The Islamic Republic of Iran Turns 31

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(This picture was taken by Shane M. in Tehran on Bahman 22 in 2009. Shane writes about the pic: “I’m always interested in the folks found that are found around a spectacle. I asked these guys if I could take a picture and they readily agreed. The flower was his idea.

Charlie Wilson Dies

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Former US Congressman Charlie Wilson has died at age 76. Wilson was a 12-term Member of the US House of Representatives representing Texas’ 2nd District. Wilson’s strong advocacy of US support of mujahadeen in their quest to repel Soviet forces in Afghanistan were the subject of the book and movie “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

A Tale of Two Winters

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The pic to the left was taken by a friend who is the head chef at the Italian Embassy and whose igloo is just down the street from mine. The second from a friend and Washington Note reader in Northern California.

Simon Johnson: Obama Confused on CEO Compensation

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This is a guest note by Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and co-founder of The Baseline Scenario. Johnson is also a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and a member of the CBO’s Panel of Economic Advisers.

Tidbits on a DC Snow Day: Storms, Realists, Feinstein’s Chairs, Churchill, LBJ & Nigel Sheinwald

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Snow Storms & Roads In snow-challenged Washington, DC, Nebraska Avenue and the roads around Vice President’s Naval Observatory home are immaculate, completely cleared of snow and ice — but the major artery of Massachusetts Avenue is a horizontal snow slush, barely plowed.