The U.S.-Soviet strategic arms treaties, signed throughout the Cold War, didn’t require the Soviet Union to disavow communism, end its support of Third World insurgencies, or institute Jeffersonian democracy—but the deals were still very useful. They capped, and in the later years reversed, the nuclear arms race; and they provided a forum for diplomacy, a cooling-off of the distrust and hatred, at a time when no other issues could have done so…
Iran Agrees to Detailed Nuclear Outline, First Step Toward a Wider Deal
After two years of negotiations, capped by eight tumultuous days and nights of talks that appeared on the brink of breakdown several times, Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, announced the plan, which, if carried out, would keep Iran’s nuclear facilities open under strict production limits, and which holds the potential of reordering America’s relationship with a country that has been an avowed adversary for 35 years.
Judge OKs sale of Revel casino to Florida developer
GDC GAMING REPORTS: Three years to the day after Atlantic City’s $2.4 billion Revel casino opened – and seven months to the day after it closed – a bankruptcy court judge approved its sale to a Florida developer for about 4 cents on the dollar. Judge Gloria Burns approved the deal, which did not address […]
Governor experiments with going over the heads of capitol media
Rather than go before reporters at a traditional news conference at the capitol media center, Gov. Wolf took his case, and his face, directly to voters on facebook.
A Nuclear Deal With Iran Isn’t Just About Bombs
NEW YORK TIMES COLUMN: …But, again, this isn’t just about uranium but also about undermining an odious regime and creating the conditions for Iran to become a normal country. I’ve rarely been to a more pro-American country, at the grass-roots, and there’s a pent-up anger at corruption and hypocrisy. That doesn’t mean that there’s going […]
In Colorado Capitol, they are calling it Marijuana Refund Madness.
Technical tripwires in that voter-approved provision, known as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, may require Colorado to refund nearly $60 million in marijuana taxes because the state’s overall revenue estimates ended up being too low when the marijuana tax question was put to voters.
NJ Pollster: Strong Menendez Support Means Charges May Not ‘Stick’
NEWSMAX: New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s strong defiance Wednesday in the face of a federal indictment on corruption charges and strong support among top state Democrats prove that “there’s a lot of questions about whether this indictment will truly stick,” pollster Patrick Murray told Newsmax. “The Democratic establishment in New Jersey has been coming out […]
The Iran Talks: Nuclear Schizophre
DAILY BEAST COLUMN: …In 2015 the complexities of the Mideast conflicts, alliances and enmities are positively kaleidoscopic as the players realize the enemy of their enemy is their enemy even when, sometimes, he’s their friend. And with every passing day there’s also a growing realization on both sides of the nuclear negotiating table that even […]
Wall St. blasted for paying execs to work for Uncle Sam
USA TODAY: Wall Street’s practice of rewarding executives who quit to work for the government is coming under scrutiny. In the coming months, four Wall Street banks — Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan — will face shareholder votes on proposals demanding more information about the practice, which the proposal’s sponsor has dubbed “government […]
LETTER: Lancaster General manipulates health care
A few years ago the hospital embarked on a campaign to buy up all medical practices with the aim of having all local physicians as their employees. Those who wished to remain independent have suffered the consequences of dwindling practices and worse.
Johns Hopkins sued over STD study in Guatemala
ALJAZEERA: More than 770 plaintiffs are suing the Johns Hopkins Hospital System Corp. over its role in a series of medical experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s and 1950s during which people were deliberately infected with venereal diseases without their consent… According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, researchers initially infected Guatemalan […]
Tell me how this ends well
After World II, Asia was ruled by many autocrats who essentially came to their people and said, “My people, we’re going to take away your freedom, but we’re going to give you the best education, infrastructure and export-led growth policies money can buy. And eventually you’ll build a big middle class and win your freedom.”
Lufthansa’s Confession: We Knew
ACHTUNG: A week after saying Andreas Lubitz was “100 percent fit to fly,” the airline admits he told them of a serious depressive episode while training. This puts responsibility for the 149 lost souls on them. Andreas Lubitz did not conceal his “episode of severe depression” from his airline as had been previously reported. In […]
Supreme Court rules against AG Kathleen Kane; leaves open possibility of charges
“We follow the approach of the United States Supreme Court and the many other jurisdictions which have found such appointments proper as an essential means to vindicate the courts’ own authority,” wrote Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, in his opinion…