- 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
- WorldWideWeber on Prefix
- WorldWideWeber on Phew!
- Prince Myshkin on Beastie
- WorldWideWeber on Teatime
- WorldWideWeber on Hitchhiker
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 »
Tag Archives: Iraq
Control
Somewhere in America recently, there was a conference on international strategy. After presentations by three scholars, the floor was opened to questions from the audience. After ten or so, this: “My question to the panel is, What is the path … Continue reading
Smile
One of these men is leaving Iraq in a matter of minutes. Can you tell which one?
Clarity
In his review of Cobra II, Andrew Bacevich encapsulates the inherent contradiction of the Iraq invasion as concisely as I’ve seen anywhere: Rumsfeld’s grand plan to transform the US military was at odds with the administration’s grand plans to transform … Continue reading
Irony
The US has killed Zarqawi. What does it mean? From the Independent: US forces in Iraq said the killing was a major victory. “We killed him, and it’s always great when you can remove someone that has caused this much … Continue reading
Standstill
Man, you can’t say anything nowadays without people actually remembering it. Take Tom Friedman. New York Times wise man. The go-to guy for pithy analysis of a complex world. The person for whom “six months from now” never arrives: On a … Continue reading
Schrödinger
Here in the Basement, we try to avoid two things: Simply pointing to posts at other blogs, no matter how good they are or how much we agree with them; Encouraging the importation and distorted application of complex scientific concepts … Continue reading
Really
Recently we were all treated to the spectacle of George W. Bush not answering a question put to him by Helen Thomas: “Why did you really want to go to war [in Iraq]?” Today the Independent reports that the US … Continue reading
Remorse
My buddy over at Newsrack Blog has an interesting post on regrets from folks who initially supported the Iraq invasion (including himself). I give them all a lot of credit. It’s not easy to admit a mistake. But what mistake … Continue reading
Imagineering
I hesitate to use a lovely term (coined, it seems by that great American Hondo Crouch) for an unlovely thing, but it struck me today that the word that best describes the behavior of the Bush Administration is imagineering. The self-proclaimed mayor … Continue reading
Hunters
Amid the guffaws and sarcasm surrounding the Vice President’s hunting mishap (which, in itself, was far from funny), some commentators and comedians have made the obvious connection between Cheney’s reckless hunting style and his approach to foreign policy. Tom Engelhardt … Continue reading
