So here it begins: this site is here because I am too opinionated and too willing to contradict the beliefs of others, no matter what side of the socio-political spectrum they inhabit. Am I conservative or liberal? Yes and no. I was once one but became disenchanted; I tried the other but found it repugnant. I feel that monarchy has its good points, but so did communism. I believe in internationalism, the benefits of TRUE free trade and TRUE federalism. I believe that one person's slippery slope is another's slippery up hill battle, and that the slippery slope is the last refuge of the person without a valid argument (it can be used to destroy all beliefs, as the skeptics discovered in the 17th century.) I believe in balance, justice, and heroism (as in the Hebrew judges, King David, the plebs of Rome, the men who resisted Roman empire in Tacitus, Egil and Thord the Menacing in the Icelandic Sagas, Maimonides, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson.) I don't believe in George Bush jr.: if he were really a man of action, he would shut up, act, and accept the consequences. The greatest president of the USA was named Roosevelt, as was the second greatest. The richest part of American culture has been that which has been produced in reaction to the mainstream. Finally, I believe that most people don't understand the men and policies that they support.

I'll post something more substantive soon. I try to read the following papers five times each week: NY Times, Le Monde, Times of London, Sueddeutsche Zeitung. I also read Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, International Crisis Group, ReliefWeb, and the Tanach as often as possible.

Current music: Kid Ory
Current reading: Njal's Saga (just finished Le Non de Klara by Soazig Aaron.)