Like most other federal facilities that aren’t directly concerned with law enforcement or national defense, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a vast tract of land near the town of Burns in eastern Oregon, was closed on Saturday, January 2, 2016 in observance of the New Year holiday weekend. There’s an administration center there, consisting of… Continue reading Western Loons Invade Oregon Bird Sanctuary
Tag: terrorism
Al-Abadi Embarks on the Iraqi Road from Ramadi to Mosul – and Beyond
Monday morning, Dr. Telhas T’zee Yasharmouta al-Feekah, Chief Policy Attaché Without Portfolio at the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, arrived at my office for a consultation. The discussion scheduled was supposed to be about restructuring Iraqi petroleum policy, but as he morosely settled into the tastefully upholstered chair in front of my desk, it… Continue reading Al-Abadi Embarks on the Iraqi Road from Ramadi to Mosul – and Beyond
Onward Christian Sharpshooters!
As luck would have it, Monday was the regularly scheduled bimonthly consultation for Max Slaughter, Chief Policy Analyst for the American Firearms, Ammunition and Tactical Weaponry Manufacturing Association, an industry lobbying group here in Washington DC. He’s always rather upbeat and optimistic, but on this particular morning, he was verging on the positively ebullient. “Excellent… Continue reading Onward Christian Sharpshooters!
Sugar Honey Graham Discovers 20th Century Technology
This morning, just as I concluded a consultation about Boko Haram’s latest overtures to ISIL with a distraught Nigerian diplomat, Gretchen buzzed me on the intercom. “Mr. Collins,” she told me, “there’s this old Southern lady on Line Two. She sounds exactly like Woody Allen imitating Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.” “Did this… Continue reading Sugar Honey Graham Discovers 20th Century Technology
North Korea vs. Sony Pictures – Interview in a Quagmire
Despite the impending holidays, I still manged to get overbooked this week, which lead to Gretchen and me having to work nine and one half hours on a Saturday. The increasing urgency of various matters around the planet have made it nearly impossible for me to work a decent five day week anymore, but in… Continue reading North Korea vs. Sony Pictures – Interview in a Quagmire