Why we need #SelmaforStudents
It started right on New Year’s Eve with one prominent businessman posing a simple question to a few of his close friends and fellow business leaders: “How can we make…
Tag: cnnopinion
Gordon Brown: Where children are scared to go to school
Boko Haram’s murderous tactics have descended to a new barbaric low. Last Saturday, a bomb strapped to a schoolgirl exploded in the center of Maiduguri in Borno state, killing at…
The Pope is wrong on religious speech
The popular Pope Francis is taking some hits himself after some lighthearted comments that included a pretend punch to a colleague. The comments came while trying to make the point…
Is this why ‘Selma’ was snubbed?
A best picture nomination is not exactly nothing. Many would argue that it’s just about everything. Yet there was brush-fire-level rage on and off the Internet — see #OscarsSoWhite —…
LZ: Oscar is much smaller than Selma
“Selma” did pick up two nominations, including one for best picture. But when the Hollywood gods consider a film to be truly great, its actors and/or actresses, screenplay and particularly…
GOP, stop messing with Obamacare
The Republicans have taken control of Congress, and with it ownership of health care reform. As long as the Republicans were in opposition, they could just complain. And they did,…
Mike Huckabee, stop bashing Beyonce
I speak, of course, of politicians — and, in particular, of Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate is rumored to be interested — along with about…
Why cartoonists should give it a rest
The latest Charlie Hebdo cartoon, produced after last week’s horrific attacks on the Paris magazine’s offices, literally adds insult to injury. Admittedly a portrait in mixed messages, the cover reads…
Should jury take a field trip in Aaron Hernandez trial?
Jurors will get to see Aaron Hernandez’s trophy case when they visit his home during the former New England Patriots star’s murder trial, a judge ruled last week. The Assistant…
Why 2015 will be defining year for India
If there were an annual prize for the “World’s Most Hopeful Economy,” it would likely go to India. After years of disappointing returns, the world’s largest democracy rediscovered vigor in…
Want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg? Dream on
There’s a tech bubble and no one knows when exactly it will pop. We have sky-rocketing valuations like Airbnb ($13 billion), Uber ($41 billion), Snapchat ($10 billion), Dropbox ($10 billion)…
Diana Nyad: Rob Konrad’s amazing swim for survival
Sixteen hours in the ocean, for a trained swimmerwith an escort boat and all kinds of safety precautions nearby, plenty of water and electrolyte drinks and nutrition at handis a…
Saudi blogger’s flogging should outrage U.S.
The killings of 12 journalists and others at Charlie Hebdo in Paris has led many to wonder about the role of Islam in fueling vicious attacks on civilians in the…
Gina Rodriguez, the Latina Meryl Streep?
When she was growing up in Chicago, that’s what Gina Rodriguez wanted to be. At the time, as the daughter of Puerto Rican migrants, that dream must have seemed unattainable….
Can we find cures for 7,000 diseases?
After months of listening to experts and stakeholders, the path to faster cures is clearer than ever. We call it the 21st Century Cures initiative, and Congress is about to…
Why Boko Haram is more worrying than ISIS
On Sunday, at almost the same moment that dozens of world leaders linked arms and led millions of people through the streets of Paris to commemorate the 17 victims of…
Internet of Things, or IdioT?
Personal fitness. Family communications. Home management. And now that our devices are becoming interlinked as a vast always-on network, they don’t even need to be supervised anymore — our stuff…
Golden Globes, where’d the crazy go?
It was a Globes ceremony on its best grown-up behavior. The outside world was more present than usual at this year’s show, with a few shout-outs of freedom-of-speech solidarity with…
Leisure is the new productivity
While working on “The Last Supper,” Leonardo da Vinci regularly took off from painting for several hours at a time and seemed to be daydreaming aimlessly. Urged by his patron,…
Brand new Congress, same four problems
In his talk, he criticized the President’s response to Russia’s takeover of Crimea, asking the group “Does anybody think that Vladimir Putin would have gone into Crimea had George W….
‘Je suis Charlie,’ at least for now
Uphold the right to universal free speech. Je suis Charlie. On Sunday, a perplexingly awesome mash-up of world leaders — from French President Francois Hollande to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud…
Rise of the female jihadists
The hunt is on for Hayat Boumeddiene, the 26-year-old woman wanted over Thursday’s fatal shooting of a French policewoman. Early reports suggested she might have escaped Friday from a kosher…
Free speech comes with responsibilities
In the aftermath of the heinous attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in France, many are tweeting and writing in solidarity: Je suis Charlie. But I’m not. Because I…
No ‘clash of civilizations’ in Paris attacks
Tensions are running high following the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday, and that is exactly how it should be. The correct, human response to…
Is it OK for comedians to joke about religion?
“Would you tell a joke mocking the Prophet Mohammed?” Being a comedian who is Muslim, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question over the years….
Two years of free community college makes sense
Before you dismiss President Obama’s proposal of two years of free community college as frivolous government spending, let me toss a number out at you: 500%. That’s roughly how much…
Paris attack will feed intolerance in Europe
The slogan “Je suis Charlie Hebdo” is circulating widely in social media. Twitter is inundated with tweets about the political power of satire. Pictures of demonstrators holding pens in the…
Why you don’t need God
It was January 2014 and I was sitting on the beach in Malibu looking out at the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean, ebbing and flowing. I had just begun a personal…
The revolution in the driver’s seat
Anyone looking for clues about potentially world-changing innovations in 2015 and beyond would do well to consider three announcements from Silicon Valley companies made in the final weeks of 2014….
When is your tweet a threat?
Police reviewed hundreds of online postings–and made several arrests–over alleged anti-cop threats made in the wake of the killing of two officers last month. It used to be a lot…