'Catch-22' undermines the whole heroic logic of World War II, ... It was really refreshing and interesting for me, as a young man learning about modern history and literature, to see how powerful a single writer could be in undermining the whole social mind-set. |
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, |
He essentially betrayed many of those people who had relied on him. |
He sees himself as the figure whose name will be revered ... hundreds of years from now in Arab culture and Arab history. |
I remember sitting on my back porch, starting to read it, and thinking, 'I wonder what this is about?' |
I'm tired of the FEMA-bashing. All you hear is that FEMA didn't do enough. What people don't understand is that FEMA had a game plan, but when the devastation was so widespread, their game plan kind of went out the window. |
If you go down there and see that, and you're not more appreciative of what you've got and how lucky you are, there is something wrong with you. |
In order to make it more difficult for people to tell exactly where he [was], all the palaces [functioned] as though [he were] present. |
Nothing has had much of an impact on the flow of cocaine to the U.S., ... It appears to be fully a function of demand. |
Qusay [was] reputed to be a far quieter, more disciplined figure [than Uday]. |
Saddam accumulated power over a period of 10-12 years. When you've evidenced considerable charm [and] an ability to get things done, even very idealistic and ambitious people begin to side with you. |
She would talk to patients, hold patients' hands, try to find supplies for us. She would do whatever she could. |
Staring at all the green bundles, ... Joey felt suddenly overwhelmed by the challenge of hanging onto it. The idea of finding that much money was proving to be more thrilling than the actual experience, much as the highs he got by shooting speed had long ago stopped living up to his expectations. The hard truth about life, which most people learned but that Joey had not, was that things had to be earned to be fully enjoyed. Success, accomplishment, the admiration of the world -- these were all things that could not be faked, or purchased with a needle or a windfall. |
That's why I'm going to go back next year, to have a little reunion. I saw these people when they were down, and I want to see them when they rebuild. If they were this good when they were down, I can't wait to see what they do when they're back on the upswing. |
The Pentagon was officially displeased, ... 'Killing Pablo' tells a much murkier tale (than 'Black Hawk Down'), what with death squads and Pablo's sordid end. This being the second peek behind the walls at Ft. Bragg, it was received with considerably less good humor. |