. . .

Writing at the Washington Post, Kathleen Parker offers some frank insights about Glenn Beck: . . .

Writing at the New York Review of Books blog page, Princeton professor Perry Link enumerates the seven deadly secrets that China’s octogenarians want to keep from the public at all cost. It makes an excellent list of potential dissertation topics for students of Chinese history and politics: . . .

As a young lawyer, Obama represented a whistleblower; as a presidential candidate, he pledged to “strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government.” But as president, Obama has unleashed the most aggressive assault on whistleblowers Washington has ever seen—surpassing even George W. Bush. The latest example comes in a remarkable prosecution of Steven Kim, a well-known scholar of North Korea’s nuclear program. . . .

Two thousand seven hundred twenty-two days after U.S. troops crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq, U.S. combat operations there officially ended. Vice President Joseph Biden arrived to usher in ''Operation New Dawn,“ during which the nearly 50,000 American troops remaining in the country will still be available for combat missions when requested by Iraqi forces. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks in 13 towns and cities that killed at least 56 people, many of them members of the Iraqi police and security forces, calling the assaults ”the wings of victory sweeping again over a new day." New York Times Seattle Times New York Times General Ray Odierno, the outgoing U.S. commander in Iraq, said that the formation of a new government there could still be months away. “If we get the government formed, I think we’re okay,” Odierno said. “If we don’t, I don’t know.” New York Times A gunman killed six people and wounded 14 in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. New York Times Five soldiers in Afghanistan were charged with forming a “kill team” to summarily execute random Afghan civilians, a college student recently returned from a month spent filming Marines in Afghanistan slashed a Muslim cab driver in New York, and General David Petraeus revealed that he is “an Enya guy.” Raw Story New York Daily News Fox News . . .

In a typically wry observation about revolutionaries, Joseph Conrad warns the observer not to be so attached to the romantic incendiaries, the “narrow-minded fanatics” who capture the headlines when the revolution breaks. The real test is who comes to power when the dust settles and order is reestablished, when “hopes [are] grotesquely betrayed, ideals caricatured—that is the definition of revolutionary success.” Conrad would not be surprised by the latest developments in the Kyrgyz Republic, where a revolution broke out in early April, and the unrelenting struggle for power continues. . . .

From the Dallas Morning News: . . .

There is another sky, Ever serene and fair, And there is another sunshine, Though it be darkness there; Never mind faded forests, Austin, Never mind silent fields - Here is a little forest, Whose leaf is ever green; Here is a brighter garden, Where not a frost has been; In its unfading flowers I hear the bright bee hum: Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come! . . .

Toute race, tout art a son hypocrisie. Le monde se nourrit d’un peu de vérité et de beaucoup de mensonge. L’esprit humain est débile; il s’accommode mal de la vérité pure; il faut que sa religion, sa morale, sa politique, ses poètes, ses artistes, la lui présentent enveloppée de mensonges. Ces mensonges s’accommodent à l’esprit de chaque race; ils varient de l’une à l’autre: ce sont eux qui rendent si difficile aux peuples de se comprendre, et qui leur rendent si facile de se mépriser mutuellement. La vérité est la même chez tous; mais chaque peuple a son mensonge, qu’il nomme son idéalisme; tout être l’y respire, de sa naissance à sa mort; c’est devenu pour lui une condition de vie; il n’y a que quelques génies qui peuvent s’en dégager, à la suite de crises héroïques, où ils se trouvent seuls, dans le libre univers de leur pensée. . . .

It was the most expensive barbecue in all history, writes Berlin’s Tageszeitung today about a fete arranged by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for George W. Bush and his entourage in 2006. . . .

Today’s Washington Post offers a follow-up to yesterday’s Times story about the senior Afghan national security official who is the target of a U.S. driven anti-corruption probe while being on the CIA’s payroll. It discloses that the CIA’s payroll covers Afghan government figures pretty extensively: . . .

The current issue of The National Interest contains Ahmed Rashid’s exhaustive and provocative essay on the current state of affairs in Pakistan. It’s a must-read for anyone trying to come to grips with American foreign policy in the “Af-Pak theater.” Rashid starts with Pakistan’s basket-case military, long viewed by Washington’s foreign policy elite as the glue that holds the country together: . . .

In another significant piece datelined Kabul, Dexter Filkins and Mark Mazzetti reveal that the man in the eye of the storm of an Afghan-American corruption scandal, Mohammed Zia Salehi—the chief of administration for Afghanistan’s National Security Council—is on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency: . . .

