The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Tax Breaks vs. Budget Cuts

    By Verified Atheist on Fri, 03/25/2011 - 9:41am |

    This is just too good not to share:

    Tax breaks vs. budget breaks

    I welcome any and all devil's advocates (or other complaints), but find the general gist of this to be on the nose. The source of this infographic is the Center for American Progress.

    At least Juan Cole thinks

    By Flavius on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 10:00pm |

    Obama got it right in Libya.

    As referenced by artappraiser ,in his blog today he expands on these items (condensed and with slight revisions -for the exact text follow the link)

    o The participation of the Muslim world in the United Nations no-fly zone over Libya was secured and is lasting.

    o Turkey, , has agreed to use its navy to help enforce the boycott 

    o Qaddafi’s air force  effectively “no longer exists.” :

    cmaukonen's picture

    When Science and technology were not considered magic.

    By cmaukonen on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 8:27pm |

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

    I would guess to a large portion of out society our current technology would seem like magic. You press a button and your car starts right up. No muss no fuss. Same for your television. Cell phones let you talk to whoever where ever and nearly everything has a digital and/or text screen read out.

    coatesd's picture

    Reframing the Deficit Debate

    By coatesd on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 12:34pm |

                 The dominant discourse in national American politics these days is a discourse on deficits. The leadership of the Republican Party, emboldened by their mid-term capture of the House, regularly informs us that “we are broke, and that we need to do something about it.”  By “we,” they invariably mean the federal government. By ‘broke,” they mean the scale of borrowing currently necessary to balance the federal government’s books.

    Elusive Trope's picture

    When is War Not a War?

    By Elusive Trope on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 8:54pm |

    Libya has really brought a lot issues to the forefront lately.  One of those is what is the definition of war.  After skimming the blogosphere, one can from US point of view, say that war is anytime that tomahawk missles and some jets drop some bombs is an act of war. 

    In other words, war is any act of overt act of a government's military against another country.

    There is a certain logic to this.

    jollyroger's picture

    Fuck Congress; Armed force v. G. ?, Security Council says OK. De facto step towards World Government?

    By jollyroger on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 7:26pm |

    Without benefit of congressional cover, Obama contributes our share of coercive might in service of the collectively declared "responsibility to protect" .

    He is praised as the anti-Bush, for being less bellicose than a Frenchman, and more successful in corraling a viable Security Council Resolution.( Number 1973)  than a brit.

     

    Any questions

    By Flavius on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 8:01am |

    Brad Delong today is using his blog to lecture his students . Subject: how we got into this current recession , how to get out of it and why some sensible people are making dumb proposals that we should reject.

    You could read it , today's installment takes about ten minutes. But here's what seems to be the key section 

    It is true that the root problem was a derangement in the subprime mortgage market resulting from irrational exuberance which then triggered a derangement in financial markets more generally due to overleverage and misregulation.

    Anti-war liberals shoot us in the foot.

    By kgb999 on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 8:44pm |

    So, Obama went to war. Well. Sort of. Obama launched a bunch of missiles against Libya and is trying to get out of it as quickly as possible. Or at least that's the "let's not call it war" way of presenting it. Past protests of Bush and his followers not withstanding, launching missiles on an army is war. So Obama went to war.

    Somewhat predictably, those who are always against war no matter what instinctively moved to condemn American hegemony (as did those who are against America doing pretty much anything no matter what). Some of the criticism is valid in my opinion. Some of the argument against action, notsomuch.

    we are stardust's picture

    It Sucks to be a Protestor in Bahrain or: the MOTU Have Decided Your Fates

    By we are stardust on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 2:38pm |

     

    Ethan Bonner of the (soon to be paywalled) NYT has penned a piece called "Crackdown Was Only Option, Bahrain Sunnis Say".  And the meme is apparently being spread all over the media.  It goes like this:

    Some of us were kinda/sorta with the protesters early on, but now they are threatening us!  Asking for too much!  Banking stability is what matters most, and Bankers are worried about keeping Bahrain stable, meaning the Gulf Coast Council is worried at keeping a Sunni hegemony for their members, all of whom have now sent troops to Bahrain to help quell rebellion.

    What was once not altogether a Shiite rebellion may BE one now, given that regional Sunnis have joined the fight.  Good God. And of course, the Masters of the Universe give the US a pass, as the Fifth Fleet is there, and we ain't gonna do anything to upset the Saudis or challenge them past Obama and Clinton urging 'maximum restraint' and (assumedly) not firing on peaceful protesters.

    cmaukonen's picture

    The Odyssey Dawn top 10

    By cmaukonen on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:28pm |

    Oh this is just too good to keep for myself. Pepe Escobar writing in The Asia Times gives us the top ten list for this paticular action.

