Category: Uncategorized

One aspect of the dot-com downturn – aside from the sudden sprouting of “For Rent” signs all over San Francisco – is the plethora of obituaries for the Internet, and dot-com journalism in general. No less an authority than Howard Kurtz, media maven of the Washington Post, asks “whether the very concept of online journalism … Continue reading “Salon, R.I.P.”

It’s amazing how the Marc Rich pardon story has taken on so many permutations that the real impact of it is lost – and the real meaning missed. Between the Burton committee’s halfhearted investigation, and Mary Jo Whitewash’s efforts – not to mention the involvement of various Rodhams, including Hillary, in other pardons – the … Continue reading “In Defense of Taki”

Alarm bells ought to be ringing at the news that as many as 200 US special forces will be traveling to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to open up the latest front in the “war on terrorism.” Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, the “ex”-Communist and former Foreign Minister of the old USSR under Gorbachev, has … Continue reading “Georgia On My Mind”

The Zapatista Liberation Front from the Mexican province of Chiapas, along with various hangers-on, is marching from its stronghold in the south to Mexico City to confer with Mexican president Vicente Fox, who has just assumed power and has made resolution of the largely indigenous-based revolt in Chiapas a relatively high priority. You won’t get … Continue reading “Revolution as Tourist Attraction?”

It was a shock to see the headline: “Belgrade helped in planning of Baghdad bombing.” The story in the London Independent by Kim Sengupta claimed that the government of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica “provided vital information on Saddam’s upgraded air defenses” and “passed on details of the hi-tech fiber-optic radar system supplied to Iraq under … Continue reading “The Anatomy of a Lie”

Richard M. Weaver (1910-1963) was a contributor to that strand of American thought which might be called "libertarian conservatism." He is only now coming to be properly appreciated.1 But Weaver was much more than just an intelligent man who wrote, now and then, on politics. He was much more: he was a student of the … Continue reading “Richard M. Weaver on Civilization, Ontology, and War”

I have before written about the myth of the “Saddam Bomb” – the perfervid and recurring group fantasy that has the Iraqi ruler on the verge of developing an atomic bomb – but after playing that one over and over again since 1991, the War Party must has apparently decided that it’s time to change … Continue reading “Saddam Meets The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”

For months, Japanese officials have been denying it: but now, the signs are all too apparent. Mt. Fuji, the sacred symbol of Japan – which some still worship as a god – is on the verge of erupting. The long dormant volcano is awakening, say scientists – and the news is not at all welcome … Continue reading “The Sailors Who Fell From Grace with the Sea”

Was I the only one who sensed a sort of plaintiveness in the president’s assertion? "The no-fly zones are enforced on a daily basis," said George W. as he touched lightly on the decision of British and American warplanes to dump bombs on targets outside the no-fly zone. "It’s part of a strategy." You could … Continue reading “Bombing for . . . What?”

It must be something in the water: or, perhaps, “Mad Cow” disease is spreading much faster than anyone realizes. I had to read the headline on this news story from the London Independent at least three times, early this [Tuesday] morning, just to make sure I wasn’t still asleep and dreaming: “British protester charged with … Continue reading “Is There Something in the Water?”