Thursday, February 24, 2011

HOT5 Daily 2/24/2011

1. "Obama Is Helping Iran" I don't know if I'd go quite that far, but a provocative argument.

Representative Sample: On Obama's watch, the regional balance of influence and power has shifted even further away from the United States and toward Iran and its allies. The Islamic Republic has continued to deepen its alliances with Syria and Turkey and expand its influence in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine.

2. "Is Arab Democracy an Oxymoron?" I don't think so. But it isn't necessarily a good thing either.

Representative Sample: Israel’s detractors claim that a country cannot be both Jewish and democratic. But do they think that a country can be Arab and democratic? Theoretically, it could: if national identity and the rights of minorities can be reconciled in democratic nation-states such as Japan, Sweden or Israel, why can’t they be reconciled in an Arab nation-state? It is hard to answer this question, since history has yet to produce one example of a truly democratic Arab state. Meanwhile, the Arab contention that a country cannot be both Jewish and democratic looks more like a manifestation of what psychologists call “projection.”

3. "10 Things You Need to Know About High Gas Prices and Obama’s Oil Policy" More reasons -- as if we needed more -- to vote Republican in 2012.

Representative Sample: President Obama has been unilaterally taking steps to increase the cost of gasoline for two years. Here are ten things you need to know about gas prices that you may not hear reported elsewhere:

4. "What the Democrats are telling us is that they would rather have no legislature than allow legislation that breaks the power of the unions " Another good article on the implications of the Wisconsin situation.

Representative Sample: What does the Democratic Party stand for? You can find out by asking what they will take a stand for. In the recent protests against limitations on the power of government employees' unions, the Democrats have taken the strongest stand possible, short of outright insurrection. In Wisconsin, in Indiana, and potentially in Ohio, Democratic legislators have actually fled the state in order to deprive their state legislatures of the quorum necessary to vote.

5. "The Hidden Cancer Cure" I've heard this particular conspiracy theory from several different people offline.

Representative Sample: This topic also brings up a meme that has been around for a long time – the notion that scientists have already cured cancer but the cure is being suppressed by the powers that be, to protect cancer as a source of income.

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2 comments:

  1. I would have said that Turkey and Lebanon are both democratic. Not certain though.

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  2. Turkey is democratic but Turks aren't Arabs. Lebanon has democratic elements but is dominated by Hezbollah.

    ReplyDelete