Alexander Putin may not be preparing to invade Europe, but he understands the value of spectacle in establishing a nation’s place in the world. The Winter Olympics opening ceremonies in Sochi may have been the grandest show in history. It may also have been the grandest propaganda spectacle in history. It’s easy to get caught up in an artistic endeavor
Read moreVideo: Dennis Rodman sings “Happy Birthday” to Kim Jong-Un Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Happy Birthday, Supreme Leader.
Read moreMandela is dead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfTkD-XWOFg
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The United States spans six time zones. I have now lived in four of them (Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific), visited a fifth (Hawaiian-Aleutian) and flown over the sixth (Alaskan), so I feel comfortable addressing the question of which one is best with some authority. Eastern Time Zone I begin with a certain bias. Like most kids, I hated going
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Way back in March of 2008, as the campaign was running in high gear, I made clear that while I wasn’t in love with the Democratic frontrunners, the emerging alternative was worse: John McCain represented the third Bush presidency. I was undoubtedly right. But… You knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you? Obama prepares for possible action against Syria
Read moreRemember how the other day I called your attention to Barack Obama’s little playground bully act re: Bolivian president Evo Morales’s flight? Uh-huh. Well, as it turns out, BarryO ain’t the only one who can send a message. Item: (Reuters) – Bolivia offered asylum on Saturday to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, joining leftist allies Venezuela and Nicaragua
Read moreRacist abuse of AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli by AS Roma fans in yesterday’s Serie A match caused the official to briefly suspend play. After an PA announcement warning the offending supporters to cease and desist, the game was resumed. While these things are hardly uncommon in Italian football (or throughout the rest of Europe, for that matter), FIFA dictator-for-life
Read moreWe haven’t historically regarded the French for their rock & roll. Wine and cuisine, sure. Beautiful women, absolutely. But Europe’s greatest pop music has always tended to emerge across the channel. Then, in 2009, a little band from Versailles called Phoenix blowed up with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and one of the year’s hottest Indie singles, “Lisztomania.” Phoenix had been around for a
Read moreUPDATE: It’s official. _____ English Premiership side Sunderland AFC is considering hiring Paolo Di Canio to be its new manager. Di Canio would replace Martin O’Neill, who was turfed after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United. Providing negotiations proceed smoothly, club officials hope to announce his appointment on Monday morning. It remains unclear whether he will be hired on a
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In a very real way, the celebration of St. Patrick is a celebration of cultural genocide.
Read moreAt Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 27 people – 20 of them kindergarteners – are dead at the hands of a gunman armed with a Glock and a Sig Sauer. Meanwhile, a madman ran amok in a school in Henan province, China today, as well. A knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a primary school
Read moreEverybody seems to be so negative about campaign season. They hate the ads, they hate the mudslinging, they hate the lying, they hate the candidates. Not me – I LOVE campaign season. Why? Because it’s an opportunity to learn stuff that not only didn’t I know before, but that I’d never learn any other way.
Read moreYou couldn’t possibly have seen this one coming. For years, Manchester United and English national team defender Rio Ferdinand has dedicated himself to ridding soccer of its ugly and pervasive racism. Recently, he has seen his brother, Queens Park Rangers defender Anton, embroiled in an ugly did-he-or-didn’t-he case involving Chelsea (and England) star John Terry. Terry was ultimately acquitted of
Read moreThe long-anticipated (or long-dreaded, depending on your perspective) racial abuse trial of Chelsea center back John Terry commenced in London this morning, and already my ambivalence is mounting. For those unfamiliar with the case, Terry stands accused of calling Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand a … brace yourselves here, tender American reader … “fucking black cunt” in a match
Read moreThe Champ beat Joe Frazier. He beat George Foreman. He beat Ken Norton, Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson.
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lullaby pit 