The Real Inglorious Bastards

Fake fictional heroes ...

.. are no match for the real thing. From left, Weber, Wynberg, Mayer.

In 2009, film director Quentin Tarantino released Inglorious Basterds, the Academy-award winning fictional story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germany's political leadership, one planned by a French Jewish cinema proprietor and the other by a team of Jewish-American soldiers.

But even Tarantino's vivid imagination proved no match for the real-life story of Operation Green Up, a daring spy tale of bravery and cunning in which 2 American Jews and a captured anti-Nazi Austrian pilot teamed up to conduct a behind-enemy-lines series of OSS actions in Austria that has been called the most successful operation of its type conducted during World War II. In the team's most incredible exploit, group leader Frederick Mayer negotiated the surrender of Nazi stronghold Innsbruck, Austria without a shot being fired.

Last night, a documentary on the incredibly harrowing Operation Green Up (and 3 of the men involved - Mayer, his friend and fellow European ex-patriate Jewish radio operator Hans Wynberg, and Austrian local contact Franz Weber) entitled The Real Inglorious Bastards was premiered before military and Congressional leaders at the Visitors Center theater on Capitol Hill.

Following the showing, film producer Ed Barrevold and Patrick O'Donnell, author of They Dared Return, the book on which the film was based, discussed the incredible events and characters in the Green Up operation.

O'Donnell, who said that he has talked to more than 4,000 World War II veterans for books he has written, called Mayer "the greatest person by far I've ever interviewed.. He shies away from publicity, but Fred Mayer is the real deal."

Fred Mayer today

For his part, in the film, Mayer, who demonstrated the resilience, cunning, and courage of multiple James Bonds, said the reason for his actions were simple. "I hated the Nazis and I loved America," he said.

Although Mayer appeared quite articulate in the film, Barrevold said it was difficult to get him to talk about his adventures, in which he was captured and tortured by the Nazis but incredibly, eventually convinced them to surrender to the oncoming Americans. Several times during the sessions Mayer would snap at the interviewer, saying "you've already asked me that question." The interviewer however would plod on, countering by saying "but you didn't give me an answer."

The producer concurred with O'Donnell's assessment of Mayer's bravery. "Fred had the biggest balls you can ever imagine," Barrevold said. However, that war courage was kept hidden by Mayer's modest ways. The hero now lives in West Virginia and when his neighbors were shown the film, they were totally surprised. "They said 'we didn't know anything about what Fred did in the war. He never talked about it,''' the producer said.

Mayer declined to attend last night's showing saying "It will be late and I've already seen the film." .

But O'Donnell believes there is still one more chapter of the tale that must be written. Mayer should receive a Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions. "What this man did merits a medal of honor. There has been a request, but it is being treated as a process and that is an outrage. This medal is bigger than Fred Mayer. He represents a generation and this is a generation that is dying off. It (the so-far-unawarded medal) represents the generation, and the OSS and Mayer's incredible achievements."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
The premiere of The Real Inglorious Bastards is part of the 7th annual GI Film Festival Reel Stories, Real Heroes which is now underway in DC. To see a complete list of all the films offered, click here. To see the trailer from The Real Inglorious Bastards, click here. To see the trailer for the Tarantino film, click here.

TV Detective Munch Tackles Real-life JFK Mystery

Richard Beltzer and Dick Gregory confer

For 20 years, actor Richard Beltzer, as his character Detective John Munch, has been employing his fictional investigative skills, 1st on Homicide Life on the Streets for 7 years and then on Law and Order: Special  Victims Unit for the past 13 years. In fact, Beltzer holds a TV record for portraying the same Munch character on 11 different shows ranging from Sesame Street to The Wire.

But Beltzer has been using his real-life investigative skills for twice that long, spending the past 40 years trying to unravel the truth behind the assassination of President John Kennedy and the cover-up that Beltzer believes began long before the shots that killed JFK were fired on that sad November, 1963 day in Dallas, Texas.

Last night, Beltzer appeared at the National Press Club to discuss the latest book he co-authored with David Wayne entitled Hit List: An In-Depth Look at the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination.

Beltzer contends that the JFK hit list contains more than 50 witnesses who died under mysterious circumstances ranging from accused murderer Lee Harvey Oswald (whom Beltzer believes was just a pasty set up by the American government. "He was there, but he didn't fire a shot.") to a Dallas stripper with the stage name Delilah, to national correspondent Dorothy Kilgallen, to U.S. Congressman Hale Boggs. "Anyone who had any knowledge was eventually murdered," Beltzer said. "The sheer number forces us to ask whether their deaths were coincidence?"

"This is the greatest murder mystery of all time," Beltzer added. "It's Sherlock Holmes on speed."

So how did the cover-up that Beltzer alleges begin? "It was the height of the Cold War. People said 'Holy shit! Somebody in government killed our president. We have to cover up." he contends. "I don't think there is one great big conspiracy, but there are a lot of sharks in the water."

So who did plot and carry out the Kennedy assassination? "The real question is who didn't kill him. I know that is glib but there were elements in our government and elements in the mob. President Kennedy was planning many changes," Beltzer maintains. "But it was 50 years ago. It just goes on and on. There is no reason not to tell the full story now. It's only the ongoing contempt for the American people and that to me is very, very disturbing."

Beltzer said that leaders in authority have been able to link the words conspiracy and theory and delusional together. "It's easy to marginalize people who question authority," Beltzer said.

Beltzer's Press Club talk came on the same day Hit List made the New York Times best seller list. This came despite the fact the The Times regularly refuses to review Beltzer's books on the JFK murder. "The New York Times doesn't review my books, so, if I may, I say fuck the New York Times," Beltzer said. "Certain people don't want people to know what I am saying because it is the truth."

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Beltzer was joined last night by his surprise special guest, comedian, social activist, and, like Beltzer, active informal investigator into Kennedy's death Dick Gregory. "Just to see Greg alone is worth the price of admission," Beltzer, who began in entertainment as a social comedian said. "He and Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce redefined for us what comedy can do: it can inform us, it can educate us, and it can make us think about who we are. Dick Gregory inspired me early on. I remember when he told an audience 'if you don't laugh, I may move in next to you.' He told the truth. He made us laugh and he made us think." Several times during his hour-long presentation Beltzer employed his comedic skills. For example, he convulsed the crowd when in response to the question if he feared for his own life because of his continued probing, he said no and then immediately collapsed to the floor in a quite convincing, sustained death scene. And then there was his closing remark. When presented with a National Press Club coffee mug he replied. "Hey, I'll put this on the set on my desk. And I want you to know, of all the rewards I've received, this is the latest."

Mozart Master Meets the Museum

Ladies and Gentleman: The Rolling Stones - Jagger, Richards, and Watts ...

