The 24 Types of Libertarian

I couldn't resist - it's just so appropriate. With half-hearted apologies to my libertarian friends, here is a cartoon from leftycartoons.com:

The 24 Types of Libertarian

Donovan's Shot Heard 'Round the World

My previous post notwithstanding (see below), believe me when I say I am a huge soccer fan and supporter of team USA. I watched the game yesterday at The Globe, and collectively enjoyed the Moment of Goal - the "shot heard 'round the world."

Apparently, many thousands or millions of people did similarly, and posted YouTube videos of their Moment of Goal. I didn't have that much foresight (as apparently the man watching alone in his living room did), but I'll post the funny compilation from CNN's Jeanne Moos.

Enjoy!

Landon Donovan's goal may be a watershed moment for U.S soccer | NOLA.com

So many commentators, like this one on  NOLA.com, are crowing about the inevitable growth in popularity of soccer after the US team's successful beginning at the World Cup. Soccer has finally arrived as an American sport! Just hear the cheers in bars and offices across the nation as Donovan scores in the 91st minute!

I'd like to believe the writer is correct, that soccer may finally become a popular sport like baseball, basketball and football now that our national team is succeeding. But I find it hard to believe that advertisers will line up to support a sport that has a reputation for being boring, but actually has NO stoppage in play for commercials.

With no TV time, how can soccer succeed?

Read the article: 
Landon Donovan's goal may be a watershed moment for U.S soccer | NOLA.com

Rachel Maddow: Oil plumes, Gulfs unseen disaster

Rachel Maddow: Oil plumes, Gulf's unseen disaster

"The science of the plumes hanging in the water doesn't feel right."
- Robert Dudley, BP Managing Director

BP is trying very hard to discredit the scientists who have found evidence of huge underwater plumes of oil and methane gas caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But Dr. Samantha Joye, of my own University of Georgia, is defending the science behind the plume discovery in this clip from yesterday's The Rachel Maddow Show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Way to go Mandy! :-)

Israel: Hasbara, Lies, and Videotape

Unfortunately, Israel's "hasbara" seems to be working in the US as well as Israel. Most Americans simply swallow the Israeli line - hook, line and sinker. Only the few who noticed the lack of opposing voices in the first few days after the flotilla incident - because of Israel's detention of the activists and confiscation of most footage - had much of a reason to be skeptical. Israel's defenders flooded the airwaves with the "lynch" footage and related "head-talking." Only after the controversy dies down do alternative voices emerge... but does it matter then?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

What's Missing? The Real Issue in the Peace Flotilla Controversy

What's missing here?

Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis. Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters.

Israel said it opened fire after its commandos were attacked by knives, clubs and live fire from two pistols wrested from soldiers after they rappelled from a helicopter to board one of the vessels. Late Monday, it released a grainy black-and-white video that it said supported its version of events.

Click here to watch video  from aboard the ship.

However, there were conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday, with activists claiming the Israelis fired first and Israel insisting its forces fired in self defense. Communications to the ships were cut shortly after the raid began, and activists were kept away from reporters after their boats were towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The activists were headed to Gaza to draw attention to Israel's blockade of Gaza, which Israel and Egypt imposed after the militant Hamas group seized the territory of 1.5 million Palestinians in 2007. Israel claims that sufficient food and humanitarian supplies reach Gaza residents, though Israel retains the right to control all entry and exit to the Strip and inspect all goods entering it, despite Israel's withdraw from Gaza in 2005. Other agencies claim that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened since Israel imposed its blockade. Unemployment, food insecurity, and infrastructure atrophy have increased yearly, and dangerous water and sanitation infrastructure deterioration has led to health consequences for Gaza residents, a recent UN report indicates.

Missing from the finger-pointing over the ship boarding is the message that the flotilla was attempting to bring to the world: the Gaza blockade is an international crime in slow-motion, collectively punishing the people of Gaza for "choosing" the wrong ruling party, Hamas. Gazans cannot build or rebuild homes destroyed during Israel's December 2008 "Cast Lead" operation due to the ban on construction materials; they cannot export goods on the international market; they cannot leave Gaza to find work or education elsewhere, even to go to the West Bank. Effectively, Israel has trapped about 1.5 million people into one of the most densely populated areas on earth, leading to an unemployment rate estimated at at least 40 percent, leading to 70 percent or more living below the poverty line.

Israel's handling of the flotilla obviously has been faulty. If indeed peace activists attacked soldiers, even if their ship was fired upon first, that is an act that tarnishes the nonviolent reputation of peace activists everywhere and undermines their effort to get their message out. But let's not forget the message, because the people of Gaza are depending on it - the blockade of Gaza must be lifted, and the sooner, the better.

Gulf Oil Spill: Massive Underwater Plumes Spell Disaster, Scientists Say

The results of this spill are disastrous, and will be felt for years to come. I suspect the worst damage is below the surface, where news cameras don't get their striking visuals of oil-soaked otters and cranes. But the food chain will be irrevocably damaged. Thanks BP.

Let's hope a teaching moment will come out of this disaster - perhaps an effective way to re-align the incentives of off-shore drilling. As it is now, oil companies do not take on associated risks with drilling but go away with the profits - much like the "moral hazard" problem in the banking system. Big oil can gamble with someone else's fragile ecosystem, profiting when it works and washing their hands when it doesn't. Obviously, this needs to change, starting with removing the $75 million damage cap for oil spill cleanup.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost