The 5 stages of voting, in the afternoon roundup

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance... in the Republican primary
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The Anchoress is asking, What's Wrong With the World? and she wants you to answer in 100 words or less.

It's a sign of my present state of mind that I can't even start to tell you, but it has a lot to do with politics.

I'm looking into taking tango lessons: Tango is difficult enough it should take all my concentration to do well in it, and the physical activity should keep my mind off politics when I'm not blogging about... politics.

I must be going through some developmental stage, or maybe one of the above primary stages.
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A friend and I were discussing this article, The Failure of Normality: The unhappy lessons of the Thompson campaign

Thompson didn't give off the usual political vibe: the gnawing need to please, the craving for the public's love. A few voters and journalists found this refreshing, many more found it insulting. Some just found it fascinating, in a clinical sort of way: What kind of politician isn't consumed by politics--and what kind of campaign would such a politician run? Well, now we know. If Thompson could plausibly avoid an overnight campaign trip, he did, preferring to return home to his wife and children in suburban Virginia. He spent an inordinate amount of time with his briefing books.

When I remarked to my friend that Fred's exactly the kind of guy I like, he replied that I obviously like guys that are too sane to be politicians, a point Andrew Ferguson makes in his article,

The man or woman who seeks out such a life and enjoys its discomforts is not normal. Not crazy necessarily, but not normal, and probably, when the chips are down, not to be trusted, especially when the purpose of it all is to acquire power over other people (also called, in the delicate language of contemporary politics, "public service" or "getting things done on behalf of the American people"). The case is made, in defense of the contemporary campaign, that this is an efficient if unlovely way to choose leaders: It winnows out those who lack the stamina and discipline necessary to lead a rich, large, powerful, and complicated country. By this argument, Thompson failed because he deserved to.

But the opposite case is easier to make--that the modern campaign excludes anyone who lacks the narcissism, cold-bloodedness, and unreflective nature that the process requires and rewards.

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Gerard has Obama: A Progressive for Progress! Now with Liberal Substance!

But artists like Fairey, and they are legion in our society, are really just -- like their fans -- playing at feeling oppressed. They actually have no experience with a real oppressive society. If they had their lives and work would not be nearly so glib.

An alternate point of view is on display daily at a site called "The People's Cube." This site is run by a talented artist who grew up under real oppression in the Soviet Union and managed to get out and start a new life here; a life who's liberty he values. He's not a "pretend" propaganda artist, but a man with experience in the real thing. His name is Oleg Atbashian.

Over at the People's Cube I found this: Roger Waters Brings 'The Wall' To Muslim Countries

Roger Waters takes 'The Wall' Concerts to 57 Islamic Countries to Protest against Sharia Law and Execution of Homosexuals by having Walls Fall on Them

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Babalu has a Cuban black bean soup/chili for Super Bowl Sunday.
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Doug Ross asks, "Would you be apprehensive about driving across The Millau Viaduct?". while Matt Sanchez posts on the Bible banging French.
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Bill: "We Just Have to Slow Down Our Economy" to Fight Global Warming

Why don't you start flying commercial, Bill?

Richard asks This is global warming?
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Tango time:




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Follow-up: Judge bans Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float

Following up on the Holocaust float at the Rio Carnival story, a judge has decided against it (h/t Conservative Belle):


Judge bans Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float

A Brazilian judge barred a samba group on Thursday from featuring a Holocaust display and a dancer dressed as Adolf Hitler in its Carnival parade after fierce complaints from Jewish groups.

State judge Juliana Kalichszteim ruled the Viradouro samba group, or school, would be subject to a $110,000 fine for the float and $28,000 for the Hitler impersonation if it went ahead with its original parade plan.

The Viradouro samba school's position was that

the float was "extremely respectful" and was meant as a warning about the horrors of the past so that they never happen again.

However, following complaints from Israelite Federation in Rio de Janeiro state and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the judge ruled that

"Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred, any kind of racism and clear trivialization or barbaric and unjustified acts against minorities."

Were the Viradouro go ahead with their original plans, they would be liable for $110,000 fine for the float and $28,000 for the Hitler impersonator.

This year's parade theme is "Shockers".

Bad idea or just stupid idea?



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Huge internet failure affects India, ME, and parts of Africa

Internet failure hits two continents

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Large swathes of Asia, the Middle East and north Africa had their high-technology services crippled Thursday following a widespread Internet failure which brought many businesses to a standstill and left others struggling to cope.

One major telecommunications provider blamed the outage, which started Wednesday, on a major undersea cable failure in the Mediterranean.

(h/t Jazz)

"An Ex-President, a Mining Deal and a Big Donor": Clintons in the NYT

UPDATED
A sign that the The Times are changing: front-page coverage of yet another Clinton donor scandal.

An Ex-President, a Mining Deal and a Big Donor: The article starts by describing how Bill went to Kazakhstan in 2005 with Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra, undercut American foreign policy, and presto! two days later Giustra's company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan's state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom.

Isn't that something.

Here's how Bill got his cut on the deal, and a big cut it is:

Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton's charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra's more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton's inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges.

Who says money can't buy you [the Clinton's] love?

And the love continues to grow as Bill places himself as intermediary for other big deals that involve nuclear technology,

That same month, Mr. Dzhakishev, the Kazatomprom chief, said he traveled to Chappaqua, N.Y., to meet with Mr. Clinton at his home. Mr. Dzhakishev said Mr. Giustra arranged the three-hour meeting. Mr. Dzhakishev said he wanted to discuss Kazakhstan's intention - not publicly known at the time - to buy a 10 percent stake in Westinghouse, a United States supplier of nuclear technology.

At the same time as Bill was facilitating deals to provide nuclear technology to a Muslim country which has about one-fifth of the world’s uranium reserves, Hillary was signing letters to the State Department sounding "alarm bells" about Kazakhstan.

Bill must have unplugged the alarm clock, but his spokesman says that Bill finds no contradiction between his actions and Hillary's statement. Anyone who's been watching how the Clintons do things knows there is no contradiction because that's how the Clintons operate.

What I find interesting about this report is not that the third-term-co-President-to-be is deeply involved, since the Clintons have a really long record of such dealings from way back in the days when all it too was a $100,000 windfall in commodities trading, but that the NYT is giving it front-page coverage.

Maria also sent this Archived Profile: Frank Giustra, who continues to lend Bill Giustra's Giustra's MD-87 jet, complete with leather furniture and a stateroom, at least until Bill can get back into Air Force 1.

