Earlier this week, the C.I.A. concluded that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on the direct orders of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. In response, President Trump issued this ultimatum to the Kingdom: “We know this came from you. And so you’re not getting a free pass. For...Read More
Weighing the Relative Risks of Action, Inaction Oddly, one of the best arguments I’ve ever heard for The Precautionary Principle — in Tom Friedman’s NYT column yesterday, titled “Trump’s Folly” — never once mentions the term. No matter. Here’s the idea: when considering a response to a looming threat, ask which way the risk(s) cut: ...Read More
$3 Gas (or Below) in the Twin Cities “The U.S. is funding both sides of the war on terrorism.” –Thomas Friedman, The NYT “Vuja de“: the distinct sense that somehow, something that just happened has never happened before. –George Carlin I saw it first at the St. Louis Park Costco Monday afternoon when I filled...Read More
“Exotic” Minnesota “I was debating whether to go to the Turkish-Syrian border this week or to visit my old high school in Minnesota. I decided to make the exotic foreign trip and go to Minnesota.” –Tom Friedman, “Minnesota Mirror“; The New York Times (10/31/2012) You may not agree with everything New York Times columnist (and...Read More
Imitation is (Still) the Sincerest Form of Flattery Nice pep talk from Thomas L. Friedman in his column today: Everything the Russians should want from us ” the true source of our strength ” doesn’t require a sleeper cell to penetrate. All it requires is a tourist guide to Washington, D.C., which you can buy...Read More
Best Tom Friedman piece I’ve read in awhile in today’s Sunday NY Times.I liked everything but the title, “The Fat Lady Has Sung.” My alternative: ‘Nation Building in America.’Read More
