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warrenswil

warrenswil's Journal
warrenswil's Journal
October 16, 2013

BEST BIKE RIDE ON EARTH?

Cycling is gaining popularity around the world. It’s fun and healthy, too.
I rode along the beachfront in Tel Aviv in September, and the parks of central London in 2006.
Although Los Angeles is the auto capital of the planet, we have some of the best bike paths in the world.
Check out a video of the Marvin Braude Bike Trail that runs along the Pacific Ocean from Malibu to Pacific Palisades.
I call it the “Best bike ride on Earth.”
Find out why, and see if you agree. It’s not just the marvelous 22-miles of ocean-front concrete. There’s more.
In the video, I challenge you to find a better example – and promise to go try it out, wherever it is, with my video camera in tow.
In the (K)now


October 16, 2013

GIGANTIC MISCALCULATION: Republicans can’t count, among other sins

The Republicans giving up on holding the country hostage is the best news of the day!
But they didn’t have to take the US to the brink of disaster first – and do lasting damage to the country in the eyes of the world.
They should have known what we did on Oct. 11. We predicted today’s events in:
GIGANTIC MISCALCULATION: As rats flee sinking ship, GOP will cave on impasse.
The damage they have already inflicted is enormous: it was highlighted yesterday by Timothy Garton Ash in the Guardian.
Americans need to discover how the world sees them
He pointed out declining US stature in the eyes of the world that hardly anyone knows about domestically.
This entire fiasco was totally unnecessary and has caused serious, lasting damage to all of us.
It will take a long time for America to recover … if it ever does.
In the (K)now

October 16, 2013

Israel cannot be ignored in Iran talks

The Iranian government presented an historic set of proposals to end the decade-long standoff over its nuclear weapons on Tuesday.
But, with the country’s economy on the verge of collapse, one vital player in any deal was absent: Israel.
We analyzed it in detail this morning in
Iran presents opening gambit at Geneva
Although U.S. officials were taking the proposal seriously, Israelis are sounding the alarm, warning Iran cannot be trusted.
The Israelis have to be heard because they have the means – and the will – to do something about it if they perceive the talks are a waste of time.
The question is, how much time will they wait?
I discussed this after a 10-day fact-finding visit to the region in September, in Will Israel attack Iran?
Its patience will not last forever.
More recently, the temperature of Israeli rhetoric has ratcheted up.
On Monday, the Jerusalem Post carried the following story: Netanyahu: Easing off sanctions against Iran now would be a 'historic mistake'
The sub-headline explained something not very widely known: “Prime minister says Iranian economy on verge of collapse.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said:

“Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”

This is a not-so-subtle threat.
As the West engages with the rogue regime in Iran, it cannot ignore the interests of the nation with the most at stake.
Tel Aviv is well within range of an Iranian attack; Paris, London and Washington are not.
If Netanyahu is not convinced Iran is serious this time around, he may just pull the trigger.
The consequences would be global, catastrophic and unpredictable. It cannot be allowed to happen.

October 16, 2013

" Boehner to Tea Party: Shut Yourself Down"

Source: Bloomberg

BEST HEADLINE OF THE HOUR.
In my humble opinion....as one who has written many headlines.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-15/boehner-to-tea-party-shut-yourself-down.html

October 15, 2013

ESCAPE HATCH: Dems could join with GOP realists to end crises

WITH THE GOVERNMENT shutdown entering its third week and the debt-ceiling crisis 48 hours away, time is running out to avert a global calamity.
But, there is a way out. It’s hiding in plain sight. We call it the “escape hatch” in an analysis this morning.
GOP radicals won’t budge but default threat may move centrists
One has to be a bit of a wonk to figure it out, but that’s exactly what Princeton Prof. Paul Krugman is – he’s also a columnist at The New York Times.
It requires knowledge of the arcana of the rules under which the House of Representatives – and the U.S. Senate – operate. It also involves knowing the radicals in the House GOP
caucus have maneuvered themselves into a hole and they just keep on digging.
A coalition of “realist Republicans” and all the Democrats in the House might just get the entire world out of the jam we are in.
If just 18 GOP centrists join with Democrats, they could do an end run around the Tea Party and vote to reopen the government, avoid default.
On Monday, Krugman outlined the “escape hatch” in his column titled The Dixiecrat Solution
Citing the historical example of when minority Republicans allied with Southern Democrats to ram conservative bills through Congress, Krugman suggests the time is now for the reverse.

“There is, however, another solution, and everyone knows what it is. Call it Dixiecrats in reverse,” he wrote.

Ah! The elegance of it.
Do an end run around the speaker and the Tea Party. Wed the entire Democratic Party with those Republicans not afraid of the radical right and presto!
Crisis over. For now.
October 14, 2013

Hi, I’m ‘In the (K)now’

I am a professor of journalism but I practice what I teach by blogging at In the (K)now.
I’m a news junky and longtime DU fan, and should have been here when I started the blog five months ago. Better late than never!
You can see a detailed profile of me at The raconteur which is what most others call “About us.”
My politics are no secret: they are expressed in most of the headlines on the blog I hate labels, but if you insist, I would call myself a “pragmatic progressive.”
I’m a huge fan of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom I have repeatedly called the “best new senator in generations.”
I hope she throws her hat into the ring for 2016!
Here’s looking forward to participating in the vigorous rough and tumble at DU. It’s just the kind on place I call “home.”

Profile Information

Name: warren swil
Gender: Do not display
Hometown: california
Home country: USA
Current location: pasadena
Member since: Sun Oct 13, 2013, 10:13 AM
Number of posts: 60

About warrenswil

Blogger at In the (K)now http://warrenswil.com/
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