It is a well-known syndrome in alcoholic and/or abusive families that the child runs to the abusive parent, and makes excuses for him or her. In fact there are a whole set of syndromes afflicting the poor adults who lived through that horror as children. The fawning interviews attending the opening of the George W. […]
Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssef, under threat of Jail (Jon Stewart Interview)
Jon Stewart interviews Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef on being threatened with jail for being funny about the president, and various Egyptian government conspiracy theories. And insulting the state of Pakistan. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Bassem Youssef www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Indecision Political Humor The Daily Show […]
Jesus and Muhammad and the Question of the State
I’ve always liked Andrew Sullivan even when I disagree with him. I’m going to disagree with him, or more specifically Alexis de Tocqueville and one of his readers who quotes him: “Muhammad brought down from heaven and put into the Koran not religious doctrines only, but political maxims, criminal and civil laws, and scientific theories. […]
Israeli Gen. Charges Syria Chem Weapons Use: Is Israel Allying with Sunnis to overthrow Alawites, cut off Iran?
The official stance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel toward the Syrian civil war has been one of announced “neutrality.” Netanyahu’s position contrasts with that of his political ally, Avigdor Lieberman, an East Bloc Neoconservative who has been arguing for supporting the rebels. There are some signs, however, that Israel may be rethinking its […]
America’s Murder Inc. Abroad: Engelhardt on Scahill’s Latest
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: Chalmers Johnson’s book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire was published in March 2000 — and just about no one noticed. Until then, blowback had been an obscure term of CIA tradecraft, which Johnson defined as “the unintended consequences of policies that were kept secret from the American people.” In […]
Terrorism and the other Religions
Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States. As for political violence, people of Christian heritage in the twentieth century polished off tens of millions of people […]
If you Love the Earth on Earth Day, Close a Coal Plant
Dirty coal is killing us and killing the earth. Here is a short documentary. Coal plants produce a lion’s share of carbon dioxide poisoning of the atmosphere, causing rapid global warming. In the case of the US, they are responsible for fully 40% of our CO2 emissions. The single most important thing you can do […]
For Fun: M.C. Escher Drawings brought to Life via 3-D Printer by Israeli Professor
Professor Gershon Elber of Technion Israel Institute of Technology uses the university’s Objet 3-D printer to bring into reality the absurdist architecture of M. C. Escher :
Did the Boston Bombing Hurt the Syrian Revolution? Obama & Putin Confer as Rebels Allege Regime Massacre
The phone call between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Boston Marathon bombers were identified as Chechens, in which Obama thanked Putin for Russia’s cooperation on counter-terrorism and promised more such collaboration, was probably the most cordial exchange the two countries have had for some time. The thaw was occurring as Syrian […]
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