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After the Games, Tibet

Posted by Jeff from New York Times

The Chinese leadership and the Tibetan government in exile have delicately discussed a possible visit by the Dalai Lama to China, nominally to commemorate the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan Province in May. That would be the first meeting between the Dalai Lama and Chinese leaders in more than 50 years and would give enormous impetus to resolving the Tibet question.

40 votes | Post comment »

Will Russia get away with it?

Posted by Jeff from Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Not that I ever agree with Bill Kristol - but I am glad he highlighted what I saw as one of the most pathetic aspects of Bush's Russia diplomacy failures. Georgia is the Republic with the third highest number of troops in Iraq - after Britain (2,000). So, while they are fighting Bush's war in Iraq, they lack 2,000 men at home to defend themselves against dictator Putin. Bush has failed to address Russia's democratic collapse throughout his entire term. It's one of his greatest failures.

40 votes | 4 comments

Technology | Hi-tech criminals target Twitter

Posted by Newshogg from BBC News

It was only a matter of time before this happened. Puts the whole issue of 'who do we trust' back in the frame (if it ever left). But will make the Twitterati sit up and think?

20 votes | Post comment »

The Obama candidacy and the new consensus on Afghanistan

Posted by Sandyenglish from

The statements made by Barack Obama during his visit to Afghanistan over the weekend verify that his campaign for president is the mouthpiece for a significant section of the American ruling elite that is insisting on a shift in US policy in the Middle East and Central Asia. Far from proposing any retreat from militarism, Obama is arguing for a faster drawdown of troop numbers in Iraq and a reduction in tensions with Iran, only in order to facilitate a major escalation of US military operations in Afghanistan, potentially extending them into Pakistan.

25 votes | Post comment »

Thomas Friedman: 9/11 and 4/11

Posted by Jeff from New York Times

What doesn't the Bush crowd get? It's this: We don't have a "gasoline price problem." We have an addiction problem. We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels, and this addiction is driving a whole set of toxic trends that are harming our nation and world in many different ways. It is intensifying global warming, creating runaway global demand for oil and gas, weakening our currency by shifting huge amounts of dollars abroad to pay for oil imports, widening "energy poverty" across Africa, destroying plants and animals at record rates and fostering ever-stronger petro-dictatorships in Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

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Jesse Jackson was the one 'talking down'

Posted by Shemuses from Guardian UK

Jesse Jackson's off-air remarks reveal an old faultline over race and responsibility among African Americans. The comments made by

- uttered off-air before the start of an interview on Fox News - reveal a

that exists amongst black leaders who attempt to find solutions for resolving social problems within the African-American community.

41 votes | Post comment »

Farewell to Jesse Helms, a provincial redneck. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Posted by Damianmann from Slate

Jesse Helms' stranglehold on U.S. foreign policy was a national embarrassment.

25 votes | Post comment »

Reminder: There’s No Actual Office for “President of the Left”

Posted by Shemuses from

Apparently some Obama supporters are shocked and appalled to discover that now that he's out of the primaries, their man is running to be the President of all the people in the United States, not just the people in the United States who have the "Yes We Can" YouTube video bookmarked on their Web browser. Well, you know: Surprise, people. For example, Obama's supporting an extension, with significant caveats, of some of the faith-oriented policies started by Bush, has gotten a lot of folks spun up. But from where I stand it makes perfect sense.

65 votes | Post comment »

Wonkette: The D.C. Gossip » Blog Archive » Jesse Helms Finally Dead

Posted by Damianmann from Wonkette

We interrupt your Fourth of July with some Breaking News: Jesse Helms was apparently still alive, and now he's dead, hooray! He was a sour troll and a bigot, and it's a testament to every rotten thing about this country that for a quarter century, he was one of the most powerful people in American politics.

25 votes | 1 comment

Lessons from North Korea for Middle East

Posted by Damianmann from Arab News

Our world would be so dull without its delicious ironies and ever fascinating double standards. Who could have ever thought that having condemned North Korea as part of the "Axis of evil" - the other two being Iran and Iraq of course - in September 2001, Bush would rush his top diplomats to welcome "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il to the fold of civilized world.

25 votes | Post comment »

Op-Ed Columnist - ‘It’s Over, Lady!’ - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Posted by Damianmann from New York Times

Just as Hillary was testing out the unfamiliar familiarity "Barack and me" Friday and talking about "his grace and his grit," Carmella began loudly booing and waving her sign. "We want Hillary!" screamed the 57-year-old retired ad saleswoman and Clinton delegate. "It's over, lady!" yelled some Obama supporters a few yards away.

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Real Journalists Don't Make $5 Million a Year | Media and Technology | AlterNet

Posted by Damianmann from Alternet

Unlike the media's Brokaws and Blitzers, real journalists don't have cozy relationships with the powerful. Real journalists are feared.

65 votes | 1 comment