Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Archive for June, 2010

Jun 20th, 2010

Summary: Suicide bombers in a crowded Baghdad commercial district and in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit killed at least 33 people as insurgents tried to turn a monthslong deadlock over forming a new Iraqi government to their advantage. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 20, 2009 Aubrey Immelman featured a Politico report that U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was one of the House of Representatives’ biggest spenders on congressional office expenses in the first quarter of 2009. An analysis of the first-quarter 2009 Member’s Representational Allowance (office budget) reports showed Bachmann spent more than $380,000 during the three-month period — more than $100,000 more than the average first-quarter spending.


Jun 19th, 2010

Summary: Father’s Day weekend camping/fishing trip to Father Hennepin State Park, Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 19, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that residents of Tehran, in open defiance of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, climbed to their rooftops and shouted “God is great!” and “Death to the dictator!” in protest to the June 12, 2009 presidential election they believed was rigged in favor of hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


Jun 18th, 2010

Summary: Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked President Barack Obama’s proposal for BP to arrange a $20 billion escrow account to pay for damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher and aid spill victims, calling it a “redistribution-of-wealth fund,” warning BP’s chairman not to be an Obama “chump,” and predicting $9-a-gallon gasoline. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 18, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that intelligence reports indicated that terrorist groups that have long used the Internet to spread propaganda were increasingly tapping the Web to teach Islamic extremists how to be hackers, recruiting techies capable of breaching government or other sensitive network systems for cyberwarfare, and raising money through online fraud.


Jun 17th, 2010

Summary: The complex nature of the June 13, 2010 attack on Iraq’s central bank suggests al-Qaida in Iraq’s new leadership could be taking cues from the Taliban’s success with similar operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 17, 2009 Aubrey Immelman featured biographical profiles of candidates and other major players in Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential vote.


Jun 16th, 2010

Summary: The growing fear among some citizens of losing their rights and freedoms has created a political backlash toward the U.S. government and manifested itself in violent rhetoric and anti-government groups who want to “take their country back.” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews takes a hard look at the recent surge of anger on the political right in “Rise of the New Right: A Hardball Documentary with Chris Matthews.” In this blog entry, Aubrey Immelman chronicles the rise of rightwing extremism in America following the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States in November 2008. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 16, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that North Korea threatened a “fire shower of nuclear retaliation” if provoked by the U.S., but that U.S. officials were downplaying any imminent threat to the United States of a North Korean missile strike or confrontation between the two countries at sea.


Jun 15th, 2010

Summary: Weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 15, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown authorized an inquiry into the Iraq war, but defied requests from bereaved families and campaigners to hold sessions in public.


Jun 14th, 2010

Summary: President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916, establishing June 14 as Flag Day. President Harry Truman made it official in 1949 when he signed legislation designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 14, 2009 Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases.



Summary: A report by Harvard University fellow Matt Waldman, published by the London School of Economics, asserts that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 13, 2009 Aubrey Immelman featured the daily summary of security developments in Afghanistan, as reported by Reuters.


Jun 12th, 2010

Summary: About 50 Afghan schoolgirls became ill and were taken to a hospital after a suspected gas poisoning in their school in Ghazni, southwestern Afghanistan — the latest in a spate of similar incidents, some of which have the hallmarks of mass hysteria. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 12, 2009 Aubrey Immelman featured the daily summary of security developments in Iraq, as reported by Reuters.


Jun 11th, 2010

Summary: On Friday, June 4, 2010 the Washington Post published a mildly critical, though occasionally admiring, profile of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. … Excerpts and annotations. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 11, 2009 Aubrey Immelman presented his psychological evaluation of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with personality profile and threat assessment, conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics.