Greg Gagarin, an MIT Club Partner, was in Army ROTC at MIT before Pearl Harbor and in his junior year accepted a provisional commission in the US Navy. Upon graduation in 1943 he received his commission, was affiliated with the Harvard-MIT Radar Laboratories, and went to Corpus Christie, Texas to do naval... Learn More

EAST UKRAINE, MAY 20 In case you missed it…the 2014 reporters without borders study on truth in media ranked our United States a disappointing #46, and declining. Put another way, that means 45 countries do a better job of reporting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Why? Probably lots... Learn More

Downtown Donetsk, Victory Day, May 9, 2015 Donetsk International Airport, December, 2014 Donetsk Int’l Airport, September 2010 Regardless of which side you are on in the matter of Ukrainian Sovereignty, the human spirit is a hard thing to suppress over the long-term. Add to that two other unmistakable truths: 1.) Violence always... Learn More

Six years ago in San Diego, California, I met Lidia Litvyak (1921-1943) for the first time. Lidia, a feisty, diminutive, blonde teenager was the world’s first female fighter pilot -- and to this day, the most successful ever in terms of missions and solo kills. Not surprisingly, she became Hitler’s worst... Learn More

Determined East Ukrainians with no pensions, no banks, and few medicines remember what is important. Eastern Ukraine, May 9, 2015 In many cities of Russia, in Donetsk and Lugansk too, after the Victory Day military parade there was another parade of people with portraits of their relatives who perished during the Great Patriotic War.... Learn More

EASTERN UKRAINE, MAY, 2015 The Saur-Grave monument is a part of a regional landscape park near Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine. During the World War II, the Germans took the hill then built bulk bunkers and fortifications, arranged in tiers. The Soviet army lost 23,238 soldiers retaking the hill. To commemorate a moment when... Learn More

Seems as though every day in every news outlet, there is some unbelievable story. Since I've now written two books on international matters, I've decided to take the next step. I've started a Twitter campaign devoted strictly to making reasonable comments on news of substance from around the world. I’ve even given... Learn More

Expected: Russia ranks #148 out of 180 Countries in 2014 survey "Reporting without Bias." Country rank unchanged from 2013. Surrounded by Myanmar, Bangladesh, Singapore, Philippines, Iraq, Turkey, Mexico and Pakistan. Unexpected: United States ranks #46 in the same study. Trails virtually the entire European Union (Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, U.K. etc.) and... Learn More

[caption id="attachment_1811" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Source: New York Times Shell Oil Study[/caption] In 1970, there were three major cities with populations of 10 million people or more: New York, Tokyo and Osaka. So America represented 33% of the world’s major urban centers. By 2010, there were 23 such major urban centers. Two were American, New... Learn More

(EASTERN UKRAINE, NOV 2014). This is an actual quote in a very recent note from my friend and colleague in Eastern Ukraine. I had the good fortune to meet and live with these intelligent, gentle people in more peaceful times. This is also the first time in my life I have been... Learn More