* European irony: Germany is increasingly isolated within the EU. It has everything to do with unconditional support for Israel.
* Japan and the Soviet Union never signed a peace treaty formally ending their WWII hostilities. It has everything to do with the Kuril Islands, the strategic, Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago claimed by both countries.
* The Lebanese government has embarked on direct talk with Israel over the war with Hezbollah that has ravaged southern Lebanon. Adding to the stalemate challenges: Neither has ever formally recognized the other’s sovereignty.
* “We will not allow any nation to determine our future.” That was PM Mark Carney of Canada in a less-than-nuanced reference to his country’s southern neighbor. “Nostalgia is not a policy.”