Fresco of dancing Peucetian women from the Tomb of the Dancers in the Corso Cotugno necropolis of Ruvo di Puglia, end of the 5th or mid-4th century B.C. The ancient Greeks believed that charisma was the grace of the gods. But charisma has little gra… — Fresco of dancing Peucetian women from the Tomb of the Dancers in the Corso Cotugno necropolis of Ruvo di Puglia, end of the 5th or mid-4th century B.C. The ancient Greeks believed that charisma was the grace of the gods. But charisma has little grace in the modern age.

Boris, The Donald and charisma in the age of reality TV

December 23, 2019

Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won big in the United Kingdom’s recent election, establishing a clear path — or more precisely, a clearer path — to Brexit Jan. 31. Amid all the questions of winners (the Tories) and losers (the Labour Party, its unpalatable former leader Jeremy Corbyn, and quite possibly the British worker, London as world financial capital, immigrants, globalism, Scotland, the Irish backstop), was the notion that the Conservatives succeeded because of Johnson’s Trumpian charisma, which he damped down for the occasion by corralling his usual hijinks.

Afghanistan and the failure of leadership

December 16, 2019

President Donald J. Trump has announced the withdrawal of 4,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan, with the intention of withdrawing all troops by the November election, thus bringing to a close America’s longest war, after 18 years. Or will it?.

Bloomberg, Pelosi and the politics of critical thinking

December 9, 2019

This past week produced two moments that were parsed endlessly and yet little understood. One involved former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg telling CBS’ Gayle King that his Democratic rivals could’ve made a lot of money to spend on their campaigns. The other involved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi separating President Donald J. Trump’s personhood from his actions in responding to Sinclair Broadcasting’s James Rosen asking her if she hated the president. Neither Bloomberg’s remark nor Pelosi’s response were satisfactory, revealing a lack of critical thinking.

An extract from the 16th-century Codex Magliabechiano depicting human sacrifice under the Aztecs. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies Inc. (FAMSI).

Becoming the enemy: Trump and U.S. war crimes

November 28, 2019

At the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s haunting “Vertigo” (1958) — perhaps his and cinema’s best — James Stewart’s detective figures out that the woman he’s fallen for (Kim Novak) is nothing but an imposter hired by a murderous husband to help make his wife’s death look like a suicide. And what clues him in? His beloved puts on a necklace that belonged to one of the dead woman’s ancestors.

“You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing,” he tells her as he confronts her in the film’s harrowing final scene. “You shouldn’t have been that sentimental.”

“You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing”:: I was reminded of that line as President Donald J. Trump prevented the demotion of Naval Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher….

A 17th-century Russian manuscript of “The Alexander Romance,” considered one of the earliest novels. Here Alexander explores the depths of the sea.

Trump and the empathy paradox

November 23, 2019

On Nov. 20 — which, as it turned out, would’ve been the 94th birthday of onetime Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan on June 5, 1968 — PBS’ “Nova” aired a fascinating program, “The Violence Paradox” — one that said a lot about the paradox of empathy in our own time.

Based on the controversial work of psychologist Steven Pinker, the program posited that civilization has become increasingly less violent — yes, despite a world in which every Middle Eastern, African and South American country appears to be protesting its corrupt leadership, Hong Kong students are fighting for democracy against China in a classic David-versus-Goliath battle; and school shootings continue unchecked in the United States.

A legend comes to life

November 21, 2019

He was a realist and a romantic, a lover of strong women and beautiful men. And though he was in his day the richest, most powerful man in the world, his most prized possession was a book – Homer’s “The Iliad,” annotated by his tutor, Aristotle.

Most of all, he was as much a myth as a man and a mystery – even to himself.

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 B.C. – a month shy of his 33rd birthday – after conquering and reordering Persia, he left a sprawling empire and a burning question: What drove him?

It’s a question I explore in “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” (Nov. 30, JMS Books), the latest entry in my series “The Games Men Play” and its first historical subject.

President Donald J. Trump talks with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the leaders lounge at the G20 Japan Summit on June 28 in Osaka. Photograph by Shealah Craighead/White House.

Trump talks Turkey

November 14, 2019

Like the man who divorces his wife but keeps showing up for dinner night after night, President Donald J. Trump just can’t quit his opponents. No sooner had he announced that he was forsaking New York as his primary domicile for Florida than he was back in the Big Apple, not once but twice. The second time was for the 100th anniversary of New York’s Veterans Day Parade, at which he talked about New York’s daring and defiance, which the city demonstrated by protesting him. LOL, you just can’t make this stuff up.