My first thought late last night on hearing the news of Chavez’s defeat in yesterday’s referendum was, “Great (and surprising)!” My second thought was a more cynical one: “How bad must the defeat really have been for Chavez to announce … Continue reading →
I haven’t written at length about Annapolis, and I probably won’t do so now; I’ll leave that to others. There is hardly an issue more controversial, more heated, and more designed to get the metaphorical blood flowing in the comments … Continue reading →
I don’t have much of a green thumb with houseplants. There are some varieties I gave up on long ago—the Boston fern, for instance. A fern in the dry heat of a northeastern home in winter requires a degree of … Continue reading →
That man of the people, Hugo Chavez, is up to his old/new tricks in Venezuela: using the democratic process to subvert the safeguards built into it (see this for my discussion of the perils involved). An upcoming referendum will let … Continue reading →
Commenter bunkerbuster speculated recently about the possible aftermath of a US troop withdrawal in Iraq: How many people would die in such a withdrawal? There is indeed a risk that fighting could escalate, though predictions of mass killing of the … Continue reading →
What a surprise.
Continue reading →The headlines blared the recent Australian election news: “Bush Loses Another War Ally” (Chicago Tribune) and “Ally of Bush is Defeated in Australia” (NY Times) were typical. And true, as far as they go. Prime Minister Howard was indeed a … Continue reading →
Late last night the Sanity Squad interviewed the articulate and controversial Fatima Bhutto, younthful and US-educated niece (and harsh critic) of Benazir Bhutto and many others on the Pakistani political scene. Tune in and give a listen as Dr. Sanity, … Continue reading →
Advice for the Democrats, from Clive Crook (love that name!) of the Financial Times: Up to now, Democrats have been stinting in their recognition that the situation in Iraq has improved: “Yes, violence is down a bit, but .”‰.”‰.” That … Continue reading →
I’m back! I noticed that in my absence this rather short and recent post engendered quite the heated and verbose discussion in the comments section, proving that the number of comments isn’t proportional to the length of the post. I … Continue reading →
I’m with my family, playing out the Thanksgiving weekend and relaxing—in the countryside this time, not the city. Today we’re finally ratcheting down the eating; all the leftovers are gone, which helps. Winter seems to have made a sudden appearance … Continue reading →
…this: …House Democrats passed an Iraq spending bill that would have required Gen. Petraeus to abort his successful strategy, limit operations to counterterrorism and training, and withdraw all troops by the end of next year. Democratic leaders acted as if … Continue reading →