Newfoundland calls again
I'll be gone, and won't be here to witness what happens on St. Clair Avenue when Italy gets either its next win or crashes in the World Cup. It w
ill be TOTAL MAYHEM (check it out here) in either case. College Street and Ossington Avenue will run a close second regardless of how it goes for Brazil, based on local Portuguese loyalties. (Why does nobody ever rag on the Portuguese for the still-evident consequences of their fierce 16th-century colonialism? But I digress.)
I've been having an interesting exchange with various retired military dudes, one Colonel who edits the Marine Corps publication Leatherneck magazine, and one General who co-wrote Cobra II, a large and pointed history of the conduct of the Operation Iraqi Freedom. I've only just started the book, but began it with Victor Davis Hanson's review in hand (Refighting the War), which was critical enough that I wrote and suggested that Leatherneck re-visit the subject, since their review of Cobra II had been pretty brief and uncritical. (It's time to get nervous when you start sounding not unlike the New York Times.)
Well all sorts of considerations are now going back and forth about my letter and Hanson's viewpoint. All very fascinating, and, in view of the influence the book is likely to have in shaping public opinion, all very important too. Recommended reading for one and all if (as the old adage goes from the earliest days of the eco-freaks) you love this planet.
Cheers.