... and their classical counterpart Paul Badura-Skoda

With the Rolling Stones starting their 50 and Counting tour last week, much is being made of the ages of the 3 original members still playing with the band. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are both 69, while drummer Charlie Watts is 71. But, as performers, the Stones are mere whippersnappers when compared to 86-year-old Austrian pianist and conductor Paul Badura-Skoda, who brought his incredible talent to the National Gallery of Art last night.

Badura-Skoda, recognized since 1950 (13 years before the Stones 1st took the stage) as one of the world's great classical pianists, performed 3 compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The set list (yes, I know you don't refer to the pieces in a classical performance as being in a set list, but we've got a rock n' roll motif going here) consisted of Piano Concerto n. 12 in A Major, Sonata in C Minor, and Piano Concerto in E-flat Major. As the titles would indicate, Badura-Skoda played the sonata solo. He was joined on the 2 concertos by the strings and brass of the National Gallery of Art Orchestra, which he vibrantly directed with periodic alternating flailing arms from his piano bench.

From our fantastic seats in a 2nd row of chairs on the side of the stage, we had a clear view of the mesmerizing sight of Badura-Skodas' hands figuratively flying up, then down, then up the keyboard again and again as he executed even the most difficult Mozart passages.

Our seats also allowed us to view the evident joy that the aged pianist was taking in the beauty and majesty of the music. From time to time, Badura-Skoda would glance upward, appearing as if he was drawing some empyrean strength from the highest reaches of the towering atrium of the National Gallery. Other times, he would emphatically bob his head, letting his requisite-for-a-classical-genius mane of white hair punctuate the power of the more upbeat passages.

As the final notes of the rondo:presto movement of the last concerto faded, the audience rose to their feet, clapping loudly and wildly. There were even scattered whistles and calls demonstrating the appreciation of the age-defying performance that had just been delivered. Badura-Skoda, after consulting with the 1st violinist and a few other members of the ensemble, sat once again at his bench to play and conduct the group in a Mozart encore.

After that piece, he exited the stage, only to be summoned back by another cacophony of appreciation. This time, many fans left their seats and rushed toward the stage, cameras out to capture the moment. Then, with the audience seated and now joined as listening participants by the orchestra,  Badura-Skoda played a final encore, a brief, but technically difficult Mozart piece. After one sustained outburst of audience approval, the pianist left the stage for good.

As they slowly made their way out of the packed atrium, the crowd excitedly discussed what they had just witnessed. "He's 86! Eighty-six, to play like that at 86, it's truly incredible," one woman said. There was no question that the concert-goers had just witnessed marvelous music. But there was also a message here. In an increasingly youth-obsessed world, there will always be a place for talented, experienced veterans, whether they be classicists or rockers. For as Badura-Skoda and Jagger/Richards continue to prove, in many things, music being one of them, you can deliver Satisfaction just as well at 81 as you can at 18.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Last night's concert at the National Gallery was the the 1st of dozens of special programs this month celebrating the diverse cultures of 27 countries representing the European Union. To see a complete list of all events, click here.

A Short History of Nuclear Folly

Sometimes, the title of a book is so compelling that it almost forces you to read the work. Take, for example, the new book by Rudolph Herzog entitled A Short History of Nuclear Folly: Mad Scientists, Dithering Nazis, Lost Nukes, and Catastrophic Coverups.

Herzog appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss his work, telling his audience that over the nuclear age more than 40 nuclear weapons have been reported as lost, most from airplane crashes or sunken submarines. "A lot of the book will sound like fiction, but it isn't," Herzog said.

The author said he first became intrigued with the nuclear idea as a youngster growing up in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany, which before the fall of the Berlin Wall had long been viewed as the possible site of a nuclear battleground in the event the Cold War suddenly heated up. Herzog remembers his uncle who kept a bottle of sleeping pills in his refrigerator in case nuclear war became a reality and the family of a wealthy friend who dug a bomb shelter under their garden. "At the time this was quite serious," Herzog said.

Herzog talked at length about 2 of the episodes in his book. The 1st occurred in 1957 to an Australian aborigine family during a walkabout in the remote Outback. Approaching an area, they discovered a sign that    read in English: "Warning! You Are Entering a Radioactive Zone." The site had been used for testing a British atomic bomb. The family had no idea what the sign said because none of them could read a word of English. They camped out that night in a crater the bomb had made. Suddenly, they wore swept up by a swarm of men in white suits who had arrived in all-terrain vehicles. The family was rushed to a nearby army barrarcks, where they were repeatedly forced to shower; then be checked by a geiger counter. It was the 1st shower of their lives. Although the family lived, the mother was plagued with defects on all her subsequent attempts at childbirth.

The 2nd story involved an example of a Broken Arrow, the code name used whenever a nuclear weapon goes missing. In 1958, Greg, a South Carolina railroad conductor, was outside his house with 2 daughters and a niece when he noticed 3 B47 bombers flying overhead. Suddenly, there was a horrific explosion which created a scene of devastation and left a 22-meter wide crater in the ground. Sticking out of the crater was the top of an atomic bomb similar to the one used on Nagasaki which had been accidentally dropped from one of the passing planes. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident.

In the 1950s, there was "incredible optimism" about nuclear power, Herzog said.. "There was the belief that it could change the world," he noted. The author then conducted a brief slide-show through some of the more scary, but never realized, plans for atomic energy including a Ford nuclear car, a nuclear-powered plane, and a nuclear space ship. One scientist even proposed and tested using 300 hydrogen bombs to create a 2nd Panama Canal.

Herzog said that while the events he wrote about are now history, he has great fears about the future. "Pandora's box is open. Nuclear technology is here to stay. So this (his book) is just the 1st volume of who knows how many?" he said.

"Asia and the Middle East seem to be heralding a new age of nuclear proliferation," he said. "As more countries go nuclear, other countries will want to hedge their bets. I'm worried about it. It's becoming very messy."

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During a question-and-answer period, Herzog was asked if we should be concerned about the 40 reported missing nuclear weapons. His short answer was no. He explained that nuclear weapons need a huge amount of maintenance and degrade extremely quickly. "And if the military couldn't find the weapons, most of which are at the bottom of the ocean, I don't think terrorists can," he said. "We have much more to fear from what is going on today in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and North Korea."

A DC Version of It's a Small World After All

You could call it around the world in one city. And, if you wanted, you could even get a special passport stamped from all the countries you visited without leaving the confines of Washington.

Today, Cultural Tourism DC offered its annual Passport DC - a free 6-hour tour of more than 40 embassies from 6 continents.

Thousands of visitors flocked to the normally exclusive compounds and stately mansions to experience native history, culture, art, dance, music, and food.

