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July 23, 2008
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View older articles: Page 1 of 191 pages  1 2 3 >  Last »

Barr
commons.wikimedia.org

 * NEW! * The Maverick Behind the Mustache

He’s been lurking in the wings, and now Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr is starting to loom larger in campaign ’08. Now, Barr has set his steely sights on the GOP, issuing withering criticism about Bush (he’s worse than Clinton!) and threatening to spoil his former tribe’s party this fall.

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 2 COMMENTS


 * NEW! * New McCain Gaffes on Iraq

Sen. John McCain didn’t just get his cause-and-effect order wrong on the so-called surge strategy in Iraq, he also claimed in a CBS interview that the increased troop deployment and associated change in tactics protected a key Sunni sheik who helped lead the “Anbar Awakening.” Problem? Said sheik was actually assassinated during the surge. Meanwhile, CBS is under fire for editing out these gaffes in its on-air presentation of the interview.

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 4 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
Wiki Commons

 * NEW! * NBA Ballers Responding to Strong Euro

Last week it was Budweiser that was sold to the Europeans, this week it is the NBA that fell victim to a global economic shift that’s seen the dollar nose-dive vis-à-vis the euro. Respected young forward Josh Childress accepted a fatter offer from a Greek club than the one his U.S. team reportedly was making. He may not be the last.

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 1 COMMENT


Maliki
commons.wikimedia.org

 * NEW! * Der Spiegel or ‘Der Lying’?

Remember how Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki endorsed Obama’s plan for U.S. withdrawal from the country? And then remember how the endorsement suddenly became a question of “translation”? Well, it ends up that it wasn’t a botched translation at all, and that Maliki’s office personally reviewed the final interview before it was published.

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 5 COMMENTS


Nam Theun 2 Dam
namtheun2.com

 * NEW! * World Bank Finds Itself Wanting

The World Bank is being criticized for a persistent lack of environmental focus in an internal review of its lending activities. The new report rails against the environmental degradation caused by many bank-funded projects in poor countries that harm local communities in the name of “development.”

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 1 COMMENT


Chinese Police
AP photo / Ng Han Guan

 * NEW! * China to Allow ‘Protest Lite’

Taking cues from past Olympic protests and the U.S.’s notoriously ironic “free speech zones,” the Chinese government has declared its openness to dissidents criticizing the state—so long as dissent is contained in one of three areas, does not threaten vague notions of national unity, and is submitted five days beforehand to the local security bureau.

Posted on Jul 23, 2008


Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
commons.wikimedia.org

 * NEW! * Still Secret After All These Years

A federal judge has ruled that the testimony of David Greenglass, who helped convict his sister in one of the most famous trials in American history, shall remain secret. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed 55 years ago for conspiracy to commit espionage. Greenglass has since recanted parts of his testimony.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 9 COMMENTS


John McCain
Flickr / soggydan

McCain’s Ink Envy

John McCain has often been described as a media darling, but that was before Mr. Straight Talk had to run against a political phenomenon. The Arizona senator was already frustrated by his drooping media prestige, but the wall-to-wall coverage of Barack Obama’s international tour, which was kind of McCain’s idea, has him seeing red.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 7 COMMENTS


Obama the Peacemaker

Before leaving Jordan for neighboring Israel, Barack Obama promised to pursue peace between Israelis and Palestinians “starting from the minute I’m sworn into office,” and to “be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now.” His deference to impartiality comes a month after the candidate seemed to cede the city of Jerusalem, whether accidentally or not, to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 9 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
Wiki Commons

Blackwater Plans to Back Away From Security Biz

Stung by lawsuits, protests, government audits, criminal charges and negative media attention, executives from the mercenary firm Blackwater Worldwide say providing security in Iraq and elsewhere has become a drain on the company’s future and will be gradually all but phased out. However, there are no immediate plans to end the contract with the State Department which became so controversial after the company’s agents went on a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad last year.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 8 COMMENTS


Early Estimates of Bailout Range to $100 Billion

The independent Congressional Budget Office has announced the expected federal taxpayer bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will appear as a $25 billion budget expense, but that the real bill could be anywhere from zero to $100 billion. This, even though the once-governmental agencies were formally privatized in 1968.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 5 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
Wiki Commons

Serb War Crimes Suspect Arrested

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the murder of civilians in Sarajevo and Srebrenica during the Bosnian war, has been arrested in Serbia after being underground since 1997. Seems the lure of EU membership is getting the government there to turn up some old stones.

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 4 COMMENTS


Did Bush Put a Hit Out on Fannie, Freddy?

From madcap marketeer Jim Cramer to wired alt-blogger Scott Thill, there are more than a few braniacs who believe the Bush White House did not just watch the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac but actually engineered it as yet another sortie in the long GOP war against the New Deal. Never fear, though, as The Onion has already written a satirical report on efforts to build a better bubble.

