Author Archives: George Maschke

Social Media Site Standings a Poor Predictor of Electoral Outcome in California’s 36th Congressional District

By George Maschke | Published: 9 June 2010
Although as observed in my earlier post, progressive challenger Marcy Winograd had significantly more friends/followers/subscribers on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube than incumbent Jane Harman going into the Democratic party primary for California’s 36th congressional district, Harman handily won the election with 59% of the vote versus 41% for Winograd. In terms of raw numbers, Harman [...]
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Marcy Winograd Leads Jane Harman on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

By George Maschke | Published: 6 June 2010
On Tuesday, 8 June 2010, progressive Democrat Marcy Winograd is challenging blue dog incumbent Jane Harman for the party’s nomination for California’s 36th district congressional seat. I support Winograd because of her firm antiwar position. (Harman backed the invasion of Iraq.) I also appreciate Winograd’s denunciation of Israel’s recent commando raid on volunteers bringing humanitarian [...]
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Foamy Shoreline at Scheveningen

By George Maschke | Published: 15 April 2010
Sometimes, the North Sea coast at Scheveningen develops a frothy foam, as shown here in video recorded while on a stroll during my lunch hour on Tuesday, 13 April 2010.
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Fox News Producer Justin Fishel Lies About Iranian Nuclear Program

By George Maschke | Published: 31 March 2010
Justin Fishel, who covers the Departments of Defense and State for Fox News, has told one of the boldest lies I’ve seen from a journalist. It comes in a blog post titled, “CIA: Iran Moving Closer to Nuclear Weapon.” The title itself is misleading, but the blatant lie is in the opening sentence: A recently [...]
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Protons and Ions

By George Maschke | Published: 18 February 2010
A Facebook friend who works at Brookhaven National Laboratory posted the following status update:
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Election Advertising in The Hague

By George Maschke | Published: 18 February 2010
Elections for The Hague’s city council are to be held on 3 March 2010, and around the city, the municipality has erected temporary billboards on which each party fielding candidates in the election can place a poster putting its case to the voters. I’ve never seen anything like this done in an American election. It’s [...]
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Persian Word of the Day: ندانمکاری

By George Maschke | Published: 17 February 2010
Today I encountered an etymologically interesting Persian word: ندانمکاری (nadānamkārī). It’s unusual in that it incorporates a conjugated verb. The initial stem, ندانم (nadānam) is the first person negative subjunctive of the verb دانستن “to know.” Literally translated, it means “[that] I know not.” To this is appended the suffix کاری (kārī), which is analagous [...]
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Google Buzz

By George Maschke | Published: 15 February 2010
After watching Chris Fisher’s positive review of the new Google Buzz service, I’ve decided to give it a try. You’ll find my  Buzz feed, and may follow it if you like, through my newly created Google profile.
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Persian Word of the Week: ساندیس

By George Maschke | Published: 14 February 2010
On 11 February 2010, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution was observed in Iran, and it took place in an extraordinarily politically charged atmosphere, being seen as something of a watershed event for Iran’s Green Movement. As I followed the news on-line, I cam across a Persian word I had never heard before: ساندیس [...]
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Welcoming the Year of the Tiger in The Hague

By George Maschke | Published: 14 February 2010
The Hague has its own Chinatown, and every year the city hosts a Chinese New Year celebration with a parade and fireworks. On Saturday, 13 February 2010, the opening ceremony welcoming the Year of the Tiger was held in the city hall atrium. I was able to take some pictures from the side of the [...]
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