Monthly Archives: October 2007

Flashback

Старые привычки … I don’t know if there’s a Russian equivalent for the English phrase: “Old habits die hard.” It would certainly apply to recent events in the Russian hinterland, where workers were ordered to attend pro-Putin rallies in a … Continue reading

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Handyman

Happy Halloween! [h/t to Ben Samuels via The Beat]

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Etude

I stumbled across a review of a book called Novels in Three Lines by Félix Fénéon, and given how I admire concision (or say I do, at any rate), I just had to take a look. The title in French, … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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Bumpers

Peddling through Georgetown this morning, I saw this bumper sticker: Don’t believe everything you think A block or so later, this: MILITANT AGNOSTIC I don’t know & you don’t either Skeptic to the right of me, skeptic to the left … Continue reading

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Wahoo

Every time the Cleveland Indians baseball club makes it to the playoffs, a sense of unease sets in with the euphoria. It’s only a matter of days, if not minutes, from the time they step into the national spotlight before … Continue reading

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Equanimity

As the son of a nurse and brother of a doctor (and brother-in-law of two more), this squib in the latest University of Chicago alumni magazine caught my attention: “Why Doctors Don’t Feel Your Pain.” Brain scans show that physicians … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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