USA
OFMdFM: “as open and transparent as possible”
Tweet After much foot-dragging, the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers have released the cost [to date - Ed] of their 12-day March junket trip to Brazil and the USA to “Develop and promote political, investment, trade, university and tourism links” – an eye-watering £155,509. As Mark Devenport tweeted So were FM and DFM’s recent [...] more »
Explosions at Boston Marathon Finish Line
Tweet The BBC are reporting that there have been two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, three hours after the winners had passed the line. That’s around 5 hours after the race start. Currently the number of people injured is unkown. Live coverage from the BBC here. Adds Guardian live-blog here. Update According to [...] more »
“processing it through their stunted, trivial prism of partisan loyalty…”
Tweet At the Guardian, Glenn Greenwald makes a number of important points about the reaction to US Senator Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster against John Brennan’s nomination as head of the CIA. From Glenn Greenwald at Comment is Free Last week’s 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan’s confirmation as CIA director by GOP Sen. Rand Paul was [...] more »
Weekend White House memes…
Tweet After US President Barack Obama mangled his sci-fi/popular culture references with his “Jedi mind-meld”, the White House twitter feed doubled down on the confusion… [The Farce is strong with this one - Ed] Meanwhile, also via the Professor, his critics are having fun with the latest in an occasional series of Presidential denials. Heh. more »
King 1963: I have a dream. Obama 2013: I have a drone
Tweet In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. Today, fifty years on, in tribute to the great civil rights leader, the US marks Martin Luther King Jr Day with a federal holiday in his name. Today [...] more »
“But today, identity seems more central to politics than ever before.”
Tweet Brian’s noting of the advice from Richard Haass to the Israeli government reminded me that there are other places, and administrations, who have received similar ‘lessons’ from The Process™ here. Afghanistan, for example. Of course, it always helps to have well-placed friends [writing your speeches! - Ed]. And it’s worth noting that Richard Haass’ role [...] more »
A historic vote just took place in the USA. Oh, and Obama won too…
Tweet I’ve no idea how this flew under the radar, but the outside world (bar the BBC) has largely ignored the most historic American plebiscite since the 1950s. Obama’s re-election, important though it is in itself, might find itself eclipsed by what just took place in Puerto Rico – a clear popular vote in favour [...] more »
The [animated] view from Taiwan… Redux
Tweet Everyone’s favourite Taiwanese animators have neatly summarised last night’s first 2012 US Presidential debate. Ouch! Via the Professor’s stand-in team. And with the incumbent heading for a more comfortable platform on which to revise his debating points after the fact, there’s this for true believers to consider. The fact is that Mr Obama has a [...] more »
“Obviously, people are never going to be seized by the exact same patently bullshit sense of destiny they were last time around…”
Tweet The Onion reports, prematurely it would appear, from the Democratic Party’s National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. From the Onion slice. According to sources, none of the students in attendance appeared to be discussing proposals for college debt-relief with quite the same degree of unthinking, asinine fervor as they did in 2008, nor did [...] more »
The US Presidential Election: For what we are about to receive…
Tweet Reading Glenn Greenwald’s piece in Pete Baker’s previous post will reinforce in the minds of many their negative views of the American political process and the Presidential elections, and that’s even before we start getting personal about US presidents with our own favourite stories about their stupidity and iniquity. This negative coverage will increase exponentially [...] more »
US Presidential Election: “the process is the ultimate deceit. And the ultimate distraction.”
Tweet Something for Mick’s late night panel to consider, perhaps… The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, had a reasonably successful convention in Tampa by most accounts, and has followed up by stealing a march on the current president. But I’d tend to agree with most of Glenn Greenwald’s take on the US presidential election process. [...] more »
Boston College: “No pledge of privacy nor oath of secrecy can avail against demand for the truth in a court of justice.”
Tweet The Boston Globe reports on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruling in the PSNI/HET’s attempt to access some of the material in the Boston College Belfast Project archive. The project director, Ed Moloney, and researcher Anthony McIntyre had been trying to head the US Government off at the pass. And they’ve already opened [...] more »
Bilderberg 2012: “Like a corporate cross between Santa Claus and a big friendly squid.”
Tweet It’s just as well that Ireland said ‘Yes’ to the Fiscal Treaty. I can only imagine the embarrassed silences Irish Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, would have experienced this weekend if the result had gone the other way. Where is Michael? He’s in the US. Virginia, since you ask. In Chantilly. At the 60th annual [...] more »
Euro crisis: “It is nice to have a big umbrella…”
Tweet The Guardian’s Economics blog starts with an interesting observation Those who watched Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund a year ago say he played a blinder. Although he was to leave Washington under a cloud shortly afterwards, DSK impressed with his no-nonsense approach to his fellow Europeans. The IMF‘s [...] more »
Odyssey Marine surrenders ‘Black Swan’ treasure to Spain
Tweet It looks as if the 5 year legal battle between US company Odyssey Marine Exploration and the Spanish government over the ‘Black Swan’ treasure is finally coming to an end. As I mentioned previously Browsing through the Odyssey Marine press archive brings an update on their previous big find. Also mentioned in my earlier [...] more »
GOP Primaries – the plot thickens with a clean sweep for Santorum.
Tweet Romney isn’t closing this out. Yesterday saw a primary in Missouri (well a non binding beauty contest really) and two caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota. From RealClearPolitics: Santorum has taken Minnesota and Missouri comfortably. Romney was banking on Colorado. Here Nate compares his 2008 and 2012 performances. Broadly he’s at 60% of his 2008 level [...] more »
Bill Clinton to host “Invest in Ireland” event in New York
Tweet As the BBC reports Former US president Bill Clinton is to host an “Invest in Ireland” discussion in New York on Thursday. Well, he’ll ”attend for the beginning of the event where he will make some opening remarks”. You get the point. *sniff* He used to have such big [economic] ideas for here… The Merrion [...] more »
$cientology loses appeal against fraud ruling
Tweet The Irish Times reports from France, where the inheritors of L Ron Hubbard’s greedy and manipulative anti-science cult of scientology have lost their appeal against a 2009 ruling that “two French branches of the US-based organisation were guilty of “organised fraud” and gave four of its leaders suspended jail sentences of up to two years.” [...] more »
Odyssey Marine to recover Victory, but lose ‘Black Swan’ treasure
Tweet Last seen somewhere off the Irish coast, US company Odyssey Marine Exploration have announced that they have “executed an agreement with the Maritime Heritage Foundation for the financing, archaeological survey and excavation, conservation and exhibit of HMS Victory (1744) and artifacts from the shipwreck site.” That’s Admiral Balchin’s HMS Victory - a 100-gun first-rate ship [...] more »
Florida – All Over?
Tweet It looks that way. From Fox News - looks like a landslide for Romney. But can Romney beat Obama? Piles of stuff to read on RealClearPolitics…make up your own mind. more »
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Books
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Book Review: The McGurk’s Bar Bombing
Tweet The McGurk’s Bar Bombing: Collusion, Cover-Up and a Campaign for Truth with a foreword by Colin Wallace, just published by Frontline Noir, is the first book by Ciarán MacAirt, grandson of one of those killed in the bombing and the most visible campaigner on behalf of the victims and their families. The book pulls together the [...] read our review » -
Friday afternoon thread: Why confession works in a world of ‘cheaters’…
Tweet This is really worth watching… It suggests the very Catholic option of opening a new page by having a confession process does in the longer term help people to behave better… Presented by Dan Ariely, author of The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves. read our review »
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Risk of going beyond either/or…
Tweet This is article was first published in Fortnight magazine back in February 2003. Chris Farrington is now a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin. Although the circumstances it describes has changed radically [...] read our review »
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