It’s a strange kind of world when I come over all nostalgic for Thatcher. The comparisons come flooding in to my mind. Why don’t American presidents – or candidates – ever face the public like this? America has lowered the … Continue reading →

Life good? Things going well? Feeling great about yourself? This’ll fix that:

Catching up on my Tom Tomorrows. Haven’t read it for a while. More here.

Was going to write a review of The Battle of Algiers but it is so much easier to copy/paste from Roger Ebert. At the height of the street fighting in Algiers, the French stage a press conference for a captured … Continue reading →

Had a pleasant conversation with a friend last week about whether McCain intends to keep American forces in Iraq forever, or just indefinitely. I think we concluded (at least I did) that both McCain and Obama would, at some point, … Continue reading →

There’s an excellent 8 page article in today’s NY Times magazine that chronicles McCain’s stance on the Iraq War. It’s mostly positive – if you agree with McCain’s stance – and, since the liberal media is not doing it’s job … Continue reading →

I assume everyone has read the report in the New York Times telling the story of how the Generals who gave independent assessments of the war in Iraq were fed their lines, monitored and punished with loss of access and … Continue reading →

You remember the Strategy for Victory? How about Stay the Course or When They Stand Up We’ll Stand Down ? What about Cheney’s light at the end of the tunnel or – my personal favourite – a few dead enders? … Continue reading →

Saint Frank’s column today notices how we are all turning our back on Iraq, even the most passionate among us. But it’s not sustainable. General Petraeus and Mr. Crocker define victory as “sustainable security” in Iraq. But both Colin Powell … Continue reading →

NYT has a nice piece about the absurdity of the campaign trail. People are asking the candidates about all kinds of shit like whether to get rid of the penny and the dollar bill and trying to make them eat … Continue reading →