On July 15, 2020, the General Court of the European Union ruled that Ireland had not offered illegal state aid to Apple, so the computer giant did not have to pay €13 billion in back taxes[i]. Apple had been allowed to set up its European operations so that on paper they were in Ireland, even… [Read More]
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Thoughts on Privilege
My grandmother on my mother’s side was from a large and prominent family in the small town of Punxsutawney, PA. One of her uncles was a Catholic priest, a monsignor. He was the founding president of Gannon University, a small Catholic college in Erie, PA. Other members of her family owned a farm and different… [Read More]
Germany: A Coffee in Berlin
The entry for Germany in the Around-The-World project is a 2012 movie on Amazon Prime, A Coffee In Berlin. It’s a day in the life of a Berliner in his early 20s named Niko. HIs is trying to get a cup of coffee–and realizes that he needs to make changes in his life. I have… [Read More]
Winnetka (with apologies to Langston Hughes)
What happens to a Suburban Lifestyle Dream deferred? Does it dry up, like a martini with no vermouth? Or fester like a sore— And then say something uncouth? Does it stink like alewives in spring? Or crust and sugar over— like a Pinterest thing? Maybe it just… [Read More]
Argentina, Chile, and Lessons from History
Argentina and Chile, like the US, were colonial nations, settled by the Spanish. They received independence at about the same time as the US, 1808 for Chile and 1810 for Argentina. Neither had chattel slavery, but Spain’s practices of forced labor in its colonies were notably brutal. Like the US, both are rich in natural… [Read More]
