Check out yesterday's discussion group topic at The Carpetbagger Report, one of the best liberal blogs out there: "Is the national media making a comeback? Are the days of passivity and stenography officially over? Or, conversely, is even the coverage we're now getting too timid?" "Has the news media turned a corner? Will it last? What prompted the change?" ********** Much … [Read more...] about The comeback of the news media

Not too long ago, I mentioned that al Qaeda was setting up shop in the U.K. If this story is true -- and there's no reason to doubt it -- the threat continues to spread even as Iraq remains a question mark and the war on terrorism, now a war against Islamofascism, proceeds in fits and starts against a nebulous enemy. ********** And now, in the same vein, we have this: The … [Read more...] about God save the Queen (from al Qaeda)

Some on the Left have accused NBC's Tim Russert of being a tool of the Right with a GOP bias. Now he's being accused of being a shill for the Left. (We don't know why, but that's deja vu to TMV...) … [Read more...] about About NBC’s Tim Russert

To some, it's a clear-cut issue: torture should be banned — period. To others, it's far more complicated: what if U.S. officials had someone in their hands who knew about an attack that could kill thousands or millions? But the White House made it clear today that its stand on torture is to oppose ruling it out-of-bounds because the U.S. could one day face a worst-case … [Read more...] about White House Refuses To Rule Out Use Of Torture

Is he being treated with kid gloves, and why? Oxblog's David Adesnik has some ideas HERE. … [Read more...] about John McCain And The Press

If you thought sauerkraut was just that stuff you put on a hotdog or a dish that means you no longer need a Whoopie Cushion, think again: New medical evidence suggests that sauerkraut may be to Bird Flu what chicken soup is to the common cold. And it's big news all over the world. England's Telegraph:Sauerkraut, the dish adored in Germany but much maligned in Britain, could … [Read more...] about Sauerkraut Could Battle Bird Flu

...at the new, redesigned Watching America. Watching America has always been one of TMV's favorite sites, and we have linked to it from time to time. There is no site quite like it on the Internet: it contains excerpts from newspapers and magazines, pieces touching on the United States from all over the world. Many of them are translations of articles that you can't get … [Read more...] about Take A Peek….

The assertion that some parties are "rewriting history" merits closer examination. Please make that examination rather than regurgitating the "talking points" which is the easy excuse to avoid the hard work of thinking. … [Read more...] about History, first draft, second draft, and rewriting

Just saw some of this program on PBS: Sunday, November 13, 8:00pm CHANNEL 48 (WCET) An examination of whether animals can sense impending natural disasters. The program looks at animal behavior preceding the Indian Ocean tsunami. … [Read more...] about Nature: Can Animals Predict Disaster?

John Cole of Balloon Juice, someone who leans to the right but thinks instead of mindlessly repeating talking points, is discovering that opposition to torture is apparently an attribute of "the left" according to some of his readers. … [Read more...] about A rumble on the right side of blog-world

Meanwhile, it seems that leading French media outlets may be censoring their own coverage of the riots in an attempt to ward off a rightward shift in French politics. And there are reports that France may receive as much as a billion Euros from the European Union for job development and social cohesion. Both, in my view, are bad ideas. The rioting has been caused in part by … [Read more...] about Censoring the riots, funding the French

...like this big one. … [Read more...] about There ARE Victories In The War On Terror

Centrist blogger Dave Schuler of The Glittering Eye has taken a look at the issue, charges and countercharges and given it a lot of thought. CLICK HERE for a MUST READ POST. We were going to pick some key quotes, but it'd take it out of context. Read it yourself. And give us your thoughts in comments. … [Read more...] about Opposing The War And Patriotism

The latest news from France, via The Washington Post: Dozens of youths threw trash cans at police and attacked sidewalk shops in a main square of Lyon on Saturday night in the first clash between rioters and police in a city center after more than two weeks of violence in France, according to news reports. Youths stormed through the historic Place Bellecour in Lyon, France's … [Read more...] about Rioting in Lyon, a crackdown in Paris

A close friend of yours truly who is an entertainer — in fact, the person who convinced me to do a weblog — believes the U.S. is in for much tougher and troublesome economic times ahead. And he points to several things: TRUCKS SEEMINGLY GONE ON SOME MAJOR ROUTES: He drives long distances constantly to musical gigs, often in a vintage car. He will often drive this … [Read more...] about A Harbinger Of Tougher Economic Times Ahead?

Yet ANOTHER poll, this time from Newsweek, showing President George W. Bush setting another record for his popularity — southward, that is:In the wake of the bombings in Jordan by suspected followers of Iraq’s Al Qaeda chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the indictment of top White House aide I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby and the withdrawal of Harriet Miers’s nomination to the … [Read more...] about New Poll: Bush Continues His Steady Slide

What's the definition of "dumb?" It's THIS:ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) - Traffic is so bad along the eastern rim of Los Angeles' suburban ring that regional planners are considering the once unthinkable - an 11-mile tunnel through a mountain range in earthquake country. Critics question the logic of building a multibillion-dollar project in a region so prone to earthquakes that … [Read more...] about California Earthquake Region May Get A Tunnel (?!)

TMV's posts will be fewer today due to logistics: he will spend much of his day traveling from Montana back to his home base of San Diego, CA. But this site's talented and always independent co-bloggers will likely offer some thoughts throughout the day. So stay tuned...and keep checking back! … [Read more...] about TMV’s Own Posts Will Be Lighter Today

...and in with the teens... … [Read more...] about Out With The Old Fogey Politicians

King Abdullah of Jordan, who is not at all like Syria's Bashar Assad, plans to crack down not only on terrorists but also on those who support them. … [Read more...] about King Abdullah: No More Mr. Nice Guy