UPDATE
Across the big puddle, Clinton aide caught up in funding scandal:

The complaint against Morgan has been made by James Davenport, a former employee of Morgan Allen Moore, who claims Morgan breached the APPC code of conduct – specifically a clause governing the separation of private and consultancy activities - while working on the Hain campaign. Members of the APPC management committee first met on January 28 to consider the complaint. A spokesman told The First Post that, as a result, they have asked Davenport to provide more information and substantiate his allegations. The committee will meet on Monday, February 4 to reconsider the complaint.

Then there's The Company You Keep (and Sometimes Discard), including Hillary’s Anti-Union, Slumlord Pals going back to 1999.



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Liveblogging the Republican debate with the guys

Tonight at 8PM Eastern I'll be joining the guys at Heading Right. Will we start another drinking game? If we do, should it be over every time anyone says "Ronald Reagan", considering that the debate will be held at the Ronald Reagan ranch in Simi Valley, CA?

After the debate, at 10:30PM Eastern, there's going to be the wrap-up at Debate Central. Oour podfather Ed Morrissey will host, with Rick Moran and Duane Patterson will be there, too.

Join us!

UPDATE
The debate transcript is here.


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Illegal immigrants may get tax rebates

Yet another instance of governmental stupidity reacting to a "crisis" (in this instance, the economy)

Lou Dobbs alert: Illegal immigrants may get rebates

In their bipartisan zeal to quickly cut a deal on an economic stimulus bill, GOP lawmakers overlooked something that will certainly inflame the conservative base _ illegal immigrants could receive a tax rebate check from the government.

The text of the House passed bill contains language making "non resident aliens" _ illegal immigrants _ ineligible for the tax rebates. But every year, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants use individual taxpayer identification numbers, known as ITINs, to file income tax returns with the IRS. These ID numbers are used instead of Social Security numbers.

And now for the punch line:

According to a Senate GOP aide, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) will try to offer a "fix" to the bill in the Finance Committee markup of the legislation today. Republican aides are also worried that under certain definitions in the House bill, a resident alien who spent at least 183 days drawing income in the United States but was deported - and still filed a tax return - could have a rebate check sent to their home country. Ensign will try to prevent this with an amendment to the bill, according to a GOP aide.

It gets worse:

The $146 billion stimulus package intended to jolt the economy by giving taxpayers rebates up to $1,200 includes cash returns for illegal immigrants who pay taxes.

Under the plan passed by the House, illegal immigrants who qualify as "resident aliens" and earned a minimum of $3,000 would be eligible for rebates of between $300-$600, FOX News has learned.

Where to start?

First of all, tax rebates means we are all overtaxed.
2. No amount of tax rebate is going to stimulate the economy IF there is no cut in government spending.

But that aside,
What the hey is the GOP thinking, to go along with this kind of garbage anyway?

Why should workers (citizens working here and overseas, legal residents, and documented foreign workers) who are complying with the law subsidize those who are not?

UPDATE
25 Republicans opposed the package. Here's Rep. John Campbell

Rep. Campbell will be on Lou Dobbs tonight.



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Edwards out!

UPDATED
Via American Princess, Edwards quitting presidential race

Former Sen. John Edwards is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN has learned.

Edwards has told top advisers about his decision. It is expected he will announce it at a speech in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Stop the ACLU and James say it helps Obama.

On the other side of the aisle, The Giuliani Campaign Autopsy

UPDATE
Fark: "John Edwards anounces he will drop out of race today to spend more time with his hair"

Ralph Nader to the rescue!



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In yesterday's podcast: Cultures of creation vs. cultures of destruction

Yesterday Siggy of Sigmund Carl and Alfred, Michael Van Der Galien of PoliGazette, and Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse discussed the conflict between cultures, and the political implications for public policy.

Siggy posts,

...we participated in a terrific BlogTalk Radio podcast with Fausta, Micheal van der Galien of Poligazette and Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse in which we discussed the differences between cultures for who creation is the highest expression versus cultures for destruction are the highest form of expression. Both Michal and Rick are astute observers and more than competent analysts. They possess teh capacity to see what is going on around them and understand what they are looking at- gifts not so common.

We also discussed what happens when cultures of creation meet cultures of destruction and the impact that confluence has on each.

In the end, cultures and societies are all measured by what they build and not by what they destroy. The merits of religion are measured by how many lives are saved, enriched and elevated in God's name and not by how many lives are taken and extinguished in His name.

More from Michael here.

We are going to continue this discussion in future podcasts. Our regular schedule is Tuesdays and Fridays at 11AM Eastern.

You can listen to yesterday's podcast here.





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The Holocaust float at the Rio Carnival

UPDATE
Follow-up: Judge bans Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float

Via Maria,
Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float causes strain

A Carnival float with a pile of model dead bodies commemorating the Holocaust is causing unease before the lavish parades in Rio de Janeiro this weekend.

The Viradouro samba organization, or school, plans to feature the grim display when it marches in the Sambadrome parade strip on Sunday, despite objections from a local Jewish group.

More at Australia's ABC News

In dramatic contrast to the floats carrying sequined, scantily clad dancers smiling and gyrating, the Holocaust entry will show only motionless, skeletal figures piled on top of each other.

Its creator defended the float, which will move along under the theme "It's Horrifying".

"It's a very respectful float. It's going to depict it [the Holocaust] as a sort of alarm, so that it never be repeated," the creator, Paulo Barros, said.

"I believe the carnival is also a way of showing what happens in the world," he said.

At first glance I found it obscene, but I sent the link to a Brazilian friend.

My friend explained that the Carnival season is not only a time for a huge party (obviously), but also a time for social discussion and critique. Many social issues are brought to public attention during this time of the year.

The intention of the Viadoro group who came up with the float is to bring the Holocaust back to people's minds. My friend says,

it is intended to be very shocking, very lifelike, to show the horrors of the Holocaust even during a very festive occasion

Additionally, the Viadoro are singling out this float by not having people on it as a show of respect. The purpose of the float is to bring the Holocaust back to public view, lest people forget it.

Nothing could be more public than a float down the Sambodromo.

Having considered my friend's comments, I think that this may be a very effective way to highlight Holocaust awareness. The question remains, is the setting appropriate?

I invite my readers to add their comments.



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Put down the bong, it's snowing in Jerusalem, and the morning roundup

Cannabis bigger cancer risk than cigarettes: study

Smoking a joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk, scientists in New Zealand have found, as they warned of an "epidemic" of lung cancers linked to cannabis.
...
In an article published in the European Respiratory Journal, the scientists said cannabis could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco as its smoke contained twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes.

