Iraq is not the only oil war at this time. New political battles for oil and gas are emerging as tensions rise between Western oil and gas conglomerates and the governments of non-Western countries, which are major future suppliers of these vital resources. The latest shock to the Western oil majors came from new measures begun this week in Kazakhstan to unilaterally … [Read more...] about War, politics, oil and gas
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Toward A More Perfect Constitution
Larry Sabato's Ideas to Revitalize America's Governing Document Like almost all Americans, I grew up believing in the Constitution--every bit of it. But having chosen American politics as my primary passion in life, over decades of daily thinking about the issues that confronted the nation, I gradually began to see that parts of the system were no longer working very well, … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: Toward A More Perfect Constitution
Navarrette on Bilingualism, Citizenship & Politics
Ruben Navarrette Jr. Commentary: Mixed messages on Hispanics - CNN.com Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) gives all Americans the chance to gain insight into the nation's largest minority. You might as well give it a try. There are more than 44 million Hispanics in the United States, and the Census Bureau estimates that -- by 2050 -- we'll represent one in … [Read more...] about Navarrette on Bilingualism, Citizenship & Politics
A Digital Dying
Randy Pausch is a man of his time, a popular computer-science professor who lectures about time management and has done pioneer research in robotics and virtual reality. He is 46 years old, happily married and has three young children. A year ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and now has only months to live. For almost everybody else, dying is the most private … [Read more...] about A Digital Dying
‘Stunning’ Is Not the Word For It
REPRESSION IN MYANMAR
Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune … [Read more...] about REPRESSION IN MYANMAR
“You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Burma to me.”
(So says Mr. Peterman to Elaine in "The Foundation," the first episode of Season 8 of Seinfeld.) ********** We have been following the situation in Burma closely in recent days, tracking the monk-led protests against one of the most brutal regimes in the world, a totalitarian military junta. The protests were getting larger and louder. As many as 100,000 people marched in … [Read more...] about “You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Burma to me.”
The Transhumanism Movement: A Primer
From Wikipedia: Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as stupidity, suffering, disease, aging and … [Read more...] about The Transhumanism Movement: A Primer
Bin Laden’s Mentor Condemns Terrorism
Interestingly, while this story has been all over the Arab press, few English papers have picked up on it. Salman al-Oadah, bin Laden's mentor, wrote a letter recently that harshly condemned the use of violence. He sought to remind bin Laden that Islam does not even condone the killing of a sparrow, let alone “innocent people, regardless of what justification is given.†… [Read more...] about Bin Laden’s Mentor Condemns Terrorism
Center of Attention
A round up of recent posts by various bloggers who either attempt to strike a balanced note on heated debates and controversial issues, or improve our ability to find our own sense of balance by exposing us to new information and different points-of-view. -------------------------- McQ examines the possible resurgence of Stalinism in Russia. Sameer Lalwani looks at … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
All In The Translation: Leaked Spanish Memo Does NOT Show Bush “Planned To Invade Iraq No Matter What”
Yesterday we carried a post on reports about leaked Spanish memo that reportedly showed that in a private conversation President George Bush indicated he wanted to invade Iraq no matter what to take out Saddam Hussein. But a new translation indicates that was a bad translation and that was not the case. The Spain-based Barcepundit reports: MUCH IS BEING MADE of the … [Read more...] about All In The Translation: Leaked Spanish Memo Does NOT Show Bush “Planned To Invade Iraq No Matter What”
Ahmadinejad
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Ahmadinejad
$934,892,570 and Counting
That's the amount that you and I have spent since 2004 to create a public-relations disaster in Iraq that threatens to eclipse the Abu Ghraib scandal. That disaster is run-amok Blackwater USA contractors, some of whom happen to be outright mercenaries who have transformed duties guarding diplomats and senior U.S. civilians, escorting convoys, protecting military bases and … [Read more...] about $934,892,570 and Counting
Take A Peek
...at nationalplatforms.com a political webtool that is a MUST for Election 2008. Make sure you bookmark it -- since it could be highly useful in the months and years to come. Basically, National Platforms is a kind of clearing house where campaigns of all parties can have their stands on issues available without any kind of media (or blog) bias. Its homepage states: We … [Read more...] about Take A Peek
Warren Jeffs Guilty
Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Warren Jeffs Guilty
To Late Night Comedians…
On your mark....get set...GO! … [Read more...] about To Late Night Comedians…
NPR Under Fire For Not Accepting Bush Choice Williams As Interviewer
A journalistic brouhaha has broken out -- one that would never have arisen just a few years ago. Slowly, yet inexorably, a basic journalistic tenet has been weakened...but not destroyed. At issue: whether NPR showed political bias, arrogance, rudeness or professional stupidity in not agreeing to run an interview with President George Bush if the condition was that Bush was … [Read more...] about NPR Under Fire For Not Accepting Bush Choice Williams As Interviewer
Dem Debate Quick Hits
Some bullet pointed thoughts. I didn't think anything ground-breaking occurred. ....Grr. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to write an update to a post, only to see that Blogger has crashed. Especially when said update includes correcting a particularly inane typo ("route" written as "root"). … [Read more...] about Dem Debate Quick Hits
Moving Towards a New Cold War
With naïve carelessness, the United States is moving towards a new generational Cold War that may be the turning point in unraveling American leadership of the modern world. Pax Americana may be the shortest ever in the history of empires. The administration, media, politicians and a large swathe of electors are working themselves into an anti-Iranian frenzy and speedily … [Read more...] about Moving Towards a New Cold War
Clinton Hardball
In the sad-but-probably-true department comes a Politico story about how GQ killed a piece about in-fighting in Hillary’s campaign for cover-story access to the former President. One of the strengths of magazines is, unlike daily hard-news media, freedom of choice about what to cover and when. But along with that comes more dependence on sources for interviews in depth and … [Read more...] about Clinton Hardball