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Newest Blog Entries:
NYT (5): Int’l Affairs
British hacking scandal refuses to die as 8 employees of Murdoch's "Sun" are arrested; Opposition in Syria strikes at heart of security apparatus; Kremlin arrests duly elected president of South Ossetia; Paranoia in the digital age; The Falklands, again.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 11, 2012
NYT (6): National News
Prop 8 is struck down by fed appeals court; Study finds U.S. Muslims no threat re terrorism; PA sets local taxes on fracking; Santorum up, Gingrich down, Romney stable; Manhattan D.A. drops rape charges against Commish Kelly's son; 30-year NYC battle over loitering (homeless) arrests ends.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Pakistan’s security state: Reading the Taliban | The Economist
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, February 2, 2012UN intervention in Syria: What is Russia’s tipping point?
Posted by Harry Sifton, Wednesday, February 1, 2012NYT (4): Foreign Affairs
Muslim Brotherhood and military move toward agreement; Protests against temporary Libyan gov't grow; Sectarian violence returns to Iraq; China reports 2nd case of bird flu.Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, January 23, 2012
Getting Rid of an Anti-Israel President
Posted by Michael Butler, Sunday, January 22, 2012NYT (6): National News
Gingrich takes SC by wide margin; SOPA/PIPA fight is clash of media and generations; A new economic divide based on "mobility"; Obama to use SOTU to draw economic "line in the sand"; A book on how "scarcity will remake American politics"; A book on the lead-up to the KSM trial.Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 22, 2012
Torture, Review of Legal Mail at Issue During Guantanamo Military Commission Hearing
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, January 19, 2012NYT (8): Foreign Affairs
Bahrain opposition unimpressed by King's suggested reforms; Taiwan elections stir democracy-minded hearts in China; Hacker who hit Israeli credit card accounts strikes again, crippling sites of ElAl and Stock Exchange; Romanian protests over austerity measures turn violent; Hard lesson learned, Nigerian leader reinstitutes gas subsidy; Sarkozy vulnerable due to economic situation; Pakistan's highest court initiates contempt of court proceedings against PM; Captain of capsized liner likely to face charges.Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, January 17, 2012
TomDispatch – Nick Turse: Drone Disasters
Posted by Bill Swiggard, Sunday, January 15, 2012The Atlantic (4)
"The sickening parallels between today’s interrogation tactics and those used by the Inquisition reveal the dangers of yoking moral certainty to the machinery of torture"; "The story of Standard Motor Products, a family- run manufacturer in Queens, illuminates what it takes to survive in today’s economy—and why the jobs crisis will be so hard to solve"; "John Mearsheimer's star has fallen in recent years, as critics have branded him an anti-Semite. But his doctrine of 'offensive realism' serves as an incisive theory for understanding how states behave in an anarchic world"; "Attending a business-school reunion in the Occupy age."Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, January 14, 2012
NYT Op-Eds (5)
"Few gestures would improve American-Cuban relations as much as handing over the coveted piece of land that houses the Guantánamo Bay detention camp" (Guest Op-Ed); "One Mitt Romney was born with a silver spoon, the other one’s was wooden. Both want your vote" (Dowd); "Egyptian Islamists, the newly elected majority in government, have some big decisions to make. It’s going to be fascinating to watch this play out" (Friedman); "A new study suggests a great teacher is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased earning power to students. It’s time to overhaul our education policy" (Kristof); "Don’t worry, people! With the South Carolina primary coming up next, here are the answers to the most important questions that are surely on your mind" (Collins)Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, January 12, 2012
NYT Editorials, Op-Eds, Letters (12)
"Voters, unionized or not, should recognize the new “right to work” push for what it is: bad economics and cynical politics" (Editorial); "An important new study based on capital cases in Connecticut provides powerful evidence that death sentences are haphazardly meted out" (Editorial); "A lab-created bird flu virus needs to be destroyed, or better contained, and future research closely reviewed" (Editorial); "President Obama could cut the arsenal by two-thirds without diminishing its power. It would also save billions of dollars" (Guest Op-Ed); "Street lighting is at risk of being restricted once again to residences and neighborhoods able to afford it" (Guest Op-Ed); "I spent seven and a half years at Guantánamo, without explanation" (Guest Op-Ed); "I was arrested on a bus ride and wound up in prison at Guantánamo Bay" (Guest Op-Ed); "To hear the Republican candidates speak, you’d think Ronald Reagan was the last Republican president — and that he upheld the party’s current values" (Bruni); "When something extraordinary happens, like the uprising and subsequent truly free elections in Egypt, you just shut up and take notes" (Friedman); "The attacks on Rick Santorum and his wife are weird but inevitable" (Douthat); "In New Hampshire, Rick Santorum’s hot politics of aggrievement are competing with Mitt Romney’s cold politics of convenience" (Dowd); "Sunday Dialogue: Do We Live in a Less Deadly Time, or Not?" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, January 8, 2012
NYT (5): Foreign Affairs
Al-Maliki welcomes terrorist group into politics; Egyptian prosecutors call for death for Mubarak; Cyberattack exposes financial details of 20,000 Israelis; German president remains unrepentant and obstinate; In irony, U.S. warship threatened by Iran saves Iranians taken by pirates.Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, January 7, 2012