The method of smoking also increases the risk, since joints are typically smoked without a proper filter and almost to the very tip, which increases the amount of smoke inhaled. The cannabis smoker inhales more deeply and for longer, facilitating the deposition of carcinogens in the airways.

Bill Clinton will certainly be relieved to hear it, considering how he didn't inhale

Doug Ross remembers When cigarette ads were legal.
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Brazilian Neocon sent this video he took of the snow in Jerusalem:

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Does New York City want to become the 51st state? A Secession Plan Is Floated for New York City.
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Bruce Kessler and The Anchoress take A trip down memory lane.
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Israel Guest of Honor in Turin Bookfair Offends Whining Arabs...


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Tuesday night milonga

For a change of pace,

Why Obama stands a chance

I'm sure that by now we all can more or less agree to the fact Hillary all along has been planning to run for the presidency - at least since the days she was in the White House.

Since she has been hearing for the past seven years how much people "miss Bill" (believe me, I've heard it), and Bill is right there with her, the fund raising and the limelight were hers. Therefore, she assumed that she was the heir apparent to the Democrat ticket.

And along comes Obama, stealing the spotlight.

There are hundreds of reasons why, but here are the most salient:

Image:
The first and most obvious is that Obama is a charismatic and energetic public speaker that manages to deliver a one-hour speech without once sounding like he's haranguing the great unwashed. Compared to Hillary's shrillness, Obama's way ahead on that department.

Obama is also nice looking but not too nice looking. He's photogenic enough to be attractive but his slight resemblance to Urkle and his ears remind you that he's "a regular guy", not a matinee idol. His clothing style is not over groomed (the way Romney's is) and he's comfortable with - among many others - Mr. Potato Head.

Trivial as it may look, Obama looks sincerely at ease while Hillary's doing a "say cheese". One could say that these two pictures depict their personal styles.

The "change" mantra
The electorate is always ready for a "change" every eight years, if only because of presidential term limits. That's a constitutional fact of life.

Only the most self-deluded Clintonista could possibly believe that installing a Clinton restoration would mean "change". My idea of change, and I venture guess I'm not alone, does not involve bringing back a presidential wife as a candidate the way Peron did in Argentina.

By hanging his star on "change" Obama is indeed bringing to the fore not only a rejection of a Republican candidate but also the issue of a copresidency, and dismissing it as a viable option.

The "ick" factor
Betsy posts, Now we find out: they really can't stand Bill, on how Liberals are finally, decades later, figuring out that maybe, maybe a new Clinton White House would not be such a great idea. Betsy's husband listed a whole littany,

Here's the Charlotte Observer, not mincing words: "The Many Lies of Bill Clinton". Here's Vanity Fair's Bruce Feirstein: "Bill Clinton, Nasty Man". Here's the Washington Post's Colbert I. King, "Billary's Adventures in Primaryland". Bob Herbert: "Questions for the Clintons". William Grieder: "Slick Willie Rides Again". John Nichols: "It's Time to Retire Bill Clinton". Finally, here is uber-Liberal Jonathan Chait asking--gasp! horrors!--"Is the Right Right on the Clintons?" (No, he asserts, but they're uncomfortably close.)

Betsy also says,

[Frank] Rich had a column this weekend warning about the shoes that might drop if Hillary is chosen as the Democratic candidate and then we start finding out what is being hidden in the Clinton papers that haven't been opened to the public or what we will find out about those Friends of Bill who have been sending the big bucks to Bill's library in Little Rock.

Even Newsweek is shedding some light on FOBs by now.

A lot of Democrats are wondering if they are willing to defend this sort of goings-on for another Clinton term. Witness the Kennedys' endorsements.

As David Brooks puts it,

But the event was striking for another reason, having to do with the confluence of themes and generations. The Kennedys and Obama hit the same contrasts again and again in their speeches: the high road versus the low road; inspiration versus calculation; future versus the past; and most of all, service versus selfishness.

Indeed, the Kennedys' endorsements are telling the big money to back Obama.

The young voter
As David Brooks again,

The audience at American University roared. It was mostly young people, and to them, the Clintons are as old as the Trumans were in 1960.

Small wonder that there's all this buzz in the name of changiness

Later this week I'll post about my misgivings about Obama.

Update:
Watch out for those women scorned, Ted



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Server trouble resolved; podcast went as scheduled

My apologies for the light posting. There was server trouble again, which has now been resolved.

In this morning's podcast Siggy continued his series on political correctness and misguided policy. Rick Moran and Michael van der Galien joined in for a most interesting podcast. Please listen to the archived show when you have a chance.


At 1PM Eastern I'll be Jazz and Lady Logician's guest in Mid-Stream Radio.

Regular posting will now resume as always. Thank you for your support!


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Slate's unwarranted gloom and doom

Slate's William Saletan says "Happiness sucks". Here's how he puts it:
A study suggests extreme happiness may be bad for you

Findings:: 1) "The highest levels of income, education and political participation were reported not by the most satisfied individuals, but by moderately satisfied individuals." 2) Extremely happy people "earned significantly less money" and earned lower school grades than moderately happy people. 3) They "may not live as long," either. Theories: 1) Happiness makes you complacent and kills your drive. 2) It makes you slow to adapt. 3) It makes you too optimistic and insufficiently vigilant about your health. 4) It may overstimulate your cardiovascular system. Researchers' conclusions: 1) "Happiness may need to be moderated for success." 2) "Extremely high levels of happiness might not be a desirable goal." Human Nature's conclusions: 1) Success may need to be moderated for happiness. 2) Extremely high levels of success might not be a desirable goal.

I cliked on the link to the article and found otherwise.

Here we have a bunch of academics in Virginia, Michigan and Illinois looking at data from the World Values Survey, whatever that may be, and then analyzing "the behaviors and attitudes of 193 undergraduate students at Illinois", and then jumping to conclussions as to how happy we all should be. Or, in their own words, "How happy is happy enough".

Not surprisngly at all, they found that among 193 undergrads,

Those classified as very happy scored significantly higher on things like gregariousness, close friendships, self-confidence, energy and time spent dating.

No kidding, dude! Their findings confirm what most of us regard as obvious,

All in all, Diener said, the evidence indicates that happiness is a worthy goal for those who lack it, but the endless pursuit of even more happiness for the already happy may be counterproductive.

Or, as the saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

How the guy from Slate jumped from that to saying "Extremely high levels of success might not be a desirable goal" is not clear. Maybe he should have first asked Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and 191 others from the Forbes 400 what they think before reaching that conclusion.



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Late afternoon roundup, and a book

The roundup
It's been a busy Monday here at casa de Fausta but I came across some really interesting stuff while waiting for dinner to cook:

Friend I Haven't Met Yet (FIHMY) Arthur Chrenkoff has an excellent article Good News From Iraq? More than in the Past

Barak Obama wants to issue drivers' licenses to illegal aliens

At Cafe Hayek, I Worry Much Less About the Reality than About the Reactions and I agree with Brian Wesbury when he says that the economy is fine.

The Anchoress, also a FIHMY, has another lovely post on beautiful music.

And last but not least, Dreams Into Lightning has an excellent roundup, "The thugs in Tehran stay busy, Palestinian officials like to create a little atmosphere, and more." Go read it.

The book:
I was on my way home yesterday afternoon when I saw this in a bookshop window:



I love bassets, and had to take a look.

Well, it's the old Strunk and White, only this time it's been improved with witty illustrations by Maira Kalman. The full color pictures highight the text at the same time that they add humor and sometimes insightful nuances to the rules.

I bought it, recommended it to two other FIHMY, and sent one for a birthday gift.

Yes, buy it for the pictures!



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Tomorrow at 11AM Eastern: More on outrage

Tomorrow at 11AM Eastern Siggy continues to discuss moral equivalence and misguided public and foreign policy.

As usual, the chat room will be open by 10:45AM, and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639.

Join us!

Would you like some fries with that?

McDonald's serves up 'Diplomas'

McDonald's has won approval to offer courses which could form part of a qualification at the standard of A-levels or advanced Diplomas.
The fast-food giant, airline Flybe and Network Rail are the first firms to be approved to offer the Level 3 courses.

It means students could combine units from in-house courses with others to obtain the new Diplomas, which combine practical and theoretical learning.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this did not mean standards would fall.

Promises, promises ...

Not surprisingly,

Last week, four out of 10 university admissions tutors in a group of leading universities said they would not accept students who had taken the new Diplomas which are being introduced next autumn.

For an explanation of the British educational system, see Wikipedia

(h/t Siggy, who just posted the ultimate shopping list)



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The last-Monday-in-January Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The ongoing maletagate case, where a suitcase full of Chavista money for the Argentinian Kirchner campaign was intercepted, continues to be at the top of the headlines. A Colombo-americana's perspective (who I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday) has stayed on top of the story and has the latest here.

Chavez continues to threaten Colombia, claiming that Colombia and the US are about to invade Venezuela (see more links under both countries), while he also threatens Guayana. If that weren't enough, he's seizing food shipments.

If you would like your links on Latin America to be included in the Monday carnivals, please email me by Sunday evening: faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

VIDEO
Isabella Rossellini talks about La fiesta del chivo


WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Caribbean News

LATIN AMERICA
Sweet and Sour

IMMIGRATION
"Hispanic panic”"as Arizona immigration crackdown bites

Zogby: American Public Sees Latin America through Narrow Immigration Lens

UPCOMING CONFERENCE
Cumbre iberoamericana de Prensa en Burgos el 30 de enero

ARGENTINA
Stop all the clocks

BELIZE
For many Belizeans, UDP winning this election is not the ending but the beginning

Belizean Musician Andy Palacio: A Remembrance



National Geographic's Intelligent Travel has a section rating Caribbean Island destinations

BRAZIL
Wolf Pack: The survival of patronage politics

CHILE
Chile: Adventist media guru keeps country on communication edge

COLOMBIA
Colombia Hurled Into The Cold - with a kiss

Random musings on Colombia and Venezuela

Colombia refuses Chavez hostage efforts

Rice pushes Colombia free trade deal

Hugo Chavez, the key to political popularity

With An 80% Approval Rating Uribe Battles Democrats For Support

Hugo Chavez and the FARC boost Uribe's popularity

OUTRAGE!... Congressional Democrats Continue to Give Loyal US Ally Colombia the Shaft

Politicians Fear Colombia-Venezuela Military Face-Off

CUBA
Join Lech Walesa & Help Support the Cuban People

Havana's Martin Luther King Center Marks 20th Anniversary

Giuliani and Cuban refugees

ECUADOR
Ecuador Denies Letting FARC Leader Reyes Operate on Its Soil

GUYANA
Guyana deaths spark village anger

GUATEMALA
More from Intelligent Travel, Leave your heart in Guatemala

JAMAICA
Jamaican police report significant drop in drug mules

MEXICO
Tariffs and tortillas
Trade is not to blame for the poverty of Mexican farmers

NICARAGUA
Same As the Old Boss?

VENEZUELA
Arroz con leche

Don't miss this post: Milk is Milk

Slum Lord

PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA NOW ENGAGED IN MILK AND TUNA IMPORTS

Venezuelan troops seize food

Zimbabwe On the Caribbean

Whipsawed

Annals of Infiltration

Chavez Causes Exodus to Florida

The Chavez-FARC-Drug trafficking connection

Does Hugo Chavez's NPD (narcissistic personality disorder) have something to do with his taste for coca and his martyr behavior? and Night of the Living Dead, which might explain the latest in TV entertainment: people praying at Chavez during his TV show, En Alo Presidente ... rezaron ante Hugo Chavez

Chavez: Pull Reserves From US

Si un presidente está en la mira por su peligrosidad, ese es Hugo Chavez
Chavez entre las FARC y el narcotrafico

Announcement: Memorial Mass for Venezuela's Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara in Washington DC

Special thanks to Maggie, Kate and Siggy for their support.

Blogging about the Carnival
A very special Carnival day
A Second Hand Conjecture
Obi's Sister
Earn a Ph.D.d.F.
The end of Venezuela as I know it



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Barcelona subway terror plot foiled

Fourteen men have been arrested in Spain for planning terrorist attacks in Spain, Portugal, France, and Germany. The operation was credited to Pakistani Islamist al-Qaeda warlord Baitullah Mehsud, the man behing Benazir Bhutto's murder.

Via Iberian Notes,

Al Qaeda in Catalonia update: Police throughout Europe are looking for at least six uncaptured members of the Barcelona terrorist cell. The leader of the Barcelona cell, Maroof Ahmed Mirza, is linked to the chief of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, Amir Baitula Mehsud, and to other cells in Europe, which are thought to be hiding the six men on the run. The authorities are currently tracing down all the phone calls made by suspected cell members.

