck in my teeth.

One of the most amusing political defenses you’ll ever hear is the libertarian’s plea to “legalize it,” whatever “it” may be, temporarily tossing aside their distaste for regulation to wildly overpromise how much better things will be if only (insert here) were under the state’s bureaucratic purview. (Then again, there’s at least one issue where I happily and fervently make this argument.) The latest example of legalization falling short of promises...

Yes, it does exist. Believe it or not. And Seattle Blogger has the details here. OUR VIEW: From the description it sounds as if the producers tried to get a decent cross-section of bloggers. Still, we wonder how commercially viable this is. Some years ago someone showed up at one of the Ventriloquists Conventions (there are two major ones) to do a movie about ventriloquists. I’m told it’s a good movie (TMV may actually be in it somewhere since he emceed both the adult and family open...

Here’s more evidence that senior citizens are increasingly energetic these days: To the tune of “Start Me Up,” the Rolling Stones played an energetic, three-song set on a stage outside The Juilliard School in Manhattan yesterday to announce their 2005 world tour. The set also featured a new song, “Oh No, Not You Again” and ended with “Brown Sugar.” The year-long tour begins Aug. 21 in Boston and comes to the New York area Sept. 15 at Giants Stadium. Tickets...

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has a fascinating piece about sycophantic journalists during the bad-old days in Iraq under Sadaam Hussein — and especially his late, unlamented son Uday. This link has a short summary post plus links to read the whole piece.

TMV travels today to Michigan. We have put a few things on a timer, but basically today you should see some thought provoking posts from a Guest Blogger or two. TMV will post something later tonight, from Lansing, Michicag.

The Talking Dog has a fascinating ORIGINAL INTERVIEW with the attorney for a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. It’s required reading for several reasons. First, TTD has again shown what the medium of blogging can do, when an enterprising person who has a weblog decides that rather than just report on newspaper articles, commentaries and link to other weblogs he’ll do his own interview. Secondly, his questions are solid ones and elicit provocative information. And thirdly, depending on where...

If you enjoy video bloggers — those folks who are spicing up weblogs by having videos of key events — then you need to know that some of them need your help to keep operating. Our friend at Crooks and Liars recently emailed me when I asked him a question about it and said, yes, it certainly does run into a lot of money. And now The Political Teen has this message for readers asking for help. And so does Trey Jackson.

If you look at the CONTACT column on the left you’ll see the name of another Guest Blogger who will be contributing to TMV from time to time. His name is Jonathan Singer who has the great blog BASIE! We first read his site after finding one of his original Q&A interviews and felt it was as professional as any interview anywhere. And when we began to explore his site, we loved what he did with news stories plus the fact that — like our other contributors — he is what we call...

It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Congress’ approval ratings if the “nuclear option” to eliminate judicial filibusters is triggered as predicted next week — because the latest Gallup poll shows it has fallen to an 8 year low: These are not good days for Congress. The latest Gallup survey shows that only 35% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, and almost 4 in 10 say most Republicans and, separately, most Democrats in Congress are unethical....

Now, here’s a holiday that even teenagers would enjoy: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Sex rarely makes the news in Brazil’s conservative Northeast — until a small town declared an official Orgasm Day on Monday. Espertantina Mayor Felipe Santolia endorsed the May 9 holiday, which he said was intended to improve relationships between married couples. Well let you read the details for yourself. PS: Our sources tell us some people in town wanted to drop this holiday but most residents...

A museum to the Jewish victims of the Nazi holocaust opened in Germany — amid controversy centered on whether it was appropriate to have a memorial that only honors the Jews murdered by the Nazis and not others. Why? Part of the reason is that in recent years there has indeed been a focus on the totality of victims singled out the by Nazis. That doesn’t take away from the genoicidal crimes against the Jews but it provides a more accurate picture of the totality of Nazi brutality. Just...

If you are, then does John Hawkins have some (good) advice for you. He gives you 25 tips, all bluntly but earnestly offered. Ignore them at your peril..

With each hour it seems increasingly likely that the “nuclear option” to ban filibusters on judicial nominees will be triggered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist — a move that will be hailed by GOP partisans and the White House but could usher in an era of intensified polarization in Congress and throughout the country. The latest point-counterpoint in this political ballet — a ballet in which a group of dancers each goes off to the right or left with only a tiny number...

A new poll suggests that women are now returning to their traditional fold — in the Democratic party: The gender gap is now 25 years old and, according to recent polling, it is alive and well. A Democratic polling memo released yesterday found that women, who voted for President Bush last year in large numbers, have begun migrating back to their traditional home in the Democratic Party as the public’s agenda has shifted from homeland security and terrorism to domestic concerns such as...

Firefox has been catching on due one highly touted characteristic: it was sidely said to be much more secure to use than Internet Explorer — but that claim is now undermined by warnings about newly discovered Firefox flaws. The BBC reports: The Mozilla Foundation has said it is “working aggressively” to fix two flaws in its open source Firefox browser. The vulnerabilities, reported on Saturday, were identified as “very critical”, but no cases had been reported of them...

Amid a spate of reports indicating high GOPers believe his nomination will pass, John Bolton’s image received another knee in the stomach from a new report that a high State Department official had put restrictions on his speeches and testimony. This is yet one more indication that the Bolton nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the UN is flawed — the kind of nomination that would probably be withdrawn by most administrations, which would then submit another more acceptable candidate (and...

The punch line that’s often used is “Do you want fries with that” – but perhaps it’ll be revised for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick as “Do you want to be drummed out of public life for that?” As if government hasn’t already looked into every possible area where it can impose a tax, how about the good mayor’s latest idea: a tax on fast food. (No joke.) An additional tax on fast-food may be a distasteful idea for whopper-lovers but at least one...

The Real ID Act, attached as an amendment to another bill in the Senate, has potential far-ranging consequences and will likely result in effectively creating a national ID card. Unfortunately, this issue is flying under the radar and the bill has not even been debated on the Senate floor, despite the likely consequences that will arise if this bill becomes law. You can find out more about the Real ID Act and my perception of other troubling trends in restricting liberty by following the links...

Here’s yet another story that underlines why we must be nice to animals — because they are beings that think and have emotions: A newborn baby abandoned in a Kenyan forest was saved by a stray dog who apparently carried her across a busy road and through a barbed wire fence to a shed where the infant was discovered nestled with a litter of puppies, witnesses said Monday. The baby girl, named “Angel” by hospital workers, was clad in a tattered shirt and wrapped in a plastic...