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Archives: June 2012
Feminist Brooke Shields-Tom Cruise Cartoon of the Day
Explanation here..
Mideast Twitter: Gulf Giants, Arab Spring Midgets
Jeune Afrique (Young Africa), has a piece on social media in the Arab world. It shows that by volume of tweets, Twitter in the Middle East is dominated by the Gulf oil…Top Six Things Congress would do if they Cared if we are Healthy
Health care is essential, and no American should be without insurance to pay for it. But prevention of diseases and injuries is as important as treating them. Since Americans live in a…
Low Life Expectancy tracks with Opposition to Obamacare (Map)
Life expectancy in the United States by state (2009 statistics): Hawaii has the longest life expectancy among the states, so maybe Obama thought it isn't normal for people to drop dead young…
Patriotism and PTSD (Levinson)
Nan Levinson writes at Tomdispatch.com: Mad, Bad, Sad What’s Really Happened to America’s Soldiers By Nan Levinson "PTSD is going to color everything you write," came the warning from a stepmother of…
Supreme Court declines to take US Health Care in direction of Sub-Saharan Africa
Well, we dodged the bullet of looking like Zimbabwe on this issue. But we still need a single payer system. And the court exempting states from medicaid expansion could leave millions uninsured.…Supreme Courts and Democracy in Egypt, Pakistan and the United States
As the US Supreme Court rules on the universal health care plan, it is worth considering that all of a sudden the courts are playing an outsized role in the aftermath of…
Supreme Court declines to take US Health Care in Direction of Sub-Saharan Africa (Map)
Well, we dodged the bullet of looking like Zimbabwe on this issue. But we still need a single payer system. And the court exempting states from medicaid expansion could leave millions uninsured.…
Graphs of Death: US Drone Strikes Visualized (Pegg)
David Pegg writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism These graphs accurately reflect the Bureau’s data on CIA drone strikes in Pakistan to the most recent strike. They are designed to illustrate…
Global Warming and Colorado’s Great Fire
Weather is specific events, climate is the long-term pattern. Catastrophes like the forest fire in Colorado that has expelled 32,000 people from their homes are the results of weather. But long-term climate…Letter to President Obama on Yemen: More Aid, Fewer Drones, Please
The Atlantic Council and The Project on Middle East Democracy are worried about the drift in Obama administration policy on Yemen, about the lack of attention to urgent development and humanitarian issues…Top Ten Reasons the ‘Obama lost Egypt’ Meme won’t Work for Romney
The Republican Party is trying out a "who lost Egypt" line of attack against President Barack Obama, in the wake of the victory in the presidential election of Muhammad Morsi, a leader…Top Ten Reasons ‘Obama lost Egypt’ Meme won’t work for Romney
this post is now here (click)
Video of the Day: The Nile Crocodile v. Wildebeest
Part of a National Geographic segment on the Nile crocodile and its prey:
Could Syria-Turkey Conflict Pull NATO In?
The shooting down by Syrian anti-aircraft batteries of a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet flying over international waters a few days ago has the potential to internationalize the Syrian revolution and pull in…
Omar Khayyam (168) “neither servants nor masters”
In this life, all those who have half a piece of bread and a resting place in which to nest; who are neither servants nor masters of others-- let them rejoice, for…
Follow @jricole on Twitter, Facebook, Email
Follow @jricole on Twitter. Some of my readers like the idea of one or two short essays a day, here at the blog. Others would like more frequent updates. I've been doing…Fox Smears Mursi with “Jerusalem Capital” Lie (Murphy)
Anyone who watches Jon Stewart regularly knows that Fox News deliberately lies and manipulates video to fearmonger on behalf of the American Right wing. But Dan Murphy of the Christian Science Monitor…Will Egypt’s Mursi challenge US-Israeli Mideast Policy?
Mohammad Mursi, the new president of Egypt, probably will not be allowed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) with which he must co-habit to make Egyptian foreign policy, or…Egypt’s Zombie Revolution: Dead and Alive (Chase)
Anthony Chase Writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Egypt’s Revolution: Is It Possible to Be Both Dead and Alive? Post-mortems are as rife on Egypt’s revolution as they are on…
Mursi and the Brotherhood in a Pluralist Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Mursi has been officially declared the president of Egypt. But under the terms of the military constitutional guidelines issued last Sunday night, he comes into office in the…Green Sunday: Good News on Clean Energy
1. Morocco has ambitious plans to be the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. Its new agreement with the European Union removes tariff barriers, and it is importing huge amounts of German equipment…
Tens of Thousands at Tahrir Demand end of Military Rule
An enormous crowd of tens of thousands, the biggest this week, gathered in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on Friday, especially as the torrid sun set. These protesters are mostly fundamentalist Muslims,…
Drone Questions for Americans (Jamiol Cartoon)
Courtesy Paul Jamiol & check out his book, Jamiol's World
Error message Fahrenheit 451 for Censorship?
