Month: June 2017

White Phosphorous In Syria

It’s been reported by such prestigious journals as the Washington Post and the New York Times, and Amnesty International has released a potential war crimes alert:  The headlines say the United States is attacking civilians in Syria with incendiary rounds, something that’s been banned by the Geneva Convention — and for good reason.

The world reacts in horror, some in righteous indignation, others with a sort of resigned acceptance, knowing in advance just how horrible America is.

And yet, this seems like an uncharacteristically foolhardy action for the United States (more…)

Syria: It’s Time To Worry

The Syrian Civil War has been characterized by the United Nations as the “great humanitarian crisis of our age”.  A nation of twenty million, Syria has lost twenty percent of its population, most of whom have fled as international refugees.  On the other hand, over a hundred thousand foreign militants have gone there to fight, and the armed forces of a dozen nations have deployed in what has become one of the biggest proxy wars in all of history.

And it’s nearly over. (more…)

Comment, To Copy And Paste

Those who read my articles surely know by now I tilt at windmills on the Internet.  Most people in my circle of acquaintance see the inhumanity and incivility and they just accept it; they say, “What do you expect?  It’s the Internet.”  And they let it go.

I could, I suppose, but I’ve long believed that we all have a duty to improve the world around us if we can; that an accumulation of small good deeds and kindnesses is the only bulwark we can raise against that genuine evil (more…)

Reality Check

It’s getting so I hate to turn on the news.  I physically cringe.  Bear with me here.

Here’s a quick recap:  There was a shooting yesterday, a man I think can best be described as a domestic terrorist plinking away at a Congressional charity baseball team at practice.  There was a horrific fire at a London apartment highrise where, apparently, the sprinklers malfunctioned and dozens of people were killed.  (It’s been called “corporate manslaughter”.)  Congress approved a multibillion dollar arms sale to Qatar, a nation presently (more…)

Sessions Testifies, Says Even Less

Congress hasn’t been this popular since Iran-Contra.

I don’t mean ‘popular’ as in ‘people approve of it’; even the best Congresses rank slightly below pit scorpions on the trustworthiness index.  But it’s been the highest-rated show on daytime television, and that’s pretty impressive for a hidebound government institution.

The most recent episode was the televised (more…)

Comey Testifies Again; Still Says Nothing

On March 20th, I wrote an article about Director Comey’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.  The headline was, “Comey Testifies, Says Nothing”.  Today, he testified as a private citizen before the Senate, and the story is the same.  Once again, James Comey said nothing, and he said it well. (more…)

Heroin Is Treason

We send our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Manchester concert bombing, and rightly so.  Thousands have given direct material help, including a hegira of free cab rides and housing for displaced concert attendees.  Ariana Grande, who we’d mainly thought of as a typical self-absorbed pop star, had a big charity concert to benefit the victims and in consequence is now generally acknowledged to be “probably human“.

Manchester was one of the first of the big bangs preceding this year’s Ramadan attacks.  Thus far (more…)