It is official. Ahmadinejad announced: "With great honor, I declare that as of today our dear country has joined the nuclear club of nations and can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale." Asked "if Iran has begun injecting uranium gas into 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani replied"... "Yes". He added: "We are ready to reach … [Read more...] about There Ya Go
Mitt Don’t Hunt
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Mitt Don’t Hunt
Iraqis Thank U.S. For Never Ending War
MORE HERE. Photograph by Ceerwan Aziz/Reuters … [Read more...] about Iraqis Thank U.S. For Never Ending War
Seymour Hersh on Iranian Radio
Pajamas Media links to the transcript of an interview The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh gave to the Islamic Republic of Iran radio. Excerpt: Question: As our supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei has stated in case of any attack upon us we have got the right to retaliate against American interests and bases at any place of our choice. So doesn't US administration fear about … [Read more...] about Seymour Hersh on Iranian Radio
Public Opinion
An interesting quote: "There is no such thing as spontaneous public opinion. It all has to be manufactured from a Center of Conviction and Energy." - Beatrice Webb Any thoughts on this? … [Read more...] about Public Opinion
Why Madame Bovary Is Not a Feminist Icon
As well read as I have been over the years, including many of the classics of Western literature, I have just gotten around to reading Gustav Flaubert's Madame Bovary. How to account for this gaping hole in a bibliographic odyssey that has included a thousand or so books over four or so decades? I dunno. Maybe I thought this particular classic was a Doctor Zhivago without … [Read more...] about Why Madame Bovary Is Not a Feminist Icon
Don Imus And Bernard McGuirk re “Nappy-Headed Hos”
I PUT THE CULTURE ON THE COUCH Don Imus And Bernard McGuirk re "Nappy-Headed Hos" ‘Drive your dead over the edge,’ that's what my elders used to say when people were being the least of what they could be. ‘Take that dead person passing for the living, and just leave them off. It's your better self that's most truly alive. In life, don't be ashes, be the flame...’ One … [Read more...] about Don Imus And Bernard McGuirk re “Nappy-Headed Hos”
School Insists “Easter Bunny” Be Renamed “Peter Rabbit”
And now we give you another inductee into The Moderate Voice's prestigious Get A Life Club -- this time giving an award to The Powers That Be at Tiverton Middle School in Tiverton, R.I:A Rhode Island public school has decided the Easter bunny is too Christian and renamed him Peter Rabbit, and a state legislator is so hopping mad he has introduced an "Easter Bunny Act" to save … [Read more...] about School Insists “Easter Bunny” Be Renamed “Peter Rabbit”
1 Hostage for 350 – 1,000 Prisoners
That's the deal the Palestinians proposed to Israel: Israel gets Cpl Gilad Shalit back in return she has to release between 350 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Isaac Herzog, an Israeli cabinet minister, said yesterday that "certain progress has been made compared with how things were until now". But he added: "There is still a long way to go. We are apparently approaching … [Read more...] about 1 Hostage for 350 – 1,000 Prisoners
In Defense Of Negativity In Politics
(NOTE: This was put under the wrong byline but since it's up we'll leave it. Joe Gandelman) Is negativity in politics a bad thing? We've argued that it is. However, John G. Geer, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, doesn't think it is at all. In this You Tube he defends negativity in politics and says its vital to the democratic … [Read more...] about In Defense Of Negativity In Politics
Why No Universal Health Care
Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Why No Universal Health Care
Christians in Turkey Celebrate Easter and have High Hopes for Future
In the light of Easter, an interesting article at Turkish Daily News: The Syriacs in southeast Turkey are celebrating Easter, with high hopes for the future. There are approximately 2,000 Syriacs left in the hilly region around Mardin and Midyat in southeast Turkey, bound in by the Tigris to the north and east, and by the Syrian border to the south. Most villages of Tur Abdin … [Read more...] about Christians in Turkey Celebrate Easter and have High Hopes for Future
How the BBC Prevents Britain From Getting Her Soul Back
The Telegraph reports that the BBC "has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq." "Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible … [Read more...] about How the BBC Prevents Britain From Getting Her Soul Back
Iraq and ‘The Time Scale For Tolerance’
Over the four year-plus slog of the Iraq war, there has been no more incisive analyst than the WaPo's Thomas Ricks. In a must-read analysis, Ricks writes that there now are two Iraq wars being waged -- the one fought in the streets of Baghdad and the war as it is perceived in Washington. Money quote: While Washington appears headed toward a political endgame on Iraq, … [Read more...] about Iraq and ‘The Time Scale For Tolerance’
Newt Says, “Bye-Bye Bert!
AP via CNN: Gingrich: Gonzales should consider resigning WASHINGTON (AP) -- Joining a growing list of Republicans, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should consider resigning. The possible presidential candidate said the botched firing of U.S. attorneys has destroyed Gonzales' credibility as the nation's top law … [Read more...] about Newt Says, “Bye-Bye Bert!
What the Hostage Crisis Says about Iran
There are a number of lessons to be learned from the recent British hostage crisis: most importantly, bilateral talks combined with face-saving measures is the best way to deal with Iran. This dispute says a lot about the Iranians and about how we should be engaging with them. First, this crisis has made it quite clear that threatening the Iranian regime will not work. When … [Read more...] about What the Hostage Crisis Says about Iran
The Good Shepherds
Thus the editors of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled an article in today's edition of the paper re: the extraordinary level of bipartisan cooperation occuring at the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, between its Chair (Senator Rockefeller) and Ranking Minority Member (Senator Bond). I offer more at Central Sanity on the article and the evidence it provides that at least … [Read more...] about The Good Shepherds
Al-Sadr Tells Followers to Fight Americans
Shi'ite (terrorist) leader Muqtada al-Sadr told his followers / private terrorist army to stop cooperating with the Americans and, instead, to fight them. "You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy," the statement said. Its authenticity could not be verified. "God has ordered you to be patient in front of your … [Read more...] about Al-Sadr Tells Followers to Fight Americans
Center of Attention
A round up of recent reporting and commentary by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. Shay at Booker Rising challenges Devone Tucker's Q&A re: why many African Americans still adore Bill Clinton. At Q&O, McQ offers a remarkably balanced opinion about Spykes: "a 2-ounce bottle of flavored malt beverage," introduced recently by Anheuser-Busch. (Editor's … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
The Sopranos And Tony Start Final Last 9 Episodes Whacks
And now it's time for the moment fans of HBO's "The Sopranos" have long waited for -- and dreaded. "The Sopranos," quite possibly the episode-per-episode finest-acted and scripted single-series drama in television history, will start its final (and creator David Chase MEANS final) 9 episodes tonight with the prevailing question: will Tony Soprano die at the end? Other … [Read more...] about The Sopranos And Tony Start Final Last 9 Episodes Whacks