Women

A website has been launched to help push for the release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been sentenced in Iran to eight years in prison on charges for spying for the United States. I don’t think I can add anything to the many articles that have already been written about the case. I […]

A Facebook Haggadah is born. Sample: “Joseph and Pharaoh are now friends…. Pharaoh sent The Israelites Bread of Affliction.” Ever wonder what happens to the leavened goods in Israel during Passover? PRI’s The World talks to Hussein Jaber, a Muslim catering manager at a Jerusalem hotel who gets them all! Barack Obama hosts what is […]

It was April Fools’ Day, and so I naturally assumed that the good people at BBC were having a bit of fun when I read the headline “Guantanamo ‘fun’—Miss Universe”. As the BBC reported on the adventures of Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, co-national of the always colorful and U.S.-bashing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: Ms Mendoza […]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s arrival to Mexico this week came amidst a war of accusations between Mexican and U.S. government officials regarding drug trafficking violence at the border. Most contentious was the report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command which recommended the monitoring of Mexico as a “failing” state, one that could ultimately prove […]

The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Washington, D.C., and I am especially cheery because the March/April issue of Moment Magazine is out on newsstands. There is a lot of good stuff in this one, and I hope that you will check it out. First, we tackle the whole Bernand Madoff mess. The former NASDAQ […]

Among the speakers at this year’s Oxford University’s Radical Forum was Deborah Cameron, a professor of linguistics at Worcester College whose research interests include language, gender, the media and the interactions between them. She is also the author of The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do men and women really speak different languages? which succeeds […]

“I would take the banana cream pie we are going to make a little later on. You can either feed it to him if he calms down or you can throw it at him.” –Domestic guru Martha Stewart coaches CNBC’s Jim Cramer on how to handle Jon Stewart before Cramer’s humiliating appearance on The Daily […]

The 19th century liberal professions and the 20th century institutions which shelter them are currently groaning under the weight of huge populations, mass mobility, technological growth, black markets, crime, security issues, international trade and environmental and humanitarian disasters. From the local police station to the UN, the signs of strain are everywhere, not least in […]

Ladies, a very happy March 8th to you all! Gentlemen, I hope that you did not forget your flowers. The Christian Science Monitor marked the occasion with an awesome photo gallery. Enjoy.

One man’s slum is another man’s home and recycling business. A photo essay in Foreign Policy takes a look at Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, where up to one million people live. Around 15,000 single-room factories and other entrepreneurial ventures result in an economic output of up to $1 billion in this settlement alone. Journalist Sudip Muzumdar, […]

In his inaugural speech, President Barack Obama asserted that the United States remains “the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth.” No matter how powerful a nation is, however, its priorities still need to be rearranged and sometimes compromised, especially when dealing with key allies and partners. This much was evident by U.S. Secretary of State […]

This week, BBC’s new movie examines the fall of Margaret Thatcher. Divisions within the Conservative Party regarding European integration as well as public backlash against Thatcher’s tax policies, which did not take income disparities into account, were the main reasons why Thatcher’s long reign as prime minister (1979-1990) finally ended. London’s Independent took the BBC […]