Everything the confidential informant (who was to have been one of the suicide bombers) says checks out, except the cops can't find the 100 kilos of explosives he says they had. Very similar to Saddam's chemical weapons: we know he was going around acting like he had them, we took action based on his bluffs and threats, and then we just couldn't find the weapons.

Get this: El Pais says that the terrorist cell that murdered Daniel Pearl was financed by a Barcelona Pakistani cell that got its money running shops and call centers in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona; the money was transferred to Asia through the hawala money-lending network. They also report that the CIA and FBI believe that jihadists have been using Spain as a logistical and financial center for years.

El Pais has two articles (links in Spanish): Los detenidos tienen idéntico perfil que los autores del 7-J (The detainees have identical profiles to the London July 7 bombers) and La CIA alerta del constante traslado a España de 'yihadistas' desde Pakistán (CIA warns of constant transfer of "jihadists" to Spain from Pakistan).

Ed Morrissey links to Detained extremists planned attack wave

A GROUP of alleged Islamist extremists were planning a wave of suicide attacks across Europe before they were detained in Barcelona last weekend.

The group intended to carry out three attacks in Spain and one each in Portugal, France and Germany, an unnamed man who infiltrated the group told top-selling daily El Pais.

As Ed points out, none of the EU countries are involved with the US in Iraq.



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Announcement: Memorial Mass for Venezuela's Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara in Washington DC

A friend requests that I post this invitation,

Please Join Us
with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
for a Memorial Mass in honor of
Venezuela's Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara

St. Matthews Cathedral
1725 Rhode Island St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

Friday, February 1, 2008
5:30 P.M.

The Soviet Union coudln't have produced a Chuck Yeager

At Instapundit

PRAVDA: Yuri Gagarin was not the first cosmonaut.

Just the first who lived.

Glenn is referring to this,

According to Rudenko, spacecraft with pilots Ledovskikh, Shaborin and Mitkov at the controls were launched from the Kapustin Yar cosmodrome (in the Astrakhan region) in 1957, 1958 and 1959. "All three pilots died during the flights, and their names were never officially published," Rudenko said. He explained that all these pilots took part in so-called sub- orbital flights, i.e., their goal was not to orbit around the earth, which Gagarin later did, but make a parabola-shaped flight. "The cosmonauts were to reach space heights in the highest point of such an orbit and then return to the Earth," Rudenko said. According to his information, Ledovskikh, Shaborin and Mitkov were regular test pilots, who had not had any special training, Interfax reports.

Contrast with this from Chuck Yeager's website:

TO NEW HEIGHTS
Now, a full colonel, Yeager returned to Edwards as deputy director of flight test in 1961. The following year he took over as commander of the new USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), where he presided over the development of a first-of-its-kind institution designed to prepare U.S. military test pilots for spaceflight. Building on the existing test pilot school curriculum, ARPS offered rigorous, graduate-level training in subjects such as astrophysics and orbital mechanics, and it employed a one-of-a-kind flight simulator and other state-of-the-art training systems that prepared students to master an entirely new frontier beyond the atmosphere. The school was swamped with applicants and only the best and brightest—1% by Yeager’s estimate—were granted admission. The excellence of the training provided during the school’s ten-years of operation (1961-71) can be surmised by the fact that 37 graduates were selected for the U.S. space program and 26 earned astronaut’s wings by flying in the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Although Yeager never got a chance to fly in space, in his role as mentor to a whole generation of spaceflight pioneers, he made an important contribution to its exploration. It remains one of his proudest achievements.

Chuck Yeager, an individual, could have never been allowed to inspire others in the Soviet space machine. The absurd notion that untrained men would be shot into space from a rocket was the sort of thing that inherently would bring about the Soviet's failure in the space race.

I highly recommend Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff for an exciting account of the men and the times.



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"Don't treat the old and unhealthy", and the Sunday items

The government giveth, the government taketh away:
Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.
...
Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

Fertility treatment and "social" abortions are also on the list of procedures that many doctors say should not be funded by the state.

I wonder what the American abortion-on-demand crowd would say to that.

But don't expect the British hospital doctors to want to look after you when you are old and ailing:

One in three said that elderly patients should not be given free treatment if it were unlikely to do them good for long. Half thought that smokers should be denied a heart bypass, while a quarter believed that the obese should be denied hip replacements.

Richard Fernandez posts about the survey and comments,

Those unwilling to trust that there is meaning to universe can still hope there will be beds available at the NHS or compassion in the heart of a bureaucrat.

Small wonder that 70,000 patients have had to go overseas for major surgery to avoid long waiting lists and the rising threat of superbugs.

The poor, and those who are too sick to travel, have no choice at all.

GM Roper had a few questions,

Do we tell the poor who tend to have more physical illnesses than more wealthy folk "Sorry, your poor choices of food, tobacco, alcohol, fill in the blank have made treatment for you impossible?"

Do we tell the elderly that "Sorry, your age makes you a poor candidate for open heart surgery?"

Do we empty the nursing homes because some of those patients won't ever get better?

Do we pull a Terri Schiavo on our handicapped because afterall, most handicapps are life long?

The fact of the matter is, that eventually choices must be made because as one commenter at Tom Smith's article noted it is either on the front end with insurance or on the back end with national health care. And, despite the Democrat pie in the sky dreaming, we cannot possibly provide all health care to all people in the country at any reasonable cost.

Cuban health care is an apartheid system where even Castro had to get a foreign specialist for his surgery. Even the Washington Post is documenting the failure of the Cuban health care system.

Another thing that those who praise the "free Cuban health care system" don't want you to know is that the medics regularly have to come to your house and go through your personal effects searching for evidence of your personal habits, such as the drugs you take, whether you smoke, and what you drink. How many Americans would be willing to even contemplate the thought of having a government employee violate their privacy for the sake of "free" health care?

But what about France, you ask? On March 18, 2006 I posted a list of links from the BBC on how the French health care system fails its patients. (you might have to go to the March 2006 archive and scroll down).

Health care is not free: as The Anchoress said,

There is no such thing as "free" healthcare. You pay for it, yes, with taxes, but also with incremental decreases in personal liberty.

Who is responsible for triage?

This week's WSJ's Five Best books, on the challenges of living with illnesses, selected by Laura Landro:




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The film about the very ill Edith Piaf has received 11 nominations at France's Cesar film awards.

I hope the beautiful Marion Cotillard wins the Best Actress award at the Oscars, the Cesars, and the Baftas. She was sensational.

