Reuters (November 13)
“Great Britain… is in a mess. Between scandals over sex, secret meetings, political donors and the royal family, the government is melting down.”
Tags: Melt down, Mess, Political donors, Royal family, Scandals, Secret meetings, Sex, UK
LA Times (November 12)
“Until women are once again directing, writing and producing the same number of films as men, and until they’re earning the same salaries, Hollywood’s power imbalance—and its sexual predator problems—won’t be solved.”
Tags: Directing, Films, Hollywood, Men, Power imbalance, Producing, Salaries, Sexual predator, Women, Writing
The Economist (November 11)
“For all its flaws, America has long been the greatest force for good in the world, upholding the liberal order and offering an example of how democracy works. All that is imperilled by a president who believes that strong nations look out only for themselves. By putting ‘America First’, he makes it weaker, and the world worse off.”
Tags: Democracy, Flaws, Force for good, Imperilled, Liberal order, U.S., Weaker, Worse off
1843 (November Issue)
“Globalisation has turned citizenship into a commodity.” Estimates suggest that each year, “several thousand people spend a combined $2bn or more…on adding a passport or residence permit to their collection.” Convenience and instability are two of the factors encouraging the acquisition of additional passports, which do not come cheap. “The required investment ranges from upwards of $10,000 (Thai residence, for instance) to more than $10m (fast-track residence in Britain).”
Tags: Citizenship, Commodity, Convenience, Globalization, Instability, Investment, Passport, Residence permit, Thailand, UK
South China Moring Post (November 10)
“Custom hats. Gauzy videos. Jumping children, declaring their love. The first half of US President Donald Trump’s whirlwind tour of Asia has been an exercise in the art of flattery…. as leaders across Asia and beyond struggle to understand the unpredictable American and search for ways to win his favour and avoid his wrath.”
China Daily (November 9)
“Although the differences that had been pestering bilateral ties have not instantly disappeared, the most important takeaway from their talks in Beijing has been the constructive approach to these issues the two leaders demonstrated…. The concordant note struck by Xi and Trump showcased not only the personal rapport they have established, but also consolidated optimism about the prospects for bilateral ties.”
Tags: Beijing, Bilateral ties, China, Constructive approach, Rapport Optimism, Trump, U.S., Xi
New York Times (November 9)
“What goes around comes around, and on Tuesday, karma came for President Trump and his Republican acolytes. From Washington to Maine, New Jersey to North Carolina, Trumpist ugliness was met and vanquished.” Diversity overcame division with the Democratic victories. “What welcome inclusiveness at a time when the president stews in a hate-filled bubble, appealing only to the shrinking fraction of Americans unrepulsed by his behavior.”
Tags: Democrat, Diversity, Division, Hate, Inclusiveness, Karma, Republican, Trump, Ugliness, Vanquished
Wall Street Journal (November 8)
“The world’s most valuable public company just made more history.” Shares in Apple “rose 0.8% Wednesday to close at a new all-time high of $176.24, giving the iPhone maker a market value of $904.9 billion.” The advance makes Apple “the first U.S. company to reach the $900 billion threshold, having already become the first to hit $800 billion.”
Tags: All-time high, Apple, History, iPhone, Market-cap, Shares, U.S., Valuable
Houston Chronicle (November 7)
“With due respect to the faith and beliefs of every person, especially the grieving residents of Sutherland Springs, the rote statements of politicians were almost blasphemous in their repetition and meaninglessness. From Japan, President Trump’s ‘thoughts and prayers’ riff was so stale and scripted that it conveyed all the sincerity of a robocall offering an extended warranty on a kitchen appliance. The irony no doubt escaped the president that he was speaking to tortured souls in small-town Texas from a nation with strict and sensible gun laws. A nation where gun violence is almost unheard of.”
Tags: Blasphemous, Faith, Grieving, Gun laws, Japan, Politicians, Sensible, Strict, Sutherland Springs, Thoughts and prayers, Trump, U.S., Violence
Bloomberg (November 6)
With the U.S. “hobbled by Trump,” China clearly has the “upper hand” in the upcoming negotiations. The stakes are potentially “huge, including the threat of nuclear conflict in North Korea,” as Trump sits down with China’s President Xi. The situation reminds many of 1961, when JFK was outmaneuvered by Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. “Today’s two superpowers are coming from different directions. President Xi, consolidating his hold, probably is the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.” Meanwhile, the American president heads a new administration “beset by chaos.”000
Tags: 1961, Chaos, China, Hobbled, JFK, Khrushchev, Mao, Negotiations, North Korea, Nuclear conflict, Stakes, Superpowers, Threat, Trump, U.S., Vienna, Xi
