I wrote this weekend that the contest was in poor taste, and that it was likely to attract extremely offensive submissions, but this seems to have surprised many of the people who publicized May 20 as “Draw Muhammad!” Day to begin with. LA Times reports: In declaring May 20th to be “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” Seattle … Read more
I’m posting the column that was scheduled to run in this week’s Harvard Independent… until the issue was canceled. This is an elaboration of my views on the unpaid internship debate, which has been a hot topic on the HPRgument lately. See Max’s initial post and my response. Serfs Up! – Unpaid Interns and the … Read more
For the first time in a long time, there’s serious newspaper competition in New York—actually, newspaper competition anywhere would be newsworthy… But, New York is the big leagues. NYT vs. WSJ, fight! David Carr says: The fight bears watching for a few reasons. This is New York, a crucible of city journalism, a place that … Read more
Ezra Klein has a balanced, sympathetic interview with an anonymous Harvard grad (history and political philosophy, my kind of guy/girl) who worked for Goldman Sachs after being recruited at Harvard. The key paragraph, the one that allows Ezra to suggest that the Ivy-Wall St. pipeline is not all about following the money, is this one: … Read more
In response to the South Park / Muhammad controversy, several bloggers with a libertarian bent have been pushing the idea of a “Draw Muhammad!” contest to retaliate against the New York-based Islamic extremist group Revolution Muslim. The idea originated with noted sex columnist Dan Savage, who has advertised it as a way to retaliate against Revolution Muslim’s … Read more
Obama and Democrats in Congress had a new proposal last week: require groups making public statement to show their face with their messages, reported the New York Times. For a country plagued with people using the veil of anonymity to mask unnecessary baseness, this can only be a positive change and a hopeful sign of … Read more
Disgrace is the only word apt to describe Governor Charlie Crist these days. After being passed up as John McCain’s VP choice, perhaps the apex of his political success, Crist decided to abandon running for reelection for the governorship of Florida, a position he would likely have won easily. Instead, Crist continued a lifelong power-grab, … Read more
As the business manager of a print publication, I can’t help but jump into a discussion about the issues raised in Jeffrey Kalmus’s article in the most recent issue of the HPR about the decision by the New York Times to charge for online content. Two experiences last week stirred my thinking about the economics … Read more
Well, not completely. But Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia, did boast yesterday that the wine produced in Georgia is simply so good (thanks to his free market reforms) that he hopes the Russians continue their embargo, because to sell it on the Russian market would be a waste – the Russians, he explained, will … Read more
In a bold step intended to reduce poverty, the European Union will soon be providing some of the Continent’s poorest citizens with subsidized plane tickets and hotel rooms. The Toronto-based National Post reported on Monday that the European Union has declared traveling for tourism a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations … Read more