As Wonkette reported earlier today, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota has formed her very own Leadership Political Action Committee, the slush fund of choice for the modern politician. . . .

. . .

Nelson Hernandez (among others) took issue with my “clever analysis of President Obama’s excellent chances of re-election.” Hernandez made a number of good points, though he made several comments (for example, Obama has “an insatiable desire to promote socialism”) that make it hard to take him seriously. But here’s an edited version of his email, to which I’ll reply below: . . .

A few short months ago the media was filled with narratives about 2010 being the “Year of the Insurgent,” a storyline that was always overblown. That’s not because the public is happy with congress, but because a well-funded incumbent is awfully hard to knock off. Even in 2006, when Democrats made huge gains in the House, 94 percent of incumbents won reelection. That’s not to say incumbents aren’t going to lose a few races (and it looks like the Democrats will drop quite a few seats this fall), just that it generally takes extraordinary circumstances, given the corrupted rules of American politics, for challengers to win a significant number of races in any given year. . . .

From Stephen Bright, in the Fulton County Daily Report: . . .

With the kind permission of C.H. Beck Verlag, former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and Columbia University historian Fritz Stern, we present here the third in a series of excerpts from the bestselling book Unser Jahrhundert—Ein Gespräch, in an original English translation. . . .

David Broder of the Washington Post has long had his head so far up Washington’s ass that he is incapable of understanding that there are opinions in America beyond the ten Beltway insiders he gets his talking points from. (An affliction from which much of the D.C. press corps suffers, though generally not in as advanced a state as Broder’s.) In his latest column, he attacks writer John Judis for having opinions that Broder deems out of the mainstream — meaning anything to the left of, say, Senator Blanche Lincoln. Specifically, he endorses Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs’s recent criticism of “the professional left,” or those who are “prematurely finding fault with President Obama” for his failure to pursue reforms favored by liberal groups. . . .

With the Democrats looking to receive a solid (and well-deserved) drubbing in the mid-term elections, there’s much talk in the press about whether Barack Obama will be a one-term president. In a Sunday column, Dan Balz of the Washington Post wrote: “Throughout this long year, President Obama’s advisers have sometimes looked to Ronald Reagan for comparison and inspiration. If the Gipper could survive a deep recession, low approval ratings and an adverse midterm election in his first two years and win reelection handily two years later, then Obama could easily do the same, they reason.” . . .

Perhaps you understood that the Anti-Defamation League exists to promote tolerance. According to its website, the ADL “fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and abroad through information, education, legislation, and advocacy.” Its mission statement, adopted in 1913 in the anxious months following the scapegoating of Leo Frank, states that “its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” The ADL has had a long and noble history of championing justice and equality before the law in America. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the ADL’s lofty goals and proud history with the conduct of its long-serving national director, Abe Foxman. Echoing the language used by opponents of the Civil Rights movement in the early sixties, he recently spoke against the proposal to establish an Islamic cultural center at 51 Park Row, on the site of a Burlington Coat factory. Survivors of the events of 9/11, Foxman argued, are entitled “to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted.” So Foxman placed himself—and the ADL—firmly on the side of bigotry and intolerance. . . .

The developers of the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero--whose project continues to lack a lobbyist, engineer, architect, blueprint, and, according to their most recent disclosure, $99,981,745 of the $100 million they intend to raise--did not agree to meet with Governor David Paterson, who hopes to persuade them to build somewhere else. Bloomberg NYO Politico As Israel prepared for the drilling of the large gas reserves discovered last year off its northern coast, the parliament of Lebanon voted to outline the country's maritime borders. EarthTimes NYT Iran celebrated the opening of its first nuclear power plant, and President Obama invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the United States for peace talks. “When they reach an impasse, and they will, the expectation will be that the president has to come in and fix these things,” said Middle East scholar Aaron David Miller. “Does he really understand what he’s getting himself into?” NYT USA Today One in five Americans believed Obama to be Muslim. Pew A Thai appellate court ordered the extradition of alleged weapons-trafficker, money-launderer, and sanction-flouter Viktor Bout to the United States, and the security firm formerly known as Blackwater paid the U.S. government $42 million to avoid criminal charges over hundreds of export violations. WP WSJ NYT Thirty-three Chilean miners who had been trapped underground for more than two weeks turned out to be alive, though engineers said they won’t be rescued for at least four months. Telegraph The body of a registered Japanese centenarian was found in her son’s backpack. BBC . . .

