Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
Podcast Episode 99 Given the way Western media are covering the protests raging across China, you’d be forgiven for thinking they portend revolutionary change. But they are just sound and fury signifying … relatively little. This episode explains why. Note: I recorded this episode on Wednesday and published it originally the next day (Dec 1). Listen.
Podcast Episode 93 I’ve been in the vanguard of those hailing the transformative power of women in politics. I refer you in this regard to blog posts like “Women Make Better Politicians Than Men” October 14, 2010, and podcast episodes like “Men Should Be Barred from Politics,” December 27, 2020. Nothing vindicates this proposition quite… Listen.
Images of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of African-American George Floyd, who then died, have sparked protests from Amsterdam to Nairobi, but they also expose deeper grievances among demonstrators over strained race relations in their own countries. [For example,] peaceful protesters highlighted allegations of abuse of black prisoners by their jailers, social… Read more.
For once, I wish the mainstream media would focus on the real story instead of chasing after every shiny ball President Trump throws at them. Here, for example, is a real story: As protestors demonstrated in the vicinity of the White House over the weekend, President Donald Trump reportedly retreated into the underground bunker intended… Read more.
Social networks are replete with cynical and misleading posts. Nothing demonstrates this quite like the twits who tweet support for social activism. Because, far too often, they never take a single step beyond tweeting, and never express any concern when nobody else does. Imagine, for example, if the Civil Rights Movement amounted to little more… Read more.
Iran called for calm on Sunday after protests in a southern city over water shortages turned violent overnight with reports of police shooting at demonstrators who attacked banks and public buildings. … A number of protests have broken out in Iran since the beginning of the year over water, a growing political concern due to… Read more.
Which shows that Iran is more like America than most Americans, including President Donald J. Trump, realize. I was among far too few Western commentators who hailed Iranians for electing the moderate Hassan Rouhani as president in August 2013. But nothing vindicated our praise quite like Rouhani accepting President Obama’s overtures to strike a landmark… Read more.
Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has suffered for several years from high inflation, rampant crime and a shortage of basic goods. The protests taking place across the country were expected to be the biggest in three years, putting extra pressure on President Maduro to negotiate with the opposition and find a… Read more.
If anyone hadn’t noticed already, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests are running out of energy and options. Benny Tai’s announcement, actually planned for some time, simply confirms it. After two long months, the movement has achieved nothing in the way of concessions from Hong Kong’s own government, let alone China’s. (BBC News, December 2, 2014) Benny… Read more.
I’ve been commenting on the kinds of mass protests (and riots) now raging across Brazil for almost a decade. I refer you to the following in The iPINIONS Journal: “Revolution in the Middle East” (March 2, 2005), “Alienated Youths Masquerading as Grieving Students Still Rioting in Greece” (December 13, 2008), “Tunisian Revolution Sets Off Arab… Read more.
