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Newest Blog Entries:
NYT (3): Foreign Affairs
Deaths at Egyptian soccer game spill over into continued protests and violence in the streets; U.N. Sec'y Gen'l not exactly welcome in Gaza; Apparent Iranian effort to "rebrand" Arab Spring backfires.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 3, 2012
NYT (3): Foreign Affairs
Panetta calls for earlier end to U.S. combat presence in Afghanistan; Chinese village that took on gov't gets independent elections; Was Egyptian military complicit in post-soccer game violence that left over 70 people dead?Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 2, 2012
NYT (5): National News
BOA to charge fee for debit card use - and other banks are likely to follow; As Occupy Wall Street continues, and in the wake of the pepper spray incident, the question arises: is the NYPD out of control?; Pastors will defy IRS rule re politicking from the pulpit; The most incredible night of baseball - ever?Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, October 1, 2011
NYT (4): Foreign Affairs
Egypt revamps cabinet, but not all protesters are mollified; Radiation-tainted beef enters Japanese market; Game-fixing in int'l soccer is growing; Nazi war criminal found not guilty, angering many.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Will Wins Big in Charity Polo Match – The Daily Beast
It was a lovely day. For a round robin polo match it was very good. Pr. William played very well. I was happy that Andy Busch played so well with him. Also Scott Devon did a great job for the opposing team. Both really friends so that made my day. The Santa Barbara Polo Cub and Tiffany's deserve real credit. mbPosted by Michael Butler, Sunday, July 10, 2011
NYT (4): National News
How the unemployed became invisible; Pro-choice movement gets busy; The magazine interview with Sheila Bair; and Derek Jeter is only second in history to get 3000th hit on a home run.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, July 10, 2011
Truthdig – WikiLeaks, Wimbledon and War
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, July 7, 2011NYT (6): National News
Obama finally demands "taxes"; Fed appeals court says public mandate in health care bill is constitutional; In bipartisan vote, Senate streamlines confirmation process; RI approves gay civil unions, but not marriage; Mine owners kept two sets of "safety books"; and how "gay" is gay enough for softball?Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, June 30, 2011
NYT (9): National News
Finally, broader understanding of the link between a sagging economy and paying for war; War powers debate re Libya reveals rift in GOP - and Congress in general; NLRB would strengthen unionizing rules; Cigarette packs to get hyper-graphic anti-smoking images; Panetta unanimously confirmed as new Sec'y of Defense; Huntsman enters prez race; Albany reaches deal on rent laws and tax cap; The marketing and merchandising of Jeter's 3000th hit; and the end of an era on the UWS as H&H closes its doors.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, June 22, 2011
NYT (6): National News
Two bad SCOTUS decisions - in favor of Wal-Mart in bias case, in favor of EPA in ability of states to control emissions; LinkedIn IPO may have been a scam, and is leading to a new technology "bubble"; GOP holding up nominee confirmations to stymie Obama policies; Goodbye Tiger Woods, hello Rory McIlroy!; and Keith Olbermann is back!Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, June 20, 2011
NYT (5): National News
Cuomo joins govs seeking to cut public pensions; Fed judge panel weighs health care bill; Federal study on media finds dearth of good local reporting; AZ wildfire continues to grow; and police swarm Dodgers stadium - but not to watch the game.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, June 9, 2011
Robert Lipsyte: You Must Watch the Empire Bowl
Lipsyte on Tom Dispatch ..This is the Big One. Maybe the Last Big One. Never before have so many loose strands of an unraveling empire come together in a single event accessible to those who mourn or cheer America. Let’s start with the conceit that this game is the only super thing we have left. Super power, super economy, super you-name-it… gone.. we’re all out of super -- except for the Super Bowl. That celebration of an all-American $9 billion industry (estimated because the National Football League has never opened its books), not to mention millions more in subsidiary and dependent businesses, offers us a national holiday that has arguably superseded Thanksgiving (thanks for what?) and Christmas (electronic excess and obsolescence). Even little Everytrader has a shot here. Without insider connections, you undoubtedly have a far better shot at winning a football wager than gambling in the stock market.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, February 6, 2011
NYT (5): National News
House GOP seeks extension of Patriot Act provisions; Thomas' wife sets up TP lobbying group (see quasi-related editorial this date); What the heck is going on with the economy?; Madoff and the Mets; and Giffords' husband will fly.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 5, 2011
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (3)
"All of us who value free speech, even when it is obnoxious, benefit from a recent appellate court ruling" (Editorial); "Contrary to what Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania may say, a delayed football game doesn't represent the collapse of American values" (Egan); "That headline says: First learn Spanish. Then study Chinese" (Kristof)Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, December 30, 2010
