Two Cheers for Putin

The late, great President Nixon once told me that the West was acting unfairly towards the Russian Bear. Instead of helping a prostrate Russia, we cheered while the Russkies suffered defeat and humiliation. Now the chickens have come home to roost, and Russia is bent upon the recovery of her ...

Goodbye, Britain

On a beautiful, crisp Saturday morning on the first of the month I flew from Gstaad to the chateau de Dampierre, the duc de Luyne’s seat southwest of Paris. My old friend Jean Claude Sauer was getting hitched for the fifth time, to a wonderful girl by the name of Brigitte—incidentally, ...

The U.S.-Israeli Draft

The most recent proposal from the Project for a New American Century has certainly struck a nerve among Americans—although that shouldn’t make us think it won’t sail through successfully, like the invasion of Iraq. In a recent press release, PNAC called on the U.S. government to institute the ...

Diana Deserves Better

The night Diana died I was dining with Jeremy Menuhin, son of the great violinist, and my close friend Oliver Gilmour, a symphony orchestra conductor.  This was in Gstaad, and we got into an argument over Diana’s behavior. “The mother of the future King of England cannot be seen ...

Greek Fire

The Greek fires which are ravaging the country may be a tragedy, but it’s a tragedy fuelled by greed. Once upon a time, Athens was the most romantic city of Europe.  Laid out and built by Bavarians—the first post-independence King was Otto of Bavaria—it was a marvel of wide ...

Gottfried’s Latest Gem

Here’s a bagatelle, a French word denoting something unimportant, however cute. It has to do with Paul Gottfried. History has repeatedly proved that the nobility has always been better fitted for the business of ruling. Paul, mind you, is noble in his mind and behavior, which as far as ...

Boycott Truman’s Grave

Sixty two years on, American and European commentators continue to blather on about the unwillingness of Japanese prime ministers to apologize about World War II. The Yasukuni shrine, where Japan’s 2.5 million dead soldiers are buried, has the same effect on our all-knowing ones as a man ...

Panic Among the Ponzis

Bankers should act like bankers, and not kebab salesmen. The latter try and sell to anyone within hearing distance. In the good old days, bankers lent money to those who could repay. When greed set in during the go-go days, they started lending to people unlikely to repay them. But there was a ...

Taki’s Mideast Peace Plan

Here, at last, is the Taki plan to save George W. Bush's presidency from the disaster it has been turned into by his neocon advisers. What W needs is a great big fat win which will overshadow Iraq, hog the headlines, and catapult him in the polls. The operative word is Palestine. His latest call ...

Neoconservatism: A Cancer on the Presidency

Poor President Bush. Hippias tried to betray Athens to Darius, but we Athenians took care of his plans in time. Bush failed to see the cancer on his presidency -- a severe case of hubris whose worst symptom is Iraq, a disease brought on by the Iagos with whom Bush surrounded himself. Hubris is an ...