Author Archives: stephenkmacksd

The first paragraph of his essay is cinematic in its sweep of images, and evocation of emotions: The bookends of our two-decade entanglement in Afghanistan are two men falling from the sky. The first, on September 11, 2001, happened in … Continue reading →

While reading Katrina Manson essay I was thinking: where are the Neo-Cons who advocated and ‘sold’ the war in Afghanistan, to the American Public, as politically, morally necessary? Recall David Brooks’ ‘The Collapse of The Dream Palaces’ dreck?David Brooks of July 18 … Continue reading →

Mr. Long’s unsurprisingly inauspicious opening paragraph, in regards to Pedro Francke: Pedro Francke has been called many things in recent weeks: a moderate in a radical leftwing government, a Marxist who will wreck Peru’s standout free-market economy and a turncoat … Continue reading →

A selective list of the actors, players in this Financial Times political melodrama: Alexander Tocas leftist president Pedro Castillo Alfredo Thorne, a former finance minister The stock market slumped nearly 6 per cent. a hardline leftist, Guido Bellido Free Peru, … Continue reading →

Here is the opening paragraph from Francis Mulhern’s review of Ferdinand Mount’s ‘English Voices: Lives, Landscapes, Laments’ : ‘By the time Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister’, Ferdinand Mount has reported, he ‘had long ago abandoned any thought of a political career … Continue reading →

Mr. Ganesh’s utter lack of knowledge, of the history of Joe Biden, enables his extemporaneous – free imaginative variation- riff on his political career re-imagined? Joe is and was a stunning political mediocrity! Who is not a pol ‘who anchored … Continue reading →

From May 4, 2021 by Michael McCaul and Ryan C. Crocker Headline: Here’s What Biden Must Do Before We Leave Afghanistan Last month, President Biden announced a complete withdrawal of all United States troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of … Continue reading →

Colin Burrow’s essay on Empson’s ‘Some Versions of the Pastoral’ and ‘The Structures of Complex Words’ was unexpected in its lack of reverence for Empson. Having read Michael Wood’s ‘On Empson’ as my introduction to this writer: this led me … Continue reading →

Headline: Marxist congressman named as Peru’s prime minister Sub-headline: Pedro Castillo alienates moderate allies by picking hardliner Guido Bellido The reader need only look at who the Financial Times reporter quotes : “Bellido is a disastrous appointment,” said Rodolfo Rojas, … Continue reading →

Headline: Capitalists can play a vital part in saving US democracy Sub-headline: Asset owners such as pension funds and university endowments must speak out against voter suppression The reader can hardly be surprised by The Financial Times publishing Katherine Venice … Continue reading →