"...repeatedly gasped for one hour and 40 minutes before dying,,,, [icopyright one button toolbar] If that doesn't stop America's barbaric executions, I don't know what will. Certainly the Supreme Court is pushing to enter the hall of shame. At 1:52 p.m. Wednesday, one day after the United States Supreme Court overturned a stay of execution granted by a federal … [Read more...] about Arizona criminal Joseph R. Wood III “…repeatedly gasped for one hour and 40 minutes before dying” in execution
Surveys Show Benefits Of Obamacare For Individuals And Hospitals
Two polls were released Wednesday regarding opinion of the effects of the Affordable Care Act, one from consumers and one from hospital administrators. The first is reported by CNN: More than half the public says Obamacare has helped either their families or others across the country, although less than one in five Americans say they have personally benefited from the health … [Read more...] about Surveys Show Benefits Of Obamacare For Individuals And Hospitals
Ukraine festers as Obama and Putin skirmish
The Ukrainian civil war in the eastern regions is rapidly turning into a skirmish between President Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, instead of advancing towards a truce or peace talks after the missile strike on Malaysian Air flight MH17. [icopyright one button toolbar] The stakes are too high to let Ukraine fester in this manner. Putin’s irredentism is luring … [Read more...] about Ukraine festers as Obama and Putin skirmish
Today We Are All Dutch
[icopyright one button toolbar] The achievements of the Dutch people and the tragedies they have suffered have, at times, been immensely disproportionate to the small population and the tiny size of this remarkable nation. Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, “tiny Holland” -- the “Northern Low Countries” with less than 2 million people -- experienced an era of … [Read more...] about Today We Are All Dutch
Arabs, Palestinians Suffer Fate of the American Indian (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
The depth of Arab agony over the Palestinian predicament and the future of the Muslim world pours out of this column from Algeria's Le Quotidien d'Oran. Columnist Moncef Wafi, expressing a sense of betrayal and frustration over almost every decision-making authority imaginable, writes that the Arab Spring is to Arabs what the White man was to the American Indian: 'a cancer that … [Read more...] about Arabs, Palestinians Suffer Fate of the American Indian (Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria)
‘We Shot Down MH17,’ Says Pro-Russian Soldier
‘We Shot Down MH17,’ Says Pro-Russian Soldier … [Read more...] about ‘We Shot Down MH17,’ Says Pro-Russian Soldier
Renisha McBride: Trayvon Again
The jury is being chosen in Detroit for what some think of as a repeat of the Trayvon Martin case. This time it's about a 19-year-old woman -- Renisha McBride -- who, after a car accident likely caused by drinking, knocked on the door of a 55-year-old white man and was shot as a prospective "burglar." In Detroit, you understand, burglars commonly knock first. [icopyright one … [Read more...] about Renisha McBride: Trayvon Again
Working Less
People can be critical of France and Germany's reduced work weeks and lower retirement ages but they really don't know why they did it. They did it to reduce unemployment - when people work fewer hours and retire earlier more people are working. We have reached a point where there are more people who need jobs than there are available jobs. Some of this is because of … [Read more...] about Working Less
Activist Conservative Judges Attempt To Destroy Obamacare, Causing Potential Problems For Republicans
We had two different federal appeals court panels give conflicting rulings on Tuesday regarding the legality of subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. This came about due to some ambiguities in the writing of the law–primarily a proof reading error at one point which suggests that only insurance purchased in state exchanges can allow subsidies. The bulk of the law makes it clear … [Read more...] about Activist Conservative Judges Attempt To Destroy Obamacare, Causing Potential Problems For Republicans
Bottled Life: Let’s talk about water
I am not a fan of issue documentaries – the preachiness of the genre is a real turn off for me and I always feel like the director is trying to radicalise me. That is why films like the Inconvenient Truth and any Michael Moore film are just not for me, despite their worthwhile subject matters. [icopyright one button toolbar] … Thanks to my increasingly intimate … [Read more...] about Bottled Life: Let’s talk about water
The downside of giving weapons
WASHINGTON -- The bodies and debris that rained from the Ukrainian sky offer a cautionary lesson about the danger of giving heavy weapons to non-state actors. I hope the hawks who wanted President Obama to ship anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian rebels are paying attention. By now there is little doubt that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, with 298 people on board, was … [Read more...] about The downside of giving weapons
Will Flight 17 sober us up?
