Peter Murmann

Here is another good account of the drama behind the debt showdown by the Washington Post. In mid-January, newly installed as the GOP House majority leader, Virginia’s Eric Cantor rose to the podium inside a spacious hotel ballroom to deliver a message to his troops, including the 87 newcomers who had given the party control of [Read More]

Poem by Jack Prelutsky Be glad your nose is on your face, not pasted on some other place, for if it were where it is not, you might dislike your nose a lot. Imagine if your precious nose were sandwiched in between your toes, that clearly would not be a treat, for you’d be forced to smell your feet. Your nose would be a [Read More]

It was the Guardian and not the British Police that kept on investigating who knew about or had authorized the bugging of phones.  The scandal already has claimed for prominent players. And now the press is turning on Rupert Murdoch has being too old to run his empire. Will he be able to survive.  JEANNE [Read More]

I have been struck by how badly I am able to predict who among my family and friends would stay married and who would get divorced. The couple who had the best marriage ended up having the most acrimonious divorce. Here is an article in the NY Magazine that does a great job laying out [Read More]

When I first heard the news about Dominque Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, I thought there was a slim chance that he is innocent. After reading what people who know him well say about his relationship to women, DSK is likely to spend a lot of time in a room far less plush than the Soffitel in Manhattan. Update [Read More]

The outgoing secretary of defense gives a blunt analysis of how little Europe contributes to world security. Gates: NATO alliance future could be ‘dim, dismal’  By ROBERT BURNS and DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press BRUSSELS:  In a stern rebuke, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Friday that the future of the historic NATO military alliance is at risk [Read More]