Apr 5, 2022
No fly zone now
After seeing the true nature of the Russian assault on Ukraine it is time for the USA and NATO to institute a no fly zone and state that interfering…
Music, power, politics, and the stories behind the stories.
Editorial Collection
Politics, Power & the Middle East
Independent commentary from someone who distrusts slogans, tribes, and simple answers.
I was raised around Washington, Damascus, Cairo, and Beirut, studied politics and economics, and spent a career watching public stories collide with private motives. I write about American politics, international affairs, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, media power, religion, capitalism, democracy, and the consequences that disappear from partisan talking points.
I am pro-enterprise and anti-authoritarian, but not a party mascot. A useful argument begins with facts, includes the inconvenient ones, and remains willing to criticize its own side.
Entries
181Apr 4, 2022
Real interests
It is in the long term interests of the US to have alliances with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia in the East and with Europe, NATO, Russia…
Apr 4, 2022
Conspiracy
Conspiracy theories are all the rage these days. Trump still claims the election was stolen and a not insignificant chunk of the public believe him…
Apr 1, 2022
Info Wars
Russian mothers will at some point be told of their dead soldiers but most live far from Moscow so not of serious concern to Putin. BUT the word of…
Mar 29, 2022
Putin
Putin made his move into Ukraine without any way to get out without loosing huge face. A very stupid strategy to be sure but that is what he did. So…
Mar 28, 2022
update
Traveling to Europe for the past 10 days I got back to the US thinking something in the news would change. What I found was the Fox pundits, Hannity…
Mar 16, 2022
Trump again?
It seems one can never escape from positive references to Donald Trump even when it comes to Ukraine. Fox "News"uses the war as a way to tout "what…
Mar 15, 2022
Squriming
In spite of the tragic events we see every hour on out TV screens inflicted by the Putin war on Ukraine, - taking a dispassionate view (if possible?)…
Mar 13, 2022
Off Ramp
It is disturbing to still hear ideas of an off ramp for Putin. How does one give an off ramp to a war criminal? The only off ramp is for a new leader…
Mar 12, 2022
Oil vs. Renewable energy
There is a US midterm election coming up so Fox "News" devotes its narrative to attacking the Democratic President, Vice President and any other…
Mar 12, 2022
Leaders
Republican talking points are stating that the Polls show that Biden is not perceived to be doing well on anything THEREFORE he should change course…
Mar 10, 2022
Realities and off ramps
There is so much talk on every side about what to do amid horrible scenes we witness on TV. Some use the war as an excuse to criticize opponents…
Mar 9, 2022
Thinking
One thing about the Ukraine War is it makes us think about ideas we have accepted as fact in the past. For instance, why does anyone believe that…
Mar 7, 2022
Moldova
A little known Russian breakaway region of Moldova borders Moldova and Ukraine and if the Odessa area is taken by Russia the Transnistria region of…
Mar 7, 2022
Iran
Iran has a great opportunity to eliminate the sanctions and sell its oil at the new high price. In spite of the over the top fear of Iran that has…
Mar 7, 2022
Lessons of army design
The NATO forces, the Ukrainian army as well as the Russian army have been designed for defensive purposes. There is a big difference between design…
Mar 6, 2022
Side note
As a side note to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the degree of surprise US military planners have seen at the sorry state of the Russian…
Mar 6, 2022
More know your history
From the 1100s, to the 1800s the main political dividing line in Europe was between England and France. By the end of the 1800s that dividing line…
Mar 5, 2022
Know your history
For many years of the past 50 years the world was divided neatly between two opposing points of view. A binary world in other words.More recently we…
Mar 4, 2022
Miscalculations
All through history major leaders have made serious miscalculations. It is easy to do. Give a leader a few successes and people around him will be…
Mar 4, 2022
Confused?
Dear Fox commentators. I am confused. The US Government does not own any oil company and oil companies are totally in the private sector. No US…
Mar 4, 2022
Politics
Its very easy to criticize if you don't have to be responsible for what happens. Its easy to criticize for what should have happened if you dont know…
Mar 4, 2022
Nuclear solution to Ukraine
My son Miles IV came up with an interesting scenario to solve the Ukraine war. It goes something like this: Letter to Putin and the Russian Military…
Mar 3, 2022
Putin's speech
Earlier today Putin made another speech on Russian state media. Just like the last speech we heard his words and watched him saying them. According…