He knew he was going to die. Before Martin Luther King was shot and killed on the balcony of a Memphis motel forty years ago tomorrow, he went to see his parents to prepare them. “The reports are that they are out to get me,” he told them. “I have to go on with my work, I’m too deeply involved now to get out, it’s all too important. Sometimes I want to stop. Just go away … [Read more...] about Martin Luther King and J. Edgar Hoover
Clinton And Obama: A Contrast In Campaign Styles
A fascinating observation from My DD's Jonathan Singer. … [Read more...] about Clinton And Obama: A Contrast In Campaign Styles
Air America Talk Show Host Randi Rhodes Suspension And The Vulgarization Of American Politics
We've said it before and we will say it again: some (but not all) of liberal and conservative talk radio is seemingly merging now into one big blur of partisan and intra-party demonization -- and host and caller rage -- that has little to do with political discussion or even show biz: and here, in the middle of Campaign 2008, we now see a glaring example of this in the … [Read more...] about Air America Talk Show Host Randi Rhodes Suspension And The Vulgarization Of American Politics
Are We In the Frying Pan?
Tierneylab Blog at The New York Times: Are Carbon Cuts Just A Fantasy? What if there’s no way to cut greenhouse emissions enough to make a real difference? That’s the question raised by a commentary in Nature arguing that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been too optimistic in its projections for the technological possibilities of reducing greenhouse … [Read more...] about Are We In the Frying Pan?
Hillary Clinton Says She Never Told Richardson Obama Can’t Win
Senator Hillary Clinton has flatly denied she ever told Gov. Bill Richardson that her chief rival from the Democratic nomination Senator Barack Obama could not win the presidency: ABC News Eloise Harper Reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., denies she told Governor Bill Richardson, D-N.M., that her Democratic nomination rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., "cannot win" a … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton Says She Never Told Richardson Obama Can’t Win
Rice Panic
So... while folks have been fretting about whether Jane Fonda's torpedoing Obama, or whether we're all about to start eating one another, there's been some grim global-economy news. The NY Times tells us there have been food riots in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen in recent months, and there are rising fears of civil unrest: HANOI — … [Read more...] about Rice Panic
Blogger Media Alert
The always interesting Ed Morrissey of Hot Air will be on CNN tonight at 8:45 eastern, 5:45 pacific tonight offering his views to the old media from the new media. Be sure to check it out! Joe Gandelman has also appeared on CNN, along with other bloggers, and it's always good to see some of the voices of new media getting some face time with the general public! … [Read more...] about Blogger Media Alert
Obama’s Toxic Endorsers
Some of the least popular Democrats support Barack Obama: A former President for whom I've lost any respect I had, Jimmy Carter: Politico: Carter hints at Obama backing The Nigerian paper This Day reports that the former president all but came out for Obama, speaking to reporters in that country: We are very interested in the primaries. Don’t forget that … [Read more...] about Obama’s Toxic Endorsers
Defined By Division
The annual summit of the Arab League came and went this week. Held in Damascus, the meeting can be added to the long list of useless Arab summits. This one, however, reached a new low point. Boycotted by the main Sunni heavyweights, the meeting presented more of a front of regional division, than unity. As Syria's Bashar al-Assad was making his opening remarks, Saudi Arabia was … [Read more...] about Defined By Division
Rosen Speaks, I Listen
Analyst Nir Rosen, who recently wrote a pessimistic but very insightful article on the surge for Rolling Stone magazine, gives his take on the current situation in Iraq. It's well worth watching. … [Read more...] about Rosen Speaks, I Listen
Guest Voice: Murder in an Alaskan Forest
This is a Guest Voice post by journalism professor and author Walter Brasch who is also a syndicated newspaper columnist and radio commentator, and president of the Pennsylvania Press Club. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice or its writers. Murder in an Alaskan Forest by Walter Brasch No one—at least no human—knows his … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Murder in an Alaskan Forest
Centrism, NATO and China: the New World Order – if We Want One
Why the West should keep Russia close, and get a backbone as it faces China: and how one global political trend will help us do it. There was something remarkable about the statements of Germany’s Chancellor Merkel and France’s Sarkozy, who said that they would, respectively, boycott and reserve the right to boycott the Beijing Olympics. Such a boycott exhibits the … [Read more...] about Centrism, NATO and China: the New World Order – if We Want One
Obama’s Blue Collar Adventures
Obama's had a little trouble getting into blue collar mode in Pennsylvania. I admit that some perverse part of me---staunch Hillary supporter that I am---finds all this rather endearing. Weary, evidently, of bashing only Hillary, Maureen Dowd writes:His strenuous and inadvertently hilarious efforts to woo working-class folk in Pennsylvania have only made him seem … [Read more...] about Obama’s Blue Collar Adventures
TV Channels: Where Is The ‘Real’ News…& The Views?
There seems to be a universal outcry at the deteriorating standards in the television channels worldwide. From India to Britain and the USA...there is a sense of general dismay that the TV channels are failing in their primary duty of initiating/explaining important issues of public interest, so essential in democracies to help people take informed decisions. This subject … [Read more...] about TV Channels: Where Is The ‘Real’ News…& The Views?
Bush’s Farewell to NATO Underlines ‘Absence of American Leadership’
What's Europe's perception of President Bush, now that he's appearing at his last NATO Summit? From Le Figaro, France's largest and most pro-American newspaper, comes this editorial. Written by Pierre Rousselin, the judgment of Bush's legacy is a harsh one. Rousselin writes, "If the American president would take a sincere accounting of his actions, he would observe that he … [Read more...] about Bush’s Farewell to NATO Underlines ‘Absence of American Leadership’
Why Obama Will Win In Pennsylvania
Based on an interview with a dairy cow, among others, I predicted about a month ago that Barack Obama would sneak by Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, yet another state seemingly tailor made for the one time shoo-in for the Democratic presidential nomination. Well, all of the polls show Obama narrowing what had been a 20 percentage point gap to only a few points, or in one … [Read more...] about Why Obama Will Win In Pennsylvania
Military report: “Hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering”
[First, I apologize for my long absence (well, a few days). I covered a conference called Women, Action & the Media at MIT last weekend and am still catching up.] Because, you know, having men and women trained to do that with ordinary weapons isn't working out so well. Read the article from Wired here and the 2006 report here. From the report, highighted by the … [Read more...] about Military report: “Hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering”
NATO’s ‘Blockade’ of President Putin
Wonder how the NATO Summit in Bucharest is being covered in the Russian press? Russian concerns about the meeting, infighting over why President Putin isn't being given a platform to speak at the summit, and the details of Thursday's events are all covered in somewhat excruciating detail in this analysis from Russia's Kommersant. Apparently, the Kremlin is upset that President … [Read more...] about NATO’s ‘Blockade’ of President Putin
John McCain’s Model Behavior
The initial hints from this Wall Street Journal article could have some readers sighing, "Oh, not again!" With the title, McCain and the Model, one could easily think we had yet another high profile politician caught in an affair with a mistress or pursuing "ladies of negotiable affection" to the dismay of their wives. Those expecting a salacious, tawdry tale are likely to be … [Read more...] about John McCain’s Model Behavior
An Elephant Paints His Own Self Portrait
This is an astonishing---and moving---thing to witness. Watch it till the end: you'll see this formerly abused (now rescued) animal carefully and delicately use his trunk to paint an absolutely recognizable picture of an elephant holding a red flower in his trunk. I've posted more footage of elephants painting (and some background about the painting 'Starving … [Read more...] about An Elephant Paints His Own Self Portrait