A few months ago, at the height of the Greek debt crisis, I wrote in this space that the lesson of history is that the EU is a survivor. In other words, Europe's integration process was not going to collapse,... Continue Reading →
A few months ago at the height of the Greek debt crisis, I wrote that the lesson of history is that the EU is a survivor, i.e. European integration wasn’t going to collapse no matter what the outcome. The Eurozone... Continue Reading →
When the Chinese Communist party took power in 1949, Mao Zedong declared to a party conference, “The Chinese people, comprising one quarter of humanity, have now stood up. The Chinese have always been a great, courageous and industrious nation; it... Continue Reading →
In the 1990s “blood diamonds” financed often barbaric civil wars in West African countries. Today, what one archaeologist calls “blood artifacts” are a prime source of finance for members of the Islamic State. Their looting of ancient sites occurs primarily... Continue Reading →
Is there a useful analogy to make between the streams of Syrian refugees and the Biblical Israelites? After all, analogy is the weakest form of proof. It only means that this seems to be like that and it can be... Continue Reading →
American-China Public Affairs Institute screens “Shanghai Ghetto” On Tuesday, September 8, the American-China Public Affairs Institute (ACPAI) organized an evening program around the 2002 documentary, “Shanghai Ghetto,” which chronicles the little known (at least in the U.S.) World War II... Continue Reading →
A prophet's grave is often a myth. Abraham, the Ur-prophet of all three monotheistic faiths, is said to be interred in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, in the West Bank, along with his sons Isaac and Jacob, and... Continue Reading →
“Best of enemies” (documentary film, 2015, Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon). Early reviews of “Best of enemies” miss the hidden-in-plain-sight point of this documentary on the infamous, mesmerizing television 1968 TV debates between the arch, off-the-reservation left-wing intellectual, Gore Vidal... Continue Reading →
If competition fosters outstanding performance, the Van Cliburn piano competition shows this works in the arts as well as the economy. “Virtuosity,” a documentary on the 2013 Cliburn competition, is directed by Christopher Wilkinson. The beautiful cinematography is the work... Continue Reading →
Tiersky's Viewpoint 