Brian Till: All Publications, Events and Press

Havel's Velvet Anniversary

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0500

Twenty years ago this month, protestors massed for ten days in Prague's Wenceslas Square, demanding an end to communist rule, and chanting: "Havel, na Hrad!" (Havel to the Castle.)

Terrorism Dilemmas Come Down to Kashmir

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:48:00 -0400

The most vital region in this world today, for U.S. interests at least, remains a maze of cloud-shearing piles of rock and sweeping valleys, both checkered by impoverished towns and men clutching AKs-- but this pile is hundreds of miles from Kabul.

Support for Health Care Reform Is Building … From the Right

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:11:00 -0400

Bill O'Reilly supports a public option in the health care debate, given that it will provide cheaper insurance to those who can't afford it and isn't intended to replace insurance providers as the status quo for the majority; Tommy Thompson, W.'s secretary for Health and Human Services and a former four-term governor of Wisconsin, has praised the Senate's proposed reforms.

Entrepreneur Tests Theory of 'Better Teachers, Better Students'

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:17:00 -0400

As your fifth grader heads back to school this morning, weighed down by a rushed bowl of Cheerios and an oversized bag of worn books, how would you like to know that his or her science teacher has 30 years of experience, and spent last year as a special consultant to the state of Arizona? Or that his or her gym teacher shaped Kobe Bryant into 225 pounds of pure muscle?

And how would it feel to know that those teachers would be paid between $125,000 and $150,000 this year? And be certain they have the whole world watching to see how well they teach your child?

Where Are the GOP’s Ideas, Plans?

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:57:00 -0400

The young, aspiring Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia's seventh congressional district launched what looked like an exciting effort to recast his party last winter. It began in a packed strip mall pizza parlor in Arlington with the aim of engaging regular Americans with an Obama-style outreach both on the Web and in town halls. It has fizzled and failed.

Maturation of Democracy at Stake for Islam in Tehran

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:30:00 -0400

This is not a new clash; what the world is watching in Tehran is yet another chapter of Islam grappling with modernity, democracy and lucrative financial cronyism.

Making Friends Should Be Easy After Life Under Taliban

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 16 May 2009 08:50:00 -0400

The Taliban’s siege in the Swat Valley presents a major opportunity for Pakistani President Asif Zardari, one he’s taken an important first step toward grasping, but one that can also slip away quite easily.

The Swat has been pounded since last week by 15,000 Pakistani troops beating back Taliban fighters. Heavily armed helicopters, mortars and jets have bombarded the lush terrain, inflicting 700 Taliban casualties, according to the state’s interior minister, and displacing 400,000 people.

Making Friends Should Be Easy After Life Under Taliban

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 16 May 2009 08:50:00 -0400

In Search of the Source of America's Gun Obsession

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:04:00 -0400

I love to shoot guns as much as the next red-blooded American -- hunting rifles at home in Vermont with friends, Glocks in Pittsburgh with cousins; I understand the excitement and the rush and the eventual calm that shooting enthusiasts so enjoy. But at no point in my life have I ever felt compelled to carry or own a gun.

Since Barack Obama has taken office, gun sales across America have surged. Firearm purchases under a Democratic president appear absolutely recession proof.

How China Will Reinvigorate Itself Amid Global Crisis

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:57:00 -0400

In 10 years books on the financial collapse will lead with facts about China. Eventually, the text will get around to explaining that failed oversight in American markets brought the implosion to its height, but the thesis of the narrative will center on the success of tightly managed macroeconomics, massive internal investment, and revisions made to an already successful system in a time of great turmoil. China, in short, will be the winner among losers when we look back upon these years of unrest.

Tremors of European Financial Collapse Will be Felt Worldwide

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:56:00 -0500

A recent survey suggests 37 percent of Britons expect riots in the next year on account of the financial collapse; in Kiev, Ukrainians have made runs on major banks, being turned away from even the nation's largest institutions with empty pockets.

The European Union is ripping apart at its most vulnerable seam: that between well-established Western economies and former Soviet states still grappling to build viable capitalist systems.

Where We All Can Agree

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:18:00 -0500

Barack Obama’s campaign philosophy suggested that we, as a nation, ought to focus on the ideas that unite us, rather than those few divisive issues that politicians and pundits often dwell upon. Before we understood the full weight of our looming financial implosion, he suggested that partisan bickering and posturing for cameras and constituents had kept us from tackling critical issues. So, if we are to abandon the collapse for a moment, what do we, exactly, agree upon?

Images of the Inauguration Reflect America’s Dreams for Future

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:21:00 -0500

Past Dupont Circle, where a week ago Friday people threw their shoes at a giant, inflatable George Bush; where all weekend it felt like rush hour, as bodies moved in mass, smiling ever so softly, laughing ever so easily, as if it were a holiday season past, as if there were a bit of opiate in the water.

In a cab with an Ethiopian driver, who observes, "I've never seen this. Regular people never go to inauguration. That's for the rich."

Israel’s Fight to Keep Status Quo is Untenable

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:11:00 -0500

This is a very different war from the one Israel waged in Lebanon during summer 2006; a war that Israel, by almost all measures, lost.

Today Hezbollah is better armed and further entrenched, and has greater prestige in the Sunni world than before the campaign. But Hezbollah had the critical capacity to rearm -- quickly. And it also had the capacity to orchestrate the rebuilding of Southern Lebanon.

The Inaugural Address That I Hope to Hear

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:36:00 -0500

Sixty-six years ago was an equally unsettling time in this country. Standing in this very spot, a slender man, barely able to stand on his own, told us that we had “nothing to fear but fear itself.” He would go on to become a great president. Today, my fellow Americans, we have more to fear.

Nation Needs Confidence Without Stubborness

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:52:00 -0500

Over the past eight years, many have suggested that President George W. Bush’s arrogance lies at the root of his failed policies. His resolve that we simply “stay the course,” without adjustment or alteration -- as Iraq descended into a brutal civil war -- being the most noteworthy example. Ironically, I wonder whether that same unrelenting confidence -- stripped of the stubbornness -- is exactly what is required to keep America from economic collapse.

Newspapers Can’t Keep Distributing Content for Free on Web

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:59:00 -0500

A lot of conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks have centered on the American decline, not in terms of global influence and economic standing, but in terms of journalism. I’ve found myself speaking with students of the field, freelance writers and grayed reporters, all of us solemnly reflecting, as if a good friend had died.

Obama's National Security Team | WABC's 'Curtis Sliwa Show'

adminn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:24:00 -0500

Brian Till appeared Dec. 1 on WABC's "Curtis Sliwa Show" to discuss President-elect Obama's decision to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as his Secretary of State. Till also discussed Obama's other national security team picks; an MP3 recording of the interview is available below.

Obama Must Follow Through on Promise of Inspiration

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:45:00 -0500

"I was inspired by Jack Kennedy," a high school teacher replied when I asked what had moved him to join the Peace Corps and work in Cameroon.

A grand, Kennedy-esque call to service flittered throughout Barack Obama's campaign, but never took firm ground. I'm concerned it might never solidify; that nascent campaign ideas, and a critical component of the Obama campaign strategy, may not come to fruition once he takes office.