Guest post by Ali Ezzatyar Ali Ezzatyar is a journalist and American attorney practising in Paris, France. (Ed. note: Earlier this month, Ali wrote a guest post on dictatorship in Tunisia and Egypt. You can find it here. -- Michael Stickings) ********** Started with the match of a Tunisian who aspired for more, a revolutionary wildfire burns near and far from his … [Read more...] about Their Revolution, Our Game-Changer
Saudi Arabian College Student in Texas Charged with Terror Plot (UPDATED)
UPDATE: The Department of Justice has posted an extensive press release at their web site with additional details on yesterday’s arrest of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari. These are some of the highlights: Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Lubbock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Aldawsari, who was lawfully admitted into the United … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabian College Student in Texas Charged with Terror Plot (UPDATED)
Coming Soon: More Misery And A Nasty Dose Of Stagflation
While economists and economic policy-makers in Washington struggle mightily to make sense of a slew of often conflicting economic data, from the perspective of most Americans there's really only one that matters, one that touches them most directly in their daily lives — the Misery Index. First kicked around in the 1960s, it came into wide-scale public view in 1980 in the … [Read more...] about Coming Soon: More Misery And A Nasty Dose Of Stagflation
Rick Santorum Defends the Crusades
Rick Santorum may or may not be insane, but he certainly doesn't know anything about history: Rick Santorum launched into a scathing attack on the left, charging during an appearance in South Carolina that the history of the Crusades has been corrupted by "the American left who hates Christendom." "The idea that the Crusades and the fight of Christendom against Islam is … [Read more...] about Rick Santorum Defends the Crusades
Saudi Arabia’s $36 Billion Insurance Policy Against Regime Change Protests
If you suspected that the regime in Saudi Arabia was nervously watching events in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya, you're correct. They have unveiled a $36 billion insurance policy for themselves, in the form of big bucks for their populace. The Telegraph reports: The king of Saudi Arabia last night announced $36bn (£22bn) of extra benefits for his people in … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia’s $36 Billion Insurance Policy Against Regime Change Protests
Remember PATCO! (Guest Voice)
Remember PATCO! by Michael Reagan The turmoil and shocking thuggery we are now witnessing in Madison, Wis. is at a level seldom seen in America in this era. School teachers, of all people, are setting bad examples for their students. Some engage in outright fraud, aided by medical doctors giving them phony diagnoses of nonexistent illnesses to give them an excuse for near … [Read more...] about Remember PATCO! (Guest Voice)
Tennessee Anti-Sharia Bill Not Quite as Advertised, But Still Not Good Law
I finally got a look at Tennessee's anti-sharia bill. Turns out that the "YOU CAN'T PRACTICE SHARIA!!!!!" angle was an exaggeration. In reality, the bill gives the state attorney general the power to designate an organization a "sharia organization," which is defined as an organization that adheres to sharia AND practices terrorism. Knowingly providing material support to … [Read more...] about Tennessee Anti-Sharia Bill Not Quite as Advertised, But Still Not Good Law
The Calculus Of War: Have Medevac Helicopters In Afghanistan Become Valid Targets?
FLIGHT MEDIC SERGEANT TYRONE JORDAN In war, it is widely accepted that helicopters, ambulances, hospital ships and other vehicles displaying red crosses are not to be fired on, and that usually is the case. But just as warfare has changed, so has the ability to save the lives of the wounded and maimed, and the advances made in battlefield helicopter evacuations … [Read more...] about The Calculus Of War: Have Medevac Helicopters In Afghanistan Become Valid Targets?
