tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77218544575639141992024-03-19T03:35:58.196-07:00The Political JunkieThe Political Junkie offers an outside-looking- in view of the US. Each day, we will highlight news and opinion pieces from around the world that are focused on US politics and policy. Agree or disagree with the opinions you will read but take a few minutes to see yourselves as others see you.pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.comBlogger2430125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-83233911061958081722013-01-11T06:58:00.001-08:002013-01-11T06:58:12.326-08:00What's it going to take to wake up Americans?<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Slate Magazine</span><br />
<h2 class="sl-art-head-hed">
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown? </h2>
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-32611441636748259352013-01-05T12:39:00.000-08:002013-01-05T12:39:34.602-08:0067 Callous Hypocrits<span style="font-size: x-large;"> The Daily Beast</span><br />
<h1 class="heading heading-style-i size-30">
Callous Conservatives: Gulf State Republicans’ Sandy Shame</h1>
<span class="byline byline-style-a">
by
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/contributors/john-avlon.html" rel="author">
John Avlon
</a>
</span>
<time class="timestamp" datetime="2013-01-05T15:45:00.000Z" pubdate="pubdate">Jan 5, 2013 10:45 AM EST
</time>
<br />
<div class="dek-body">
<h2 class="dek">
The Republican congressmen who use New York as a campaign ATM, but turn
a blind eye to suffering here must be held accountable, writes John
Avlon.
</h2>
</div>
<div class="text parbase section">
Slap a scarlet “S” on these callous conservatives. <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll007.xml#N" target="_blank">Sixty-seven members of Congress</a>–all Republicans—voted against even $9 billion of Hurricane Sandy relief yesterday.</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_text1" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<div class="text parbase section">
Remember their names, and hold them accountable.</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_inlineimage" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<figure class="multimedia section">
<img alt="Sandy Debris on Staten Island " class="cq-dd-image" src="http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2013/01/05/callous-conservatives-gulf-state-republicans-sandy-shame/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.503.jpg/1357401688767.cached.jpg" title="avlon-shameful-sandy-vote-tease-embed" />
<figcaption class="figcaption">
A laborer empties debris from a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy on
January 4, 2013 in the Midland Beach area of the Staten Island borough
of New York City. More than two months after the storm, Congress passed
legislation that will provide $9.7 billion to cover insurance claims
filed by people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Sandy. (John
Moore/Getty)<br />
</figcaption>
</figure>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_text2" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<div class="text parbase section">
Twelve
of the scarlet 67 voted for Hurricane Katrina relief—which passed ten
days after that devastating Gulf Coast storm—but against Hurricane Sandy
relief 69 days after its landfall in the Northeast. Their names: Trent
Franks (AZ), Ed Royce (CA), Sam Graves (MO), Steve Pearce (NM), Steve
Chabot (OH), Jimmy Duncan (TN), Kenny Marchant (TX), Randy Neugebauer
(TX), Mac Thornberry (TX), Bob Goodlatte (VA), Tom Petri (WI), and Paul
Ryan (WI).</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_text3" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<div class="text parbase section">
These
congressmen are content to use New York City and the tri-state area as
an ATM when they are looking for campaign funds, yet they willfully turn
a blind eye when hundreds of thousands of homes and small businesses
are damaged or destroyed and more than 100 Americans are dead.</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_breakout" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<div class="adBreakout section">
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" name="body_text4" style="visibility: hidden;"></a><br />
<div class="text parbase section">
<span style="color: red;">Note
the name of last year’s vice presidential nominee and potential 2016
presidential candidate Paul Ryan on this list. Donors would do well to
ask him about this vote. The Texas delegation likewise asked for federal
funds when hurricanes have devastated their state, yet are ignoring
suffering in the Northeast. But then conservatives often become liberal
when an issue affects them personally. Just two years ago, Missouri
Congressman <a href="http://graves.house.gov/latest-news/missouri-delegation-supports-request-for-emergency-declaration" target="_blank">Sam Graves begged</a> President Obama for an emergency declaration to deal with flooding in his district—now he is afflicted with convenient amnesia.</span></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/05/callous-conservatives-gulf-state-republicans-sandy-shame.html">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/05/callous-conservatives-gulf-state-republicans-sandy-shame.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-77599961508197247332012-12-25T03:45:00.003-08:002012-12-25T03:45:47.235-08:00Canada: Israel disputes NRA claim<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Globe and Mail</span><br />
<br />
<h1 class="entry-title" title="Armed guards at Israeli schools just one part of the country’s defence system">
Officials challenge NRA’s claims about Israeli gun policies
</h1>
<div class="byline author vcard">
AMY TEIBEL
</div>
<div class="creditline source-org vcard">
JERUSALEM — The Associated Press</div>
<div class="creditline source-org vcard">
<br /></div>
Far from the image of a heavily-armed population where ordinary
people have their own arsenals to repel attackers, Israel allows its
people to acquire firearms only if they can prove their professions or
places of residence put them in danger. The country relies on its
security services, not armed citizens, to prevent terror attacks.<br />
<br />
Though
military service in Israel is compulsory, routine familiarity with
weapons does not carry over into civilian life. Israel has far fewer
private weapons per capita than the U.S., and while there have been
gangster shootouts on the streets from time to time, gun rampages
outside the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are unheard of.<br />
<br />
The
National Rifle Association responded to the Dec. 14 killing of 20
first-graders and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school by
resisting calls for tighter gun control and calling for armed guards and
police at schools. On Sunday, the lobby's chief executive, Wayne
LaPierre, invoked his perception of the Israeli school security system
to back his proposal.<br />
<br />
“Israel had a whole lot of school shootings
until they did one thing: They said, ‘We're going to stop it,’ and they
put armed security in every school and they have not had a problem since
then,” Mr. LaPierre said on the NBC News show <em>Meet the Press.</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/officials-challenge-nras-claims-about-israeli-gun-policies/article6704341/">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/officials-challenge-nras-claims-about-israeli-gun-policies/article6704341/</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-63611303089675061852012-12-24T05:06:00.004-08:002012-12-24T05:06:41.476-08:00Gun deaths since Newtown shooting146 shot dead in just 9 days in the US...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-20594754332192088992012-12-22T13:38:00.001-08:002012-12-22T13:38:53.229-08:00It's time...please watch<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64G5FfG2Xpg&feature=player_embedded">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64G5FfG2Xpg&feature=player_embedded</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-89259648249685869552012-12-22T05:52:00.006-08:002012-12-22T05:52:59.215-08:00Yesterday's satire...today's NRA position?Hat tip to <a href="http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.ca/2012/12/if-you-thought-you-had-heard-that.html">http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.ca/2012/12/if-you-thought-you-had-heard-that.html </a><br />
<br />
<br />pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-57352727262508344762012-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:002012-12-22T05:31:57.416-08:00Rational thought vs the NRA<i>PJ: Rational thought does exist in America as the following article proves. Sadly up until now, those thoughts have been mere whispers compared to the powerful shouts of the nation's gun lobbies who want guns...more and more guns...without regulations in place for their purchase, possession and use. </i><br />
<br />
<i>For decades gun advocates have distorted the Constitutional Second Amendment which simply states:</i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: red;">"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed." </span></i><br />
<br />
<i>Hmmmm...<span style="color: red;">A WELL <u>REGULATED</u> MILITIA.... </span></i> <br />
<br />
<i>Hmmmm...the founding fathers wanted regulation of firearms...? Who would'a thunk it? </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Slate Magazine</span><br />
<h2 class="sl-art-head-hed">
When Gun Nuts Write Gun Laws, Nuts Have Guns</h2>
<h1 class="sl-art-head-dek">
We are living in the world the NRA has made.</h1>
By <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.tom_scocca.html" rel="author">Tom Scocca</a><span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">So <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/12/21/nra_s_wayne_lapierre_press_conference_gun_group_breaks_silence_in_wake_of.html">this is what Wayne LaPierre came up with</a>,
with a week to reflect on the news that a law-abiding gun owner's
legally purchased rifle, in the hands of her firearm-trained son, had
been used to slaughter 20 kids: more guns, more law-abiding gun owners,
more more more lead-spraying death machinery, more killing to stop the
killers until all the killers have been killed. Only when we have
eliminated the threat of "gun-free school zones," the danger and horror
of children going through a school day unsurrounded by the implements of
death, will we all feel safe.<br />
</span></span><br /> People who live in the world of causes and effects and verifiable truths, the world the NRA has long since abandoned, had no trouble pointing out the flaws in LaPierre's analysis—the fact, for instance, that there had been <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/12/21/columbine_armed_guard_colorado_shooting_shows_that_nra_s_shield_program.html">an armed deputy sheriff on duty at Columbine High School</a> on April 20, 1999. Around the time LaPierre was speaking, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/12/21/nra_press_conference_shooting_spree_pa_shooting_spree_unfolds_moments_before.html">someone in Pennsylvania was shooting another batch of people</a>, including armed state troopers.<span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/12/nra_press_conference_the_lesson_of_newtown_when_gun_nuts_write_gun_laws.single.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/12/nra_press_conference_the_lesson_of_newtown_when_gun_nuts_write_gun_laws.single.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-40311355380458068202012-12-21T08:36:00.005-08:002012-12-21T08:45:10.551-08:00Holy Cow--The most dangerous country in the world<span style="color: red;">PJ: The NRA's answer to gun violence<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>=</i></span></span> more guns<i>. </i>The<i> </i> Head of NRA says, <br /><br /><i>"Only ‘Good Guy’ With A Gun Can Stop ‘Bad Guy’ With A Gun"</i></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><i> </i><br />So....in the recent altercation at the Florida pizza shop<i>*</i> where the guy with the gun (which he obtained legally) shot the unarmed guy because the unarmed guy was complaining about the wait time for his pizza<i>...</i><span style="color: blue;">Could the NRA please tell me<i> </i>which one was the good guy?</span></span><i><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">*<a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/339442">http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/339442 </a></span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Talking Points Memo</span><br />
<h1>
LaPierre Calls On Congress To Put Armed Police Officers ‘In Every <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Single School’</span></h1>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7721854457563914199" rel="author">
Tom Kludt</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/lapierre-calls-on-congress-to-put-armed-police?ref=fpa">http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/lapierre-calls-on-congress-to-put-armed-police?ref=fpa</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-11558974414380502482012-12-21T04:47:00.000-08:002012-12-21T04:47:01.627-08:00Gun deaths this week in the US<br />
<h2 class="sl-art-head-hed">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Slate Magazine </span></h2>
<h2 class="sl-art-head-hed">
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?</h2>
<h1 class="sl-art-head-dek">
<strong><em>Slate</em></strong> partners with @GunDeaths for an interactive, crowdsourced tally of the toll firearms have taken since Dec. 14.</h1>
<div class="sl-art-byline">
By <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.chris_kirk.html" rel="author">Chris Kirk</a> and <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.dan_kois.html" rel="author">Dan Kois</a></div>
<div class="sl-art-byline">
<br /></div>
<div class="sl-art-byline">
Well, someone is. Since this summer, the anonymous creator of <a href="https://twitter.com/GunDeaths" target="_blank">the Twitter feed @GunDeaths</a>
has been doing his best to compile those statistics, tweeting every
reported death he can find. He was inspired, he told us in a phone
interview, by the Aurora, Colo., shootings and simply wanted to call
daily attention to the toll that guns take. Now <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> is partnering with @GunDeaths to create this interactive feature, “Gun Deaths in America Since Newtown.” </div>
<div class="sl-art-byline">
</div>
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Please go to this link for the startling statistics:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-80293314374883053652012-12-21T04:22:00.000-08:002012-12-21T04:22:07.081-08:00UK: An American love affair: Guns, guns and more guns<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">PJ: What a pathetic reaction by some in America: <i>arm teachers...provide tiny children with bullet proof backpacks...more guns not fewer.... </i>Will chi</span></span>ldren even<span style="font-size: small;">t</span>ually have to wear full bodyarmor? Will teachers have to carry their assigned weapons or face disciplinary action? Will everyone in America soon be outfitted with combat gear to go the the cinema? </span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />This last Sunday, in Florida*, a man complained about the slow service at a pizza take away. Another man took action and shot the unarmed man...twice. The shooter had no history of mental illness and was carrying his weapon legally. Is this what gun enthusiasts want? What if a teacher took matters of disagreement with...anyone...into their own hands and used their <span style="font-size: small;">(</span>required) gun to deal with the altercation? Is this the safe world that America wants for their children? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">*<a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/287565/8/Man-shoots-victim-twice-in-local-Pizza-shop">http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/287565/8/Man-shoots-victim-twice-in-local-Pizza-shop </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Independent</span><br />
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138696 title">
<h1 class="title">
Newtown massacre: US races to stock up on weapons ahead of potential new federal ban
</h1>
</div>
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138721">
</div>
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138720">
<h3 class="subtitle">
Rather than recoiling from the gun, Americans are emptying stores of ‘sporting rifles’ while online prices soar<br />
</h3>
</div>
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/david-usborne"> <span class="authorName">
David Usborne</span></a><br />
It is a sad tradition in America that each mass shooting is followed
by a surge in gun sales, in part because people calculate they need more
firepower to protect themselves. That explains why the days since last
Friday have also seen <b>a surge in sales of special backpacks for school
children lined with bullet-proof material</b>. Their manufacturers allege
they work well as shields in classroom firefights.<br />
<br />
Now, however,
there is the added fear among gun enthusiasts that new restrictions are
around the corner and they had better get the weapons they covet before
it’s too late.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/newtown-massacre-us-races-to-stock-up-on-weapons-ahead-of-potential-new-federal-ban-8427976.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/newtown-massacre-us-races-to-stock-up-on-weapons-ahead-of-potential-new-federal-ban-8427976.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-7404465846755885882012-12-21T03:48:00.004-08:002012-12-21T03:48:52.549-08:00UK: Murdoch's power goes beyond Fox's propaganda<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Guardian</span><br />
<div id="article-header">
<div id="main-article-info">
<h1 itemprop="name headline ">
Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency</h1>
<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="comp : r2 : Article : standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
<span style="font-size: large;">Did the Washington Post and others underplay the story through fear of the News Corp chairman, or simply tin-eared judgment?</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<ul class="article-attributes trackable-component b4" data-component="comp: r2: Byline">
<li>
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/carl-bernstein" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" rel="author">
<img alt="Carl Bernstein" class="contributor-pic-small" height="60" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/12/20/1356022150438/carlbernstein_140x140.jpg" title="Contributor picture" width="60" />
</a>
</li>
<li id="contrib-shift"><ul>
<li class="byline">
<div class="contributor-full">
<span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span itemprop="name"><a class="contributor" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/carl-bernstein" itemprop="url" rel="author">Carl Bernstein</a> </span></span> </div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
So now we have it: what appears to be hard, irrefutable evidence of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/rupert-murdoch" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Rupert Murdoch">Rupert Murdoch</a>'s
ultimate and most audacious attempt – thwarted, thankfully, by
circumstance – to hijack America's democratic institutions on a scale
equal to his success in kidnapping and corrupting the essential
democratic institutions of Great Britain through money, influence and
wholesale abuse of the privileges of a free press.<br />
<br />
In the American instance, Murdoch's goal seems to have been nothing less than using his media empire – notably <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/fox-news" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Fox News">Fox News</a> – to stealthily recruit, bankroll and support the presidential candidacy of General <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/david-petraeus" title="More from guardian.co.uk on David Petraeus">David Petraeus</a> in the 2012 election.<br />
<br />
Thus
in the spring of 2011 – <b>less than 10 weeks before Murdoch's centrality
to the hacking and politician-buying scandal enveloping his British
newspapers was definitively revealed</b> – Fox News' inventor and president,
Roger Ailes, dispatched an emissary to Afghanistan to urge Petraeus to
turn down President Obama's expected offer to become CIA director and,
instead, run for the Republican nomination for president, with promises
of being bankrolled by Murdoch. Ailes himself would resign as president
of Fox News and run the campaign, according to the conversation between
Petraeus and the emissary, K T McFarland, a Fox News on-air defense
"analyst" and former spear carrier for national security principals in
three Republican administrations.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/bernstein-murdoch-ailes-petreaus-presidency">http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/bernstein-murdoch-ailes-petreaus-presidency</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-14188581706000648802012-12-20T04:10:00.000-08:002012-12-20T04:10:41.740-08:00How to rid a country of gun violence<span style="font-size: x-large;"> The Washington Post</span><br />
<br />
<div class="columnist-header">
<div class="columnist-headshot">
<img alt="Fareed Zakaria" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Staff-Bio/Images/fareed-zakaria-114x80.png" />
</div>
<div class="columnist-title">
<dl>
<dt><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/linksets/2010/07/06/AB29q7D_linkset.html">Fareed Zakaria</a></dt>
<dd>
Opinion Writer
</dd></dl>
</div>
</div>
<div class="corrections ">
</div>
<h1>
<span class="entry-title">The solution to gun violence is clear</span></h1>
<br />
Is America’s popular culture the cause? This is highly unlikely, as
largely the same culture exists in other rich countries. Youth in
England and Wales, for example, are exposed to virtually identical
cultural influences as in the United States. Yet the rate of gun
homicide there is a tiny fraction of ours. The Japanese are at the
cutting edge of the world of video games. Yet their gun homicide rate is
close to zero! Why? Britain has tough gun laws. Japan has perhaps the
tightest regulation of guns in the industrialized world.<br />
<br />
The data
in social science are rarely this clear. They strongly suggest that we
have so much more gun violence than other countries because we have far
more permissive laws than others regarding the sale and possession of
guns. With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has 50
percent of the guns. <br />
There is clear evidence that tightening
laws — even in highly individualistic countries with long traditions of
gun ownership — can reduce gun violence. In Australia, after a 1996 ban
on all automatic and semiautomatic weapons — a real ban, not like the <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_06.pdf" target="_blank">one we enacted in 1994</a> with <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2012/sep/25/national-rifle-association/nra-attacks-bill-nelsons-vote-gun-ban/">600-plus exceptions</a> — gun-related homicides dropped <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/brothers-in-arms-yes-but-the-us-needs-to-get-rid-of-its-guns-20120731-23ct7.html">59 percent</a> over the next decade. The rate of suicide by firearm plummeted <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://aler.oxfordjournals.org/content/12/2/462">65 percent</a>.
(Almost 20,000 Americans die each year using guns to commit suicide — a
method that is much more successful than other forms of suicide.)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-the-solution-to-gun-violence-is-clear/2012/12/19/110a6f82-4a15-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html?hpid=z2">http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-the-solution-to-gun-violence-is-clear/2012/12/19/110a6f82-4a15-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html?hpid=z2</a><br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="fbPhotoImage img" id="fbPhotoImage" src="http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/76720_10151358605720797_674046646_n.jpg" /><br />
<div class="fbPhotoContributorName" id="fbPhotoPageAuthorName">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=734665796" href="http://www.facebook.com/drjimmys">Jimmy Schwarzkopf:</a></span></div>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoPageCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /><span style="color: red;">Ironically..... Kinder Surprise are banned in the USA because they pose a danger to small children.</span></span></span>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-67834354829798096082012-12-16T04:24:00.003-08:002012-12-16T04:24:47.623-08:00Please read this America <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The New York Times</span><br />
<h1 class="articleHeadline" itemprop="headline">
Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?</h1>
<h6 class="byline">
By
<span itemid="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html" rel="author" title="More Articles by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF"><span itemprop="name">NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF</span></a></span></h6>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">IN the harrowing aftermath of the school shooting in Connecticut, one
thought wells in my mind: Why can’t we regulate guns as seriously as we
do cars? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> *</span></span><br />
<div itemprop="articleBody">
So let’s treat firearms rationally as the center of a public health
crisis that claims one life every 20 minutes. The United States
realistically isn’t going to ban guns, but we can take steps to reduce
the carnage. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
American schoolchildren are protected by building codes that govern
stairways and windows. School buses must meet safety standards, and the
bus drivers have to pass tests. Cafeteria food is regulated for safety.
The only things we seem lax about are the things most likely to kill. </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has five pages of regulations about <a href="http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10839">ladders</a>, while federal authorities shrug at serious curbs on firearms. Ladders kill around 300 Americans a year, and <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-05-07/news/bs-ed-guns-letter-20110507_1_gun-violence-gun-injuries-bin">guns 30,000</a>. </div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?hp">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?hp</a><br />
<br />
<br />pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-21745709322299083902012-12-07T10:57:00.000-08:002012-12-07T10:57:32.392-08:00Probably my last post....The insanity of the GOP continues<i>PJ: After the election, I watched and read so many pieces that outlined the end of the crazy in the GOP that I was a bit skeptical. Isn't this what pundits said in 2008? </i><br />
<br />
<i>Sadly, many republicans have drifted into a frightening universe that is so far right and so far wrong that the entertainment value of American politics has left me. I am saddened by the hatred and misinformation that surfaces on Fox News and fright-talk radio on a daily basis. I am shocked at the bigotry and vitriol that is evidenced by today's conservative talkers. Dear readers, the US is not drifting into communisim as the rantings of the hate-filled Sarah Palin insisted in her role as a Fox News expert said the other day. There is no need to "take your country back!" from other Americans as the right-wing chants since the election of President Obama. There is no boogie man waiting to control every American citizen holded up in the White House. There is no reality to back up the fear of "Sharia Law" that so many on the right postulate. Susan Rice did not cause the greatest scandal since Watergate as Senator John McCain insists. And no, the UN is not lying in wait to take over the US. </i><br />
<br />
<i>I do hope that sanity will eventually prevail but I'll not hold my breath. There is too much unfounded fear and hatred circulating. A fear and hatred that has been manufactured by a right-wing that has lost perspective; a right-wing that believes unfounded propaganda; a right-wing that is nursed with a steady diet of misinformation and lies; a right-wing that refuses to accept fact vs the fiction that feeds it. The party that once supported science and education is now the party that disputes both. </i><br />
<br />
From <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bloomberg</span></b><br />
<div id="disqus_title">
<h1>
Help Republicans Rescue Their Party From Itself</h1>
</div>
<cite class="byline">
By
<a class="author" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/view/bios/jonathan-alter/">Jonathan Alter</a> </cite><br />
<br />
Cruelty, fear, cowardice, xenophobia
and disrespect invaded the inner sanctum of the U.S. government
this week, bringing embarrassment and dishonor to what was once
the greatest deliberative body in the world: the <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/u.s.-senate/">U.S. Senate</a>.<br />
<br />
On Dec. 4, former Senate Majority Leader <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/bob-dole/">Bob Dole</a>, an 89-
year-old Republican whose right arm was shattered in combat
during World War II, was wheeled into the Senate chamber by his
wife to rally support for a United Nations treaty that should
have been entirely unobjectionable.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm" rel="external" title="Open Web Site">UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities</a>, negotiated under President <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/george-w.-bush/">George W. Bush</a> and
signed by more than 150 nations, takes a stand against
“discrimination on the basis of disability” and in favor of
“respect for inherent dignity.” It’s a largely symbolic
document with implementation language that consists mostly of a
weak recommendation for “due consideration” of its lofty aims.
Even so, with U.S. leadership, it could promote compassion for
the disabled in dozens of countries where they are cruelly
shunned.<br />
<br />
Senator <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/james-inhofe/">James Inhofe</a>, an Oklahoma Republican who long ago
discredited himself as a serious person by championing junk
science on <a href="http://topics.bloomberg.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>, said on the Senate floor, “This
unelected bureaucratic body would pass recommendations that
would be forced upon the United States if we were a signatory.” <br />
That’s completely false. Not a single clause or phrase in
the treaty impinges on national sovereignty, unless one believes
-- as some xenophobic neo-isolationists do -- that the UN itself
is a threat to the U.S.<cite class="byline"> </cite><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-06/help-republicans-rescue-their-party-from-itself.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-06/help-republicans-rescue-their-party-from-itself.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-45624766402989212082012-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:002012-11-15T10:25:09.047-08:00UK: Silly season and Benghazi<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">PJ: If my staunch republican father was alive today, he would deride this conservative publication, claiming incorrectly that <span style="font-size: small;">it had </span>changed into a liberal publication. I mention that only because there are a lot of American conservatives who will do the same. <span style="font-size: small;">When the facts or opinions deviate from their own, they claim fowl and bias. </span> The assessment that <span style="font-size: small;">The E<span style="font-size: small;">conmist has turned liberal </span></span>would<span style="font-size: small;">, of course<span style="font-size: small;">, </span></span>be incorrect<span style="font-size: small;">.</span> The Economist remains a very conservative magazine. What my father and many of today's republicans would have missed is th<span style="font-size: small;">at the magazine <span style="font-size: small;">always <span style="font-size: small;">tries</span> to give </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">rational voice to issues<span style="font-size: small;">, even if that voice deviate<span style="font-size: small;">s from the strict talking points of America<span style="font-size: small;">'s conservative movement. Perh<span style="font-size: small;">aps it's time to put partisan bickering aside and wor<span style="font-size: small;">k <span style="font-size: small;">together? Heavy sigh.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Right now, members of the GOP are beating the conspiracy drums with respect to what happen<span style="font-size: small;">ed in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Benghazi and claiming some far-fetched cover-up conspiracies in the process. Senators such as McCain and Graham have repeatedly demanded that the administration release information. Why then have they skipped security briefings in order to hold press conferences to claim that they are not being briefed? Another heavy sigh. </i><br />
<i>It's all very sordid and sad and unfortuneately the norm in Washington, D.C.</i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Economist</span><br />
<h1 class="ec-blog-fly-title">
Susan Rice</h1>
<h3 class="ec-blog-headline">
Benghazi-gate gets even more ludicrous </h3>
<div class="ec-blog-info">
Nov 15th 2012, 14:18 by M.S. </div>
<div class="ec-blog-info">
<br /></div>
<div class="ec-blog-info">
REPUBLICAN senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham devoted an appearance at the Washington Ideas Forum on Wednesday to <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/mccain-graham-promise-to-oppose-susan-rice-for-state-20121114">vowing to filibuster</a>
if Susan Rice, the current UN ambassador, is nominated to replace
Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. They're apparently ticked off
over her statements on talk shows on September 15th about the Benghazi
attacks. Barack Obama <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/11/susan-rice-obama-mccain-angry-benghazi-video.html">got pretty incensed about this</a> at his press conference later in the day, and <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FKevinDrum">Kevin Drum argues he was right to be incensed</a>.
As Mr Drum says, everything Ms Rice said on September 15th was in fact
the judgment at that moment of American intelligence agencies, and she
relayed that judgment accurately. The only thing that was even arguably
wrong in those intelligence assessments was the claim that there had
been a copycat protest over those anti-Muslim YouTube videos in
Benghazi; intelligence agencies didn't start calling this into question
until some time later. "Berating Rice, who had nothing to do with
Benghazi aside from representing the administration on these talk shows,
is nuts," Mr Drum writes. "The intelligence community was wrong about
one relatively unimportant fact, and Rice passed along that mistake.
That's it. There's no coverup, no conspiracy, no incompetence, no
scandal." </div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/11/susan-rice">http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/11/susan-rice</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-1803268702775653602012-11-12T04:13:00.003-08:002012-11-12T04:13:35.132-08:00Germany: The decline of a once great nation<span style="font-size: x-large;">Der Spiegel</span><br />
<h2 itemprop="headline">
<span class="spArticleTopicLine">Divided States of America </span><span class="spArticleHeadLine">Notes on the Decline of a Great Nation</span></h2>
<div class="spAuthor" itemprop="author">
By SPIEGEL Staff</div>
<div class="spAuthor" itemprop="author">
<br /></div>
<div class="spAuthor" itemprop="author">
<strong>The United States is frittering away its role as a model for the
rest of the world. The political system is plagued by an absurd level
of hatred, the economy is stagnating and the infrastructure is falling
into a miserable state of disrepair. On this election eve, many
Americans are losing faith in their country's future.</strong></div>
<div class="spAuthor" itemprop="author">
<br /></div>
In the show, the audience reacts with shock, just as a real-life
American audience would. But the truth is that America has transformed
itself into a land of limited opportunities. In fact, that was the way
SPIEGEL referred to the United States in a 1979 cover story, when the US
economy had been hard-hit by the oil crisis.<br />
<br />
But today's crisis is far more comprehensive, extending to the
social, political and spiritual realms. The worst thing about it is that
the country still refuses to engage in any debate over the reasons for
its decline. It seems as if many Americans today no longer want to talk
about how they can strengthen their union. Criticism is seen as a
betrayal of America's greatness.<br />
<br />
But that notion of greatness leaves much to be desired. Other numbers
can be readily added to those rattled off by the protagonist in
Sorkin's "The Newsroom," and the results are sobering. For instance, the
United States is no longer among the world's top 10 countries when it
comes to the state of its infrastructure. In fact, it spends less than
Europe to maintain its roads and bridges, tunnels, train stations and
airports.<br />
<br />
According to the US Federal Highway Administration, one in four of
the more than 600,000 bridges in the world's richest country are either
"inadequate" or outdated. According to some studies, the United States
would have to invest some $225 billion a year between now and 2050 to
regain an adequate, modern infrastructure. That's 60 percent more than
it invests today.<br />
<br />
<b>A Lack of Strength</b><br />
<b> </b>
<br />
It isn't hard to predict that this won't happen. The hatred of big
government has reached a level in the United States that threatens the
country's very existence. Americans everywhere may vow allegiance to the
nation and its proud Stars and Stripes, but when it comes time to pay
the bills and distribute costs, and when solidarity is needed, all sense
of community evaporates.<br />
<div class="spAuthor" itemprop="author">
<strong> </strong> </div>
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/divided-states-of-america-notes-on-the-decline-of-a-great-nation-a-865295.html">http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/divided-states-of-america-notes-on-the-decline-of-a-great-nation-a-865295.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-20782166400406924242012-11-12T04:09:00.002-08:002012-11-12T04:09:49.313-08:00UK: What really happened on the campaign trail<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Guardian</span> <br />
<div id="main-article-info">
<h1 itemprop="name headline">
US election 2012: the inside track on Obama's victory and Romney's defeat</h1>
As the dust settles and the president gets back to work, we are starting to learn what really happened on the campaign trail </div>
<br />
By Tom McCarthy<br />
<br />
After the election come the backgrounders – thousands of words of
meticulously reported (or briefed) explanations of what went miserably
wrong or miraculously right. As some of the campaign's richer inside
scenes and better kept secrets, here are some of the highlights...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/nov/10/us-elections-2012-obama-romney">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/nov/10/us-elections-2012-obama-romney</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-58226298920301811632012-11-10T07:11:00.002-08:002012-11-10T07:11:14.514-08:00UK: The state of the GOP<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Economist</span><br />
<div class="clearfix" id="ec-article">
<div class="clearfix" id="ec-article-body">
<h2 class="fly-title">
Lexington</h2>
<h3 class="headline">
State of denial</h3>
<h1 class="rubric">
The real blow to Republicans may be not that they failed to take the White House, but that they did not lose more heavily</h1>
<div class="ec-article-info">
Nov 10th 2012 | from the print edition </div>
<div class="ec-article-content clear">
<br />
<div class="content-image-full">
<img alt="" class="imagecache imagecache-full-width" height="335" src="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/full-width/images/print-edition/20121110_USD000_1.jpg" title="" width="595" />
</div>
<br /><strong>Face the facts</strong><br />
<br />
Republican pessimism is more than a PR headache. Put simply, it is
hard for a party to win national elections in a country that it seems to
dislike. Mr Romney’s campaign slogan was “Believe in America”. But too
many on his side believe in a version of America from which displeasing
facts or arguments are ruthlessly excluded. Todd Akin did not implode as
a Senate candidate because of his stern opposition to abortion even in
cases of rape or incest: many Republicans in Congress share those views.
His downfall came because in trying to deny that his principles
involved a trade-off with compassion for rape victims he came up with
the unscientific myth that the bodies of women subjected to rape can
shut down a pregnancy.<br />
<br />
It was a telling moment of denial, much like the comforting myth that
there is no such thing as climate change or, if there is, that humans
are not involved. Ensconced in a parallel world of conservative news
sources and conservative arguments, all manner of comforting alternative
visions of reality surfaced during the 2012 election. Many, like Mr
Akin’s outburst, involved avoiding having to think about unwelcome
things (often basic science or economics). It became a nostrum among
rank-and-file Republicans that mainstream opinion polls are biased and
should be ignored, for instance, and that voter fraud is rampant and
explains much of the Democrats’ inner-city support. Both conspiracies
sounded a lot like ways of wishing the other side away.<br />
<br />
Thoughtful Republicans are not oblivious to the dangers that they
face. Optimists hope that new leaders will emerge to lead their movement
rapidly towards greater realism, and greater cheeriness. If not,
electoral defeats far more severe than those inflicted this time will
surely impose such changes. Republicans may look back and wish the
reckoning had started sooner.<br />
<sup class="footnotes"><a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/lexington" target="_blank" title=" (opens in a new window) ">Economist.com/blogs/lexington</a></sup><br />
</div>
<div class="ec-article-info">
from the print edition | United States</div>
<div class="ec-article-info">
<br /></div>
<div class="ec-article-info">
<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21565976-real-blow-republicans-may-be-not-they-failed-take-white-house"><strong>http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21565976-real-blow-republicans-may-be-not-they-failed-take-white-house</strong> </a></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-80452425197258001802012-11-10T03:10:00.001-08:002012-11-10T03:10:02.408-08:00Malaysia: Political maturity<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> The Malay Mail</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="content-header">
<h1 class="title">
The audacity of hoping for political maturity</h1>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-datetime field-field-date">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<span class="date-display-single">Friday, November 09, 2012 - 16:03</span> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-nodereference field-field-source">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<a href="http://www.mmail.com.my/source/terence-fernandez">by Terence Fernandez</a> </div>
</div>
</div>
<br /><div class="alignright" style="width: 150px;">
<a href="http://www.mmail.com.my/op-ed/columns/hot-fuss" target="_blank" title="HotFuss"><img alt="HotFuss" height="76" src="http://www.mmail.com.my/sites/default/files/imagecache/medium/HotFussPNG_8.png" title="HotFuss" width="150" /></a></div>
<em>“We
may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country
deeply and we care so strongly about its future. The Romney family has
chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the
legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also
look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we
can work together to move this country forward.”</em> — President Barack Obama<br /><br /><em>“The
nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we
can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have
to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work ... I so wish that I
had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different
direction, but the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I join
with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.”</em> — Governor Mitt Romney<br /><br /><strong>THE</strong>
above paragraphs are taken from the victory and concessions speeches of
the two men who ran America’s most divisive and expensive elections in
over 100 years.<br /><br />It was bitterly fought, through three debates,
calling each other’s bluff and coining new phrases like “Romneysia” and
“Obamabaloney”.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mmail.com.my/story/audacity-hoping-political-maturity-36938">http://www.mmail.com.my/story/audacity-hoping-political-maturity-36938</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-63025885202532576172012-11-10T03:02:00.001-08:002012-11-10T03:02:22.494-08:00Lebanon: The fantasy world that the GOP inhabits<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Daily Star</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mitt Romney’s reality check leaves him shell-shocked</span></b><br />
<br />
The same disregard for reality has been the hallmark not only of the
Republican campaign but of the entire Republican Party in recent times.
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a report in October showing
that the national unemployment rate remained “essentially unchanged” at
7.9 percent, Republican operatives sought to discredit the highly
respected BLS. When polls showed that Romney was falling behind
President Barack Obama, they sought to discredit the polls. When the
non-partisan Congressional Research Service reported that a Republican
tax plan would do nothing to foster economic growth, Republican Senators
muscled the CRS into withdrawing its report.<br />
<br />
These refusals to accept matters of plain fact reflect a still wider
pattern. Increasingly, the Republican Party, once a fairly normal
political party, has granted itself a license to live in an alternate
reality – a world in which George W. Bush did find the weapons of mass
destruction that he had thought were in Iraq; tax cuts eliminate budget
deficits; Obama is not only a Muslim but was born in Kenya and thus
should be disqualified from the presidency; and global warming is a hoax
concocted by a cabal of socialist scientists. (The Democrats, for their
part, have had one foot in the camp of unreality as well.)<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Nov-10/194599-mitt-romneys-reality-check-leaves-him-shell-shocked.ashx#ixzz2BogX3YQa" style="color: #003399;">http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Nov-10/194599-mitt-romneys-reality-check-leaves-him-shell-shocked.ashx#ixzz2BogX3YQa</a>
<br />(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) </div>
<br />
<br />pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-30455905137444611072012-11-07T11:32:00.001-08:002012-11-07T11:32:22.330-08:00UK: The party that lost the White House<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Guardian</span><br />
<div id="main-article-info">
<h1 itemprop="name headline">
Mitt Romney lost because hardline Republicans betrayed him</h1>
<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="comp : r2 : Article : standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
The Tea Party zealots, homophobes and misogynists hijacked Romney's campaign – and threaten the Republican party's future</div>
<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="comp : r2 : Article : standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
<br /></div>
<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="comp : r2 : Article : standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
By Simon Tisdall</div>
<div class="stand-first-alone" data-component="comp : r2 : Article : standfirst_cta" id="stand-first" itemprop="description">
<br /></div>
Obama aimed unerringly for the centre ground of American life and
politics. Republican party leaders and pressure groups showed they don't
know where that heartland lies any more.<br />
<br />
By campaign end, Romney – moderating his tone and positions – was finally connecting with 2012 America. <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/peggynoonan/2012/11/05/monday-morning/" title="">GOP strategist Peggy Noonan called it Romney's "quiet rise"</a>,
and there was evidence to support it. But the Tea Party zealots, the
radical evangelicals, the homophobes, the misogynists and the rest of
the unthinking, feckless right had already scuppered his chances. It was
too late to turn it around.<br />
<br />
Obama won on the central issue of the
economy – which should by rights have sunk his ship with all hands.
Exit polls showed just as many voters trusted Obama as Romney to handle
the nation's finances, despite his term record of high unemployment and
real hardship for many middle- and lower-income families.<br />
<br />
By all
historical precedent, given the figures, Romney should have sewn it up
months ago. But his Reagan-esque ideas were out of date. The voters
replied: "It's the economy, but we're not stupid."<br />
</div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/07/mitt-romney-lost-election-republicans">http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/07/mitt-romney-lost-election-republicans</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-42641572287513182962012-11-07T11:29:00.001-08:002012-11-07T11:29:32.230-08:00UK: The GOP civil war<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Independent</span><br />
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138696 title">
<h1 class="title">
For Mitt Romney's defeated Republican Party the post-mortem has already begun
</h1>
</div>
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138721">
</div>
<div class="widget storyContent article widget-editable viziwyg-section-1024 inpage-widget-6138720">
<h3 class="subtitle">
Since Republicans like to win, they will no doubt eventually find a way to fix this. But first, there will be civil war.<br />
<br />
By Guy Adams <br />
</h3>
</div>
<span class="storyTop ">
</span>
The post-mortem had already begun by the time a grim-faced Mitt
Romney walked to the lectern of the Grand Ballroom at Boston’s vast
Convention Centre at around 1am and told a thinning crowd of supporters
that the game was up.<br />
<br />
<br />
They had gone through all the stages of loss: denial, anger, and now
grief. A few of them wept, openly; one elderly woman collapsed, and had
to be helped by paramedics. In his speech, Mitt said he still “believes”
in America. But his crowd was mourning not just the loss of an
election, but the death of a country they thought they knew.<br />
<br />
Dick
Morris, the Republican pollster who predicted a Romney landslide, lamed
the defeat on Hurricane Sandy. So did Rush Limbaugh. On Twitter, Donald
Trump blamed the “total sham” of America’s electoral college, and called
for a “revolution.”<br />
<br />
History will record that the Republicans
failed to beat a wobbly incumbent, with anaemic approval ratings, who
(for disputed reasons) had presided over some of the worst unemployment
since the Great Depression. It will also show that the GOP has now won a
majority of the popular vote just once, in five attempts, during the
past 20 years.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/for-mitt-romneys-defeated-republican-party-the-postmortem-has-already-begun-8294618.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/for-mitt-romneys-defeated-republican-party-the-postmortem-has-already-begun-8294618.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-88331747535600022342012-11-07T03:24:00.003-08:002012-11-07T03:24:45.456-08:00Australia: Defeat for a man of questionable convictions<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>Sydney Morning Herald</strong></span><br />
