When it comes to the BP oil crisis, is Obama the victim of circumstances beyond his control - or is he partly to blame? Whatever the answer, according to Der Tagesspiegel columnist Malte Lehming, it would be tragic if the 'drill-happy' Republicans benefited from the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history. From Der Tagesspiegel, Malte Lehming writes in part: The oil disaster … [Read more...] about Obama’s Fate Perceived as Failure; His Bad Luck as Incompetence: Der Tagesspiegel, Germany
“Humanitarian Aid” Shipments True Goal: “The End of Israel”
Unexpected consequences from Israel's stumbling into an ambush on its mission to interdict a dual-purpose blockade-running/humanitarian aid ship on the high seas continue to proliferate. The most recent is Iran's offer to provide its own military forces to escort blockade-runners into Gaza. If followed through, such a promise would constitute a dramatic escalation resulting … [Read more...] about “Humanitarian Aid” Shipments True Goal: “The End of Israel”
Apollo 13 Approach, Ctd.
Following up on my post from last week -- wherein I suggested we needed a more systematic, comprehensive approach to involving more brains in the search for solutions to the Gulf oil spill disaster -- I'd like to first offer an apology. I pointed to this article and suggested that more than the following was needed ... The Unified Command overseeing the Deepwater … [Read more...] about Apollo 13 Approach, Ctd.
Political Rants – June 7, 2010
Took a week or so off from blogging. This morning, however, I have a few rants on the topics of the day. Helen Thomas: what is the big deal? Just because she said that Jewish people should move back to Europe. White folks in the south, as well as black separatists, have been saying that black people should go back to Africa for almost two hundred years (see Liberia). … [Read more...] about Political Rants – June 7, 2010
Overanalyzing Obama
George W. Bush was lucky. Over eight years, the so-called liberal media decided he was an incurable clod, mocked him as the self-described Decider and left his inner life alone. Not so with Barack Obama, for whom the Oil Spill has unleashed a new rush of psychobabble from the Left, with globs of comment about his detachment, over-rationality and rage deficit. As everyone … [Read more...] about Overanalyzing Obama
Take Off That Gloomy Mask of Tragedy; It’s Not Your Style
The BBC reports that the Israeli government has apologized for a "spoof video" making fun of the Israeli assault on the Mavi Marmara: … [Read more...] about Take Off That Gloomy Mask of Tragedy; It’s Not Your Style
A Voice in the Wilderness (Guest Voice)
A Voice in the Wilderness by Owen Grey In Saturday's Globe and Mail, Jeffrey Simpson reviews Lament for America: Decline of the Superpower, Plan for Renewal, by Earl Fry of Brigham Young University. What is interesting about the book -- aside from Fry's analysis -- is that it has been published by the University of Toronto Press -- which, Simpson notes, is "hardly a … [Read more...] about A Voice in the Wilderness (Guest Voice)
The Time Has Come (Guest Voice)
The Time Has Come By Alex Hammer Why is that you have hundreds of choices of TV channels, almost unlimited selections of music, countless book choices (e.g. Amazon), many choices of coffee flavors, but only two significant political choices - Democrat and Republican? Isn't that strange? In my state of Maine, we have 39% Independents but not a current single … [Read more...] about The Time Has Come (Guest Voice)
How I Feel About Helen Thomas
I referred to Helen Thomas's recent comments a couple of times here in posts about the larger subject of Israel's May 31 attack on the Gaza aid flotilla. I think I made it clear just in those tangential remarks that I agreed her remarks were offensive but that the reaction to them was overblown (in the blogosphere in general; not necessarily here, and certainly not here alone). … [Read more...] about How I Feel About Helen Thomas
Obama’s Double Bind
WASHINGTON -- The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has created a double bind for the Obama administration. How it deals with a challenge even more complicated than it looks will determine the kind of summer the president has and the kind of election the Democrats will face this fall. The obvious problem is how the administration can get ahead of a disaster that promises … [Read more...] about Obama’s Double Bind
Karzai Peace Jirga Called a ‘Futile, Illegitimate Exercise’: Daily Outlook, Afghanistan
Judging from this article from Afghanistan's Outlook Afghanistan newspaper, the Peace Jirga held last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday by President Hamid Karzai did little it improve his government's credibility among average Afghans, or persuade the militants to reenter what in Afghanistan qualifies as the 'mainstream.' Reporting in part on the wave of bombings surrounding … [Read more...] about Karzai Peace Jirga Called a ‘Futile, Illegitimate Exercise’: Daily Outlook, Afghanistan
Right-Wing Israelis Disrupt Left-Wing Israeli Protest in Tel Aviv
Thousands of left-wing Israelis marching against the Israeli government, were greeted by enraged right-wing Israelis who apparently did not feel it was appropriate for any Israelis to publicly oppose their country's policies toward Palestinians. … [Read more...] about Right-Wing Israelis Disrupt Left-Wing Israeli Protest in Tel Aviv
The Great Wall Of Louisiana Hoax
I admire Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and, gulp, Sen. David Vitter, for standing up against BP and the federal government in demanding what they consider is the right approach to protect the state's coastline from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It isn't, a boatload of scientists agree. The in-your-face approach by the two Republican leaders as well as a contingent of angry … [Read more...] about The Great Wall Of Louisiana Hoax
Helen Thomas Dropped by her Speaking Agency after Controversial Comments (UPDATE III)
Veteran journalist Helen Thomas has been dumped by her speaking agency after her controversial comments about the Middle East in which she basically said that Israel's Jews should go back where they came from (to Germany, Poland, etc.), the Huffington Post reports: "It is with a heavy heart that Nine Speakers, Inc. announces its resignation as the agent for Helen Thomas, Dean … [Read more...] about Helen Thomas Dropped by her Speaking Agency after Controversial Comments (UPDATE III)
Israeli Response to Doctored Tapes
Yesterday, I blogged about the Israeli response to the reports that the original tape it released of communications between the Israelis and the aid ships just before the Israelis boarded the Mavi Marmara in an assault that killed nine activists had been doctored to give the impression that one of the activists had told the Israelis to "go back to Auschwitz." In fact, no such … [Read more...] about Israeli Response to Doctored Tapes
Iran Poised To Join Flotilla Blockade
Terrific! And I don't mean that in the sense of "Hooray" but more like a Harry Callahan aka Clint Eastwood terrific. Reuters news agency is reporting that Iran's independent saber rattling Revolutionary Guards is poised to provide military escort to cargo ships trying to break Israel's blockade to Gaza. It quotes Ali Shirazi, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah … [Read more...] about Iran Poised To Join Flotilla Blockade
Two Alleged Terrorists Nabbed At JFK
Two New Jersey men were arrested late Saturday at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York where they were about to board separate flights to Egypt and later join forces with the terrorist group Al Shabaab in Somalia to kill American troops. The only official announcement of the arrests came from Jose Lozano, a spokesman for the New Jersey state Office of Homeland Security and … [Read more...] about Two Alleged Terrorists Nabbed At JFK
Interrogation of Captured Joran van der Sloot Begins in Peru (UPDATED)
For the many who've long believed that Dutch teen Joran van der Sloot was responsible for the death of Natalee Holloway, it seems as if the fates have in a tragic way begun the process of perhaps real justice: as the AP reports, he was "paraded — moist-eyed and looking stunned — before reporters as Peruvians denounced him and detectives began interrogating him about the … [Read more...] about Interrogation of Captured Joran van der Sloot Begins in Peru (UPDATED)
Gaza Flotilla’s Leader Explains: It was a Jihadist Attack not a “Humanitarian Operation” (Guest Voice)
Gaza Flotilla's Leader Explains: It was a Jihadist Attack not a "Humanitarian Operation" by Barry Rubin Bülent Yildirim, the main organizer of the Gaza Flotilla, explained at a Hamas rally in Gaza that the operation was no humanitarian effort but part of a global Jihad to overthrow governments and install Islamist dictatorships. He made no secret of that fact, as shown in … [Read more...] about Gaza Flotilla’s Leader Explains: It was a Jihadist Attack not a “Humanitarian Operation” (Guest Voice)
What Happens If You Let Newspaper Copy Editors Go
You'd get THIS. … [Read more...] about What Happens If You Let Newspaper Copy Editors Go