The Guardian reports that a new internet error message may be created to indicate that a site has been censored. It has been suggested that it be called '451' in honor of…
Solar Plane flies from Spain to Morocco, then into Morocco’s rugged Interior
The solar-powered Solar Impulse airplane built by a Swiss concern, having flown successfully from Madrid to Rabat, has just completed a flight over the Moroccan countryside that included having to get above…Brotherhood, Salafis, Camp out at Tahrir amid Thosands
On Thursday, protesters heeded the call of the Muslim Brotherhood to fill Tahrir Square with tens of thousands of protesters, as they continued to reject the martial law amendments to the constitution…
UN Official: CIA Drone Strikes on Rescuers a War Crime (Serle)
Jack Serle writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: The UN’s expert on extrajudicial killings has described a tactic used by the CIA and first exposed by a Bureau investigation as ‘a…Omar Khayyam (153) “they do not even reckon them as human”
The elite and lofty crowd who hold exalted office are disgusted at the life of grief and bother that they suffer. But when they consider the ones who, unlike them, are not…Campbell: Israeli PM Sharon Threatened Bush with Nuking Iraq (Mearsheimber & Walt vindicated)
Alastair Campbell's serialized memoirs contain a bombshell that is largely being ignored in the Western press, the revelation that in conversations with President George W. Bush in late 2002, then Israeli Prime…Omar Khayyam (149) “nothing left of good times but the name”
Now that nothing is left of good times but the name; and save for wine itself, not a single old drinking buddy is around any more; don't decline the joy of the…
Uncertainty Grips an Egypt on the Brink
The on-again, off-again saga of the reports on deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak's coma exemplified the uncertainty through which Egyptians are living on Tuesday. In the American game of baseball, a player can…Omar Khayyam (145) “my bewilderment”
I was disturbed that he brought me into being, and nothing has grown through my life like my bewilderment at it. We're forced to depart, and don't even know what the…
Tahrir Square Now
Egypt after soft military coup: I don't think they're haaapy. By the way, American news channels: this is news.Revolutionaries Vow return to Tahrir Square in face of Military Power Grab
Several parties, unions and organizations called for big demonstrations on Tusday in Tahrir Square in Cairo. They will be protesting the issuance on Monday by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces…Omar Khayyam (143) “Religious zealots are all jackasses”
Those religious zealots are all jackasses, who're carrying a burden of deceit. And most amazing of all, under cover of their self-denial they sell their religion! They are worse than unbelievers any day.…Syria Spirals down into Sectarian War (Cole at Truthdig)
My column is out at Truthdig, "Sectarian Violence Undermines Syrian Regime" Excerpt: "The Syrian government’s resort to Alawite death squads in recent weeks, however, has threatened the big-city alliance that has allowed…Egypt: Fundamentalist President + Junta = ?
Since December, Egypt has had as its president a military council, and as its legislature the Muslim Brotherhood. It is possible this morning that Egypt now has as its president the Muslim…Omar Khayyam (138) “Don’t throw your precious lives to the wind…”
Don't fall for this world's enticements, you amateurs! You know all about its tricks. Don't throw your precious lives to the wind. Get yourself a lover and open a bottle of wine.…
What America would be like if it was like Afghanistan (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch [satire alert] It Couldn’t Happen Here, It Does Happen There The Value of American -- and Afghan -- Lives By Tom Engelhardt "Do you do this in…
Father’s Day (Louis C.K.)
Comedian Louis C.K. on Father's Day:Did the Egyptian Generals make their Coup because of a Conspiracy Theory?
The initial reaction of the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party to the high court decision dissolving parliament had been acquiescence. On Sunday, they got a bit…Is the secret war in Yemen and Somalia secret no longer? (Woods)
Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism In what is being viewed by some as a significant move towards greater transparency, President Obama has officially acknowledged for the first time…
Egypt: An Election within a Coup within a Coup
Arab satellite television is showing lines of Egyptian voters at polling stations on Saturday, as some proportion of the 50 million eligible voters makes a decision between a former air force general…Omar Khayyam (137) : … Wounded the Heart…
The one who made the heavens and the earth has wounded the heart of many a mourner; he has put many ruby lips and perfumed locks six feet beneath the ground. Translated…The Revenge of the Leftovers in Egypt
The Egyptian constitutional court on Thursday threw the Egyptian Revolution for a loop. There are howls of outrage about a soft coup, or a counter-revolution. The specter of Algeria haunts the Nile…Omar Khayyam (136) “The Caravan of Life….”
