Order vs. Disorder, Part 4 - NYTimes.com

Order vs. Disorder, Part 4 - NYTimes.com:



"I’ve been arguing for a while now that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to the wider East-West clash of civilizations what Off Broadway is to Broadway. It’s where you can see many trends at a smaller scale first. That is why I study it closely. Whether it is airline-hijacking, suicide-bombing or trying to do nation-building with the other — Israelis called it “Lebanon invasion” and “Oslo”; we called it “Iraq” and “Afghanistan” — what happens there often moves to the larger stage. So, as I have asked before: What’s playing Off Broadway now?"



'via Blog this'

China’s Crackdown in Hong Kong - NYTimes.com

China’s Crackdown in Hong Kong - NYTimes.com:



"If China had honored the political commitments it made before taking control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, it is likely there would be no protests in the city streets and no crackdown over the weekend by riot police using tear gas, pepper spray and batons against pro-democracy demonstrators."



'via Blog this'

Obama Says U.S. Underestimated the Rise of ISIS - NYTimes.com

Obama Says U.S. Underestimated the Rise of ISIS - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — President Obama acknowledges in an interview to be broadcast Sunday night that the United States underestimated the rise of the Islamic State militant group while placing too much trust in the Iraqi military, allowing the region to become “ground zero for jihadists around the world.”"



'via Blog this'

U.S., Defending Kurds in Syria, Expands Airstrikes Against Islamic State Militants - NYTimes.com

U.S., Defending Kurds in Syria, Expands Airstrikes Against Islamic State Militants - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said on Saturday that it had conducted its first strikes against Islamic State targets in a besieged Kurdish area of Syria along the Turkish border, destroying two armored vehicles in an area that has been the subject of a weeklong onslaught by the Islamic State."



'via Blog this'

Emirates’ First Female Fighter Pilot Led Mission in Syria - NYTimes.com

Emirates’ First Female Fighter Pilot Led Mission in Syria - NYTimes.com:



 "When fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates took part in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria on Monday night, the mission was led by a woman, the country’s ambassador to the United States said Thursday morning."



'via Blog this'

2014 September 25 - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com

2014 September 25 - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com:



 "The announcement Thursday of the resignation of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. touched off questions about his replacement and the timing of any Senate confirmation, given the possibility of a Republican takeover of the Senate in January."



'via Blog this'

Iran’s President Says West’s Blunders Helped ISIS Rise - NYTimes.com

Iran’s President Says West’s Blunders Helped ISIS Rise - NYTimes.com:



 "UNITED NATIONS — President Hassan Rouhani of Iran delivered a searing indictment of Western and Arab states on Thursday in his annual speech to the United Nations, blaming them for sowing the seeds of extremism in the Middle East with “strategic blunders” that have given rise to the Islamic State and other violent jihadist groups."



'via Blog this'

Ferguson Police Chief Offers Apology to Michael Brown’s Family - NYTimes.com

Ferguson Police Chief Offers Apology to Michael Brown’s Family - NYTimes.com:



 "CHICAGO — The police chief of Ferguson, Mo., issued a rare public apology on Thursday, for the death of Michael Brown, addressing the Brown family directly in a short video posted online."



'via Blog this'

Eric Holder Resigning as Attorney General - NYTimes.com

Eric Holder Resigning as Attorney General - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will resign his post, the Justice Department said Thursday. Mr. Holder will remain in office until a successor is nominated and confirmed."



'via Blog this'

Charles Plosser and Richard Fisher, Both Dissenters, to Retire From Fed - NYTimes.com

Charles Plosser and Richard Fisher, Both Dissenters, to Retire From Fed - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — Two Federal Reserve officials who have warned loudly and persistently that the Fed is overreaching in its economic stimulus campaign plan to retire next year after completing terms on the Fed’s policy-making committee."



'via Blog this'

G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access - NYTimes.com

G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — In politics, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. Republicans and Democrats, and groups sympathetic to each, spend millions on sophisticated technology to gain an advantage."