In 2008, Barry Nolan, then the host of a Boston-area cable television show, criticized the New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its decision to grant the 2008 Governor’s Award to Bill O’Reilly, the controversial Fox News talk-show host. Nolan went to the awards dinner to hand out fliers of quotations culled from O’Reilly’s sexual harassment lawsuit, quotations which Nolan felt would demonstrate why O’Reilly was not worthy of the award. When the award ceremony began, Nolan and his son quietly left—indeed, they were hardly the only people in the audience to do so. Within forty-eight hours, Nolan learned that his employer, Comcast, was firing him. . . .

This weekend, the controversies surrounding WikiLeaks took another strange turn. Late on Friday, the Swedish newspaper Expressen disclosed that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was the subject of an arrest warrant arising out of charges by two female witnesses that he had raped them within a three-day period. The late-hours special duty prosecutor, Maria Häljebo Kjellstrand, issued an arrest warrant for Assange, who quickly protested his innocence and charged that the claims against him were a “dirty trick.” Within twenty-four hours, Swedish prosecutors did a near complete about-face. After finishing a preliminary examination of the claims, chief prosecutor Eva Finné, to whom the case was handed off, concluded that the evidence did not justify an arrest warrant, and canceled the one issued by Ms. Kjellstrand. “I do not believe there is any reason to suspect that he has committed rape,” Ms. Finné told London’s Daily Telegraph. She noted that the file would remain open under a downgraded charge of sexuellt ofredande, or unwanted sexual contact, a far less serious offense. One of the women behind the charges gave an interview to the Swedish paper Aftonbladet on Sunday, backpedaling furiously. She stated that she was surprised to learn that the accusations were treated as a rape charge and denied that there had been any encounter with Assange involving violence or force. She suggested that the controversy had to do with Assange’s failure to use a condom during intercourse. In the meantime, Sweden’s Justice Ombudsman was demanding a formal investigation into how the accusations came to be sensationalized by the press on the basis of an improperly issued arrest warrant. . . .

Outside, as my host accompanied me along the Falls Road, I witnessed a principal cause of those hard faces. While we discussed “the troubles,” a British Army armored vehicle rumbled by us, braked abruptly, and disgorged red-bereted members of the elite Parachute Regiment. . . .

This video shows that the economic crisis could have been, and was predicted by many, Ron Paul being on of these people. This video shows that while people like Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner and Alan Greenspan were saying that the ...

Two years ago, on September 2, 2008, Ron Paul's historic Rally for the Republic took place in Minneapolis. More than 10000 lovers of liberty gathered in the.

Show: America's Nightly Scoreboard Channel: Fox Business Date: 09/01/2010.

Title : Fox News takes Kitco's Ron Paul gold audit story national • Author : Chris Powell • 24hGold.com.

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Ron Paul , suggesting America's reserves may not be as robust as officials claim, is calling for an independent audit of the U.S. gold held at Fort Knox and other facilities. The Republican congressman known for his fierce opposition to ...

Congressman Ron Paul today released the following statement on President Obama's speech from the Oval Office last night: The President's announcement that.

Ron Paul Dismantles Obama. Posted by Lew Rockwell on September 1, 2010 10:18 AM. Writes Ron: The President's announcement that all U.S. combat troops have left Iraq is no more believable than the 'Mission Accomplished' declaration was ...

Thom Hartmann interviews Congressman Ron Paul about the NYC mosque controversy and the intense politicization of our country's values. Hartmann congratulates.

Ron Paul discusses his article Mosque Demagoguery Is Bipartisan and the linkage between property rights and First Amendment rights, why the abandonment of the.

Cheney Stadium hosted its last minor league baseball game Thursday night before a planned renovation and hundreds of people turned out to share memories.

The last ferry left for the mainland and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 105 mph winds Thursday on North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks.

A federal judge is requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revise a Bush administration recovery plan for the northern spotted owl, and the federal agency said Thursday it plans to release a draft next week.

A Whidbey Island community hoping to raise more than $600,000 in seven days to purchase Trillium Woods - almost 700 acres of undeveloped land forced into foreclosure.

Under the new contract, teachers would be rated a four-tier system. The categories will go from unsatisfactory to innovative. The highest-rated teachers would be eligible for additional pay. The lowest-rated would get support training.

