Items filed under "irony"

NATO Destroys Booby-Trapped Homes in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

Mike — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:59:55 -0500

In Arghandab District, for instance, every one of the 40 homes in the village of Khosrow was flattened by a salvo of 25 missiles, according to the district governor, Shah Muhammed Ahmadi, who estimated that 120 to 130 houses had been demolished in his district. “There was no other way; we knew people wanted us to get rid of all these deadly I.E.D.’s,” he said, referring to improvised explosive devices, the military’s term for homemade bombs.

Many deficit commission staffers paid by outside groups

Mike — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:07:47 -0500

"We have a very small budget, so we begged everyone we could find in both parties across the spectrum to sign up and help," said Reed, who is on leave as president of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. "Part of our job is not to add to the problem ourselves."

Lawmakers unaware of forged letters before key vote - The Boston Globe

Mike — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:59:22 -0400

The coalition said that on June 25, it contacted its primary grass-roots lobbying contractor, the Hawthorn Group, and “demanded that Bonner promptly make contact with the affected member offices and organizations’’ about the forged letters. In a letter to Markey, Hawthorn said it instructed Bonner that same day to notify the lawmakers.

Op-Ed Columnist - Behind the Laughter - NYTimes.com

Mike — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:17:56 -0400

Whether it’s Newark, Detroit, parts of Chicago, South-Central Los Angeles, Camden, N.J. — take your pick — we’ve looked the other way for decades as the residents of hard-core inner-city neighborhoods struggled with overwhelming, life-threatening problems and a chronic shortage of resources, financial and otherwise.

Turn Down The Peace Prize? - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:27:05 -0400

The North Vietnamese negotiator of cease-fire talks for Vietnam shared the 1973 prize with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, but Tho said it was not possible for him to accept it while the cease-fire was not being honored. Kissinger accepted the prize and donated its monetary award to fund scholarships.

Made in Mass., bomb stirs global debate - The Boston Globe

Mike — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:12:02 -0400

“Knowing that we are in no way, shape or form contributing to [civilian suffering] is really a very satisfying place to be,’’ he said.

Opposition to Obama's Health-Reform Plan Is High, but Easing - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:55:47 -0400

But it is the public option that has become the major point of contention, with support for the government creation of an insurance plan that would compete with private insurers stabilizing in the survey after dipping last month. Now, 55 percent say they like the idea, but the notion continues to attract intense objection: If that single provision were removed, opposition to the overall package drops by six percentage points, according to the poll.

Eugene Robinson - On Health Care, Democrats Lack Passion - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:38:14 -0400

Where are the millions who so passionately chanted "Yes, we can!" at Obama's campaign rallies? Where are the legions who cried tears of joy on election night and tears of pride on Inauguration Day? Is Sarah Palin now the only politician capable of inspiring "passionate intensity"?

A Shiite Schism On Clerical Rule - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:49:30 -0400

"It's true," said Ghaith Shubar, a cleric who runs a foundation in Najaf aligned with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most powerful cleric. "The spiritual guidance of the people in Iraq has become stronger than the guidance offered under the system in Iran. The marjaiya" -- the term used to describe the authority of the most senior ayatollahs -- "has more influence in Iraq, spiritual and otherwise, than it does in Iran."

2 Somali-Americans Charged With Aiding Terror - NYTimes.com

Mike — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:53:23 -0400

The indictment states that one of the men, Salah Osman Ahmed, flew from Minneapolis to Somalia in December 2007 to “fight jihad.” Mr. Ahmed, 26, and Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, have been charged with plotting to provide “personnel including themselves” in a conspiracy to “kill, kidnap, maim or injure” people in a foreign country.