Alas, Muslim fanatics have issued another fatwa against author Salman Rushdie. But this time Rushdie did not even do (or write) anything to incite their religious bloodlust. Instead, these zealous and narcissistic executioners of Islamic hegemony are braying for his head simply because the British government announced last weekend that Queen Elizabeth II will bestow… Read more.
NOTE: Conference on the Caribbean…in DC
Over the past few weeks I have received many e-mails from people throughout the Caribbean enquiring about my plans to participate in or comment on this week’s Conference on the Caribbean…in DC (and I hope the geopolitical irony in that is not lost on you). But, as the Editor of Caribbean Net News can attest,… Read more.
World Refugee Day
Today, humanitarians are taking their annual time out to commiserate about the appalling state of the 12 million refugees now mired in limbo and abject poverty in refugee camps all over the world. But, on this issue, a picture is worth a thousand words – even for an impudent and irrepressible wordsmith like me. Besides,… Read more.
Segolene Royal and Francois Hollande divorce French style
Well, so much for the reputed quizzical insouciance of the French when it comes to marital (or, more notably, extramarital) affairs. Because today every French newspaper is emblazoned with headlines about the intriguing split between Segolene Royal, the Socialist candidate I endorsed here in last month’s French presidential election, and Francois Hollande, the leader of… Read more.
Mike Nifong – rogue prosecutor in the Duke rape case – disbarred!
Given my chronicling of all major developments in the Duke Lacrosse rape case, it would be remiss of me not to comment on the fact that “persecutor“ Michael B. Nifong was disbarred on Saturday. His disbarment came at the end of a week-long trial, which featured Nifong as the star witness for his own defense.During… Read more.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Happy Father’s Day Read more.
UPDATE: My misadventure in podcasting
A month ago today, I recorded my first podcast. But because I was cajoled into doing it by dear friends (who thought I had a “perfect radio voice”), I set a firm condition for future recordings: I ended that podcast by declaring that it would be my first and last recording – unless a critical… Listen.
Good (news) Friday: Achebe awarded the Man Booker International Prize
One of the great ironies of my life is that an English girl in America introduced me to African literature. The book she gave me, which sealed my abiding affection for this genre, is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe of Nigeria. Nobody familiar with his work would be surprised that I think one of… Read more.
(UPDATE) Investing in China: earning profits, losing principles!
In a September 2005 article entitled Yahoo! becomes China’s most-favored thought police, I lamented, yet again: …how odious and hypocritical it was that American corporations that exploited democratic freedoms to make their names and untold fortunes are now collaborating with a totalitarian regime to deny people in the most populous country on earth similar human… Read more.
Caribbean terrorists: too broke and stupid to blow up JFK Airport?
…The Caribbean is not a terrorism hotbed and I hope this incident would not trigger paranoia in the U.S. government agencies and that they would not start profiling of people from our region and causing problems for them….We see this as an aberration. [This is the essence of an extraordinary plea Guyana’s president, Bharrat Jagdeo,… Read more.