Author Archives: jsl915@aol.com

Once again, Robert Parry at Consortium News departs from the lockstep geopolitical narrative of our ever-more war hungry neo cons and the “mainstream” media that toadies to them. Not content with the catastrophes they sowed in the Middle East, they … Continue reading →

I went to Shuffle Along Friday night and I had a ball. Nothing about the show seemed aimed at tourists–Yureka time!  That said, anyone from anywhere could “get” it. I felt a bit like I did as a kid when … Continue reading →

Williams Rivers Pitt at Truthout terms the refusal of political candidates or the media to discuss our totally out-of-control military budget “a Master’s thesis on how to control a populace by dint of narrowing the conversational parameters.”

That the campaign for Corbyn’s scalp is led by Labor MPs who supported Blair’s stampede over the cliff into Iraq, and, naturally enough, vehemently opposed the Chilcot inquiry? Blairite bounders. Keep calm and carry on, Leader Corbyn!

In my head, I link the way that Dickens and other epic, serialized nineteenth-century novelists take up a plot line or character and then let it drift offstage for a while, and the way that Tchernichova used to say she’d … Continue reading →

Can a soprano voice have the aural power of an acetylene torch as well as the euphonious spin of a flock of sea gulls at dawn? (Purple, indeed, but I recall those summers in Cape Cod.) I’ve decided the answer … Continue reading →

to Britain’s striking public (as we define the term in U.S. parlance) school teachers, protesting the usual toxic austerity brew that is foreclosing prospects for another generation of British children. In the austericists’ rifle sights is, of course, arts education … Continue reading →

VAI’s just sent me their new Stars of New York City Ballet DVD compilation. It’s drawn from Bell Telephone Hour telecasts from 1959-66 a reminder of the days hen ballet was integrated into American popular culture. It’s wonderful to see … Continue reading →

John Atcheson at CommonDreams describes America’s tragic decline into oligarchy. “Even as we spend tens of trillions on ‘Defense,’ ostensibly to protect our freedom, we quietly relinquished it; not to an invasion from without, but to a silent coup by … Continue reading →

CNN seems to enjoy degrading itself on an ever-accelerating basis. Now it has hired Trump’s s ex-campaign manager as a “commentator.” Feel the love.