Category Archives: In the World
Iran, Israel and The Treaty: Wisdom of Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery remains a voice of reason and wisdom in the cacophony of arguments following the announcement of the agreement to limit and monitor Iran’s nuclear activities. His informed (by history), erudite but straightforward comment is the most valuable I … Continue reading
William Polk’s “A Fable for Our Times”
Inspired by Cervantes, William Polk has written a trenchant and appropriate description of our contemporary Don Quixotes and Sancho Panzas. Read, laugh, and then weep. A Fable for Our Times It was over half a century ago that I first … Continue reading
Cold War II??? Notes for a Presentation
I was invited to speak at the Eighth European-Russian Forum tomorrow in Brussels. Because of a bureaucratic glitch, I am unable to attend. But I append below the notes from which I intended to speak. My description of the false … Continue reading
The Terrorist Threat: President Obama’s Response
I was as thrilled as anyone to see the reports of the missile strikes on ISIS and other terrorist sites in Syria and I felt that President Obama made a stirring speech at the United Nations regarding the terrorist problem. … Continue reading
Ukraine: Cool the Rhetoric; Focus on the Outcome
In his interview with Thomas Friedman published on August 9, President Obama gave a convincing explanation of why the United States could not create an effective government in Iraq: “We cannot do for them what they are unwilling to do … Continue reading
Stupid Stuff: Hillary Clinton on Syria
Former Secretary of State Clinton remarked in her interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic that President Obama’s admonition not to do stupid stuff “is not an organizing principle.” Quite true. But then, the opinion she expressed regarding Obama’s early … Continue reading
Pfaff on European Parliament Elections
The elections to the European Parliament have produce a flow of articles stressing the rise of “extreme right” or “neo-fascist” parties. An important article today by William Pfaff puts that in perspective. The rise of opposition to the bureaucrats in … Continue reading
Viktor Hryhorov’s Painting “Independence Day”
As Ukraine approaches a fateful election next Sunday, I have been drawn to contemplate one of the most moving and thoughtful paintings in our collection. The painting pictured above is by Viktor Hryhorov (Grigorov–Григоров). Rebecca and I purchased it from … Continue reading
USSR 1987-91: An Empire Self-Destructs
There seems to be a prevailing opinion in Russia and elsewhere that the Soviet Union broke up under the pressures of the Cold War. Wrong! The Cold War ended before the USSR fell apart. There also seems to be a … Continue reading
Johanna Granville on Poker with Putin
Dr. Johanna Granville, a professor at the American University of Bulgaria, who has conducted extensive research in Ukraine, has written a thoughtful policy paper (“The Folly of Playing High-Stakes Poker with Putin”) that identifies some of the dangers that can … Continue reading