Saturday, of course, with the Senate’s vote to overturn Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, was a great day in American history, and in the human progress toward a fully humane identity. We need to recall it, along with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, when we feel overwhelmed, as is often so, by the […]
The Discrete Charm of the Authoritarian
This video making the rounds is from Russia Today, which describes itself, at its You Tube video channel, as a 24/7 English-language news channel. We are set to show you how any story can be another story altogether. Broadcasting over six continents and 100 countries, our coverage focuses on international headlines, giving an innovative angle […]
Moles, False Flags, and Conspiracies
Image via Wikipedia Among the most famous stories of the Cold War era is that of James Angleton, the CIA’s long-serving head of counter-intelligence, who became convinced that the KGB had managed to place a mole at the top of the CIA hierarchy. Angleton’s search for the mole became significantly harmful to the CIA in […]
Assange Bound
Last week I wrote, “There is no more conspiratorial mind than the mind that perceives conspiracy, genuine or not.” Amid the rain of Wikileaks fallout, as Julian Assange, awaits now the determination of an appeal to his release on bail, comes this conspiratorial eruption (h/t Engage): Wikileaks and the conspiracy theory of history History is […]
Kissinger’s Moment
The monumentally overrated Henry Kissinger had many of them, but this one is the essential moment if we are to believe Martin Peretz. Newly released Nixon Library Tapes reveal this exchange between Kissinger and Nixon. “The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy,” Mr. Kissinger said. “And […]