'via Blog this'

The Benefits of Easing Climate Change - NYTimes.com

The Benefits of Easing Climate Change - NYTimes.com:



 "You’re forgiven if you hold your applause. World leaders have been trying without success to cut such a deal for almost two decades, crashing time and again into the fear that slowing the emissions of carbon that are inexorably changing the climate carries an economic cost that few are willing to bear."



'via Blog this'

Europe’s Anti-Semitism Comes Out of the Shadows - NYTimes.com

Europe’s Anti-Semitism Comes Out of the Shadows - NYTimes.com:



"SARCELLES, France — From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. “Death to the Jews!” shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. “Gas the Jews!” yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany."



'via Blog this'

ISIS Crisis - NYTimes.com

ISIS Crisis - NYTimes.com:



"There is a tension at the heart of President Obama’s strategy to confront the Islamic State, and it explains a lot about why he has so much trouble articulating and implementing his strategy. Quite simply, it is the tension between two vital goals — promoting the “soul-searching” that ISIS’s emergence has triggered in the Arab-Muslim world and “searching and destroying” ISIS in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq."



'via Blog this'

Climate Change Protesters Tangle With Police at Wall St. - NYTimes.com

Climate Change Protesters Tangle With Police at Wall St. - NYTimes.com:



"About 100 climate change protesters were arrested on Monday as hundreds marched through the streets of Lower Manhattan, at one point clashing with the police as they tried to push through barricades sealing off Wall Street."



'via Blog this'

A Future as Clouded as Their Past - NYTimes.com

A Future as Clouded as Their Past - NYTimes.com:



 "We won’t ever know what the Anasazi were thinking on the eve of the 13th century when they abandoned the cities they had worked so long to build on the Colorado Plateau. The reasons had something to do with climate — a great drought and, perhaps on top of that, a mini ice age. If that wasn’t enough to defeat a thriving culture, there was the turmoil that came from just not knowing. Why were the sky and earth behaving so strangely? Why wasn’t the old magic working anymore?"



'via Blog this'

On Warmer Planet, Range of Soil Microbes May Change - NYTimes.com

On Warmer Planet, Range of Soil Microbes May Change - NYTimes.com:



"TEMPE, Ariz. — Even the microbes, it seems, may be on the move."



'via Blog this'

Carbon Dioxide, Building Block of Life, Best in Moderation - NYTimes.com

Carbon Dioxide, Building Block of Life, Best in Moderation - NYTimes.com:



 "Every year, Americans dispose of about 1,000 pounds of garbage apiece — the coffee grounds, takeout containers, candy wrappers, used Huggies, empty syringes and old sock monkey puppets we entrust to our local sanitation workers and never think about again."



'via Blog this'

Biden to Hispanics: Obama Will Act on Immigration - NYTimes.com

Biden to Hispanics: Obama Will Act on Immigration - NYTimes.com:



 "WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden told frustrated Hispanic leaders Monday President Barack Obama is "absolutely committed to moving forward" on comprehensive immigration reforms "and he's going to do an awful lot.""



'via Blog this'

Portland Man Hides in Church to Avoid Deportation - NYTimes.com

Portland Man Hides in Church to Avoid Deportation - NYTimes.com:



"PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland community activist originally from El Salvador has spent the weekend hidden in a church after immigration authorities tried to detain him last week."



'via Blog this'

Missing Afghan Soldiers Are Found at Canadian Border - NYTimes.com

Missing Afghan Soldiers Are Found at Canadian Border - NYTimes.com:



 "Three Afghan soldiers in the United States on a training exercise were located Monday at a Canadian border crossing near Niagara Falls, two days after disappearing from a Massachusetts shopping mall, officials said Monday."



'via Blog this'

Mexico's Pena Nieto Says Hopes U.S. Immigration Reform Will Pass Soon - NYTimes.com

Mexico's Pena Nieto Says Hopes U.S. Immigration Reform Will Pass Soon - NYTimes.com:



 "NEW YORK — Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Monday he hopes the U.S. Congress will soon pass immigration reform, a move that would ease tensions on both sides of the border."



'via Blog this'

Kurdistan Workers' Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kurdistan Workers' Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:



"The Kurdistan Workers' Party,[nb 1][nb 2] commonly referred to by its Kurdish acronym, PKK,[18] is a Kurdish political and military organization which from 1984 to 2013 fought an armed struggle against the Turkish state for cultural and political rights and self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey,[12] who comprise between 10% and 25% of the population and have been subjected to official repression for decades. The group was founded in 1978 in the village of Fis (near Lice) by a group of radical Kurdish students led by Abdullah Öcalan.[19] The PKK's ideology was originally a fusion of revolutionary socialism and Kurdish nationalism, seeking the foundation of an independent, Marxist–Leninist state in the region known as Kurdistan."



'via Blog this'

Over 130,000 Flee Syria for Turkey in Wake of ISIS Raids - NYTimes.com

Over 130,000 Flee Syria for Turkey in Wake of ISIS Raids - NYTimes.com:



"ANKARA, Turkey — More than 130,000 refugees have flooded into Turkey from Syria in recent days, fleeing attacks by Islamic State militants on their villages, Turkey’s deputy prime minister said on Monday, though local officials in Syria said that Kurdish militias had blunted the militants’ advance there."



'via Blog this'

Despite Airstrikes, ISIS Appears to Hold Its Ground in Iraq - NYTimes.com

Despite Airstrikes, ISIS Appears to Hold Its Ground in Iraq - NYTimes.com:



"BAGHDAD — After six weeks of American airstrikes, the Iraqi government’s forces have scarcely budged Sunni extremists of the Islamic State from their hold on more than a quarter of the country, in part because many critical Sunni tribes remain on the sidelines."



'via Blog this'

Mexico Makes Route Tougher for Migrants - NYTimes.com

Mexico Makes Route Tougher for Migrants - NYTimes.com:



 "TIERRA BLANCA, Mexico — Soon after crossing from Guatemala into Mexico last week, the group of Honduran migrants spotted the police swarming the freight train known as “The Beast” that has dangerously but reliably ferried tens of thousands of people north, clumped atop and hanging off box cars."



'via Blog this'

Michael Moore Out as Michigan Film Board Member - NYTimes.com

Michael Moore Out as Michigan Film Board Member - NYTimes.com:



"LANSING, Mich. — Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore no longer will serve on the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council."



'via Blog this'

Pope Sets Tone in U.S. by Naming Inclusive Prelate as Chicago Archbishop - NYTimes.com

Pope Sets Tone in U.S. by Naming Inclusive Prelate as Chicago Archbishop - NYTimes.com:



"In his first major appointment in the United States, Pope Francis named Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, Wash., on Saturday to be the next archbishop of Chicago, replacing a combative conservative with a prelate whose pastoral approach to upholding church doctrine is more in keeping with the pope’s inclusive tone."



'via Blog this'

Three Cheers for Pluralism Over Separatism - NYTimes.com

Three Cheers for Pluralism Over Separatism - NYTimes.com:



"MADRID — THIS was an interesting week to visit Britain and Spain — first to watch the Scottish separatists push for independence and then to watch Basque and Catalan separatists watching (with disappointment) the outcome of the vote. One reaction: I’m glad a majority of Scots rejected independence. Had they not, it would have clipped the wing of America’s most important wingman in the world: Britain. Another reaction: God bless America. We have many sources of strength, but today our greatest asset is our pluralism — our “E pluribus unum” — that out of many we’ve made one nation, with all the benefits that come from mixing cultures and all the strengths that come from being able to act together."



'via Blog this'

Roaming Through Woody Guthrie’s New York - NYTimes.com

Roaming Through Woody Guthrie’s New York - NYTimes.com:



 "YOU say you want to have a close encounter with Woody Guthrie, to follow his footsteps to greatness, to lay eyes on the places where American music history was made: where Woody first met Pete Seeger; where Bob Dylan first showed up on Woody’s doorstep; where Woody strummed and plucked with Lead Belly, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee; where he wrote “This Land Is Your Land,” “Vigilante Man,” “The Sinking of the Reuben James” and many, many hundreds of other songs; where he painted “This Machine Kills Fascists” on his guitar; where he raised his kids, more or less; and where his short, hard, full life ended."



'via Blog this'

Pennsylvania Ambush Suspect Is Member of War Re-enactment Group: Police - NYTimes.com

Pennsylvania Ambush Suspect Is Member of War Re-enactment Group: Police - NYTimes.com:



"BLOOMING GROVE Pa. (Reuters) - A survivalist suspected of an ambush attack last week on two Pennsylvania troopers, killing one and seriously wounding the other, is a member of an Eastern European Cold War re-enactment group, state police said on Wednesday."



'via Blog this'

U.S. Army Soldier Accused of Smuggling Undocumented Immigrants - NYTimes.com

U.S. Army Soldier Accused of Smuggling Undocumented Immigrants - NYTimes.com:



 "(Reuters) - A U.S. Army soldier has been accused of smuggling two undocumented immigrants across the Texas-Mexico border while in uniform, according to a federal criminal complaint."



'via Blog this'

Desperate Gazans Flee to Europe in Risky Sea Trips - NYTimes.com

Desperate Gazans Flee to Europe in Risky Sea Trips - NYTimes.com:



 "ABASSAN, Gaza Strip — The university student was desperate to flee Gaza after suffering through years of border closures and three wars."



'via Blog this'

Terrance Paul, Developer of Teaching Software, Dies at 67 - NYTimes.com

Terrance Paul, Developer of Teaching Software, Dies at 67 - NYTimes.com:



"Terrance Paul, an entrepreneur who, with his wife, created computerized teaching programs like Accelerated Reader that were widely adopted in American schools over the last 25 years as educators turned to spreadsheet-ready data for evaluating student achievement, died Sept. 5 at his home in Boulder, Colo. He was 67."



'via Blog this'

Is U.S. Policy on Fighting ISIS Already Changing? - NYTimes.com

Is U.S. Policy on Fighting ISIS Already Changing? - NYTimes.com:



"A week ago, President Obama stood before the American people and promised that the expanding fight against the Islamic State — a vicious Sunni militant group known as ISIS or ISIL that is terrorizing parts of Iraq and Syria — would not mean a commitment of American ground troops. “As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission,” he said."



'via Blog this'

Guatemala Government Responds to News Story Before It Is Published - NYTimes.com

Guatemala Government Responds to News Story Before It Is Published - NYTimes.com:



"GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala's government posted an online response to a newspaper article about the country's vice president before it was published, provoking criticism the government was spying on the country's media."



'via Blog this'

Syrian Plane Shot Down as Attacks by Groups Intensify - NYTimes.com

Syrian Plane Shot Down as Attacks by Groups Intensify - NYTimes.com:



"BEIRUT, Lebanon — The warring parties in Syria have launched newly assertive attacks on several fronts in recent days, seeking to gain ground and psychological advantage ahead of an intensified United States campaign against extremist Islamic State militants that could include the first American airstrikes inside Syria."



'via Blog this'

ISIS and the Arab World - NYTimes.com

ISIS and the Arab World - NYTimes.com:



 "LONDON — An existential struggle is taking place in the Arab world today. But is it ours or is it theirs? Before we step up military action in Iraq and Syria, that’s the question that needs answering."



'via Blog this'

French Premier Prevails in Confidence Vote - NYTimes.com

French Premier Prevails in Confidence Vote - NYTimes.com:



"PARIS — France’s embattled Socialist government survived a parliamentary vote of confidence on Tuesday aimed at shoring up support for tough economic policy changes at a time when the economy is flat and President François Hollande’s popularity is the lowest of any French president in decades."



'via Blog this'

U.S. General Backs Limited Ground Operations Against ISIS if Needed - NYTimes.com

U.S. General Backs Limited Ground Operations Against ISIS if Needed - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress on Tuesday that he would recommend deploying United States combat forces against Islamic extremists in specific operations if the current strategy of airstrikes was not successful, raising the possibility of the kind of escalation that President Obama has flatly ruled out."



'via Blog this'

French Premier’s Push Toward Center Opens Rift on the Left - NYTimes.com

French Premier’s Push Toward Center Opens Rift on the Left - NYTimes.com:



 "PARIS — Hours after President François Hollande purged leftist members of his government last month for opposing his economic policies, Manuel Valls, France’s combative prime minister, climbed a stage before hundreds of cheering French executives and called for a new relationship with business to lift France from its malaise."



'via Blog this'

U.S. Pushes Back Against Warnings That ISIS Plans to Enter From Mexico - NYTimes.com

U.S. Pushes Back Against Warnings That ISIS Plans to Enter From Mexico - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — Militants for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have traveled to Mexico and are just miles from the United States. They plan to cross over the porous border and will “imminently” launch car bomb attacks. And the threat is so real that federal law enforcement officers have been placed at a heightened state of alert, and an American military base near the border has increased its security."



'via Blog this'

Mining for Antibiotics, Right Under Our Noses - NYTimes.com

Mining for Antibiotics, Right Under Our Noses - NYTimes.co:



 "“Microorganisms are the best chemists on the planet,” declared Michael A. Fischbach, a chemist himself at the University of California, San Francisco."



'via Blog this'

How to Get It Wrong - NYTimes.com

How to Get It Wrong - NYTimes.com:



"Last week I participated in a conference organized by Rethinking Economics, a student-run group hoping to promote, you guessed it, a rethinking of economics. And Mammon knows that economics needs rethinking in the wake of a disastrous crisis, a crisis that was neither predicted nor prevented."



'via Blog this'

Arab Nations Offer to Conduct Airstrikes Against ISIS, U.S. Officials Say - NYTimes.com

Arab Nations Offer to Conduct Airstrikes Against ISIS, U.S. Officials Say - NYTimes.com:



 "PARIS — Several Arab countries have offered to carry out airstrikes against militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, senior State Department officials said on Sunday."



'via Blog this'

Sun and Wind Alter German Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind - NYTimes.com

Sun and Wind Alter German Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind - NYTimes.com:



 "HELIGOLAND, Germany — Of all the developed nations, few have pushed harder than Germany to find a solution to global warming. And towering symbols of that drive are appearing in the middle of the North Sea."



'via Blog this'

Obama’s Strategy for Fighting ISIS Isn’t All About Us - NYTimes.com

Obama’s Strategy for Fighting ISIS Isn’t All About Us - NYTimes.com:



"THERE are three things in life that you should never do ambivalently: get married, buy a house or go to war. Alas, we’re about to do No. 3. Should we?"



'via Blog this'

Los Angeles Sees Raids Over Ties to Cartels - NYTimes.com

Los Angeles Sees Raids Over Ties to Cartels - NYTimes.com:



"LOS ANGELES — Federal agents conducted a series of raids on Wednesday morning across this city’s fashion district, sweeping more than 70 locations, arresting nine people, and seizing at least $65 million in cash and assets from organizations with ties to Mexican cartels, law enforcement officials said."



'via Blog this'

The Inflation Cult - NYTimes.com

The Inflation Cult - NYTimes.com:



 "Wish I’d said that! Earlier this week, Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica, writing on The Times’s DealBook blog, compared people who keep predicting runaway inflation to “true believers whose faith in a predicted apocalypse persists even after it fails to materialize.” Indeed."



'via Blog this'

It Takes a Mentor - NYTimes.com

It Takes a Mentor - NYTimes.com:



 "With millions of students returning to school — both K-12 and college — this is a good time to review the intriguing results of some research that Gallup did over the past year, exploring the linkages between education and long-term success in the workplace. That is: What are the things that happen at a college or technical school that, more than anything else, produce “engaged” employees on a fulfilling career track? According to Brandon Busteed, the executive director of Gallup’s education division, two things stand out. Successful students had one or more teachers who were mentors and took a real interest in their aspirations, and they had an internship related to what they were learning in school."



'via Blog this'

It Takes a Mentor - NYTimes.com

It Takes a Mentor - NYTimes.com:



 "With millions of students returning to school — both K-12 and college — this is a good time to review the intriguing results of some research that Gallup did over the past year, exploring the linkages between education and long-term success in the workplace. That is: What are the things that happen at a college or technical school that, more than anything else, produce “engaged” employees on a fulfilling career track? According to Brandon Busteed, the executive director of Gallup’s education division, two things stand out. Successful students had one or more teachers who were mentors and took a real interest in their aspirations, and they had an internship related to what they were learning in school."



'via Blog this'

Malaysian Jet Over Ukraine Was Downed by ‘High-Energy Objects,’ Dutch Investigators Say - NYTimes.com

Malaysian Jet Over Ukraine Was Downed by ‘High-Energy Objects,’ Dutch Investigators Say - NYTimes.com:



 "PARIS — A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that went down over a war zone in eastern Ukraine in July was struck by “high-energy objects from outside the aircraft,” Dutch officials leading the investigation of the crash said in a preliminary report published on Tuesday."



'via Blog this'

Lew Says Decision Near on Corporate Tax Actions - NYTimes.com

Lew Says Decision Near on Corporate Tax Actions - NYTimes.com:



 "WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said on Monday that he would decide “in the very near future” what regulatory action the Obama administration can take — given the partisan paralysis in Congress — to close some tax loopholes and reduce incentives for multinational corporations to incorporate in other countries to avoid taxes in the United States."



'via Blog this'

Scots, What the Heck? - NYTimes.com

Scots, What the Heck? - NYTimes.com:



 "Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom. And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” — that is, concern about the economic risks of going it alone. At this point the outcome looks like a tossup."



'via Blog this'

For Jihad Recruits, a Pipeline From Minnesota to Militancy - NYTimes.com

For Jihad Recruits, a Pipeline From Minnesota to Militancy - NYTimes.com:



"MINNEAPOLIS — It was a friendship that began in high school and ended in militant jihad."



'via Blog this'

At Joan Rivers’s Funeral, Celebrities, Cameras and Crowds - NYTimes.com

At Joan Rivers’s Funeral, Celebrities, Cameras and Crowds - NYTimes.com:



"For the comedian Joan Rivers, no occasion was off-limits, not even her own funeral."



'via Blog this'

Israeli Police: Messianic Prostitution Ring Nabbed - NYTimes.com

Israeli Police: Messianic Prostitution Ring Nabbed - NYTimes.com:



"JERUSALEM — Israeli police say they have uncovered a messianic Jewish sect that prostituted women to "save Israel.""



'via Blog this'

Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks - NYTimes.com

Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks - NYTimes.com:



 "WASHINGTON — The agreement signed last year by the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs was explicit: For $5 million, Norway’s partner in Washington would push top officials at the White House, at the Treasury Department and in Congress to double spending on a United States foreign aid program."



'via Blog this'

Leading From Within - NYTimes.com

Leading From Within - NYTimes.com:



 "I DON’T know what action will be sufficient to roll back both the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, but I do know what’s necessary. And it’s not “leading from behind,” which didn’t really work for President Obama in Libya, and it isn’t simply leading a lonely and unpopular charge from in front, which certainly didn’t work for President Bush in Iraq. It’s actually reviving America’s greatest strategy: leading from within."



'via Blog this'

Iraq Air Strike Kills Seven in Hospital Near Kirkuk - NYTimes.com

Iraq Air Strike Kills Seven in Hospital Near Kirkuk - NYTimes.com:



"BAGHDAD — Iraq's air force hit a hospital in a town controlled by Islamic State and other militant groups on Saturday, killing seven patients and wounding 22 others, including children, eyewitnesses said."



'via Blog this'

Syrian Bombs Hit ISIS-Held Territory - NYTimes.com

Syrian Bombs Hit ISIS-Held Territory - NYTimes.com:



"BEIRUT, Lebanon — Raids by Syrian warplanes killed at least 25 people, most of them civilians crowding into a bakery, in the northeastern province of Raqqa on Saturday as government forces continued air attacks on territory controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the extremist Sunni militant group."



'via Blog this'

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com

So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ... - NYTimes.com:



 "In 2008, shortly after Bill Gates stepped down from his executive role at Microsoft, he often awoke in his 66,000-square-foot home on the eastern bank of Lake Washington and walked downstairs to his private gym in a baggy T-shirt, shorts, sneakers and black socks yanked up to the midcalf. Then, during an hour on the treadmill, Gates, a self-described nerd, would pass the time by watching DVDs from the Teaching Company’s “Great Courses” series. On some mornings, he would learn about geology or meteorology; on others, it would be oceanography or U.S. history."



'via Blog this'

Obama Delays Immigration Action, Yielding to Democratic Concerns - NYTimes.com

Obama Delays Immigration Action, Yielding to Democratic Concerns - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — President Obama has delayed action to reshape the nation’s immigration system without congressional approval until after the November elections, bowing to the concerns of Senate Democrats on the ballots, White House officials said on Saturday."



'via Blog this'

Democratic Candidate for Texas Governor Reveals Abortions: Report - NYTimes.com

Democratic Candidate for Texas Governor Reveals Abortions: Report - NYTimes.com:



"(Reuters) - Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor who was catapulted to national fame last year for her 10-hour filibuster against abortion restrictions, revealed in her memoir she ended two pregnancies of her own, the San Antonio Express-News reported on Friday."



'via Blog this'

Leader of Qaeda-Linked Somali Group Is Dead, U.S. Says - NYTimes.com

Leader of Qaeda-Linked Somali Group Is Dead, U.S. Says - NYTimes.com:



 "NEWPORT, Wales — The American airstrikes on Monday against the Shabab, the Qaeda-linked militant network in Somalia, succeeded in killing the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, the Pentagon announced Friday."



'via Blog this'

Chris Christie, on Mexico Tour, Unplugs the Amplifier - NYTimes.com

Chris Christie, on Mexico Tour, Unplugs the Amplifier - NYTimes.com:



"MEXICO CITY — He has not scolded. Nor mocked. Nor lectured."



'via Blog this'

Ex-Governor McDonnell and Wife Convicted After Corruption Trial - NYTimes.com

Ex-Governor McDonnell and Wife Convicted After Corruption Trial - NYTimes.com:



 "RICHMOND, Va. — Former Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia and his wife, Maureen, were convicted of corruption in federal court Thursday, following a trial that halted the political ascent of the one-time Republican star and peeled back the couple’s private life to the bone."



'via Blog this'

European Central Bank to Start Asset Purchases After Further Rate Cut - NYTimes.com

European Central Bank to Start Asset Purchases After Further Rate Cut - NYTimes.com:



"FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank surprised many analysts on Thursday by cutting interest rates from their already record-low levels and said it would soon begin buying packages of bank loans, in its continuing efforts to stimulate lending in the faltering eurozone economy."



'via Blog this'

In First for Court, Woman Is Ruled Eligible for Asylum in U.S. on Basis of Domestic Abuse - NYTimes.com

In First for Court, Woman Is Ruled Eligible for Asylum in U.S. on Basis of Domestic Abuse - 

NYTimes.com:



 "The nation’s highest immigration court has found for the first time that women who are victims of severe domestic violence in their home countries can be eligible for asylum in the United States."



'via Blog this'

Charles Bowden, Author With Unblinking Eye on Southwest, Dies at 69 - NYTimes.com

Charles Bowden, Author With Unblinking Eye on Southwest, Dies at 69 - NYTimes.com:



"Charles Bowden, an author and journalist acclaimed for his vivid, unsparing and often lyrical portrayals of life in the Southwest, particularly the brutality on the border between the United States and Mexico, died on Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 69."



'via Blog this'

New Roku and TiVo Devices Make Cutting the Cable Cord Plausible - NYTimes.com

New Roku and TiVo Devices Make Cutting the Cable Cord Plausible - NYTimes.com:



"CUTTING the cable television cord has always sounded nicer than it really is."



'via Blog this'

Justice Dept. Inquiry to Focus on Practices of Police in Ferguson - NYTimes.com

Justice Dept. Inquiry to Focus on Practices of Police in Ferguson - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will open a broad civil rights investigation into police practices in Ferguson, Mo., where a white police officer killed an unarmed black teenager last month and set off days of racially charged unrest, the city’s police chief and other officials said Wednesday."



'via Blog this'

Hamas Emerges Buoyant Despite Bloodshed and Devastation in Gaza - NYTimes.com

Hamas Emerges Buoyant Despite Bloodshed and Devastation in Gaza - NYTimes.com:



"BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — Ismail Haniya, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, worked the crowd in what used to be the Boura neighborhood of this battered northern border town, kissing the cheeks of elders and the foreheads of masked fighters. He waved at the women standing in front of makeshift huts next to the homes flattened in Israeli attacks, as children watched from atop concrete piles where green Hamas flags were planted as though on conquered lands."



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ISIS Is a Disgrace to True Fundamentalism - NYTimes.com

ISIS Is a Disgrace to True Fundamentalism - NYTimes.com:



"It has become a commonplace in recent months to observe that the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is the latest chapter in the long story of the anticolonial awakening — the arbitrary borders drawn after World War I by the great powers being redrawn — and simultaneously a chapter in the struggle against the way global capital undermines the power of nation states. But what causes such fear and consternation is another feature of the ISIS regime: The public statements of the ISIS authorities make it clear that the principal task of the state power is not the regulation of the welfare of its population (health, the fight against hunger) — what really matters is religious life and the concern that all public life obey religious laws. This is why ISIS remains more or less indifferent toward humanitarian catastrophes within its domain — its motto is roughly “take care of religion and welfare will take care of itself.” Therein resides the gap that separates the notion of power practiced by ISIS from the modern Western notion of what Michel Foucault called “biopower,” which regulates life in order to guarantee general welfare: the ISIS caliphate totally rejects the notion of biopower."



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Putin and Poroshenko

NYT

War in Mesopotamia

NYT

Abuse

NYT

NATO's Urgent Challange

NYT

Ready, Aim, Fire. Not Fire, Ready, Aim. - NYTimes.com

Ready, Aim, Fire. Not Fire, Ready, Aim. - NYTimes.com:



 "President Obama has been excoriated for declaring that “we don’t have a strategy yet” for effectively confronting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. In criticizing Obama for taking too much time, Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told “Fox News Sunday” that “this ‘don’t-do-stupid-stuff’ policy isn’t working.” That sounded odd to my ear — like we should just bomb somebody, even if it is stupid. If Obama did that, what would he be ignoring?"



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Book Portrays Eichmann as Evil, but Not Banal - NYTimes.com

Book Portrays Eichmann as Evil, but Not Banal - NYTimes.com:



"More than 50 years after its publication, Hannah Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem” remains enduringly controversial, racking up a long list of critics who continue to pick apart her depiction of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann as an exemplar of “the banality of evil,” a bloodless, nearly mindless bureaucrat who “never realized what he was doing.”"



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Obama to Visit Estonia to Reassure Baltic Allies Over Russia - NYTimes.com

Obama to Visit Estonia to Reassure Baltic Allies Over Russia - NYTimes.com:



 "KEFLAVIK, Iceland — With concerns rising about Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, President Obama will use a visit to neighboring Estonia on Wednesday to reassure fretful allies that the United States and Europe are serious about defending them from a newly aggressive Russia."



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The New History Wars - NYTimes.com

The New History Wars - NYTimes.com:



WASHINGTON — WITH the news dominated by stories of Americans dying at home and abroad, it might seem trivial to debate how history is taught in our schools. But if we want students to understand what is happening in Missouri or the Middle East, they need an unvarnished picture of our past and the skills to understand and interpret that picture. People don’t kill one another just for recreation. They have reasons. Those reasons are usually historical.  "



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ISIS Reported to Behead Second American - NYTimes.com

ISIS Reported to Behead Second American - NYTimes.com:



"The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has beheaded Steven Joel Sotloff, the second American executed by the Islamic militant group, and posted a video of it on the Internet, the SITE Intelligence Group, a research organization that tracks jihadist web postings, said Tuesday."



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NATO Weighs Response Force for East Flank - NYTimes.com

NATO Weighs Response Force for East Flank - NYTimes.com:



"WASHINGTON — As Ukrainian leaders warned on Monday of “a great war” with Russia, NATO leaders meeting in Wales this week were expected to endorse their most concrete response yet to increased Russian military intervention in Ukraine: establishing a rapid-reaction force capable of deploying quickly to Eastern Europe, officials of the alliance said."



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