I reviewed the movie last July. Here's the trailer


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Instead of shoes today, handbags:
Why 'It' Bags Are Out
Luxury bags fall victim to their own success; exclusive over ostentatious

Instead of one hot, recognizable style, retailers this spring will be pushing a variety of styles and brands, many of them lesser-known. Intermix, a high-end New York-based retail chain, is making a big push for handbags from labels such as Zagliani and Lanvin. Scoop is stressing Jamin Puech, Whiting & Davis and other relatively unknown, expensive brands. For spring, Henri Bendel is picking up LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton's brand Loewe, which is popular in Asia but hasn't been widely sold in the U.S.

I own Coach stock, so here is a suggestion,

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Send Little Miss Attila to CPAC! Here's how
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The Carnival of the Insanities is up!



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Venezuela: no money for education, healthcare or food

Alvaro Vargas Llosa, writing at TNR, tells the truth about those social programs the Left has praised so highly in the Bolivarian Republic of Chavismo (emphasis added), starting with the "free health care", which was at the hands of Cuban medics working for $200/month:

The Barrio Adentro mission was originally run by about 30,000 Cuban doctors and medics. Many of those health centers are now closed; the rest are seriously understaffed. "The Cubans are leaving," explains Felix, a social worker from Baruta, "because they don't get paid, because they are the victims of rampant crime or simply because they have moved on--they only offered to serve in Venezuela as an excuse to get out of Cuba." In some cases, the government never provided the funds needed to finish the construction of clinics. In Baruta, a desolate construction site reminds the local neighborhood that there is, as Felix puts it, "a gulf separating reality from speeches." I was not surprised to learn that, according to Andres Bello University, 60 percent of the Barrio Adentro health centers are not functioning.

Food and nutrition:

The Mercal mission, a series of supermarkets in which the poor can theoretically acquire food at extremely low prices, is not faring any better. Because of price controls, essential products are missing from the shelves. People stand in line for hours to buy food or milk. In some cases, as I was told in Petare, producers have been put off by price controls; in others, the people who manage the supermarkets sell essential products under the table to those able to pay more.

The soup kitchens, which supposedly have to serve free meals to 150 Venezuelans in each neighborhood every day, are also falling victim to the chronic shortages. Jesus, a Chavez supporter who manages a soup kitchen in Barrio Union Petare, told me that he would not be serving his neighbors until next week, when he expects to get new provisions. The result? "The squalid ones," he concluded, using the term with which Chavez refers to his critics, "are now a majority around here."

Housing payments:

Corruption has eroded the prestige of the Habitat mission through which the government supposedly dishes out checks to poor Venezuelans so they can buy a house. It is not unusual for an aspiring homeowner to find out that a mystery person has cashed the check using his or her name. "The same people who hand out the checks cash them for the benefit of their relatives," explains Eladio, who told me a nephew recently suffered such an experience.

Subsidizing automobiles (Venezuelans pay cents to the gallon of gasoline) has created huge bottlenecks.

Secondary and higher education are suffering too.

Inflation is running at 30%.

Private property is disappearing.

Populism and governmental intervention in every aspect of the economy is the surest way to bankrupt a country.

Will the readers of The New Republic realize this? Or are we going to hear some more about how Chavez is a-charismatic-leader-helping-the-poor-offering-free-health-care-education-adult-literacy-and-job-training-initiatives-that-help-millions-of-Venezuelans^tm?



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Darkness at noon

A friend sent this link from Solomonia,
Darkness at Noon -- MSM Plays Along with Hamas Photo Staging
The Gazans have to hold their meetings by candlelight... because they had the curtains drawn

The Spanish Marxists aren't wasting any time, and are saying "The Zionist Israeli government treats the Gaza residents as the Nazis treated the Warsaw Ghetto Jews" while the Gazans drive on, and not just with their agenda.
(h/t Gates of Vienna)



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Obama's corrupt contributor's Hillary's pal, too, and a few other items

Even Obama’s Corrupt Contributors Are Clinton Friends

Drudge right now is featuring this marvelous picture of the Clintons with indicted Chicago real estate developer Tony Rezko. Hillary attempted to lambast Barack Obama regarding Rezko, saying "I was fighting against those [Reagan] ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

As for this rather embarrassing picture of not one, but both Clintons with this 'slumlord', Hillary said "I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I don't know the man. I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door."

Maybe she would recognize him if he had fistfuls of cash. Are we to believe that Rezko got the honor of a double Clinton portrait entirely gratis?p

Now pause for a moment and picture this scenario:
Hillary as President and Bill in the Senate, having been named by Elliot Spitzer to occupy Hillary's vacated seat for New York; or Obama as President, with either administration naming And John Edwards as Attorney General.

I fervently hope the Republicans get their acts together.
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Andrew Sullivan is 100% right when he writes about The Corruption Of Feminism:

Wow. A proud defense of nepotism over feminism. Or rather, as is the Clintons' wont, a total conflation of feminism with nepotism. I remember similar Clintonian feminists in the 1990s trashing, smearing and sliming women who dared to complain about the sexual harassment and abuse of women that Bill Clinton - with his wife's full knowledge - engaged in for years. This couple really do corrupt everything they touch.

I've been mentioning this, too.
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Ed explains Why pork matters.

The main points are:
1. Because politicians use earmarks to earn credits with political supporters,

Either they're currying favor with state and local officials back home to solidify their own power base, or they're cutting sweetheart deals with contributors to their campaigns.

2. Pork reduces the efficiencies of competitive bidding, resulting in poorer quality products at an inflated price, perpetuating government inefficiency.
3. It entrenches the power of corrupt politicians.
4. It perverts self-government.
Go read the whole thing.
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summer patriot, winter soldier ponders cowsh*t, three days of the condor, and the matrix ... and, oh yeah, saddam hussein ...
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In Turns, both at Fault and Inconsequential: Joe takes a carving knife to pedantic EU economic commentary.
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Mamacita lost her car keys. A while ago I lost a pair of eyeglasses in a totally uncluttered clean room. They simply vanished into the ether.

Maybe J. K. Rowling's on to something by coming up with the shrinking spells.