Loved ones of the 41 members of the Stryker Brigade killed in Afghanistan over the past year have a new place to pay their respects.

The city wants a piece of the unexpected deal struck between the Museum of History and Industry and the State of Washington.

Theodore Ohms, 23, been booked into the Snohomish County Jail on weapon and assault charges, as well as eluding police and violating his parole.

The kids are headed back to school, and we'd love to have you share their first day with us.

Friday Harbor is the second leading commercial establishment on the island. You could easily walk the length of Friday Harbor and visit its art galleries, boutiques and water-view restaurants. When you want to lay down your head for the ...

Friday Harbor fire chief suspended, goes on medical leave; five firefighters resign, cite 'no confidence' Friday Harbor Fire Chief Vern Long was suspended.

anacortes to friday harbor . a view from the ferry to the san juan islands. Posted by avra romanowitz at 5:49 PM. 0 comments: Post a Comment · Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). Who We Are ...

I promised, earlier this summer, that I would get a better picture of an Arbutus/Madrona tree.  (Che

UI Theatre Chamber Readings continue Moscow-Pullman Daily News The three plays being performed are âGoodbye Friday Harbor ,â� written by Quinn Hatch and directed by Grechen Wingerter; âThe Learning Curve,â� written by ... and more »

Two Sea Scouts save man's life Lynnwood Enterprise EDMONDS -- Sea Scouts Mirabelle Girvan, 19, and Erin Shirey, 16, were aboard a boat docked at Friday Harbor when their scout leader ...

Evolving rules in San Juans may change how visitors go whale watching Seattle Times A whale-watching vessel leaves Friday Harbor in search of orcas. Sightseeing is a major attraction in the San Juan Islands. Many companies in the San Juan ...

Friday Harbor fire chief suspended, goes on medical leave; five firefighters ... Seattle Post Intelligencer Friday Harbor Fire Chief Vern Long was suspended for two days by Town Administrator King Fitch, after photos posted on SanJuanJournal.com ... and more »

100824 - Thaikarl - USA Friday Harbor , unitedstates, uh, yeah. friends, back in the USSR, er, USA. we departed canada by crossing in invisible line in the water yesteray. came into Roche Harbor to clear customs. uh, huh. when we entered ...

Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society stood up in front of a standing-room only crowd last Friday night for his first ever Friday Harbor speaking engagement hosted by The Whale Museum. ...

Football coaches aren't afraid to talk about their jobs, history of game SI.com As I explain in BSC, I talked with Coryell in the winter of 2008 at his home in Friday Harbor , Washington. Coryell talked me through his offensive system by ... and more »

Fewer cuts, more art in San Juan Island public schools this year Journal of the San Jaun Islands Arts education returns to Friday Harbor Elementary School this year, thanks to a partnership with Islands Museum of Art. By JANE FOX School begins Sept. 1. ...

We are currently seeking those looking to be kayak guides. If you have experience kayaking or guiding, we are starting the process collecting those interested.

Last night I went to a lecture by Paul Watson here in Friday Harbor . For those of you who aren't familiar with Watson, he is the president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an activist group sometimes characterized as ...

From the upper patio of an open-air cafe, a fine spot for people-watching. # # # At the Crab House,

Lobster butlers! The San Juan Islands are one of those places that locals really tend to play up to

Alumacraft Boats · Casco Bay Boaters · Everything Octopus · Friday Harbor Marine Center · Local Notice to Mariners · Maritime Headhunters · Maritime License Consultants · Navagear · Puget Sound Maritime · Salish Sea Marine Weather ...

A place in the harbor HeraldNet Every day about a dozen ferries arrive at the landing in Friday Harbor , the largest town in Washington's famous archipelago. The view from my houseboat's ...

Bleacher Report NFL Preseason 2010: Quick Reactions From Eagles-Chiefs Game Bleacher Report Brandon Graham, Nate Allen, and Clay Harbor looked good Friday. Harbor could turn into a legitimate threat at tight end, and Kurt Coleman is making a strong ... and more »

Watson to speak in Friday Harbor this evening at 19:00. On August 27, 2010, in Environment, Rules of the Road, Safety, by CaptRR. Look for a full report late this evening or tomorrow. (unless were out on a call). If you're in FH, ...