It is amazing how the caravan of life goes by. Take a deep breath, and let it pass cheerfully. Barkeep, why be sad about tomorrow's grief? Pick up a wine glass, before…Global Disappointment in Obama Actually Rational, unlike in US (Pew)
The [pdf] Pew Charitable Trust Global Attitudes Survey finds that most publics abroad have experienced substantial disappointment in Barack Obama. Indeed, Middle Eastern Muslims are hoping Obama will be defeated next November.…
You Always Knew it, but Now . . .
There are so many open secrets in our corporatocracy. But precisely because they are the open secrets of powerful multi-billion-dollar concerns with phalanxes of attorneys, which after all themselves own most "news"…
The Kierkegaardian Presidency: or the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical (van Buren)
Peter van Buren writes at Tomdispatch.com: Leaking War How Obama’s Targeted Killings, Leaks, and the Everything-Is-Classified State Have Fused By Peter Van Buren White is black and down is up. Leaks that…
Libya’s Problems will be Solved by more Democracy, not Less (Hilsum)
Lindsey Hilsum writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Attacks on both the US and UK delegations in Benghazi, fighting in Kufra, the detention of four officials from the International Criminal…
Planned Israeli Detention Camps for Africans Draw Human Rights Protests
An Israeli law allowing the arrest and detention of illegal immigrants for up to 3 years without trial has been denounced as contrary to basic human rights by Human Rights Watch. Israel…
83 Dead in Syrian Military Repression
Some 83 Syrians, most of them non-combatants, were killed on Saturday by the Syrian military. In Deraa, the small town in the south of the country where the revolution began, the Syrian…
Faux News & Patriotism (Jamiol Cartoon)
Courtesy Paul JamiolDiscontent, disturbance and legal failures in Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey (Fitzgibbon)
Will Fitzgibbon writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism It has been a big week for the NGO heavy-hitters. Three separate investigations in three different countries indicate an arc of discontent, disturbance…The Panetta/ Pakistan War of Words
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has caused a stir by warning US ally Pakistan that Washington's 'patience is wearing thin' with the support for the Haqqani Network by the country's Inter-Services Intelligence.…
The Great Wall of . . . Arizona (Miller)
Todd Miller writes at Tomdispatch.com Bringing the Battlefield to the Border The Wild World of Border Security and Boundary Building in Arizona By Todd Miller William “Drew” Dodds, the salesperson for StrongWatch,…Syria and the Rise of the Death Squad
The fresh Baath massacre of non-combatants, in Qubair on Wednesday, is being assiduously covered up by the government of dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is preventing UN observers from visiting the scene of…100 Dead in Fresh Syrian Massacre
Activists accused the Syrian Baath Party of committing yet another massacre on Wednesday, this time at Qubair in Hama Province. Around 100 are said to have been killed. In what has become…
Top Ten Silver Linings for Democrats in Wisconsin Outcome
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's victory in the recall gubernatorial election campaign over his Democratic Party rival is being read like tea leaves with regard to the national presidential campaign. This argument from…
Despite Airport Incident, Henry Kissinger is Wrong about Libya
I spent May 27 through June 3 in Libya, and flew out of Tripoli airport to Cairo a day before a small Tarhouna militia came there to demonstrate against the disappearance of…CIA ‘revives attacks on rescuers’ in Pakistan (Woods)
Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: CIA drones are reportedly reviving the use of highly-controversial tactics that target rescuers and funeral-goers. On Monday US drones attacked rescuers in Waziristan…
“Surgeon of Damascus” Promises more Blood, Blames West for Syria Violence
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad said Sunday that the 14-month-old attempted revolution in his country is being instigated by outside forces. He defended the bloody crackdown on the rebellion by the regime, saying…
Heartland Climate Scam Sinking, but so is Planet (McKibben)
Bill McKibben writes at Tomdispatch.com: A hard-hitting campaign from a new group called Forecast the Facts persuaded many of the corporations backing Heartland to withdraw $825,000 in funding; an entire wing of…
Protests, Politicking around Mubarak Verdict Continue in Egypt
Scattered protests took place around Egypt for a second day on Sunday, in reaction to a court judgment against deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak. On Saturday, over 10,000 protesters had gathered in Tahrir…Thousands Demonstrate in Alexandria Against Shafiq as Egypt Faces Election Turmoil
Some 7,000 Egyptians demonstrated on Friday, demanding that Gen. Ahmad Shafiq be disqualified as a candidate for president of Egypt in the run-off elections scheduled for later this month. Smaller demonstrations were…Top Ten Reasons Romney Shouldn’t Arm Syrian Rebels
GOP presidential hopeful Willard "Mitt" Romney has called on President Barack Obama to arm the Syrian opposition, accusing the president of lacking leadership for declining to do so. Romney can't decide whether…