[Publius6961]

That'd be altar, John. =o)

Unless your subtlety escaped me and a < /sarc > tag applies, "alter" is the precisely proper word, Arasina.

[arasina]

Unless your subtlety escaped me and a < /sarc > tag applies, "alter" is the precisely proper word, Arasina.

You might want to tell Charles Krauthammer that, then. =o)

Hard Power's Soft Landing

This in foreign policy establishment circles is called "hard power." In the Bush years, hard power is terribly out of fashion, seen as a mere obsession of cowboys and neocons. Both in Europe and America, the sophisticates worship at the altar of "soft power" - the use of diplomatic and moral resources to achieve one's ends.

(no sarcasm...just pedantic observation from years of reading)

[editor-surveyor]

"Unless your subtlety escaped me and a < /sarc > tag applies, "alter" is the precisely proper word, Arasina."

Not likely.

Alter = modify, altar = place where something is worshipped.