Archive for the ‘ Political comment ’ Category

Going Negative

NY Times – Opinionator I could hardly believe my eyes, but this is what David Brooks said: — The thing that actually surprises me most is a shift in morals. Of course politicians have always lied. But now dishonesty is seen as a sign you are playing the game the way it should be played. [ READ MORE ]

Chinese entities world’s biggest economic spies

Craig Hill Note the rifles on these Chinese soldiers – they have bayonets on them! They are clearly intended for internal use, – bayonets are of no use in modern warfare, and have long since been abandoned. I subscribe to Craig Hill’s blog, but I almost wish I hadn’t – he floods my inbox with postings every [ READ MORE ]

The Long, Slow, Painful Death of the Federalists

This is not something you want to know about, believe me. I continue to listen to Empire of Liberty (out of sheer stubbornness) but it is giving me a headache. The overall situation can be summarized fairly easily: in the 18th Century the new nation of America had two role models to follow – the French or the [ READ MORE ]

Plutocracy, Paralysis, Perplexity

NY Times – Krugman: Plutocracy, Paralysis, Perplexity As always, I try to limit my outside links, but some are too good to pass up. The following could qualify for a pull-quote, if the Times used them: Today, Washington is marked by a combination of bitter partisanship and intellectual confusion — and both are, I would [ READ MORE ]

Arab Spring: flowers faded, harvest to come

Open Democracy I must admit, right off, that that this was far too complicated for me to understand. There are too many countries, and too many movements for an ordinary outsider, like me, to grasp. But it is a realistic contrast to the simplistic presentations of the American Media – who by now have forgotten [ READ MORE ]

End of the American Empire

NY Times - Echoes of the End of the Raj I really do try to limit my postings. I get the NY Times every day, but usually without linking to any of the many good articles in it. But this article had so much depth I could not pass it up. It compared the British Empire [ READ MORE ]

David Frum: Read This Book, Obama!

Newsweek: the Daily Beast Excellent book review! Historian Robert Caro, who does not particularly like LBJ, has to admire his success as a ruthless politician. And compares him with Kennedy, a vastly more popular figure who accomplished little. Johnson was a good judge of character, understood people’s weaknesses and was able to use these to manipulate [ READ MORE ]

China braces for next act in leadership drama

Reuters Reuters seems to be on top of this story, in comparison to our New York Times. China has amazed the world with its economic progress. But politically, it is a mess[ READ MORE ]

The Corporation is Like the Titanic

Last night I had horrible nightmares about the failure of our corporations. This morning I am asking myself what that means – and asking “What do the corporations symbolize?” The answer seems to be that they stand for almost everything, and the end of them will be the end of our whole world – not [ READ MORE ]

Before You Can Fix Something, You Have to Understand It

NY Review of Books - Our Corrupt Politics: It’s Not All Money Americans don’t believe in understanding. What they do believe is never clear, but they clearly are not interested in that. They prefer direct action of some kind – with a minimum of thought – much like a trigger being pressed on a gun, or a [ READ MORE ]

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