The Burnt Orange Report did an analysis of early Democratic voting in the top 15 Texas Counties. 360,259 Democrats have voted in the primary through Sunday -- 304,867 more than this point in time in the 2004 primary election. That is absolutely phenomenal. … [Read more...] about Texas Early Voting Increases 650%
Pakistan’s Kidnapped Ambassador: Is he safe? No One Is Bothered…
We do live in strange and brutal times. Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, went missing a fortnight ago as he was travelling by road through a volatile region in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But there has been no international outrage or concern. Even the media is not bothered. If it had been a case of even one missing … [Read more...] about Pakistan’s Kidnapped Ambassador: Is he safe? No One Is Bothered…
(Updated) A Secret GOP Program & Open Sore
Today's Republican Party (as opposed to the Big Tent GOP of the Goldwater-Rockefeller era) has welcomed blacks with open arms -- as long as they use the back door on their way to the kitchen or maid's quarters -- and has been only somewhat less unfriendly to women. So the possibility that John McCain will be facing an African-American or a woman in the November election is … [Read more...] about (Updated) A Secret GOP Program & Open Sore
Makhdoom Amin Fahim: Pakistan’s Emerging Hope?
Those in the USA panicking over the recent poll results/developments in Pakistan which resulted in a resounding defeat of America's favourite military dictator President Pervez Musharraf, can have some hope. How? The Newsweek magazine team believes that Washington can expect to get along reasonably well with Pakistan's (possible) next prime minister. "The Pakistan People's … [Read more...] about Makhdoom Amin Fahim: Pakistan’s Emerging Hope?
John McCain Stakes His Campaign On Iraq & Other News From The Forever War
In what is a miscalculation of epic proportions, John McCain says he will stake his fall campaign on having been right about the Iraq war. With the exception of this stale sales pitch having an built-in appeal for the presumptive Republican nominee's base, who are a mere fraction of the voters that McCain needs to give Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton a run for their money, … [Read more...] about John McCain Stakes His Campaign On Iraq & Other News From The Forever War
Poetic Commentary: Food: The New Luxury Item
Food: The New Luxury Item Who thought that we would ever see A time when costs per calorie Had risen high enough so we Start thinking food's a luxury. When prices for a hunk of cheese Could put one in a dollar squeeze When costs for milk sold by the quart Could get a parent overwrought. When bread and eggs, the basic fare And fruits and veggies, bottled … [Read more...] about Poetic Commentary: Food: The New Luxury Item
Ralph Nadir
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Ralph Nadir
‘Explosive Revelation’: Obama Admits ‘Boneheaded Mistake’:
In what it describes as "special investigation", The Times of London says that "a British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the US presidential contender. The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr … [Read more...] about ‘Explosive Revelation’: Obama Admits ‘Boneheaded Mistake’:
The Ironies of Superdelegates and Obama’s Hispanic Hurdle
What do people in Latin America think about Barack Obama's difficulties with Hispanics? In the first article of its kind translated by WORLDMEETS.US, Alfredo Toro Hardy of Venezuela's El Universal writes, 'Curiously the biggest obstacle to overcoming the taboo that closes off the White House to non-Whites comes from Hispanics. The Hispanic community, which has always played a … [Read more...] about The Ironies of Superdelegates and Obama’s Hispanic Hurdle
What Clinton’s Impending Loss of Dem Nomination DOESN’T Mean
Next Tuesday will probably bring an end to Senator Hillary Clinton’s drive for the Democratic presidential nomination. Senator Barack Obama currently enjoys a double-digit lead over his opponent in Texas, the state where Clinton cut her political eye teeth, and is gaining on her here in my home state of Ohio, long thought by the Clinton camp to be a likely firewall for her … [Read more...] about What Clinton’s Impending Loss of Dem Nomination DOESN’T Mean
New Polls Show Obama Gaining In Texas, Ohio And Nationally
Polls don't agree on any one number, but a spate of new polls show a trend: steady and significant increases for Senator Barack Obama in his increasingly-bitter contest with Senator Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. If there is a truism this year, it's this: polls -- unless it's the poll taken when voters vote on election day -- need to be … [Read more...] about New Polls Show Obama Gaining In Texas, Ohio And Nationally
American Election is Hope for European Renaissance
For those with a love of the grand narrative, this piece from Le Figaro is a treat. It posits how this moment in American history will look to a historian of the future. A historian looking back from the future will perhaps say that, after 2004, the United States had attained the peak of its socio-political expansion and that the newly re-elected George Bush ought at … [Read more...] about American Election is Hope for European Renaissance
Mission Creep in the Mideast
John McCain's hyperbole about keeping troops in Iraq for a hundred years is alarmingly echoed in a Washington Post OpEd by one of the saner foreign policy experts on the Washington scene. "What the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan have in common," Anthony Cordesman writes, "is that it will take a major and consistent U.S. effort throughout the next administration at least … [Read more...] about Mission Creep in the Mideast
Questions About Obama, Flag Lapel Pins And His Patriotism
It turns out Obama has some questions of his own about patriotism and there is some progressive "push back." … [Read more...] about Questions About Obama, Flag Lapel Pins And His Patriotism
America’s Iraq Failure is No Failure of Democracy
Are America and the West unfair to China for browbeating it for its democratic failings? In this ironic op-ed from the chief editor if China's state-run People's Daily and published in Huanqui [the Global Geographic Times], Gang Ding argues that the catastrophe in Iraq stems from America's fallacious assumptions about democracy in general. He writes in part, 'By observing U.S. … [Read more...] about America’s Iraq Failure is No Failure of Democracy
Enemies Into Allies
Exactly: But loyalty that can be purchased is by its very nature fickle. Only months ago, members of the Awakening were planting IEDs and ambushing U.S. soldiers. They were snipers and assassins, singing songs in honor of Fallujah and fighting what they viewed as a war of national liberation against the foreign occupiers. These are men the Americans described as terrorists, … [Read more...] about Enemies Into Allies
Take a Stand Against Torture (It’s a Moral Issue)
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is an interfaith effort "committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment." Its motto: 'Torture is a moral issue.' Today I received the following email calling for support in protesting Bush's intended veto of the intelligence bill. If you wish to make your voice heard---and they've … [Read more...] about Take a Stand Against Torture (It’s a Moral Issue)
McCain and the Press
Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about McCain and the Press
A Good Use of Five Minutes
Via The Arabist, the Iranian Ministry of Information has produced an amazingly paranoid video that details the "American-Zionist conspiracy" against Tehran. The graphics are excellent, as is the experience of watching a digitalized John McCain speak in fluent Farsi. For those who have better things to do, here's a quick summary of the video's message to the Iranian people: be … [Read more...] about A Good Use of Five Minutes
Clinton Surrogate Talking Points: The Photo
Marc Ambinder has it HERE. … [Read more...] about Clinton Surrogate Talking Points: The Photo