Section: The Conversation (USA)
How much is Euro 2016 worth?
The open goal. Igor.StevanovicThere are two ways of viewing the fact that a record 24 teams are competing to lift the Henri Delaunay Cup at Euro 2016. Some regard UEFA’s decision to include nearly half of its 55 members as a move to leverage football’s ability to bring people together in a celebration of sport and national identity....
Local content quotas on TV are global – it just doesn’t work everywhere
Strict security at the South African Broadcasting Corporation before the country’s 2004 national elections. EPA/Jon HrusaThe Chief Operating Officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Hlaudi Motsoeneng, announced early in May 2016 that 80% of all films broadcast on one of the public broadcaster’s channels, SABC 3,...
Why gendered deodorants work – particularly for unmanly men
Old Spice may be the solution for those looking to be more manly. youtube.comeAdverts for male deodorants – such as Old Spice or Axe/Lynx – typically promise a boost in manliness and romantic success for those discerning enough to try the products. But can artificial fragrances, mixed with our natural body odours, really make us appear more...
What a Brexit would mean for Europe’s television channels
Time to change the channel? marcociannarel/www.shutterstock.comThe UK is an attractive base for broadcasting channels targeting other European countries. The domestic market is large, creative skills sets are high, and there is good availability of post-production facilities and satellite uplinks for broadcasters. Yet, without Europe’s...
We need to listen to our military experts – and that includes retired generals
General Sir Richard Shirreff caused a stir with his book, 2017: War With Russia. The book sets up a doomsday scenario in which, to avoid encirclement by NATO, Russia seizes territory in Eastern Ukraine so as to open up a land corridor to Crimea. It then invades the Baltic states, triggering a war with the West in 2017. It is fiction of the Tom...
Could NATO go to war with Russia … and what would happen if it did?
A call to arms… ShutterstockA new book by General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander for Europe between 2011 and 2014, evokes a potential scenario that leads to a devastating future war with Russia. The book, 2017 War with Russia, is clearly labelled as a work of fiction. But it portrays a fairly convincing...
West could sleepwalk into a Doomsday war with Russia – it’s time to wake up
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/hollande-merkel-ukraine-must-accelerate-minsk-commitmentsSince the Ukraine crisis exploded into civil conflict and war in 2013, we have known that we live in troubled times. It has become increasingly clear that the peace order in Europe, established at the end of the Cold War in 1989, is...
Nazi-era philosopher who wrote the blueprint for the New Authoritarianism
Donald Trump, Rodrigo Duterte, Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin – from Manila to Moscow, Washington to Budapest, populist authoritarians are the new normal. In Hungary, Orban, the prime minister, aims to build an “illiberal democracy” while in Russia, Putin long ago crushed independent journalism and political opposition. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip...
Here’s how smart power could help the UK reach 100% renewable energy
from www.shutterstock.comBoth Portugal and Germany have recently succeeded in meeting almost all of their power needs using renewable energy. But at the moment, the UK falls far short of this feat. In 2015, less than a quarter of the country’s energy was generated from renewable power sources such as wind, solar, hydro and bio-energy. If...
Along with soulful gazes and key changes, politics is never far from Eurovision
From now on, when people ask me why Eurovision is worth paying attention to, I’m going to give them a short answer: 2016. This year the contest has given us disputes over political lyrics, exclusions due to bankruptcy, flag controversies, geopolitical debates, a jury scandal, and, most importantly, a lot of great pop music. All of this came...
