Opinion and analysis on global politics, events and the people in power …
Nov 16th, 2008 by Chris B
All through the ages, the first thing the great dictators did when they got into power was to burn the books. There hasn’t been a time throughout history when a dictator hasn’t burned or banned books. Whether it be Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Napoleon, Brezhnev, George Bush or Sarah Palin. Even now countries such as China, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Cuba just to name a few have strong censorship laws.
Nov 5th, 2008 by Catrina
Nov 2nd, 2008 by Catrina
There are so many things that have happened in our recent history - things that have changed the world, things that change the definition of destiny, things that change who we think we can be, what we think we can achieve, things that change the boundaries of what is and is not. The West Wing gave us a glimpse of what it could be like. Season 7 took us though the Primaries with Matt Santos the minority candidate and into the general election under the guiding hand of Josh Lyman as they set the stage for Barack Obama and David Axelrod.
Oct 28th, 2008 by Don Wigan
Hunter S Thompson added to our political lexicon when he used the term “Fear and Loathing” (or rather re-used - he’d already used it a year earlier to describe some ugly Las Vegas doings) to describe the 1972 Nixon campaign trail. It was singularly appropriate for Nixon. The only ambiguity at all was whether it was a description of the reaction in liberal media and academic circles to Nixon’s nasty cheap populism. Or whether it was in fact the aim of Nixonian politics to invoke those feelings among voters against other different Americans. It was, alas, this latter.
Oct 19th, 2008 by jen
I am no psephologist, but as the owner of one of those V-thingies, I have had a particular interest in the women in this election. Sadly, with one exception, they have shamed my gender and behaved in general as if they have one of those P-thingies instead.
Oct 15th, 2008 by jaundiced view
The McCain team is feverishly attempting CPR on the lifeless thing that is their campaign. Will the third and last debate provide the super-defibrillator they need?
The possibilities for excitement on stage today all hinge on McCain. To what do you ‘throw the switch’ in these circumstances, in which you are 8-10 points down nationally with 3 weeks to go? Vaudeville won’t help. He’s already tried that with Sarah the ventriloquists’ dummy. Perhaps you say, “We’ve got nothing to lose, let’s go for the goolies.” If Rove and his ilk are now running things, that is probably what McCain will attempt. Even winning the talking points in the debate is not sufficient for him.
Oct 11th, 2008 by Gaffhook
Like Nelson said to Hardy “kiss me Hardy” and Hardy replied “kiss ya be fucked Horatio I’m next in line for Admiral”
The only things that Captain McCain and I have in common are that we both sailed through more water than the average shark, in the Grey Funnel Line, in roughly the same era except for the fact that he made more of a career out of it than me. We served in the same waters at the time of the Vietnam War. We both probably sailed past more lighthouses than the average Chucky Six Pack has seen shithouses and both probably saw more Action Stations than Barbie Six Pack has seen railway stations. He was a “Birdie” and I was an electrician. We were of course in different Navies, he in The USN and me in the RAN. Now days the life of a sailor is considered as the ships being made of steel, the men made of wood, and it is all Wine, Women and Song, but way back then the ships were made of wood, the men of steel, and it was Rum, Bum and Gramophone Records.
Oct 7th, 2008 by Ferny Grover
Left is right; Keynes is King; Banks are poor and your average worker is….well…poorer. And in the midst of it two candidates vie for what has become the poisoned chalice that is the Presidency of the United States.
Sep 29th, 2008 by GhostWhoVotes
It has been clear for a long while now that the Democrats will increase their control of the US Senate, the question has always been by how much and can they reach the 60 votes required to win a vote on ‘cloture‘ and force though legislation. With several races in the bag and others that could go either way, I thought I would look at the races and state how likely it is that the Democrats will reach the magic number.
Sep 20th, 2008 by Chris B
We are about to witness the biggest landslide in US political history. Everything is against the Republicans. History tells us that no incumbent party overlooking such an economic disaster, survives. Everything is pointing to wipeout. Never mind the fact that the Democrats have 8 out of the top 10 major issues going for them. None of that counts when it comes to the economy. Bill Clinton won well when the economy was on the down turn. This is different, the economy is an unmitigated disaster, who are they going to blame?
