Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com … [Read more...] about Imus Hara-kiri
“A Bloody Message from Iraq”
Nowhere is safe, says Patrick Cockburn in The Independent. "Insurgents struck in the heart of the (Iraq's) Green Zone yesterday, one of the most heavily defended places in Baghdad. The symbolism - and the bloody message - was clear with this attack on the home to the US-imposed democracy. "A suicide bomber cleared at least eight rings of security to blow himself up in the … [Read more...] about “A Bloody Message from Iraq”
Can Afghanistan Be Controlled? Another View!
Pashtuns - circa 1879 What is the secret of the resilience and bravery of the fiercely independent Afghan tribes who keep battling until the very end when the alien forces come to subdue them? This question baffled all those who tried to conquer Afghanistan - the Mughal troops in the 16th and 17th centuries to the British in the 19th and Russians in the 20th centuries - … [Read more...] about Can Afghanistan Be Controlled? Another View!
More than enough Imus
So Imus has been fired by CBS. Good riddance. (Was it the time of your life?) Although I still think the story has been revoltingly overblown, although I think the Rutgers players would have been better off telling him to go f--- off than contributing to the story, and although I defend Imus's right to speak his mind and generally reject efforts to censor speech, this has … [Read more...] about More than enough Imus
Imus Fired
Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Imus Fired
Should We Withdraw from Iraq?
An article that I read recently has begun to change my mind... … [Read more...] about Should We Withdraw from Iraq?
The Two-Thirds Artifact
Those of who you are regular readers of my posts here and at Central Sanity are likely already aware that on the subject of embryonic stem-cell research, I am not a moderate voice. I am a raving lunatic. While the majority of the country continues to redden with anger over the President's handling of the war in Iraq and his absolute refusal to even listen to an approach … [Read more...] about The Two-Thirds Artifact
Escalation
I have spent several posts on Turkey, the PKK and Iraq now, constantly repeating my hope that Turkey won't invade Iraq just yet because doing so could bring about chaos in Iraq's most peaceful and stable region. Well... things have gotten worse: The Turkish army has asked the Turkish government's permission to carry out attacks against PKK camps in Northern Iraq. Cernig … [Read more...] about Escalation
86 Is Not a Large Number
That's the total of voter fraud convictions the Bush Administration has won over the past four years, since making its prosecution a priority. Few of these cases had even the slightest indicator of being a conspiracy to change the results of the election. Most were simply careless errors. None suggested the massive, cataclysmic threat to our democracy that I've been assured the … [Read more...] about 86 Is Not a Large Number
CBS Fires Don Imus
Enough Imus
I didn't want to post anything more on The Great Imus Outrage of Historical Proportions, the story of stories (along with The Great Bahamanian Paternity Test of Our Time), but, just when I thought I'd had my say, I succumb to temptation and post more. More. MORE! But I'll make it quick. Edwards believes in forgiveness, and is keeping his options open, but Hillary is … [Read more...] about Enough Imus
World Bank’s Wolfowitz Embroiled In Scandal
Can it be? Can someone connected with President George Bush possibly be at the center of an untidy controversy or a messy scandal? Add this one to your list of Bush associates involved in controversies and/or scandals (you may be on page two or three already on this list):World Bank president and George W Bush ally Paul Wolfowitz is fighting to save his career after becoming … [Read more...] about World Bank’s Wolfowitz Embroiled In Scandal
Iran Nuclear Program
Paul Zanetti, Australia … [Read more...] about Iran Nuclear Program
Doomed!
Bush's Iraq strategy or Biden's presidential bid? Both, but let's stick with the former for now. Joe Biden may have a screw loose here and there, but at least he has foreign policy experience -- far more than Hillary, Obama, and Edwards -- and at least he seems to be thinking seriously about how best to get the hell out of Iraq. And he isn't all about focus-grouped … [Read more...] about Doomed!
Quote of the Day
Howard Kurtz: With so much to accuse the media of these days, I'm not sure why anyone has to make stuff up. … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day
Crap and Corruption: White House Division
Reverberations from the U.S. attorney scandal – the one that Republicans said was much ado about nothing – continue to grow. The latest and greatest is that countless e-mails to and from many key White House staffers have been deleted due to a brazen violation of internal White House policy that was allowed to continue for more than six years. The leading culprit is . … [Read more...] about Crap and Corruption: White House Division
Pakistan: ‘The Flag of Jihad is Fluttering’
In Pakistan, more alarmingly even than usual, the flag of jihad is fluttering and extremists are marching on the state, says The Economist. "Amid a worrying surge in Islamic militancy, a fight between rival radicals may not be the good news Pakistan says it is." "Of several concurrent—partly co-ordinated—dramas involving Islamist militants, the bloodiest is in South … [Read more...] about Pakistan: ‘The Flag of Jihad is Fluttering’
“Can India-Pakistan Relations Be Reinvented?”
This question was discussed in detail when the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ms Benazir Bhutto, visited India last month to attend "India Today Conclave". In view of the recent hurly burly of Pakistan politics this was a much publicised event in this part of the world. To visit the India Today site please click here... And then under the heading "Can India-Pakistan … [Read more...] about “Can India-Pakistan Relations Be Reinvented?”
The Event: Chapter 14
Mick LaSalle published the 14th chapter of The Event. I know that quite some of you are as addicted to this story as I am, so to you all I say: go check it out, it is another great chapter. In this chapter we also find out more about Lyle B. East's past and... Whitaker Sr. thoughts about his son. Also: Monroe Sr. and Whitaker Sr. decide to join forces. Their goal: to … [Read more...] about The Event: Chapter 14
Coverage of MSNBC Imus Firing: Driving on the Media’s Mobius Strip (UPDATED)
Driving on the Media's Mobius Strip: Imus, McGuirk: (Pete and Repeat Went Out in A Boat: Pete Fell Out, Who Was Left?) I PUT THE CULTURE ON THE COUCH If there's highbrow writing and there's lowbrow writing, then many of the big news media outlets in the USA must favor “unibrow writing...â€? no differentiation, no arches, no framing of the story, no lines leading from … [Read more...] about Coverage of MSNBC Imus Firing: Driving on the Media’s Mobius Strip (UPDATED)