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by H. J. de Blij In the current dilemma arising from the Hamas election victory, it may be useful to recall a French experience. Following the war of independence fought by Algerian Arabs against their French colonial rulers, France acknowledged Algeria’s independence in July 1962, leaving in charge a government of which Paris approved. That […]
Coretta Scott King (27 Apr. 1927–30 January 2006) was born in Heiberger, near Marion, Alabama, the second of three children of Obadiah Scott and Bernice McMurry, who farmed their own land. Although Coretta and her siblings worked in the garden and fields, hoeing and picking cotton, the Scotts were relatively well off. Her father was […]
by Jill Quadagno Last year nearly a million more people were uninsured compared to the year before. The employer-based system that most people of working age have relied on since the 1950s is unraveling at the seams. Each year for more than a decade the percentage of employers offering health benefits has declined. The only […]
Oxford University Press mourns the passing of Wendy Wasserstein. LINK to her obituary in The New York Times.
Colin G. Calloway, author of Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of America reviews the PBS documentary “The War That Made America”: Looking back, it often seems difficult for modern-day Americans to see beyond the Revolution and understand the colonial era as much more than just a prelude to that nation-forming event. Until […]
You predicted earlier this week that Abbas would resign if Hamas won and he seems to have done just that today. What is your reaction to this? and Who is running the PA now? The results of the elections do not affect the status of President Abbas, although his own party was defeated. The key […]
Shlomo Ben-Ami is a former Foreign Minister of Israel and has been a key participant in many Arab-Israeli peace conferences, most notably the Camp David Summit in 2000. President Clinton says that his new book, Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy, “should be read by everyone who wants a just and lasting […]
An excerpt from Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Raymond Arsenault. Arsenault will soon be on tour, roughly following the route of the original Freedom Rides. Click here for a map of the Rides/his tour. On May 14, 1961, the two groups of Freedom Riders left Atlanta an hour apart. The […]
Slate.com readers got a taste on Saturday of what Financial Times readers have been enjoying for a long time now. Slate picked up the latest installment of Tim Harford’s “The Undercover Economist” column from the FT. Which economic mystery of daily life does Harfod solve this week? “The Mystery of the Rude Waiter: Why my […]
Norman Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann opined in the New York Times yesterday that Congressional Republicans should go beyond their current proposals for lobbying reform and adopt rules changes, like 15 minute time limits on all votes and credible ethics oversight, that will ensure “a return to the regular order and to a reasonable deliberative […]
“A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the […]
by Harm de Blij Since New Year’s Day, a troubling series of events has caused Europe to wonder just what kind of neighbor Russia plans to be. By virtue of a network of pipelines leading from Russian reserves to European consumers, Europe has become strongly dependent on Russian natural gas, now accounting for nearly one-quarter […]
Charlayne Hunter-Gault reported yesterday on a group of American women who have traveled to Southern Sudan to help build a girl’s school there. Reporting for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Hunter-Gault follows the Americans, who call their group My Sister’s Keeper, to the village of Akon in the predominantly Christian, southern part of Sudan. One of […]
Resolute we are, usually from January 1st, until just about now, right around Martin Luther King Day. Perhaps it is no coincidence that our individual, personal resolve founders just as we’re celebrating a holiday commemorating one of America’s great heroes—a man who was committed to combating the systemic forces at the heart of so many individual troubles.
What are the implications of Ariel Sharon’s stroke for the Israeli government? It is clear that, even if he survives, Sharon is out of the political game. Constitutionally, there is going to be no problem. The transition to a new leader/leadership will be smooth. Israel is a solid democracy. What does the end of Sharon’s […]
Ray Arsenault, the author of Freedom Riders spoke with Terry Gross on Fresh Air today. Arsenault was preceded on the show by the rebroadcast of a segment with James Farmer who was a co-founder of CORE, the Congress on Racial Equality. Arsenault’s segment ends with the CORE chorus singing a delightful version of “Hit the […]