WASHINGTON -- Tragedies concentrate the mind. American politics was trundling along on its usual unserious and trivial trajectory when news of the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine shook the world. Suddenly, the stakes in public life and foreign policy were very high. Vladimir Putin's recklessness in Ukraine was no longer just about his quest for … [Read more...] about Will Flight 17 sober us up?
Ana Veciana-Suarez: Updated comic Archie’s death a cultural barometer
Ana Veciana-Suarez: Updated comic Archie's death a cultural barometer … [Read more...] about Ana Veciana-Suarez: Updated comic Archie’s death a cultural barometer
The GOP’s Biggest Weakness…
...is foreign policy says Daniel Larison in The American Conservative. One reason that the omission of foreign policy from the reform agenda seems so notable is that foreign policy is one of the largest, most glaring policy weaknesses that the GOP has. In addition to being responsible for the costly policy failures of the previous administration, Bush-era foreign policy has … [Read more...] about The GOP’s Biggest Weakness…
Downing of Flight 17 – Continuing Updates
This entry will be updated as events warrant. 22 July 2014 21:50 CDT The first bodies from flight MH17 are being flown to the Netherlands where they are expected to arrive in Eindhoven at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT). The BBC: The Dutch royal family and the prime minister Mark Rutte will meet the plane. The bodies are then due to be taken to the Korporaal van … [Read more...] about Downing of Flight 17 – Continuing Updates
MH17: Europe Must ‘Slam its Fists’ on the Table (de Volkskrant, The Netherlands)
[icopyright one button toolbar] Continuing with our examination of the Dutch reaction to the situation surrounding Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, this column by de Volkskrant columnist Hans Wansink seeks to cool the tempers of those talking about Dutch military intervention in Ukraine, and urges the immediate adoption and implimentation by the European Union of the sanctions … [Read more...] about MH17: Europe Must ‘Slam its Fists’ on the Table (de Volkskrant, The Netherlands)
Made in Russia
https://politicalgraffiti.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/made-in-russia/ Copyright 2014 David Donar. All rights reserved.Copyright Donar, Political Graffiti … [Read more...] about Made in Russia
Securing MH17 Victims: Dutch Have Elite Troops for a Reason! (Elsevier, The Netherlands)
Just 24 hours ago, as this column from Elsevier of the Netherlands shows, there was significant talk among the Dutch of the need to threaten the use of elite forces to secure the MH17 crash site and the corpses of the dead - most of whom are Dutch. Whether the events of the last 24 hours have diminished that impulse is unclear. For Elsevier, columnist Eric Vrijsen begins … [Read more...] about Securing MH17 Victims: Dutch Have Elite Troops for a Reason! (Elsevier, The Netherlands)
New Surveillance Whistleblower John Tye Says NSA Violating U.S. Constitution
Move over Edward Snowden, there's a new surveillance whistleblower on the scene. His name is John Napier Tye and he's warning Americans about illegal spying. John Tye claims he filed a complaint with the State Department before leaving. In other words, he's no leaker like Edward Snowden. [icopyright one button toolbar] Tye, a former State Department official who served in … [Read more...] about New Surveillance Whistleblower John Tye Says NSA Violating U.S. Constitution
Political reporting and the statehouse: a disturbing report from Pew Research
It's well-known that digital disruption has wrecked havoc on the nation's newsrooms. What's less documented is how that disruption has played out on specific types of news and in specific geographic areas.[icopyright one button toolbar] Pew Research Center has analyzed number of full-time reporters covering state politics in every state. Using population as the relational … [Read more...] about Political reporting and the statehouse: a disturbing report from Pew Research