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BUSH AND MUSSOLINI | TWO CONSUMMATE LOSERS
As we have been told by scholars, history has a way of repeating itself. Today, we find the Bush administration beating the drums for war against Iraq. As always happens, Iraqi leaders are being demonized. Of course, demonizing Saddam Hussein is an easy thing to do. But beyond Hussein, this country and Britain have stooped…
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BITS AND PIECES – PART 3: TONY BLAH – ED CAH – AND WAH: AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE REDUX
Being born in the American Mid-west, my native tongue is English spoken in broad, flat tones without regional accents. My English is not of the hard Boston variety, nor does it reflect the softer tones of Southern speech. Thus, the title of this essay in Mid-western speech would read, Tony Blair, Ed Carr and War,…
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART 8 – GEORGE FEYER – ONE OF THE GREAT ONES
In the international telephone business in the 1970’s and 1980’s, it was a delight to visit correspondents in Montreal, London, Paris, Rome and even Johannesburg. Those were the easy ones with good airline connections, good hotels and food to please any palate. Among the tough ones were countries in Africa and the eastern European states…
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART 7 – “A PICTURE ON THE WALL AND MUSIC IN THE HOUSE”
When I was in New York City for union bargaining in 1949, 1950, and 1951, I found myself being drawn to Greenwich Village. In many cases, food and drinks were cheaper there than in midtown. The place had a small town feel to it. If you ate at a restaurant two of three times, chances…
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HOWELL RAINES DOESN’T LOWER THE BOOM
In a recent editorial, I criticized – very mildly – his belated discovery that Mr. Latrell Sprewell has been up to no good by choking his coach. The fact that his coach is patently awful doesn’t mean that he is a candidate for garroting. Today, I find an editorial that seems to say what needs…
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BITS AND PIECES – PART I
If a writer is going to write essays, which I try to do sometimes, ideas are needed. In the beginning, these ideas usually take the form of short notes for my files. Later I may turn some of these short notes into essays. On the other hand, many of these notes will not ever become…