According to the Post, "[t]he United States and five other major world powers agreed [yesterday] to offer Iran a broad new collection of rewards if it halts its drive to master nuclear technology". Said British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett: "There are two paths ahead. We urge Iran to take the positive path and to consider seriously our substantive proposals, which would … [Read more...] about Dealing with Iran: Six world powers agree to carrot-and-stick approach

Has all that much changed since last year's riots? Apparently not: Small gangs of youths pelted riot police with rocks and set cars and garbage bins ablaze late Tuesday in a second night of unrest in the Paris suburbs, raising fears of a return of the disturbances that inflamed 300 French towns and suburbs last fall. The violence of the last two nights -- in which youths … [Read more...] about Paris is burning (again)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has extended a second political olive branch to Iran in the ongoing efforts to resolve the stalemate over Iran's developing nuclear program via diplomatic means:U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in another gesture to Tehran, on Friday held out the possibility that she meet Iranian officials if Tehran halts atomic fuel work and agrees … [Read more...] about Rice Offers A Second Olive Branch To Iran

The split in the New York Republican party got a little wider yesterday, as delegates to the state party convention voted to nominate former assembly minority leader John Faso (over former MA Gov Bill Weld) to be the party's nominee against Eliot Spitzer in this fall's gubernatorial race. Now, since recent polls have suggested it might not even matter who the GOP runs since … [Read more...] about NY GOP Nominates Faso for Governor

Now when an elected Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, lashes out at the American military by denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians, it is a serious warning signal for the Bush Administration. Until now, there was an excuse that the American soldiers were in Iraq to avoid a "civil war" or "bloodbath". Today's NYT … [Read more...] about President Bush! Sir, Here is Yet Another Warning Signal

The comments that followed my TMV post "Is it fair to blame the Marines alone?" have tempted me to indulge in a fantasy and ask myself this somewhat crazy and presumptuous question. First I thought who am I...a small-time journalist from a struggling developing country. And there is Bush...the mighty Lord of whatever he surveys from his White House palace. But, then, everyone … [Read more...] about If I were Bush…

Iran (for now at least) remains increasingly isolated with the news that Russia and China are now backing efforts by the U.S. and European nations to convince Tehran to pull the plug on its nuclear program:Russia and China endorsed a package of incentives and penalties Thursday designed by Western nations to push Iran to suspend its nuclear program. Few details of the … [Read more...] about China And Russia Expand International Pincer On Iran

With a slew of challenges and huge problems on his plate, President George Bush will soon turn to an issue that millions of Americans are talking about at the 7-Eleven, at water-coolers, over their kitchen tables — an issue that makes Americans wake up at night filled with preoccupation...and issue on which they demand immediate action and the allocation of his and … [Read more...] about Hey, Don’t You Get A Hint That This Is An Election Year?

From moderate cartoonist Tom Briscoe: Note that there is increasingly a lot of talk now about some kind of third party. Whether it'll come to fruition (and do more than undercut one of the main parties and help the other win) is another matter. But note this article by Peggy Noonan. And, if you missed it, be sure to read this. (Note: We really like Briscoe's cartoons, so … [Read more...] about “Our Terrific Two Party System” (UPDATED)

According to RFK Jr., writing in Rolling Stone, the 2004 presidential election was not quite what it was officially determined to be. Indeed, despite claims to the contrary in leading publications like NYT and WaPo, "indications [have] continued to emerge that something deeply troubling [took] place in 2004". RFK lists some of the troubles. They include "malfunctioning … [Read more...] about Kerry 2004 redux

Maybe I'm too sentimental, but this article on Afghan women driving really made me smile. And in a world where I have to finish 28 pages of paper writing by Sunday evening, there just isn't that much to smile about. … [Read more...] about It’s The Little Things In Life

And if you're going to argue that it isn't, it helps not to make glaring factual errors in the process. … [Read more...] about Gerrymandering: Still Bad

Question: is there a Democratic party mole in the Bush administration? If President George W. Bush's claim to fame is vowing to keep Americans safer, and his standing at ground zero with a bullhorn and promising to go after terrorists, this latest news — and feud with the city that has come to symbolize 9/11 to the entire world — is going to strip away layers of … [Read more...] about New York City Furious Over Big Security Funding Cuts And “No National Monuments” Whopper

President George W. Bush discusses the results of Viagra. (OK, two things to beat you to it: (1) Yes, we know we'll go to hell for saying that. (2) If you don't like that caption, write your own). TMV thanks Americablog for the tip. … [Read more...] about A Unique Reuters Photo Of President George Bush

Remember the Jefferson scandal? That is, the William Jefferson (D-LA) bribery story? Aspazia connects it back to — believe it or not — the philosophy of Michel Foucault: conceptual schemes, "lenses through which we peer into the world". Get your philosophy fix here. … [Read more...] about Michel Foucault and William Jefferson: How we make sense of the world around us

So Paulson is the new Snow (who was the new O'Neill). The non-story "shake-up" continues. But I guess non-news is better than no news, at least for this White House, which is desperately trying to show the world that Bush is doing something (anything), that he's still in charge, that his presidency still means something. Over at The Reaction, new co-blogger J. Kingston Pierce … [Read more...] about Paulson is the new Snow is the new O’Neill

Well, I'm back from a lovely two-week vacation in England. It was so lovely, in fact, that I preferred to spend most of it well away from a computer. If I remember correctly, I only wrote three posts for The Reaction (my co-bloggers did a great job during my absence). I didn't even watch much television. Sure, I read the newspapers, sort of, but I barely paid attention to what … [Read more...] about Back in Toronto (with thoughts on the World Cup)

Larry Sabato: It's humbling for all involved in America's electoral process to realize that each midterm election season--all the contests put together--comprises no more than a paragraph in the history books. The significant elections merit a bold, detailed paragraph, while the run-of-the-mill midterms get a tepid, sketchy paragraph. Most election paragraphs are tepid; big … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: History’s Paragraph for the 2006 Election

The New York Times is reporting on two new studies that connect recent hurricanes like Katrina and Rita back to global warming: "Climate researchers at Purdue University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology separately reported new evidence yesterday supporting the idea that global warming is causing stronger hurricanes." No, there's no conclusive link, but the … [Read more...] about It’s those stronger hurricanes, stupid!

When in school I had played badminton at the national-level. The game still interests me but as I near my 60 mark I shy away from risking my limbs and bones. So when I read a story about the danger posed to shuttlecocks...my further Google search led me to an interesting Chinese newspaper site. Before I could begin to read the fascinating story about the shortage of goose … [Read more...] about China Is Really Opening Up: Of Shuttlecocks and Voluptuous Chicks