While many, guided by the brochure map that showed which embassies were participating, walked, others rode special shuttle buses.

To commemorate their experience, many of the visitors picked up a Passport DC souvenir passport which they could get stamped at each embassy they visited. You could download the Passport DC app on your smartphone for interactive maps, event listings, and exclusive content.

A new feature this year was a celebration of the International Year of Quinoa. A special tour honoring the origins of the grain was offered by the Embassies of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

For those wanting a longer, more in-depth travel experience, most of the embassies offered free literature about visiting their country and some, like Egypt, even offered a drawing for free air transportation.
(For the sake of full disclosure, we didn't win the free trip, but we are scheduled to visit Egypt in the fall so to prepare I sampled foul mudammas while my wife checked out the bakalava and roz bi laban a.k.a. rice pudding).

A native of Ghana demonstrates drum technique

My wife discusses artifacts at the South Africa Embassy

A ceremonial Egyptian stick fight dance

Delicasies from Ceylon

Two young Malasians herald their country

This Pakistani rickshaw promotes a motto for all of us

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
If you participated in the Around the World Embassy Tour today I'm sure you enjoyed it. If you didn't, don't despair. Next Saturday, Cultural Tourism DC will offer another free 6-hour tour entitled Shortcut to Europe: E.U. Embassies Open House. Countries expected to participate are:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

Light Makes The Peacock Room Birthday Bright

If you are a Smithsonian art institution, how do you celebrate your 90th birthday? Well, in the case of the Freer Gallery, which achieved that milestone yesterday, you throw open the decorated shutters of your Peacock Room for 5 hours, letting the bright sunshine reveal the beauty of the blue and gold room designed by famed American artist James Whistler.

Even before it arrived at the Freer, which opened in 1923, the Peacock Room had an intriguing history. In 1876, English shipping magnate James Leyland commissioned prominent British architect Thomas Jekyll to design a special space to display his blue and white Quing dynasty Chinese porcelain collection.

One of the centerpieces for the room was to be Whistler's painting The Princess from the Land of

Porcelain. Jekyll consulted Whistler, who agreed to work on the room, adding designs including 2 gold peacocks on the wall opposite his Princess piece. However, Whistler far acceeded Leyland's original budget and after he finished the project in 1877, was told he would be horse-whipped if he ever appeared at the house again.

After Leyland's death in 1892, the entire Peacock Room, now considered an art masterpiece, was purchased by Detroit railroad car manufacturer and Whistler collector Charles Lang Freer. It was shipped to America in 27 huge crates and reassembled as an addition to Freer's mansion. Freer, after whom the Smithsonian gallery of Asian art is named, used the room to house his extensive collection of more than 250 blue and earth-toned pieces of Asian pottery. Freer donated the room and all its contents to the institution in 1906, 13 years before his own death and it was once again dismantled and moved to Washington..

As a collector, Freer believed that all works of art go together, whatever their period. Designers of the Freer Gallery decided to fittingly locate Whistler's imaginative interior between the galleries of Chinese and American art, embodying both Freer's philosophy and the meeting of East and West.

To protect the paintings and decor, the shutters, also designed by Whistler, are normally kept shut, which made yesterday's opening special.  However, if you missed the occasion, the Peacock Room is filled with natural light when the shutters are opened on the 3rd Thursday of each month from noon until 5:30 p.m.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

If you would like to learn more about the Peacock Room before a visit, there are many websites on the subject. However, if you would like some more old-fashioned learning, the Freer suggests 3 books:

• The Peacock Room Comes to America by Lee Glazer
• The Peacock Room: A Cultural Biography by Linda Merrill and
• The Princess and the Peacocks, or the Story of a Room by Linda Merrill and Sarah Ridley

Nobility and Newcomers in Shakepeare's Ireland

The history between England and Ireland has been strained and tumultuous, often exploding into periods of sustained violence. That has been true in the modern age and it was equally true in the Renaissance times of famed playwright William Shakespeare.

An exhibit at the Folger Shakepeare Library entitled Nobility and Newcomers in Renaissance Ireland explores some of the era's best documented figures and key aspects of the Irish past through rare manuscripts, books, poems, and portraits.

The exhibit focuses on the Munster and Ulster plantations. At the time of the Tudors and the Stuarts, British officials said the purpose of the plantations, established on more than a half million acres of seized Irish land, was "to transform the supposedly savage, Catholic, backward Irish land into a Protestant profitable land that would be peopled by English settlers".

The time was the period of the 9 Years War (1594 to 1603), which finally ended only days after the death of      Queen Elizabeth I. Her successor and Shakespeare's patron King James I was the 1st monarch to unite the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland. King James rewarded loyal followers with Irish noble titles and also gave them to British families with deep pockets to help subsidize his reign.

Although Shakespeare never visited Ireland, 2 of his plays had Irish political ties. Today, The Tempest is viewed as a timely critique of the plantation schemes in Ireland and the Americas. First published in 1600, Shakespeare's Henry V celebrated King Henry's triumph at Agincourt, but included a then-contemporary reference: a hope for a similar victory in Ireland for "our gracious empress".

The literary ties to the period were further strengthened by the fact that 2 other major figures of the English writing Renaissance, Sir Walter Raleigh and the poet Edmund Spenser, were among the English newcomers who settled in Munster.

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The exhibit, which will run until May 19, has created controversy. A major Irish scholar has accused the curators of rewriting Irish history to make it far more favorable to the British perspective in their exhibit. 

Ironically, the Irish government has been supportive of the exhibition. To read about the controversy, click here.

Celebrating Tim Russert

The Tim Russert exhibit at the Newseum

There have been only a few really great TV newsmen. The list would have to start with Edward Murrow. Of course, it would include Walter Cronkite. Many would name some combination of Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings. The most recent candidate would probably be Tim Russert, who in 17 years as the host of Meet the Press set the standard for Sunday morning news shows.

Russert, who died in 2008, had a hard-hitting interview style and an ability to cut through political spin that made him one of the country's most respected journalists.

His legacy is recalled in the current Newseum exhibit Inside Tim Russert's Office: If It's Sunday, It's 'Meet the Press, which recreates Russert's NBC Washington office much as it looked when he died of a heart attack while preparing for his show. The exhibit will be on view until June 19.

Russert had 5 major passions - his family, his faith, journalism, politics and sports - all of which are reflected in the exhibit. After every broadcast, Russert would call his father, whom he called Big Russ, to find out his thoughts about the airing. When his son Luke decided to become a newsman, Russert imparted this advice: "Just be yourself. Pretend you're talking to me. Don't get too fancy. Don't talk that Washington talk."

While he had a deserved reputation for fairness and respect for his subjects, Russert was not afraid to ask difficult questions that often challenged those he interviewed. One of his mottoes was "I don't believe you can make tough decisions unless you can answer tough questions.".

