- 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 Categories
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Tags
- Armenia
- art
- blogging
- Cleveland
- cycling
- daily life
- ecology
- education
- family
- fauna
- food
- genocide
- Great Britain
- hearth and home
- history
- humor/farce
- Iraq
- Israel
- language
- literature
- mathematics
- media
- Middle East
- militarism
- music
- mysteries
- nature
- patriotism
- philosophy
- phone
- photography
- politics
- privacy
- psychology
- religion
- Russia
- science
- security
- Slovenia
- technology
- terror/-ism
- Turkey
- TV
- U.S.
- Washington DC
Archives
Our Pledge
You will never see an ad here. If you want or need something, we trust you will be able to want or need it without us planting the urge or ache. You certainly do not need our help finding what your heart desires on the internet.- “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”—H.G. Wells
More bicycle quotations »
Category Archives: Agora
Birthright
Bob Somerby, in his Daily Howler, is as hard on “liberal” reporters and commentators as he is on right-wingers. He hates sloppy thinking and writing, wherever it comes from, and knee-jerk reactions from legs of any political stripe drive him … Continue reading
Cascade
Another April 24 has passed—the 95th since the day in 1915 when Armenian leaders and intellectuals were rounded up as the opening act of an Ottoman plan to rid their lands of all Armenians. For the second year in a … Continue reading
Riddance
The sky was noticeably clearer this morning here in Washington, the air sweet-smelling and strangely endorphic. I was at a loss to explain why. Then I read the news: Turkey has recalled its ambassador. Seems a committee in the US House … Continue reading
Flakes
I can’t let December pass without recalling fondly the seventeen inches of snow that suddenly showed up. The snowfall of Saturday, December 19 (and a bit on Sunday), broke a bunch of records, the most easily remembered one being “the most … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Threads
Picking up a few loose ones … Armenia Back in August we heard about the incipient rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey that was to culminate in an imminent restoration of diplomatic relations. On October 10, after a last-minute dispute over … Continue reading
Posted in Agora
Tagged Armenia, Cleveland, cycling, ecology, Iraq, politics, Turkey, Washington DC
2 Comments
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 … Continue reading
Caught
The New York Times reported today that Google is being threatened with sanctions in Germany over its Street View feature, which allows users to “stroll” along streets in areas that are covered by the service, taking in the buildings, scenery, … Continue reading
Posted in Agora
Tagged daily life, Germany, Great Britain, New York, privacy, technology, Washington DC
Leave a comment
Won’t
Jacob Weisberg has offered an early, tentative assessment of Barack Obama as president. The first “theme” he isolates is that Obama “sees the middle ground as the high ground.” Candidates who talk about bringing people together or changing the tone … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
