tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14533652009-07-30T23:41:38.892-04:00Fair and balanced news and opinion commentary by Thomas Nephew. Can you hear me now?Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comBlogger1959125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-34011614210863178422008-06-14T23:17:00.006-04:002009-07-30T23:40:27.860-04:00

I've set up a new site at http://newsrackblog.com. It's not quite what I want -- not sure about the green or the rather small font -- but all of that can be fixed once I've either built up some coding skills or found a better Wordpress template (so long, blogger.com). But the URL is right, I was able to move all the Haloscan comments over to the new system, and recent comments now appear on the

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-40193675179672499022008-05-31T01:30:00.005-04:002008-06-11T17:12:08.390-04:00

(Self-updating listing of my "del.icio.us" links)This blog is parked at an ISP home page site granting about 16MB of space. After about six and half years(!) of blogging, that space is almost full; you might say newsrack blog is approaching the "one more wafer" stage. I've been moving images (they really are worth a thousand words!) and various documents over to Photobucket and Google Docs, but

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-52922759721222245572008-05-31T01:29:00.001-04:002008-06-11T17:12:40.343-04:00

The Real News Network is a great resource for different takes (and sometimes the only takes) on world news, with voices from outside the mainstream of U.S. media. Here are some of the clips I've saved, as recently as today, on topics from Iraq to Zimbabwe to the Democratic primaries. As storage resources tighten here, this and the recent deli.cio.us links post will migrate to the top of the

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-59361986465088789042008-05-24T23:59:00.004-04:002008-06-12T18:00:56.409-04:00

A stalled U.S. peace movement? Antiwar activity since 2001 (janinsanfran, "Happening Here") --- This is the fifth and last post of a series Jan wrote to gather her thoughts for a history workshop, and the whole series is worth your while. Jan concludes:A more effective peace movement needs to be offering a vision of a plausible, sustainable global community that doesn't hinge on U.S. use of

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-840408755059835012008-05-24T23:40:00.000-04:002008-05-25T02:01:55.696-04:00

Liberal Pundits Offer Unprecedented Apology (Berube, TPM Cafe) --- The organization, "Repentant Villagers," announced today that it would be issuing formal apologies to hundreds of liberal bloggers, including Duncan Black, Jane Hamsher, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, Glenn Greenwald, and "Digby," acknowledging that the progressive blogosphere was right about Lieberman after all. "No one could have

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-14017928831771704092008-05-23T12:30:00.003-04:002008-06-11T16:14:22.437-04:00

In today's Washington Post article "Sentence in Memo Discounted FISA," Robert Barnes reports that Senators Whitehouse and Feinstein have finally pried loose an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion purporting to provide legal cover for ignoring FISA (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) as the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance may be conducted. Barnes quotes John Yoo:"[u]

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-77389378010929040772008-05-14T17:38:00.000-04:002008-05-14T17:38:50.471-04:00

An NPR team followed a couple of parents back to the rubble of their apartment building in Dujiangyan, and reported it inDujiangyan Parents' Search for Child: With some bodies now found, the military was called in. Soon, about three dozen military police arrived in green camouflage fatigues and black rubber boots but with no supplies or equipment. Mrs. Fu and Mr. Wang ran out to buy them cotton

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-47959741743464086472008-05-12T13:17:00.008-04:002008-06-12T22:30:20.159-04:00

Via Roy Edroso ("alicublog").

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-81003750162192485032008-05-11T14:15:00.008-04:002008-05-27T15:36:59.188-04:00

An occasional review of further developments in stuff I've written about before.Past diminishing and well into negative returns..., April 24, 2008 --- Responding to Senator Clinton's threat to "obliterate" Iran if it were to attack Israel,* Iranian cleric and "Assembly of Experts" member Ahmed Khatami said:A disreputable American (presidential) candidate has said that if Iran attacks Israel, she

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-81517479202952856382008-05-06T16:00:00.004-04:002008-05-16T00:30:28.989-04:00

First Lady Condemns Junta's Response to Storm - washingtonpost.com: 'Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path,' she said. 'The response to this cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failures to meet its people's basic needs.'=====UPDATE, 5/8: How hypocritical is Ms. Bush? ThinkProgress counts

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-41289802031431924592008-05-06T12:30:00.010-04:002008-05-12T07:49:18.270-04:00

Last week I had to put down my newspaper in the Metro for a long time. The front page news photo -- connected with the story "U.S. Role Deepens in Sadr City" -- was this:Two-year-old Ali Hussein is pulled from the rubble of his family's home in the Shiitestronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, April 29, 2008.(Karim Kadim/AP Photo)It might have been a more cropped version. Certainly all I

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-29458616856012108112008-05-02T09:30:00.003-04:002008-05-02T14:05:26.690-04:00

What Jim Henley said, about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's sophistry about torture not being prohibited under the Eighth Amendment because it isn't "punishment" but interrogation: ...one of my biggest arguments was that the corruption of war and torture would seep back across the border and contaminate republican institutions and principles here at home. Scalia makes clear that that is

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-8381070717276730092008-05-01T12:30:00.004-04:002008-05-02T22:36:45.375-04:00

Hank Prensky, Julius West, Michelle Bailey,Joy Austin-Lane. 2d photo here.Originally uploaded by Thomas Nephew. As advertised, I joined my friends Michelle Bailey, Hank Prensky, and Joy Austin-Lane in a short visit to Congressman Chris Van Hollen's (D-MD-8) local Hyattsville office (just outside Takoma Park), to bring the Congressman a copy of "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq."

