Tom

“Relationships have decayed; trust has ebbed. This is not a new problem. George W Bush's administration made a bonfire of American soft power with its botched war in Iraq. In different ways, the Obama administration's remote, chilly and arrogant style has compounded the damage.”
― Edward Lucas, The Snowden Operation: Inside the West's Greatest Intelligence Disaster

“It is important not to concentrate the defence case too narrowly on terrorism. That is a grave threat, but not the only one. Invoking the attacks of September 11th 2001 as justification for everything the NSA does can be a powerful defence, but it wears out with over-use. It invites pointed questions, like how many terrorists did you catch by trawling meta-data?”
― Edward Lucas, The Snowden Operation: Inside the West's Greatest Intelligence Disaster

“I’m naturally kind of shy. But being a reporter”
― Thomas E. Ricks, Big Money, Small Town: A Ryan Tapia Novel

“Margery Kempe was obviously an uncomfortable neighbor to have, like all those who cannot conceal the painfulness of life.”
― Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century