The Explorers Club
No. CXXI - The hypothetical planets Vulcan and Phaeton.








There are certain difficulties, as one might imagine, in locating images of a purely hypothetical celestial body; the above planet is conjectural, an artistic flight of fancy.

Atlanticism
Ending the civil war in Bosnia and punishing the Serbs for their campaign in Kosovo are, beyond any doubt, the greatest (and perhaps only) accomplishments of President Clinton's benighted tenure as leader of the free world: decenniallink. Of course, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that the war raged for three genocidal years while the Europeans stubbornly insisted that their toothless diplomacy was the only solution; a few weeks of American-led warfare in 1995 accomplished what years of empty talk could not. Four years later, in '99, months of diplomacy had failed to reign in the Serbs; once again, it was demonstrated that force is the only for of persuasion a bully understands. Ten years on, the Serbs still feel they were in the right; they may not have learned their lesson, but at least they are no longer in a position to slaughter their neighbors wholesale.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Nena, "99 Luftballons" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "99 Luftballons," not "99 Red Balloons." Luft means "air," rot means "red."