Peter Hannaford

Some of the “The Eternal Verities,” things everyone seems to know seem do not change from one year to the next; others, like life itself, are subject to updates. Here are some of both: When you look at “Frequently Asked…

If you were a successful venture capitalist with a few million dollars to spare you would probably look around for something worthwhile to do with your money. That’s what Tim Draper of Silicon Valley did. He came up with an…

Briefly last week supporters of California’s high-speed train project had something to cheer about. The state legislature, in approving a budget for 2014-15, voted to divert $250 million of expected cap-and-trade funds to the project, and subsequently allocating 25 percent of…

Last week’s bipartisan chorus’s calls for Secretary Shinseki to resign showed that members of Congress would rather give tough speeches than tackle problems that began well before the Obama administration. Take, for example, the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Hospital in 2007 when…

With California’s primary election next Tuesday, Governor Jerry Brown is likely to capture close to 60 percent of the vote. According to the latest poll, his two closest Republican competitors, between them, will get 25 percent. Why the high numbers?…

For months con men have been preying on grandparents by telephone, apparently finding them a Mother Lode of money. Just last seek I learned how a Long Island, New York couple lost $4,500 to these smooth talkers who presented a…

Datelined “Los Angeles,”  the news story began, “Social media has been buzzing for weeks…” Has they? I thought. Who would use the word “media” as if it were singular? The answer, of course, was anyone who had not been taught…

In mid-afternoon the phone rang. The voice at the other end said, “Hi, Grandpa, it’s Thomas.” ME: Who? VOICE: Thomas, your grandson ME: I didn’t recognize your voice VOICE: That’s because I have a sore throat. ME: Where are you?…

The decline and probable failure of Secretary John Kerry’s peace initiative was predictable. It wasn’t because of a lack of meetings. From March 6, 2013 to March 17, 2014, Secretary Kerry met Mahmoud Abbas 46 times! With over twenty years…

Vladimir Putin stokes Russian nationalism, dreams of empire and a sense of victimization brought on by the “humiliating” collapse of the Soviet Union. He plays on the imagination of young people who have no personal memories of these things. At…