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Exclusive: Spike Lee wants US soccer team to wear “BP Sucks” shirts vs. England

Thumbnail : <i>Exclusive</i>: Spike Lee wants US soccer team to wear “BP Sucks” shirts vs. England

I did not attend last night’s Brooklyn Blogfest event (my invitation must have got caught in my spam filter). But my spy tells me that film director Spike Lee, the keynote presenter, took the occasion to bash the British about the Gulf oil spill. In doing so, Lee joined a growing chorus of high-profile Americans – […]

Criticism of Israel gives Washington cover to intervene more in Middle East

Leaders of the European powers were forthright in criticizing Israel’s raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. French President Nicholas Sarkozy condemned “the disproportionate use of force,” and British Prime Minister David Cameron called the raid “completely unacceptable”. In contrast, President Obama’s response was more circumspect. A White House statement called the incident “deeply regrettable,” and Obama […]

This week’s articles of note

“Obama’s youth brigade burns out,” Daily Beast, by Dayo Olopade “The Tea Party movement isn’t racist,” The New Republic, by John B. Judis “The beholden state: how public-sector unions broke California,” City Journal, by Steven Malanga “Happy now?: what’s at stake in America’s battle over free enterprise,” National Review, by Arthur C. Brooks “The future […]

Finding scandal where there isn’t

First, it was revealed that the White House orchestrated a job offer to senate candidate Joe Sestak, in the hope that he would stand down from the Pennsylvania primary. Now, there are reports that White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina encouraged Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff to pursue one of three international development jobs, […]

The human element in baseball

It was the perfect game – that wasn’t. Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out from “baseball immortality” – from joining only 20 pitchers in the history of the game that have thrown a perfect game (retiring all 27 batters). But the 27th batter was called safe by umpire Jim Joyce, in what was […]

Roubini on financial reform

Here is Nouriel Roubini speaking recently about financial industry reform. Reasonable, and goes further than the legislation currently being proposed. However, I think we need to be skeptical about how much good breaking up the large institutions will do for preventing another meltdown. As long as the productive economy is undynamic, finance will grow relatively; and as […]

Will eurozone crisis go global?

Interesting BBC discussion on the potential global implications of the eurozone crisis, with British economist Philippe Legrain, Italian politician Emma Bonino and Irwin Steltzer of the Hudson Institute. I doubt if enlightened government action is enough to stop economic fallout from the necessary deleveraging. And beyond the short-term crisis, the only way to get over the negative impact of deleveraging is […]

US economy’s artificial growth

James Bianco has an interesting post over at The Big Picture, entitled, “How much economic growth is ‘artificial’?” The answer: a lot. Bianco highlights the findings from the recent Congressional Budget Office report, Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from January 2010 Through March 2010. He concludes […]

Obama and emotional correctness

When it comes to assessing President Obama’s response to the Gulf oil spill, many pundits are asking whether the president is being sufficiently emotional in his response.  In the New York Times, Charles M. Blow writes: “There are many things at which the president is extraordinarily gifted. Emoting isn’t one of them.” Blow says that […]

The unreliability of memory

Thumbnail : The unreliability of memory

In his latest novel, the mostly hopeful story of a dying man trying to make sense of his life, Paul Auster ditches his usual formalism in favour of creating engaging characters. Read my review of Invisible, by Paul Auster, in the spiked review of books, here.

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