Is killing a fly sufficient to scare dictators into submission?
Obama’s Fly Move By MAUREEN DOWD, NY TIMES
The White House has two kinds of aides: The ones who prefer to think of their boss as gifted but human, and the ones who think their boss is on a date night with destiny.
The first group thinks that when things go really well for President Obama that [Read More]
1978: Letter from Iran
Letter From Iran published in December 1978, right before the fall of the Shah. In the article, just posted on The New Yorker’s Web site, Joseph Kraft writes about an interview with the Shah:
He looked pale, spoke in subdued tones, and seemed dwarfed by the vast expanse of the room, with its huge, ornate chandeliers 
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[Read More] “The most surreal day of my life”
The case of Rod Blagojevich reveals that I have limited understanding of the human psyche. This guy is unbef*kinglievable! Read this story by the Associated Press that just came over the wire.
Blago guest stars in ‘Rod Blagojevich Superstar’. By RUPA SHENOY. CHICAGO – Standing on a chair with his arms raised as if 
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[Read More] Obama orders Hair Cut
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
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Lawrence of Arabia
Watching one of the great films in the history of the art form always fills me both with excitement and trepidation, particularly when the film was made a long time ago. Some films are timeless; others translate very poorly from the past into the present. Gone with the Wind bored the teenage me beyond belief 
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[Read More] Obama nominates a ”‘Kid From the Bronx’ With Hopes and Doubts”
Just like Obama’s own biography, the life of Sonia Sotomayor is an inspirational story. It will be interesting to see how the Republicans will treat her in the nomination hearing.
NEIL A. LEWIS (NY) reports: Sonia Sotomayor, who would be the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic justice, brings to the confirmation experience the kind of rich 
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[Read More] David Brooks dissects the Decline on the Republican Party
The only columnist who I follow every week is David Brooks. Maybe you should too.
The Long Voyage Home By DAVID BROOKS (NY Times)
Republicans generally like Westerns. They generally admire John Wayne-style heroes who are rugged, individualistic and brave. They like leaders—from Goldwater 
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[Read More] Hellhole: Is solitary confinement torture?
I knew that humans beings are social creatures and that we need others to reach our highest potential. But I had no idea that the brain completely disintegrates after longer periods of solitary confinement that is now practiced in many U.S. prisons. Read this fascinating story by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker. He happened 
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[Read More] Blood on the Water: Oxford Versus Cambridge.
This review in the Economist wetted my appetite. I will read this book during my summer holiday. The Economist: SIBLING rivalry has many famous examples. Cain and Abel, Linus and Lucy, Liam and Noel. Less well-known, but no less competitive, are David and James Livingston, two brothers who, in April 2003, raced on opposite sides 
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