A moving/falling object

The front page of the Ha’aretz website Saturday provides a perhaps unfortunate summary of an article: “Hamas PM nominee to Washington Post: We don’t want Jews thrown in sea, deal would be in stages.” First, up to their knees...

George W. Bush: a moving/falling object.

Somehow, “object” gives him too much credit.

Shrub’s praise last week for General Masharaf – “I believe he’s committed to free and open elections.” – reminded me of his father’s 1981 toast to Ferdinand Marcos, “We love you, sir, we love your adherence to democratic principles.” When Marcos was ousted 20 years ago, I made my first and last call to a talk radio program to remind the listeners of that quote. After an hour on hold, I was put on the air for 10 seconds before they broke for news.

Saddam Hussein has called off his alleged hunger strike for “health reasons.” Evidently no one told him that not eating was unhealthy.

Robert Fisk quotes Condi Rice denouncing Iran because its policies “contradict the nature of the kind of Middle East sought by the United States”. Why how dare they!

Fisk also quotes Churchill, writing to Lloyd George in 1922 about dealing with Iraqi insurgency: “At present we are paying eight millions a year for the privilege of living on an ungrateful volcano out of which we are in no circumstances to get anything worth having.”

Antonin Scalia is nostalgic for the days he used to carry ride the subway in New York carrying a rifle.