Close your eyes for a moment and hear the refrain of Aquarius by The Fifth Dimension, "let the sun shine, let the sun shine, the sun shine in." Consider it the anthem for this week: Sunshine Week. It has nothing to do with the fact that we're back on daylight savings time, this Friday is the first …
Iran – another “red line” in Obama foreign policy?
Viewed in isolation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress last week was masterful. It projected superficial respect for President Obama (if you overlook his trashing the negotiation process to date and speaking to Congress in the midst of the Iranian talks) and expressed appreciation for everything the Obama Administration has done in Israel's …
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Cuban impressions, pt. 5 – Normalizing U.S. / Cuban relations
The Republicans may be in a snit about President Obama's initiative on Cuba, but polls show that 55-60 percent of Americans favor his efforts to create a new beginning in our relationship. And that makes sense. But normalization won't happen quickly. Since 2009, scholars in both countries have been exploring ways to normalize relations. Some call …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Backlog of complaints? Hit the delete button!
Forty years ago, Italian postal workers faced a backlog of 20 million pieces of mail following a series of strikes. Unlike London, which faced a similar problem and simply took a couple of weeks to eliminate the backlog, the Italians burned some of the letters, sold off others for pulp and dumped others into the …
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Charlie Baker: charm, practicality and reassurance
The question during the 2014 gubernatorial campaign was often "Will the real Charlie Baker please stand up?" Today, Governor Baker stood before a meeting of the New England Council, the real Charlie Baker, the one I knew from his days in the highest echelons of the Weld and Cellucci administrations. He is smart, comfortable in …
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Will Marty Walsh become another Michael Bilandic?
Will Marty Walsh become the next Michael Bilandic? Bilandic was the first Chicago Mayor to try to fill the large shoes left when Mayor-for-life Richard Daley died in 1976. Walsh, of course, replaced our own Mayor-for-Life, Tom Menino and is working to make the job his own. Bilandic's first challenges were negotiating the shoals of …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 