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Newest Blog Entries:
The skinny on Oscar-nominated documentaries ‘Food, Inc.’ and ‘The Cove’
Posted by Bill Swiggard, Sunday, March 7, 2010Michael Moore: There’s going to be a second economic crash (and Glenn Beck can f–K off)
Posted by Bill Swiggard, Friday, March 5, 2010NYT (8): National News
Throwing political caution (and bipartisanship) to the wind, Obama asks for final vote on health care; Bill for repeal of DA/DT filed in Senate - with Lieberman front and center; DC legalizes gay marriage; Paterson lied under oath, may have sealed his fate; Texan Democrat "David" goes after "Goliath" Perry; NYC charter panel is double-edged sword; In VT, it's health and safety vs. jobs re closing of nuke plant; and Rove book is unsurprising apologia for GWB.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, March 4, 2010
NYT (5): International Affairs
DID STATE DEPT INTERFERE IN BLACKWATER INQUIRY?; Iran arrests opposition filmmaker - plus his entire family and all of his guests (!); Iraqi cleric with "decisive" power re elections refuses to use it; Tymoshenko coalition collapses; and scientists get aggressive in defending climate data.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, March 3, 2010
NYT (6): National News
Dangerous loophole found in SCOTUS ruling re campaign finance; Hurting for revenue, states look to tax non-profits; The (increasingly high) cost of doing nothing re health care; A magazine profile of Scott Brown; The original tea party activist?; and plagiarism goes mainstream.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 28, 2010
NYT Op-Eds (2)
Bob Herbert on Paterson's possible cluelessness ("Now that the bottom has fallen out of Gov. David Paterson’s election bid, the question remains: Is he still suited to be governor?); Charles Blow on "Precious," Tyler Perry, and racial stereotyping ("Recent data do not support the ubiquity of black crack-mom characters in the movies").Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 27, 2010
NYT (4): International Affairs
More problems with airlifts of Haitian children; Ukraine's new leader looks West before looking East; Chinese artists beaten and evicted as police look on and do nothing; French antismoking campaign courts controversy.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 24, 2010
NYT (7): National News
NO OPPOSITION TO DESTRUCTION OF CIA TORTURE TAPES; Zazi pleads guilty in NYC subway terror bomb plot; Five Republicans clear path for (watered-down) jobs bill; Obama lays out health plan - and strategy for passage; Judge reluctantly approves SEC/BOA deal; NYPD request for shorter parades may be First Amendment issue; and gay theater moves from political to personal.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 23, 2010
NYT (14): National News
The new "chronic jobless"; DOJ LETS YOO AND BYBEE OFF THE HOOK FOR TERROR MEMOS; FBI "shuts book" on anthrax case; CPAC offers look at possible candidates [Ed. Note: See my comment to this post thread]; Hutchison lagging in Texas polls; Paterson official declares for governor; Monserrate loses first round in reinstatement appeal; FBI INVESTIGATES SCHOOL RE REMOTE ACTIVATION OF WEBCAMS IN STUDENT HOMES; Wyoming seeks to tax wind power; Malibu residents on "the edge" about U2 guitarist's (admittedly green) development plans; Alexander Haig dies; and new books on "Clinton vs. Starr," "The Politics of Happiness," and a black editor's memoir of working the NYT.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 21, 2010
NYT (6): International Affairs
Newest fear for Haiti - disease from lack of sanitation; DUTCH GOV'T COLLAPSES OVER SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN WAR; Sunni party calls for boycott of Iraq elections; Tymoshenko finally concedes; Niger junta apparently has broad public support; and a new book on "the clash of Arab civilizations."Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 21, 2010
NYT (7): National News
CPAC conference shows fractiousness of conservative movement; Obama to offer "reconciliation" health bill to avoid G.O.P. filibuster; Fed unexpectedly raises interest rates, signaling return to "normal policy"; Man crashes plane into Austin I.R.S. office; Kerik gets four years for corruption; In unexpected reversal, Kelly will allow CCRB to prosecute some NYPD misconduct cases; and Ticketmaster settles re "phantom" Springsteen tix.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 19, 2010
NYT (5): National News
Could G.O.P. regain control of Senate in 2010?; Wall Street "elders" favor tighter regulations; Obama adds teeth to support for nuclear power; Judge rules "Critical Mass" needs NYPD permit to ride; and planned JFK mini-series called "character assassination."Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 17, 2010
NYT (3): International News
Iran opposition does some soul-searching in wake of poor turnout; Nonpartisan commission declares winner in Ukraine election, but Tymoshenko refuses to concede; and "We Are the World for Haiti" is "big-name karaoke with good intentions."Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, February 15, 2010
NYT (5): National News
How Christian were the founders?; Black Caucus becomes a fundraising powerhouse; Is soda the new tobacco?; a new book on "The Science of Liberty"; and an inside look at the implosion of John Edwards.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 14, 2010
NYT (4): International Affairs
Did Wall Street help create Greek economic crisis?; Tymoshenko claims fraud in Ukraine election; Most barred Iraqi candidates will remain barred; and a new book, "Capitalism and the Jews."Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 14, 2010
John Pilger: Why the Oscars Are a Con
