2008 could be a savage primary season. … [Read more...] about Guess Who Might Run For The GOP Presidential Nomination?
Bashar al-Assad on ABC News
I just watched Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be interviewed by ABC's Diane Sawyer. Assad has always struck me as a smooth talker, clearly someone who has mastered the art of political parlance. He is very adept at avoiding questions, hedging his answers, and playing to his audience. When he talks about Iraq, for example, he manages to deny any culpability for insurgent … [Read more...] about Bashar al-Assad on ABC News
John Edwards and Health Care
John Edwards came out yesterday with a plan for what he calls "universal health care through shared responsibility". As he put in in an e-mail to supporters: "47 million people are uninsured, while uncertainty grows and costs spiral for nearly everyone else. To fix this crisis, we don't need an incremental shift, we need a fundamental change." 47 million people are … [Read more...] about John Edwards and Health Care
Coming US Challenge: A Less-Literate Workforce
The Christian Science Monitor reports: US workers may be significantly less literate in 2030 than they are today. The reason: Most baby boomers will be retiring and a large wave of less-educated immigrants will be moving into the workforce. This downward shift in reading and math skills suggests a huge challenge for educators and policymakers in the future, according to a … [Read more...] about Coming US Challenge: A Less-Literate Workforce
Yes, There IS a Cure! (UPDATED)
It's time to rewrite some of the scientific studies:One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual." Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim … [Read more...] about Yes, There IS a Cure! (UPDATED)
What does war look like?
Needless to say, it can be gruesome. Over at The Reaction, Heraclitus takes a look. See here. … [Read more...] about What does war look like?
Read What Iraqi And Afghani Bloggers Have To Say
Visit the Carnival of the Liberated. … [Read more...] about Read What Iraqi And Afghani Bloggers Have To Say
Broder: Democratic Race Remains Wide Open
The Washington Post's David Broder believes after watching Democratic Presidents-to-be talk this weekend that the race remains wide-open:The good news for the nation's Democrats is that neither of the supposed front-runners for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, stole the show when all 10 of the likely contenders spoke last … [Read more...] about Broder: Democratic Race Remains Wide Open
Open Thread
Gray asked for an open thread so... here it is. Talk about whatever you want to talk about. Have fun and play nice. … [Read more...] about Open Thread
Hey! Let’s Laugh Again
We are now flooded with the imagery of violence on a daily basis. From reports coming in from Iraq or Afghanistan...to our daily speech / thought / writing / newspapers / TV / blogging. So how does one survive in such a world in a healthy manner? "The Laughing Club of India" a film by internationally-acclaimed filmmaker Meera Nair allows her subjects to tell how being … [Read more...] about Hey! Let’s Laugh Again
In Appreciation of Bob Marley
And so we celebrate today what would have been the 62nd birthday of Robert Nesta Marley, reggae singer-songwriter extraordinaire, international star, uniter of black and white, and prophet. Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) is best known for popularizing reggae outside of his native Jamaica with songs like “No Woman, No Cry,â€? “Three Little Birds,â€? … [Read more...] about In Appreciation of Bob Marley
Democrats Debate Iraq
What a Wicked Web They Weave
CNN reports that a man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq's parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition. Jamal Jafaar Mohammed's seat in parliament gives him immunity from prosecution and Washington sources say he supports Shiite insurgents and acts as an Iranian agent in … [Read more...] about What a Wicked Web They Weave
Rudy Files ‘Statement of Candidacy’
The AP, via BreitBart: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor whose popularity soared after his response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, moved closer to a full-fledged campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday. In a sign that he's serious about running for the White House, the two-term mayor was filing a so-called "statement of … [Read more...] about Rudy Files ‘Statement of Candidacy’
DVD Review: ‘The Battle of Algiers’
The insurgents are engaged in a ruthless bombing campaign with no regard as to who gets killed. Additional foreign troops are brought in to stanch the violence and restore order. The troops seal off the insurgents’ urban enclave and set up checkpoints. They answer the insurgents' violence with even more violence. Baghdad in 2007? No, it’s Algiers in 1957 and the subject … [Read more...] about DVD Review: ‘The Battle of Algiers’
Non-Binding War Resolution Non-Materializes In Senate
The new political realitiy -- the Democrats are dominant in Congress but not completely in control -- was underscored by the fate of the highly-touted non-partisan nonbinding resolution debate on Iraq. Because in the end The Big Debate became The Nonexistant Debate. Questions: (1)Does this mean back to the drawing board for some kind of resolution that can bring … [Read more...] about Non-Binding War Resolution Non-Materializes In Senate
Little Miss Sunshine
The Unavoidable Horizon
How narrative unavoidably constrains and perverts our perception of reality (as applied to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict). … [Read more...] about The Unavoidable Horizon
The war’s legality as a defense
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Fort Lewis this week will become ground zero for the peace movement. Activists have called for a national day of action today, when the court-martial of 28-year-old 1st Lt. Ehren Watada begins. In the past year, Watada has become a lightning rod for the anti-war movement as the only known U.S. military officer to publicly refuse to be … [Read more...] about The war’s legality as a defense
Center of Attention
Extra attention to a few Centrist blogs. Dave Schuler on the surge "may or may not have started today" and... nobody likes Edwards anymore..? Steve Clemons on Libya and Syria. His view: stop obsessing over regime change "and do a deal that offers Syria's rationalists an arrangement that meets their needs". Amba finds it 'painful to watch the 2008 Presidential wannabes … [Read more...] about Center of Attention