Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Pictures of Hope | Linda Solomon Photography
This sounds like a great program; why make it look so commercial?
Pint-Size Diplomacy at Play in U.N. Ambassador’s Penthouse - The New York Times
We need so much more of this. Go Samantha POWER!
The New Face of Racism in Germany - The New York Times
There is far too much pent-up racism and hatred in the world, in too many places.
The New Face of Racism in Germany - The New York Times
There is far too much pent-up racism and hatred in the world, in too many places.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Too many guns!
Canadian woman mauled by bear 'killed by husband's bullet' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35177762
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
So disconcerting
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/12/23/uk-muslim-family-barred-flight-la-visit-disneyland/77797774/
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Friday, December 18, 2015
PPP: 30 Percent of GOP Voters Support Bombing Country From Aladdin - Chapelboro.com
Incredible but not surprising.
Furor over Arabic assignment leads Virginia school district to close today - The Washington Post
Great assignment; outrageous response.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Gun Violence - The New York Times
It's complicated but simple - too many guns in the US.
Monday, December 07, 2015
Why ‘Good Guys’ With Guns Won’t Keep Us Safe - The New York Times
There are too many guns in the US.
Saturday, December 05, 2015
Scotsmart
In Scotland, Unlike America, Mass Shooting Led to Stricter Gun Laws http://nyti.ms/1NztR7D
Horrific!
In Wake of Shootings, a Familiar Call to Arms Drives Latest Jump in Weapon Sales http://nyti.ms/1QmMMYu
End the Gun Epidemic in America - The New York Times
At its core, and getting worse, the problem is we have too many guns in the US. When will politicians start saying that and when will enough decent people cast their votes to insure that this policy becomes law - that we set a national goal of gun reduction by a specific year, by specific amounts in every gun category.
For example, you can only drive at very high speeds in the US on a race course. Why don't we start by saying that you can only have or use a gun on a licensed facility that is heavily guarded?
For example, you can only drive at very high speeds in the US on a race course. Why don't we start by saying that you can only have or use a gun on a licensed facility that is heavily guarded?
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
France Uses Sweeping Powers to Curb Climate Protests, but Clashes Erupt - The New York Times
Is this the system of freedom of expression we are fighting to preserve?
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The Case Against Woodrow Wilson at Princeton - The New York Times
History is seldom written on an entire rock. There is always room for more stone carving.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
US students to get free Birthright trips to Ireland says Diaspora Minister - IrishCentral.com
This sounds like a great idea!
Friday, November 20, 2015
Trump Says He 'Would Certainly Implement' Muslim Database - NBC News
Where are French Jews on the restrictions on Muslims in France and civil liberties in general?
Trump Says He 'Would Certainly Implement' Muslim Database - NBC News
The only rabid dogs I worry about are the two featured here - TRUMP and CARSON. As for the Muslim "list", I'd first start by tracking all Republicans - their every movement. And it would be obligatory. Let's see how that works out, and then we can think about expanding it to other similarly defined groups like real estate moguls and Jews. Ok, fine, move to Episcopalians (I am one) next, and perhaps Irish citizens who are also US citizens (I am one of those, too), and then perhaps we get to Mormons, Muslims, etc. But only then.....
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
US governor urges Government not to use plain tobacco packaging
I wonder if McCRORY claims any Irish roots? I find none in a Google search. Odd.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Syrian refugees not welcome in 27 U.S. states - CNN.com
What a sad reflection of the United States of America today. There was a time when the US said the same to thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. Do we never learn from history? Or do narcissism and xenophobia run in our blood?
Monday, November 16, 2015
SkyMiles
The promo for this on a Delta flight was something like - use your miles to bid on "brag-worthy" experiences. Narcissism anyone?
Cinq questions pour faire le point sur l'enquête après les attentats de Paris
Law enforcement is professional work and we ought all to let professionals get on with their jobs.
US Adds Foreign Students, but Few Americans Study Abroad - ABC News
We should be sending as many students as we possibly can to study overseas. The US needs a population which understands, firsthand, more of the world around our island.