On his messy desk were all the magazines, newspapers, books, and notes he would need for his broadcast. His bookshelves were filled with books, many from guests that had appeared on the show. Also on display is the collection of signed baseballs he kept in his desk drawer, as well as pictures of his favorite interview subjects including Pope John Paul II.

There is also a pennant from Russert's favorite sports team, the Buffalo Bills. Russert described his relationship with the NFL franchise this way: "Meet the Press knows that I try my best to be objective and nonpartisan, but when it comes to the Buffalo Bills I can't help myself."

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One of the best stories about Russert occurred during NBC's coverage of the 2004 election night in the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Eschewing fancy gadgets, Russert used a small, simple white board, on which at one point he wrote the phrase Florida! Florida! Florida!, accurately predicting that whichever candidate won that state would win the presidency. When he died, fans created a memorial outside of the NBC studio in Washington. Many of the fans left their tributes on small white boards, some of which are included as part of the Newseum exhibit. Here is what one said: "Because of you, I am a better citizen. Aren't we all. Thank you."

Free to Be You and Me

In the early 1970's, actress Marlo Thomas, the daughter of famed comedian Danny Thomas, added to the feminist story by starring in the sitcom That Girl, which was revolutionary for being the 1st series portrayal of a single working girl on network TV. Following the success of that show, Thomas wanted to do more to shatter the gender stereotypes of the times and so she became the brainchild behind the wildly successful 1972 children's album  Free to Be ... You and Me,  which saluted values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity and endorsed the message that anyone—whether a boy or a girl—could achieve their aspirations.

The album, which included a Who's Who of the entertainment world including Alan Alda, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross was followed by a TV special, a book, and a play which is still performed around the country.

Recently, a panel of experts discussed the impact of the ventures in a special program at the National Archives entitled When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made.

The panel consisted of  :

• Lori Rotskoff, author and cultural historian
• Laura Lovett, an associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts
• Carole Hart, an award-winning television and film producer and writer
• Barbara Sprung, co-director of the Educational Equity Center at FHI 360 and
• Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a feminist and child-welfare advocate

From the view of the 21st Century, it is difficult to remember just how revolutionary the idea of gender equity was at the time the record was produced. "Not 1 big label would take it," Hart, one of the project writers said. "One executive asked 'Why would I want to put out a record produced by a bunch of dykes?'"

There was also difficulty is getting the TV special aired. "Executives were afraid they would lose their Southern audience because Marlo and Harry Belafonte (a black actor/singer) acted as a married couple," Hart said.

So why was the at-the-time-so-controversial project such a success? "You were finding an unspoken need," Hart said.  "It was very funny and very entertaining. It didn't feel like it was preaching anything. It was just pointing out stereotypes that were very limiting and celebrating all the freedom you could have."

Sprung, who was beginning her curriculum work at the time, said America "was deluged with sexual stereotyping that was not reflecting the lives people were living in the 70's."

"We had messages like boys invent things, girls use what boys invent or boys fix things and girls need things fixed," Sprung recalled. 

Sprung said the project helped free young girls to move into areas previously thought of as masculine. "But it was much harder and more difficult for boys to break out of their roles, probably because of the fear of homosexuality," she noted.

"The project put on a light bulb in the heads of many parents. It made a difference and it is still making a difference. It changed parenting and children in this country," Sprung said.

Rotskoff agreed that the scope of the project was powerful. "Now is a good time to take a measure of its historical importance," she said.  "It encouraged young children to reject stereotypes and value individuality. Really, it's a version of a Declaration of Independence."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips 

The special program was part of a series on the 1970's being offered in conjunction with the exhibit Searching for the Seventies: The Documerica Photography Project. The exhibition is running until Sept. 8.

Dining in DC: Juniper

The whole wheat honey bread w/ honey butter is truly special

Washington, DC is filled with outgoing people, many of them passionate about their politically-related careers and quite capable of engaging in energetic talk about a wide range of topics. That means many DC restaurants that rate high on the food quality scale also offer conversational noise levels rivaling those at the loudest high school cafeterias.

But, if you are interested in quiet conversation along with a great meal, you should consider Juniper, the elegant restaurant at the Fairmount Hotel in the West End section of the city. Juniper caters to hotel guests and neighborhood locals, all of whom seemed to have mastered the art of tranquil dinner talk. In fact, almost every review mentions the quiet atmosphere. And while you may come for the quiet, the chances are good that you will come back for the food.

If Juniper has a most special item, it would have to be its whole wheat walnut honey bread with honey butter. Chef Ian Bens also serves as resident beekeeper and incorporates honey, bee pollen, and even the honey comb from the four restaurant rooftop hives into the bread and other innovative dishes.

On our most recent visit my wife and I chose classic soups as starters. Judy had the Maryland crab, while I opted for the night's special chicken tortilla. For entrees, we both had the Chesapeake Bay jumbo lump crab cakes. The 2 meaty crab cakes were accompanied by heirloom hominy succotash and a spicy remoulade. I augmented my dinner with a side of tasty chipotle spicy roasted broccolini. Judy ate only one of her crab cakes so she could enjoy the apple/blueberry crumble with homemade vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.for dessert.

A special 3-course prix fixe dinner is offered each night. Since the annual DC Cherry Blossom Festival was just winding down, cherries served as the theme for a meal consisting of cherry wood-smoked duck breast with local Spring greens drizzled in cherry blossom vinaigrette, sweet and sour cherry-glazed salmon, and a cherry blossom panna cotta with Amarena cherry ice cream.

Juniper also offers special dietary vegan, macrobiotic, heart healthy, diabetic, raw, and gluten-free meals created with seasonal ingredients from local farms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

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What others say:

• Urban Spoon
• Yelp

The Prices Do DC rating

• **** (4 out of 5 plates with a special shush-out to the quiet)

Talking to Terrorists

For almost a decade, research psychologist and author Anne Speckkard immersed herself in the world of international terrorism. She spoke with more than 400 terrorists, their family members, their friends, their associates, their captors, their enemies, and their victims. She visited more than a dozen countries, conducted interviews in countless jail cells and, on occasion, stayed in the homes of suspected terrorists. She even witnessed a cute 4-year-old girl demonstrate the proper killing position with a handgun.

The result of that effort was Speckard's massive new book Talking to Terrorists: Understanding the Psycho-Social Motivations of Militant Jihadi Terrorists, Mass Hostage Takers, Suicide Bombers, & Martyrs. Speckhard appeared recently at the New America Foundation to discuss the book and her findings.

"I  wanted to find out what motivates terrorists and understand the radicalization process," Speckhard said. Even though there are many differing definitions for a terrorist, Speckhard said she decided to use "a person who was willing and aiming to attack civilians" for the purpose of her study.

