Laura Bush on Burma: The Burmese I’ve met, they want our affection. As Kerry Howley, an old Burma hand herself, rightly asks, “Are they puppies?”. She explains how the US has, alas, become useful for the Burmese junta and how all Mrs Bush’s concern won’t/can’t change that.
Woo hoo! The Rugby World Cup is almost upon us. Once upon a time – ie, during the inaugural tournament in 1987 – this would have meant that those of us exiled in the United States had almost no chance of following the tournament live. So, three cheers for the internets and satellite television and
That wise owl Terry Teachout responds to the brouhaha over the revelation that Arthur Miller “deleted” his Downs-syndrome son from his life, by digging into his vast archive to retrieve the column he wrote when Gunter Grass’s youthful service in the Waffen SS came to public attention. Mr Teachout reminds us of five important principles
Matthew d’Ancona makes a pretty sweeping claim this morning. Sir Michael Caine is, he writes: almost certainly the Greatest Living Englishman. My first reaction was that this was pretty strong mustard. But then again, now that Bill Deedes has gone, who are the other contenders? Your nominations please… And if Sir Sean Connery can be
TAPPED’s Dana Goldstein blogs about today’s striking New York cabbies. They’re not happy that they’re being required to purchase “Passenger Information Monitors” – ie maps and GPS devices – that will make it more difficult for them to rip-off passengers. Goldstein thinks this a good idea but, standing shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed working
Ben Crair has a piece at TNR today headlined, The Iraq War is Responsible for Scottish Independence. Really. Well, up to a point Lord Copper. The “Really” is an unfortunate indication that this pudding may be a little over-egged. Few people would deny that discontent with the war played a part in the SNP’s victory
It all depends where you are coming from I suppose. Tyler Cowen flags up this Observer survey of forgotten, under-rated or generally neglected novels. And we’re immediately in an odd, odd place. Will Self selects Alasdair Gray’s Lanark. Well, you can call Lanark many things but given that Anthony Burgess (albeit absurdly) said it was
Researchers confirm that rock’n’roll stars lead unhealthy lives and die young. Shockerooni!
The President of the United States of America: A moment later, press secretary Tony Snow stepped into the doorway to ask about the daily press briefing he was about to conduct. Bush offered some suggestions for how to defer questions about his Iraq strategy. “Good. Perfect. Sorry to interrupt,” Snow said as he vacated the
No need for comment, is there? Mr. Bush has often said that will be for historians decide, but he said during his sessions with Mr. Draper that they would have to consult administration documents to get to the bottom of some important questions. Mr. Bush acknowledged one major failing of the early occupation of Iraq
Karl Rove is a remarkable man. On his last day in the White House, National Review Online publishes a piece in which Rove claims that history will judge Bush favourably if Iraq proves a success: History’s concern is with final outcomes, not the missteps or advances of the moment. History will render a favorable verdict
Iain McWhirter at The Guardian reminds one why Edinburgh is perhaps the world’s best city every August: Now, here’s a cultural success story of truly epic proportions. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone has sold 1.7m tickets this year – that’s more than twice the number sold by the Manchester Commonwealth Games. It does this every
Dispatches from the Drug Wars: Agents with a regional drug task force raided Leonard French’s home in southeastern New Mexico on Tuesday and seized several marijuana plants. But the wheelchair-bound man said he’s certified by the state Health Department to possess and smoke marijuana for medical reasons. The 44-year-old lost the use of his legs
Another reason not to vote for Mitt Romney: he’s a bloody jogger. No surprise there, I suppose. Anyway, despite that, this new Romney ad, is not without interest. Jason Zengerle observes that Romney is playing up his “competency candidate” credentials, pivoting away from his previous pandering to social and evangelical conservatives. And so he is,
Each dot represents someone living in Manhattan who receives farming subsidies from the US government. The large dots indicate the home address of someone raking in more than $250,000 a year. Ah, such sweet lunacy! [Hat tip: Yglesias]
Martin Samuel is in good form today. He doesn’t much like MLS and, really, it’s not difficult to agree with him. The LA Galaxy’s recent 5-4 defeat at the New York Red Bulls was entertaining in the way that games featuring large quantities of comedy defending often are, but was notable not so much for
Megan wonders why, ten years on, Princess Diana is back on the front pages. The simplest answer, natch, is grubby: she still sells. No British paper has been more Diana-obsessed this past decade than the once-great Daily Express, but despite the sardonic ribbing it receives from the rest of the British press corps every time
Chris Orr decries Mickey Kaus’s decrying of The Bourne Ultimatum as “anti-American”. Chris is right to observe that the film’s good guys are also American government officers and that Joan Allen’s character says of water-boarding etc that “This isn’t us” but ultimately (ha!) I can’t quite agree with his conclusion. I thought it a rather
I have no interest whatsoever in health policy, but I am interested in education. Paul Krugman’s column yesterday mocked one strand of conservative (libertarian actually) education thinking. So let’s end this un-American system and make education what it should be — a matter of individual responsibility and private enterprise. Oh, and we shouldn’t have any
David Freddoso wonders why it is that it always seems to be conservatives (Republicans) who are caught cottaging etc etc. But this is not a recent phenomenon, or one limited to the United States. Every British hack knows that Tory scandals are about sex while Labour ones are about money.