Author: Lance Garrison
Smitten though they were with Franklin, few Frenchmen could locate the American colonies on a map. It seemed equally likely that they bordered the Black Sea or were part of India. Nor did the two countries make for natural partners. “I cannot deny that the Americans are somewhat difficult to handle, especially for a Frenchman,” was the candid verdict of the Marquis de Lafayette. The partnership was held together by various illusions about the past and a general misunderstanding about the future. Even Lafayette at one point assumed that Washington would eventually be appointed dictator.Vergennes engaged throughout in a familiar…
To the Editor:Re “Oprah, Ozempic and Us,” by Tressie McMillan Cottom (column, March 23):I’ve always been a big Oprah Winfrey fan and understand her reasons for going all out in the hopes of shedding light on obesity as a disease and on the cost of drugs. But it is important to remember these three points:1. A person must stay on these drugs for life or it is highly likely he or she will put the weight back on (a nice bonus for Big Pharma).2. Where are the long-term studies of the safety/health of the body for lifelong use? There are…
Hamas no longer demands an all-for-all hostage-for-prisoner swap. Its leaders now talk about ending the war, getting urgently needed humanitarian aid, enabling people to return to their homes or the places where their homes once were and getting Israel out of Gaza. Israel, not only traumatized but also humiliated by the Oct. 7 attack, insists it will stop at nothing to remove Hamas, even — and if you ask some of the more extreme Israeli leaders, especially — if it means reducing all of Gaza to rubble.Mr. Netanyahu should have sent his top security and intelligence officers to the negotiations…
As the war in Gaza reaches its six-month mark, I’m getting a disturbing sense of déjà vu. Israel is facing many of the same challenges that America faced in Iraq, and it is making many of the same mistakes.When I read my colleagues Aaron Boxerman and Iyad Abuheweila’s outstanding report last week about Israel’s recent fight to take Al Shifa hospital after raiding it last year, this sentence caught my attention: “But as the war ground on, Israeli forces closed in on the hospital again in mid-March in an attempt to root out what they said was a renewed insurgency…
“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the HBO comedy series created by and starring Larry David, debuted way back in 1999 and comedy, television and the world have all changed significantly since. Yet somehow “Curb,” which comes to an end tonight after 12 seasons, remains as relevant as ever. How can that be?I’d propose that one reason is because Larry David stands as an underappreciated philosopher of our everyday lives. He has taught us important truths about both how we live our lives and how we should live our lives. Most important, he’s been our foremost critic of the social rules that govern…
As a child growing up in the Hare Krishna community in the United States, I was forbidden to be outside during a solar eclipse.In our version of Vedic astronomy, eclipses are believed to be a deeply inauspicious time when the demon Rahu’s decapitated head chases the sun and the moon. In this chase, Rahu’s head obscures or swallows the sun. A visceral fear would sweep our community as an eclipse approached. We crowded into the inner sanctum of the temple to recite prayers, hoping to counteract the forces of darkness that were consuming our universe. As totality enveloped us, a…
There are no end of theories for why the internet feels so crummy these days. The New Yorker blames the shift to algorithmic feeds. Wired blames a cycle in which companies cease serving their users and begin monetizing them. The M.I.T. Technology Review blames ad-based business models. The Verge blames search engines. I agree with all these arguments. But here’s another: Our digital lives have become one shame closet after another.A shame closet is that spot in your home where you cram away the stuff that has nowhere else to go. It doesn’t have to be a closet. It can…
This week, the world will again turn its eyes toward Rwanda. April 6 marks 30 years since the start of one of the most horrific events in modern history, the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nearer in time but not unrelated, it has been just over one year since I left Rwanda and returned to the United States, released from prison after 939 days in captivity.I have not yet spoken at length about what those years in a Rwandan prison were like, or about the daily reality for Rwandan political prisoners who, like me, found themselves behind bars for exercising their freedom…
To the Editor:Re “The D.E.A. Should Get Out of Public Health,” by Shravani Durbhakula (Opinion guest essay, March 25):The chilling effect on the legitimate prescribing and dispensing of opioid medications provoked by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s actions is having devastating real-world consequences among people living with chronic pain.Although opioid therapy is not a panacea for pain management, which often necessitates a complex approach, certain patients undoubtedly benefit from these medications for long-term pain relief. People living with severely disabling pain conditions can participate in life’s activities if their opioid therapy is properly managed.The D.EA., serving in a policing capacity, is…
Almost one year ago, in the middle of the night, I drove from my hometown, Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Dublin to catch an early morning flight to Munich. From there I caught another plane to Bangkok, another to Singapore and yet another to Perth in Western Australia. There, I rented a camper van and began a drive of more than 750 miles north to the town of Exmouth on a remote peninsula on the northwest coast of the continent.This was the only reasonably accessible location on the planet with decent weather prospects from which to view the total solar eclipse…