<h1 class="cN-headingPage">
Defeat for a man of contradictions</h1>
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/by/Paul-McGeough"><img alt="Paul McGeough" height="90" src="http://images.nationaltimes.com.au/2012/06/14/3374954/Paul_McGeough-col.jpg" title="Paul McGeough" width="90" /></a>
</div>
<h3 class="authorName">
<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/by/Paul-McGeough">Paul McGeough</a></h3>
MITT ROMNEY'S bid for the US presidency failed because voters saw
through him – as a candidate the man was a political chameleon.<br />
On his second bid for the White House, Romney held nothing
back – last week, a flip-flop; yesterday, a backtrack; today, a retreat;
and tomorrow, a sidestep of what he had said last week or last year.<br />
<blockquote class="cN-quote">
<i>He needed to put Americans at ease about his vast wealth, but whenever he did his foot usually ended up in his mouth.<span> </span></i><br />
</blockquote>
A sharply worded editorial in <em>The Washington Post</em> on
Sunday argued that the only consistency in the Romney campaign had been
the candidate's contempt for the electorate. But that he went so close
to becoming president reveals more than we might have expected about the
people and politics of the global superpower.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-election/defeat-for-a-man-of-contradictions-20121107-28y50.html#ixzz2BXEiwopl" style="color: #003399;">http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-election/defeat-for-a-man-of-contradictions-20121107-28y50.html#ixzz2BXEiwopl</a></div>
<h3 class="authorName">
</h3>
pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-92140958247691318912012-11-07T03:20:00.002-08:002012-11-07T03:20:29.275-08:00Germany: Europe welcomes Obama win<span style="font-size: x-large;">Der Spiegel</span> <br />
<h2 itemprop="headline">
<span class="spArticleTopicLine">Presidential Election in US </span><span class="spArticleHeadLine">Europe Welcomes Obama's Win</span></h2>
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/photo-gallery-obama-s-victory-romney-s-defeat-fotostrecke-89428.html" title="Photo Gallery: Obama's Victory, Romney's Defeat"><img alt="Photo Gallery: Obama's Victory, Romney's Defeat" border="0" height="250" src="http://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-422275-panoV9-buxu.jpg" title="Photo Gallery: Obama's Victory, Romney's Defeat" width="520" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong>Europe was quick to congratulate US President Barack Obama on
Wednesday morning as he won his re-election battle against Republican
challenger Mitt Romney. Markets in European capitals appeared poised for
a rally, but dark clouds loom ahead.</strong><br />
<br />
In the end, it wasn't even that close. US President Barack Obama
easily surpassed the 270 electoral votes he needed to defeat Republican
challenger Mitt Romney on Tuesday evening as swing state after swing
state fell into the incumbent's column. At just after 1 a.m. on the East
Coast, with his deficit insurmountable, Romney conceded defeat.<br />
<br />
<div class="spMInline">
</div>
"This is a time of great challenges for America and I pray that the
president will be successful in guiding our nation," Romney said in
remarks before supporters in Boston. "I so wish that I had been able to
fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the
nation chose another leader." Just prior to his concession speech,
Romney had called Obama to congratulate him.<br />
<br />
European stock futures signalled a strong opening on Wednesday
morning on the news as the uncertainty hanging over the leadership of
the US economy was removed. Analysts, however, fear that the bump will
be short-lived as the first challenge of Obama's second term approaches,
that of coming to agreement with Republicans on a deficit reduction
deal to dodge the $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases that
will automatically go into effect on Jan. 2, 2013 in the absence of such
a deal.<br />
<br />
* <br />
European Union leaders likewise released a statement on Wednesday
morning congratulating Obama. "We have the pleasure of extending our
warm congratulations to President Obama on his re-election as president
of the United States of America," read the statement released by
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council
President Herman Van Rompuy. "The United States is a key strategic
partner of the European Union and we look forward to continuing the
close cooperation established with President Obama over these last four
years, to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly
addressing global challenges, including in the fields of security and
economy."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/europe-sends-congratulations-as-obama-is-reelected-a-865749.html">http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/europe-sends-congratulations-as-obama-is-reelected-a-865749.html</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721854457563914199.post-47140592626814305982012-11-07T03:16:00.001-08:002012-11-07T03:16:30.425-08:00Israel: Netanyahu lauds Obama victory<span style="font-size: x-large;">Haaretz</span><br />
<h1 class="article_page_h1_margin">
Netanyahu lauds Obama victory: Israel-U.S. ties are stronger than ever</h1>
<h2>
Defense Minister Barak: We will overcome any
differences, Obama will continue to support Israel; Ambassador Oren: I
don't foresee any changes to our relationship.</h2>
<span class="writer">
By
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/barak-ravid-1.325" rel="author"><span>Barak Ravid</span></a></span><br />
<br />
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday congratulated
President Barack Obama on his victory in the U.S. elections, in a
special message released just moments after the results were announced.<br />
<br />
"The strategic alliance between Israel the U.S. is stronger than ever,"
he declared. "I will continue to work with President Obama to protect
the security interests of Israeli citizens."
<br />
<span class="writer"><span> </span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-lauds-obama-victory-israel-u-s-ties-are-stronger-than-ever.premium-1.475832/netanyahu-lauds-obama-victory-israel-u-s-ties-are-stronger-than-ever.premium-1.475832">http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-lauds-obama-victory-israel-u-s-ties-are-stronger-than-ever.premium-1.475832/netanyahu-lauds-obama-victory-israel-u-s-ties-are-stronger-than-ever.premium-1.475832</a>pjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06482371180466684415noreply@blogger.com0