So what did she find? "It always boils down to the local level - where do they live and what their local grievances are," Speckhard said.  "There is a lack of hope, a need for a sense of belonging. There is a sense of frustration. Some (in already violent areas) are suffering from a form of PSTD (post traumatic stress syndrome). They are driven by trauma and revenge. Often, there is a cult of martyrdom and a sense of survivor guilt. They say 'I just want to die and rejoin them (those they lost)."

She said that terrorists often experience an "endorphin high rush" both in planning and carrying out their attacks. "It is a very, very powerful force," Speckhard said.

One of the most important steps in expanding the terrorist network is cultivating potential terrorists. Speckhard described a typical recruitment process. Recruiters often troll internet cafes, looking for potential recruits. If they spot one, they will sit down next to them and say something like "Hey brother, have you seen this new video?" They will then show their young target a video of some atrocity being committed by a more powerful force against a weaker people. "Who will do something for these people? I am doing something - will you?" they ask.

Recruiters also employ ethnic tensions and hatreds, focusing on questions such as "What if that happens here? Will you be ready?" If the recruit indicates a willingness to become involved, a step-by-step process is initiated. Candidates are taken to gyms to increase their physical prowess. They are then sent to camps for weapons training and further indoctrination. If religion is involved, they are schooled in that message, which is distorted for the terrorists' purposes. Young Muslims for example, are told such things as "the Koran is only correct in Arabic so let me tell you what it says."

So what is the best way to combat the growth of terrorism? "You need to root out the terrorist organizers and discredit their ideology. You need to demonstrate that what the terrorists are presenting isn't true and isn't attractive," Speckhard said.

Speckhard recognizes that deadly force must be employed against terrorists, but worries about the damage such action causes. "There are tradeoffs," she said. "The blow back is going to be pictures of dead children."

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Despite heavy indoctrination, not all terrorists are able to carry through with their deadly plans. Speckhard described one such woman. Her Arab boyfriend was killed in a missile strike. Even though she had been apolitical, she immediately underwent a change, distraught that the Israelis had taken her boyfriend from her. She switched her dress to a conservative Muslim style. Claiming she had no reason to live and wanting revenge, she began training for a suicide bombing mission. After completing her training, she was given her assignment. She moved into the area, fully prepared to carry out her mission. However, when she saw that she would be killing a baby, she changed her mind. She thought: "Allah gives life and Allah alone takes life; I don't have that right." Speckhard said that such people can be extremely valuable in reducing the violence caused by terrorism.  "They are passionate; they want to right the wrongs in the world. If they can be shown that what they had been told isn't true, they can be a real force for good."

Keep on Truckin': The Urban Street Food Story

Chef Jose Andres enjoys an offering from his food truck

Ever since there have been cities, there has been urban street food. Small fried fish were sold on the streets in ancient Greece. Aztec marketplaces offered more than 50 types of tamales. Street foods in Victorian London included tripe, pea soup, pea pods in butter, prawns, and jellied eels. It is believed that French fries originated as a street food in Paris of the 1840's.

America has its own street food traditions. During the colonial period, street vendors in Philadelphia, Boston, and old New York sold oysters, roasted corn ears, and pepper pot soup. Later, pushcarts became a staple in big cities from New York to San Francisco. In the late 19th Century the hot dog cart was born as sausage vendors began selling their wares outside student dorms at major Eastern universities. In the 20th Century, the mobile food scene shifted to construction sites, where workers on their breaks chowed down on coffee, pastries, hot dogs, and chili.

The economic downturn of the late 1990's caused another shift. Food trucks, now brightly decorated and offering more upscale ethnic offerings, found a new urban clientele -  thousands of office workers like those in Washington, DC, who could use their brief lunch time to enjoy the fast, reasonably priced, meals produced in the small trucks, which usually were a one- to three-person operation.

In DC, the food trucks usually assembled Monday through Friday at sites with large open eating areas for outside dining - L'Enfant Plaza, Farragut Square, the Metro Center, Union Station. The truck operators, many now trained cooks and chefs, began to develop followings. They could announce their day's location on Facebook or Twitter. Web sites reviewing the food trucks appeared and those sites could email complete lists of truck sites on a daily basis. Some of the cities best-known chefs like Jose Andres (with Pepe) opened their own food trucks. Indeed, some of the food trucks became so popular that their operators opened sit-down eateries.

So, with sunny skies and temperatures today in the 70's, we decided to head to L'Enfant Plaza to see what this Spring's local food truck scene looks, and, more importantly, tastes like. There were more than 20 trucks parked on 2 streets. Eaters lined up to choose from offerings ranging from Philly-style cheesesteaks at Cheesequake to Ethiopian fare from Lily Pad on the Run. I was convinced that my wife would choose to visit the Crepes Parfait truck, but she surprised me by instead grabbing a chicken burrito bowl from Sol. I chose a Korean bolgogi bowl from Fire and Ice.

But the future of the DC food truck boom is in doubt. Two weeks ago,  DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs released a new round of proposed food truck regulations. The rules would create special zones throughout the city specifying where trucks could park and limiting how many could operate at one location.  A monthly lottery system would determine who gets the spots. Food truck operators have vowed to fight the proposed regulations, claiming they would kill the industry.

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As you might expect in our rate-and-review age, food trucks are subject to quite a few rankings. Here are some of them:

• The Washington Post list of DC best food trucks
• Washington City Paper Readers' Poll Best DC Food Trucks 2013
• City Eats 10 Best Food Trucks
• Yelp Rates the Food Trucks
• President Obama has tweeted that his favorite food truck is D.C. Empanadas.

Shame on the NRA; Shame on Its Lobbyists

A small, but dedicated group of anti-gun violence activists marched through the streets of Washington today in what organizers were calling the beginning of a Name and Shame campaign against DC lobbying firms which are paid from the large coffers of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to convince lawmakers to take pro-gun stances.

After a short noontime rally, the sign-carrying marchers headed out of McPherson Square, stopping at 5 NRA lobbying firms where march officials read the names of specific NRA lobbyists and left pictures of young children who had been victims of gun violence. They also read a list of other companies represented by the targeted lobbying firms and urged a phone and online campaign to convince those companies to find new lobbying groups that wouldn't accept "NRA blood money."

At each stop, a replica of a giant check from the NRA to the firm bearing the Occupy the NRA tagline "Thanks for shooting down common sense gun laws" was displayed. The amounts of the checks varied from $40,000 to $240,000. According to the Occupy the NRA, the NRA, which represents about 4 million members, reportedly spent more than $2.5 million to convince lawmakers to act in its behalf, money which anti-gun violence proponents conntend is nothing more than legally authorized bribes.

