Tag Archives: politics

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 →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Clarification

Posted on June 23, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Yesterday I asked a quasi-rhetorical question: … but would this administration be smart enough to accept the invitation to depart? This obviously assumes the US has the best interests of Iraqis at heart. There are several competing assumptions: The Iraq invasion … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

InstaPudhead

Posted on June 15, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Why I don’t read InstaPundit. (I know you’ve been dying to know.) I don’t bother with Mickey Kaus either. That guy’s always on the verge of making sense, but never really does. Wait a minute—if I start listing all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Neighbors

Posted on June 7, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Memorable lines come flying unbidden … Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. Writing at Slate, Shmuel … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pugilist

Posted on May 30, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Since his campaign headquarters is on the same block as my illustrious place of daytime employ, James Webb‘s thumbnail self-characterization is constantly popping up during my periodic escapes from the asylum.* The former Assistant Secretary of Defense (under Reagan) is … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Boonies

Posted on May 24, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Salon has passed on a wire service report about a Russian journalist arrested for making fun of Vladimir Putin: The article was published by Vladimir Rakhmankov, editor of the online newspaper Kursiv in the central city of Ivanovo, said Andrei … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Shattered

Posted on May 22, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Even Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor at large at Sun Myung-Moon’s Washington Times and United Press International, thinks the Putin-bashing is excessive: Beating up on Russia’s shrinking democracy has become a geopolitical blood sport from Vice President Dick Cheney down to … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Futility

Posted on May 17, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Robert Scheer writes: “These days, even when George W. Bush is right, he’s wrong.” In his analysis of Bush’s proposals for dealing with illegal immigration, Scheer is quite even-handed—one might almost say kind. Not the usual image of the “hateful left” painted … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Rhetoric

Posted on May 17, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Well, it least someone is trying to remove the chill from the air. In an interview with the London Times, Putin’s chief of staff said: The problems that have been highlighted recently in the media and political circles have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Defense

Posted on May 16, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Big headline today in Izvestia: Буш отправляет войска охранять южную границу США That is, “Bush sends troops to guard southern border of US.” Which is accurate (I even watched some of the address on “immigration reform” last night, out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , | Leave a comment