Sharon Stone's Good Work for Today
Just seen on BBC world news: Sharon Stone stood up today during a conference at Davos and offered $10000 to the President of Tanzania, who requested funds desperately needed to fight malaria and other...
View ArticleGiuliana Sgrena in her own words
I offer this diary as a supplement to the two that have already been posted by Gilgamesh and Jerome a Paris. Given that they are now long with comments, I thought it might be a good idea to start...
View ArticleA comment on diary etiquette
Many of us are hanging around here, 11:00 A.M. EST, waiting eagerly for Bill in Portland Maine to produce his Cheers & Jeers diary. Many of us worry when it does not magically appear circa 10:20...
View ArticleBerlusconi the Clown
You think we're the only ones who have it tough, people? Think of our good friends in Italy, who have had to put up with Silvio Berlusconi for the past 5 years. There have been many analogous political...
View ArticleWalter Cronkite's Letter to the NYT: An Idea for Dems
I was surprised to see that the author of this letter to today's NYT was none other than Walter Cronkite. It is interesting to see him step into the fray. He must be feeling as desperate as we all...
View ArticleUPDATED: The situation in Cuba, from someone who lives in Havana
I'm writing this to provide a little more context to enlightened folks like yourselves about the current situation in Cuba. I do not have any privileged information, just observations as I live in...
View ArticlePlease End The Cuban Travel Ban & Embargo
I’ve said several times that I’ve been dying to write a diary about my experience living in Cuba. My husband is a foreign service officer (not American) and we’re posted in Havana. We’ve been here...
View ArticleThe Making of Barack Obama
I needed a break from primary projections, results, and musings about the candidates’ futures, so I decided to do a little analysis of an academic type. A question I’ve been pondering lately is this:...
View ArticleA few words from Your (dKos) Woman in Havana
I missed the diary earlier today by Marcus Junius Brutus on Fidel’s resignation. My only correction is to this initial statement the diarist makes: Several news sites are now breaking the news that...
View ArticleHey admins, OMG this!
There are all sorts of shenanigans happening on the rec list right now, I imagine in honor of April Fools' Day. Well, fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice...uh, fool on...uh, for shame. So, I've...
View ArticleItalian Election Results: Dem Party doing well with "Yes We Can" Motto
Italian parliamentary elections take place today. Unfortunately, according to the exit polls, Berlusconi's coalition is poised to lead again. However, the new Partito Democratico led by Walter...
View ArticleDaily Superdelegate Open Thread #2: O+4 C 0
Slinkerwink has graciously suggested unrecommending her first Superdelegate open thread for the day. That thread got large quickly; once comments get to 500 or so, my slow dial-up connection starts to...
View ArticleNews from Havana: Cuba facing rice shortage
I wish I could provide you with links to prove the following news, but I can't because there don't seem to be any. So, call this on-the-ground reporting. The Cuban government just announced that there...
View ArticleWhere's the reset button on this blog?
Ok, I admit I have spent an unhealthy amount of time reading and commenting on dKos today. On a day that is chock-full of beautiful news strangely emanating from our very own political party, I've...
View ArticleArlen Specter to meet with Raul Castro
Those Republicans can't really seem to decide: do we talk to dictators and state leaders we don't like or not? First, the line was no diplomacy with Iran. Now, as we know, there have been diplomatic...
View ArticleA message to potential Obamicans
By now it is clear to regular DailyKos readers that, as far as the media are concerned, Obama can’t win. Well, at least not with them, even if he is consistently ahead in the polls. A quick rehearsal...
View ArticleHurricane Gustav as experienced in Cuba
Yeay! I have internet access again! I've been without it for a couple of weeks now, and what a time to miss it, between the Dem Convention and Hurricane Gustav, when I really needed updated...
View ArticleEarly voting TODAY in NC: First Reports
I've just been doing a survey of some of the NC newspapers on the start of early voting this morning. I'm from Greensboro, myself, though I'm currently out of the country. I'm coming back on the 27th...
View ArticleLieberman's taking credit for FEMA
Now this is rich: there's a LTE in the New York Times this morning authored by Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins in response to this editorial of Nov. 24 in which possible reforms to FEMA are outlined....
View ArticleRaul Castro proposes prisoner swap, to negotiate with Obama
This is absolutely huge news here in Cuba, though it doesn't seem to be making waves in the U.S. From Reuters, via the NYT: Cuban President Raul Castro proposed on Thursday a swap of prisoners with the...
View ArticleIt ain't a diary, but it's got a link you should see!
I can't help it. I have no open thread available right now. But you just have to see these most adorable new photos of President Obama and family on Inauguration Day.
View ArticleRaul Castro shakes up his Cabinet, removes most important Fidelistas
I write you from Havana, where shocking news has just been given in the afternoon noticiero: Fidel Castro's most faithful Cabinet ministers, Vice President Carlos Lage, and Foreign Minister Felipe...
View ArticleDon't let Lieberman get away with it!
Well, well, well. It only took six weeks, but look what they're saying about Lieberman now: "Lieberman Now 'Gushing' For Obama. Yep, ole' Joementum has changed his tune: "He's shown real...
View ArticleKeith Olbermann is a wingnut
File this diary under "false equivalences". I just finished watching an interview with author John Avlon on CNN regarding his new book, Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Destroying America. I've...
View ArticleGood News! Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is free!
I'm writing you from Rome, where I just read the following news on La Repubblica web site: "Sakineh finally free, Son and Lawyer also Out." I checked CNN and NYT, but did not see the news.
View ArticleReasonable Doubt and Accusation of Rape: A Forum for Discussion the...
As many of you may well know now, the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears to be collapsing, according to last evening's NYT report: Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a...
View ArticleAnother one bites the dust: Berlusconi loses majority, will resign within 20...
After the first rumors yesterday that his resignation was "imminent", followed by denial, and then followed by a parliamentary vote that proved he no longer has an absolute majority, Berlusconi final...
View ArticleVaclav Havel has died.
This very sad news has just been reported: Poet, playwright, dissident, and former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel has died at age 75 after a long battle with lung disease. Italian...
View ArticleSantorum approaching front runner status, now with more misogyny!
I just found this gem on CNN, "Female emotions worry Santorum":
View ArticleMusicians Against Amendment One
As early voting comes to a close and May 8 draws near, the effort to get out the NO vote on North Carolina's Amendment One has intensified. My brother and his friends have worked to attract young...
View ArticleBerlusconi's Party Disintegrates in Today's Local Elections
I was glad to see that there was interest here over the weekend on the elections in Greece and France. As has been discussed here and elsewhere, the results point to a general European distaste for...
View ArticleOn the day of the NC Amendment One vote, we don't need this crap.
Well, we didn't need this today. In today's Greensboro News & Record, they've printed an AP article that attempts a balanced view on the subject but contains some misleading information. Today...
View ArticleCuban Blogger Yoani Sanchez has been arrested and detained
This is huge news, though I haven't seen anything in the U.S. press yet. It's front page news in the Italian press: prominent Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez was arrested yesterday along with her...
View ArticleBerlusconi guilty of tax fraud, sentenced to 4 years prison
Whoa. Did not see this coming, and I live in Italy: Ex-Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi sentenced to 4 years in prison This news is just coming out, and really, it's a bit confusing because he's being...
View ArticleBreaking: Nazi criminal Erich Priebke has finally died.
This just in from Italian news outlets: Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke has died in Rome at age 100. He was in house arrest for the assassination of 344 people at the Fosse Ardeatine on March 24,...
View ArticleHow Pope Francis is spending his birthday
Pope Francis celebrates his 77th birthday today and, as the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports, he decided to invite 4 homeless people for lunch and prayed with them in the Chapel of S. Marta...
View ArticleBreaking: Journalist Steven Joel Sotloff Beheaded by ISIS
Our worst fears, especially those of his family, appear to have been confirmed: ISIS has released a video showing the beheading of freelance journalist Steven Joel Sotloff.This news is being reported...
View ArticleI can't believe I missed my 10th Kosaversary
Nov. 1, 2004, on the eve of the presidential elections, I signed up for DailyKos. Somehow, in the craziness of everyday life, I managed to forget my 10th anniversary of (sporadic) participation on this...
View ArticleCultural annihilation: ISIS destroys antiquities in Mosul
I remember this years ago with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and here we have it again as a publicity piece by ISIS: the wholesale destruction of antiquities in the archeological museum of Mosul.This...
View ArticleBail hearing for Roof: Judge relativizes who victims are
This is what the black community and in particular the families of the victims of Wednesday's terrorist attack face as Dylann Roof is jailed and goes to trial:You only have to get seconds into the clip...
View Article#Charlestonsyllabus: A reading list
I just found this via The Chronicle of Higher Education: #Charlestonsyllabus, sponsored by the African American Intellectual Society, which includes the most amazing reading list that will provide you...
View ArticleApparently, the Judicial Branch is no longer a branch of government, per...
Got to hand it to Charles Johnson for this find. Here you go:xICYMI: Donald Trump Removes the Judicial Branch From the âÂÂOur Governmentâ Section of the White House Website...
View ArticleBreaking: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) collapses during race, hospitalized
This news just in: Sen. Thom Tillis collapsed this morning during a race in DC. He received CPR and was revived, then taken to the hospital.xBREAKING: Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina collapses...
View ArticleDepartment of Totally Predictable: FBI reopens investigation of the Clinton...
Trump just can’t help himself, can he? F.B.I. agents have renewed asking questions about the dealings of the Clinton Foundation amid calls from President Trump and top Republicans for the Justice...
View ArticleAnd now the U.S. Gov is against breastfeeding in favor of formula companies.
I don’t have a lot to write here because I’m too outraged. Here are a few lines from the NYT article U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials:A resolution to encourage...
View ArticleVolcano on Stromboli island (Italy) erupts unexpectedly
Big explosion on the island of Stromboli just a few hours ago. I haven’t seen anything in the American press yet, but here’s a link to the Italian paper La Repubblica with images and...
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