NYT (7): National News
Dems back third parties to siphon votes from GOP; Will unions deliver for Dems?; Both parties have "armies" of recount lawyers; GOP takes on Boxer in CA; FORMER THOMAS FLAME SUPPORTS HILL; Unexpected backlash re NPR firing; and Yankees will not have a chance for #28 as Rangers trounce them.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, October 23, 2010
NYT Op-Eds (4)
"An epic housing bust has led to an epidemic of foreclosures. The situation is much worse than you think" (Krugman); "After looking at the Senate race in Illinois, you have to wonder whether anybody decent will ever want to go into politics again" (Brooks); "Why instant replays and published umpire stats would improve baseball" (Two Guest Op-Eds; see my comment)Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, October 15, 2010
t r u t h o u t | William Astore | Major Sporting Events: Too Corporatized, Too Controlling, Too Much
I am part of a polo family, starting with my Grandfather. I remember my Father once saying, "polo has only one thing to fear-too much money". I thought he was out-of-it, polo was a costly sport. Now I understand that when lots of money started to enter polo, as it has for so many sports, what he meant. It is not the same any more. mbPosted by Michael Butler, Friday, September 17, 2010
Matt Taibbi: On ESPN and “Replaceable” People
Taibbi ...So it seems the whole sports world is abuzz about the decision by the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints players to raise a finger in the air before the season-opening game as an expression of union loyalty -- "We are one" -- in a year in which the players and the owners are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. I watched that gesture during the game and knew it was going to inspire the usual sneering ... There were actually arguments across the media landscape to the effect that NFL players were out of line bringing their labor disagreement into our living rooms, the implication being that any display of union activity is somehow unseemly or ( I love this) selfish. We have a whole reality-show culture celebrating the cause of people eating centipedes and stabbing each other in the back for cash prizes and fame, but football players quietly showing union solidarity is tasteless.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, September 12, 2010
NYT (8): National News
As FL pastor plans burning of Qur'ans, NYC man is arrested for stabbing cabbie simply for being Muslim; As Dan Quayle wins primary in AZ and Miller closes gap on Murkowski in AK, how the Tea Party is turning passion into campaigns; Is Linda McMahon culpable for wrestling deaths?; Walmart invites SCOTUS opinion on class action suit re gender discrimination; and Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios turns 40.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, August 26, 2010
NYT (4): National News
NYC Islamic center reveals mixed feelings by Muslims; B. Clinton, once banished from campaign trail, is back; GOP takes on U.S. Census long form; and Clemens is indicted for lying to the grand jury.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, August 20, 2010
NYT (5): Foreign Affairs
Is China's economy too far ahead of its efforts to be green?; Russian heatwave breaks every record; Chinese gov't rescinds arrest warrant for dissident reporter - and apologizes!; Are Europeans finally warming to Frankenfood?; and Catalonia is newest region to ban Spanish bullfighting.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, July 30, 2010
NYT (3): Foreign Affairs
Somali group was behind Uganda terror attacks; Israeli panel finds flotilla killings justified, but cites numerous errors; and Chinese labor movement continues to make gains.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, July 13, 2010
NYT (4): Foreign Affairs
Switzerland refuses to extradite Polanski; Synchronized bombings in Uganda kill 50 World Cup watchers; Ruling party in Japan suffers huge setback; and Chavez chafes at U.S. base in Curacao.Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, July 12, 2010
Matt Taibbi: The Five Funniest Things About the “LeBron James: Global Superdouche” Broadcast
Taibbi ..."The Decision" was simultaneously the most painful and most hilarious television show I've seen in a long time. Its entertainment value rested almost entirely in its scope .. I watched "The Decision" in breathless awe of the sheer scale of the narcissism involved. By any measure it was a landmark moment in the history of human self-involvement .. This is the beginning of our big Lost in Space journey together, where news and reality-show programming fuse completely and we all end up complete morons, voting strippers and X-games athletes into the White House... read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, July 11, 2010
Dave Zirin on the US World Cup Team
after the US beat Algeria Zirin wrote After Donovan's Goal: Joy or Jingoism? when he overheard a guy on a DC sports radio show say "When I think of Algeria, all I think about are terrorists and Abbott and Costello movies" (referring of course to France's long time occupation of Algeria and the, um, "terrorists" who fought back). Zirin then inevitably got attacked by the same right wing idiots like the guy on the radio show so he's followed up with Putting Tears Aside: Celebrating Ghana's Victory - mabPosted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, June 27, 2010
