The solemn face that Alberto Korda caught in his photographs became tough and unsympathetic.

But, instead of hot rhetoric, what is needed now is a cool headed assessment of the military implications of the missile launch.

More truthful accounts, such as Marcel Ophuls s magisterial documentary The Sorrow and the Pity (1968) were, to say the least, unwelcome.

However, being radical does not necessarily mean being irrational, and revolutionary Iran has given frequent proof of its pragmatism.

The problem now for Iraqi and US politicians is that, to act rationally, they will need to face down elements within their own constituencies.

COPENHAGEN When it comes to global warming, we have plenty of hot rhetoric but very little cool reason. This matters immensely, because the Kyoto Protocol is already among the most expensive global public policies ever enacted, and the follow up in Copenhagen in late 2009 promises to break all records.

Sound economic judgment and discretion are required as well, given the need to weigh the risks of alternative policies and the ease with which financial markets can be roiled.

LONDON Reading Barack Obama sDreams from My Father, the US president s beautifully written reflections on his early life and identity, most people are struck by his cool and intellectual approach. This is not to say that he is unemotional.

The Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen notes in his latest magisterial book The Idea of Justice that most people understand that a process is fair when they can detect a connection between effort and reward.

Nancy Reagan codified the misty eyed gaze at the rugged man, the demure demurrals, and the aggregation of power behind the throne, while claiming, in interviews, interest in nothing more serious than the White House s latest china patterns.

A former CNN journalist, her quiet bearing and diplomatic manner belie her courage she captured her husband s heart as she was reporting from Baghdad on the eve of shock and awe, standing firm before the cameras even as the bombs were falling.

The Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen notes in his latest magisterial book The Idea of Justice that most people understand that a process is fair when they can detect a connection between effort and reward. The bankers failed this test dismally.

More truthful accounts, such as Marcel Ophuls s magisterial documentary The Sorrow and the Pity (1968) were, to say the least, unwelcome. Ophuls s film was not shown on French state television until 1981.