I realize that there is no such thing as "peak gibberish," even when it comes to Iraq, and that with the 2016 campaign literally just getting started we're in for layer upon layer of new gibberish almost by the day for the next 18 months or so. But it's already getting pretty bad out there. … Continue reading Are we nearing Peak Gibberish on Iraq?

The bulk of The New York Times's coverage of Iran and the nuclear talks is handled by their chief Washington correspondent, David Sanger, who usually collaborates with either one of their foreign affairs reporters or a science reporter named William Broad. On Tuesday they published a piece warning in breathless tones that a new IAEA … Continue reading Looking at the NYT’s reporting on Iran, my newest at LobeLog

Anybody with a normally functioning human brain would not be able to go through this kind of mental contortion without giving himself a stroke: Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a Catholic, describes himself as a “huge fan” of Pope Francis. Nonetheless, he thinks the Pope would do better to “leave science to the scientists” and … Continue reading Shouldn’t cognitive dissonance kick in at some point?

I feel obliged to mention this here because when major disasters hit, and when I actually think of it (unfortunately those two things aren't in a 1:1 ratio because I can be thick like that), I try to post links for charitable donations here in case people are able to give something. Often I include … Continue reading Red Cross or Red Flag?

Last Wednesday the Washington Post produced a graphic purporting to show the number of migrant workers who have died in Qatar (1200) on work related to the 2022 World Cup as compared to worker deaths for other major international sporting events (I used it here). Qatar cried foul, saying that those 1200 migrant workers, while … Continue reading Oh, well, by all means carry on then

https://twitter.com/ChadLivengood/status/606243573269413888 Good week for a Joe Biden joke, definitely. Nothing but class, this Cruz fella. UPDATE: Cruz apologizes. Credit where credit is due, this is a pretty good apology, no fuzzy "sorry if anybody was offended" crap. Still have to question the judgment that allowed the joke to be made in the first place.

Look, if you're planning on misgendering Caitlyn Jenner, or any other trans* person for that matter, nobody can stop you. Go nuts. But don't pretend that you're making some great stand for realism, or human society, or that you're being super witty and funny, or that you're revealing anything other than the fact that you're … Continue reading Misgender? I hardly even know her!

One of the many incoherent elements of the modern American right is its simultaneous insistence that America is the greatest, strongest, best country that exists or ever has existed in history, but that it's constantly in danger of total collapse if it gets hit by anything metaphorically stronger than a moderate breeze. Here's Cliff Kincaid, … Continue reading Then it’s not much of a nation, is it?

If you've noticed, I tend to cite Al-Jazeera English and Al-Jazeera America a lot around this place. This is because I think they genuinely do good work in a lot of parts of the world that the American media, with few exceptions, mostly ignores, like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and because they've built up … Continue reading Al Jazeera op-ed tries to help Jabhat al-Nusra rebrand, fails badly

Oddly enough, a scant two weeks after ISIS drove Bashar al-Assad's troops out of Palmyra/Tadmur, Assad's air force is providing close air support for ISIS's offensive in Aleppo Province: The Local Coordination Committees reported confirmation of 83 deaths across the country, with 35 of them in Aleppo Province and 25 in Idlib Province. Significantly, most … Continue reading The enemy of my enemy is my frenemy