Intelligence and Security

Browsing All Posts filed under »Intelligence and Security«

Venezuela, Little Venice

May 25, 2019

Little Venice That’s the origins of Venezuela’s name, “Little Venice.” And here’s your quick quiz of the week, right up front. Who is the most famous man in Venezuela or her history? A. Nicolas Maduro, B. Hugo Chávez, C. Simón Bolívar, D. Fidel Castro. Venezuela is in the news this week. Actually Venezuela has been […]

Hypocrisy, Not Just Another Word

January 8, 2017

I am constantly astonished, even at my age, at the “holier than thou” attitudes of many Americans when it comes to something like the alleged Russian hacking and manipulation of the American elections. We stand back in a saintly state of innocence and not only cast the first stone, but also most of the rest […]

What Did He Know, and When Did He Know It?

October 11, 2015

In 1944 the Nazis in Germany were busy exterminating the Jewish race. The problem with finishing their agenda of getting rid of the world’s Jews was two-fold: one, not all the Jews were under their boots in Europe; and, two, they were losing the Second World War as the armies of the Soviet Union crunched […]

The Era of Arab Oil Has Ended, or How the View Makes a Difference

January 25, 2015

A piece of news popped into my inbox late in January and caught my eye. The “Era of Arab Oil Has Ended!” it shouted. The headline issued from an Israeli news blog called Ynetnews. As I explored Ynetnews I remembered another ingredient in the stew of that we call the world: much of what happens […]

Russian Hypocrisy

March 4, 2014

By now every self-respecting political pundit, columnist, television talking head, and member of Congress has had her say on Russia, Crimea, Ukraine and the ugly face of Russian imperialism. It’s nice to see the Russians hung out for a change since we Americans get insulted and accused regularly by our critics and opponents all over […]

Overthrowing Governments

September 3, 2013

Recently some papers from the CIA were released providing details on the overthrow of a communist-leaning prime minister in Iran in 1953 in favor the friendlier Shah. The Shah was himself overthrown in 1979. Governing can be a dangerous profession. For old Iran-watchers, the new papers on the 1953 coup were not news, just another […]

Intelligence

April 8, 2012

1. a (1) : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : reason; also : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests). That’s Webster’s first definition. But if […]