The HIV virus that causes AIDS was first thought to have emerged in the 1930s, but recent research indicates that the virus may be even older: Scientists trace AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago NEW YORK (AP) -- The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests. Genetic analysis … [Read more...] about HIV Virus Emerged More Than 75 Years Before AIDS Epidemic
Enlightened Thinking from Academic Publisher
The Chronicle reports on 2 New Digital Models that promise profit for academic publishing. I'm a big fan of the first -- make money by giving away your books: Late last month, Bloomsbury Publishing announced that it was expanding into the scholarly realm with a new imprint, Bloomsbury Academic. Bloomsbury is J.K. Rowling's British publisher, and its pursuit of more cerebral … [Read more...] about Enlightened Thinking from Academic Publisher
Remembering Mahatma Gandhi & ‘Pashtun Gandhi’
Today (October 2) is Mohandas K. Gandhi's birth anniversary. While the votaries of non-violence in the violence-ridden world pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi's memory, in this post I would like to recall Gandhi's abiding friendship with a Pashtun leader, better known as "Frontier Gandhi", and who belonged to the so-called 'badlands' in Pakistan on the border of Afghanistan. … [Read more...] about Remembering Mahatma Gandhi & ‘Pashtun Gandhi’
McCain Campaign’s Strategy On Palin Shows Signs Of Working
Immediately after the Republican convention, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's poll numbers were stellar and she became a celebrity in a campaign that disdained celebrity. The media started raising some questions about Palin. But now there are signs that the McCain campaign's post convention Palin strategy is starting to work. … [Read more...] about McCain Campaign’s Strategy On Palin Shows Signs Of Working
Biden vs Palin
John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune … [Read more...] about Biden vs Palin
Support Sinks for California Gay Marriage Ban
Colbert Teen Talk - Voter Abstinence* An LGBT campus group here in the rural antebellum capital of Georgia sponsored a "Guess the straight person" event last night. The student audience was uncharacteristically large and boisterous for a midweek event. They asked questions of the young panelists in order to determine which was the heterosexual. One of the questions: "who … [Read more...] about Support Sinks for California Gay Marriage Ban
Bank Freeze Hurts Hundreds of Colleges
The Chronicle: Wachovia bank has frozen the accounts of nearly 1,000 colleges, leaving institutions unable to access billions of dollars they depend on for salaries, campus construction, and debt payments. The freeze, which affects most institutions that invest their endowment income and other assets through Commonfund, has some colleges worried that they won’t be able to … [Read more...] about Bank Freeze Hurts Hundreds of Colleges
Bailout Binge: Senate Porkers Know No Shame
So the Senate labored well into the evening to pass the bailout bill. Well, they were certainly hard at work all right... working to tack on layers of pork to the bill. There were tax cuts, of course, spread scatter-shot across the spectrum. Tax cuts for individuals, for businesses... I believe there was even a tax cut for poodles who earn money in dog shows. Money for rural … [Read more...] about Bailout Binge: Senate Porkers Know No Shame
Oh No! Poor McCain Has The Vapors Again
Most of the attention is focused on tonight's vice-presidential debate, which is shaping up to be the anticlimactic event of the campaign season. This is because it will take a performance even sorrier than those Sarah Palin already has delivered for her to "lose" to Joe Biden, while anything less than rampant incoherence will be spun as a "big win." While I will have one … [Read more...] about Oh No! Poor McCain Has The Vapors Again
Election Update
Time for a little update on where I'm projecting the races for November. President: In the race between Senator Obama and Senator McCain, the trend is certainly in Obama's favor. Right now I have him leading 304-234. Of his 304 votes, 203 are safe and 101 leaning while McCain has 132 safe and 102 leaning. Breaking this into possible trends, if the close states break 2-1 … [Read more...] about Election Update
The Growing Visible Anger And Sarcasm Of Senator John McCain
