Elections in Egypt: 'A Revolution of Sorts'
By08/29/2005
By President Hosni Mubarak’s decision, Egypt is holding its first multi-candidate presidential election on September 7. Barely any attention is being paid to this incredible change in the West, and those who are watching are unreasonably pessimistic.
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Pat Robertson, Hugo Chavez and the Republicans
By John McDonald08/24/2005
We found the weapons of mass destruction! Apparently Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela has them hidden in the back yard of the presidential palace in downtown Caracas.
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Israel and Palestine: What’s Next for the "Peace Process"?
By08/22/2005
Ariel Sharon, previously known as - and elected for - being a “hawk,” is seemingly making a unilateral leap of faith by withdrawing Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza. The settlers feel betrayed by Sharon, who often said that their presence on the front lines was extremely important to Israeli security… until they were told to leave. The Israeli government offered them $200K as compensation for abandoning their homes and leaving Gaza quietly. Still, many refused in protest of the ‘disengagement’ policy. Unarmed soldiers forcibly carried remaining settlers onto buses after praying with them, and Prime Minister Sharon pled for protestors to “blame” him not the soldiers. Israelis have always been politically divided, between those that believe compromise will bring peace and those that don’t. The ‘disengagement’ operation is causing an intense ideological conflict within Israeli society. Still, the extremist/violent element is miniscule and is unlikely to compromise the negotiations.
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Cindy Sheehan and The Cab Ride From Hell
By John McDonald08/19/2005
I wasn’t going to write about the Cindy Sheehan thing – I figured the drivel of ninety million blogger’s was enough – but then there was the cab ride from hell.
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Monty Python and the Peace Movement
By Kit Robinson08/16/2005
Arguably the best satire of political activist infighting ever produced was the classic scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian where the People's front of Judea terrorists stumble upon the Campaign for Free Galilee in the palace where both are intent on kidnapping Pilate's wife. Upon realizing this, the groups accuse each of stealing the other's idea and set to brawling. Amid the ensuing melee Brian, ever the practical one, exclaims:
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Texas Scold'em
By Vivian Greentree08/16/2005
The nation's growing disapproval of our involvement in Iraq has landed squarely in our own backyard. Or, more specifically, President Bush's. Cindy Sheehan, whose son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq, has staged an impromptu protest outside the president's Crawford ranch, where he is vacationing.
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Us and Them: The Painful Birth of Iraq’s Constitution
By08/16/2005
January 30 was the first most important day for Iraq. I watched footage of the incredible turnout that election day with my friend, who was deploying to Iraq the following week. The people who traveled for days and stood in line for hours to cast a vote for the first time in their lives gave my Marine friend encouragement in our mission there.
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Chooser's Choice
By Ann Weaver Hart08/15/2005
I have known several people who made a practice of deceiving others without telling any "lies." Their method-of-choice invariably involved selective truth-telling. Such persons would respond to the question" Where's Mary?" with, "She's not here," thus leaving the interrogator with the impression that Mary's whereabouts were unknown, when in fact they knew exactly where Mary was. These same people would all vigorously object to being called liars. They followed the letter of the law, while breaking the spirit.
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Prevention and Profiling
By08/11/2005
Due to a recent crime wave by a New York-based Latino gang, which has declared war on the United States and has persistently targeted civilians, law enforcement agencies began random searches of all persons. Experience shows that the modus operandi of the Latino gang is to sneak weapons into a crowded NYC mall and open fire, causing mass casualties. In response to this information, the police officers are stopping every 5th, 12th, or 20th person entering the mall, being sure not to target or be particularly suspicious of Latinos.
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Reflections of a Blogger?: The Medium is the Message
By Kit Robinson08/11/2005
Just caught the streamed video from NPI's Reflections of a Blogger about the emerging role of the Internet in progressive politics which, BTW, I highly recommend. Lot's of lessons to take away there but the overall message I gleaned was that, to paraphrase the obscure post-modern words of the infamous McLuhan, the medium is that message. Not to be unduly obscure myself, all I mean to say is that it's not our father's - or mother's - media anymore. I know, Duh! But my belabored point here is that the medium by which the content is delivered or exchanged directly influences the nature of that content and how it is processed.
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What if Richard Wagner and Britney Spears had a baby?
By Alexander Rai08/10/2005
Wagner: the quintessential embodiment of Germanic nationalism.
Britney Spears: the quintessential embodiment of consumer pop allure.
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Headed for the Ditch
By Ann Weaver Hart08/08/2005
Cindy Sheehan has made the most difficult sacrifice any mother can for her country. Her son, 24-year-old Army Specialist Casey Sheehan died in Sadr City in April 2004, prosecuting a war that Ms. Sheehan no longer believes in.
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Darwin and his pretty face and sexy girlfriend
By Alexander Rai08/08/2005
All of mankind of which women consist 51% is biologically engineered to evolve.
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“Anti-Retentive Asshole”: The tragedy of a compartmentalized culture
By Alexander Rai08/08/2005
"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday." Part 1, Chapter 1, pg. 3 from The Stranger, by Albert Camus.
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Is there an Iran crisis?
By08/05/2005
Iran has declared that it will resume nuclear conversion at Esfahan within one or two days. Europe has requested an emergency meeting of the IAEA to pressure Iran not to resume nuclear fuel cycle work. Israel is pressuring Ukraine to demand from Iran the 12 nuclear-capable X-55 cruise missiles that were smuggled there four years ago.
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Of Hackett, the Promise of "The New Politics", and Some Politics as Usual
By Kit Robinson08/04/2005
In the Immortal words of Maxwell Smart, Hackett "missed it by that much". Now that I've carbon-dated myself, we'll get on with the point.
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Abortion Foes Find New Ways to Inflict Pain
By Ann Weaver Hart08/02/2005
The lucky gals in Minnesota got a special break from the state legislature last week. Now both they and Arkansan women will be offered anesthesia for their fetuses if they elect to have an abortion after 20 weeks' gestation.
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Pass the Ritalin, Al Gore's Current TV has Arrived!
By Kit Robinson08/02/2005
It's not boring.. not very. It's slick.. kind of. It's cerebral.. not really. It's Al Gore's Current cable TV Network. Dude, I think I just had a seizure!
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