March 2011 archive

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

This Week with Christiane Amanpour: Ms. Amanpour will have an exclusive interview with Sen. John McCain about the revolt in Libya and why he thinks a “no-fly” zone should be enforced. Also a discussion withe guests Daily Beast and Newsweek Editor in Chief Tina Brown, Egyptian writer and activist Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, Zainab Salbi of Women to Women International and Sussan Tahmadebi of the International Civil Society Action Network for Women’s Rights, Peace and Security who will discuss how women are changing the Muslim world.

ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer, David Muir and Sharyn Alfonsi will discuss jobs and manufacturing in the US. The publisher and real-estate magnate Mort Zuckerman, Chrystia Freeland of Reuters and United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard will discuss how America can generate more jobs in a competitive global economy.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer:Mr, Schieffer’s guests are Sen. Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader (R-KY), Sen. John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (D-MA) and Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist.

The Chris Matthews Show: This week’s guests are Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent, Rick Stengel, TIME Managing Editor, Howard Fineman, The Huffington Post Senior Political Editor and Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent who will discuss these questions:

Is America Still Number One?

Will Establishment Republican Hopefuls For 2012 Pander To The Far Right?

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Mr. Gregory has two exclusive interviews with White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). The round table guests will be Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson and New York Times columnist and author of the new book “The Social Animal,” David Brooks.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Sunday’s guests will include Stephen Hadley, the former U.S. National Security Adviser, and Dr. Ali Errishi, the former Libyan Immigration Minister to discuss Libya. Also, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) looking at potential 2012 contenders for the White House. Finally, Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has planned hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America. He’ll join us to explain what he’s hoping to learn. Also joining us will be Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress.

Fareed Zakaris: GPS: The schedule for this Sunday was not available at the time this diary was published.

The other Pundits are below the fold

The Nerve Center of the Libyan Revolution



A Courthouse in Benghazi

 

By Clemens Höges in Benghazi, Libya  

The old general is crying, his cheeks trembling. His eyes are red from weeping. Then he buries his face in his hands. Brigadier General Abdulhadi Arafa is one of the most powerful men in Benghazi, in the entire rebel-held eastern part of Libya, in fact. The 64-year-old officer commands 2,000 members of a special-forces unit. And he did everything right a week and a half ago when, after 41 years of service, he decided to refuse to obey Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

When the revolt began, he ordered his officers to stay in their barracks, lock the gates and not take any action against the protesters. Their men were not to shoot at anyone unless they were shot at themselves.

Regular Features-

• Late Night Karaoke by mishima
• Muse in the Morning by Robyn
• Six In The Morning by mishima

Featured Essays for March 5, 2011-

• Tax Revenues Are Falling by TheMomCat
• Economics is NOT a science by ek hornbeck
• Incalculable by xofferson
• Pollution by ek hornbeck
• In Memoriam: Chloe Dzubilo by Robyn
  

• Popular Culture (Music) 20110304. Deep Purple Mark I by Translator

DocuDharma

This is not just about the rights of workers to bargain but it is a class war that, as Michael Moore says, was started 30 years ago by Ronald Reagan. It is civil and human rights issue as well.

Tens of Thousands Cheer Michael Moore in Madison: “You Have Aroused a Sleeping Giant, Known as the Working People”

Filmmaker Michael Moore marched with members of Madison Firefighters Local 311 to the Wisconsin Capitol Saturday and delivered a old-school progressive populist address is which he told a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands that: “Wisconsin is not broke. America is not broke.”

“The country is awash in wealth and cash. It’s just not in your hands,” he told the Wisconsinites who rallied to challenge the claim that the state needs to strip public employees and their teachers of collective bargaining rights in order to balance budgets.

Moore ripped apart Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s claim, made repeatedly in recent weeks, that the state is broke.

“Never forget the three biggest lies of the past ten years,” Moore said. “Number one: America is broke. Number two: there are weapons of mass destruction. Number three: The Packers can’t win the Super Bowl Without Brett Farve.”

Laura Flanders of GRITtv interviewed Mr. Moore this past week.

For anyone who still thinks the inspiring actions in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana are just about public employees in those states, here’s a moving dose of reality.

People in every walk of life and every part of the country — even other countries — are expressing heartfelt gratitude to the 14 Democratic state senators who left Wisconsin Feb. 17 rather than allow Gov. Scott Walker to pass a sham budget bill taking from state and local workers the right to bargain for good middle-class jobs.

Gov. Walker and state Republicans may be sending them $100-a-day fines and arrest warrants, but take a look at some Facebook and phone messages real people are sending the brave Wisconsin 14

College Hoopies, Duke @ North Carolina.  Another miserable remake.  Austin City Limits has Aimee Mann and Iron & Wine.

Look, if you have a clumsy child, you make him wear a helmet. If you have death-prone children, you keep a few clones of them in your lab.

I guess he had it coming.

We all have it coming.

• ABC Family– A Bug’s Life, Ice Age
• AMC– Scarface x 2
• Animal Planet– Must Love Cats, Pit Boss x 2 (all premiers)
• Bravo– House marathon
• Discovery– Sr. v. Jr.
• E!– Something’s Gotta Give
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Texas @ Baylor
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Morehead State v. Murray State
• Food– Chopped marathon
• FX– The Incredible Hulk
• History– Ancient Aliens!
• Lifetime– Personal Effects, Love and Other Disasters
• Nick– Big Time Rush, Victorious, True Jackson (premiers)
• Oxygen– Juno, The Next Karate Kid
• Sci Fi– Underworld: Evolution, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
• Speed– Supercross
• Spike– Unforgiven
• TBS– What Women Want, Pretty Woman
• Turner Classic– Cool Hand Luke, The Defiant Ones
• TNT– The Mummy Returns, Deep Impact
• Toon– Monster House
• TV Guide– Some Kind of Wonderful (if it wasn’t good I wouldn’t list it)
• USA– Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Vs.– Bullriding

YOU HEARD ME. TURN OFF THAT GODDAMN…BLACK…AFRICAN…CONGO…JUNGLE…NOISE!

Later-

Mr. Wuncler, ya know, yesterday I thought this was cute, but, don’t you think you guys are taking this a little far?

Jazmine can leave whenever she wants, but Sammy Davis, Jr. the Pony will have to be put down.

What?!

He’s your pony now. Your percentage was supposed to pay for his food and upkeep. Now he’ll starve to death in a puddle of his own feces.

• ABC Family– Look Who’s Talking Too
• FX– The Strangers
• Oxygen– Loverboy
• Sci Fi– Rise: Blood Hunter, Dracula III: Legacy
• Spike– The Last Boy Scout
• TBS– Selena
• Turner Classic– I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Hell’s Highway
• TNT– GoldenEye (Brosnan)
• USA– The Bourne Ultimatum
• Vs.– D-League, Thunderbirds @ Flash
• VH1– The Temptations

SNL– Miley Cyrus (ugh) and The Strokes

Boondocks– The Block is Hot.  The Venture Brothers– Powerless in the Face of Death

But, sanity eventually returned, and when it does, you better have your coat.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 32 Top Stories.

1 Kadhafi forces accused of ‘massacre’ as battles rage

by Samer al-Atrush, AFP

1 hr 19 mins ago

Regular Daily Features:

mishima steps into the Twilight Zone in Late Night Karaoke

Gha!

Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! on Six Different Topics!!!

                Six Days a Week!!!    at Six in the Morning!!!!

Essays Featured Saturday, March 5^th:

Popular Culture (Music) 20110304. Deep Purple Mark I from Translator

Saturday Open Thoughts are tardy- Doctor My Eyes from Alma Ria

davidseth continues the call- Let’s Support Wisconsin’s Workers

A new piece of Saturday Art! from mishima‘s talented hands.

join the conversation! come firefly-dreaming with me….

Stats

¥4,800 Price of a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Bangkok offered by travel agency H.I.S. from March 15 to May 8

¥68 billion Estimated sales of e-books in Japan during fiscal 2010, according to the Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute

216.8 million Number of appliances and electronics disposed of in Japan last year, according to the environment ministry

840 Students at an elementary school in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, stricken with food poisoning after eating a school lunch of “potato-miso soup, salad… and radish

Government By Tweet  

Yea, That Will Work  

These Tests May Seem Important  

Truthfully They’re Pointless

Eels He Imported Fake Eels  

Fake Eels?  

How-to books on living comfortably on welfare selling well





TOKYO  

A healthy economy affords almost everyone a livelihood. For those who fall through the cracks, there’s welfare relief. An unhealthy economy swells the welfare rolls. Japan’s current economy is extremely unhealthy. The welfare system is strained to the breaking point. “Strange world,” muses Shukan Shincho (March 3), referring to a recent spate of briskly-selling how-to books offering advice on milking welfare for all it’s worth and more. Why struggle? is the implied message. You can live pretty comfortably on welfare, if you know the ropes.

By 2005, the nation was some 15 years into its ongoing “lost decade,” and 1 million households were on welfare. By last November 1.42 million households were – 1.97 million individuals. Welfare payments in 2009 came to 3 trillion yen.

Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

The muffins available in most coffee shops and cafes are like oversize, unfrosted cupcakes: too sweet and too big. But muffins don’t have to be cloying – a bit of natural sweetener is all that’s required to make them taste like a treat. And they don’t have to be calorie-laden confections.

This week, you’ll find it’s possible to make muffins with a number of nutritious ingredients, particularly whole grains. Muffins made with buckwheat or cornmeal offer great taste and nourishment – without the feeling that you’re chewing on rocks.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a baker, take a stab at this week’s recipes. They’re easy and come together quickly.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”

Eugene Robinson When Cuts Don’t Cut It

After slamming Democrats for not focusing on “jobs, jobs, jobs,” Republicans have decided to ignore their own winning message in favor of “cuts, cuts, cuts.” This is bad economics-and bad politics.

If you don’t believe me, read a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, published Thursday, that has what should be sobering news for Republicans who keep telling us that their radical assault on the size and scope of government has the support of “the American people.”

It doesn’t, according to the survey-not even philosophically. When asked whether government, in general, is trying to do too much or not doing enough, 51 percent said government should do more. That’s not exactly a mandate for slashing federal, state and municipal programs and trying to turn public employees into a caste of untouchables.

Bob Herbert: College the Easy Way

The cost of college has skyrocketed and a four-year degree has become an ever more essential cornerstone to a middle-class standard of living. But what are America’s kids actually learning in college?

For an awful lot of students, the answer appears to be not much.

A provocative new book, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” makes a strong case that for a large portion of the nation’s seemingly successful undergraduates the years in college barely improve their skills in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing.

Gregg Mitchell Bradley Manning and the Tomb of the Well-Known Soldier

Ten  months after he was arrested for allegedly leaking classified material, including diplomatic cables, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was very much in the news this week — with the military bringing 22 new charges against him, including “aiding the enemy” (unspecified) to being stripped naked for seven hours at the prison the past two nights.  His supporters and attorney David Coombs continued to charge that the conditions of his confinement were overly harsh and punitive, while the Pentagon continues to deny that.

With Manning gaining wide attention now, it’s worth recalling that three months ago he was largely forgotten. How did so much change?  Here’s some background if you have just tuned into Manning’s case recently: