Tag Archives: Journalism

Tolerance And Terrorism In Saudi Arabia On the one hand this past week, Thomas Friedman at the New York Times has written a praising column about Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman (MbS). He is going to bring a new “wave of tolerance” into Saudi Arabia, along with more generally modernizing it. This claim is not totally without substance given his setting up for women to drive starting next June as well as letting them go to sports events with men and also...

I have been doing my typical reading on healthcare in the US and ran across several articles which seemingly come together at various points in the dialogue and are written by different authors. I decided to tie them together into a much wider and telling story. An interesting point being was made by MedPage Today’s Dr. Milton Packer on his blog, “people suffer and die because Payors (Healthcare Insurance) is cost effective.” He starts his discussion on...

A Race To Suppress Academic Freedom? The race is between the two nations competing for global dominance, the US and China.  This post is triggered by an unnamed editorial in today’s Washington Post (probably authored by Fred Hiatt) criticizing China for imposing ideological limits on Chinese universities.  Since the recent party congress, 40 universities have set up centers for studyiing Xi Jinping Thought.  14 universities have come under attack for...

(Dan here…Lifted from Robert’s StochasticThoughts) Do Android Phones Dream of Electoral Sheeple in 1984 Signs of the times A photo tweeted by the Russian Ministry of Defense Tuesday as “irrefutable” proof that the United States has allied with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria turned out to be from a video game. @umpire43 a bot who claimed to have joined the nave at age 5, then claimed to have served 22 years from 1970 to 1972 has deleted all its...

We have virtually reached the singularity when virtual reality supplants reality. A photo tweeted by the Russian Ministry of Defense Tuesday as “irrefutable” proof that the United States has allied with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria turned out to be from a video game. Do android phones dream of electoral sheeple ? What is reality and is there an app for that ? Russian Ministry of Defence: “irrefutable evidence that there is no struggle against...

News Editor Joyce Frieden at Medpage Today offers up an excellent review of President Trump’s head of HHS selection Alex Azar. If you do not read MedPage Today, it is a good site to get information on healthcare and healthcare policy. Orrin Hatch of Utah: “The leader of HHS will be at the tip of the spear, working to not only right the wrongs of [the Affordable Care Act] but also ensure the long-term sustainability of both Medicare and Medicaid,” Wow,...

Freedom of Speech for Fascists? I just finished reading the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s profile of Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.  I don’t know how accurate it is as a portrayal of Bray and his ideas, but it seems like a sober, fair-minded overview of the debate over anti-fascist tactics and freedom of speech. What the article doesn’t say, however, is that there are two very different bases for opposing public appearances by white...

Barzani Out, Puigdemont In Belgium It seems that the two recent independence referenda have largely collapsed.  One was in Iraqi Kurdistan, with President Massound Barzani having it done with the eye that it would give him leverage in negotiations with the Iraqi central government.  That did not work, with the referendum triggering the central government to move to seize control of the oil producing areas the Kurds had controlled and quite a bit of...

This is just a conversation between two people of a similar age, looking at what happened, and what changed. Worthy of posting. esmensetoo: There are women who fear a loss of privilege and an increase in expectations, and economic responsibility, for women from “feminist” striving. “If she can do that maybe I’ll be asked and expected to do it too.” Plus, “working class,” as defined in many polls and studies does not necessarily mean “working women.”...

Everyone is reporting a 2018 Budget has been passed. Tucked away inside the 2018 Budget is a Tax Reform Resolution which allows the House to write the bill. The House has passed the Senate Tax Reform Budget Resolution creating a $1.5 trillion deficit with a 216-212 vote. What this means in the Senate is a majority vote is only necessary to pass the Tax Reform bill which Trump has been campaigning and tweeting silly comments. Unless the House and Senate...