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
Gaza Blockade Shows Arabs are a ‘Dead Nation’ Under American Control: Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestinian Territories
Continuing with our global reaction to last week's attempt to break Israel's blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza, and reflecting the never-ending and understandable Palestinian frustration, this article by columnist Fouad Abu Hajla of Alhayat Aljadeeda of the Palestinian Territories expresses embarrassment that rather than Arabs, it took Turks, Greeks and other Europeans to stand up … [Read more...] about Gaza Blockade Shows Arabs are a ‘Dead Nation’ Under American Control: Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestinian Territories
Microsoft Leading the Way to Inevitable Life in the Cloud
John Herrman says Microsoft -- "the lumbering giant, the sprawling monster" with more experience online than Apple and Google combined -- is best positioned for Our Future in the Cloud: [O]ur phones will be mere extensions of our online epicenters; bulging hubs of data from which we conduct our computing, and our lives. Of course [Microsoft's new social network-y, seriously … [Read more...] about Microsoft Leading the Way to Inevitable Life in the Cloud
BP Exec Jumps The Shark, Again
Tony Hayward, the BP chief executive whose credibility has jumped the shark told a British Broadcasting Co. audience Sunday that engineers have siphoned off a majority of the Deepwater Horizons oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward, who earlier made such pronouncements that the spill will have only minor environmental impact on the Gulf Coast region, said engineers have … [Read more...] about BP Exec Jumps The Shark, Again
“Why Do All the Lefties Hate Israel?”
In my recent post, “Israel: Does it Have to Be ‘Love it or Hate it’?” I attempted to explain that “I sincerely and strongly believe that one can support the Israeli people, the Jewish people and, yes, the nation of Israel without cheering on and applauding each and every action or policy undertaken by the Israeli government.” I don’t know how successful I—a staunch Israel … [Read more...] about “Why Do All the Lefties Hate Israel?”
The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill (Guest Voice)
The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill by Will Durst To say the news coming out of the Gulf is not what you call encouraging is like saying it’s been a rough week for Dennis Hopper. And it’s making people crazy. No. Really. Crazy. Louisiana native and Democratic strategist James Carville went off on the President like a string of overstuffed firecrackers in a pot-bellied … [Read more...] about The Bright Side of the BP Oil Spill (Guest Voice)
I Want My Life Back
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about I Want My Life Back
Michele Bachmann, Lightening Rod For Whom?
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. For me, Michele Bachmann is neither. As I wrote in a column posted last week, she is who she is and is the sole responsibility of voters in her Sixth Congressional District in Minnesota. Bachmann is one of those political gadflies who is constantly in the news as a mouthpiece of ratings for Fox News and darling of ridicule, … [Read more...] about Michele Bachmann, Lightening Rod For Whom?