Happy New Year!!

I haven't posted much for the past couple of weeks because of holiday and travel commitments.

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year. One of my resolutions will be to restart publishing on a regular basis. With the upcoming Presidential Election, 2008 should be most interesting!

Christmas Season for the Homeless in New Orleans...

Jack Halterman stands beneath Interstate 10 where he and over 100 other homeless people sleep each night in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since Hurricane Katrina, the number of homeless in New Orleans has more than doubled to almost 12,000 people.

(Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images

The view from the other side of the pond...

I've been spending a few days in Ireland on family business. Not much news on the American elections on this side. Most friends support Hillary. The Clintons are considered big friends of Ireland because of Bill's support of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The big news here is the death a few days ago of a well-known model. It appears the 24-year old died as a result of cocaine. Lots of talk about the problem of drugs in Dublin. I guess it is partly a by-product of new found affluence.

Will Bush bomb Iran?

Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, discussed Iran's nuclear program at the White House. A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen.

I had the impression at the Bush press conference this morning that our President was disappointed that the intelligence agencies had discovered that Iran was not working on a bomb. My guess is that he'll just say "screw the intelligence agencies" and go ahead and bomb the Iranians anyway. He's got to do something to secure his legacy.

(Photo: Stephen Crowley / The New York Times)