Turkey On the Make

Dennis Miller (who, as the very drole Christopher Hitchens observed tonight as a guest on Miller's CNBC show, is looking a lot like Saddam Hussein these days, or maybe vice versa) on the rejiggering of the Turkish lira: "instead of exchanging all your old currency you can avoid the confusion and just pay with hashish." Lovely. The new lira actually seems to be doing quite well, though Turkey doesn't want to rest on its laurels of financial solvency. Prime Minister Erdogan thinks he can bolster his country's EU credentials by assuming a leadership role in the Middle East, which even includes warming relations with Israel.