Shelly Silver, the speaker of the Assembly, was in our town last week to help announce a new Yahoo! facility in Niagara County and dissect the mess his Senate colleagues have caused in the Capitol. (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
WASHINGTON — Israel’s new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, seemed perplexed during his visit to Washington last month: At a time when America and Israel agreed on all the big issues—from Iran and North Korea to Afghanistan and Pakistan— how could the little issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank get in the way? (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
I always love it when politicians start talking about “the American people” believing this or that, as if we all do and they know it. Years ago, we nicknamed my friend Francie’s mother “The Nation” because she was so fond of speaking for it. Truth is, Americans do agree on a lot of fundamentals. But because we do, nobody asks about those. “The American people” generally means that at least 40 percent of the people disagree with you. (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
NIZHNY PANJ, Tajikistan —In August 2007, the presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan walked side by side with the U. S. commerce secretary across a new $37 million concrete bridge that the Army Corps of Engineers designed to link two of Central Asia’s poorest countries. (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
As a young kid, I read lots of books and saw many movies about war. The heroism, music and victories became my idealized image of combat as a crucible to certain manhood. Sadly, my war experience was much different. (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
The plight of Guantanamo detainees grows only more distressing. President Obama’s encouraging quick promise to close Gitmo has given way to the threat — particularly shocking from a constitutional law professor — of “prolonged detention.” (Updated: 07/05/09 7:22 AM )