Pilger ...This year's Oscar nominations are a parade of propaganda, stereotypes and downright dishonesty. The dominant theme is as old as Hollywood: America's divine right to invade other societies, steal their history and occupy our memory... read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Saturday, February 13, 2010
NYT (8): International Affairs
COALITION TROOPS ON THE MOVE AS AFGHAN WAR HEATS UP; Tymoshenko refuses to concede Ukrainian election; Idealism gives way to realism as Chavez gives oil contracts to Western companies; Profile of a moderate French imam; In rebuke to U.S., Europe nixes sharing of bank data; Greece's economic crisis causes others to reconsider switch to euro; Death of luger casts pall on Olympics; and the strange case of rewarding blatant plagiarism.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 13, 2010
NYT Op-Eds (4)
"The way the Senate works is no longer consistent with a functioning government, and senators should change the rules to end obstructionism" (Krugman); "Linking the antiproliferation agenda to the dream of universal nuclear abolition, as President Obama seems intent on doing, is a naïve approach to a very difficult problem" (Douthat); "The 'Twilight' series’ makers owe it to the Quileute people to let them have a say in, and benefit financially from, outsiders’ use of their cultural property" (Guest Op-Ed); "Every bit of Christian teaching can be summed up in three words: God is love. That is the simple truth that teaches tolerance of same-sex unions" (Guest Op-Ed)Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, February 8, 2010
NYT (4): National News
Is the tea party movement getting back to its roots, or simply allowing itself to be co-opted?; In bizarre case, whistleblowing nurse faces 10 years for upholding the law; A new book by Joseph Stiglitz is not kind to Obama; and a book on the history of black women activists and religion.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 7, 2010
NYT (3): International Affairs
Despite Iraqi election issues, candidates are off and running; Citizenship issue in Ivory coast leaves millions of disenfranchised voters; and can a war film ever be politically neutral?Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 7, 2010
NYT Op-Eds (3)
Paul Krugman compares the deficit to the Iraq war ("Fear-mongering on the deficit as part of the Republican political strategy could end up doing as much harm as the fear-mongering on weapons of mass destruction"); David Brooks philosophizes about sports and character-building ("Big-time college sports, though absurd, have some virtues"); and is "Precious" racist? ("The blacks who are enraged by 'Precious' have probably figured out that the film wasn’t meant for them")Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 5, 2010
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (8)
"Companies should disclose whether a new law or treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions is likely to require new investments or increase operating costs" (Editorial); "The dysfunctional Congress needs shock therapy, not a talking cure from a president with large legislative majorities and powerful strings to pull" (Rich); "The two parties must work together to remove the pall of uncertainty the international community is feeling about our country’s political stability" (Friedman); "The president has yet to realize that people want clear goals, clearly defined and clearly (and concisely) conveyed" (Blow); "Think of what this country would be like if Howard Zinn and others like him never bothered to fight for what they believed in" (Herbert); "Reform of the financial system, including regulation of the banks whose collapse would disrupt the market, can do away with the concept of 'too big to fail.'" (Volcker); "For a moment in time, at the Q. and A. with the president at the annual retreat of House Republicans, each side realized that the other had something to say" (Dowd); "The civil war in eastern Congo has claimed at least 30 times as many lives as the Haiti earthquake, yet no humanitarian crisis generates so little attention" (Kristof)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 31, 2010
NYT (10+): National News
Economy grew vigorously in late 2009; 9/11 trial will be moved from NYC; Obama outlines jobs plan; The (muddled) selling of the president; The G.O.P.'s exuberance may be short-lived; Would losing a few Democrats actually help Obama?; O'Keefe and the Louisiana Four; Despite loosest gun regs in the nation, Arizona wants them looser; A solar cell for your backpack; A review of Joseph Stiglitz's new book; and reviews of books about the "Selling of the American Economy," the auto industry, George Carlin, and the Smothers Brothers.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 31, 2010
NYT (9): International Affairs
U.S. BUILDS UP WAR MACHINE IN PERSIAN GULF; Moussavi and Karroubi call for major rally in Iran; Blair defends himself at formal Iraq Inquiry; Bin Laden blames climate change on West [Ed. Note: At least he's not a global warming denier! LOL]; France appeals de Villepin acquittal; and China: (i) retaliates in "Western" style over U.S. arms deal with Taiwan, (ii) insists that steps on climate change be voluntary, (iii) leads the race in both wind turbines and solar panels, and (iv) finally gives in to "Avatar."Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 31, 2010
JD Salinger’s Neighbors Protected Him
A fascinating article in the Rutland Herald about JD Salinger's neighbors in Cornish NH, how they fended off "the annual parade of English majors". One time during Halloween he and his wife forgot candy and gave out pencils instead - expect eBay to be flooded w claims of JD Salinger pencils in the next few weeks - mab .. read morePosted by Mike Blaxill, Saturday, January 30, 2010
