http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 21 May 2005 10:15:20 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/21/101520.php DeanThe AP reporter Terence Hunt suggests that President Bush's recent speech in Latvia "second guessed" liberal icon FDR on the carving up of Europe toward the end of World War II in Yalta:"Second-guessing Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Bush said Saturday the United States played a role in Europe's painful division after World War II -- a decision that helped cause "one of the greatest wrongs of history" when the Soviet Union imposed its harsh rule across Central and Eastern Europe."Bush said the lessons of the past will not be forgotten as the United States tries to spread freedom in the Middle East."'We will not repeat the mistakes of other generations, appeasing or excusing tyranny, and sacrificing freedom in the vain pursuit of stability,' the president said. 'We have learned our lesson; no one's liberty is expendable. In the long run, our security and true stability depend on the freedom of others.' "One can almost hear the hysteria as Mr. Hunt quotes historian Alan Brinkley for reassurance that Bush's speech is the fault of the 'far right': "'Certainly it goes further than any president has gone,' historian Alan Brinkley said from the U.S. 'This has been a very common view of the far right for many years -- that Yalta was a betrayal of freedom, that Roosevelt betrayed the hopes of generations.'"It's almost as if he wants reassurance that "it's O.K." that millions were enslaved and oppressed by the Soviet Union after the war. Or, perhaps, that "it's O.K." that the U.S.S.R. was permitted -- by the stroke of a pen -- to establish vassal states in Eastern Europe. Of course, it is possible that Eastern Europe would have fallen into the Soviet orbit anyway given its proximity to Russia. But did we really have to hand over Eastern Europe to Stalin on a silver platter? Politics29888@blogcritics.org Sat, 21 May 2005 10:15:20 EDT