AAPI Women in History: China Mary
During the Chinese Exclusion era, Chinese men were often called “John” and women called “Mary”. In the time when America outlawed the immigration of Chinese laborers, between 1882 and 1943,...
Category: Commentary
Roy Moore needs some cash. I have an idea he might like
The degree to which the American right espouses an attitude of "I'm alright, Jack" is pretty shocking to outsiders, especially given that the biblical Jesus they profess to follow was all about...
Avoiding Mueller: An inside dispatch from Fox News
Hi from Fox News, friends. I am hanging out here, disguised as a Russian agent by affecting a convincing enough “Eastern Promises”-style accent while asking everyone for their e-mail passwords,...
Michele Lent Hirsch’s Invisible is a Must Read For Those With—and Without—Chronic Illness
For the past week and a half or so, I have been dealing with a shoulder/back injury that has cut my productivity down to the nub. I don’t know how I injured myself, so I suspect that this muscle...
What #MeToo taught Monica Lewinsky – and us all
Even though I was living in France during the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky “scandal”, it was still all over the news. Nothing was left to the imagination as their indiscretions were picked...
Trump’s support for Israel is undermining Palestinian political identity
US President Donald Trump’s withholding of $65 million in contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) earned considerable attention. It has also...
Christiania: A utopian social experiment?
Christiania is a social experiment with an indefinite duration period. It is a communal living settlement in the centre of Copenhagen that has struggled to sustain its livelihood over the course of...
Oxfam’s grubby activities exploit and shame
When you donate to a massive charity like Oxfam, you know that some of your cash goes to maintain the shiny corporate image of the organisation but you also imagine the bulk of your donation going...
#WednesdayWisdom: Forget the Olympics, what we need is a Trumplympics
As I watch the Olympics, I get a strange sense of emptiness. It’s not because of the economics of it all, nor is it because of the commercialization. I’m not some pinko commie, my dudes. And yet...
Aung San Suu Kyi: The downfall of a liberal darling
In early February, it was reported that the United Nations envoy to Myanmar had uncovered numerous mass graves filled with the chemically-charred corpses of an untold number of Rohingya Muslims,...