All is fair in love and war and, I suppose we have to accept, politics as well. ‘Twas ever thus perhaps – only someone seriously ignorant of history would say that politics has ever been free of cant and cover up and of posturing and play-acting.  As Harry Truman said “If you don’t like the […]

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While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…

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The NYTimes has an article about problems with the Global fund to fight AIDS.
It seems that they checked the books and found some of the money was stolen or diverted, and as a result, a lot of European donors are not giving any more money until the problem is cleared up.
You want honesty at […]

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Whenever I try to give credit to Ronald Reagan for participating in the fall of the Soviet Union, I often hear that its fall was an inevitability, and it just so happened to occur on Reagan’s watch. I have to point out to them that Reagan was the first President to come along with an […]

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No, it’s not a fantasy for kids, but about the dragons that lurk in the dark places of the mind. And the setting of the drama has enough controversies to make the ideologues of the left and rights, the religious and the skeptical, to be suspicious and stay away. Why? Because the film discusses the […]

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London seems to have exploded into a sea of discontent. Rioting, looting, and willful destruction. Of course this has not made much news in the US. We are too busy spiraling into an economic black hole to have time for international news. I could offer advice, get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan, stop […]

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A lot of Americans seem puzzled about why NATO is so eager to get rid of Khadafi in Libya. Yes, he was behind the TWA bombing, but why get rid of him now?
But what the US press also misses is why Libyans are angry. To paraphrase James Carville: It’s the corruption, stupid. Khadafi has billions […]

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I am old enough to remember when women were exiled into specific specialties in medicine (quick: how many women Urologists do you know), and a similar problem was seen in college (few women in my advanced science classes) and in the newspaper (where women often were expected to write fluffy reports for the fashion and […]

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 The man was well until his wife baked him a “healthy recipe” from the NYTimes “Healthy recipe section: Fava bean and artichoke stew.
He soon became pale and jaundiced, and it took awhile for the ER doc to figure out why the man was sick. He had an acute hemolytic crisis, where his red blood cells […]

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The outbreak of E Coli induced Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome by those who ate salads in northern Germany is still a puzzle.
First they blamed Spain for dirty cucumbers (implications: Spaniards are not as clean as Germans). This has caused a lot of financial problems for Spanish farmers, and it doesn’t help that it’s now found it […]

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I am aghast at a lot of the news coming out of US sites about what is going on in Libya.
First, there are the “ain’t it awful” posts, lamenting that the side backed by the West hasn’t won yet, (in 7 whole days).
Second, they find out that some of those revolting are Islamicists. Well, duh. […]

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ArcheologyNews reports that a researcher claims Henry VIII didn’t die of a combination of syphillis, obesity related diabetes and malaria, (and perhaps a bit mentally unstable from cerebral syphilis and the mercury used back then to treat it).
No, they claim it was a rare complication of the Kells’ antigen called McLeod syndrome.
Research conducted by […]

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TedLipien.com, Truckee, CA, February 08, 2011 — One would think that the centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birthday could be a perfect public diplomacy theme for all U.S. embassies in Central and Eastern Europe — a great opportunity for embassy-sponsored events to strengthen ties with America among diverse nations that owe their current independence and […]

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It took years, and an enterprising reporter to check on the facts, but now it’s official: The  “MMR vaccine causes Autism”paper was not only flawed, but was made up. It was part of a money making scam concocted by a lawyer who hoped to make money off of a class action lawsuit, with the help […]

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En ce moment, il n’y a plus de pilote dans l’avion. [At the moment, there is no longer a pilot on the plane.] — A European comment on President Obama as a leader of the Free World.
TedLipien.com, Truckee, California, USA, January 03, 2011 — Who is the leader of the Free World when democracy […]

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The President just authorized a regulation to pay doctors to discuss end of life counseling during your yearly physical.
Well, good. I doubt any doc can do a true “in depth” discussion of end of life issues at the end of a 45 minute yearly physical, but since I’ve rarely been paid for the many long […]

