Monthly Archives: July 2006

Virtues

Posted on July 11, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

The thought once occurred to me, years ago, late at night as I was doing the dishes: “Would Henry Kissinger do the things he does, and think the things he thinks, if he did his own dishes?” What I had … Continue reading →

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Plague

Posted on July 11, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Every once in a while I check the spam filter here in the Basement, just to be sure a legitimate comment hasn’t been trapped. (It hasn’t happened yet.) Today, out of twelve bits of spam, only one was in English. … Continue reading →

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Unjinxed

Posted on July 10, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

The kid is home for the summer and she has been attending my Sunday softball games, thereby doubling our cheering section. She was beginning to get a little spooked, though. After starting the season 5-0 before she came home, we dropped … Continue reading →

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Weltschmerz

Posted on July 8, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

The mood evident in a previous post has not lifted, and a phrase has started rattling around in my head: “The world is too much with us …” Where is that from? Not Shakespeare. Shelley? Coleridge? Keats? No need to … Continue reading →

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FOIA

Posted on July 4, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Happy Birthday, Freedom of Information Act! Forty years old today. Having just watched Syriana, which purports to show how the world really works, I can say I fully endorse the headline of Jimmy Carter’s commentary: We Need Fewer Secrets. And … Continue reading →

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Appreciation

Posted on July 4, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Happy 4th of July, Americans! Let’s be as independent as we can, each of us individually. Love our country, but not just our country. Be curious, in every sense (eccentricity is good). If we don’t care about the rest of … Continue reading →

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Ouch

Posted on July 3, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

How they see us from across the pond: As Americans prepare to celebrate the 230th anniversary of their independence tomorrow, [a YouGov] poll found that only 12 per cent of Britons trust them to act wisely on the global stage. This is half the … Continue reading →

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Prediction

Posted on July 3, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

In a recent documentary shown on German television entitled “Russia in a Vise,” and in a book of the same name, the German military expert and journalist Peter Scholl-Latour expresses his certainty that Russia will soon cease to exist as … Continue reading →

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