And I fear we never shall. When I was in school, World War I was hardly touched on in my history classes, so eager were the teachers to get to World War II before the year was over. It was … Continue reading →
A reader has alerted me to the news that the tunnel “Harry” featured in the movie “The Great Escape” has been found (not the movie set tunnel; the real deal). If you’ve loved that movie for many decades, as I … Continue reading →
Thomas Friedman surprised me by offering an interesting take on the state of the Middle East today. I’d summarize it as: Iraq is at present the most stable country in the Arab Middle East, at least relative to the others. … Continue reading →
Rumor has it that John Kerry is being considered for the post of Secretary of Defense. If true, this would be another example of what a keen sense of humor Obama has. For what better way to enrage the majority … Continue reading →
Remember back in June when it was the 40th anniversary of the “napalm” girl photo that so shockingly depicted some of the civilian casualties in the Vietnam War? I wrote this piece in PJ for the occasion, in an attempt … Continue reading →
I had never heard of chemist Fritz Haber until a couple of days ago, when I watched a TV dramatization of his story that was so melodramatic that I thought it was surely an exaggeration. But surprisingly, when I looked … Continue reading →
…on Securitygate: What I call “Securitygate” ”” the release of the most intricate details about the cyber war against Iran, the revelations about a Yemeni double-agent, disclosures about covert operations in and against Pakistan, intimate details about the Osama bin … Continue reading →
Yesterday was the 41st anniversary of the Pentagon Papers’ publication. A year ago on the 40th anniversary, Daniel Ellsberg took a moment to air a few regrets that he didn’t release the Papers sooner, and to encourage the current possessors … Continue reading →
It’s been forty years since this photo shocked Americans: Do you know the story behind the photo? I tell it in this article at PJ. Some of what you read may surprise you. [NOTE: I’ve written about the photo before, … Continue reading →
I’ve been wading through Martin Amis’ Koba the Dread: Laughter and the Twenty Million, a book about Soviet Russia and its crimes and betrayals. The reason I’m reading that particular book is that one of Amis’s goals in writing it … Continue reading →
I’ve posted this song before, but I think it bears repeating, especially on Memorial Day. It’s Tim McGraw’s extraordinarily moving song “If You’re Reading This:” If you’re readin’ this My momma’s sittin’ there Looks like I only got a one … Continue reading →
Author Paul Fussell has died at 88. I read only two things he wrote, but both of them were extraordinary. The first was his magnum opus, the one that made him famous (at least in some circles), The Great War … Continue reading →