Baltimore Homicide Total Surpasses 300 for the Year - The New York Times
That's roughly twice the number who have died in the Paris attacks and about half the number of total homicides in France in an average year! There are many things very wrong with this "picture".
Governor Seeks to Bar Syrian Refugees From Alabama After French Attack - NBC News
I started to write that I cannot find the words to describe my anger toward the Governor on this issue, but then I quickly realized that that I do have plenty of words to apply to him - but not for mixed company!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Goal?
I see that French authorities plan to go after radical Imams and other leaders who may be having a bad impact on young people, leading them to commit crimes in the name of the "Islamic State" or something similar. It seems to me that this only adds fuel to the dangerous fire. It's as though we decided to fight crime in general by seeking out those people - parents, teachers, friends? - who are likely to help steer a young person toward crime. Sure, we want to do all of that, but let's not turn this criminal investigation and crime prevention priority into a witch hunt for unpopular ideas or people who are simply inclined to do bad things. We get far too close to the delicate balance of free expression and public order if we do that. Instead of enlarging the investigation and crime-fighting focus of the moment, let's double-down on that - find all those criminally responsible for the atrocities of Friday night and prosecute them to the full extent of the law. After completing that work, we should next double-down on strong law enforcement efforts to detect and thwart crimes in the planning stage. Finally, after all of that is so much better executed, let's reflect carefully on all of the things needed to reduce the likelihood of sacrificing young men and women to such atrocious acts. It's a lot more than trying to silence clerics or others and singling out bad apples for some sort of police harassment.
Think of these as the terrible criminal acts that they were and let's get on with investigation and prosecution while we redouble our efforts to make so many changes needed to reduce the likelihood of developing more people committing similar acts.
Think of these as the terrible criminal acts that they were and let's get on with investigation and prosecution while we redouble our efforts to make so many changes needed to reduce the likelihood of developing more people committing similar acts.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Three Teams of Coordinated Attackers Carried Out Assault on Paris, Officials Say; Hollande Blames ISIS - The New York Times
It seems to me that we still have a whole lot to learn.
Homicides in France
In 2012, according to Wikipedia, France suffered 665 homicides.The number of people killed last night looks to be about 25% of that year's total. (Those who died amount to only about 1% of the yearly number in the US, according to the same source.)
Paris attacks
Make CSI , not WW III;
Crimes, not acts of war
By Terry Maguire[1]
Nice, France – November 14, 2015 – We can be pretty sure this
morning that the deaths last night at several locations in Paris, the capital
of this country, were cold-blooded murders. The images that have been broadcast
and otherwise published leave little doubt.
The front page of Nice-Matin, the
city’s newspaper, this morning.
Beyond that,
we do not know – with certainty – much more.
This hand-drawn symbol emerged on
onine overnight.
That’s part
of why I think we need to take a quick, but deep, breath, and ask ourselves,
and our governments, whether the response should be to wage war or whether we
need the very best investigations of these presumed crimes in order to bring
the surviving perpetrators to the bar of justice. Some in France, notably
former French President Nicolas SARKOZY, have already concluded that we are at
war with the people he and others feel are responsible for these acts.
The French
government has spoken through its President, Prime Minister and the director of
law enforcement, announcing a vague state of emergency and new border
restrictions, while they also try to calm the understandably frazzled nerves of
so many people in what the French call their five-sided country. Others are
looking to one online posting, purportedly coming from the group known by so many
names including the “Islamic State” claiming responsibility, then assuming at
first blush its authenticity.
Meanwhile, I
sense that many people living in other parts of France, untouched directly by
last night’s incidents, are afraid. And I wondered as I walked the streets of
Nice this morning, what each person was thinking. I saw no one who looked
afraid, but I have no idea what may have been in their heads. That was
particularly true when I passed several veiled women and some men who may very
well have been Muslim. Were they more worried about the glances from the rest
of us than about the attacks?
All of this
comes at a particularly difficult time for France, as French voters prepare to
go to the polls next month to select a group of leaders for regions in France. (Imagine
that the US states were grouped into 5 regions of 10 states each; those are the
“regions” electing leaders here.) The contest for the region in which Nice
finds itself is particularly close and pertinent.
The party of
SARKOZY has picked the Mayor of Nice who is an attractive rags-to-riches, motor
cycle-riding and marathon-running candidate. His toughest opponent is the
attractive granddaughter of the founder of the legendary extreme right party,
called the National Front. It’s as though we are watching a US Republican
candidate run against a Tea Party leader.
Immigration
is a major issue in the campaign and I expect to see both candidates use last
night’s tragedy to convince us voters that he/she is the better qualified to
protect “us” from “them”. The “Liberté, Egalite, Fraternité” mentioned by President OBAMA last
night will get a run for its money in coming weeks. Don’t count on the campaign
to result in talk of the values of diversity, inclusion, or fairness.
In such a
tense environment, I think we need to look at last night as a series of heinous
criminal acts that demand the most professional investigation that French,
foreign and international law enforcement can muster. We have suffered awful acts
by people dead and alive this morning, who need to be found and/or
investigated. Those at large need to be captured. Those who died last night
need to be understood, if we can. And for any and all who may have aided the
assailants in preparing these attacks, we need to find them, too, and subject
them to fair and intense questioning, at a minimum.
This is the
very best way for us all to encourage our governments to act, and the way in
which we can do the most to avoid more atrocities.
If we allow
ourselves to view this as “war”, we risk scaring ourselves to death, and, more
significantly, we risk trampling over the rights and lives of so many so
unnecessarily. Instead, we should be cooperating with law enforcement in their
work, volunteering anything and everything that might be of value to them that
we might have seen or know. A “war” focus for the response will lead us to view
the problem as vaguely “foreign” and large populations of people as the
“enemies”.
I hope that
others will agree with me on this, and that we can do what we should have done
14 years ago when the US suffered such horrific attacks – respond to last
night’s atrocities with the professionalism, fairness, and thoroughness that I
know lies within the criminal justice systems of the French Republic and the
United States of America.
Please don’t
retreat from these values; we will be safer and better if we work to make them
even stronger and more effective in protecting all people from criminal acts.
The French and Nice flags at half-mast
this morning in the Nice Port.
-30-
[1]
Terry Maguire is a Washington, DC lawyer, former newspaper association
executive and international media consultant; he lives in Nice and in Chapel
Hill, and is a US and European citizen.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Carol Doda, Pioneer of Topless Entertainment, Dies at 78 - The New York Times
It's a long story, but met her when I worked as public relations representative at JFK one college summer. Set up a press conference when she and her band arrived!
Monday, November 09, 2015
Obama will not intervene to allow Jonathan Pollard to leave for Israel - The Washington Post
Thank you, Mr President.
Friday, November 06, 2015
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Tuesday, November 03, 2015
China Burns Much More Coal Than Reported, Complicating Climate Talks - The New York Times
Did the German VW people borrow a page from the Chinese book or the other way around?
Monday, November 02, 2015
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Daylight Saving Time: ‘Fall back’ continues despite questions about benefits | WTVR.com
I've become a skeptic.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Concealed Carry as a Deadly Placebo for Mass Shootings - The New York Times
We have too many guns in the US.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Rampage Killings Get Attention, but Gun Violence Is Constant - The New York Times
Insanity is knowing what needs to be done and being utterly incapable of doing it.
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Roseburg, Reeling From Massacre, Finds Security in Gun Ownership - The New York Times
Sadly, I am not surprised.
Ben Carson clarifies controversial gun control comments - CBS News
Ignoramuses is the only word that comes to mind.
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Monday, October 05, 2015
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Saturday, October 03, 2015
Don Edwards, Congressman Who Championed Civil Rights, Dies at 100 - The New York Times
We all tried very hard. Sad to see him go.
"For example, over his protests, the House passed a 1981 bill making it a crime to disclose a C.I.A. agent’s identity." We sold our home to Ralph NEAS!
