Seventeen years ago today, December 22, 2006, was my first post at COTTonLINE, a simple announcement that it would appear. The idea to do it was a gift from the other DrC who is more of a tech person than I. If we can hang on another three years, we can drag out the opening line from Sgt. Pepper.
The very next day was my first substantive post, on the future of Iraq in the post-Saddam era. I predicted we’d not be able to create a stable country there in the absence of the draconian secret police Saddam wielded. So far, my prediction has proved prescient. We still have garrisons in many parts of the country, chasing Sunni extremists, supporting the Kurds, and being attacked by Shia militias at the behest of Iran.
In the early years COTTonLINE was all text, no pictures, graphics, or memes. We’ve evolved but the thrust is still largely the same. We do less “travel blogging” these days; since Covid we’ve done fewer trips abroad.
COTTonLINE is still an idiosyncratic mix of politics, foreign affairs, science oddities, the occasional entertainment review, seasonal milestones, and holiday commemorations plus odd bits of whatever strikes my fancy. And we’ve ridden a few hobbyhorses - favorite themes to which we return.
Thanks for joining me on this ‘voyage’ of discovery, I’ve had a good time and shared it with you.
