News

Tariq Ali is sixty-four years old. But instead of asking age appropriate questions like “Will you still need me?” and “Will you still feed me?” he is asking “Where Has All the Rage Gone?” Prompted by a TV show called “Revolution 68”, he asked that very question last...

When FDR arrived, the sunlight was already reflecting off the perfectly polished silver coffee pot sitting in the center of the table. He greeted his tablemate heartily. “Good morning, Dick. What’s that you’ve got there?” he asked, pointing to a round red object...

This Saturday, I had the pleasure to observe the presidential elections in Taiwan. The country’s fourth direct presidential election, it was a historic moment seeing the Kuomingtang (KMT) return to power in a landslide victory after eight years in opposition to the...

Senator Obama's Philadelphia speech has prompted a New York Times article on how politicians talk about race.  It includes an attack on President Nixon: Race did not disappear entirely from presidential campaigns; it went under cover. It lay buried in code phrases...

This is the time of year when Bach's Passions (St. John 1724 and, particularly, St. Matthew 1727) are performed around the world --- from Boston to Auckland. The St. Matthew Passion has inspired artists as different as Pier Paolo Pasolini (who considered casting Jack...

For many in the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland, March 17 this year was just another St. Patrick's Day. But in France it was a day for a more somber commemoration, as French president Nicolas Sarkozy oversaw a ceremony at the Hotel des Invalides to mark the...

John Taylor has already noted Pat Nixon's birthday yesterday (16 March), and its celebration at the Library. It came to be traditionally celebrated the next day and the story was told that after her birth late on the 16th, her father exclaimed, "She'll be St....