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-18344450893023680032008-04-30T00:35:00.007-04:002008-04-30T14:54:27.886-04:00

Thursday, May 1 is the fifth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" - the day George Bush stood on an aircraft carrier declaring major combat operations over in Iraq. Five years later, the costs of war keep mounting and there's still no end in sight. In 1994, the Republicans came up with a Contract with America that they worked to implement as soon as they were sworn in. This time around, it will

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-47001988669954942662008-04-24T01:38:00.008-04:002008-05-28T09:44:32.350-04:00

...on the value of this Democratic primary campaign. eRobin ("fact-esque") and others see it differently, seeing the campaign as giving candidates a chance to hear from more voters: ...the more time they're out there forced to compete for the votes of the people who want to hear about the candidates' schemes to reverse the damage of the BushCo years, the better off the Democrats are for November

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-12887628709417343092008-04-22T02:00:00.008-04:002008-05-04T10:47:01.376-04:00

The past few weeks have provided numerous headlines about torture authorized by the American government. The stories quickly climbed up the dungeon ladder from John Yoo's second torture memo to the revelation that Cabinet-level discussions were held specifically about whether and how to "interrogate" -- that is, torture -- prisoners, to the revelation that Dubya himself knew of those meetings

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-30414988631145285592008-04-22T01:15:00.001-04:002008-04-22T01:37:05.874-04:00

Huge, if belated applause for Roy Edroso ("alicublog"), whose "The Official Village Voice Election-Season Guide to the Right-Wing Blogosphere: A confederacy of dunces was last week's cover story in the Village Voice!My favorite parts are the "stupid/evil ratio" factoids assigned to all --highest evil quotient: Glenn Reynolds (5:95); highest stupid quotient: Ace of Spades (99:1). Some might

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-70482969303168959002008-04-18T00:47:00.006-04:002008-04-18T01:20:30.073-04:00

Not just health care policy -- funny health care policy. And even brave health care policy, says Ezra Klein, who describes Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bob Bennett's (R-UT) plan asradical integration of the system, a sort of single-payer that uses private insurers as regulated subcontractors, rather than a multipayer that keeps them as independent players (which Obama and Clinton both do).

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-69996553924231311692008-04-13T01:17:00.006-04:002008-04-21T15:02:23.202-04:00

Sound advice for Obama supporters -- in a barely friendly, clenched-teeth, ... oh, what the heck, fairly hostile sort of way -- from Obama-skeptic Kate Harding (at "Shakesville"). With the refrain "Obama is not a f*@%ing progressive," Harding rehearses a well-researched list of many of the Obama negatives I've noted myself,* concludingObama has feet of clay, just like every other politician in

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-6377496518470792482008-04-10T23:20:00.012-04:002008-04-21T15:03:08.983-04:00

Reprisal attacks by Robert Mugabe's militias (Zimbabwe)Originally uploaded by Sokwanele - Zimbabwe.More here.Via the Flickr "Democracy in Action" photo pool, I ran across a blog by Zimbabweans called "This is Zimbabwe" this evening.The blog is run by Sokwanele, described as a "popular underground movement in Zimbabwe" in Wikipedia. Sokwanele means "enough is enough"; it appears to be credible

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-61790843692155570262008-04-10T18:01:00.023-04:002008-04-14T16:16:19.429-04:00

Senator Feingold addresses fundraiser attendeesTwo other photos from the event here.Originally uploaded by Thomas Nephew(For more and better images, see KC's photos.)I went to a "Netroots Nation" fundraiser yesterday at the Mott House near the Capitol. The price was pretty reasonable as fundraisers go, and there was the prospect of seeing some friends and hearing from some of the good guys in

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-12233945194152531362008-04-09T12:30:00.002-04:002008-04-10T11:00:28.830-04:00

Your former Undersecretary of Defense and mine, Douglas Feith, speaking with Philippe Sands ("The Green Light," Vanity Fair about the good old days when he played a role in approving torture: "This year I was really a player," Feith said, thinking back on 2002 and relishing the memory. I asked him whether, in the end, he was at all concerned that the Geneva decision might have diminished America’

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-8525110136229622042008-04-02T01:24:00.002-04:002008-04-02T01:49:16.869-04:00

...we have a tendency to demonize and jump on and make mockery of each other across the aisle, and that is particularly pronounced when we make mistakes. Each and every one of us is going to make a mistake once in a while…and what we hope is that our track record of service, the scope of how we’ve operated and interacted with people, will override whatever particular mistake we make.By itself,

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-24343919079529784752008-04-01T12:30:00.003-04:002008-04-21T16:16:57.018-04:00

Really! Fafblog! back to save the universe. I'm glad, even if it's just for a day.(Hat tip to KCinDC)

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453365.post-15853381524796125192008-03-26T12:30:00.001-04:002008-04-21T16:17:27.060-04:00

I haven't meant to keep quiet here quite this much since last Thursday -- but now the pause may get extended through the weekend. We're on the road to Connecticut to see an old friend, so new posts may not be possible and won't be a priority.===I watched part 2 of Frontline's "Bush's War" documentary last night. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it; with a good Internet connection, you can

Thomas Nephewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019400893103077252noreply@blogger.com