- Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.—Gravity’s Rainbow
‘Is it about a bicycle?’ he asked.—The Third Policeman
Tag Archives: history
Escalator
Exactly a month ago, while drawing up Obama’s first-quarter report card, I wrote: “Still to be scored is his approach to Afghanistan—he is currently deliberating, and the hope arises he will ditch the simpleminded bellicosity displayed in his campaign and find a saner solution to that mess.”
During the 2008 campaign Obama trashed the Bush administration [...]
Detente
The news arrives today that Armenia and Turkey have decided to establish diplomatic relations.
It is typical of this dysfunctional relationship that no date has been set for such relations to actually kick in, and none of the thorny issues dividing the two countries (the genocide, Nagorno-Karabagh, etc.) are close to being resolved. But it’s as [...]
Chrysostom
We all knew, from the day he burst on the scene, that Barack Obama is a great talker. And great talk can sometimes accomplish a lot. But there’s a reason why we talk about “walking the walk.” And, for better or worse (mostly worse), George Bush appears to be the better walker. (Maybe Obama could [...]
Pffffft
Today was a big day. I read about the world’s oldest joke and heard an old favorite, Haydn’s Symphony No. 93, on XM Radio.
Okay, here’s the joke, recorded ca. 1900 BCE by a Sumerian who shall remain nameless:
Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.
Hey, [...]
Ottomania
I have been waiting for Christopher Hitchens to weigh in on the Armenian genocide resolution (H.Res. 106) for weeks now. I used to agree with Hitchens a lot more in the past—back in the days when he thought “terrorist” was a stupid label and “terrorism” a blanket excuse for a brutal but ultimately pointless response, [...]
Turkophilia
The Armenian genocide resolution (H.Res. 106) is due for a committee vote today. Last week the Turkish government took out a full-page ad in section A of the Washington Post in an attempt to throw sand in everyone’s eyes, and today the Post again dished out its Realpolitik garbage in support of its good friend [...]
Expertise
We have a low retaining wall made from railroad ties in our front yard that is deteriorating and needs replacing. We’re thinking of stonework this time, and I’m thinking we’ll want to find some Incas to do it for us. I mean, look at the work they do:
Photo by Alexander Fiebrandt at Wikipedia
They may not [...]
Tormentee
The association where I work has just published a book for those who wish to be “mentors” in science education. That’s all well and good. The problem is that the persons at the receiving end of this guidance are called “mentees.” This is so grating to my eyes and ears that I came here to [...]
Август
Well, we made it through the doldrums of August. In an apparent attempt to inject some drama into this perennially languid month, a Russian journalist, Roman Trunov, tried to paint August in Russia as fraught with history-altering events. Four of his five examples occurred in the 1990s—admittedly a tumultuous time in that country. Two of [...]
Riddance