Skiers practice at the Olympic cross country venue in Zhangjiakou, China on February 1, 2022. Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images David Bachman, University of Washington The 2022 Winter Games in Beijing provide many benefits for China, and really don’t have any downsides for the country. For China’s leader, Xi Jinping, the most important … [Read more...] about Beijing Olympics may get points for boosting China’s international reputation, but Games are definitely gold for Xi Jinping’s standing at home
Newspaper front pages from around the world, Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Published by TDPel MediaHere are the news stories that made the front pages of newspapers around the world. Today’s Newspaper fronts for Wednesday, 02 February 2022 – Newspapers across the globe. NEW YORK TIMES – PUTIN CLAIMS U.S. IS TRYING TO GOAD MOSCOW INTO WAR THE WASHINGTON POST – PUTIN: UKRAINE A PAWN OF WESTWALL STREET JOURNAL – JOB MARKET STILL TIGHT AS HIRING COOLS A … [Read more...] about Newspaper front pages from around the world, Wednesday, 02 February 2022
REPUBLICANS BIGGEST FOE HEADING INTO THE MIDTERMS? DONALD TRUMP.
by Carl Golden By all accounts, it is a near certainty the Republican Party will regain control of the House of Representatives this year and is well-positioned to gain one seat and secure a Senate majority. The only thing standing in the way is Donald Trump. If the national party leadership enters the midterm campaign season as the cult of Trump, the odds of returning … [Read more...] about REPUBLICANS BIGGEST FOE HEADING INTO THE MIDTERMS? DONALD TRUMP.
Whoopi Goldberg suspended by ABC for Holocaust comments
Published by AFPNew York (AFP) - US actress Whoopi Goldberg on Tuesday was suspended from the talk show she hosts for two weeks after saying that the Nazi genocide of six million Jews "was not about race." Despite an apology from the host of "The View" talk show, ABC News President Kim Godwin said she had decided it was not enough. "Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi … [Read more...] about Whoopi Goldberg suspended by ABC for Holocaust comments
Oh the misogyny! A woman has been replaced by a rodent!
Oh the misogyny! A woman has been replaced by a rodent! Punxsutawney Phil has been substituted for the Cailleach Béara. Phil is famous in the USA for being the best friend of comic actor Bill Murray. The Cailleach Béara is famous in Ireland for being "one of the oldest and most powerful of mythical beings associated with Ireland". She plays an important role in the … [Read more...] about Oh the misogyny! A woman has been replaced by a rodent!
REPUBLICAN TIP LINES (CARTOON, COLUMN AND VIDEO)
Virginia’s new Republican sweater vest governor (sic), Glenn Youngkin, has set up a “tip line” for parents to snitch on public school teachers who are promoting “divisive practices” or enforcing mask mandates. This tip line follows the governor’s (sic) very first executive order banning any history being taught that makes white people feel bad. The actual wording for the ban … [Read more...] about REPUBLICAN TIP LINES (CARTOON, COLUMN AND VIDEO)
China has no plan for who will succeed Xi Jinping – leaving the nation and the world in uncertainty
Since becoming China’s top leader in late 2012, President Xi Jinping has centralized power to the point that it’s unclear when he’ll step down, or who might succeed him. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images AsiaPac via Getty Images Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology Since becoming China’s paramount leader in 2012, Xi Jinping has overseen … [Read more...] about China has no plan for who will succeed Xi Jinping – leaving the nation and the world in uncertainty
Trump directly involved in plans to seize voting machines -reports
Published by ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Then-President Donald Trump was directly involved in efforts to use national security agencies to seize voting machines after his 2020 election loss, pressing his lawyer to make queries as advisers drafted two versions of a related executive order, media reports said. The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter, … [Read more...] about Trump directly involved in plans to seize voting machines -reports
Will Bunch: At Texas rally, Trump all but promised a racially charged civil war if he’s indicted
Published by The Philadelphia InquirerFor a nation that’s awakened every morning for nearly two years to a Groundhog Day of pandemic and paranoia, the scenes from Donald Trump’s latest comeback rally on Saturday at a fairground in the East Texas flatlands of Conroe could certainly numb the American mind with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. The mile-long line of Trump … [Read more...] about Will Bunch: At Texas rally, Trump all but promised a racially charged civil war if he’s indicted
What Does Putin Want?
