Jonathan Clarke

BBC News last night featured an interview about Iran with a highly-presentable young specialist at Hopkins, Trita Parsi. The interview was startling to me for a word that Parsi used. Now that the neocon moment seems at last to be over, and the U.S. is working with European countries, he asked whether the period of American "isolation" has ended?

Parsi was describing the neocons as isolationists. Not isolationists in the old sense, of refusing engagement. But in isolating America from the world. A similar point is made in the wonderful dissection of neocons America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order, co-authored by conservative thinktanker Jonathan Clarke.

The Parsi appearance is interesting for a couple of reasons. As head of the National Iranian-American Council, this scholar is a rising star. Parsi is even quoted in the Forward. He is highly critical of Israel, saying that it is using the crisis with Iran to seek to solidify its regional supremacy. And he is Francis Fukuyama's student. Fukuyama thanks Parsi in America at the Crossroads, his fine book about his apostasy from neoconservatism. Indeed, I wonder how much Parsi has influenced Fukuyama in his own distancing from Israel. Parsi, Fukuyama, Jonathan Clarke, Walt, Mearsheimer—they all are realists. I.e., conservatives. Their advantage over the left in opposing the horrifying Iraq war is that they have made it a point to distinguish America's interests from Israel's (while firmly standing up for Israel's existence). That has been important work. When will a politician show the guts to take them in?

"That's cool Harry, right there," yelled Doug Platt from the sidelines. Mr. Platt is a button distributor from Manhattan; his son Harry, properly Harrison, is six years old. And Harry looked nervous.

Larry Brown, the new coach of the New York Knicks, pulled a stern face and signaled for Harry to do his lay-up. "Go Harry! Hoooooo!" yelled dad. The ball, somewhat miraculously, went through the hoop.

More than 200 kids showed up for the basketball clinic in Southampton on Saturday. Mr. Brown, who has reportedly signed the richest coaching contract in NBA history, to the tune of more than $50 million over 10 years, donated approximately $31,000 worth of his time for the clinic.

Also-shows were Knicks front office man and former NBA great Isiah Thomas and Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. The charity: Hoops 4 Hope, a non-profit that sends shoes and uniforms to schoolchildren in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"So this is where all my $50 parking tickets go," said a Daily News photographer; he marveled at the airplane hangar-sized area of the SYS Center in Southampton. Housewives jogged around the elevated track along the perimeter; a karate team waited quietly on nearby bleachers.

The coaches circulated among the three different courts leading drills, offering instruction, and leading chants: "1,2,3, Go Knicks!"

Not everyone was concentrating on basketball though. "Some shirts right here fellas, I only have 'larges' though," hawked Jonathan Clarke, aka J'Crue, a DJ for Blaze 101.7. Several youngsters intent on scoring swag skipped out on the official Q&A to peruse the wares. "We're Long Island's first hip-hop and R&B station. So that is big," said Mr. Clarke.

Next to Mr. Clarke sat two teenagers, Laura and Heather. They were handing out free samples of Fuze, a fruit drink, of sorts. Heather poured a shot of a mango drink into a paper cup. "Like, if you wanted to take this instead of a multivitamin, it would give you 100 percent of your daily vitamins and minerals" she said.  read more »

This week, Mr. Brown leaves for California. His own son is off to basketball camp, in fact; Michael Jordan's, in Santa Barbara. —Aaron Clark