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Update: America.gov restored Ted Lipien’s comment.
TedLipien.com, Truckee, California, December 27, 2010 — On the day the U.S. Senate voted to approve the new arms reduction treaty with Russia, I found an article on the State Depatment’s website, America.gov, which gave a long list of the START treaty’s benefits lauded by the Obama administration but […]

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Obama to the Poles: Have some Patriot missiles that don’t work to protect you from Russia
 
Opinia.US Truckee, CA, December 6, 2010 — The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. has released and commented on a number of leaked U.S. cables dealing with Poland. There needs to be a much greater scrutiny of these cables by mainstream U.S. media and […]

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Opinia.US Truckee, CA, December 8, 2010 — A secret cable from the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw released by WikiLeaks shows former American Ambassador Victor H Ashe being deeply disappointed and frustrated with the Obama Administration’s treatment of Poland.
The leaked cable lists a number of public diplomacy missteps by the Obama White House, including the President’s decision not to accept the Polish […]

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Opinia.US Truckee, CA, December 5, 2010 — A newly disclosed secret cable to the State Department in Washington shows that American diplomats in Moscow sometimes fall for Russian media disinformation and pass it on without questioning while adding their own pro-Kremlin commentary. Most diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, which have been released […]

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by Ted Lipien
Opinia.US Truckee, CA, November 29, 2010 — Leaked secret State Department cables may help to resolve the mystery as to why President Obama chose September 17, 2009 to make his announcement on canceling President Bush’s missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The announcement pleased the Kremlin, which had been pushing […]

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TedLipien.com, Truckee, CA, November 13, 2010 — Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute in Seattle has asked all the right questions about a recent Russian media report suggesting that Russian killers have been dispatched to the United States to execute a former Russian spy. He had supposedly betrayed the ring of Russian “illegals” recently […]

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When a major news outlet incorrectly implies that Catholics think Test Tube babies are not children in the eyes of God, I must simply protest.
From USA TODAY:
‘Test tube babies’: God’s work or human error?
Do you think a baby conceived in test tube is still a child in the eyes — or mind or […]

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Awhile back, I posted about the scare of tiny amounts of lead found in some lipsticks. That was scary enough.
But an article in today’s Philippine Inquirer caught my eye, and this is potentially more serious: That some imported “skin whiteners” have been found to contain mercury, so our active “green” movement want these cremes banned.
Citing […]

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I am bemused when the elites of both parties are horrified at a woman candidate who overturned their chosen candidate in the primaries.
No surprise about this, after all the Press promises to promote the propaganda, never mind the truth of the matter. From the Atlantic:
Chuck Todd said it first…
“There will be an all out effort […]

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Follow the money. Yes, that’s right, follow the money.
You really didn’t think that the “Wikileaks” scheme was about being anti war, did you?
From ZDNET, a computer related website:
…Wikileaks founder Julian Assange…(is) now blackmailing Amnesty International and other human rights groups for $700,000 to remove names of Afghan civilians who might get killed by […]

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The Taliban did it again. Killed a medical team whose only crime was to travel into isolated areas to treat eye disease.
Their “crime”? They were supposedly being “spies”, even though only a few of the medical team were Americans. Oh yes: And they were (gasp) Christians. Can’t have that, can we. Kill the infidel. Never […]

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President Obama pulled a fast one last week. While the public was entranced by trivial stories on Hollywood celebrities gone mad, or repeated laments about the oil spill, the President appointed Dr. Donald Berwick as head of Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
His appointment is a triumph for “scientific medicine”, […]

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The following is an article by Fathers & Families Board Member, Robert Franklin, Esq.:
The French parliament has approved a law that makes psychological violence a criminal offence.
Not only is “psychological violence” a criminal offense, it’s now punishable by as much as a 75,000 euro fine and three years in prison. Read about the new law […]

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Am I the only mother who is aghast at parents who live vicariously in their kids “achievements” when they put their child’s life at risk?
The latest was the 13 year old who climbed Mt. Everest:
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do before I die - I just happen to be doing it at this […]

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