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The Moderate Voice

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Scotland Frees Lockerbie Bomber

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I was just heading out to court when this broke, so excuse the shortness of the post. Scottish authorities have released Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of his role in the terror bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. The attack killed 270 people in the plane and on the ground. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said that his terminal condition (he is dying of … [Read more...] about Scotland Frees Lockerbie Bomber

Easy Interpretation

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Yesterday, I suggested ... Obama and his HHS Secretary send strong signals that co-ops are firmly on the table, just long enough for GOP leaders to say “hell, no,” prove their craven obstinance, and give the Dem majority all the cover they need to pass the law they wanted to pass all along. Today, validation ... A senior Democratic congressional leadership aide said … [Read more...] about Easy Interpretation

Loving and Leaving Afghanistan

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The popularity of our war in Afghanistan is heading in the same direction as that enjoyed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq, according to a new poll at the wapo. A majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting, and just a quarter say more U.S. troops should be sent to the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Among … [Read more...] about Loving and Leaving Afghanistan

Switzerland Escapes America’s Fangs: Tribune De Geneve, Switzerland

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If what we are reading today is true, the end of Swiss bank secrecy - if it hasn't been reached - is closing in fast. The Swiss Federal Council has made a deal with the U.S. Justice department to hand over the data on 4,450 American clients of the Union Bank of Switzerland, after a long investigation showed that the bank helped them engage in tax evasion. So how momentous … [Read more...] about Switzerland Escapes America’s Fangs: Tribune De Geneve, Switzerland

The Politics of the Jackboot (Guest Voice)

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WASHINGTON -- Try a thought experiment: What would conservatives have said if a group of loud, scruffy leftists had brought guns to the public events of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush? How would our friends on the right have reacted to someone at a Reagan or a Bush speech carrying a sign that read: "It's time to water the tree of liberty"? That would be a reference … [Read more...] about The Politics of the Jackboot (Guest Voice)

Good News on the Mosquito Repellent Front

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Better than DEET and less toxic, too: A chemical that resembles natural products from black pepper can deter mosquitoes four times longer than DEET, the world’s most widely used bug repellent. The new substance could be used to protect people who live in the developing world, or to shield soldiers from insects when they deploy to countries with pest problems. “Our goal … [Read more...] about Good News on the Mosquito Repellent Front

As Goes ‘Nazis’ So Goes ‘Racists’?

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Years ago I threw my lot in with those who argued we shouldn't get into the Hitler argument. Now here we are, at it again. It's a problem Joe took up in his quote of the day on Tuesday. In that same vein, Leonard Pitts devotes his column today to a history lesson about Nazis: it was Nazis who shoved sand down a boy's throat until he died, who tossed candies to Jewish children … [Read more...] about As Goes ‘Nazis’ So Goes ‘Racists’?

Is Obama Playing The Triangle ?

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I don't know whether President Obama has any musical talent or if he plays any particular instrument. But his actions over the past few weeks have made me start to wonder if he's taking a page from the Clinton playbook. After his landslide defeat in the 1994 elections President Clinton adopted the the now famous triangulation strategy in which he pitted himself against … [Read more...] about Is Obama Playing The Triangle ?

Robots ‘Evolve’ The Ability To Deceive

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Technology Review on a robot experiment that shows how "deceptive" behavior can emerge from simple rules: Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have found that robots equipped with artificial neural networks and programmed to find "food" eventually learned to conceal their visual signals from other robots to keep the food for themselves. … [Read more...] about Robots ‘Evolve’ The Ability To Deceive

Can Reform Cure Krugman-itis?

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Krugman-itis is terrible. I should know. I used to suffer from it myself. When I was younger, I used to believe that Democrats were always at a disadvantage because they were too honest for their own good. This state of affairs was depressing, but also intoxicating. I believed with all my heart that my party was more honest, more intelligent and more enlightened. So now … [Read more...] about Can Reform Cure Krugman-itis?

Scorned Woman Scorecard

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It's definitely not Stand By Your Man Month as Mark Sanford's wife and Bernard Madoff's mistress join Elizabeth Edwards in going public to take whacks at the cheating hearts in their lives. After throwing out her lovesick husband, Jenny Sanford is posing for Vogue and telling an interviewer that the South Carolina governor, with whom she was not "madly in love" when she … [Read more...] about Scorned Woman Scorecard

The Persistent Nudge to Compromise

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I suggested this morning that (1) the "co-op compromise," as an alternative to the "public option," was DOA, given the intransigence of Republican leadership; and (2) the public option -- perhaps with tweaks, but largely as proposed in House Commerce and Senate HELP -- would likely become law. Others -- here, here, and here -- suggest a non-public-option compromise remains … [Read more...] about The Persistent Nudge to Compromise

The Ideological Gulf (Back into the Breach)

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It's unfortunate that what I brought online yesterday was colored by some distracting background noise, and I very much regret that I allowed a defensive reaction to intrude on the larger point I was trying to make. Since that point got lost in the shouting and attacks (and with the acknowledgment that I may have some hitherto unrecognized masochistic pathology), I'm going to … [Read more...] about The Ideological Gulf (Back into the Breach)

Barney Frank Bats Down “Nazi” Charge At Town Hall

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Rep. Barney Frank batted down a heath care reform protester who not only asked him a question suggesting he supported a Nazi policy (Barack Obama's healthcare reform) but also held a Hitler-like doctored photo of Obama. And Frank did what a politician needed to do: confront this toxicity of polemics head on: The Los Angeles Times' Tim Rutten deals with the issue of the … [Read more...] about Barney Frank Bats Down “Nazi” Charge At Town Hall