(Map of Pakistan) Kushal Khan was on his way to become the Sultan of Swat this morning, the Pakistani government’s District Coordination Officer in the valley, but he didn’t make it. He was snatched- along with six bodyguards- by persons unknown before reaching his new office in the bustling little town of Mingora.   The […]

(Headline from Juarez) I got up and walked the Visiting Dog. He is a remarkable animal with all the personality in the world, and a young enough bladder that he let me sleep again after emptying mine. His Mistress, Sara 1, is in the Bahamas, soaking up sun and looking for investment bankers, who are […]

  (CAD View of the Taepodong Missile Stack)   Secretary of State Hillary Clinton- I said it out loud a few times to get used to the sound of it- will visit Indonesia today before heading on to the Republic of Korea, not to be confused with the Democratic Peoples Republic to the North, before […]

(Scales of justice and Fairness) The morning started with a meeting with the Ombudsman. It is a double Monday, since this Tuesday starts after the federal government had the day off to honor the dead Presidents and we were supposed to be in the office looking like we were working.   I hate it.   […]

(Iridium Orbital Scheme)   It a lovely chill Sunday. It is illuminated by the realization that nothing must happen this early in the morning, and tinged with the mild melancholia that the next time the alarm rings it will be Monday again. That is what makes the Sunday morning so sweet for those of us […]

(Noted Space Expert- a Master of Science)   There is so much going on these days that it is hard to focus on it. Airplanes are falling from the sky, we are mortgaging our grandchildren’s future and satellites are crashing into one another in the heavens.   Here on earth, things that seem to make […]

(Space Junk)   If I were a man with a penchant for a morning drink, I would have raised one to the souls onboard Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 operated by Colgan Airways, which fell from the sky while on final into Buffalo.   God rest the 49 people aboard. Their loss […]

  (egg salad) One thing I have found is that a couple work-around-the-clock sessions really takes it out of me these days. Proposal season means planning endlessly, and writing so hard that the fingers bleed.   The fatigue that ensues means I am probably not ready for the post-attack phase of my survival plan.   […]

Anyway, that is why there is no polished story, no insightful snide comments about the press conference last night. No pseudo-profound remarks on the parallels between FDR and the young man from Illinois via Hawaii and  Djakarta. I thought he looked good, and his professorial demeanor is less irritating than the inarticulate grimacing of our former Chief. I expect […]

(1943 Photo of noted Economist and pick-pocket Secretary Henry Morgenthau)   Sunday morning- it is going to be in the low sixties today, soft on the skin after the bitter cold last week. Washington blows hot and cold, or better said, it just blows.    The dog extended his reservation in Tunnel Eight, and is […]