J O T M A N . C O M

Such a big victory, such small ideas

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Paul Krugman writes today "...the truth is that Mr. Obama put his agenda at risk by doing too little. The fateful decision, early this year, to go for economic half-measures may haunt Democrats for years to come." Krugman's op-ed is deeply...

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The one Obama victory that cannot be taken away

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Many of us seriously question whether Obama will ever herald the depth of change his victory seemed to promise. Yet one change brought about by the new presidency will surely stand the test of time. It is unlikely that any future...

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The exhilaration of the Obama victory

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Live from the White House one year ago this week, JOTMAN.COM captured the shouts, cries, songs, and cheers of thousands of deliriously happy people. Spontaneously, from across the nation's capital, Americans had gathered to...

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Released Guantánamo inmates tell their stories

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:31:00 +0000

"The men in this video were held at Guantánamo for years without charge and denied any meaningful opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention. But now they are finally free. This is their story."

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Smoking causes socialism

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:14:00 +0000

I witnessed a sizable protest on Capitol Hill today. It was attended by thousands of white people opposed to affordable health care. I heard that three protesters were arrested. The NY Times has a front page story about the event. I took a...

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A perestroika for Burma?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Senior US State Department official Kurt Campbell is presently on a diplomatic mission to Burma. In Rangoon Campbell met with Aung San Suu Kyi. This initiative follows Jim Webb's rescue mission Burma in July. A WSJ article (h/t...

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Myanmar-China pipeline

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:12:00 +0000

The WSJ reports that China will soon begin construction on the Shwe Project -- a pipeline that will carry natural gas from Kumming to the new port of Kyaukphyu in Myanmar via Mandalay. The purpose is to carry natural gas from the rich gas fields off...

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Mormon soldier to US army: Stop the proselytizing!

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:40:00 +0000

In his recent resignation letter, former US State Department employee Matthew Hoh wrote, "Eight years into war, no nation has ever known as more dedicated, well trained, experienced and disciplined military as the U.S. Armed Forces." It's...

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Matthew Hoh's resignation letter

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Excepts from the resignation of Matthew Hoh, a US diplomat assigned to Afghanistan: I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan. I have doubts and reservations about our...

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Will desalination solve the water crisis?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Ben Sparrow and Joshua Zoshi, founders of Saltworks Technologies, appear to have developed a truly low-cost desalination technology. These Canadians have discovered a way to use the heat of the sun to power the process, reducing the...

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They even took Curious George

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:22:00 +0000

Here's an excerpt from a recent interview. Can you guess where this bizarre "search and seizure" happened? Accused: ... I’m an author. I’ve written fiction. I’ve written lots of nonfiction. I’m an anarchist, so I’ve written lots of political...

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Mystery photo

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:10:00 +0000

Is a famous actress pictured in this Jotman photo? A reader thinks so.

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World's most efficient solar home

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Some of the world's most innovative solar homes were featured at the biannual Solar Decathlon on the Washington Mall which ended last week. Twenty teams from US, Canada, Germany, and Spain competed to see which university could build the...

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Does American television cause terrorism?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Updates I just read the top story at CNN, which asks whether a major explosion at at Puerto Rico oil storage facility was "arson or accident?" When I first heard about the explosion a couple days ago, the possibility of...

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The real cost of an ASEAN summit

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:35:00 +0000

The picture of ordinary Thai lives put at risk by ASEAN delegates is probably not how Thailand's government wants last week's ASEAN summit in Hua Hin to be remembered.

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America's UFO in a coal mine

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:28:00 +0000

The US news media's orgy of self-righteous indignation at the alleged crime of Richard Heene and his family of UFO enthusiasts is getting old very fast. I'm talking about the spectacle of overpaid TV journalists harping on a guy with a high...

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Obama's good values -- and the king's

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:58:00 +0000

The way the Wall Street bailout went down, the unwillingness of American politicians and the mainstream media to hold those responsible for the financial crisis to account, the appalling lack of tough new regulations for derivatives traders, simply...

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Russia's real class problem

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:04:00 +0000

Russia's real class problem is not what many Westerners tend to assume, including the most insightful of New York Times op/ed writers. In an alarming op/ed in today's NY Times, Leon Aron describes the perilously high unemployment facing Russia's...

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The Afghan Friend Test

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Given that Obama is considering whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan, I would encourage everyone to watch the new PBS Frontline documentary. Then, putting political considerations aside, take the "Afghan Friend Test." Jotman's...

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Investigate the Buddhists!

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Salon's Glenn Greenwald thinks it "might actually be the most despicable domestic political event of the year." WaPo reported this morning that a "group of House Republicans is calling for an investigation into whether a leading American...

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Motivated citizens need not apply

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:53:00 +0000

I just read a spooky article on the perils of a would-be employer googling you. But it's not frightening to me in a personal sense. Rather, what I find truly scary is one of the proposed "defenses" against the likelihood that you...

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Is it any wonder China's Uighurs are unhappy?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Kuerbanjiang Saimaiti, a twenty-something Uighur photographer, blogged: . . . I found an internet cafe near the hotel and went up to the service counter. “I need to use the internet. How much is the deposit, please?” “Ten yuan,” the clerk said...

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Are US civil servants paid too much or too little?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:44:00 +0000

One moment its immigrants, next its unions, then immigrants again. . . . You know it when you see it. But whoever writes the Lexington column in the The Economist obviously doesn't: Meanwhile, [the public] can see that one group...

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Outcome of Bangkok Climate Change Talks

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:56:00 +0000

A Guardian article written well before the Bangkok talks ended in disarray -- without any resolution in sight -- remains a concise summary of where things more or less stand: So Guardianistas, here is the official state of play with just a few...

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Irony or strategy?

jots@jotman.com (Jotman) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:03:00 +0000

3 UPDATES (which tell the story) Yesterday I blogged: Perhaps the hope is that awarding Obama the prize now will encourage Obama to take a step back from the precipice; that it might alert this young president not to continue his steady drift...

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