SOUTH AFRICA -- The sense of African energy and dynamism that I recently described during my visit to Kenya is reinforced strongly here. And it's not just World Cup fever -- though there are plenty of signs of that too.
By some estimates, close to 10 million people are expected to visit South Africa this summer for the football (soccer) extravaganza -- a further boost to its economy and its image in the world. South Africa is a global player.
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March 11, 2010
March 10, 2010
Israel Apologizes To Biden Over Settlement Announcement: We Didn’t Mean To ‘Taunt An Important Man’
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Israel apologized Wednesday for disrupting the visit of Vice President Joe Biden with its announcement of 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem, but made clear it had no intention of reversing the order that has cast a shadow over the latest U.S. push for Mideast peace.
As Biden held talks with top Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, whose office announced the new construction on lands Palestinians claim for a future state, said the problem was about timing, not substance.
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As Biden held talks with top Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, whose office announced the new construction on lands Palestinians claim for a future state, said the problem was about timing, not substance.
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March 6, 2010
QVC Gets Oscar Fever
Los Angeles is a buzz with The Oscars this weekend. From my visit with famed fashion designer Marc Bouwer at his suite in the Peninsula Hotel, to the QVC hosted pre-Oscar party at The Four Seasons last night, I feel the fever up close and personal.
QVC brought all the red carpet glitz and glamour to The Four Seasons last night where they televised live and brought together celebrities, stylists and fashion designers. Some were there to sell their own lines from the red carpet and others were there supporting their friends.
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QVC brought all the red carpet glitz and glamour to The Four Seasons last night where they televised live and brought together celebrities, stylists and fashion designers. Some were there to sell their own lines from the red carpet and others were there supporting their friends.
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March 1, 2010
An all-too-common tragedy and a small triumph.
Two prominent newsmen bared their souls - and their stories of a loved one near death from a devastating illness. British broadcaster Ray Gosling divulged a hospital visit years ago. Responding to the intolerable pain of his lover, near death, Gosling said he "picked up the pillow and smothered him until he was dead." Wednesday, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann shared the story of the crisis that led his father to ask Keith for any relief, even death. Olbermann had the presence of mind to approach a physician, and request the sedative that relieved his father's pain and panic.
I have no desire to contrast the acts of these two men. Their stories touch us deeply, but we stand in no position to second-guess their actions in a desperate situation. But we have much to learn from their stories because there is every chance that each one of us will find ourselves in a similar room, pleading for relief, or standing by the bedside searching for the best response.
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I have no desire to contrast the acts of these two men. Their stories touch us deeply, but we stand in no position to second-guess their actions in a desperate situation. But we have much to learn from their stories because there is every chance that each one of us will find ourselves in a similar room, pleading for relief, or standing by the bedside searching for the best response.
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Articulating the Value of Arts Education to Corporate Funders
It's one of the great anomalies of our society that the arts are both valued and underfunded; both praised and looked upon as a frivolity. A Harris Poll found that 93% of Americans find arts education to be a vital party of a well-rounded education. A visit to the opera or a museum opening continues to carry social caché.
Yet, when it comes to putting corporate money where the mouth is, many are unwilling to fund something as seemingly nebulous as the arts. One of the reasons for this is that quantifying the arts, and program impact, doesn't mesh well with the usual corporate-think. You can judge an improvement in mathematics with a test. How do you put a number on growth of self-expression and an increase in creative thinking?
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Yet, when it comes to putting corporate money where the mouth is, many are unwilling to fund something as seemingly nebulous as the arts. One of the reasons for this is that quantifying the arts, and program impact, doesn't mesh well with the usual corporate-think. You can judge an improvement in mathematics with a test. How do you put a number on growth of self-expression and an increase in creative thinking?
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February 27, 2010
Movie review: A Prophet
Some movies provide a light snack - and some provide a banquet, a feast of ideas, sensations and images that pull you into a world you never could (and never would want to) visit or inhabit.
Jacques Audiard's A Prophet (an Oscar nominee as best foreign language film and the film that ought to win) is one of those films - expansive, encompassing and yet deeply personal and intimate, even as it tells a story that sprawls over six years and the entire country of France.
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Jacques Audiard's A Prophet (an Oscar nominee as best foreign language film and the film that ought to win) is one of those films - expansive, encompassing and yet deeply personal and intimate, even as it tells a story that sprawls over six years and the entire country of France.
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February 25, 2010
Will the Hummer Be Remembered As the Ford Edsel of the Twenty-First Century?
For more conspicuous consumption, please visit our Déjà Vu blog at www.laphamsquarterly.org
2010: The Hummer died this week, not because of an American backlash that has been growing increasingly wrathful over the past eighteen years, but because of a failed deal with China, who determined the monster truck was simply not a good investment for the future of the Chinese car industry:
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2010: The Hummer died this week, not because of an American backlash that has been growing increasingly wrathful over the past eighteen years, but because of a failed deal with China, who determined the monster truck was simply not a good investment for the future of the Chinese car industry:
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February 24, 2010
Colbert Plays “Fondue Pong” With The Swiss (VIDEO)
While in Vancouver for the "Quadrennial Cold Weather Athletic Competition," Stephen Colbert paid a visit to the Olympic Houses, causing international incidents along the way.
In an attempt to break Switzerland's neutrality, Colbert challenged the Swiss to a game of Fondue Pong, which he described as "like American Beer Pong, but with bowls of scalding cheese." After his earlier attempts at provoking his Swiss host to stab him in the eye were thwarted, Colbert took to taunting during the match: "You think I'm afraid of your boiling cheese? In America we use that to fry other cheese."
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In an attempt to break Switzerland's neutrality, Colbert challenged the Swiss to a game of Fondue Pong, which he described as "like American Beer Pong, but with bowls of scalding cheese." After his earlier attempts at provoking his Swiss host to stab him in the eye were thwarted, Colbert took to taunting during the match: "You think I'm afraid of your boiling cheese? In America we use that to fry other cheese."
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February 22, 2010
Sarah Palin Coming To Illinois: Palin To Speak Near Peoria In April
Sarah Palin's rhetoric is still popular in some parts of the country, but whether her Illinois visit in April will help the state's Republican party remains to be seen.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, Palin will be in Washington, Ill. on April 17 for a speech and dinner that will raise money for a parking lot, youth scholarships and other projects. Washington is a town of about 14,000 near Peoria.
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According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, Palin will be in Washington, Ill. on April 17 for a speech and dinner that will raise money for a parking lot, youth scholarships and other projects. Washington is a town of about 14,000 near Peoria.
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February 4, 2010
Giving Haiti a Chance: How You Can Help
Tomorrow, I'll travel to Haiti for the second time since the earthquake to meet with Haitian leaders and UN officials, visit a local clinic, and deliver much needed supplies to the region, including food, medical supplies, generators, tents, and plastic sheeting.
More than three weeks after the earthquake, the relief efforts in Haiti are being rapidly increased to meet the staggering needs, but the long road to recovery has just begun.
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More than three weeks after the earthquake, the relief efforts in Haiti are being rapidly increased to meet the staggering needs, but the long road to recovery has just begun.
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