For Our Kiwis of Christchurch And Surrounds Earthquake/ Prayers and ‘Post-Trauma Recovery Tenets’ Letter
To all earthquake survivors of Christchurch and surrounds, hang in there... "we are sending in the linebacker angels"... Below this is the Letter to New Zealanders containing Post-Trauma Recovery Tenets... and here is this little prayer for your best possible health and strength from someone you know well... the kiwi. The Kiwi, which is a New Zealand bird of time-honored … [Read more...] about For Our Kiwis of Christchurch And Surrounds Earthquake/ Prayers and ‘Post-Trauma Recovery Tenets’ Letter
Union Busting
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Union Busting
National Institute for Civil Discourse (Guest Voice)
National Institute for Civil Discourse by David Goodloe In nearly two months, I haven't encountered anyone who believes that what happened in Tucson, Ariz., on January 8 was not a tragedy. We all seem to agree that it was. But that, apparently, is where the agreement ends. Some people have insisted on blaming the shrill political dialogue from the Tea Partiers and … [Read more...] about National Institute for Civil Discourse (Guest Voice)
Indiana Deputy AG Loses Job After Bittertweet Experience
I guess you could say that Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox used social media, got some attention and had a bitterTweet experience: The Indiana Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday afternoon its deputy attorney general is no longer employed by the agency, after reviewing political website Mother Jones' published allegations that he advocated the use of … [Read more...] about Indiana Deputy AG Loses Job After Bittertweet Experience
Peak Oil and Libya
West Texas Intermediate reached the magic $100 a barrel mark today and then backed off a bit while Brent Crude rose to over $110 a barrel. All because of unrest in Libya which produces a measly 1.6 million barrels a day. Tom Whipple: It has taken two months for the contagion that began with the immolation of a fruit seller in Tunisia to reach the first significant oil … [Read more...] about Peak Oil and Libya
Obama Administration Announces It Will Not Defend Legal Challenges to DOMA
The Department of Justice announced this decision today in the context of two specific lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed by the Clinton administration: … [Read more...] about Obama Administration Announces It Will Not Defend Legal Challenges to DOMA
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Gets “Punked” by a Blogger Pretending to be David Koch (UPDATED)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got "punked" by a blogger pretending to be billionaire David Koch, who has spread a lot of his big bucks around to Wisconsin GOPers (including Walker) over the years. Unlike many members of the news media and Democratic legislators in Wisconsin, the blogger got through easily once he said he was David Koch. The end result? Walker got "punked" and … [Read more...] about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Gets “Punked” by a Blogger Pretending to be David Koch (UPDATED)
The Mayor Rahm Mystery
WASHINGTON -- Mayor Rahm. It will be a hoot. It could even be good for Chicago. And in a way he has never had to do before, Rahm Emanuel will finally reveal who he really is. One of the many dramas of a Rahm mayoralty -- roll over, Fiorello LaGuardia -- will be its status as a controlled (or, perhaps, uncontrolled) experiment in how a brilliant political … [Read more...] about The Mayor Rahm Mystery
Cockeyed Class Warfare
Tea-party politicians are accomplishing what Communists never could--dividing Americans by economic conflict--but in an upside-down way that Karl Marx never would have predicted. Instead of masses revolting against the rich, it's the Far Right trying to turn back the clock by crushing organized labor. Even as a Gallup poll shows 61 percent of the public favor bargaining … [Read more...] about Cockeyed Class Warfare
Breaking News: Obama Won’t Defend DOMA
Word coming out today that President Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. This does not mean they will stop enforcing it (to the degree the federal government has enforced it) but they will no longer argue in favor of the law against lawsuits pending in the 1st and 2nd Federal … [Read more...] about Breaking News: Obama Won’t Defend DOMA
Fighting for Oligarchy
In the United States, the battles over state budgets continue. Governor Scott Walker claims that his state is at the edge of a financial abyss. And -- even though the state's public employees have offered large financial concessions in an effort to reduce the state's deficit -- the real fight is about removing their right to bargain. Some basic arithmetic provides a little … [Read more...] about Fighting for Oligarchy
WikiLeaks, Libya and Egypt
Say what you will about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks---and plenty has been said about them. Because of them a window has been opened on foreign relations in an age of international intrigue, conflict, terrorism and open warfare. We may not like how that window got opened; we may or may not like what we see through that open window and we may be offended by the fetor entering … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks, Libya and Egypt