    Here's the Guardian Editorial

    By Flavius on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 11:44pm |

    Somehow it seems like cheating to use a blog just to provide a link. But in this case it seems justified.

     

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/editorial-libya-un-a...

     

    stillidealistic's picture

    Public Service

    By stillidealistic on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 7:01pm |

    Maybe in light of the uproar over the pay/retirement of public servants, we should institute a nationwide policy of ALL public servants being paid minimum wage, including ALL elected officials. Since the jobs they perform are so easy and unimportant. Imagine the money that could be saved!

    It is interesting to me that during the high times, no one wants these jobs. Many agencies have problems finding qualified applicants willing to work for the pay. But things get a little tough, and all of a sudden, they are gold-plated jobs, and the people who hold them are greedy scum suckers.

    we are stardust's picture

    Saudi Pilots to Train in Idaho; Saudis Help Crush Protests in Bahrain

    By we are stardust on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 9:57am |

                                  

    Last December it was quietly announced by the US Air force that part of the $60 billion arms deal the Obama administration had secured with the Saudis included the training of pilots and flight crews for the 84 new F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets included in the package.  The planes can reach speeds of Mach II and can pack missiles, bombs and 20mm cannons.  They are capable of air-to-air or air-to-ground combat.

    The deal has not been finalized, but it has been announced that the pilots will be trained at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.  The first pilots are due to arrive in 2013, and training is schedule to run from 2014 to 2019 with the possibilities of a program extention.

    The UK's HEALTH SYSTEM WORKS

    By Flavius on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 10:25pm |

    contrary to what you might think based on much of the US media. A survey reported in this weekend's Observer  shows that 64% of the British public are very satisfied with their health system. Which happens to be the highest result it has ever achieved on such surveys.

    As the debate -shouting match -over the  Affordable Care Act (ACA )heats up it might be useful to remember that. Of course it's open to the rebuttal  that it measures popularity rather than performance.

    But that, in fact ,  is even better.

    Libya Operation "Odyssey Dawn" news & analysis

    By artappraiser on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 4:40pm |

    Going to use this thread to post information on topic in comments rather than clog up the "In the News" section with multiple posts. And others are welcome to contribute if they'd like.

    First item from Al Jazeera's Libya Live Blog:

    Barth's picture

    Eating Cake

    By Barth on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 1:35pm |

    For those who are neither economists nor actors who play them on tv, it is not as easy as it is for Paul Krugman. With a Nobel under his belt, his Princeton and New York Times credentials intact, and maybe with an eye to not having to run naked through the streets, he tells us he has

    Richard Day's picture

    International Business Machines!

    By Richard Day on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 5:02am |
    IBM logo history
    Logo Years
    Original IBM Logo.png 1924–1946
    Older IBM Logo 2.png 1947–1956
    Old IBM Logo.png 1956–1972
    IBM logo.svg 1972–present

     

    Did you know this computer giant can trace its roots back to the 1880’s? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM

    I did not.

    There were tabulating machines in those days. Their purpose?

    Stopwatch the workers so that the greedy owners could squeeze all the blood, sweat and tears from its workers down to the last minute.

    Help the corporate accountants keep track of debits and credits.

    cmaukonen's picture

    Deja Vu all over again

    By cmaukonen on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 10:45pm |

    Here is a little history of this countries finances and financiers. You might find it rather familiar.

    Not all the middle east is pleased

    By Flavius on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 4:42pm |

    by the UN decision on Libya. Turkey's bitter opposition has effectively side lined NATO.

    See Juan Cole today in particular comment from Howard Eissenstat 

     

     

    http://www.juancole.com

    we are stardust's picture

    Visions of Oppenheimer’s Afterlife

    By we are stardust on Fri, 03/18/2011 - 11:09am |

                       (by permission of Anthony Freda, www.anthonyfreda.com)

     

    From this plane in The Afterlife it’s impossible for me to know where my essence hovers; whether it is hell or heaven…or just an in-between place I have created from my imagination.  I sense, more than see the local Universe; the tug of force from black holes almost causes a sensation at the back of my head…or what might have been my head.  The sounds that emanate from stars almost unimaginable distances away resonate inside me, providing diversion at times from the over-arching images that dwell within me like live beings.

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