Recently pundit George Will wrote an extraordinary op-ed where he implied that concerns about rape and sexual assault on college campuses were overblown and that claiming to be raped conferred some kind of privileged status on women. Here’s how he begins:
[Read more…]
The test match between Sri Lanka and England ended, as predicted, in a draw. But rather than drifting towards this predicted close, Sri Lanka escaped defeat by just the skin of their teeth. Having been set a target of 390 to win, they ended up with a score of just 201 but in the process lost nine wickets. If they had lost one more wicket they would have lost the game but their last batsman gritted his teeth and held on, denying England a victory. In fact, in the last ball but one the umpire gave him out, leading to wild jubilation among the England players, but the instant review reversed the on-field call.
[Read more…]
Back in 2009, Glenn Greenwald had a typically scathing attack on the ruling classes taking care of their own and their progeny and the cozy relationship that has developed between the media and the families of those they supposedly cover.
They should convene a panel for the next Meet the Press with Jenna Bush Hager, Luke Russert, Liz Cheney, Megan McCain and Jonah Goldberg, and they should have Chris Wallace moderate it. They can all bash affirmative action and talk about how vitally important it is that the U.S. remain a Great Meritocracy because it’s really unfair for anything other than merit to determine position and employment. They can interview Lisa Murkowski, Evan Bayh, Jeb Bush, Bob Casey, Mark Pryor, Jay Rockefeller, Dan Lipinksi, and Harold Ford, Jr. about personal responsibility and the virtues of self-sufficiency. Bill Kristol, Tucker Carlson and John Podhoretz can provide moving commentary on how America is so special because all that matters is merit, not who you know or where you come from. There’s a virtually endless list of politically well-placed guests equally qualified to talk on such matters.
The test match between Sri Lanka and England begins the final day today with England in an undefeatable position. At the end of the fourth day they had a lead of 389 runs with two wickets remaining. It is all but certain that the England captain will declare their innings closed at the overnight score, leaving Sri Lanka with the target of 390 to win in just one day, which will consist of about 90 overs. (Each over consists of six deliveries so we are talking about 540 deliveries.)
[Read more…]
Stephen Colbert had on his show a recurring guest, Germany’s Ambassador to the UN, who gave his thoughts on the World Cup tournament currently underway, spiced with his usual dour observations on the meaning of life. I really like this guy. (In reality he is an actor playing a part but the first time I saw him I was totally fooled.)
[Read more…]
Big corporations usually do not want to get ahead of public opinion because of fears of alienating some customers. So when one promotes a particular point of view, you know that the zeitgeist has shifted. But Verizon still deserves credit for putting out an ad that recognizes and acknowledges an issue that needs to be addressed.
[Read more…]
So I pretty much wasted the entire Saturday morning watching the third day of the Test match between England and Sri Lanka. These Test matches are the classic international form of the game, lasting five days, with each side getting two innings. It is more leisurely than the more recent innovations in which each side bats just once for a limited number of overs (50 for a one-day game and 20 for the three-hour version) and where a decision is guaranteed. (For those who have no idea what cricket is about, please see the primer that I wrote back in 2006.)
[Read more…]
Two Christian children produce a home-made rap targeted at ‘pagan atheists’, asking us to see the light. It is kind of cute actually. What I would like is to have someone follow-up on these children say ten years from now to see if they are still believers.
[Read more…]
I don’t recall much of my high school chemistry classes back in Sri Lanka. Our teacher was a nice old man who enjoyed telling us the history of chemistry and stories about the chemists of long ago rather than about modern chemistry. But he was a believer in experimentation and demonstrations and one that I remember was when he would cut a small piece of solid sodium and drop it into a beaker. It was fun to see the piece foaming and rushing around the container.
[Read more…]
The extraordinary developments in Iraq where the group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), considered to be too extreme even by al Qaeda, is sweeping down from the northwestern part of Iraq, capturing two major cities Mosul and Tikrit and threatening to move on Baghdad, has taken people by surprise, mainly because the US-trained Iraqi military seems to have not put up a fight. We now have the spectacle of Iran sending in troops to shore up the government that the US set up, with the possibility of the US providing aerial support, a bizarre alliance indeed.
[Read more…]