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Colbert’s Middle East Proposal: Worship Miss Israel & Miss Lebanon
Jul 18, 2006 As violence once again wracks that troubled region, "The Colbert Report" host reminds us that the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant is this weekend. "Let's forget about the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, and focus instead on the competition between Miss Israel and Miss Lebanon."
Stewart Makes a Prophetic Bush-Merkel Sexual Joke
Jul 18, 2006 "The Daily Show" host was just being playful last night when he joked that President Bush could have been caught on the open mike talking about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "camel toe" (a lewd sexual reference). But in light of the just-publicized unsolicited massage Bush gave to Merkel, Stewart is looking prophetic all of a sudden.UK Reporter: Baghdad ‘Verging on Total Collapse’
Jul 18, 2006 A journalist at The Times (of London) sums it up: "West Baghdad is no stranger to bombings and killings, but in the past few days all restraint has vanished in an orgy of ethnic cleansing."
Boehner Gets Nailed on Campaign Ad Hypocrisy
Jul 18, 2006 From Greg Sargent at the Prospect: "GOP House Majority Leader John Boehner wants you to know that it's OK if Republicans use images of people killed on 9/11 for political purposes, but at the same time, it's very very bad indeed if Dems show pictures of flag-draped coffins" How's that? (more).
Iranian Dissident: Iraq War Hurting Our Hopes for Democracy
Jul 18, 2006 Tehran's most prominent journalist, Akbar Ganji, said that America's actions in Iraq are harming Iran's reform movement by giving the regime an excuse to stifle dissent.Have You Passed the New Democratic Sniff Test?
Jul 17, 2006 The George Soros-backed Democracy Alliance pools contributions from the richest progressive donors in the country to fund advocacy groups capable of building a counterweight to the well-entrenched conservative movement But there's a potential dark side for groups whose views don't conform to the Alliance's (more) .
GOP Rep. King Compares Latinos to Drunks
Jul 17, 2006 The anti-immigration congressman made a speech before Congress in May that blasted the idea of providing interpreters for Spanish speakers at polling stations, saying the practice would "coddle" Hispanics, "just like an enabler for an alcoholic, hand them a bottle of booze so they do not cure themselves" This is the same guy who recently proposed erecting an electrified fence along the US-Mexico border, and compared Latinos to livestock .Israel Softens Stance on Cease-Fire Conditions
Jul 17, 2006 The Israeli prime minister appeared to drop his country's insistence that Hezbollah must be dismantled before Israel discontinues its attack. (You have to scan down the article to see the "softening." Israel is still demanding release of its two captured soldiers, a cessation of rocket attacks on Israel, and the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border.) This may be just a blip, but it's encouraging to see Israel appearing to be open to compromise.
Open Mike Catches Bush Blaming Syria for Hezbollah Escalation
Jul 17, 2006 At the G8 summit for world leaders, President Bush was caught on a live microphone telling Tony Blair that he held Syria accountable for Hezbollah's actions against Israel "What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over," Bush told Blair while chewing on a buttered roll Important: This is not a hypocrisy alert Bush's unguarded statements were for the most part consistent with his public ones But it's still a fascinating glimpse into his manner of interaction with America's closest ally Article Best video/audio/transcript combo: CNNcom (The video link "The sh_t hear 'round the world" in the center of the page--not linkable)Blogger reaction: The Carpetbagger Report: "The president often comes across as an unsophisticated simpleton in publicbut incidents like thissuggest Bush is even less impressive in private Juan Cole: Bush's comments "astonishingly simple-minded" .
Scandal Battering Ralph Reed’s Hopes in Georgia
Jul 17, 2006 The former head of the Christian Coalition, who is running for Lt. Gov. of Georgia, is now finding himself trailing at the polls, largely as a result of his connection to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. It's gratifying to see that after playing in the muck for so long with Abramoff, Reed can't separate himself from the stink of corruption.Desire Controls What We Perceive, Study Finds
Jul 17, 2006 From Live Science: "Without realizing it, people will perceive things according to how they want to see them, a new study suggests." This may explain, for example, why people on different sides of an argument remember wildly different aspects of the confrontation.Death Toll Rises to 90 After Mexico Earthquake
Sep 11, 2017 President Enrique Pena Nieto says a third of the homes in the city of Juchitan are uninhabitable.