Related commentaries: Brazil World Cup Russia Winter Olympics Read more.
Brazil’s World Cup even bigger misuse/waste of money than Russia’s Winter Olympics
Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 7:39 AM
Archives for June 2014
Thank You, Mila, for Telling Men to Stop Saying, ‘We’re Pregnant’
Friday, June 13, 2014 at 6:49 AM
I’ve been trying for years to disabuse expectant couples of the purportedly bonding, but plainly emasculating, affectation of saying, “We’re pregnant.” (Saying this would only be appropriate if the couple were lesbians … and they were both pregnant!) I am an avowed feminist. But close (female) friends will attest to my long-standing belief that the… Read more.
The World Cup – Brazil!
Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 6:57 AM
You do not have to be a fan of the “beautiful game” of soccer to be interested in the World Cup, which kicks off in Brazil today. Not least because, like the Olympics, the political, economic and cultural factors involved mean that it transcends sports. This is why the matches (and even who wins that coveted Cup)… Read more.
Perhaps Only Authoritarian Regimes Can Govern Arab Countries
Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 7:14 AM
Nothing affirms the proposition that only authoritarian regimes can govern Arab countries quite like the very Egyptians who protested against the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak being the ones now cheering for the authoritarian regime of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Especially given that al-Sisi seized power from the country’s first democratically elected government of Mohamed… Read more.
For Queen Elizabeth, To Abdicate, or Not To Abdicate: That Is NOT the Question
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 7:13 AM
What concerns me is that people around the world seem even more vested in this anachronistic institution (namely, the British monarchy) today than they were when William’s parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana, got married 30 years ago (on July 29, 1981). I have long maintained that royalty makes a mockery of the universal principle that… Read more.
Triple Crown Letdown … Again
Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 9:53 AM
I don’t get the emotional attachment so many people have to this horse. Then again, it probably takes understanding the psychology at play in Peter Shaffer’s Equus to get it. But I think horse racing has all the redeeming social value of cockfighting (or dogfighting, given the Michael Vick scandal).… Barbaro, of course, was the latest winner… Read more.
Makes more Sense for Obama to Negotiate with Terrorists than Republicans?
Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 8:54 AM
Their unwitting championing of Putin as a more admirable leader than Obama betrays the fact that far too many Republicans hate their president more than they love their country. Which is why they will say or do anything to undermine his presidency — the welfare of the country be damned. (“Checkmated on Crimea, Obama Plays… Read more.
D-Day that ‘Saved the World’?
Friday, June 6, 2014 at 9:11 AM
Every year Western leaders mark D-Day by hailing The Greatest Generation of Americans, Britons, Frenchmen, and Canadians who “saved the world.” Except that they invariably overlook the role Russians played. This constitutes a historic oversight (or slight). Moreover, it is at the root of much of the resentment that has beset Russia’s relationship with the… Read more.
Maya Angelou, Legendary Poet and Author, Is Dead
Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 5:44 AM
Everyone is eulogizing Maya Angelou. And they’re doing so as if she were more a living saint than a poet laureate. Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time — a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman. (President Obama, whitehouse.gov, May 28, 2014)… Read more.
White Guilt Behind Acclaim of ‘12 Years A Slave’ and Lupita Nyong’o
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 6:34 AM
[Tokenism in Hollywood] remains such that members of the Academy seem racially averse to nominating more than one Black movie in any given year, let alone awarding Oscars to more than one. Only this explains why they completely shut out Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom… This slight against Mandela (or… Read more.