Organizers said the actions were a first step in bringing lobbying groups out of the shadows. "We are going to name you and we are going to shame you," they repeatedly said.

Although the firms were located on many streets, K Street is famous for its lobbying houses and, as such, stands as a symbol for the anti-gun violence effort. "K Street is where very wealthy people come to make sure that even wealthier people make even more money," one protester said, encapsulating the idea of the famed street.

As they marched through the downtown accompanied by a police contingent, the activists chanted slogans. "Shame on the NRA; Shame on the Lobbyists" alternated with "Gun checks save lives,"or  "Protect our kids, protect the police."

The marchers also waved signs, some handmade, some prepared especially for the rally. One of the most popular was a new sign designed by artist Shepard Fairey. The red-white-and black sign features the acronym NRA, a bird with a target on its chest, a hand holding an assault weapon and the slogan: America ... The Land Where God Saves and Satan Invests ... in Assault Weapons and High Capacity Magazines.

While some downtown observers of the march just stared, others took a more active role. Several came up to ask protesters questions. Others beeped their horns in support or mouthed the slogans with the marchers. Many, obviously part of the group of 90 percent of Americans who, unlike 45 dissenting U.S. Senators which Occupy the NRA has labeled cowards, favor universal background checks for gun sales, thanked individual marchers for their efforts and urged them not to give up.

While some of the marchers lamented the low turnout for the last-minute action, others took a more philosophical approach. "This is just one action on one day. It will be a long, hard fight. They have the money, but we have the moral ground. The next time, and there will be a next time, and a time after that, and a time after that, our numbers will grow. We're not going anywhere until we get a government for the people, not for the profit-makers and those politicians who only care about getting re-elected."

At the rally preceding the march, Maria Roach, a former NBC News TV producer who left her job to become a full-time anti-gun activist after the Tayvon Martin tragedy in Florida, spoke of the importance of the day.

"Let this be the day that moves you to action," Roach said. "Today is the day we say enough. As a news producer, I saw so much yellow (crime) tape blowing in the wind. It's not, as some would have you believe, about the 2nd Amendment. It's about having power and keeping power. I say shame on you NRA and shame on you lobbyists for putting the dollar before the lives of innocent children."

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Nardyne Jordan speaking out

Of all those at the rally and march, none had been more touched by gun violence than DC resident Nardyne Jordan. Her 16-year-old daughter was fatally gunned down as she was leaving a funeral. Jordan addressed the rally participants before the march. "This is a difficult time, but it is the right time," she said. "Young children deserve the right to grow up. I live in a civilized nation and I expect to live among civilized people. We should be able to live and not to have to live in fear."

The Brave New World of Drones

Drones. To supporters, they represent a better, cheaper, safer way to take out targeted enemies. To opponents, they are menacing unaccountable flying robotic death machines. But from the corridors of Congress to the chat rooms of the Middle East, drones and the destruction they cause are definitely a hot topic.

So why have we suddenly become so obsessed with drones, which the United States has been employing with increasing regularity against suspected overseas terrorists?

Benjamin Wittes, a Senior Fellow and Research Director in Public Law at the Brookings Institution, believes he has an answer. "A drone is a weapon that is a little bit mysterious, a little bizarre. It produces a degree of anxiety," Wittes says. "It's a big scary flying robot and that's weird. The closer you get to the Holy Grail of safe targeting, the less it looks like war. It's something that doesn't feel like war any more; it feels more like assassination."

Wittes was one of 4 experts who participated in a panel discussion earlier this week at the Cato Institute entitled Drones and a New Way of War.

The panel concurred that the questions being currently raised have less to do with drones and more to do with the Constitutional questions such as who authorizes such attacks and where and when should they be launched.

"The discussions are really a microcosm of 3 distinct legal conversations that we are not very good at having," said Steve Vladeck, a professor of Law and the Associate Dean for Scholarship at American University Washington College of Law. Those 3 questions are:

• Exactly whom are we at war with and where is that war occurring? "After 9/11 it was Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but now we are using drones increasingly at the margins (of those groups). This illuminates how unclear we are," Vladeck said.
• Who should have the power for the drone program? Currently, President Obama and the Executive Branch decide kill targets. "It's a question of oversight for Congress and the Judiciary. Oversight, at least in its current form, is not working," Vladeck contended. "At the very least we should have more transparency."
• What should be the rules for use? "Right now, we are the only country in the world that can carry out these operations. So what we do is precedent setting. The real question is about the use of force on the territory of a foreign power," he added.

Rosa Brooks, a professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, says the issue is both legal and strategic. "There has been a significant increase in targeted killings with new terrorists in Mali and Somalia. We are now looking at associates of associates of associates. There is a feeling that if it's cheap and low risk, why not do it a little more," Brooks maintained.

"But how much are we gaining and how much are we losing?" Brooks questioned. "Are we creating new terrorists faster than we can kill them? If we decide when there is an armed conflict, it's pretty hard to assume that's not going to come back and bite us."

The panel agreed that much of the drone controversy centers around the uncertainty of any war against terror. Virtually everyone agrees that the rules of war are different than those of peacetime. In the past, for America, that has meant facing large armies of soldiers on clearly defined battlefields. But. of course, that clarity is missing when dealing with transnational terrorism. 

According to Benjamin Friedman, a Research Fellow of Defense and Homeland Security Studies at the Cato Institute, new technology like drones is making it easier to engage in "whimsical wars fought in perfect safety" and choose paths "that erode liberty and may suck us into more wars."

Friedman supported the idea that currently too much power is concentrated in the office of the president. "There's nothing stopping the president from changing the rules tomorrow. We need to define the enemy better. You need to justify to the public on policy," Friedman said

There are 3 main political reasons why until recently Congress hasn't acted on the issues raised by drone use, Friedman believes. One is the increasing partisanship in today's politics. Secondly, lawmakers fear the political consequences of not appearing to be strong on terrorism. Finally, there is the reality that foreign policy rates really low on voters' minds.

Friedman said he fears that drones may be leading us into what he called "iTunes wars."

"If it only costs a dollar why not?" he posed. "Drones could be getting us into wars we don't need. We need to lock in the idea that wars should be hard to start."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

There is no doubt that the issue of drones and their use is exploding in the media. Here are links to 6 articles that just appeared this morning if you want to learn more about the topic.

• Anti-Drone Movement Grows
• Fear and Terror Caused by Drones
• Why We Shouldn't Fear Drones
• Drones Copping Flack from All Sides
• Autonomous Killing Drones?
• Drones and Privacy Concerns

Activism and Climate Change

Today is Earth Day, a  day when the focus of millions of Americans is on making the planet environmentally better.  But for activist May Boeve and the 350.org organization she represents, every day is an earth day, a day for working to combat climate change that threatens our very existence.

