Category Archives: Politics
25 years after the Velvet Revolution, Czechs “red card” their president
Perhaps democracy has been slow to take root in some ex-Communist countries, but today, on the 25th anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution, it seems to be alive and kicking in the Czech Republic. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/world/europe/-reverently-and-defiantly-czechs-honor-their-revolutions-anniversary.html?_r=0
For Whom The Wall Fell
On the heels of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, here’s a sobering post from economist Branko Milanovic of the City University of New York. He tries to determine which countries have successfully transitioned from communism … Continue reading
The Hobby Lobby Decision
In its June 30, 2014 decision in the case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time in US legal history that a closely held for-profit corporation is entitled to a religious exemption from following a US … Continue reading
Riley v. California (with a Primer on Reading Supreme Court Decisions)
In this post I’m going to take a break from book reviews and look at the recent Supreme Court decision in the Riley v. California case. (In future posts, I may deal with other cases.) Riley v. California is a … Continue reading
Book Review: The Ideas That Conquered the World
The Ideas That Conquered the World By Michael Mandelbaum PublicAffairs, New York, NY, 2002 The Ideas That Conquered the World was published with some fanfare in 2002, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I can’t remember how … Continue reading
Coup in Egypt
What happened in Egypt yesterday is deeply disturbing. Whenever a democratically elected government, however rotten or reviled, is overthrown by a military coup, it’s a setback for the country and for democracy. The world cheered when the Mubarak regime was … Continue reading
Book Review: The End of Power
Moisés Naím uses a lot of words that start with “d” to describe what’s happening to power these days; dilution, dissipation, disruption, diffusion, and decay. The full title of his book is The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields … Continue reading
Book Review: Winner Take All
Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the WorldBy Dambisa MoyoBasic Books, New York, 2012 Dambisa Moyo’s latest book, Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World, is supposed … Continue reading
Book Review: The Presidents Club
The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive FraternityBy Nancy Gibbs and Michael DuffySimon & Schuster, New York, 2012 Zillions of books have been written about individual US presidents and their times in office; biographies, autobiographies, histories, and critiques. The … Continue reading
Jeffrey Sachs @ Seattle Town Hall
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs spoke yesterday evening at Seattle Town Hall about his new book The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity. For anyone not familiar with his work, Jeffrey Sachs is about as far left as you get … Continue reading
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