Lew and Debbie Dickinson and Mark and Mica Brokman will lease the restaurant space currently occupied by Peppermill, in the Best Western Friday Harbor Suites, and will reopen it as Homesteader Restaurant & Lounge. ...

150 Nichols St. deed fails to get enough County Council support Seattle Post Intelligencer Fralick said the project has changed dramatically from what was originally proposed, particularly since the Town of Friday Harbor pulled out as a partner. ... Madsen: Ag Guild will try to raise $400K to buy 150 Nichols St. Journal of the San Jaun Islands all 4 news articles »

I love how disproportionate and oblivious little kids are. # # # Toddler at the Farmers Market, 2010

Prosecutor: Harris-Moore could be tried in San Juan County for crimes allegedly committed here Can y

'Bong' or 'bomb'? Scare causes 30-minute delay on late-afternoon ferry Friday Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) A bomb scare that caused a 30-minute delay on a late afternoon ferry bound for Friday Harbor turned out to be either a hoax, or, ... and more »

Where to go 1) Pike Place Market - Home of the famous Flying Fish and the birthplace of Starbucks Co

Michael and I decided that on his recent trip to Seattle we would take advantage of the lovely Seatt

There are several things Washington State is famous for; coffee, rain, Puget Sound, the fashion tren

Another from the same expired roll of Kodacolor 200.  The graininess is the coalescence* of old film

It seems to be something of a fashion lately for film photographers to seek out expired rolls of fil

Our 2-year old, large screen HDTV has taken on a creative life of its own…splashes of color ar

As I licked me cone of Java Smash-Up ice cream and pondered how it very well may be the most delecta

Part of the charm that attracts tourists and residents to the San Juan Islands is that each island seems to have a character of its own, both in terms of geography and of the lifestyle of the people who live there. ...

What stormwater? Public to critique county stormwater plan · How much to grow? -- Many express fear about Eastsound's future; planners say future growth must be channeled here. San Juan Islands . None at this time. ...

The vacation rental San Juan Islands services may also provide sizzling tubs, full amenities, and kitchenware relying in your needs. You possibly can request for added beddings for a minimal fee. Waterfront Bayside Bungalow ...

Discovery Sea Kayaks: Kayak the San Juan Islands · Home · About Us · Blog · Contact · How to Get Here · Links · Reservations Toll-Free: 866.461.2559. Kayak Trips · Day Trips · Half Day Trips · Multi-Day Trips · Custom Trips ...

Movement is essential, and can come in endless forms- yet movement is essentially formless, and it

photo via wonderofcreation.org With Labor Day around the corner, people are trying to get their last licks of summer in before the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler. One suggestion where you can travel close to a.

Lobster butlers! The San Juan Islands are one of those places that locals really tend to play up to

So when one of chef Redzepi's prodigees, chef Blaine Wetzel, chooses sweet, tiny Lummi Island in the San Juan Islands as his new home base, well, people, this is huge. Wetzel started cooking at Willow's Inn this past Wednesday, ...

In the ladies room in the soda fountain on lopez island. Shake out your hair like in a shampoo ad. (

San Juan Islands, originally uploaded by HeyRocker, Flickr, Creative Commons. Two years ago today, I

CHEFS LOG SAN JUAN ISLANDS WA DATE AUGUST 20 2010. A full load of Dungeness Crab, only the males, six inches or more. Babies and females thrown back to the waters off Sucia Island in the San Juans. Lunch and Dinner look promising! ...

Back in July I wrote about the week long sailing trip that ended after 1 day with engine failure and

Focal length: 200mm Aperture: f10 Shutter: 1/500 sec ISO: 400 Post-Processing (Lightroom): Temperatu

Image via Wikipedia Remember how I called myself a captive human earlier? I figured it was about tim

The San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild would use the Land Bank funds and a $375000 state grant to purchase the site. The guild would own the site and would restore the building and grounds. The site would be called “Brickworks. ...

On March 22 I wrote about the possibility of a new Bay Area National Monument.  The L.A. Times recen

Well, boys and girls, when we left our story, our first garden was a riot of growth and miracles.  S

Almost to Waldron Island, we met up with my parents and Noah. The motoring mothership dwarfed the ka

Where to go 1) Pike Place Market - Home of the famous Flying Fish and the birthplace of Starbucks Co

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There are several things Washington State is famous for; coffee, rain, Puget Sound, the fashion tren

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Just stumbled across this article about author Jim Lynch, who’s sailing through Washington Sta