Author: david

Dick Cheney: Some in our own country claim retreat from Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone. ———————————————— DKo: Some in our own country claim conquest of Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the Bush Administration and get them to leave the rest of the world alone.…

For those of a certain age. Republicans’ comments may hurt at polls, AP “One Republican senator [Burns, MT], described his house painter as a ‘little Guatemalan man.’ Another [Allen, VA], called an Indian man a ‘macaca,’ a type of monkey.” “[T]he comments by Burns and Allen have garnered heavy attention as their party is trying…

My Google news alerts have whispered to me that two Red Herrings are diverting the focus of media coverage these days. Since I seem to have been programmed from youth to pass on what I think I’ve learned, here’s my guesswork: Iran Sanctions. The solidity of the six-nation alliance confronting Iran is thought to rest…

There has been speculation* that somewhere in the national security establishment there is an official known as The Suspector. When someone wants to wiretap conversations with an individual, they bring that person’s name to The Suspector, and ask, “Do you suspect this person of having terrorist connections?” The Suspector says, “Yes.” (After all, you are…

“With hard-liners riding high in Tehran, there’s little chance of changing minds there. But the White House should still try, offering security guarantees in exchange for Iran’s giving up technology that could feed a nuclear weapons program.” NYT Editorial, “Still Spinning,” 8/14/06 Well, will the White House “still try, offering security guarantees”? Is the White…

In the aftermath of the foiled terror plot in the UK, it seems as if the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have suddenly lost their bearings. For a few months this year, they were relentlessly focused on the keys to a safe America, but now they are all over the map. Americans want to know…

It is past time to take a good hard look at the West Bank Settlers, who have led Israeli politics around by the nose now for decades, as if Israel’s right to exist were one and the same with their right to keep their settlements! I believe that peace with the Palestinians has long been…

This is a year old; I came across it in a search. But it’s worth noting. It ought to discomfit the apologists of Dickensian predation. (Old New-Left? Me?) How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart July 17, 2005 NYT “But not everyone is happy with Costco’s business strategy. Some Wall Street analysts assert that Mr. Sinegal is…

[I seem to be working my way back into rambling Philosophy mode here.] General Abizaid said: “So the question is, am I optimistic whether or not Iraqi forces, with our support, with the backing of the Iraqi government, can prevent the slide to civil war? My answer is yes, I’m optimistic that that slide can…

We have been told over and over again the last few years that “The Next Six Months” will be decisive for our Iraq invasion to succeed. Doesn’t that mean at some point that the last six months already were decisive?

The Medicare people were proud when the AARP reported last January that “for many Americans, Medicare drug plans…can cost less than buying the same drugs across the border [DKo: which is forbidden under the Medicare coverage].” Those results have held up since then. Was this something to be proud of? Suppose you asked whether an…

In the post below, I said, ” So, I would appreciate hearing from those ‘of a certain age’: Did you learn about this at the time. Or only later? Or never, until now?” Thanks for the replies! “I remember it happening and have heard many reports since, but I was in the Army for much…

…about these student killings at the time? Mexico Charges Ex-President in ’68 Massacre, AP, 7/1/06 “Echeverria was interior secretary, a powerful position overseeing domestic security, when Mexican troops ambushed mostly peaceful student protests at Mexico City’s Tlatelolco Plaza on Oct. 2, 1968, just before the capital hosted the Olympics. Officially, 25 people were killed, though…

NYT “[In 2005] Amir Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and fiery advocate on malaria…testified that the American agency, the United States Agency for International Development, was too cozy with ‘the foreign aid industrial complex.’ “Only 1 percent of the agency’s 2004 malaria budget went for medicines, 1 percent for insecticides and…

President Bush has been basking in the unanimity he fashioned concerning Iran among the “Five plus One” countries: the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council (US, UK, France, Russia, and China) plus Germany. With this diplomatic triumph, Bush is shedding his image of “My way or the highway” unilateralism. But only at the cost…

In case you missed it… In 2003, U.S. Spurned Iran’s Offer of Dialogue–Some Officials Lament Lost Opportunity By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, June 18, 2006; Page A16 Just after the lightning takeover of Baghdad by U.S. forces three years ago, an unusual two-page document spewed out of a fax machine at the…

I’ve been following the thread of the story of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, and it seriously looks as if in late 2007 that city is going to move Iraq into a new, bloodier, level of warfare: pitched battle for territory, with full-scale armies on the attack. It is hard to believe, even for me:…

NYT, 5/29/06 “To avert sanctions, Iran has hinted at readiness to limit the number of centrifuge machines producing enriched uranium…. “Diplomats…say that Iranian engineers stopped pouring a raw form of uranium, called UF6, into arrays of centrifuges after just 12 days….the Iranians kept the empty centrifuges spinning, as is standard practice because slowing the delicate…

In case you missed mention of it, Bob Dylan is DJ on a weekly “Theme Time Radio Hour” on satellite radio. This was his intro to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” on the show with a Mother’s Day theme. (II’ll put in some line breaks.) Here’s LL Cool J Don’t call it…