Spying on You, Spying on Me, Spying on the President
"The makers of our Constitution ... conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone – the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men." ~ Justice Louis D. Brandeis, 1928 After the Watergate...
Mad Dog Shows His Bite on Face the Nation
When President-elect Donald Trump sent his talent scouts to the attack-dog kennel run by defense industry giant General Dynamics, in order to recruit former Marine General James “Mad Dog” Mattis to be secretary of defense, cries of apprehension were...
Bloodshed in Baghdad; 84 Killed in Iraq
Trump’s Visit to Israel: How Palestine Disappeared From US Media Coverage
As if he has, overnight, been transformed into a master politician, Donald Trump’s 27-hour trip to Israel has left many analysts mystified. Quoting former Israeli political adviser, Mitchell Barack, the New York Times referred to Trump as the “Liberace of world...
Angela Merkel’s Tears
Empires are continually confronted with the prospect of rebellions: that is one of the occupational hazards of imperialism. The Romans had to contend with those contentious Judeans, whose revolt arguably gave rise to one of the word’s great religions. The British lost...
Female Turkmen Politician Killed; 143 Killed in Iraq
Believing the Russian ‘Hacking’ Claim
When the US public was told that Spain had blown up the Maine, or Vietnam had returned fire, or Iraq had stockpiled weapons, or Libya was planning a massacre, the claims were straightforward and disprovable. Before people began referring to the Gulf of Tonkin...
Europe May Finally Rethink NATO Costs
President Donald Trump’s politically incorrect behavior at the gathering of NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday could, in its own circuitous way, spotlight an existential threat to the alliance. Yes, that threat is Russia, but not in the customary sense in which...
Our National Bird: The Medium Is the Message
In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social...