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 4 COMMENTS


Struggling Economy Deters Working Women

The percentage of women in their prime earning years who work has gone down, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers cut across demographics, and have more to do with a sluggish economy and a lack of opportunity than a rekindled interest in child rearing. As one congressional economist told The New York Times, “A woman gets laid off and she stays home for six months with her kids. ... She doesn’t admit that she is staying home because she could not get another acceptable job.”

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 1 COMMENT



DoD photo / SSG Lorie Jewell, U.S. Army

Petraeus Shows Obama the Sights

Gen. David Petraeus gave his potential boss, Barack Obama, a helicopter tour of Baghdad on Monday. It’s a technique the general has used in the past to show normal life in Baghdad—from a safe distance. John McCain suggested recently that Petraeus would change Obama’s mind and his plan about withdrawing from Iraq, but that plan has newfound momentum and it could easily be Gen. Petraeus who is asked to carry it out.

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 15 COMMENTS



Flickr / Joe Shlabotnik

NYT Rejects McCain Essay

Sorry, John McCain, but The New York Times doesn’t publish just any presidential candidate. A week after Barack Obama’s “My Plan for Iraq” appeared in the paper of record, a similar essay by John McCain was rejected on the grounds that it recycled attacks against his rival while offering little new information about his own war plans, according to the Drudge Report.

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 10 COMMENTS



Flickr / James Gordon

Obama in Iraq

The U.S. Embassy has reported that Barack Obama arrived safely in Iraq, where he is expected to meet with Gen. David Petraeus and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The candidate is traveling with fellow Iraq war critics Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. Chuck Hagel.

Posted on Jul 20, 2008 4 COMMENTS



commons.wikimedia.org

Zimbabwe Leaders Inch Toward Talks

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have taken a step toward reconciliation, albeit a sluggish one. According to a U.N. envoy, the two sides have tentatively agreed to an outline of conditions for negotiations. Update 2.

Posted on Jul 20, 2008



AP photo / Jae C. Hong

Obama Commits to Afghanistan Escalation

Before leaving Kabul for Baghdad, Barack Obama spoke to his intention to increase America’s troop commitment to Afghanistan by 10,000 soldiers. “We have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent ... and I believe this has to be the central focus, the central front, in the battle against terrorism,” the candidate told CBS.

Posted on Jul 20, 2008 44 COMMENTS


Chavez
vivirlatino.com

New Hampshire Takes Chavez Up on Free Oil Offer

Americans are undergoing an “attitude adjustment,” as the AP puts it, when it comes to oil, as evidenced by the current debate over lifting the ban on drilling off the U.S. coastlines. Another sign that drastic times call for what some might call drastic measures: New Hampshire residents will be keeping warm this winter with a little help from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Posted on Jul 19, 2008 23 COMMENTS


Obama in Afghanistan
AP photo

Obama Begins World Tour

Barack Obama embarked on his international diplomacy tour—a key step in raising his profile on the world stage and demonstrating his readiness to take over the American presidency—with an important first major stop. The Illinois senator landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday as part of congressional delegation surveying the current situation in that troubled nation.

Posted on Jul 19, 2008 6 COMMENTS


Gramm and McCain
momocrats.typepad.com

Gramm Quits McCain Campaign

The backlash following Phil Gramm’s comments about the “mental recession” he believed Americans were bringing upon themselves through negative thinking has evidently caused the former Texas senator to leave his position as a top adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign. 

Posted on Jul 18, 2008 10 COMMENTS


Iraqi army patrol
AP photo / Hadi Mizban

Bush Considering ‘General’ Withdrawal Timetable

In what The New York Times is calling a “significant concession,” President Bush allowed the topic of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq to enter a discussion about America’s long-term strategy in the region. This occurred Thursday during a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Posted on Jul 18, 2008 13 COMMENTS


McCain
video.aol.com

America’s War on Sex: The Contraception Battle

Dr. Marty Klein, author of “America’s War on Sex: The Attack on Law, Lust and Liberty,” has some additional questions for John McCain—who flailed in the face of a perfectly reasonable query about Viagra versus birth control last week—as well as his rivals for the presidency. 

Posted on Jul 18, 2008 51 COMMENTS


Obama
AP photo / Sergei Chuzavkov

Obama Humor 101

We all know about this week’s Controversial Satire Attempt by that wicked, bad New Yorker magazine, which critics can now bash for being wicked instead of just elitist. (Boring!) That particular faux pas rocked the ever-intertwined worlds of politics and publishing and seemed to prove that poking fun at a certain presumptive presidential nominee can be a precarious enterprise, if not an absolute no-no. 

Posted on Jul 18, 2008 60 COMMENTS


View older articles: Page 1 of 191 pages  1 2 3 >  Last »

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