January 21, 2008
Israel News Network
John Bolton Urges Israel To Divulge Bombing of Syria
John Bolton, former American Ambassador to the United Nations, called on Israel Monday to divulge details of its bombing of a nuclear facility in northern Syria last September.
Ambassador Bolton did just that when we asked him about it back in November. The portion of the interview where he discusses the Israeli raid starts at the 5:05 minute mark.
For the full interview, click here.
The New York Times has a very good profile of Michael Yon today,
“His work has a remarkable, chin-out, unvarnished intimacy,†said Jackie Lyden, a National Public Radio reporter who has worked in Iraq. “He isn’t a guarded, diplomatically toned reporter; he can be very frank, and he questions his own assumptions.â€
The Internet has fostered such citizen journalism, shaking up ideas about where news comes from, but few have taken on the expense and danger of working in a war zone. Mr. Yon’s daily expenses are small, but he has paid tens of thousands of dollars for computers, cameras, phones and body armor.
He went to Iraq believing that the mainstream news media were bungling the story, and he still often criticizes the media’s pessimism. But he has also praised particular reporters from major outlets, or defended the media in general, explaining how difficult and dangerous it is to cover the war.
Along the way, he created a niche outlet that is better reported than most blogs, and more opinionated than most news reporting, with enough first-hand observation, clarity and skepticism to put many professional journalists to shame.
Michael is completely independent. He is arriving back in Iraq for another extended tour in a matter of days. if you can, please support his important work here and pre-order his book Moment of Truth in Iraq here.
This commercial from Liberty Mutual has a simple message, pay it forward. Do the little things, like hold a door open, or say thank you, etc and you will be rewarded. I’d like to believe that is true. I love the message of this ad.
What’s the point? I have a pay it forward story that I’d like to share.
The other day I went to the mall to Best Buy. As I was walking in, I checked an email on my Blackberry and then entered the store. I shopped around a bit and left and drove home. When I got home I reached to take the case off my belt and my Blackberry was not in there. My heart sank. Oh no, where is my Blackberry? Like many others, I have an unhealthy relationship with my Blackberry. I use it extensively for work, and also use it as my phone. It contains several hundred personal and business contacts. I was in a panic.
I drove back to Best Buy, scoured the store, and asked if it was turned in, nothing. I went to the parking lot to re-trace my steps, nothing. At this point, the realization was setting in; I lost it and I have just created a major headache for myself. It was an awful feeling.
Depressed, I stopped to buy dinner. When I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed a check for $100 written to the local police department for their drug awareness program. I saw the check had a name and address, so I put it in my pocket and drove home to look this person up in the phone book and let them know.
When I pulled into the driveway, my wife was on the top step. She says, “You’re not going to believe this”. A young mother and her son were walking into Best Buy and the boy found my Blackberry. When they got home, they called my house to let me know. By that time, I had already left to return to Best Buy to look for it.
The young mother, her father and son drove the Blackberry to my house. I offered her a cash reward and she would not accept it. She said simply, “I know how panicked I’d be if I lost my cell phone.”
I was so relieved, and so grateful. I went inside and called the man whose check I had found in the parking lot. He was an older gentleman and he too was very very appreciative.
Pay it forward people, pay it forward.
John Murtha’s disgraceful use and abuse of the Haditha Marines was certainly the low point in congressional behavior during the war on terror.
Now, Murtha (D-PA) is trying to add another title to his list of accomplishments, this time, as the Biggest Porker in Congress.
Good for the New York Times for reporting this,
Mr. Murtha led all House members this year, securing $162 million in district favors, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. In all, eager members in both houses enacted 11,144 earmarks, worth $15 billion. Taxpayers may be inured to $113,000 for rodent control in Alaska or a million for Idaho’s weed management. Mr. Murtha’s universe is a far more complicated and costly creation of interlocking contractors who continue to feed at the public trough despite reviews questioning their performance…
… Every one of the 26 beneficiaries of Mr. Murtha’s earmarks in last year’s defense budget made contributions to his campaign kitty, a total of $413,250, according to the newspaper Roll Call.
From our friend Michael Medved’s Townhall Blog:
To all those who claim that the Mittster is the person most likely to beat Hillary or Obama in November you may want to check out the latest polling. Seems as though you may have it backwards.
PRESIDENTIAL TRIAL HEATS: WHO’S WEAKEST FOR G.O.P?
Posted by: Michael Medved at 4:47 AM
This weekend, CNN released results of general election trial heats, pitting each of the four leading Republican candidates for President against both of the leading Democrats.The unmistakable message from this national exercise (surveying 840 voters on January 9 and 10th) is that Mitt Romney unequivocally qualifies as the weakest candidate the G.O.P. could field.
In the head-to-head contest with Barack Obama he is utterly wiped out, losing by a margin of 22 points (59% to 37%). Against Hillary Clinton, Romney fares little better, falling 18 percentage points behind (58% to 40%).
The results for other candidates show that this is a Romney problem, not a Republican problem.
Aside from the fact that Slick Willard Romney is the most left wing of all the candidates (in spite of the conservative campaign rhetoric and purchased conservative endorsements) and the most dishonest, I have been consistently opposed to his being the nominee because, as I have argued for many months, he is the most unpragmatic choice come November to beat any of the Democrat Socialists.
Tom Bevan, from the indespensible Real Clear Politics, joined us tonight for a discussion about polling, politics and the upcoming primaries in Michigan and South Carolina. It was a pleasure to welcome Tom back to the show.
All of our interviews are also available for download at iTunes and Podcast Alley via the Pundit Review Radio Podcast.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking†by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.