Boeve was one of the 4 panelists who appeared last week at the program Keystone XL: The Science, Stakes, and Strategy Behind the Fight Over the Tar Sands Pipeline at the University of California Center in DC. Much of the event was focused on the best way for activists to advance their climate change agenda.

Earlier this year, 350.org was one of the sponsors of the Washington rally in which more than 40,000 people called on President Barack Obama to reject the 875-mile pipeline which would transport oil from Canadian tar sands through the midwestern United States. Obama has yet to rule on the project.

"This is a battle against the fossil fuel industry and we want him to chose us," Boeve said. "This won't be over until we give up and we won't give up."

David Roberts of Grist magazine, who has been covering Keystone regularly and recently wrote about the “Virtues of Being Unreasonable on Keystone” said the climate change movement was currently suffering from a phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance. In simple terms pluralistic ignorance occurs when people
think that a position they favor isn't really supported by others even though it actually is.

Roberts said what is needed is a social phenomenon called social proof. "People do not analyze facts. They look to other people for their cues. People will wait until they get those cues. Why do you think they have laugh tracks on television," he said.

When it comes to climate change, Roberts believes there "are a lot more people out there with a sense that things are badly wrong, but they don't want to be that person (who starts the movement). What's needed is social proof - a signal to other people that it really is an emergency."

Roberts says that activists can serve that purpose. "The more signals that are sent, the more people will care. So I say 'yeah activism.'"

Michael Grunwald, senior national correspondent for Time magazine and author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era recently declared that on Keystone, “I’m with the Tree Huggers!”

"I'm not afraid of the oil that spills. I'm more afraid of the oil that doesn't spill," Grunwald said. "Keystone is not the perfect fight, but it's the fight we're having and it's time to choose a side. We need to leave carbon in the ground and we need to put a political price on carbon," Grunwald said.

Michael Levi, director of the program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the new book The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle For America’s Future contends that combating climate change will require “doing deals with those who want to expand production of oil and gas.”

"I worry about this you're either with us or against us stance," Levi said. "I worry a lot about that kind of division. You're going to need Congress to do some things and for them not to do some things.We need to have broad support; we need to make sure we don't have too many unnecessary enemies. People need to realize there is a path they can take to solve the problem."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
The event began with the showing of a cartoon about the Keystone project from the opposing perspective. To view that video, click here.

Dining in DC: Ted's Bulletin

A tasty plate of pop tarts

Fancy food is fine, but sometimes you want something in the comfort category. When that urge strikes, a good choice is Ted's Bulletin, the urban retro restaurant on Barracks Row.

The owners named their establishment after their father who was the informal cook of his West Virginia hills neighborhood. One of his favorites was grilled cheese and tomato soup, so it shouldn't be surprising that those 2 items are signature menu staples.

On our most recent dinner visit here, I chose the buttermilk country fried steak with mashed potatoes and brown gravy and pickled beets. Judy opted for meatloaf with Mingo County ketchup glaze accompanied by the mashed potatoes and chunky golden delicious apple sauce.

One the best selling items at Ted's is the homemade pop tarts, which are a far cry from anything you can find in a box. Usually, there are 4 or 5 varieties available. For example, on this visit we had to choose from strawberry, cherry, brown sugar, blueberry cheesecake and peanut butter bacon.

Bartenders here whip up booze-fueled milkshakes (minty grasshopper, spiked Thai coffee, Bailey’s caramel-macchiato) and breakfast is served all day.

The Americana atmosphere supports the food. The bar, assembled from art deco ticket booths and remnants salvaged from the old Philadelphia Civic Center, is a throwback to yesteryear. The menu is laid out in the form of a newspaper from times now faded. A large screen plays black-and white classics such as 30's gangster films or the original King Kong as old-timey tunes play in the background.

One word of caution. Ted's is often extremely busy, so if you don't have a reservation be prepared to wait. But, to pass the time, you can watch bakers resupply those marvelous pop tarts.

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What Others Say:

• Urban Spoon
• Yelp

The Prices Do DC Rating

• **** (4 out of 5 plates with the last plate for the pop tarts)

The War on Whistleblowers

It's something we are told in early childhood - nobody likes a tattletale. But what if the tale desperately needs to be tattled? For example, you find out that troops are needlessly dying because the military refuses to use a safer type of transport vehicle even though one is available. Or the radios on Coast Guard ships won't work if they become wet. Or the government is illegally listening in on phone conversations. Do you forget the childhood admonition, assume the risks, and become a whistleblower? And, if you do blow the whistle, what can, and often does, happen to you?

These are some of the scenarios examined in the new documentary War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State by Brave New Foundation and director Robert Greenwald. The film was premiered at the Newseum this week and following that screening, a 5-member panel discussed the issues raised in the engrossing message movie.

Abbe Lowell, a white-collar defense attorney known for defending clients charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917, says the whistleblowing issue has created "an Obama vs. Obama dark sides and light sides Civil War." On one hand, President Barack Obama has approved unprecedented job rights for whistleblowers which have resulted in enormous victories for workers in the private sector. However, he and his administration have filed more charges of secret revealing against government employees than all the other presidential administrations combined. "The government is also trying to re-brand federal employees as national security workers which would leave a self policing honor system by (federal) agencies," Lowell said.

As a starting point, the panel tried to distinguish between 2 terms - whistleblowing and leaking.  In whistle blowing, "the purpose is to try to correct a wrong," said Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a non-partisan independent group that conducts investigations into corruption and misconduct and champions good government reforms.

Leaking, however, like spying, serves a much different purpose.  "A leaker decides to reveal classified information for the purposes of ego or disgruntlement," said John Rizzo, an attorney for 34 years at the Central Intelligence Agency and the CIA's chief legal counsel for 7 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City.

The panel discussed theories on why Obama would be so supportive of whistleblowers in private industry and employ the exact opposite approach with government workers. "Maybe the president has become close to intelligence agencies, but I think people expected something different from him," Brian said.

Rizzo said that working under 7 different presidents taught him that patterns develop. "(As president) you find out all the secrets belong to you and every president wants to keep secrets," he said "But too much stuff is being classified and that erodes respect for true secrets."

Several of the panelists said that in today's world of terror - a fact driven home just 1 day earlier by the bomb blasts at the Boston marathon - leaders are fearful of appearing weak on national security. "After 9/11, cases going after leakers are low-hanging fruit," Lowell said.

The film depicts the situations of 4 people - Franz Gayl, Michael DeKort, Thomas Drake, and Thomas Tamm - who, after being ignored by their chain of commands, took their issues to the media.

