For starters, the Bush Administration made an inexplicable and tragic mistake with respect to its campaign management of the Iraq issue.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Tragedy of errors

People make a tragic mistake when they assume power will only be used for purposes of which they approve by people of whom they approve.

FORBES: Pepper Spray Before Profits at UC Davis? Privatize the Police

On January 12, 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson made a tragic mistake: When publicly describing those areas of vital interest to the United States, he omitted the Republic of Korea (ROK), suggesting that it was not within the "defensive perimeter" for which the United States would fight.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Must History Repeat Itself? Congress Should Not Invite North Korean Aggression

But the cavalier treatment of passengers left stranded by flight cancellations and the yelling of obscenities at people who, in sometimes tragic circumstances, make the mistake of asking for a refund have given Ryanair a deserved reputation for nastiness.

ECONOMIST: Aviation