I can’t imagine what more could be said about the horrible attack 12 August 2022 on Salman Rushdie. So many brilliant writers and public intellectuals have spoken of the author’s bravery and support of freedom of expression. This was the topic Rushdie planned to speak about at the Chautauqua event. So, may I thank you, … Continue reading The Attack on Salman Rushdie and Freedom of Expression
politics
Sad News for Comedy
As an American in Britain, I have found one of the most endearing traits of Britons, and people living in Britain generally, is their ability to laugh at themselves. They don’t take themselves so seriously that they can't see “what fools" we "mortals" can be. So how sad to learn in today’s paper that “Mock … Continue reading Sad News for Comedy
Volker Schneider: a Professor’s Professor
I’ve returned from a Festschrift for Prof. Dr. Volker Schneider, who has moved to an Emeritus Professorship at the University of Konstanz in 2020. While a celebration of his retirement was delayed repeatedly by the pandemic, his colleagues moved ahead with an edited collection of papers for his Festschrift around the politics of the complex … Continue reading Volker Schneider: a Professor’s Professor
Text of PM Boris Johnson’s Resignation Speech
It was not easy to get the full text of Boris Johnson's resignation speech and in posts with the text, I most often found them filled with advertisements and plugs for their other news stories. Here is the full text he delivered outside Number 10 Downing Street on Thursday, 7 July 2022: "It is clearly … Continue reading Text of PM Boris Johnson’s Resignation Speech
Keep Standing with Ukraine
The Russian Federation’s unjustified invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine has galvanized individuals across the world to support the Ukrainian people. The words of Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy along with other passionate and articulate diplomats in Ukraine have reinforced worldwide outrage over this invasion that has underpinned efforts of the US, UK, and NATO countries … Continue reading Keep Standing with Ukraine
Its Personal: Incivility Begins with Maligning Individuals
A lack of civility in politics and society is a problem that I have focused on before, but surprise, surprise – it is not diminishing.[1] If anything, it seems ever more rampant. It is important because it is at the base of growing polarization, what some have called ‘affective polarization’, which means that opposing political … Continue reading Its Personal: Incivility Begins with Maligning Individuals
The Evidence and Legal Basis for Genocide Claims Against the Russian Federation
Report on genocide in Ukraine
McDonald’s Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine
McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Russia in 1990, after a decade of negotiations. In 2022, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and after two months of temporarily closing its restaurants, McDonald’s announced the closure of its chain of 850 restaurants employing over sixty-thousand people, saying that remaining in Russia would not be … Continue reading McDonald’s Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine
A Crisis of Incivility
Restoring civility in politics could be central ...
Political Narratives of the Russo-Ukraine War
A rising discussion of political narratives seems to have reached a crescendo in the first months of the David and Goliath Russo-Ukrainian War. The idea of a narrative is an attractive way to help people stay on script, but if you stick with a narrative, surely it must square with the facts. The Russian narrative … Continue reading Political Narratives of the Russo-Ukraine War