New catering services. Sound engineering. Construction of sets. New sound stages. Trailers for sets. Porta-potties. All side businesses that claim to have prospered in Massachusetts ever since the state implemented a 25 percent tax credit on production costs and salaries plus a break on certain sales taxes to entice production companies to set up shop …
Category: Culture
Normalizing U.S./Cuban relations a mix of nitty-gritty and key principles
I just returned from State Department briefings for editorialists from across the country and posted the following to the website of the Association of Opinion Journalists, just one of several key issues covered in Monday's day-long sessions. The announcement of a changed relationship between Cuba and the United States is not a kumbaya moment. There’s much …
Continue reading Normalizing U.S./Cuban relations a mix of nitty-gritty and key principles
Cuban impressions, pt. 4 – health care and religion, how much is spin?
As I process my brief experience in Cuba, I am left with many questions, especially about the Cuban health care system and the status of religion. Mostly, I can convey what we were told by guides and academics. I pass this along without the benefit of direct experience. Health care: Periodically the international media have covered the …
Continue reading Cuban impressions, pt. 4 – health care and religion, how much is spin?
Impressions of Cuba, pt. 3 – sports and the arts are signatures
Sports is a hot topic in Cuba. In Havana's central park, there's a "hot corner," not unlike Hyde Park in London. But, instead of debating politics, the participants are intensely arguing about baseball, and the minutiae of each game. Why did the favored Industriales lose to Pinar del Rio? With men in the street, my Red Sox cap, despite my …
Continue reading Impressions of Cuba, pt. 3 – sports and the arts are signatures
Impressions of Cuba, pt. 2 – Cuban embargo is just one problem
The end of the U.S. embargo of Cuba is long overdue. It serves no purpose today. The goal was to bring Fidel Castro to his knees, but it hasn't worked for 55 years. Now the torch has been passed to his brother, Raul, perceived both in the United States and in Cuba to be a pragmatist. His …
Continue reading Impressions of Cuba, pt. 2 – Cuban embargo is just one problem
Impressions of Cuba, pt. 1- life in a time warp
As Sun Country's flight 8830 touched down in Havana the morning of February 25th, the flight attendant announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Havana." A cheer went up, people clapped, and some eyes misted over. It was an inexplicably emotional moment, but it speaks to the fact that Cuba and the United States, just a 49-minute flight separating …
Continue reading Impressions of Cuba, pt. 1- life in a time warp
Deflate-gate calls for willing suspension of disbelief
To enjoy the performance at the movies and in theater, audience members often have to suspend their connection with reality. So, too, with another form of entertainment, professional football. Is it really possible that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, legendary masters of detail and planned execution, knew absolutely nothing about the under-inflation of footballs? Remember Captain …
Continue reading Deflate-gate calls for willing suspension of disbelief
Walsh bows to Boston workers gag order
If you're one of Boston's 18,000 municipal employees, you just lost some important First Amendment rights. If your paycheck says your employer is the City of Boston, your boss, Mayor Marty Walsh, has contractually barred you from saying anything negative about the prospect of hosting the Olympics in 2024. Section 2.05 of the Joinder …
Rise up, ye garden party skunks
Driving down the Mass Pike the day after Boston was tapped for the 2024 U.S. summer Olympics bid, there on the WGBH electronic billboard, the five Olympic rings logo against our beautiful skyline. A frisson of excitement. Wow; it's coming here! Congratulations to the bidding group. And in a split second, I wondered what (and who) …
People protests in Paris diluted by political hypocrisy
In Paris on Sunday more than 1.3 million people solemnly marched a cold and windy 3.2 kilometers from La Place de la Republique to La Place de la Nation The crowd moved along the symbolically significant Boulevard Voltaire, the Enlightenment philosopher known for his biting satires and defense of free speech. This largest demonstration in …
Continue reading People protests in Paris diluted by political hypocrisy
Marjorie Arons-Barron 