Even Bitterlemons couldn't make lemonade

    By Flavius on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 5:00pm |

    .out of Obama's Middle East initiative .

    Saree Makdisi is a professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA. wrote, among other books, “Palestine Inside Out: An everyday Occupation

    Brad Delong's tour of the horizon.

    By Flavius on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 10:16am |

     

     This is a bad time to be an economist. If you were fresh from the womb and had no past opinions to defend……………………………… it might be a fine time to be an economist……………………………….. But for the rest of us--looking back at our……… pronouncements of the past 15 years  it is a bad time to be economist? 

    Four years ago we economists were writing learned papers about…………………. how ……….(we) had finally learned…..to control…if not completely eliminate the business cycle 

    Where the democratic party went wrong in 2009 and why Obama could still pay the price for their lack of vision in 2012.

    By jasonmillerdc on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 7:11am |

    I like the president.  Even after two years of being pushed around by a democratic party long broken by special interests of all stripes and a republican party whose right flank has chewed away what little logic remained after eight years of Bush enriching the richest among us. 

    cmaukonen's picture

    Paul Craig Roberts Interviev

    By cmaukonen on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:07am |

    I am not fond of Max Keiser as an interviewer but this interview with Dr. Robers is quite good.

    Part One.

    Part Two

    TimDanahey's picture

    The U.S. Should Privatize and Subsidize Torture

    By TimDanahey on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 6:02pm |

    As the U.S. Congress debates a four-year extension of the Patriot Act and political figures such as Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Peter King (R-NY) clamor to take credit for the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques (torture) in the finding and killing of Osama bin Laden, perhaps this is a good opportunity for the United States to examine its torture options.

    Watt Childress's picture

    Waddling toward Jerusalem

    By Watt Childress on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 5:02pm |

    Sacrifice is a perennial theme for me. In a recent column I discussed two kinds of sacrifice. One involves the waiver of some personal gratification, a selfless gift that contributes to creation. The other is a selfish taking of life, a killing made for private gain.

    FurudeRikaChama's picture

    Fall of cartoons in America:Why it's bad

    By FurudeRikaChama on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 4:22pm |

    Face it. Most of the TV airing on networks sucks right now. With all the shows like "Survivor", "Jersey Shore", and other trash, it has been going downhill. So many good channels that I liked have gone bad.

    There are two I'd like to discuss: Cartoon Network, and Toon Disney. Cartoon Network was established in the '90's by Ted Turner, and was the first network to show all cartoons. The shows ranged from Scooby-Doo to Cow and Chicken and to anime.

    cmaukonen's picture

    Rapture finally arrives !

    By cmaukonen on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 11:47pm |

    Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press. FLASH !!... Magnitude 3.6 earth quake hits San Francisco !! No damage done.

    It is alleged that the earthquake 8 miles north of Berkeley. The rumers that it may have been caused by a bus load of Christians crashing head long into Claremont Hotel while on their way to the rapture have been denied.

    Richard Day's picture

    LINGUISTICS

    By Richard Day on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 10:34pm |

     

    SAM JOHNSON

     

    I figured it out!

    It is language.

    Barth's picture

    Us and Them

    By Barth on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 2:51pm |

    You can feel it. The tide is turning. Heads are over the sand, and what they see is a political party that votes to continue subsidies to oil companies and rails against the concept of affordable health insurance for all. (They call it "Obamacare" which says more than its abject rudeness suggests.

    Yes to Obama on Israel

    By Flavius on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 2:23pm |

    It boiled down to the inevitable  but innocuous statement that we don't support the IDF being stationed on the Jordan

    Inevitable because endorsing  that position would have been= to publically washing our hands of the situation. Which was/is  politically , and geopolitically, unacceptable: Jewish American voters don't want us to do that,The Saudis ,ditto. Ergo we won't.

    cmaukonen's picture

    Lest we forget - Fukushima Nuclear Plant maybe in worse shape that the media lets on

    By cmaukonen on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 10:08pm |

    Here are a few reasons why. http://www.fairewinds.com/ and

    The situation at the Fukushima plant is currently out of control, says Professor Christopher Busby from the European Committee on Radiation Risks, who gave RT his insight into the recent developments in Japan.

    stillidealistic's picture

    Sometimes The Voice of Truth Makes Me Want To Vomit

    By stillidealistic on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 5:33pm |

    I hadn't planned to turn this into a post, but it fell off the front "news" section quickly, and I think it is worth more discussion. My apologies to those who commented in the news section. Please feel free to move your comments over here, should you choose to.

    The original article "The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Balistic" was written by Chris Hedges, detailing the feelings of betrayal felt by Cornel West towards the President, and can be read here.

    FurudeRikaChama's picture

    Golden Girls

    By FurudeRikaChama on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 4:24pm |

    This show is one of the classic comedies of the millenium. Enjoy.

    A: Winston, James, Harold & Parkin

    By Peter Schwartz on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 3:46pm |

    Q: How much difference does a name make in the way your life turns out?

    Richard Day's picture

    NEWT THE STAND-UP COMEDIAN!

    By Richard Day on Thu, 05/19/2011 - 10:40pm |

    I promised Q to follow up with a reading of the 1866 statute that is now being used to prosecute/attack/bring to justice the five pigs who destroyed our economy along with the help of hundreds of other pigs who destroy our economy every goddamn day.

    cmaukonen's picture

    Support the war or lose your job.

    By cmaukonen on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 10:32pm |

    I have blogged about this many times. Mostly it gets ignored. But the truth is that ever since WWII a large part of our economy depends on defense contractors and defense spending. Socialism at it's best. So it's no surprise to me that David Swanson says so too.

    cmaukonen's picture

    Ritual Abuse or Why some people like torture

    By cmaukonen on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 7:54pm |



    "Speak roughly to you little boy and beat him when he sneezes. He only does it to annoy because he knows it teases." - Louis Carol

    acanuck's picture

    Canada's Conservatives craft a cabinet

    By acanuck on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 6:32pm |

    Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, newly re-elected and with his party finally holding a majority of seats in Parliament, announced his new cabinet today. Underlying message: “What were all you voters so scared of?”

    we are stardust's picture

    Obama’s ME Speech Live: Comments? [Updated]

    By we are stardust on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 12:00pm |

                                                (from Wikimedia.com)

    Tomorrow night, May 19 (time not yet announced), the President will lay out his administration’s role in the Middle East in an attempt to show that it intends to act as a facilitator, not a meddler, and a few other goodies according to his press secretary and aides.

    The Hill says:

    “The White House is also drawing a great deal of attention to the speech. Carney said Tuesday that the President will make news with the speech with "some specific new ideas about U.S. policy towards the region."

    "I can say safely the president will make news on Thursday when he gives this speech," Carney said.

    To that end, Carney said Obama will talk specifically "about ways that we can best support that positive change ... while focusing on our core principles: nonviolence, support for human rights and support for political and economic reform.” (my bolds throughout)

    (Sounds as though the White House really wants attention drawn to the speech.)

    The Mortgage Crisis same old , same old

    By Flavius on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 9:37am |

    This was started as a comment to Richard Day's excellent blog but I've decided to post it separately

    Several  comments ,the first specific to this situation. The others  I've made here repeatedly. 

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