Author Archives: Tony

Bush, Baker and Iraq: Why the Patient Can Not Be Saved

Discussing the report of his bipartisan Iraq Study Group with the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, former Secretary of State and Bush-pere fixer James Baker must have already sensed the inevitability that nothing will come of his efforts to … Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report | 30 Comments

And Bush May Ask Himself, How Do I Work This?

In lieu of scripture, the reading today comes from Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime”: And you may ask yourself What is that beautiful house? And you may ask yourself Where does that highway go? And you may ask yourself … Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report | 11 Comments

In Nuevo Jork, Jew Doesn’t Always Mean Jew

Long live Juan Epstein, sitcom land’s archetypal Jewish Latino! “Shut up! Shut up!” The petulant and rather camp fellow with the long hair (whose tone suggested to me that he may be an off-duty drag queen) and whose superior attitude … Continue reading

Posted in A Wondering Jew, New York Moments | 10 Comments

A New U.S. Option in Iraq: Panic!

Things really are coming apart so quickly in Iraq that some blogging appears to be in order. No sooner had we noted that Washington’s Arab allies are pushing it hard to remain engaged and protect the Sunnis then the Washington … Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report | 14 Comments

Saudis Threaten to Back the Baathists (Again) in a New Iraq Proxy War

Never mind the report of James Baker’s Iraq Study Group, whose primary purpose appears to be achieving national unity in Washington, and whose broad recommendations for a slow drawdown of American troops and a new focus on regional diplomacy may … Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report | 33 Comments

Combat Rations

Lunch with the French Special Forces Okay, at the prompting of Hungry Pat, another cuisine posting. Quick quiz Which army would you be in if your Meal Ready to Eat pack contained the following: Potted Meat of Mackerel Stewed Beef … Continue reading

Posted in Cuisine | 22 Comments

Marx, Fukuyama and the Planet

Getting a little hot around here, eh Friedrich? It gives me great pleasure to welcome guest columnist Gavin Evans to Rootless Cosmopolitan, with a thoughtful offering on global warming and what it says and does to our received notions of … Continue reading

Posted in Annals of Globalization, Featured Analysis, Guest Columns | 14 Comments

Marx and Fukuyama Were Wrong: It’s the Environment, Stupid!

Getting a little hot around here, eh Friedrich? It gives me great pleasure to welcome guest columnist Gavin Evans to Rootless Cosmopolitan, with a thoughtful offering on global warming and what it says and does to our received notions of … Continue reading

Posted in Annals of Globalization | 3 Comments

Borat’s Not Funny

Most of the discussion about Borat and anti-Semitism misses the point. The ADL wonders if he’s not playing a dangerous game since “not everyone will get the joke.” But they may be missing the point: The prejudice that Borat is … Continue reading

Posted in A Wondering Jew | 53 Comments

From the Feverish Dolt Who Discovered ‘The Axis of Evil’

You gotta love the neocons for their persistence: David Frum, as a speechwriter for President Bush, came up with the term “Axis of Evil.” The idea that Iran and Iraq were somehow in alliance was laughable to anyone who knew … Continue reading

Posted in 99c Blogging | 8 Comments