It was good fortune that most of the precious documents of Timbuktu were spirited away before Islamic extremists took over northern Mali. Not long after they gained control of that ancient seat of learning in the Sahara Desert, they set about destroying the documents left behind as well as Sufi shrines.

OWL’S HEAD, Maine — This year's State of the Union, following closely on President Barack Obama's second inaugural address, seemed little more than an hour-long laundry list, though Republicans who painted it as traditional liberal demands were certainly wide of the mark.

The bailout of Cyprus is garnering much less attention than did the help provided to other struggling euro zone members.

Cyprus is tiny, and rescue or no rescue, the euro will remain largely unaffected. Or so the argument goes. While those who scoff that Cyprus’ request for €17 billion ($23 billion) is chump change compared to the Greek and Spanish bailouts and the hordes of bailout-ready cash stashed at the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), they are wrong to ignore the power of the precedent that Cyprus presents to the euro zone.

OWL'S HEAD, Maine — President Obama's Republican opponents complained that the domestic elements of his inaugural address were too partisan and too focused on what he hopes to accomplish over the next four years. Presumably they prefer Obama's usual vision of lofty idealism which, thanks to those very same Republicans, the country is no closer to than it was four years ago.