Even today, well after the memorial service and weeks after his death, Michael Jackson is still dominating the news. Why do I say this? Look at this screenshot of Newsmap: This site is a news aggregator and displays headlines of topics sized according to the number of current articles on that topic. Normally for my configuration, the red blocks, which are world news, and the … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson Still Dominating The News
GM Out of Bankruptcy
Even I'm surprised that they actually did it: General Motors completed a major step in its turnaround on Friday and closed the sale of its good assets to a new, government-backed carmaker, at a speed unimagined by auto and bankruptcy experts even six months ago. The government and G.M. signed the documents at 6:30 a.m. at the offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the … [Read more...] about GM Out of Bankruptcy
Freedom of Religion in China
Here. [Also posted at my personal blog.] … [Read more...] about Freedom of Religion in China
It’s A Party, Not a Lifestyle
The recent resignation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has had many a blogger and commentator talking about her and the GOP. That she has chosen to step down from her job less than eighteen months before she up for re-election has made many (myself included) believe that her career in politics is over. However, there are many who believe she has only begun to prepare for the … [Read more...] about It’s A Party, Not a Lifestyle
David Pogue: Give Bing A Fling (Video)
If you missed my post last night, today Pogue posted the video version of his NYTimes rave review of Microsoft's Bing search engine. While not as complete as the print version, it has the advantage of show and tell... … [Read more...] about David Pogue: Give Bing A Fling (Video)
‘Reset’ Requires Russians to Understand Americans: Rossijskaya Gazeta, Russia
What do Russians think of the United States - and is this a problem? In offering this psychoanalysis, which is quite sympathetic to the U.S., political scientist Leonid Radzihovskiy tells readers of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta that if Russians ever hope to build a new relationship with Americans, they had better eject whatever they've heard about us from Russia's state media, … [Read more...] about ‘Reset’ Requires Russians to Understand Americans: Rossijskaya Gazeta, Russia
God Hates The World
Westboro's latest hatefest. At first I didn't believe it was real. Even as I recognized some of those singing. Here then, Westboro Baptist's God Hates the World. It's a surprisingly (disturbingly!) well-produced website. You can click on a country to see why God hates it. (Most of Africa, Eastern Europe and much of South America is "Coming Soon.") And it's Westboro's take on … [Read more...] about God Hates The World
Steve King Is Pathetic
There's always one like him in every crowd, you know? Now he's saying that the reason he voted against yesterday's House resolution to put a plaque in the House Visitors Center recognizing and honoring the slaves who helped build the U.S. Capitol is because it's not "a balanced depiction of history" (emphasis in original): … [Read more...] about Steve King Is Pathetic
Low-Hanging Fruit
Chris Brose responds to criticism of his question, How good should we feel about a U.S.-Russia relationship where we can make progress on many issues of questionable importance while we disagree over most of the important stuff? The "issues of questionable importance" to which Chris refers are the extension of the START regime for nuclear arms reduction and the opening of a … [Read more...] about Low-Hanging Fruit
World War I: Not Worth Winning
Dismayed realist Andrew Bacevich starts his column in the LA Times by arguing the British should've accepted a compromise with Kaiser Wilhelm instead of fighting to win. Their reward for victory was opening the door to Hitler, Stalin and World War II. Or as Bacevich puts it, "seeds of totalitarianism had been planted, producing in their maturity an even more horrendous war." … [Read more...] about World War I: Not Worth Winning
A Win for Patients’ Rights on Contraception
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle overturned a District Court decision today, with the result that pharmacies cannot legally refuse to fill prescriptions for Plan B contraception -- also called "emergency contraception" or the "morning after pill." … [Read more...] about A Win for Patients’ Rights on Contraception
Thumbing Its Nose At Europe
Yesterday, the WSJ ran a column co-authored by Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy. I'm guessing that neither 10 Downing St. nor the Elysee was terribly glad to discover that the Journal buried their column at the bottom of a page, without even including one of those charming pencil portraits of either the French president or the British prime minister. More importantly, the … [Read more...] about Thumbing Its Nose At Europe
Student Response to Anti-Gay Human Rights Prof’s NYU Invitation
In a post yesterday I asked, Should someone who teaches Human Rights support human rights for lgbt people? The question is raised by NYU's invitation to Thio Li-ann to teach Human Rights in the fall. Thio is an outspoken opponent of gay rights who has argued repeatedly and graphically that her country should continue to criminalize gay sexual acts. While I quoted extensively … [Read more...] about Student Response to Anti-Gay Human Rights Prof’s NYU Invitation
Did the C.I.A. Lie to Congress?
Several of our readers have been complaining---and probably rightly so---about the number of posts dedicated to Sarah Palin, Michael Jackson and Mark Sanford, because more important issues were being ignored. Well, I can hardly think of a more important issue than our Central Intelligence Agency lying to our legislators. That is exactly what some Democrats are … [Read more...] about Did the C.I.A. Lie to Congress?
Spitzer as AIG Culprit
When a commission probes the economic meltdown, Michael Lewis' Vanity Fair piece "The Man Who Crashed the World" will serve as a rough draft of what went wrong at AIG and started the financial landslide. In chronicling how the company built a tower of risk that tumbled around Wall Street's ears, Lewis in passing reveals the role of Eliot Spitzer, then New York Attorney … [Read more...] about Spitzer as AIG Culprit
An Augmented Reality Browser
Layar: Layar is a mobile augmented reality browser, developed by the Amsterdam-based company SPRXmobile. It displays real time digital information on top of reality in the camera screen of your the mobile phone. Layar was first released on June 17th 2009 in the Netherlands for Android phones. A version for the iPhone 3GS will be released end of summer; any other mobile phone … [Read more...] about An Augmented Reality Browser
Administration Mis-Spokes
We'd all like to believe that pronouncements from the Obama Administration in recent days and months are true—or at least that the people doing the pronouncing believe them to be true. Here's a list of some things, however, that may not turn out to be totally accurate. The G-8's commitment to check global warming will not be slowed by fears about possible negative economic … [Read more...] about Administration Mis-Spokes
Inside Jeb: Is the Smarter Bush Brother in Line to Take Over the GOP?
So Jeb Bush, according to Tucker Carlson, may be, whether he knows it or not, the future of the Republican Party. That's right, as if two Bushes haven't been more than enough, another -- this time the smart one, at least when compared to his more famous brother, Obama's predecessor -- may be on the way to presidential politics. If, that is, he can find a way back to … [Read more...] about Inside Jeb: Is the Smarter Bush Brother in Line to Take Over the GOP?
Sarah Palin’s “Higher Calling” Reason for Quitting
The guessing as to what Sarah Palin will do, now that she is quitting her governor job, continues. Ofttimes, in the reporting on Sarah Palin's magnanimous decision to quit her day job, the lines get blurred between why Sarah Palin quit, and what she'll be doing next. Joe Gandelman posted a piece today, summarizing---and shooting down---a couple of the alleged reasons for … [Read more...] about Sarah Palin’s “Higher Calling” Reason for Quitting
Quote of the Day: David Broder On Robert McNamara and Sarah Palin
Our political Quote of the Day comes from David Broder, who writes this about former Vietnam-war era Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and soon to be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: McNamara stayed too long and left too quietly. Palin is bailing out on her people far too soon. Neither can serve as an example for those in government wrestling with the decision of when to … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: David Broder On Robert McNamara and Sarah Palin