Liberal Talk Radio

Before the existential threat of Islamic fanaticism took up most of my ire, I was most pissed about ATM fees. Guess what’s back: Citigroup is not the only bank grappling with tremendous losses. Many financial institutions are hiking customer fees at record levels. It may be quick and easy, but that ATM convenience is going [...]

. . . Word is spreading of classy new lunch dining: Business is building at Jensen’s in Eagan, where the well-known supper club is now offering weekday lunches — with a freshly made popover welcoming each customer.

Is screwed. They’re getting out of the leasing business because their gas guzzlers have such little resale value, they’re not worth taking back at the end of the lease. Auto makers have not yet begun to feel the full brunt of the change in consumer driving habits. One of the Big 3 will be toast [...]

And having had the garlic fries at Safeco, I believe the woman when she says that no major tonsil hockey was going on: Most of the time, a kiss is just a kiss in the stands at Seattle Mariners games. The crowd hardly even pays attention when fans smooch. But then last week, a lesbian [...]

And here you thought jihadists had no concept of women’s rights: On the street, Malika El Aroud is anonymous in an Islamic black veil covering all but her eyes. In her living room, Ms. El Aroud, a 48-year-old Belgian, wears the ordinary look of middle age: a plain black T-shirt and pants and curly brown [...]

The award for most stunningly understated paragraph of the day goes to Nicholas Kristof for this gem from today’s column about Kenyan tribal chaos: Until he was circumcised with a machete in front of a jeering mob and then dragged off to be beheaded, Robert Ochieng had been a symbol of modern, post-tribal harmony in [...]

If you’re a Fred Kaplan fan (and who isn’t, really?) his diavlog with Bob Wright this week is pretty fantastic. I liked this section in particular where he really lays out the machinations behind the Bush Administration’s foreign policy. Rumsfeld and Cheney weren’t neocons, he notes, but they used those ideas when it was convenient [...]

Jared Diamond has a must-read op-ed in the New York Times on consumption rates. Money quote: If India as well as China were to catch up, world consumption rates would triple. If the whole developing world were suddenly to catch up, world rates would increase elevenfold. It would be as if the world population ballooned [...]

Two stories today are bad news for people who are fans of the Planet called Earth. Both revolve around the fact that, despite having a weakening economy and a weak president, the United States government is still powerful enough to kick the Earth in the proverbial shins every now and then. In Bali, where countries [...]

I haven’t commented much on the Iran NIE, but there’s been plenty of commentary elsewhere. (David Ignatius’ piece in the WaPo is worth reading) Certainly it’s welcome news that we won’t be starting a third war in the Middle East under Bush’s watch. The prospect of trying to occupy 100 million people spread across three [...]