When Criminals Clam Up

Black marketeers invade the shellfish racket, and officials try to stop them.

By GEOFFREY NORMAN

"...It would seem to be a familiar tale of tough-guy law enforcement, with a plotline somewhere between "Kojak" and "CSI." Lawmen track down leads, sift through evidence, set up stakeouts, work informers, cut deals with low-lifes and work their way up the food chain to bust the big guys or expose a conspiracy. They do everything that cops do except shoot somebody...

From the Washington Post's "Short Stack":

"John Lancaster's review of my new book on the 1967 Israeli attack on the American spy ship U.S.S. Liberty has stirred a lot of online debate - much of it heated - among Washington Post readers in recent days. One reader argued that the United States should retaliate and sink an Israeli ship and call it an accident. Another urged Congress to investigate. Others have criticized Israeli and American Middle East policy.

Some readers are equally passionate in their defense of Israel for what it has always maintained was a tragic accident. Many point out that Israel was a close American ally, involved in a hectic and fast-paced war in the desert and had everything to lose by attacking a U.S. ship. Both sides point to many of the same documents - though with differing interpretations - to hammer home their points. ... "

To read the rest of Scott's response, a href="http://voices...