One Year After Bin Laden's Death: A New World (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
"Even U.S. conservatives are battling over how to handle the ‘post-al-Qaida era.’"
The Rise of the Killer Drones: How America Goes to War in Secret (Michael Hastings) from Rolling Stone Magazine
"An inside look at how killing by remote control has changed the way we fight."
Spain Is Still Awaiting the Payoff From Austerity from the New York Times
"Since the beginning of the debt crisis in Europe more than two years ago, defenders of the euro currency union have stuck to a basic argument: if the euro zone’s weaker economies would only keep pursuing policies of austerity, even as growth collapsed and job losses mounted, they would be rewarded by investors more willing to buy their bonds. ... That approach, though, has failed in Greece, Ireland and Portugal. And now it is being severely tested in Spain..."
Asia’s Century One of Turbulent Transition and Volatility (S. Mahmud Ali) from the East Asia Forum [of Australia]
"International security literature has developed a new sub-genre focusing on the upcoming ‘Asian Century’. Anxiety is rooted in fears of what a truly powerful China could demand of the system as it asserts its interests and its capacity for action. If China becomes as powerful as hegemonic actors such as the US and Britain were in the past, the familiar Euro–Atlantic systemic core will eventually become unrecognisable."
Bosnia's Lesson: When American Intervention Works (Partly) (David Rohde) from the Atlantic
"Contrasting the U.S. experiences in the wars here, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan."
A Velvet Fist in Serbia (Emma Wiliams) from Intelligent Life Magazine
"Profile of Srdja Popovic, who was a member of Otpor (Resistance), the nonviolent group that helped topple Serbia’s dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, in 2000. He's since formed an NGO called Canvas, which advises rebels in 40 countries on how to use the tools of nonviolent struggle: ..."
Occupy the Regulatory System! Taking on Wall Street from the Inside (Suzy Khimm) from the Washington Post
"As the more visible signs of Occupy Wall Street fade, a minority of wonks has doubled down on policy work behind the scenes, wading deep into federal regulations and banking practices."
The Death Penalty: The Myth of Deterrence from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"Supporters of the death penalty claim that it deters potential murderers, but there is no research to show that, scholars now say."
More and more I am coming to the view that support for the death penalty has nothing to do with deterrence or any other reason based on rational assessment. Support is much more id driven: severe punishment for the sake of severe punishment in the face of what many see as a culture of no-accountability and permissiveness. For supporters, it becomes a nice substitute issue for those who also silently support corporal punishment of children, bullying, police and gun intimidation of suspect groups, and the use of death threats and hate speech as valid forms of free speech. No surprise, these are also often the same people who view Rush Limbau's show as just "entertainment."
The EPA’s Most Important Decision this Year Could be Over... Vegetable Oil? from the Washington Post
"Currently, there’s a fierce battle in the United States over whether the Environmental Protection Agency should allow more diesel made from palm oil to be used by U.S. refineries. Agribusiness groups are lobbying for its use. Environmentalists are trying to block it — with some saying this could be the EPA’s most important climate-change decision of the year."
A Teacher, a Student and a 39-year-long Lesson in Forgiveness (Tom Hallman) from the Oregonian
"When he was 12 years old, the boy did something he only later realized probably hurt his seventh-grade teacher. It was minor -- he was, after all, a kid -- but in time, when he was older and wiser, he wanted to find this teacher and apologize. "
Fighting Back from the New Republic
"Domestic violence homicides in Maryland have dropped by 40 percent since 2007—and its success is attributed to a simple new approach to helping victims: ..."
With Joe Biden’s Speech, The Democrats Finally Man Up on Foreign Policy (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Democrats are finally sounding confident on foreign policy—thanks to Joe Biden’s muscular speech."
Let’s Just Say It: The Republicans are the Problem (Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein) from the Washington Post
Note: Ornstein is no left-wing hack. He is a decades-long premier right-of-center observer of congress.
"We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party."
A Faith-based Lesson for Paul Ryan (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"A week after Ryan’s boast, the bishops sent letters to Congress saying that the Ryan budget, passed by the House, “fails to meet” the moral criteria of the Church, namely its view that any budget should help “the least of these” as the Christian Bible requires: the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the jobless. ... To their credit, Catholic leaders were not about to let Ryan claim to be serving God when in fact he was serving mammon."
The entire column is worth reading. As regular readers of this blog know, I have been pretty critical of the bishops -- but it is about time SOME Christian leaders with national stature started calling out the Republicans and conservatives on this!
The Next Battle in the War Over Women (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"It’s official: Senate Democrats will soon hold a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a senior Democratic Senate aide confirms to me. “This vote is going to happen,” the aide says. The vote means this will likely be the next major battle in the war over women, and it could put Mitt Romney in a delicate political spot."
Romney’s Advice To Students: Borrow Money From Your Parents (Annie-Rose Strasser) from Think Progress
"If you’re young and you want to start your own business, Mitt Romney’s has some advice from you: Borrow money from your parents. At a “lecture” for students at Otterbein University in Ohio today, Mitt Romney told students that, his friend, Jimmy John, started a business by borrowing $20,000 from his parents at a low interest rate. Romney suggested anyone in the audience could do the same:.."
Breathtaking. Can this man truly be THIS disconnected?
Given this missive above, the following headline is no surprise:
Crowd-Working 101: Romney Struggles To Hold College Students’ Attention from Talking Points Memo
"The volume levels at the colleges President Obama spoke at this week as part of his campaign to keep student loan rates down hovered somewhere between “NBA playoff game” and “supersonic jet.” Mitt Romney’s address Friday at Otterbein University was not quite there yet. Mostly sticking to his go-to stump topics, Romney delivered a sleepy address to students at the Ohio school, some of whom seemed to struggle to stay awake. Sometimes it was a losing struggle."
Tucker Carlson’s Downward Spiral (Alex Pareene) from Salon
"Once a promising young magazine writer, the bow-tied Daily Caller pundit has come to epitomize right-wing hackdom."
Another right-wing pundit biting the dust ... are we seeing a trend yet?
Andrew Young Lashes Out at Edwards's Defense Attorney During Cross Examination (Diane Dimond) from the Daily Beast
"After five days of grueling testimony, ex-staffer Andrew Young, until now quiet and compliant, struck back on Friday during cross examination. Diane Dimond reports from the courtroom."
BIZARRE SEX & CULTURE NUGGET!!
Egypt to Bring in Law Allowing Man to Have Sex with Dead Wife from the Hindustan Times [of India in English]
Boy -- this has been the week for strange stories about sex and culture coming out of the Middle East. Is this for real? I read the whole thing and I'm still not sure.
"Egypt’s new Islamist-dominated parliament is preparing to introduce a controversial law that would allow husbands to have sex with their deceased wives up to six hours after death. Known as the "farewell Intercourse" law, the measure is being championed as part of a raft of reforms introduced by the parliament that will also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 for girls."
1 comment:
nice pics
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