Thursday, September 23, 2010

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. - Samuel Butler


Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
- Samuel Butler

Monday, September 20, 2010

Obama to Tie GOP to Tea Party?




Obama to Tie GOP to Tea Party?
Is President Obama finally going to bring some fire to the midterm elections? White House political advisers are considering running national ads that would tie Republicans to the Tea Party movement, warning unenthusiastic Democratic voters that putting the GOP back in power this fall would be dangerous. But the Democratic campaign committees in the House and Senate are opposed to the move because it would further nationalize the election, something they want to avoid in a time of high unemployment and low presidential popularity. Supporters of the ad buy, which would likely air on cable TV, say it would redefine the debate, showing how high the stakes are with the nomination of very conservative Tea Party candidates. The White House is denying the Times story; but the Times is standing by it.
Read it at The New York Times

Thursday, September 9, 2010

we kill we jail and then we claim to be free...its called doublespeak

He's poor, mentally disabled, and his newbie lawyer botched his sentencing. But at 6 p.m. EST today, this convicted killer will be executed. Brendan Kirby on death row's special-needs inmate.

death in alabama
Winston sank his arms to his sides and slowly refilled his lungs with air. His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them… - (Orwell, New American Library, 1981, p35)
jail them hang them tell them they are free

Monday, September 6, 2010

Was Sending Summers to China a Mistake? President Obama has just sent National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to China for the second time





Was Sending Summers to China a Mistake?

President Obama has just sent National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to China for the second time this year to get relations with China back on track. But just like the earlier mission, this one is a mistake that makes the U.S. look weaker, argues The Daily Beast's Gordon G. Chang. There will be claims of progress, of course, but we're unlikely to see any real forward movement in the core issues to be discussed: China's undervaluing of its currency by as much as 40 percent and its increasingly close ties to Iran, not to mention the "three Ts" of Taiwan, Tibet, and trade. The countries' goals are irreconcilable and leaders refuse to have honest talks, even in private. And the U.S. is pursuing counterproductive tactics, criticizing China's behavior and then rewarding it with official visits. The Chinese will see Summers' trip as yet another American Apology Tour, writes Chang.

Read it at The Daily Beast
oh baby just you shut your mouth

Sunday, September 5, 2010

just how insane is the tea party?

Democrats Plan Political Triage to Retain House

WASHINGTON — As Democrats brace for a November wave that threatens their control of the House, party leaders are preparing a brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a slim grip on the majority.


In the next two weeks, Democratic leaders will review new polls and other data that show whether vulnerable incumbents have a path to victory. If not, the party is poised to redirect money to concentrate on trying to protect up to two dozen lawmakers who appear to be in the strongest position to fend off their challengers.
NYT

Friday, September 3, 2010

'Mexploitation' Invades the Movies

'Mexploitation' Invades the Movies

Each week, The Daily Beast scours the cultural landscape to choose three top picks. This week, Machete bloodies up the box office, Archie Comics gets its first gay character, and Smigly is the new cartoon poster boy for the recession.

Summer wouldn't be complete without a gratuitous bloodfest—and Machete, by Grindhouse director Robert Rodriguez, certainly fits the bill. Danny Trejo jumps in the titular role as an undocumented immigrant caught between Mexican drug lords who are after him in the south and American politicians who want to deport him in the north. Machete's a "baaad-assss," as Trejo calls him, an ex-Mexican federale who goes on a killing spree in this sort-of satire that touches on the recent immigration crisis, complete with Robert De Niro as an overeager politician who calls immigration "an overt act of terrorism." The Daily Beast's Bryan Curtis writes that director Robert Rodriguez "takes America's panic over its southern border—the jitters that historian Ricardo Romo once called a 'Brown Scare'—and runs wild with it." It's racking up good reviews across the board and may just be the first film ever to subtly combine politics and AK-47s.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

de ja vu

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!





Oil Sheen Spreading From Rig Explosion

We hope the judge who overturned President Obama's moratorium on offshore drilling feels pretty bad: A mile-long oil sheen is spreading from the oil platform that exploded off the Louisiana coast earlier on Thursday, according to the Coast Guard. It's unclear whether the sheen is from fuel that was on the platform or from a leaking oil well undersea. The Associated Press says it was not currently producing, meaning that technically it was a "platform," not a rig. One person was injured when the platform, which is owned by Mariner Energy, exploded 100 miles off the Louisiana coast. It's in shallow water—340 feet, as opposed to the 5,000-foot deep Deepwater Horizon well.

Read it at Associated Press
what the heck is a sheen?

The Peace Talks Charade Despite promising a fresh start in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,



The Peace Talks Charade

Despite promising a fresh start in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, President Obama has set the process back to where it was three years ago under President George W. Bush, argues The Daily Beast's Reza Aslan. Certainly, Obama hasn't lost his confidence, promising to settle all the toughest issues that have plagued leaders for decades, such as East Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees' "right of return," and the final borders of a Palestinian state. With his self-imposed one-year deadline, Obama thinks he can do it with one hand tied behind his back. "I recognize that those of us in the media who want peace for Israel and dignity for Palestine are supposed to gush enthusiasm and feign optimism every time a U.S. president gathers the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together in the same room," Aslan writes. "But it's hard to be optimistic when we have been using the same playbook for decades and have not come one inch closer to a peaceful resolution."

Read it at The Daily Beast

in other related stories secret agent man

peace talks