Hijacking the Holidays

During the handful of days each year traditionally set aside for such purpose many of us celebrate, and rightly so. Despite the never ending doom and gloom spewed by our news media there are many more reasons to be thankful for being alive here and now than not. Those of us who recognize the benefits […]

Murtha’s Bluff

IWCRRSIRMWMDNBHTSTMDRWWNHBVAI Or, for non-acronym fans, "In Which Congress Rejects a Resolution Substantively Identical to Rep. Murtha’s, which Murtha Disowned as Not Being His, Then Spent 30 Minutes Defending the Resolution Which Was Not His Before Voting Against It." Apparently, WordPress doesn’t allow titles that are that long. Nonetheless, we shall not split hairs over such […]

Situation Normal All Franced Up

The aftermathNov 17th 2005 | PARISFrom The Economist print edition ONE measure of the ambient violence is that the French government this week welcomed the burning of 215 cars in one night as "a near-normal situation". At the peak of the recent riots, over 1,400 vehicles were torched in a single night. A week after […]

Torturing the Truth

Ex-CIA boss: Cheney is ‘vice president for torture’Friday, November 18, 2005; Posted: 7:42 p.m. EST (00:42 GMT) “We military people don’t want future military people who are taken prisoner by other countries to be subjected to torture in the name of doing just what the United States does,” he said. Riiiight. Earth to Admiral Turner, […]

The Psychology of Anti-Americanism

Emotional Adolescents Hoping for Mayhem – More on the Psychology of Anti-AmericanismNovember 16, 2005 What causes these unconscious urges? What psychological mechanism could possibly lead someone with a lifelong commitment to peace, justice and the alleviation of suffering to actually hope for misery, chaos – and ultimately death – to be served upon the innocents […]