Wars are becoming worse despite the world’s growing wealth, the grief of decent people and countless peace talks by the United Nations. This reality is worth confronting as we enter the new century’s second decade. Silence is dangerous. There are wars visible in the media as in Iraq and Afghanistan, less visible as in Indonesia, Bolivia and the Congo, and near-forgotten as … [Read more...] about Wars, the UN and dangerous silence
Blackmail, Cave-In, Sellout
How did Barack Obama and a lame-duck Congressional majority manage to lose their power in an impending deal to let Republicans keep tax cuts for the super-rich in return for extending unemployment benefits? Paul Krugman is not a great political strategist, but he can be trusted on economics, and his case for drawing a line in the sand rather than letting those tax cuts … [Read more...] about Blackmail, Cave-In, Sellout
Financial Termites May Be Coming To Your Hometown Soon
The New York Times ran a really scary story the other day. Titled "Mounting state debt stoke fear of looming crisis," it detailed how a few states such as California and Illinois are in such dire financial straits that they might soon have trouble meeting their obligations — even after steep reductions in state services. This was spooky enough. But buried in this long piece … [Read more...] about Financial Termites May Be Coming To Your Hometown Soon
Is John Edwards Headed For Major Legal Trouble?
Former Democratic Party presidential hopeful John Edward's image went from that of being a loyal, steadfast husband running for President while dedicated to his cancer-battling wife to a post boy for for a two-faced, sleazy, philandering husband who cheated on his ailing wife while garnering sympathy from many voters. And is he about to morph into a legal story headline? It … [Read more...] about Is John Edwards Headed For Major Legal Trouble?
They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? (Guest Voice)
They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? by Karl Frisch Nine months after nearly 400,000 service members and over 150,000 spouses of active and reserve component service members were surveyed by the Pentagon for their views on a potential repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the results are in. In what’s been called “one of the largest surveys in the history … [Read more...] about They Were Asked and They Told, But Will McCain Listen? (Guest Voice)
Can Democrats “Up Their Game?”
WASHINGTON -- From Ohio, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy describes "the worry, the anguish and sometimes despair" among her constituents and urges President Obama to spend more time with people who don't make "six-figure incomes." From Pennsylvania, Rep. Joe Sestak says Americans are angry at a government that failed to guard them against economic catastrophe. And from … [Read more...] about Can Democrats “Up Their Game?”
WikiLeaks: Pakistan Establishment A US Puppet
It seems my last post on TMV (WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society) has touched a raw nerve in some. Well that was the exact purpose. My journalistic mission has been to get people out of their comfort zone and provoke them to participate in a spirited no-holds-barred discussion. I try to irritate those who have a habit of trivializing issues :-) I have been … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: Pakistan Establishment A US Puppet
Let’s Make A Deal: You Give Us Everything and We’ll Give You Nothing
Saudis Must Ask: Who Benefited from the WikiLeaks Disclosure? – Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
It's one of the most fascinating details to emerge from the leak of classified U.S. diplomatic dispatches: Leaders in Saudi Arabia and a number of other Gulf nations want the United States to stop Iran and its nuclear program, or in the words of Saudi King Abdullah, 'cut off the head of the snake.' But as the articles below show, while the two nations may in fact be at … [Read more...] about Saudis Must Ask: Who Benefited from the WikiLeaks Disclosure? – Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
An Excellent Video By Reagan’s OMB Director About The State Of The Labor Market
David Stockman, the director of the Office of Management and Budget for Reagan's first term has a great breakdown of job growth during a segment on CNBC. In it he claims that there have been zero new "breadwinning" (i.e. enough to raise a typical family) jobs created since the official end of the recession, with the enormous losses from the recession on a pace to take decades … [Read more...] about An Excellent Video By Reagan’s OMB Director About The State Of The Labor Market
Mayhem in the Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney was a dreamer at heart. The creator of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse had Utopian visions of a town where life would be perfect down to the last blade of grass. It wasn't built until three decades after he died, and now it has been rocked by violence--a SWAT team barricade, a suicide and murder. It began with euphoria. One evening in late 1966, Disney stopped by my … [Read more...] about Mayhem in the Magic Kingdom
Some World Cartoonists On WikiLeaks
The WikiLeaks controversy is a field day for cartoonists around the world. Here are a few examples: … [Read more...] about Some World Cartoonists On WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society
William Kern, my colleague at TMV, quoted a Spanish paper's headline: "WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain). He also mentions another article headlined "Thanks to WikiLeaks’ Disclosure, Classical Diplomacy is Dead." To the world at large America now, post-United States diplomatic cables leak, appears as a large wild elephant caught in the quagmire … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: Educating Americans About Open Society
WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain)
As I have pointed out over recent days, one of the most riveting aspects of the disclosure of classified U.S. diplomatic cables is that because they touch upon local issues and local leaders around the world, there are fascinating nuances of reaction from country to country. Below are three articles we've translated from Spain's El Pais, one of the five newspapers in the … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks: The Assault on ‘Big Brother’ Begins (El Pais, Spain)
America in the Twilight Zone
A weekend session brings out the worst in the nation's supposedly best lawmakers as the Senate rejects two attempts to deal with expiring Bush tax cuts. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill sums up the weirdness: “I feel like I am in the twilight zone. It’s depressing to me that we have gotten to this level of posturing, that they are saying if you do not give people a tax break … [Read more...] about America in the Twilight Zone
David Brooks and Paul Ryan at the AEI
When David Brooks says that Republicans in Congress today are rigid, inflexible ideologues unwilling to compromise, it's worth our attention (emphasis in original): … [Read more...] about David Brooks and Paul Ryan at the AEI
I Told You So
Scorched earth and hardball tactics are not the same. Scorched earth means we take everything, destroy everything, and there's no compromise: … [Read more...] about I Told You So
Hillary Says Secretary of State is “My Last Public Position”
So is Supreme Court justice a "public position?" CBS New Political Hotsheet: At a town hall meeting appearance in Manama, Bahrain on Friday, Clinton denied intentions to run for either president or vice president on the ticket with President Obama, who defeated her in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. Some experts have also speculated that she could replace Robert … [Read more...] about Hillary Says Secretary of State is “My Last Public Position”
Shop! Don’t Stop!
Thanksgiving is long gone, consumers. Time to shop! … [Read more...] about Shop! Don’t Stop!
An Interesting Look At 200 Years, 200 Countries
A very interesting graphic look at the world over the last 200 yrs. … [Read more...] about An Interesting Look At 200 Years, 200 Countries