Nicholas Spiderman

 

"Dateline: Greeneland": The Politics of the Intelligence Thriller

We feel we know this world because it has been described for us not only in histories of the period but also, more atmospherically, in the thrillers of Eric Ambler (A Coffin for Dimitrios, Journey Into Fear), the “entertainments” of Graham Greene (Orient Express, This Gun for Hire), and films like Casablanca and Arch of Triumph. It is a world of secret policemen and spies, frontier incidents and concentration camps, refugees and collaborators, honest journalists and corrupt newspapers. It is outwardly civilized—it boasts piped water, fast cars, and the radio—but there are Vandals and Visigoths under the smart suits and Balenciaga dresses.

Read the rest of John O'Sullivan, writing in the Winter 2006 issue of The New Criterion.

College Rankings

 Still another source: City Journal.

Happy Mother's Day!

 

[Photo by Brooke Lark at Unsplash]

True

 A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a brief.

- Anonymous

First Paragraph

 My name is Bruce Medway. I live in Cotonou, Benin, West Africa, along that stretch of coast they used to call the White Man's Grave because it was hot, humid, and full of malaria. It still is, but we don't die so easily now. Air conditioning and quinine have made us smell better and more difficult to wipe out.

- From Instruments of Darkness by Robert Wilson

Gerrymandering

 Jonathan Turley on the decision of the Virginia Supreme Court.

Yes

 

Great Moments in Architecture

 

The Obama Presidential Center Building Lapel Pin.

Commencement Wishes

 I will conclude my remarks by wishing all of you graduates, no matter what career path you choose, the best of luck with your job searches, bearing in mind that the final fulltime Applebee’s post has just been filled by an MBA from Stanford.

- Dave Barry