Last but not least, the Marines,




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Friday night Song for the Asking

One for Mamacita:


And one from Mamacita,

The Feminists' letter

At FrontPage Magazine:
A Response to Feminists on the Violent Oppression of Women in Islam

The David Horowitz Freedom Center has succeeded in putting the feminists and Islamists on the defensive. As David Horowitz and Robert Spencer note in the article below, the DHFC's exposure of the feminist movement's lack of attention to women's rights in the Muslim world has caused many of the movement's most prominent activists to sign a letter protesting that they originated concern for Muslim women. The letter, drafted by feminist writer Katha Pollitt, has been signed by such notables as:

* Susan Faludi, the author of Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women, which argues conservatives are trying to suppress American womyn, and The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America, which claims terrorism provided a handy excuse for the American Right to begin binding women's feet again;
* Julianne Malveaux, who expressed her feelings about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on PBS' To the Contrary, "I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease"
* Jennifer Baumgardner, a Nation writer whose idea of fighting female oppression is staging productions of The Vagina Monologues;
* Dana Goldstein, an employee of the Soros-funded Center for American Progress and a writing fellow at the Soros-funded The American Prospect; and
More than 700 more leftists.

The letter spread quickly, beginning on the website of the far-Left's flagship publication, The Nation. (The Nation's piece was also picked up by Yahoo News). Soon, it had been posted on Mother Jones, the Islamic Forum, the University of Maine, and many other sites -- including that of a woman named Heart who is running for president. Not all are pleased; at least one insists U.S. immigration laws and Israeli treatment of Palestinians are a more direct affront to women's rights than clitorectomies. (She asks, "Does Ms. Pollitt think that 'Muslim countries' are particularly hostile to women’s rights for some reason?") Nonetheless, the very fact that the Left, so long silent about the crimes countenanced by its Islamic partners in the antiwar movement, now feels that it must mount a rousing defense is a vindication of our efforts. -- The Editors.

Here's the text of the letter:

An Open Letter from American Feminists

VFA asks members and friends to join Katha Pollit in responding to accusations that American feminists are ignoring atrocities against women in other countries, especially the Muslim world.

If you'd like to sign, just E-mail KATHA POLLITT and send her your name and ID (professional and/or feminist affiliation) at kpollitt@...

PLEASE READ ON


Columnists and opinion writers from The Weekly Standard to the Washington Post to Slate have recently accused American feminists of focusing obsessively on minor or even nonexistent injustices in the United States while ignoring atrocities against women in other countries, especially the Muslim world. A number of reasons are given for this supposed neglect: narcissism, ideological rigidity, reflexive anti-Americanism, fear of seeming insensitive or even racist. Yet what is the evidence for this apparently now broadly accepted claim that feminists don't support the struggles of women around the globe? It usually comes down to a quick scan of the home page of the National Organization for Women's website, observing that a particular writer hasn't covered a particular outrage, plus a handful of quotes wrenched out of context.

In fact, as a bit of research would easily show, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of US feminist organizations involved in promoting women's rights and well-being around the globe -- V-Day, Equality Now, MADRE, the Global Fund for Women, the International Women's Health Coalition and Feminist Majority, to name some of the most prominent. (The National Organization for Women itself has a section on its website devoted to global feminism, on which it denounces a wide array of practices including female genital mutilation (FGM), "honor" murder, trafficking, dowry deaths and domestic violence). Feminists at Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have moved those organizations to add the rights of women and girls to their agenda. Feminist magazines and blogs-- Ms, Feministing.com, Salon.com's Broadsheet feature, womensenews,com (which has an edition in Arabic) -- as well as feminist reporters and commentators in the mainstream media, regularly report on and condemn outrages against women wherever they occur, from rape, battery and murder in the US to the denial of women's human rights in the developing or Muslim world. As feminists, we call on journalists and opinion writers to report the true position of our movement. We believe that women's rights are human rights, and stand in solidarity with our sisters who are fighting for equal political, economic, social and reproductive rights around the globe. Specifically, contrary to the accusations of pundits, we support their struggle against female genital mutilation, "honor" murder, forced marriage, child marriage, compulsory Islamic dress codes, the criminalization of sex outside marriage, brutal punishments like lashing and stoning, family laws that favor men and that place adult women under the legal power of fathers, brothers, and husbands, and laws that discount legal testimony made by women. We strongly oppose the denial of education, health care and equal political and economic rights to women.

We reject the use of women's rights language to justify invading foreign countries. Instead, we call on the United States government to live up to its expressed commitment to women's rights through peaceful means. pecifically, we call upon it to offer asylum to women and girls fleeing gender-based persecution, including female genital mutilation, domestic violence, and forced marriage; promote women's rights and well-being in all their foreign policy and foreign aid decisions; use its diplomatic powers to pressure its allies -- especially Saudi Arabia, one of the most oppressive countries in the world for women -- to embrace women's rights; drop the Mexico City policy--aka the 'gag rule'--which bars funds for AIDS- related and contraception-related health services abroad if they provide abortions, abortion information, or advocate for legalizing abortion; generously support the UN population Fund (UNFPA), which supports women's reproductive health including safe maternity around the globe, and whose funding is vetoed every year by President Bush; become a signatory to The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the basic UN women's human rights document, now signed by 185 nations. The US is one of a handful of holdouts, along with Iran, Sudan, and Somalia.

Finally, we call upon the United States, and all the industrialized nations of the West, to share their unprecedented wealth, often gained at the expense of the developing world, with those who need it in such a way that women benefit.