Those of us who adored the 2000 incarnation of John McCain -- including those of us who registered in primaries as Republicans to vote for him, thinking it was possibly the dawn of a new era -- have been watching 2008 in horror as we've seen McCain's personality change as he seemingly gets angrier by the week. The most glaring example -- now circulating via various You Tubes … [Read more...] about The Growing Visible Anger And Sarcasm Of Senator John McCain
The Obama Campaign Had Nothing to Do With This…
...But I hope that they'll speak against it. It absolutely creeps me out! The children are sweet, but what religious-like zeal drives adults to compose hymns to a presidential candidate, countenance the songs being taught to them, and watch approvingly? I know that many evangelical Christians meld their faith with their politics and I've often spoken against it, both as a … [Read more...] about The Obama Campaign Had Nothing to Do With This…
Senate’s $700 Billion Bailout Gets Cautious Reception in Asia
The Senate’s $700 billion bailout plan is getting a lukewarm reception in Asian markets, including Japan, where investors have been watching it very closely. Japanese markets opened without much excitement although it is still too early to see any real trends. The wariness abroad stems mainly from fears that the underlying US bricks and mortar economy, also called the real … [Read more...] about Senate’s $700 Billion Bailout Gets Cautious Reception in Asia
Senate Votes On, Passes Bailout Package
The US Senate has voted on and passed the revised bailout package, adding a few billion (or few hundred billion) in add-ons and tax breaks because we have so much surplus money left we might as well spend some more. In theory this is still the original $700 billion bailout deal, but I would argue it's closer to $1,000 billion with the add-ons. Senator McCain votes Aye. … [Read more...] about Senate Votes On, Passes Bailout Package
[video] Couric Interview on Supreme Court Cases of Concern to Palin
Okay. Disclosure: I went to law school. Big whoop. I’ve got kids who are in or have been through middle school - and that is where you first learn about Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda and even in the supplements they get from Newsweek or TIME, Bush v. Gore. And yet Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin could not even mention summarily issues that SCOTUS … [Read more...] about [video] Couric Interview on Supreme Court Cases of Concern to Palin
Britain: Brave Gurkhas Win Another War
The Gurkhas, who originally hail from Nepal, enjoy a pride of place in the pantheon of the British and the Indian armed forces. They still serve with dedication and loyalty the army regiments in these two countries. So it was a well-deserved victory in a British court for these Gurkhas who earned the right to settle in Britain after their retirement. "For generations, they … [Read more...] about Britain: Brave Gurkhas Win Another War
In Defense of Gwen Ifill
The conservative blogosphere gave us a preview today of what tomorrow's post-debate talking points and spin will sound like. The short version: It's Gwen Ifill's fault. The problem, apparently, is a "pro-Obama" book she plans on releasing on Inauguration Day that led Matt Drudge and other bloggers to question her objectivity as the moderator of tomorrow's VP debate. I … [Read more...] about In Defense of Gwen Ifill
Site Maintenance Tonight
Hello TMV readers! Around 1am EST/10pm PDT tonight, we will be performing an upgrade to the newest incarnation of Wordpress. The site will be very slow to down for approximately 1 hour. If we run into problems, we'll just back out and use what we have now. We're not expecting a problem though. This is phase 1 of changes occurring to the site. You'll see little … [Read more...] about Site Maintenance Tonight
John McCain Catches a Brief Case of the Bidens
One of the most fun things about having Joe Biden in the campaign is that, once he gets on a roll, you never know what he'll say next. The examples are legion and many of them are highly amusing. This, in fact, is one of the entertainment factors that makes me look forward to tomorrow night's Vice Presidential debate so much. This morning, however, during an interview with … [Read more...] about John McCain Catches a Brief Case of the Bidens
John McCain, Sarah Palin and Gay Rights
People will laugh, but I'm beginning to think that the McCain-Palin GOP ticket is one of the most gay-friendly Republican tickets in history. No, they aren't where Obama and Biden are at. But in light of past GOP tickets, this one is much more inclusive of gay and lesbian Americans. Log Cabin Republicans reports that the Washington Blade, a local GLBT newspaper in the … [Read more...] about John McCain, Sarah Palin and Gay Rights