Ron Paul asks: Can New Syria Ceasefire Hold?

The "new" ceasefire in Syria seems a lot like the one from earlier this year. This time, according to John Kerry, the Syrian government has to ask permission from the US before it bombs rebels in the country. In exchange the US has agreed (or not, depending on which...

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Forever War: A Peculiar Form of American Zen

As a teenager, I read Joe Haldeman’s book, The Forever War. The title intrigued, as did the interstellar setting. Haldeman’s soldiers are caught up in a conflict whose rules keep changing, in part due to time dilation as predicted by Einstein’s...

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Peter Van Buren Says Happy 9/11 Day!

Happy 9/11 Day, our fifteenth anniversary together. If it was a child, she’d be almost ready to drive. They do grow up so fast, don’t they?We’re instituted full background checks, body scanners and cavity searches at my home for all guests and pets (can’t be too...

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William Astore asks: What Did 9/11 Inaugurate?

On this 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, we should ask ourselves what those attacks inaugurated. In a word, calamity. The wildly successful actions of Al Qaeda, combined with the wild overreactions of the Bush/Cheney administration, marked the 21st...

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