Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called the war in Iraq a failure. How does he know this? Because of the “extreme violence in Iraq this week.” And what did that violence consist of? A series of terrorist bombings … Continue reading →
The commenter known as “unknown blogger” wrote in the previous thread: “Impotent.” “Weak.” “They must have cut a deal.” [quoting those who criticize the Blair government’s public handling of the affair]. Tsk, tsk. Such a tremendous amount of disappointment around … Continue reading →
I’ve been perplexed by the weak reaction of so many officials in Britain to the ongoing hostage crisis. Whoops! I used the “h” word. Apparently that’s a no-no; this Time article reports that President Bush was criticized roundly by John … Continue reading →
Many years ago I took a course to be certified as a volunteer divorce mediator in the state in which I lived. The profession was then in its infancy, and it sounded like such a good idea: the adversarial nature … Continue reading →
In taking fifteen British sailors prisoner, the Iranian government is merely following its tradition of win-win hostage-taking. When in trouble (and there is some evidence the mullahs are in a certain amount of internal political difficulty in Iran), the best … Continue reading →
If you’ve ever had a bad back you know the drill: the doctor places your legs and feet in various positions, takes his hands and pushes in various ways, and asks you to push back each time. What’s he doing? … Continue reading →
I happened across the February 19th issue of Newsweek at the home of friends with whom I’m staying. Picking it up and thumbing through it (and how odd it seems to me nowadays to see a hard copy of a … Continue reading →
A succinct headline in the Washington Times summed it up nicely: “Anti-war protesters echo Vietnam.” The accent is on the word “echo”—as in “a distant, fainter, repetition.” The anti-Iraq War demonstrations in DC over this weekend were self-consciously and purposefully … Continue reading →
[See Part I.] After Proctor’s turnaround speech, more and more former naysayers came on board in support of war with Spain for the liberation of Cuba. But still, McKinley tried his best at negotiations to avoid it, machinations that ultimately … Continue reading →
Remember the Spanish-American War? You probably learned about it in your history classes–which was a long time ago, perhaps. If you were anything like me, you only remember a few key phrases: “yellow journalism.” “Remember the Maine.” The American people … Continue reading →
During a war, it used to be that the body counts published in the newspapers focused on the number of enemies killed. And the populace reading those accounts were supposed to be happy, not sad; the statistics were supposed to … Continue reading →
[Part I, “saving them,” is here.] Children are the future of any society. This makes them a double-edged sword: since most cultures are devoted to the protection and nurturance of their own children, most societies are uniquely vulnerable when those … Continue reading →