by Michael Brenner Operation New Dawn! How disarming it would be were this a sign that a bit of dry wit had penetrated the mental fastness that is the American defense establishment. […]
Nota Bene #103: Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse
“To take people from the music world and give them the same kind of credibility that you give me, Morgan Freeman, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker—that’s like an aberration. I know there’s some […]
Nota Bene #102: Dancing Limbaughs
“What they really want to see is, they want you to chop your fucking arm off, hold up your arm, wave it around spewing blood, and believe me, if you did that, […]
Nota Bene #101: Your Pal, Mike S.
“The guys who are shooting films now are technically brilliant, but there’s no content in their films. I marvel at what I see and wish I could have done a shot like […]
Nota Bene #97: toDwI'ma' qoS yItIvqu'!
“To be truly free, and truly to appreciate its freedom, a society must be literate.”
Moving target: Nukes in transit
THE DEPROLIFERATOR — A large part of the lore of crime is the history of those transporting precious goods and the highwaymen who prey on them. Valuables are most vulnerable when in […]
Walking like a pretzel
The National Security Archives at George Washington University recently published translations of Soviet Politburo meetings on Afghanistan. They are more illuminating than the combined words of America’s punditocracy that litter the nation’s […]
Happy Birthday to The Commonwealth: could this be Britain's future?
I was surprised to learn that 2009 is the 60th anniversary of The Commonwealth—the association of former British colonies that still, amazingly, continue to work with each and talk to each other […]
Afghanistan: Obama at the crossroads
Election fiascos and strategy deliberations continue, while Pakistan’s army is laying waste to South Waziristan. The deliberations are of the utmost importance; more important and more pressing than health care reform. This […]
AfPakintacular
It was such a pleasant weekend. Fall is in the air. Football is on TV, and the Angels sent the Boston Red Sox golfing. It even felt wholesome and normal to listen […]