Signed,

Katha Pollitt, writer
Marge Piercy, writer
Susan Faludi
Alix Kates Shulman, writer
Julianne Malveaux, president Bennett college for women
Anne Lamott, writer
Mary Gordon
Linda Gordon, historian, NYU
Jennifer Baumgardner, writer
Ruth Rosen, historian
Jane Smiley, writer
Anna Fels,
Debra Dickerson, writer
Margo Jefferson, writer
Jessica Valenti, writer
Dana Goldstein, The American Prospect
Karen Houppert, writer
Gloria Jacobs, The Feminist Press
Carole Joffe, Sociology, UC Davis
Janet Afary, Middle East Historian, Purdue University
Barrie Thorne
Professor and Chair of Gender & Women's Studies and
Professor of Sociology
University of California, Berkeley
Catharine R. Stimpson - New York University
Lakshmi Chaudhry, writer
Rosalyn Baxandall, chair, American Studies SUNY-Old Westbury
Naomi Weisstein
Alisa Solomon,writer
Judith Ezekiel, historian, Wright State U/U de Toulouse
Barbara Bick
Amy Swerdlow
Kathryn Scarbrough
Bea Kreloff
Sonia Jaffe Robbins, writer/editor
Laura X,activist
Linda Stein, sculptor
Stephanie Gilmore, historian, Trinity College
Ariel Dougherty, Media Equity Collaborative, co founder Women Make Movies
Amie Newman, Associate editor, RH Reality check
Merle Hoffman, activist
Adele M. Stan, columnist, American Prospect Online
Michelle Goldberg, writer
Agnieszka Graff, scholar, writer and activist, Warsaw, Poland
Margaret Morgenroth Gullette, Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis
Eleanor Bader, writer and educator
Eileen Boris, Hull Professor, Women's Studies UCSB
Cynthia L Cooper, "words of choice"
Jennifer Pozner, Women in Media and News
Dolores Hayden, Yale
Kelli Zaytoun, English and women's Studies, Wright State U
Laura Ross, liaison, Indigenous Women's Political Caucus
Melody Berger, writer
Donna Schape, Senior minister, Judson memorial church
Carol Sternhell, professor of journalism NYU
Mari Matsuda, law professor, PLACE TK
Michele Barry, professor of medicine and global health yale
Meredith Tax, writer, president, Women's WORLD
Estelle Freedman Robinson Professor, History, Stanford University
Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freedom from Religion foundation
Heather Nijoli Robinson, Equal Access Fund of Tennessee
Anna Clark, writer
Colleen Kelly Johnston, activist for owmen and peace
Emily Apter, literary theorist, NYU
Laura Zimmerman Co-founder, Center for New Words
Diane Wahto, Chair, Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas
Rev. Linda Pashby Kaufman, Unitarian Universalist Community Minister, Seattle,
Deanna Zandt, Media Technologist
Linda Ann Wheeler Hilton, artist and writer, Arizona
D. H. Melhem, Ph.D., poet & writer, New York City
Barbara Winslow, Women's studies and school of Ed., Bklyn College
Courtney E. Martin, Brooklyn-based writer and teacher
Lucinda Marshall, Founder, Feminist Peace Network
Jill filipovic, feministe.us/blog
Alison Redford, homemaker & civic volunteer, Wellington, Kansas
Vickie Sandell Stangl, Wichita State University, Political Science Dept.
Meredith Michaels, philosophy dept, Smith college
Muriel Dimen, writer and Psychoanalyst, NYU
Susan Yanow MSWReproductive Health Consultant Cambridge, MA
Nancy Folbre, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Judy Norsigian, Executive Director , Our Bodies Ourselves
Co- author of "Our Bodies, Ourselves"
Kathleen Gerson, sociologist, New York University.
Amy King, Poet and Educator, SUNY Nassau Community College
Ana Bozicevic , Poet, New York City
Debbie rogow
Katherine Ellis
Dr. Suellen Miller
Director, Safe Motherhood Programs
Women's Global Health Imperative
UCSF
Janine Jackson, program director, FAIR
Lise Vogel
Professor Emerita of Sociology, Rider University
Lisa Jervis, bitch
Nora Bredes, Director, Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership
Emily Gordon, writer and editor
Sophie Pollitt-Cohen, writer and student
Naela El-Hinnawy
Joan D. Mandle, Colgate University, Emerita
Esther Newton Women's Studies, University of Michigan
Marti Copleman, lawyer, board member Women for Afghan Women
Liza Featherstone, journalist/author.
Vivian gornick
Dorothy C. Miller, D.S.W., Director
Flora Stone Mather Center for Women
& Clinical Associate Professor
Mandel School For Applied Social Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
J. Goodrich, blogger, "Echidne of the snakes"
Victoria Rosenwald, RN MPH
Sonali Kolhatkar, Co-Director of Afghan Women's Mission
Beccah Golubock Watson, Legal Momentum
Veronica I. Arreola, Ctr for Research on Women & Gender, U Ill- Chicago
Jane Mansbridge, Kennedy School of Govt
Patricia Thorpe, writer
Sheila Weller / writer
Amy Richards, Soapbox, Inc
Jacqui Ceballos - President, Veteran Feminists of America

I'll be following up on this story later on.



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Friends, food, faith and podcast

This morning I had the privilege of talking to two friends I haven't met yet, Siggy and Julie of Happy Catholic and Meanwhile, Back in the kitchen.

Julie was very impressed over Siggy's voice, because of Ooooo, those melting British tones! offering even some cinnamon buns from heaven.

Siggy posts about the podcast,

We talked about the natural and spiritual relationship between food and religion- feeding the body and feeding the soul, and the similarities between communing with family over meals at home and communing with God in a House of Worship. We hope to be able to expand on these and other issues in a follow up podcast.

Julie masquerades as the author of a couple of blogs, but in fact she’s a terrific writer, literary and film critic. More than that, she writes cogently and with clarity.

Siggy also talked about ice cream emergencies, a tradition we all must start in our own homes.

You can listen to the podcast here. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed talking to Julie and Siggy.



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Where's Martha?

A highlight from last night's liveblogging:

Behold, President Huckalogan!

Princeton's one-party state

My latest at the Star Ledger's New Jersey Voices is ready for your reading pleasure.

Richard Rich, or Richie Rich?

Dr. Krauthammer writes about John Edwards:

Edwards has made much of his renunciation of his Iraq war vote. But he has not stopped there. His entire campaign has been an orgy of regret and renunciation:

* As senator, he voted in 2001 for a bankruptcy bill that he now denounces.

* As senator, he voted for storing nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Twice. He is now fiercely opposed.

* As senator, he voted for the Bush-Kennedy No Child Left Behind education reform. He now campaigns against it, promising to have it "radically overhauled."

* As senator, he voted for the Patriot Act, calling it "a good bill . . . and I am pleased to support it." He now attacks it.

* As senator, he voted to give China normalized trade relations. Need I say? He now campaigns against liberalized trade with China as a sellout of the middle class to the great multinational agents of greed, etc.

Betsy:

And then Krauthammer delivers this scathing conclusion recalling this Biblical line used in A Man for All Seasons when Thomas More asks the man who just perjured himself in order to get a job in Wales.

It profits a man nothing to sell his soul for the whole world. But for 4 percent of the Nevada caucuses?

Ouch. The name of the perjurer whose testimony helped send More to the block? Richard Rich. Now, every time I see John Edwards I'll picture Paul Scofield asking Richard Rich

Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales?

John Edwards - the 21st Century Richard Rich.

The way I see it, Richard had a maturity that Edwards lacks; Edwards is more of a Richie Rich type - a cardboard cartoon of a character.
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Matt Sanchez has his own podcast. He's got a lot to say on Hillary and the "Hispanic" vote.

Matt was my podcast guest last October.
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Today at 11AM Eastern Happy Catholic joins Siggy and me to talk about food.

Happy Catholic has posted the first photograph of Siggy ever to hit the internet, and you can find it at her post here.



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