So much goes on that at times, no one seems to notice stories of special interest that happen and then drift into news oblivion leaving the wretched refuse of maddening goofy pundits and political claptrap from so-called "spokespersons" to be the stuff that editors insert into our newspapers and programs it seems like.
But, I think we may be able to undo some of this media forgetfulness and enjoy and perhaps relish some lesser known stories from the western world.
Let's jump...
1, You think that prop 8 springs from hate and causes discontent? Well Bunky, try being one of these people and try this on for size h/t to Angry Arab. Ummm Kos, you care to comment on this, it happened in your community.
2, If you thought that was something, DO NOT mess with these women! Part of me would love to see a Middle Easterner or Pakistani stomp on Republican/right winger detractors in his/her workplace like this sometime. h/t to Islamophobia Watch
3, Then, Commander Jeff Huber offers up an interesting opinion:
The neocons may have lost the election but they still own the narrative. For nearly a decade they've repeated their message of messianic fear and loathing through Rupert Murdoch's Big Brother Broadcast and the compliant mainstream media over and over and over and over until that's what everybody says so it must be true.
The Iran issue is not going away and with the neo-cons down but not out, I wonder about what Obama will do to finally bury these creepy warmongers.
4, For the 2nd opinion column, it really is hard to beat fellas like Roger Ailes the Good.
5, Colonel Pat Lang has a dandy post up about the recent meeting over religious matters convered in this WaPo story. Colonel Lang's incisive analysis rings the bell on this issue. Angry Arab also had a caustic quip about Saudi Arabia and religious tolerance.
6, George Monbiot wins the Foreign Interest story with the idea that World War One was an "Ephibicide" after the Greek word Ephebos, which means 'a young man of fighting age.' The story that unfolds is sad and timeless. A great story for November 11.
7, What November 11 would be complete without a return to the famous words of General Smedley Darlington Butler and "War is a Racket." you need Realplayer for the audio.
8, On the financial page, Naomi Klein adds her voice to what many of us suspected was going to happen when the bailout flap unfolded. Of course, no one listened then...are they listening now?
9, In an article seemingly made to make Atrios scream, Nouriel Roubini gives quite a warning:
--Obama will inherit an economic and financial mess worse than anything the U.S. has faced in decades: the most severe recession in 50 years; the worst financial and banking crisis since the Great Depression; a ballooning fiscal deficit that may be as high as a trillion dollars in 2009 and 2010; a huge current account deficit; a financial system that is in a severe crisis and where deleveraging is still occurring at a very rapid pace, thus causing a worsening of the credit crunch; a household sector where millions of households are insolvent, into negative equity territory and on the verge of losing their homes; a serious risk of deflation as the slack in goods, labor and commodity markets becomes deeper; the risk that we will end in a deflationary liquidity trap as the Fed is fast approaching the zero-bound constraint for the Fed funds rate; the risk of a severe debt deflation as the real value of nominal liabilities will rise, given price deflation, while the value of financial assets is still plunging.
Not very cheery is it?
10, The legal page has Jack Balkin, writing in The Guardian about about the imperial issues confronting Obama:
To top it off, Obama will begin his first term with overwhelming public support - if not outright adulation - and a Congress controlled by members of his own party. No matter how much the current president damaged the prestige of his office, his successor will be all the more powerful and influential simply by not being Bush.
Many of the problems Obama will face stem from the presidency-on-steroids he inherits. First up is what to do with the Guantánamo detainees. If Obama closes the infamous base, he will either have to release the detainees or bring them to the US for trial. If he chooses the latter approach, he will have to decide whether to use the ordinary criminal process or devise a new set of national security courts to replace the defective military tribunals Congress approved in 2006. Either solution will pose enormous technical and logistical problems, and separate national security courts create significant risks to civil liberties.
Jack's article is short, sweet and to the point, and should be required reading.
11, On the lighter side, eh more or less, we have Lee Papa asking a very prescient question.
12, Pablo addresses the issue of America being "center-right."
Well, there you have it, a humble attempt to make a fun time out of catching up with the news.
Remember the many fine bloggers out there and the clip sites that helped to spawn the internet news revolution: sites like Buzzflash, Information Clearing House and Smirking Chimp. And, if you can find some extra cash in your wallet please send it along to Tom at Information Clearing House. You may not always agree with his article choices, but his site is one of the oldest and best clip sites out there.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good night.