February 23, 2013 NEW YORK – In the colorful, pithy Scottish language, there’s a delightful expression, “greet an’ gurn.” Which means to loudly moan and groan. That’s what’s happened this week across the United States as the fiscal Ides of March grow close. On March 1, unless Congress and the […]


July 21, 2012 Jamaica’s Port Royal used to be called the wickedest city on earth. During the 1600’s, it was a favorite lair for pirates, buccaneers like Henry Morgan, , cutthroats, and assorted criminals. To paraphrase Somerset Maugham’s wonderful quip about Monaco, “a sunny place for shady people.” In 1692, […]


19 May 2012 The last time Greece faced a crisis of this magnitude was in 490 BC when the armies and fleets of the Persian Empire were converging on Athens. The great Athenian leader Themistocles rallied his countrymen and defeated the Persians. Alas, this time Greece has no Themistocles to […]