World

I’m not quite sure why Marty Peretz seems so invested in the idea that many New Republic readers believe, as he puts it, “that the notion of an Al Qaeda threat to the West is a hokey fantasy of the Bushies”. Perhaps Mr Peretz’s blog has a cadre of leftist readers who rarely crop up at TNR’s other blogs or on the magazine’s letters page. Anyway, Peretz then says that everyone should pay attention to what the head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, had to say recently. If you don’t believe me, Marty says, perhaps you’ll believe him: The Post quotes Evans: “Terrorist attacks we have seen against the U.K. are 

Well, not always. From the New York Times, September 29th 1994, less than a month after the declaration of a (temporary as it proved) IRA ceasefire: Artfully casting off his old role as official outcast, Gerry Adams, the political spokesman for the Irish Republican Army, beamed from the steps of City Hall yesterday as New York politicians vied to be at his side and hail him as honored guest and newborn statesman… …A relatively small lunch-hour crowd of a few hundred cheered him, but the domestic political value of Mr. Adams’s official turnabout was demonstrated by the throng of local politicians who crowded about Mr. Adams. They pressed him to

Here’s an internet ad from John Edwards campaign. It’s not pretty for Hillary. (And you gotta love that sly reference to it all depending upon what the meaning of “is” is) I still think that she actually performed better than Obama at the Drexel debate this week, but the media has decided that she came off worst.Well, whatever. Edwards is doing his best to do Obama’s work for him. This ad has the considerable advantage of being, well, true: Hillary will trim her sails to get the best from the prevailing wind, while being prepared at all times to tack if the breeze shifts. And yet, let’s say this for

If you happen to be in New York City this evening and feeling in the need to get your protest on, might I suggest you join Jewcy’s Michael Weiss et al and cause merry havoc outside the Anti-Defamation League’s HQ:: The ADL National Meeting is in town from Nov. 1st though Nov. 3rdJoin the good folks at Jewcy and No Place for Denial for a hastily organized, totally spontaneous demonstration in front of ADL Headquarters on Thursday, November 1 @ 7 p.m.: 605 3rd Avenue New York, NY Youthful representatives of two ancient peoples will hit the pavement in front of the ADL offices to demand that the ADL come

So the first question in tonight’s Democratic debate at Drexel University goes to Barack Obama who is asked – as he must have known he would be – to outline the differences between himself and Clinton. And his response? Meh. He flubs it, delivering a nervous-sounding, meandering, indecisive, confused answer that goes precisely nowhere and gives no indication that he’s really wanting to take a shot at Clinton. Quite a let-down and, surely, dispiriting to his supporters. Talking about taking a more aggressive approach and then declining to do so when given the opportunity is not the way to win an election. Does he actually want to win? Because his

Lots of talk about taxis in Washington DC and, more particularly the Mayor’s announcement that DC will switch to a meter system, abandoning the current fare tariff which is based upon a zone system that seems, frankly, arbitrary* in the extreme and unlike any other system I’ve encountered in any developed city anywhere in the world. The prevailing view is that switching to meters is good news – especially for tourists who may be less likely to be ripped off by cabbies claiming they’ve crossed three zones rather than two etc etc. Too bad for tourists if you ask me; voters get ripped off in Washington all the time and,