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Forty-two days until the US presidential election, and it can't be over soon enough. All of the money and energy spent to gain power could be put to such good use, but good use is not the game at play. The worst part about knowing the end is in sight, is that once the votes are tallied and the victor declared, all attention will turn to the 2016 campaign for four more years of posturing and shenanigans! In our last edition, Manuel García, Jr. took on the Republicans and their fluffy national convention; this time around, he addresses the despairing Democratic voters who are facing the choice of less blood and stronger Empire (Obama) or more blood and weaker Empire (Romney). In the aftermath of Mitt Romney's "47%" brouhaha, Jan Baughman wonders who is more out of touch with reality -- Romney, or the 99% of Americans who keep voting against their best interest. And to help us make sense of the campaign rhetoric, Harvey Whitney, Jr. translates a few overused and misleading sociopolitical phrases. While America was focused on the Romney video gaffe, France and the Islamic world struggled to contain the uproar over the anti-Islam video made by an American and posted on YouTube. Gilles d'Aymery reports on the event, the subsequent satire and free speech protections, the challenge of dealing with religious fundamentalism in a secular state, and more.
On the cultural front, Michael Barker presents Part II of his summary of Meera Nanda's book Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodernism, Science, and Hindu Nationalism, while Peter Byrne reviews the stylish crime writers Michael Dibdin and Bartholomew Gill. Charles Marowitz remembers Lenny Bruce -- the comedian, political satirist, and social critic who died nearly 46 years ago. Isidor Saslav waited about that long to be treated to a performance of Le roi malgré lui, which he revels in at the Bard College Summerscape Music Festival. Raju Peddada completes his 12-day road trip with lingering memories and sheer exhaustion, and from the front line of poetry, Guido Monte describes the horror of war in the thoughts of a dead child. We close with your letter on Manuel García and the truth behind the fluff at the RNC, and Gilles d'Aymery's Blips on the wealthy French fleeing for tax haven cover.
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Manuel García, Jr.: Democratic Despair Votes
To despairing Democratic voters Obama-bomber is better than Romney-scrooge. More...
Jan Baughman: Too Big To Fail, Or A Bunch Of Failures?
Is it Mitt Romney who is out of touch with reality, or the Americans who keep voting against their best interest? More...
Harvey E. Whitney, Jr.: Puzzling And Stale Media Colloquialisms
The author translates a few overused and misleading sociopolitical phrases. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #129
A few selected issues that landed on the Editor's desk, on mice and men, from the freedom of expression in the U.S. to the rodent terrorists attacking Swans headquarters; French satire and the resulting mayhem; better times in Europe with Charles de Gaulle; to the state of French education, and more. More...
Michael Barker: Postmodern Gandhians And Hindu Nationalism - Part II
Part II of a summary of Meera Nanda's book Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodernism, Science, and Hindu Nationalism. More...
Peter Byrne: Eloquent And Bloody Murder
A review of the stylish crime writers Michael Dibdin and Bartholomew Gill. More...
Charles Marowitz: Remembering Lenny Bruce
The author remembers Lenny Bruce, the comedian, political satirist, and social critic who died in 1966. More...
Isidor Saslav: The Man Who Would Not Be King
After 50 years of waiting, Isidor Saslav was treated to a performance of Le roi malgré lui at the Bard College Summerscape Music Festival. More...
Raju Peddada: From The Grasslands To The Badlands Part III
Part III of the author's 12-day summer road trip, ending at Mount Rushmore with two bored boys who miss their mother. More...
Guido Monte: War
Guido Monte describes the horror of war in the thoughts of a dead child. More...
Manuel García and the truth behind the fluff at the Republican National Convention and Gilles d'Aymery's Blips on the wealthy French fleeing for tax haven cover. More...
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