Well, well, well, Francis Fukuyama is sorry. Professor Fukuyama had thrown his lot in the neo-cons in the lead up to the Iraq War. Now 3 years later, he is admitting that he, and they, were wrong. “By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at,” Fukuyama now admits.

Unlike Ken (“It’ll be a cakewalk”) Adelman or Richard (“They’ll greet us with flowers”) Perle, Francis Fukuyama has finally given up the neo-con dream of world domination. (more…)

Where does love go? How do you know when it’s gone? Since we’ve just been through the ritual of Valentine’s Day, it seems an appropriate time to ask that question. I, of course, have a theory. Of course I do.

I think all you have to do is look at how that person sees you. How can you tell that? Well, dig out those old photos. Here’s my theory: you can tell how a person feels about by how they photograph you. Trust me in this one. I’m a professional and I have a lifetime of experience.

Now, the picture here should have given the woman pause. She was on her honeymoon and her new husband took the photo. Now what was his focus? Yeah, it was that huge pipe; she’s a secondary player at best. It does not bode well. Of course, I have the advantage here. I know that less than 10 years later these two would divorce with such acrimony that they would never speak again.

So, dig out those photos. If you’re a little blip in his/her viewfinder, if he/she always seems to get you at a bad angle; then you’re in trouble, my friend.

The picture was taken at Boulder Dam in 1937.

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

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Old photos are the worst kind of memory recall: they won’t let you lie. There it is in black and white or, more likely, in shades of grey. Inevitably, one must the face the reality that the photo presents.

This photo is of a woman who was a friend. Her name is Carol. She had been dating a friend of mine, John. She and I rented a flat on a street that no longer exists. (more…)