As in the United States, the controversy over the torture issue continues to ripple through the international community. But according to this editorial from Estadao of Brazil, there is much more at stake than merely the issue of torture, aka, 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' The editorial reads in part: "What's at stake goes beyond torture ... Under the auspices … [Read more...] about Bush Era ‘Came Close to Disfiguring the Country’: Estadao of Brazil
News You Can Swear By
What a great day for news. Here's my favorites: (1) Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is switching political parties as he announced he is running for re-election in the 2010 Democratic primary. Translation: He thinks he would lose to Republican Pat Toomey in the GOP primary who damned near beat him last time out. "I now find my political philosophy more in line with … [Read more...] about News You Can Swear By
Did Arlen Specter Take This Philadelphia Journalist’s Advice?
It sure sounds he thought over this well-reasoned (as usual) March 9th column by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Dick Polman about why the Pennsylvania Senator should switch parties and jump from the GOP to the Democratic party. EARLIER TMV POSTS ON THIS TOPIC: Cagle Cartoons: Specter Flu Jazz Shaw: Party Purification By Fire Joe Gandelman: Specter Switches To … [Read more...] about Did Arlen Specter Take This Philadelphia Journalist’s Advice?
‘Deliver Me, O My Lord, from My Friends’ [the Americans]: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
''Iran's regional cards: Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbullah and Hamas." Israel isn't the only U.S. ally in the Middle East expressing concern about the policies of the Obama Administration. According to this editorial from Lebanon's L'Orient Le Jour, The pro-West ruling faction in Lebanon is worried as well - given the peace overtures being sent out in the direction of … [Read more...] about ‘Deliver Me, O My Lord, from My Friends’ [the Americans]: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
Specter Flu
Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Specter Flu
Party Purification by Fire
Our alert staff already tipped you off to the breaking Arlen Specter story today, (see Holly and Patrick for details) but I have a few more brief thoughts to add. Pennsylvania is a perfect microcosm of what I've seen going on in my former party for some time now. The land of Rocky is a swing state which has been swinging in precisely the wrong direction for the GOP for several … [Read more...] about Party Purification by Fire
Specter Switches To Democratic Party: Potential Democratic Filibuster-Proof Senate Closer (Includes Roundup)
Faced with a stiff challenge from conservatives and part of the dying breed of moderate Republicans, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter has announced that he's leaving the GOP and will become a Democrat -- creating a new situation in his up-til-now troubled re-election bid, further thinning the ranks of once powerful moderate Republicans and potentially giving the Democrats a … [Read more...] about Specter Switches To Democratic Party: Potential Democratic Filibuster-Proof Senate Closer (Includes Roundup)
GOP Losing Its Last Jewish Senator, Moderate Arlen Specter of PA
AP via MSNBC: BREAKING NEWS: Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in talks to switch parties, sources tell AP Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post: Specter To Switch Parties Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this … [Read more...] about GOP Losing Its Last Jewish Senator, Moderate Arlen Specter of PA
Putting The Swine Flu Crisis Into Perspective
Is there now a media and blog frenzy -- and is it time to step back, look at things coolly, and take a deep breath? … [Read more...] about Putting The Swine Flu Crisis Into Perspective
Michelle Obama’s First 100 Days
She is something new in the White House. Take it from someone who has met and known First Ladies over five decades, from Mamie Eisenhower on. Michelle Obama is the first product of a Women's Movement sensibility, if not its ethos. Like her husband, she is not rooted in how things were before the 1960s, and her amazing popularity reflects that change. Unlike Hillary … [Read more...] about Michelle Obama’s First 100 Days
GOP’s Problem: Republican Party Shrinking And Growing More Conservative
In these days of financial crisis when coalition building and capturing independent voters seems to be the key to electoral victories more than ever, the Republican party now has a problem: it is steadily shrinking and growing more conservative. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza points out that the GOP now suffers a serious shrinkage problem: The new Washington … [Read more...] about GOP’s Problem: Republican Party Shrinking And Growing More Conservative
Will Cars Ever Replace The Family Horse?
Everybody likes alternative energy. How could you not like "live" sources of energy from the sun, the wind, the heat of the earth itself, from running water, more than "dead" energy from coal and petroleum derived from rifling the burial grounds of long deceased creatures. Many economists and other deep thinkers lament, however, that the transformation from dead to live energy … [Read more...] about Will Cars Ever Replace The Family Horse?
The One and Only Cloris Leachman
While our last effort was unfortunately scrubbed due to a scheduling conflict, today on Movie Addict Headquarters, (4 pm Eastern Time) we will finally be conducting our live interview with that legend of stage and screen, Cloris Leachman. In addition to reminiscing over her fantastic career, we'll be taking a look at Cloris' recently released autobiography, Cloris. If you'd … [Read more...] about The One and Only Cloris Leachman
Day of the Swine
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Day of the Swine
The Celebrity Apprentice: The Rage Of Melissa And Joan Rivers
And here we started to think that rage was confined to talk radio, mega-partisan Congressional debates and Fox News-promoted tea parties? Rage reigned supreme when Donald Trump fired Melissa Rivers from The Celebrity Apprentice...double rage since let's just say her mother Joan was not pleased, either: UPDATE: The New York Daily News has more details about what happened … [Read more...] about The Celebrity Apprentice: The Rage Of Melissa And Joan Rivers
The Long War: Music Piracy
The Long War: Music Piracy in 1897 (NYTimes) Via Michael Masnick at Techdirt: The fact that it focuses on Canadian copyright laws as the problem...nearly perfectly mimics today's claims from the recording industry. The article even talks about a recent conference held by industry members to create a committee to fight piracy. Basically, it's the same exact story we see … [Read more...] about The Long War: Music Piracy
CDC Video On Swine Flu Close Captioned
Dr. Joe Bresee of the CDC's Influenza Division gives a primer here on swine flu -- close captioned: … [Read more...] about CDC Video On Swine Flu Close Captioned
Swine Flu Could Make World’s Economy Battered Tourism Sicker
And now there's another potential victim of swine flu: world tourism. As alerts go out, a world already stunned and reeling from a deeply rooted, rapid-blow financial crisis now faces another sudden potential financial roadblock: fears of income drying up from tourism as frightened tourists warned by their governments about global travel stay home. Two of the key targets to … [Read more...] about Swine Flu Could Make World’s Economy Battered Tourism Sicker
U.S. and Torture: For Mr. Obama, It’s ‘Hard to Be Gorby’: Izvestia, Russia
Is 'just following orders' a defense for those who imposed torture on detainees? While it's true that the U.N. Convention on Torture outlaws this defense, in the words of Izvestia's Maxim Sokolov, 'A convention is a convention, but real life is so much richer.' Sokolov makes the point that it was fine to say 'just following orders' was inadmissible for Nazi war criminals, … [Read more...] about U.S. and Torture: For Mr. Obama, It’s ‘Hard to Be Gorby’: Izvestia, Russia
Truth, Consequences and Andrew Sullivan
David Broder doesn't get a whole lot of respect in the blogosphere. In more than one case, Border has been viewed as some what bland and grey with his calls for bipartisanship. But of course, Broder has been a reporter for a long time, longer than some of us (myself included) have been alive. He remembers when politics wasn't as nasty as it is now, and remembers when … [Read more...] about Truth, Consequences and Andrew Sullivan