Vic Socotra – Page 275

November 16, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Drinking with a Duval Street Satan

Author’s note: This year’s edition of Key West’s infamous Fantasy Fest, a 10 day long party, passed while W and I were on the left coast. These are the sole coherent phrases that recall a distant foggy memory of one such Fantasy Fest night. I was at the Green Parrot late one October Saturday night, […]

November 16, 2017 Vic Socotra

Postcard from the Swamp #23

A Slight Break Our seventy-year-old president completed his 12-day tour of Asia as we slept, Mr. Trump hurtling east on Air Force One from the Philippine Islands, as they were quaintly called back in the day. I am not sure I could do it, and he has a couple years on me, but Joe Biden […]

November 14, 2017 Vic Socotra

Arrias on Politics: A Coming Collision?

Saudi Arabia’s heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), sent an interesting signal last week: in a startling – but not unprecedented – action, MBS arrested 18 rich, powerful Saudis. Of course, this kind of activity isn’t unprecedented, kings and other absolute or near absolute rulers have been purging their courts for […]

November 13, 2017 Vic Socotra

Growing Like Topsy

(On the rim of Makalapa Crater at Pearl Harbor, this semi-permanent wooden structure was built in 1943 to house the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Areas (JICPOA), where intelligence was collected, evaluated, and disseminated throughout World War II.) “The joint intelligence center is responsible for providing and producing the intelligence required to support the joint […]

November 11, 2017 Vic Socotra

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

We were at Willow, like duh, and the folks up and down the bar from the Amen Corner were a shifting lot, but the core group was mostly there. Left Coast Guy was talking to Old Jim. The Lovely Bea was snapping pictures, and Jon-no-H was standing in fashionable dishabille, his bow tie elegant but […]

November 11, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Red Poppy Day

Editor’s Note: It is almost the 99th anniversary of the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month , when the guns fell silent. For a while, anyway. We no longer celebrate Armistice Day, but instead, recognize those who have served as Veterans. But Marlow is right. Time to go by the American […]

November 11, 2017 Vic Socotra

Collateral Duty

Editor’s Note: Some moments at Willow pop up in memory. This one seemed appropriate to run today, the day before the real Veteran’s Day, but which we observe today so that much of the Federal Bureaucracy gets a three day weekend. – Vic (Mac, Left Coast Guy and Vic at Willow). Spring was lurking out […]

November 11, 2017 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Twitter, Graffiti and Draft Rules for Modern Media Political Discourse

Editor’s Note: as part of a related research project, a colleague and I are looking at how the Millennial generation exchanges information and knowledge, and what their views are regarding things like security. The devices and social media appear to be actually changing our brains. Happy Veteran’s Day, the one the Government takes off from […]

November 9, 2017 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard #22

The New Normal? Good heavens. I had just shuffled out of my office on Sunday to catch a few minutes of football, once I was confident that any political statements had occurred. Instead, I was treated to the unfolding story of yet another brutal massacre of the innocent 26 parishioners- men, women and children- at […]

November 8, 2017 Vic Socotra

Japan-gazer Special — What Are The Real Undercurrents In Japanese Politics?

Editor’s Note: Japan-Gazer provides this particularly relevant analysis, since the President is on a whirlwind trip that passed through Japan and the Republic of Korea before arriving in Beijing. With the continuing crisis with North Korea, the alignment of Japanese domestic politics is a great aid in understanding our biggest regional ally. -Vic What Are […]

Author: Vic Socotra