This afternoon, I had a consultation with Dr. Runkkari Paskanaama, Special Attaché for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Finland here in Washington. He brought a bottle of Lakka, the Finnish Lapponia Cloudberry liqueur, which isn’t easy to find in DC. “From the embassy’s own stock,” he confided as he placed it on the coffee… Continue reading Helsinki Summit Proves to be the Height of Scandal
Tag: diplomacy
Money Isn’t Everything, but It’s Mighty Handy if You’ve Been Kidnapped in Iraq
My very last consultation last Friday was “Ahmed.” That’s what he calls himself, and since he invariably pays cash, I couldn’t care less what his real name is. Historically, he’s been a very, very good customer – no matter how much I charge, he always pays up. And every time he calls to book an… Continue reading Money Isn’t Everything, but It’s Mighty Handy if You’ve Been Kidnapped in Iraq
Flatulence and Fury – US President’s Tweets Make Hack Author Filthy Rich
Since Christmas, global warming has caused the Jet Stream to push the Polar Vortex south over the US East Coast, and the extremely cold, and definitely unseasonable weather has given climate change deniers here in Washington DC plenty of talking points to use on the ignorant and stupid, who, if the latest presidential popularity polls… Continue reading Flatulence and Fury – US President’s Tweets Make Hack Author Filthy Rich
Russian May Have to Play Roulette with Presidential Pardons
As the venerable aphorism so pithily puts it, the difference between Hell and Washington DC in the summer is that Hell has dry heat. With the thermometer flirting with one hundred degrees Fahrenheit and the air so sodden with water vapor that stepping outside of an air conditioned building feels like crawling into a Siksika… Continue reading Russian May Have to Play Roulette with Presidential Pardons
Survivalists Dismayed as Nuclear War Proves Unlikely
Earth Day 2017 here in Washington DC dawned cold and rainy, which was a disappointment for Cerise, who had gone to considerable trouble getting my concurrence for a proposed bike trip down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath from Great Falls to Georgetown and back. Instead, after rising early and finding the weather dreary, we… Continue reading Survivalists Dismayed as Nuclear War Proves Unlikely