Author Archive

No Teleprompters, No Gridiron Club Dinner »

By pm317 on Mar 14, 2009 in Current Affairs | 38 Comments

[Major H/T to our commenter lark -- her comment on LisaB's post on Obama hiding from Gridiron dinner next week, inspired this post.] Obama won’t be appearing at the Gridiron Club dinner this year — only the second president in more than 150 years to miss this wonderful opportunity to schmooze with our fine class [...]

Something to Smile About »

By pm317 on Mar 8, 2009 in Current Affairs | 17 Comments

(Editor’s Note: Below the fold, you’ll find a CNN video and two terrific, professionally-produced videos from the documentary film about this important story.) This wonderful story got lost in all the Slumdog hoopla. The real life fairytale involves a little girl in rural India rescued by philanthropists from being a social outcast all her life. [...]

[Edited and Updated] The Movie and the Real Slums of Dharavi, Mumbai »

By pm317 on Mar 2, 2009 in Current Affairs, India | 57 Comments

Editor’s Note: Since its original posting last Wednesday, this excellent article was completely reworked by its author, and sectioned into two parts. The author wishes you to revisit this article – which the author has poured much effort and time into — and give it your attention. THIS is a viewpoint that we Americans rarely [...]

Is This a Roadmap for Af-Pak Conundrum? »

By pm317 on Feb 22, 2009 in Current Affairs | 43 Comments

The new shorthand for the hottest foreign policy challenge is Af-Pak, for Afghanistan and Pakistan. In my last post, I wrote about Pakistan capitulating to Taliban by giving up Swat valley in a truce. They are now calling it a permanent ceasefire: “They have made commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we’ll [...]

“murderers” not “martyrs” »

By pm317 on Feb 20, 2009 in Current Affairs | 18 Comments

My very first blog post on NQ was about Indian Muslims and how they reacted to the horrible Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008. In it I reported how an Indian Muslim Organization was refusing to bury the terrorists. Tom Friedman at NYT wrote this in his Op-Ed on Tuesday: There are nine bodies — [...]

Intellectually Challenged President »

By pm317 on Feb 18, 2009 in Current Affairs, Obamaisms, President Barack Obama, Qualifications | 129 Comments

No, I am not talking about Bush. But I can’t escape the feeling that I am looking at a Bush redux. It seems that the autocue technique is not enough for President Obama. His handlers now think he needs in addition to a teleprompter, a hidden computer screen on the podium during his press conferences, [...]

Educating Obama »

By pm317 on Jan 11, 2009 in Current Affairs | 15 Comments

In a December 2007 CBS News interview, candidate Hillary Clinton was asked about which country posed the most threat to the U.S. She replied that it is Pakistan, especially in view of our counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and dealing with Taliban and Al Qaeda. The details of the interview and a commentary were posted on [...]

In Search of Common Ground »

By pm317 on Jan 4, 2009 in Current Affairs, Religion, Terrorism | 20 Comments

YouTube and Google have been the most beautiful inventions of the last few years. It is hard to count how many times I have found artists of classical music from my childhood on YouTube — their records you can’t find in any store here or in India but passionate enthusiasts have put them on YouTube [...]

In Praise of Agnostics and Atheists »

By pm317 on Dec 30, 2008 in Current Affairs, Religion | 108 Comments

I have much to say against organized religion, especially when it breeds people like Rick Warren (of Saddleback Church) or other such mega-church religious people here in the US who teach homophobia, or Imams in madrasas or elsewhere inciting violence in young people in the name of religion, or some Hindu fundamentalists wearing orange robes [...]

What is Google up to? »

By pm317 on Dec 20, 2008 in Current Affairs | 53 Comments

Here is another one of Flineo‘s (this guy is a genius) brilliant videos from during the primary (nobody can accuse us of not warning the people.) Watch it and then we will talk about Google. Flineo: Reality Infection Program Did you see Step #3: infect the media, infect the Internet? This election season we saw [...]

Pay to Play Superdelegate Style »

By pm317 on Dec 18, 2008 in Current Affairs, DNC | 125 Comments

(bumped up from Tuesday evening by Susan — because it’s so good!) There has been a lot of talk lately about Pay to Play. What with Blagojevich getting caught trying to sell Obama’s senate seat? What of Obama and his people perhaps trying to negotiate something for that seat (Read Fitzgerald’s Complaint or Truthteller’s posts.) [...]

Obama’s Train Ride a la Lincoln »

By pm317 on Dec 17, 2008 in Current Affairs | 96 Comments

All through the election we have heard others compare Obama to Lincoln, MLK, JFK, and even Gandhi. That last comparison really makes my stomach turn. It literally hurts to hear people compare this common politician from Chicago to such historical figures who fought for their grand vision all their life. Lincoln was a monumental figure [...]

Eyes Wide Shut »

By pm317 on Dec 15, 2008 in Current Affairs | 70 Comments

Watch the video below. RNC may have made that video but the progressives own this new Obama problem. We asked for full vetting of Obama in the Democratic primary but got nothing. Now as one famous preacher said the chicken are coming home to roost. This is not the Republicans starting a hunt [not yet] [...]

Obama Supporters Censor Questions on Blagojevich »

By pm317 on Dec 12, 2008 in Current Affairs | 55 Comments

We have all seen the liberal media go to the dogs this election season. For those of us who watched closely the Democratic primary and then the general election, the self-censorship regarding Obama that went on in the American media is mind boggling. Is this what the finest and the most sophisticated democracy in the [...]

Delius and Florida Suite… Open Thread »

By pm317 on Dec 10, 2008 in Current Affairs | 23 Comments

Below is the third movement called “Sunset – Near the Plantation,” from Florida Suite by Delius (obtained from YouTube**). The bit from 3:59 to 4:59 is perhaps one of the most delightful pieces of music I have ever heard. The text accompanying my CD* attributes the inspiration to a “well enough known theme sung, it [...]

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