Five women were killed by fellow villagers in India who accused them of practicing witchcraft and held them responsible for poor crops and other misfortunes. Apparently such killings for such reasons are not uncommon in rural parts of India where belief in witchcraft still survives.
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There is a reason why love triangles are a staple of books and films. The constantly shifting allegiances and relationships make for intriguing social dynamics. This is true for personal relationships as well as political ones, and the emerging triangle between Fox News, the Republican party, and Donald Trump has all the makings of a doozy.
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On one of his last shows as host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart looked at all the hype directed at him for taking on the big banks, racism, ISIS, and Fox News and asks himself the important question: Did he help in solving these problems at all?
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There has been considerable publicity about a rally in Seattle over the weekend when just as Bernie Sanders was about to speak, three people associated with the local Black Lives Matters movement took the microphone and prevented him from doing so.
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Last weekend, Cleveland held its annual
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My post on the anniversary of the use of nuclear weapons on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where I unequivocally stated that it was a barbaric and inexcusable act and a war crime, generated some heated pushback and I urge people to read the comments there. I started to respond but realized that it was becoming rather long and decided to make it into a follow-up post.
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Comedy Central’s comedy duo Key and Peele show what it might look like if the media treated the teaching profession the way they treat professional sports.
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Today marks the 70th anniversary of one of the most horrific acts in history, and that is the dropping of a nuclear weapon on the city of Nagasaki. It follows by three days a similar act committed against the city of Hiroshima. The bomb on Hiroshima killed 80,000 people instantly and another 60,000 in the months that followed and the one on Nagasaki resulted in another 70,000 deaths in the short term. Of course, to these grim totals we must add to that the uncounted number of long-term deaths and illnesses and genetic defects that ensued and the creation of a wasteland where once had been two cities.
This deliberate killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians was an act of moral degeneration, a vile decision and a war crime by any measure. I find it incredible that anyone could have consciously made the decision to incinerate such vast numbers of people in a single moment. As barbaric as that act was, what is even more appalling is that many others not only exulted in it then, but continue to justify it now. It is indeed a sad reflection of our flawed humanity how the tribal mentality prevents ‘us’ from seeing ‘our’ side as incapable of evil and tries to whitewash this unspeakable act and somehow justify it.
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What the first primary debate may have been most helpful in clarifying is where Fox News is placing its bets. I tuned in to the debate just a few minutes before the scheduled time and heard one of the moderators Megyn Kelly give a brief rave review for Carly Fiorina’s performance at the earlier forum. Later I tried to read what Fiorina had said that was so impressive and failed to find anything special though Fox News continued to declare her a breakout winner. Meanwhile, following the main event, Republican operator, pollster, and message guru said that his focus group analysis indicated that Donald Trump’s performance had destroyed his candidacy.
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Yesterday was the last day of Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show and it was an extended program that avoided becoming overly sentimental because it is clear that Stewart does not like to talk about himself. I will definitely miss him but I understand why he is leaving and the timing of his exit.
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