FINANCIAL TIMES: Even in the best-case scenario, the truce agreed to on Tuesday between Israel and Palestinian factions will end the recent Gaza battle but not the war. If it holds, the cease-fire agreement caps seven weeks of fighting that killed some 2,142 Palestinians and 69 Israelis, with Israel securing no obvious gains. And while […]
Month: August 2014
Joe Sestak: Global effort necessary to stop terrorism’s financial networks
But this time in Iraq, our mission can be limited, with progress measured to determine whether the costs are worth the security benefits. That’s because the primary mission is not the removal and reconstruction of the Iraqi government; our real undertaking is to stop the radical terrorist group, ISIS (also known as Islamist State), from having a safe haven in Iraq…
Dem Wolf eyes shale’s ‘golden egg’ to boost school funding
Wolf, 65, a York County businessman and former state Department of Revenue secretary, told Tribune-Review reporters and editors on Tuesday that his legislative priorities are a severance tax on natural gas, a progressive approach to income taxes, connecting Pennsylvania regions through better infrastructure and expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to receive federal dollars…
Putin Talks to Ukrainian Leader as Videos Show Captured Russian Soldiers
NEW YORK TIMES: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia held inconclusive talks late Tuesday with the president of Ukraine, extending a reluctant hand to a new leadership vilified in Russia’s state-run news media as the fruit of a fascist putsch. Hours earlier, Ukraine released videos of captured Russian soldiers that directly challenged Mr. Putin’s longstanding […]
Look to Syria to halt the deadly march of Isis
FINANCIAL TIMES Column: … The fourth option is to turn to the regime of Mr Assad to take the lead in defeating Isis. This would mean accepting for the foreseeable future a regime that has committed war crimes; that is supported by Iran and Russia, with which the west has considerable strategic differences; and that […]
In Moscow, even ‘Jam Day’ has patriotic nuances
The first Moscow International Jam Festival celebrating the sweet delicacies of all tastes and colors was held on August 8 – 17. Numerous workshops, contests and games were offered for those eager to participate. On Saturday, over 1.5 million people took part in the Jam Day.
New York Times headline
Obama Approves Air Surveillance Of Isis In Syria A Step Towards Strikes U S Goal Is to Hurt Militants Without Aiding Assad EDITOR: That truly is threading a needle.
Conservative legislator puts credentials on line in bipartisan medicinal marijuana effort
Folmer met with constituents whose children have epilepsy who heard how certain forms of marijuana can curb potentially fatal seizures. The evidence they provided dispelled his “preconceived notions,” and now Folmer is half of a bipartisan team looking to legalize cannabis for medical use in Pennsylvania.
Pa. Lottery outsourcing critics say Illinois’ failed privatization could have played out here
HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS Column: After three years of revenues falling short of expectation, Illinois is parting ways with the private management firm it hired in 2010 to run its state lottery.
Medical marijuana laws may reduce painkiller overdoses
CNN — States that have legalized marijuana for managing chronic pain have significantly fewer deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses each year, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers looked at medical marijuana laws and death certificate data in all 50 states between 1999 and 2010. During that time, just 13 […]
Smart may be smarter than he realizes
“Maybe we are understored. Maybe there are retail chains clamoring for space here. But how wise is it to build yet more retail space within a stone’s throw of existing space that’s struggling?”
PA public education funding is a mess
Pennsylvania is in the bottom 10 in the United States. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show our state taxes only covered 35.8 percent of public education costs for 2010.
The Enclosure of the American Mind
NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS: …The trouble starts at admission. Top universities woo thousands of teenagers to apply, but seek one defined type: the student who has taken every Advanced Placement class and aced every exam, made varsity in a sport, played an instrument in the state youth orchestra and trekked across Nepal. This demanding system […]
The End of Liberal Zionism: Israel’s Move to the Right Challenges Diaspora Jews
NEW YORK TIMES Op-Ed: …The dissenting left doesn’t have all the answers, but it has the principles upon which solutions must be based. Both liberal Zionism and the left accept the established historical record: Jews forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes to make way for the establishment of a Jewish state. But […]