As the fighting in Syria intensifies, especially the battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo and as Kofi Annan, the special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League, throws in the towel, tens of thousands of refugees continue to flee Syria, including thousands of Iraqis who were among the more than two million Iraqis who had sought safe haven abroad at the height of the Iraq … [Read more...] about Syrian Military Defectors in Turkey: Should They Return Home and Join the Fighting?
Mitt Romney’s Comeback Plan: His Vice Presidential Pick
Buzzfeed reports that presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney's advisers are now saying what many analysts have noted and what some of his staunch supporters insist is not true: his campaign is now not in (ahem) great shape -- and he's hoping his Vice Presidential pick can be a game changer. Or, at least, a media narrative changer: Mitt Romney has lost each of the … [Read more...] about Mitt Romney’s Comeback Plan: His Vice Presidential Pick
Why Further Humiliate ‘Comfort Women’ by Calling them ‘Sex Slaves’? (J-Cast, Japan)
Is it better to refer to women coerced into prostitution by the Japanese Imperial Army as 'comfort women' or as 'sex slaves'? Recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is said to have directed State Department personnel to stop using the euphemism 'comfort women' and start calling them 'enforced sex slaves.' This news item from Japan's J-Cast provides somewhat astonishing … [Read more...] about Why Further Humiliate ‘Comfort Women’ by Calling them ‘Sex Slaves’? (J-Cast, Japan)
When Politics Was Personal
As Barack Obama begs supporters for TV ad money and Mitt Romney returns from pandering to Catholics in Poland and Jews in Israel, the death of Gore Vidal is a reminder that politics was a literary enterprise as well half a century ago. In those days, Vidal was labeled “a man of letters” who wrote novels, plays and essays and, in the emerging new medium, argued raucously on … [Read more...] about When Politics Was Personal
The Tea Party’s Big Win in Texas
Ted Cruz, who defeated the conventional Republican candidate in the run-off for the Senate race, may turn out in the end to be Texas' Bobby Jindal. Remember when Jindal was elected and there were such hopes for him? But he turned out to be a serial dope? And then there was Marco Rubio? Well, tea party insurgent Ted Cruz, Cuban-American, Harvard Law-educated and with … [Read more...] about The Tea Party’s Big Win in Texas
Orwell’s 1984: Big Brother as Vampire seducing people re their ‘exceptionalism’ while draining them of their will to fight falsehoods
This seems so familiar in 2012... ORWELL PUTS FORTH THE IDEA THAT WAR WILL KEEP THE HOMELAND SAFE, IS FALSE DOUBLESPEAK. It was after WWII and the huge millions of lives lost that Orwell wrote 1984. He did not buy the idea that the world had been saved by bombing and murdering civilians worldwide by all sides. 1984 is about what he thought lay under the holocausts on all … [Read more...] about Orwell’s 1984: Big Brother as Vampire seducing people re their ‘exceptionalism’ while draining them of their will to fight falsehoods
(Update) Following Romney in Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brief the press in Jerusalem, Aug. 1, 2012. UPDATE II: The New York Times: But after a flurry of high-level visits, including one by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to Israel on Wednesday, a number of administration officials say they remain hopeful that Israel has no imminent … [Read more...] about (Update) Following Romney in Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
Romney in His Own Words (Guest Voice)
Romney, in his own words by Ruth Marcus Washington Post Columnist WASHINGTON -- The art of spin, I suppose, involves making the best of what you've got and managing to deliver it with a straight face, no matter how preposterous. But the argument that Mitt Romney's flubs on his overseas trip reflected the candidate's compulsive penchant for simply saying what he … [Read more...] about Romney in His Own Words (Guest Voice)
Americans Abroad
LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Americans Abroad
Mass Killings: People More Traumatized than Society
SAN DIEGO, Ca: -- When James Holmes murderously interrupted the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, opening fire and killing 12 people and injuring 58 others, it was a sickening deja vu for many of us here in San Diego. On July 18, 1984, recently fired security guard James Huberty told his wife he was going "hunting for humans" and walked three blocks from his … [Read more...] about Mass Killings: People More Traumatized than Society
Walesa on Romney: ‘We are Alike’ (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)
Has founder of the Solidarity Labor Union, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish President Lech Walesa endorsed Mitt Romney for U.S. president - thus confirming reports that he isn't too fond of President Obama? Not in so many words, since, as Walesa put it, that would be 'unseemly.' But according to this news item from Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza, during Romney's visit to … [Read more...] about Walesa on Romney: ‘We are Alike’ (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)
An iPod Nano Watch That Talks To Your Phone
It sure would be cool if this rumor turned out to be true: Apple may be working on an "as-yet-undisclosed" feature that would let iOS 6 devices communicate via Bluetooth 4. One possible - and likely - use case is enabling an iPod Nano to control, and display messages and other data from, an iPhone or iPad. The Nano, of course, can be strapped to a user's wrist and worn like a … [Read more...] about An iPod Nano Watch That Talks To Your Phone
Taxing Olympians ?
This story has been making the rounds today. It seems that in addition to getting the medal you also receive a cash payment and those payments (and the value of the medal) are taxable income. Now there certainly is space for debate on the actual amount of taxes owed. A some on the Huff Po have pointed out, the claimed figure of $ 9,000 in taxes on a gold medal presumes … [Read more...] about Taxing Olympians ?
A Cause Worth Donating To: Maji Zuwa
When you picture the idea of an resort hotel in exotic Africa you probably don't think about people in need. But sometimes the two can come together, as is the case with Maji Zuwa. Maji Zuwa is a combination of a resort hotel, an orphanage and a center for the community. It was started by Matt Maroon, an American who went to Malawi for a year of service but has ended up … [Read more...] about A Cause Worth Donating To: Maji Zuwa
Defense Olympics Update: Latest Results (Updated)
U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program rifle shooter Sgt. Vincent Hancock proudly displays his Olympic gold medal after winning the shooting competition in men's skeet at the 2012 Olympic Games. He earned a gold medal in the same event in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, and with this year's victory became the first shooter to win back-to-back gold medals in the … [Read more...] about Defense Olympics Update: Latest Results (Updated)
Einstein’s Question: Is the Universe Friendly?
[This is the 20th and last in the series. All twenty posts have been collected into a free eBook which can be downloaded at Religion and Science: A Beautiful Friendship?] We are as gods and have to get good at it. – Stewart Brand The shift from opportunistic predation to inviolate universal dignity is an epochal one, and arguably, it's one we now find ourselves making. … [Read more...] about Einstein’s Question: Is the Universe Friendly?
Coburn’s Tactics On Stalled Judge Gives Winning Gymnast Team Run For Money
By Scott Crass On the eve of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team capturing a gold medal, Tom Coburn’s maneuvering’s on the nomination of a home-state Judge would without question give the team a run for money. When Robert Bacharach was nominated for a seat on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in January, Coburn lamented out loud that his fellow Oklahoman might fall victim to … [Read more...] about Coburn’s Tactics On Stalled Judge Gives Winning Gymnast Team Run For Money
Decoding Mitt’s Magical Mystery Tour
As he lurches homeward, what have we learned? Beyond the gaffefest, is there a sharper focus on the man who would be president in this time of dangerous turmoil? Parsing Mitt Romney's trip may require a cultural context rather than political, starting with the Beatles’ 1967 LP and TV film, “Magical Mystery Tour,” which was also greeted as “a disaster” by British … [Read more...] about Decoding Mitt’s Magical Mystery Tour
Obama Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll: Obama Hits 50% In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania
A new, major poll -- the latest in a parade of see-saw polls this campaign season -- finds President Barack Obama has hit the "magic" 50 percent mark in several key swing states: President Barack Obama hits the magic 50 percent mark against Gov. Mitt Romney among likely voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, with wide support for his plan to hike federal income taxes … [Read more...] about Obama Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll: Obama Hits 50% In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania
National Disasters And The Growth Of Alternative Energy
Monday and Tuesday of this week India's power grid went down leaving 600 million people without electricity in the dead of summer. It happened for a variety of reasons including the fact that in agricultural parts of the country a lot of power was being siphoned off to run irrigation equipment. Irrigation equipment helping cause a power shortage? Read on. Rain in parts … [Read more...] about National Disasters And The Growth Of Alternative Energy