"For example, over his protests, the House passed a 1981 bill making it a crime to disclose a C.I.A. agent’s identity." We sold our home to Ralph NEAS!
How They Got Their Guns - The New York Times
This is why the only rational path is one labeled we have too many guns in the US.
Friday, October 02, 2015
Gun control assignment eludes Biden - CNNPolitics.com
I hope he will say there are too many guns in the US.
Oregon shooter said to have singled out Christians for killing in ‘horrific act of cowardice’ - The Washington Post
The best response remains - we have too many guns in the US and we need a national commitment to reduce that number dramatically.
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Tuerie de l'Oregon : Obama veut «moins d'armes aux Etats-Unis»
Alas, I don't think he said this: "Nous avons besoin de moins d'armes aux Etats-Unis" I so wish that he had.
See the video from the White House.
See the video from the White House.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
NC Lawmakers Adjourn For The Year After Pulling All-Nighter | WUNC
I have heard people here in North Carolina utter a lot of stupid things in the 16 years we have lived here. This ranks among the dumbest. Perhaps he said this out of fear that far smarter people would come to the state and displace the ignoramuses who are far too common.
" “We don’t need the mentality from other parts of the world in our state.”"
" “We don’t need the mentality from other parts of the world in our state.”"
HIPAA compliant ways to communicate with other doctors | aad.org
This is excessive to say the least.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Cuomo, Eulogizing Slain Aide, Deplores Violence and Urges Tough Gun Laws - The New York Times
We simply have too many guns in the US.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Investigators Find Emails Hillary Clinton Said Were Erased - The New York Times
Why should this be a surprise?
Monday, September 21, 2015
UPDATE 2-Volkswagen shares plunge on emissions scandal, Germany plans own probe | Reuters
Have all NC state inspections of these vehicles been revoked and the cars ordered off the road until the problem has been corrected? They should be.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Report: Company Has No Knowledge Clinton Server Was 'Wiped' - ABC News
Did no one ask them until now? Amazingly poor reporting.It just gets worse. The tone of her comments is demeaning and demoralizing.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Friday, September 11, 2015
Influential Pro-Israel Group Suffers Stinging Political Defeat - The New York Times
Glad to see them lose.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Senior Sinn Fein Member Arrested in Northern Ireland Murder - The New York Times
I hope they can hold this together, but I am not surprised that the conflict continues. This will take lifetimes to work out, if then.
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Hillary Clinton apologizes for e-mail system: ‘I take responsibility’ - The Washington Post
It's not enough. I want her to tell us how she thinks her choice disserved our national commitment to transparency.
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Greek island overwhelmed by stranded migrants, despair: http://bigstory.ap.org/fba415168c29498393fb7214dc112f14&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=blogger&utm_campaign=share
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Monday, September 07, 2015
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Saturday, September 05, 2015
Friday, September 04, 2015
New emails show Hillary assisting for-profit college that paid Bill $16M | Fox News
Public scrutiny is what transparency is what transparency means. I worry that she does not subscribe to this idea and I do not think w have heard her sincerely say so since this whole sorry incident began.
Thursday, September 03, 2015
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Monday, August 31, 2015
Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities - The New York Times
We have too many guns in the US.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Egypt summons British ambassador over Al-Jazeera comments: http://bigstory.ap.org/a8c5b36a110f491eb256ad7d4d76e43b&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=blogger&utm_campaign=share
Shared via AP Mobile. Download the app now:
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Saturday, August 29, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Killings of Journalists Bring Gun Violence to Dark New Level - The New York Times
There are too many guns in the US. Period.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Israel’s Other Existential Threat Comes From Within - The New York Times
Why does there have to be a Jewish state? Why not just a fully democratic country of some name covering part or all of the area?
NOAA: July hottest month on record, 2015 could be hottest year - CNN.com
This sure gets your attention!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Greece gets $14.5 billion to pay debts, part of new bailout: http://bigstory.ap.org/b7f63fc8f4d34f86b4f77f344357aaa4&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=blogger&utm_campaign=share
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Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A Tobacco Tax to Save Lives - The New York Times
What a blemish on us all that we cannot deal with this better.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Friday, August 14, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Monday, August 03, 2015
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Friday, July 31, 2015
A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared - The New York Times
What an interesting story!
North Carolina Elections Official Faces Removal Over Posts - ABC News
North Carolina is so much better than this creep.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Moves to Curtail Protesters at Shooting Victims' Funerals Video - ABC News
How embarrassing that this guy has a Brown education.
Fusillade en Louisiane : le tireur avait acheté son arme légalement
Another sad example of why we simply have too many guns in America.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Poll Finds Most in U.S. Hold Dim View of Race Relations - The New York Times
I cannot imagine an honest poll on the subject. People are reluctant to say how they really feel and it would be so much worse if they did.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Iran deal analysis: Playing tuba in a string quartet - Middle East - Jerusalem Post
I detest this guy for starters, and as a former tuba player, don't give him a tuba either.
Iran deal analysis: Playing tuba in a string quartet - Middle East - Jerusalem Post
I detest this guy for starters, and as a former tuba player, don't give him a tuba either.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
If World Leaders Can Skip Deadlines, Why Can’t I? - The New York Times
There are so many ways in which elected officials flout the laws and rules we are required to obey. Each time we see this, it deserves a special mention.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Friday, July 03, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Jon Stewart Threatens to Quit 'Daily Show' Early if Donald Trump Isn't Actually Running for President
Amazing to see a big sign on Pennsylvania Ave in DC today "TRUMP - Coming in 2016"! It's for the hotel he is to put in the Old Post Office Building, it appears......
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Pope: Gun Makers Are Not Christians - The Daily Beast
Bravo!!!! It takes the Pope to be this brave. Which politicians will agree?
Monday, June 22, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
N.R.A. Board Member Deletes Criticism of Victim in Church Massacre - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com
COTTON should find another country for himself. Maybe a remote island like St Helena. It worked for Napoleon.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Charleston Church Shooting - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central
This was good but I wish he had zeroed in on their being too many guns in America.
Many Ask, Why Not Call Church Shooting Terrorism? - The New York Times
Crime is crime; this was a murder. Treat it as such and don't get hung up in rhetoric that really does not matter.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
President Obama Expresses 'Deep Sorrow' Over Charleston Church Shooting - ABC News
We simply have too many guns in America, and I am waiting for a politician ready to start getting rid of them!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
- U.S. Coast Guard Building, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, District of Columbia, DC
The first place where I ever had an office!
Monday, June 15, 2015
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Kalief Browder, Held at Rikers Island for 3 Years Without Trial, Commits Suicide - NYTimes.com
We let down so many people who need our help.
NC gun rights bill sent back to committee ahead of vote | The Sun News The Sun News
We have too many guns in NC.
Monday, June 08, 2015
Kalief Browder, Held at Rikers Island for 3 Years Without Trial, Commits Suicide - NYTimes.com
What a loss, what a blemish.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Jim's Irish Family Surnames - The Maguire Chiefs
"He was buried in the Franciscan Church of the Annuciation in Genoa."
Would love to find it!
Would love to find it!
The Maguires of Fermanagh
"Maguire did not long survive the loss of his principality. He died of a burning fever at Genoa on the 12th of August, 1608."
I'd love to find the grave, but I think it was destroyed in WW II.
I'd love to find the grave, but I think it was destroyed in WW II.
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Monday, June 01, 2015
Ugly plane ride drives Muslim chaplain to tears - The Washington Post
This is really scary and, sadly, unsurprising. How do we ever change the minds of the ill-informed and unintelligent?
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Zakir Hussain's Indian-Celtic fusion - BBC News
Great story! And this book that I want to read from quite a while ago....
Monday, May 25, 2015
Review: ‘The Digital Doctor’ by Robert Wachter Weighs Medicine’s Technological Transformation - NYTimes.com
We all should pay a lot of attention.
Restoring Memoriam to Memorial Day - NYTimes.com
New to me. We need to push ourselves to keep learning!