A resolution passed by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe equating Stalinism with Nazism has Russians fuming - and lashing out at the the U.S. and Britian for what the Kremlin implies were war crimes that the allies were never punished for. The director general of Russia's Agency of Political and Economic Communications warns that reopening this … [Read more...] about Truman and Churchill No Better Than Stalin: Izvestia, Russia
176 Newspapers Join Up to Charge You–Online Users– $50-$100-$1000s A Year to Read News
Not sure those 176 realize many of them just signed their death warrants to compete with biggie corps that have far deeper pockets. Based on the model as stated so far which has slim details... To choose more than one paper to read, if one had to pay, would cost the heavy reader of news anywhere from $100 to $17,000 a year just to read news. Steven Brill, above, is one of … [Read more...] about 176 Newspapers Join Up to Charge You–Online Users– $50-$100-$1000s A Year to Read News
Who is Olberman’s “Best Person in the World” this week?
If I were you, I'd be on the lookout for pale horsemen flying through the skies, because in addition to other signs of a pending apocalypse, Keith Olberman has named our friend and very conservative pundit, Ed Morrissey, as the best person on the world. Initial rumors that Olberman had: (a) confused him with Ed Schulz, or, (b) suffered from some sort of unfortunate … [Read more...] about Who is Olberman’s “Best Person in the World” this week?
Health Care Reform: Between the Shouts, Calls for Equanimity
Justin Gardner seeks some common ground, as do four physicians in an op-ed in today's NYT. The latter write that, in the debate over reform so far ... We have really discussed only two options: raising taxes or rationing care. The public is understandably alarmed. There is a far more desirable alternative: to change how care is delivered so that it is both less … [Read more...] about Health Care Reform: Between the Shouts, Calls for Equanimity
Are political web sites really all that popular?
Some of them clearly carry heavy traffic, at least in relative terms. For those of us who are addicted to politics and regularly haunt sites like TMV, we probably think this is a fairly important and mainstream topic. But it seems that there are other subjects which draw considerably more eyeballs on the old intertubes. I found an article referencing one such avocation which … [Read more...] about Are political web sites really all that popular?
Geneva Coventions: And The Reality…
Keeping in mind the horrors of the two world wars, a clutch of conventions were adopted six decades ago this month in Geneva, and these agreements still form a bedrock for the laws of war and the protection of non-combatants. The Economist raises important points about these in the present context. "Do the old rules really apply in such conflicts? And if they still do, how … [Read more...] about Geneva Coventions: And The Reality…
Have We Lost Grassley et al. to the “Death Panels”?
For a moment, just for a brief moment, I thought that we were beginning to step back from the brink of all-out, take-no-prisoners combat on one of the most divisive issues surrounding healthcare reform. After alleging that her parents and her Down Syndrome baby would have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel," "so his bureaucrats can decide...whether they are worthy of … [Read more...] about Have We Lost Grassley et al. to the “Death Panels”?
Howard Dean’s warning for Obama
Howard Dean on ABC This Week:If you're not going to have a public option, don't pretend you're doing health care reform.Should Obama take this seriously, or will the Democratic left accept whatever Obama prescribes? In the roundtable discussion after the interview, Peggy Noonan observed,Maybe it would be good for the president if the left got absolutely furious about … [Read more...] about Howard Dean’s warning for Obama
Jim Jones’ whiskey-tango-foxtrot moment
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Jim Jones confirmed Bob Woodward's account of the message that Gen. Jones brought to our commanders in Afghanistan: [CHRIS] WALLACE: The new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, reportedly wants more U.S. troops sent to Afghanistan. But according to the Washington Post, you told our top brass in late June that the … [Read more...] about Jim Jones’ whiskey-tango-foxtrot moment
GOP Astroturfing? Of course!
Astroturfing is with us now, for better or worse, and everyone is doing it. To stretch the inevitable football analogy to the breaking point, modern technology has put Astroturf in every stadium across the nation, except possibly a few of the smallest high schools. This is the subject of my column this week at Pajamas Media, Of Course There's Astroturfing by the GOP. As … [Read more...] about GOP Astroturfing? Of course!
Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner
The week before last, I pointed out the WaPo's assessment that Barack Obama "hasn’t included any particularly controversial choices in his first picks" for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In light of medals being given to Ted Kennedy and Desmond Tutu, I wasn't sure if that was the most accurate description. As it turns out, the Medal winner provoking the most controversy … [Read more...] about Another non-controversial Medal of Freedom winner
Poll: Town Hall Protests Increase Anti-Health Care Support Particulary Among Independents
A new Gallup poll finds that the angry Town Hall protests against President Barack Obama's health care reform are scoring points for the anti-health care side -- and picking up support among independent voters. As we've noted here often, independent voters are not a monolithic block and in recent years some pollsters and analysts have contended that part of the reason for … [Read more...] about Poll: Town Hall Protests Increase Anti-Health Care Support Particulary Among Independents
David Frum’s Read on The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Fum kicks off his NewMajority piece with a look at the Right/Left food divide: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney often joked during the primaries: “Being a conservative Republican in Massachusetts is a bit like being a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention.” Try that joke the other way around, and it doesn’t work, does it? Meat-eating is right-wing, everybody … [Read more...] about David Frum’s Read on The Omnivore’s Dilemma
A Little Self-Responsibility, Please
I wouldn't go as far as comic/satirist Bill Maher saying the American public is stupid. Rather, a large percentage is gullible as we have seen time and again on the town hall video clips Congressmen are conducting this August recess. Wrote Maher in The Huffington Post: I’m the bad guy for saying it’s a stupid country, yet polls show that a majority of Americans … [Read more...] about A Little Self-Responsibility, Please
Whose Recession Has Now Ended?
The Fed says the recession is almost over. Many leading economists now say it has already ended. You hear this latter view on TV nightly, and if you visit financial web sites, it's repeated over and over. All of which brings to my mind a simple question: Whose recession has ended—or is even ending? Imagine an emergency room. Six months ago a patient was brought in. He was … [Read more...] about Whose Recession Has Now Ended?
On the Air: Is Health Care the New Abortion Debate?
Just a reminder, in case you're going to be around, that my partner in crime and I will be back on the air at 10 am Eastern time this morning with another edition of Mid Stream Radio. While I've grown weary of writing about the subject here and ramming my head into walls, we'll tackle the question of whether or not health care reform has become the new abortion question in this … [Read more...] about On the Air: Is Health Care the New Abortion Debate?
NASA underfunded to track killer asteroids
As covered in the Washington Post this week, NASA has released its latest report on their ability to locate and track dangerous objects in our solar system which have the potential to cross our orbit and possibly impact the Earth. (Full .pdf report is available from JPL here.) The news isn't great. Congress tasked NASA several years ago with the job of locating the lion's share … [Read more...] about NASA underfunded to track killer asteroids
Our Reverse-Nixon Era
Back then, the White House was obsessed with enemies lists and conspiracies, now we have a President trying to calm crowds riled by the prospect of death panels and plots to steal its freedoms. As Obama's approval ratings fall, pinpointing American paranoia is much harder than it was in the 1970s. Just as the social upheavals of the 1960s allowed Richard Nixon to play on the … [Read more...] about Our Reverse-Nixon Era
The Economist on America’s Harsh & Indiscriminate Sex-Offender Laws
Yesterday I said I believe internet porn is fueled by old guys who are addicted to the new plethora of pornographic options. What’s worse, I think, is our collective cultural guilt for all that porn -- that and how we sexualize, fetishize, and ogle our young people in advertising, movies, and on television -- has us criminalizing kids for those very same things we did when we … [Read more...] about The Economist on America’s Harsh & Indiscriminate Sex-Offender Laws
Can Microsoft Break Google’s ‘Monopoly on Questions’?: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
What is the significance of Microsoft's recent deal to create an alliance with Yahoo and its search-based confrontation with Google? While using an Internet search engine is simple and most of us think little of it, access to this technology is profoundly changing our world. According to Andrian Kreve of Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung: "Google is a corporation that … [Read more...] about Can Microsoft Break Google’s ‘Monopoly on Questions’?: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany