The American style of winning their hearts and minds and extracting information has not generally been perceived as being done by virtual sadism — but if a report in the New York Times is correct that seems to have been the modus operendi in some quarters. In a truly horrifying account that should do more than just raise eyebrows both in the U.S. and elswhere in the … [Read more...] about Did U.S. Forces Brutalize Afghan Prisoners Until At Least Two Died?

So now we have the answer to the world's most infrequently asked question about former Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein: briefs. We always knew the British tabloid The Sun was panting to get scoops, but Britain's biggest selling newspaper's front page photo of Sadaam in his underpants takes it to a new level (Martha Stewart: be grateful you didn't live in England):Washington … [Read more...] about Tabloid Runs Photos Of Sadaam In His Underwear

In case you haven't noticed, a quiet revolution of sorts has occured in Los Angeles, which has just elected its first Latino mayor with Mexican-American roots since 1872. Is it one of those one-shot deals that pundits generalize into a trend — or a watershed event, the beginning of a REAL trend? Over the years there has been a lot of lip service paid to the looming … [Read more...] about LA’s New Latino Mayor: A Harbinger Of Southwestern Politics?

Are there limits to implementing the goal of regime change — particularly if the goal is pressed too quickly? That's the view of LeFigaro. In an article translated from the original French by the must-read news aggregator Watching America, the newspaper takes a look at some of the challenges and, in effect, warns that the devil in the policy of regime change is in the … [Read more...] about Has America Hit The Limits Of Regime Change?

Over the past 48 hours key GOP Senators' rhetoric has sunk to new lows — bordering on an extremism that conservatives in the past (rightly) condemned when coming from Democrats. To say it's loaded verbiage is an understatement. The question is whether it's simply the unthinking new political style to use verbal atomic bombs as you march towards triggering "the nuclear … [Read more...] about GOP Rhetoric Veers Dangerously Towards Extremism

As usual, we LOVE the posts by our Guest Bloggers...which we should call Family Bloggers because they are part of our family. A reminder that TMV is a fan of all of them...and if you read the posts below you can see why. TMV himself has been unable to post since late yesterday afternoon (but as you can see from the posts below this site has been in excellen hands). He left … [Read more...] about In Case You Wondered Where TMV Was Today

Coldplay frontman and Gwyneth boytoy Chris Martin has mixed feelings about his wealth, but not because of how he earned it. His label, megalith EMI, said its profits would fall below expectations because Coldplay took three years to finish its latest album, leading Martin to respond, "I don't really care about EMI. I'm not really concerned about that." Well, good for him! If … [Read more...] about EMI Charmed Kind of Life

Cross-posted to Random Fate. At The Kudzu Files, hboswell has written about a situation that could have been presented as a hypothetical case in arguments over life and death. A woman in need of a liver transplant has a close relative on death row in Indiana who has offered to donate, but the procedure that will be used to execute the inmate will essentially poison the liver, … [Read more...] about A collision between the death penalty and a chance at life

One would think the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi government would primarily be concerned with stabilizing the country's abhorrent security situation, or, perhaps, writing a new constitution. Alas, this is not the case, at least according to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani: he claims that Iraq's number one priority is strengthening the country's ties to Iran. … [Read more...] about What’s the Iraqi Government’s First Priority?

Over at Basie!, I take a look at how the votes are lining up for the so-called "nuclear" option. Despite the fact that Majority Leader Frist appears confident in Mitch McConnell's whip count, the numbers are much more in the air today than one might expect. Among wavering Republicans are: Open opposition: Sens. John McCain (AZ), Lincoln Chafee (RI) and Olympia Snowe (ME) No … [Read more...] about Where Are the Votes for the “Nuclear” Option?

Today is the beginning of NO Day (Nuclear Option Day) and efforts are still underway to head off a showdown over the right of the minority to use the filibuster against judicial nominees. Some see a political train wreck and some (on both sides) seek just that, for different reasons. But the L.A. Times, in an editorial, is seemingly shouting "Enough already!" and literally … [Read more...] about LA Times Reminds Us: The Filibuster Is Sleazy

A troubling account: the Prison Diary of An English Teacher. The story of a visa-less American's two months awaiting deportation from a Korean prison. … [Read more...] about Story From A Korean Prison

The skeptics and targets of Gawker Media - notably Radar, whose launch has been mockingly hyped by Nick Denton's flagship blog - are circling over this news:Last month Sploid, the “anarcho-capitalistâ€? news site that Nick Denton vowed would take on the Drudge Report, debuted with a resounding thud. Now Denton’s longtime lieutenant, Choire Sicha, who oversaw the site, is … [Read more...] about Rome didn’t fall in a day

The story is far from over (we still have not seen what, if any corporate fallout there will be) in the case of Newsweek's Koran story that wasn't — and Glenn Reynolds, aka InstaPundit, asks if this latest journalism scandal might be the media's "tipping point." Read his whole Tech Central Station column but here are some key excerpts: The blogs have certainly been all … [Read more...] about Was Newsweek Koran Story Scandal The Media’s “Tipping Point?”

With the recent string of exposures of outright inaccurate reporting due to insufficient sourcing, checking, and re-checking, not limited to the recent Newsweek Periscope retraction or the Dan Rather/forged memo imbroglio, is it reasonable to say that journalism "ain't what it used to be"? Joe Gandelman, the proprietor of this weblog, writes in his recent commentary on … [Read more...] about Has the overall quality of journalism declined?

Here's another example of government trying to straighten its citizens out: The federal government will spend nearly $2 billion in the next decade on male impotence drugs under its Medicare program, according to a new cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office that is fueling some lawmakers' efforts to end that spending. Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, is … [Read more...] about When ‘Government’ REALLY Means ‘Enlargement’

The Daily Kos has an interesting item: the latest Pew poll results. It shows GWB's and the GOP's approval ratings are going down. But the most significant number is on the "nuclear option" to ban filibusters on judicial nominees. It's clear that there is a large number of undecideds out there. They're still tuned out, or deciding. You could say this is the "silent center" and … [Read more...] about Is the GOP Sinking?

...at this meaty blog — A Hamburger Today. Yes: it's a blog about Hamburgers and the dead meat isn't Democrats or Republicans. You can read about Tommy's Original Hamburgers and see some appetizing art of Paris Hilton and a Carl's Jr Hamburger. It's a sizzling site whose time has come. Maybe someone will next do a website about ham — oh, wait, William Shatner … [Read more...] about Take A Peek….

The Moderate Voice is on the road again today...this time to Gold Beach, Oregon where he will do five school programs on Thursday and a family night on Friday night. During the next few days you will likely see various posts here by our talented and always-independent guest bloggers. TMV will attempt to post but due to time constraints (traveling to the airport, driving, etc.) … [Read more...] about Light(er) Blogging By TMV Today

British politician George Galloway was in Washington yesterday to clear his name in the oil-for-food scandal — and came out with both verbal barrels blazing as he ripped into what he suggested was the hypocrisy of American politicians and the Bush administration. The BBC reports: British MP George Galloway has told US senators who accused him of profiting from Iraq oil … [Read more...] about England’s Galloway Rips Into U.S. Iraq Policy