Frost v Nixon
Frost v Nixon? This week I finally got to see last year’s theatrical sensation in London: Peter Morgan’s Frost-Nixon. The play is about the first television interview given by Richard Nixon after his...
View ArticleThe Lives of Others
On the banality of evil Like everyone else (it seems) I thought The Lives of Others was terrific. The great force of this film on the East German Stasi lies in its depiction of totalitarianism in all...
View ArticlePop environmentalism
Algorythm “Come on you motherfuckers. If you want to save the planet let me see you jump.” Madonna I didn’t quite manage to escape the Live Earth concerts. Some have pointed out that a bunch of pop...
View ArticleSimone de Beauvoir, an enemy of liberty
An enemy of liberty Répliques, the best program about culture and politics on French radio, was devoted to Simone de Beauvoir last week. The host, Alain Finkielkraut, and his two guests talked at...
View ArticleIsmail Kadare’s praise of Hoxha
Kadare’s literary offense Reading Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare, I found a startling passage – the soliloquy of an Albanian partisan who is about to die after fighting the Germans in 1943. Here...
View ArticleOn David Mamet, Jean-François Revel and apostasy
Change of mind David Mamet has officially renounced his former left-wing views. His apostasy in the Village Voice is well worth a read. Here are a few highlights: “John Maynard Keynes was twitted with...
View ArticleDisney anticapitaliste
Al Gore for infants The well-worn idea that Hollywood acts as a propaganda machine for America’s brand of capitalism (an idea often used to justify France’s brand of cultural protectionism) has always...
View ArticleChansons pro-capitalistes
Pro-capitalist song The world of entertainment, it is often noted, is dominated by the anticapitalist left. This is true, and all the more regrettable as most artists are talented, dedicated and...
View ArticleDarwin au cinéma
Darwin on screen Charles Darwin is one of my great heroes. I regard the author of The Origin of Species as a model of scientific probity, moral courage and intellectual clarity. And I regard evolution...
View ArticleEminent Domain and Jethro Tull
Eminent injustice Great article in City Magazine on abuse of “eminent domain” – as Americans call the compulsory purchase of property commandeered for the “public good”. You may have heard of the...
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