The answer seems simple. Putin has said several times that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest catastrophe of the 20th century. As an old KGB officer, he would like to right what sees as this wrong and reconstitute Russia as a world power in the mold of the Soviet Union. Putin was angry when George H.W Bush said that the Soviet Union had lost the Cold War and was … [Read more...] about What Does Putin Want?
BORIS JOHNSON’S PARTIES (CARTOONS)
‘It Began With Words’
By Ari Morgenstern The horrors of Nazi concentration camps did not materialize from thin air. Neither did the shootings in Poway, Calif., or Pittsburgh, Pa.; nor did the hostage-taking in Colleyville, Texas. As the late Holocaust survivor and educator Irving Roth often said: “It began with words.” We must heed that warning now—here in the heartland and from coast to … [Read more...] about ‘It Began With Words’
A Review of the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Production of Beauty and the Beast
Last Friday I had the privilege of seeing Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Here’s a simple summary: If you liked Disney’s Beauty and the Beast movies, you’ll like the musical. The show contains all the movie song favorites with so many familiar lyrics you might catch yourself accidently singing “there must be more than this provincial … [Read more...] about A Review of the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Production of Beauty and the Beast
Trump makes coup deniers look silly
Who are the silliest-looking people in the United States right now? Those GOPers in politics, social media, and media who keep denying that Donald Trump wasn't really trying to pull off a coup but was seriously concerned about election integrity. The Washington Post's Aaron Blake nails it when he writes: Key members of the Republican Party have spent the better part … [Read more...] about Trump makes coup deniers look silly
BURNING DOWN THE MAUS (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Maus is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman about the Holocaust. It’s very dark and disturbing, you know because it’s about the Holocaust. A proxy for the author is a mouse who interviews his mouse father about his experience in the Holocaust. The Nazis are depicted as cats. The McMinn County School board in Tennessee has pulled the book from the eighth-grade curriculum because … [Read more...] about BURNING DOWN THE MAUS (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Tradition or brutal blood sport? Hunting brings Brits to blows
Published by DPAPassions run high in Britain when it comes to the question of fox hunting. "Hunt scum are the real vermin," says a woman in the village of Melton Mowbray, protesting against the traditional New Year's hunt. Others cried "shame" at riders setting off on horseback, clad in red jackets for the traditional Quorn Hunt. Opponents and supporters of hunting meanwhile … [Read more...] about Tradition or brutal blood sport? Hunting brings Brits to blows
A BLACK WOMEN ON THE SUPREME COURT IS LONG OVERDUE
by Elwood Watson Boy, it didn’t take long for right wing activists and pundits to jump into attack dog mode once President Biden announced he would nominate a Black woman for the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Ilya Shapiro, a constitutional-law expert and an incoming Georgetown Law professor, decided to get a jump start by posting on … [Read more...] about A BLACK WOMEN ON THE SUPREME COURT IS LONG OVERDUE
Ban Books Buy Guns (Cartoon)
There is much more to mindfulness than the popular media hype
Have the benefits of medicine been overhyped in the West? Kilito Chan/Moment via Getty Images Pierce Salguero, Penn State Mindfulness is seemingly everywhere these days. A Google search I conducted in January 2022 for the term “mindfulness” resulted in almost 3 billion hits. The practice is now routinely offered in workplaces, schools, psychologists’ … [Read more...] about There is much more to mindfulness than the popular media hype
Some Republicans warn Trump’s latest Jan. 6 speech shows he would ‘do it all again’
Published by ReutersBy David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A handful of Republicans pushed back against former President Donald Trump's weekend offer to consider pardoning people convicted of joining the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, saying it showed he would "do it all again" if he regains the White House in 2024. "Trump uses language he knows caused the … [Read more...] about Some Republicans warn Trump’s latest Jan. 6 speech shows he would ‘do it all again’