Tamm, who reported on illegal government listening of the conversations of private citizens, left his Justice Department position and now works as a criminal defense litigation attorney in Washington.

"So few people knew what was going on that it clued me that what was going on was illegal," Tamm said. "I observed the law being broken and I was at the Justice Department to protect the law."

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The documentary is thought-provoking and powerful.  To see a trailer, click here.

Powder Keg in Pyongyang

Kim Jung-un surrounded by his military

For decades, North Korea has rattled its sabers with much noise but no resulting conflict. But now, with a young, untested Korean dictator/king in charge threatening nuclear attacks, just how serious are the words of war spewing from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang? Could a nuclear conflagration actually explode on the Korean peninsula? And what strategy should the United States employ in light of this potentially dangerous situation?

These were just a few of the key questions a panel of Korean experts discussed this week at an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) program entitled Powder Keg in Pyongyang: How Serious is the Korean Crisis?

"It's like looking though a glass darkly. We don't know how cohesive the North Korean dictatorship is at this point. But domestic politics are informing the threats that we've all been so thrilled by," said Nicholas Eberstadt, a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research. "Kim Jung-un has to consolidate the  throne and he has to consolidate the state."

A major problem is so little is known about North Korea's new 30-year-old  leader who inherited the mantle of leadership when his father died in late 2011. Under the rule of his father and grandfather, North Korea was recognized as one of the worst dictatorships in the world.

"Even the most brutal dictatorships in the Middle East pale alongside North Korea," said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow for Northeast Asia. Despite years of oppression and starvation, there is little chance for an internal uprising. First, the people are terrified and cowed. The government has complete control over the media and there is no social media to foment rebellion. "You don't have a (Nelson) Mandela for the people to rally around. You don't have the conditions that you did for an Arab Spring," Klingner explained.

As expected, the entire economy of North Korea is controlled by a select few. "North Korea is just one big criminal enterprise that happens to have state sovereignty," said Dan Blumenthal, the director of Asian studies at AEI. "The entire economy is a prime money laundering concern."

In its money laundering practices (Kim Jung-un for instance is believed to have more than $5 billion stashed away), North Korea's primary partner is China, which, of course, poses a particular problem for the United States. North Korea buys the bulk of its energy and military weapons from China, but its corrupt leaders also "buy their luxury items from their caviar to their iPhones to their Swedish pornography" from their giant, powerful neighbor to the north, Blumenthal said.

And while Chinese officials aren't always happy with North Korea's behavior, they are concerned with the possibility of losing its border neighbor to west-leaning nations. "China is reluctant to shut down North Korea," Blumenthal said. "It gives it stability on its border."  

Of course, the complexity of any American reaction is further complicated by its long, close ties to its ally South Korea. "North Korea is a really bad problem, but South Korea has been a huge success for the United States," said Abraham Denmark, vice president for political and security affairs at the National Bureau of Asian Research.

Currently, the administration of President Barack Obama has been employing "strategic patience" with North Korea's posturing and threat escalations. "We've tried a variety of mixed carrots and sticks over the years, but the model of success for North Korea has yet to be found," Denmark said.

Meanwhile, there is a belief that South Korea may not be as tolerant of North Korean behavior as it has been. "Leaders there have been criticized for not hitting back, so they have changed the rules of engagement. South Korea is much more likely to respond militarily than in times past. And they will respond forcefully and exponentially," Klingner said.

And what about the powerful nuclear capabilities of the United States and China and the limited, but real, possibilities in North Korea? "No country on Earth has ever gone to war with a nuclear state, but it's difficult to form a North Korea strategy. You have such conflicting views on best interests. And if there is regime collapse, you still have a nuclear state with nuclear people all over the place," said Thomas Donnelly, a defense and security policy analyst.

So what exactly is the best way for the United States to proceed? Talks should be held. Military maneuvers should continue. Efforts to make China reign in its partner should be increased. But, above all, the process should be thoughtful and proceed slowly, unless unforeseen circumstances mandate quick action. "The United States must move step by step to reduce the menace to itself and its allies rather than a quick Nobel Peace Prize-like solution," Eberstadt said.

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While the North Korea situation is serious, there is something absurd about a 3rd-rate dictatorship claiming that it will bomb Austin, Texas. For a lighter look at the situation click here to see what Stephen Colbert had to say on The Colbert Report. Click here to view Jon Stewart's report on The Daily Show.

The Sacred Language of Poetry

Natasha Tretheway: If I can't see it, I can't say it.

It's one of the most enduring questions in human history -  how does someone become a better person, a person more capable of reaching outward to show concern and compassion to others. Many focus on religious teachings. Others look to ethics or morality studies. But another answer, suggests Natasha Tretheway, the current Poet Laureate of the United States, may be found in the language of poetry

"Poetry is a sacred language to speak to each other and hear each other," Tretheway says. "It is most sacred in how it teaches us to empathize. We see ourselves in poetry which allows us to see others."

Tretheway appeared last night at the Newseum to present her thoughts in a program entitled The Story Being Written: The Poet as Public Figure. The program was presented by the First Amendment Center and Emory University, where Tretheway currently serves as a creative writing professor.

In her poetry, Tretheway explores themes of history, knowledge, and family. Those themes are revealed in the titles of her works such as "Illumination," "Knowledge," "Enlightenment," or "Elegy for My Father." The poet was born in 1966 in Mississippi to a white father and a black mother, meaning that her parents were not legally recognized as being married in that state and she was considered illegitimate. Ironically, today, not only is she the American Poet Laureate, she is also the Poet Laureate of the state of Mississippi.

Although she uses her personal experiences, the universal appeal of her works is evident. "To have intimate conversations (about family) is really to have a conversation with America," Tretheway contends. "Poetry helps us know something about ourselves and the world we live in and our place in the world we have been given."

"When I write about history, I'm really writing about the present," she says. In her poetry, Tretheway has termed history "a beautiful ruin etched in the mind's eye."

"People are dropped into history and history is trapped in us also," she explains.

As you might expect, Tretheway read a few of her poems as preface to her remarks. One of the most poignant was "Help, 1968," which deals with the Mississippi times when her mother was mistaken for her maid and forced to assume a mask of "the dark foil in the American story."

Tretheway says her mixed-race background compels her to look at the codification of racial differences in society. "You are what the cops say you are," she says somewhat jokingly. "But geography is fate. There is the idea of white supremacy and black inferiority and all that is implied in that. Not to deal with my personal history, for me, that would mean turning away from my mother, turning away from her story."

Being of mixed-race, Tretheway says she has always been forced to face conceptions about the subject.  "I've heard things like 'that's your white side' or 'you're not like the rest of them.' But I choose to represent the rest of them as the best of them."

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If you would like to learn more about Tretheway's writing and see samples of her poetry, click here.