Perhaps most portentous of all is Moscow's drumbeat that only a political or diplomatic solution is acceptable.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Scorecard For Moscow's 'Double Game' In Iraq

President Obama's studied indifference towards the situation there and his determination, come what may, to pull all U.S. forces out is setting the stage for a portentous American rout.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Whose side are they on?

Ms von Lange, who has been dubbed literature's answer to the Spice Girls, saves her novel from sounding too condescending and portentous by injecting a heavy element of comedy into a book intended to upset the grown-ups.

ECONOMIST: Post-wall German fiction