Haiti: A Case History

There’s no new column this Friday because of a wonderful event in San Francisco: the opening (or, rather, re-opening) of the movie version of We, The Living, Ayn Rand’s first novel. This is quite simply the greatest movie ever made. Period. Somehow, some way, the stylized world-as-it-might’ve-been and should have been that Rand created, that … Continue reading “Haiti: A Case History”

Homeland Security Grants – A Not So Funny Joke

I live in Appleton, WI, and I’ll bet each and every American $5.00 that not one member of al-Qaeda can locate it on a map. Now I’m sure there are few football fans out there who might take me up on that bet seeing how Appleton lies just southwest of its more famous cousin Green … Continue reading “Homeland Security Grants – A Not So Funny Joke”

Rights Groups Slam US Over Haiti

Amid growing controversy over Washington’s role in persuading Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide to go into exile, human rights groups are strongly criticizing the Bush administration for returning hundreds of fleeing Haitians back to the capital over the weekend. Rights groups are also warning the administration against any move to empower armed rebels whose three-week-old … Continue reading “Rights Groups Slam US Over Haiti”

Sending Blair to Prison

Following the decision not to prosecute the GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun, the suspicion is that the government will do anything to keep secret the advice submitted to it by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, on the legality of the Iraq war. There is a very simple reason why the government would want to do this. … Continue reading “Sending Blair to Prison”

A Foreign-Born President?

No sooner had Arnold Schwarzenegger been elected Governor of California, than he immediately started agitating on behalf of a constitutional amendment allowing a foreign-born citizen to hold the highest office in the land. Not that he’s ambitious, or anything…. Right on cue, Senator Orrin Hatch introduced legislation that would make Der Governator’s dream come true, … Continue reading “A Foreign-Born President?”

The Consequences of Betrayal

In one of his speeches Prime Minister Tony Blair made the statement that he had every confidence in British Intelligence regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. As highly regarded as it is, British Intelligence is certainly not infallible. Whether by mistake or deliberate betrayal, failures in the intelligence system can have long and far-reaching consequences. Consider … Continue reading “The Consequences of Betrayal”