It is Easter, the celebration of the Risen Christ superimposed on the old pagan holiday of rebirth. It is early this year, apparently a function of the lunar cycle that has nothing to do with the rules or laws of mankind. It will take another day or so to vanquish the jet lag, and I […]

The above cartoon by Peter Steiner has been reproduced from page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20) only for academic discussion, evaluation, research and complies with the copyright law of the United States as defined and stipulated under Title 17 U. S. Code. This is going to […]

The above cartoon by Peter Steiner has been reproduced from page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20) only for academic discussion, evaluation, research and complies with the copyright law of the United States as defined and stipulated under Title 17 U. S. Code. This is going to […]

The Leningrad Cowboys It is Good Friday, and it is damned good to be home again, though I will never get over the quality of the air in San Diego, and the way the light illuminates the hills and makes the world seem pristine and new.   The campaign is headed in the direction I […]

It almost started yesterday. We have all been waiting for it, watching the 401k retirement plans lose ten percent of their value since the first of the year. Waiting for the run on the bank, just like the people who besieged Jimmy Stuart in ”It’s a Wonderful Life. It wasn’t a savings and loan, of […]

Vitaly V. Fedorchuk, Ukraine, circa 1980 It is easy to get swept away with things of the moment. The peccadilloes of the powerful and the machinations of the state security apparatus have preoccupied me of late. Not that the Spooks are out to get me; far from it. I am still useful to them. But […]

Vitaly V. Fedorchuk, Ukraine, circa 1980 It is easy to get swept away with things of the moment. The peccadilloes of the powerful and the machinations of the state security apparatus have preoccupied me of late. Not that the Spooks are out to get me; far from it. I am still useful to them. But […]

I read that Ms. Kristen Dupré, 22, was worried about how she would pay her rent since the man she was living with had walked out on her. She said it was because she had discovered he had fathered two children, and that must have sparked some sort of discussion.    I am not sure […]

I read that Ms. Kristen Dupré, 22, was worried about how she would pay her rent since the man she was living with had walked out on her. She said it was because she had discovered he had fathered two children, and that must have sparked some sort of discussion.    I am not sure […]

Getting information out of prisoners is a thorny ethical proposition. Maybe I should rephrase that. Getting accurate information is hard, and one should avoid situational ethics as a matter of principle. The Police are always at the edge of it, much more so than the military or the Spooks. They have always had their ways […]