Socialist Nightmare Might Make U.S. Healthier: Celestine Bohlen That’s it, folks. The U.S. is headed for “Euro-style socialism,” thanks to the public option in the House version of the universal health-care bill.

Obama’s Promise Needs More Diplomatic Polish: Celestine Bohlen There’s something about President Barack Obama that makes people want to rush to judgment. The premature award of the Nobel Peace Prize was just one example. A more negative assessment ran this week on the Huffington Post Web site: “The Audacity of Winning vs. The Timidity of Governing.”

Israel Should Detoxify Gaza Report Fallout: Celestine Bohlen There’s something very wrong with the way a 574-page report on last winter’s Gaza war has hijacked the public debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sex Tourism Opens New Wounds for French Elite: Celestine Bohlen Can a culture minister who has written an autobiographical book about paying for sex in the male bordellos of Bangkok and Jakarta stay in his job?

Rumsfeld’s ‘New Europe’ Must Drop U.S. Crutch: Celestine Bohlen Uncle Sam can’t be there for everyone anymore. That was U.S. President Barack Obama’s message at the United Nations last month. It was intended for many ears, but it should be heeded in the Czech Republic and Poland, where people are whining about being abandoned by the U.S. decision to dump a costly and ineffective missile-defense plan.

Polanski, Tax Cheats Put End to Swiss Myths: Celestine Bohlen Vladimir Lenin, Charlie Chaplin and Marc Rich found refuge in Switzerland. So did Roman Polanski, or so he thought up until he was arrested in Zurich on charges of having sex with a minor.

Nasty Court Case Sets Off French Food Fight: Celestine Bohlen Have you ever seen a pie-throwing contest in a French restaurant?

Turkey Should Dump Tax Feud Like Adultery Law: Celestine Bohlen Any business leader would shudder at a $2.5 billion tax fine. When penalties reach those levels, it’s a safe bet that more is going on than just tax delinquency.

Bin Laden Is the Target, So Let’s Go Get Him: Celestine Bohlen The Obama administration’s deepening quagmire in Afghanistan can be traced to a delusion of its own making, which began with the notion that this is a “good war.”

Hitler’s Place in Health Debate Is Just Nuts: Celestine Bohlen How did the Nazis creep into the U.S. debate over health care? What do concentration camps, eugenics and Adolf Hitler have to do with what is arguably the wonkiest U.S. domestic issue of all time?