NYT (5): Foreign Affairs
Violence returns to Iraq as series of bombings kills 60; Army charges eight officers in death of fellow G.I.; Freed, Russian blogger returns to forefront of anti-Putin protests; Hungarians fear "slow-motion coup"; Promises received, Chinese villagers end protest.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, December 22, 2011
NYT (4): National News
GOP intransigence could end jobless benefits for 3 million; Government rests in case against Manning; In a first, gov't advisory board asks scientific journals not to publish details of certain flu studies; NYC's "Weed Man" wins first case vs NYPD.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, December 21, 2011
NYT Editorials & Op-Eds (5)
"The latest Republican plan might extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, but it would do so at the expense of vulnerable Americans" (Editorial); "Republican lawmakers are spinning fantasies about the economic benefits and number of jobs created from an oil pipeline from Canada" (Editorial); "A new bill would enable states to require drug-testing for anyone seeking unemployment benefits" (Rosenthal); "The National Defense Authorization Act that Congress is expected to pass this week is misguided" (Guest Op-Ed); "Writers defend books from Amazon's latest tactic."Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Fierce Fighting Reported at Tripoli Airport
Posted by Michael Butler, Sunday, December 11, 2011Black Swans Soar
Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, December 8, 2011ACLU (1)
Senators Demand the Military Lock-Up of American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your WindowPosted by Ian Alterman, Friday, December 2, 2011
NYT (5): Foreign Affairs
Pakistan livid after NATO strike kills two dozen Pakistani soliders; After killing of unarmed protester, Egypt braces for more and bigger protests; As in Tunisia, Morocco gives win to moderate Islamic party; Congo braces for fraud and violence re coming elections; Why is there bipartisan support for an Iranian "terrorist" group?Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, November 27, 2011
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (6)
"An Arizona court rejects a brazen attempt to protect gerrymandering" (Editorial); "President Obama banned torture, but has he done enough to prevent its resumption if he loses the election" (Guest Op-Ed); "The White House turkey 'pardon' is a distasteful reminder of the power we give politicians over death-row prisoners" (Guest Op-Ed); "To close the New York budget shortfall, Albany could cut funding for health care and schools. Or it could just extend the surcharge on the state's highest earners" (Rosenthal); "Understanding the architects of the European disaster" (Krugman); "For China to replace America as the preeminent global power, it will have to win hearts and minds at home and abroad" (Guest Op-Ed)Posted by Ian Alterman, Monday, November 21, 2011
NYT Editorials & Op-Eds (12)
"The Supreme Court must restore the right of habeas corpus for prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who are not American citizens" (Editorial); "The Census Bureau’s new formulas offer a broader picture of poverty, and evidence that programs to aid the poor work" (Editorial); "The attempted crackdowns on the Occupy movement are invigorating it, for the high ground here isn’t real estate but the idea of inequality" (Kristof); "Police officers face off with students and poets in Berkeley in the very spot where the Free Speech Movement started" (Guest Op-Ed); "Alabama’s immigration law clashes with the tradition of Southern hospitality" (Guest Op-Ed); "Egypt’s revolution brought freedom for many, but for Coptic Christians it has brought only fear" (Guest Op-Ed, Part 1 of 2); "After a region’s upheavals, religious persecution needn’t prove inevitable" (Guest Op-Ed, Part 2 of 2); "There is a recurrent 'anybody but Mitt' drumbeat from right-leaning pundits and media outlets that are responding to and feeding a conservative disaffection with him" (Guest Op-Ed); "In the new America, work may be a forever endeavor. Silver lining: This could be a boon for the economy" (Guest Op-Ed); "Chronically ill patients, and how we care for them, are the key to cutting the cost of health care" (Guest Op-Ed); "In Europe, democracy is being sacrificed in the scramble to save the euro" (Douthat); "Let’s stop putting the burden of education improvements just on teachers. Parents play a huge role in classroom success" (Friedman)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, November 20, 2011
Suppressing Nonviolent Dissent – An anthology of police brutality at encampments across America
Adbusters gives us all the highlights ..Veterans assaulted with truncheons, women dragged through the streets by their hair, grandmothers pepper sprayed in the face, peaceful protestors bludgeoned while sitting. Sound like something authorities in Egypt, Tunisia or Syria would order and condone? Think again. It's happening here in the US.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, November 20, 2011
NYT Editorials, Op-Eds, Letters
"From an anti-immigrant backlash, a new civil rights movement is stirring in Alabama" (Editorial); "A federal sentencing report shows gross unfairness in mandatory minimums. Congress needs to rescind them" (Editorial); "It is disturbing that three of the Republicans running for president support the illegal act of waterboarding" (Editorial); "The justices should follow precedent, show restraint and uphold the constitutionality of health care reform" (Editorial); "We must live by values truly worthy of exporting" (Bruni); "How his campaign might make the case to the deciders in the middle" (Keller); "Vouchers for veterans is just one of the Republicans’ really bad health care ideas" (Krugman); "Is Mandatory Voting a Good Idea?" (Letters)Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, November 15, 2011
