‘The Dictator’ talks Obama, Arab Spring, and more [Forward]
Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter egos are famous for making a splash. And his latest project, a satire loosely based on the of the rule of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, is no exception. Forward Editor Dan Friedman has The Dictator’s take on everything from the Arab Spring to underwear.
“You’d need to make some very big changes to improve the American system of government, but I think you could manage it. First of all, I’d make it so you could wiretap phones and detain citizens indefinitely without trial in the name of “national security.” Next, I’d make sure that torture techniques like water boarding were fully legal. Finally, I’d totally ignore the U.N. if they ever told me not to invade another country. I realize this is a big stretch from how America runs itself today, but just try to imagine it.”
Brooklyn College is Kosher [NY Post]
An investigation by the City University of New York cleared the college of any anti-Orthodox discrimination in its hiring and promotional practices.
“CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein last month ordered the investigation after The Post reported that Assemblyman Dov Hikind and business-school professors claimed discrimination played a role in several Orthodox Jewish professors being denied appointments and promotions.”
The Parent Trap [Haaretz]
Identical twins Daniel and Nir Moaz have a stranger-than-fiction case of possible mistaken identity on their hands. Daniel has been accused of murdering their parents in order to pay off gambling debts. However, he claims it was his brother, and it only gets stickier from there.
“Denying the motive ascribed to him in the charge sheet, Maoz, 28, said his debts were not high, that he owed money only to banks and that he earned a good salary. He said his brother Nir, on the other hand, had a tendency to violence and was constantly arguing with their parents.”
Efforts to form a coalition government in Greece after the elections that gave Golden Dawn, an anti-Semitic right wing party, 21 seats, have failed, leading for the call for new elections. However, the stakes are high; Greece’s floundering economy may signal its exit from the European Union.
“While the voting last week was cathartic for many Greeks, the failure to form a government underscored the depth of the troubles the country faces. The debt crisis here last week precipitated the collapse of a political order that helped drive the country into a downward spiral and now seems powerless to steer it out.”
Romney’s Hot Air [Huffington Post]
In a rhetoric laced speech on Tuesday, Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney laid into President Obama’s handling of the economy, claiming he unleashed a “debt inferno” that plagues this country. The Huffington Post examines some of the claims made by Romney, and points out what he got right and where he’s simply blowing hot air.
“When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decried the “prairie fire” of U.S. debt Tuesday, he ignored some of the sparks that set it ablaze.
One was the Great Recession that took hold before Barack Obama became president. That landmark event went unmentioned in Romney’s speech. Another was a series of Bush-era tax cuts that Romney wants to follow with even lower rates.”
