No? Well no one else has heard anything about them either. They could easily become the basis for a joke inside the beltway but for the fact that no one in Washington has a sense of humor. As the Chief US mediator is named Martin Indyk one would think there is...
Obama Flips and Flops
Discussions about coup vs. revolution, democracy vs. military rule, and regime change vs. insurgency dominate the discourse about Egypt and Syria in the media, but the tendency to explain developments using easily understandable bumper sticker style labels that are...
Homeland Security Made in Israel
If there should happen to be an al-Qaeda attack in Calhoun County Alabama, Sheriff Larry Amerson will presumably know what to do. That is because he and a number of colleagues in law enforcement have received paid trips to Israel to learn how to deal with the...
Who Is the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been going around the world as well as regularly appearing on American television telling everyone who might be inclined to listen that "The [Iranian] president was replaced but the goal of the regime remains...
Throw the Bums Out
As I have become accustomed to nearly every type of outrage here in the land of the BushObamas, it takes quite a bit to either surprise or shock me. But last week was a twofer and I’ll start with the shock. On Thursday morning I was reading my way through a rather...
Spinning Yarns in the Mainstream Media
The Washington Post editorial page under Fred Hiatt has long been a neoconservative bastion rivaling the Wall Street Journal, supporting every war to come down the pike while justifying every intrusion on personal rights as long as it might plausibly be justified on...
The Lobby Never Sleeps
Developments in Syria and Egypt have been a godsend for Israel. The bloodshed and political turmoil have meant that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can continue with business as usual, with no one paying much attention to what is going on as he dismembers Palestine....
The Mystery of TWA 800
It is sometimes easy to forget that the principal function of government, like any other organism, is to protect itself. In a perfect world a regime that has erred egregiously would admit to its mistake, apologize to the public, and make corrections to prevent any...
The Meaninglessness of Elections
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of elections, constitutions, and the rule of law. One recalls that the USSR in its heyday had a beautifully crafted constitution guaranteeing individual rights and also held regular elections for the Supreme...
Independence Day Blues
The Fourth of July used to be a pleasant holiday, families at the beach, barbecues, small town parades and fireworks. It was a genuine celebration of pride in country combined with an affirmation of the good life that most Americans enjoyed. But no longer. The bloom...