Nicholas Nehamas
Journalist and soccer fan. I live in Cambridge, MA and write on business, politics, sports, and culture.
In Greek basketball team’s shock victory, a lesson for entire nation?
Greeks celebrated a major basketball victory this week. Sure, it’s just basketball, but the win might be more than just a feel-good thing for Greece, at a time when the country is going through a major crisis. First, the game. Greece’s Olympiakos played in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague (apparently, you can sponsor anything in European ...
South Africa debates its own Trayvon incident
In America, the shooting of Trayvon Martin sparked a national debate about race. In South Africa, a less serious incident has caused an equally divisive discussion: on May 4, Jessica Leandra dos Santos, a white South African model, tweeted: “Just … took on an arrogant and disrespectful kaffir inside Spar. Should have punched him.” Kaffir ...
Neo-Nazi political party thrives in Greek turmoil
Turmoil in Greece continues to trouble the world’s economy and Europe’s union. It’s also bringing up bad memories of the Nazi era. In Greece, the Nazis murdered or starved 300,000 Greeks and destroyed one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities in the world. The country took years to recover. Yet last Sunday seven ...
Will Europe boycott biggest soccer tourney of the year?
Ukraine's treatment of its ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, in jail for abuse of power, has raised an international outcry. Now, European leaders have called for a boycott of this summer's Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Will they derail the world's second biggest soccer tournament?...
Will Saudi women finally get their Olympic moment?
If you're a Saudi woman, you better not exercise in public. Compete in the Olympics? Hah! But as the 2012 Olympics draw near, Saudi Arabia says it is considering allowing female athletes to compete for the first time . . ....
Chinese media says Bo Xilai is no spy
As fallout from the Bo Xilai scandal intensifies, the Chinese press argues that the story is about one man's misdeeds, not a political struggle among the country's top leaders. But Western reporters wonder if the government has orchestrated a seemingly independent media campaign to cover up the truth. . . ...
Can you limit problem gambling? Norway thinks so
In response to our story about slots in Australia and Massachusetts, one Latitude News reader wonders if there is any country where pre-commitment, goverment imposed limits on betting, works. Latitude News investigates....
Harvard beats Haiti in soccer match, but real goal is kicking cholera
In the wake of a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Harvard soccer coach Carl Junot wondered what he could do to help. He made some calls and "Haiti Leve" ("Haiti Rises") was born . . . ...
“Days of Rage” in Bahrain as F1 race draws near
Tensions are high in Bahrain ahead of the country’s Formula One Grand Prix Sunday. Thousands of protesters marched in the streets of a village outside the capital, Manama, on Wednesday, calling for the downfall of the regime. Some clashes have been violent as riot police disperse demonstrators with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and, ...
Massachusetts adds slot machines as Australians debate “pokie” problem
Slot machines produce tax dollars and jobs. But experts say they are dangerously addictive. As Massachusetts prepares to open its first slot parlor, we look at Australia, where "pokies" are a part of everyday life - and a serious problem. ...
Protester killed in Bahrain at F1 boycott rally
The death of a young man has sparked a new wave of outrage against Bahrain's monarchy and Formula One as this small Gulf nation struggles to deal with an extraordinary hunger-strike by an imprisoned activist...
In Burma, a vote for freedom (photos)
Guess what happened when Burma's military junta allowed a free by-election? A pro-democracy opposition party won in a landslide. The military remains firmly in control, but it is allowing foreign and local journalists to work relatively freely. They brought their cameras and we bring you some of their photos....
Spanish Soccer team builds fantasy island
As Spain’s economy swoons, prompting a general labor strike ahead of an austerity budget, at least one business in the country is expanding. Real Madrid, the world’s richest soccer team, will build a $1 billion resort on an artificial island in the United Arab Emirates. Real’s resort complex will include luxury hotels, villas, an amusement park, a marina, ...
Soccer hooligans, bad sports and rioting revelers
Is The Hunger Games too violent for children? As the PG-13 movie opens, that’s a question parents everywhere are struggling with. Fair warning, Mom and Dad, don’t let the kids read this week’s Mishmash, which brings you three stories of bad behavior in real-life games, all of which involve children. UPDATE: Celebration is a Riot European ...
As Kraft and Wynn up the ante, casino causes concern in Foxborough
Who wants a casino in their backyard? We hear from both sides of the fence in Foxborough and in the rest of the world. The first of a LatitudeNews look into casino gambling worldwide. ...
Lin Who? Marbury red-hot on Chinese courts
Can a former NBA bad boy become a superstar in China? Maybe. But if nothing else, he is creating a stir among Chinese fans. After one hotly contested game, they rocked the bus he was in for an hour....
Russia stops the “Riot” girls
Here’s an update on last Saturday’s Mishmash at Latitude News, in which we showed a YouTube video of an all-girl Russian punk band that held an “unscheduled” concert at a church in Moscow. “Pussy Riot” might not be easy on the ears, but this all-girl Russian punk band is certainly making itself heard. Last month ...
iProtest the iPad
Crowds queued for hours outside Apple stores across America last night and early this morning, eagerly awaiting the debut of the new iPad. In New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C., the gadget-hungry customers were joined by dozens of protestors, who peacefully called on Apple to start making “ethical” products. They say the company’s main ...
March Madness around the world
As March Madness descends on the U.S., with the focus on the red-hot NCAA basketball tournament and prospects of David taking down another Goliath, Latitude News has found that the contest is actually an international event. Eleven percent of the players are from other countries. ...
A Buddhist first in the African bush
Five years ago Kenya was in the headlines because of bloody ethnic conflict. One thousand three hundred people died and 350,000 had to leave their homes in the fighting that erupted over disputed elections. The worst violence in 2007 was in the Great Rift Valley. This valley – one of the world’s most wildlife rich ...
F1 drivers asked to boycott Bahrain
Gentlemen, stop your engines. That's the call from Bahrain, where activists want the Grand Prix canceled, to put pressure on Bahrain's monarchy....
Putin’s reign, Simpsons-style
Anti-government sentiment has spawned a Putin parody going viral on YouTube. It’s called “Twelve Years of Putin in Two Minutes,” and since the Russian animator Egor Zhgun uploaded it to his YouTube channel on March 2ndmore than a million people have watched the animated time-lapse video. It has no dialogue, only somber piano music playing ...
Germany, er, the U.S. beats Italy 1-0 in soccer
The best young American soccer players used to come from big states with large immigrant populations like California, Texas and New Jersey. That might not be true anymore. These days the U.S.A is developing a promising crop of youngsters from a surprising place: Germany....
Islam and tolerance: the view from South Africa
A young Muslim writer from South Africa argues the Prophet would have been appalled by the violence over Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses"...
Oligarch spends fortune on soccer in Russia’s poorest province
LatitudeNews Sports Thursday: For twenty years Russian forces have battled Islamic guerrillas in poverty-stricken Dagestan. Now, a secretive Russian billionaire is trying to turn the local soccer team, Anzhi Makhachkala, into a global force . . . ...
Stories to watch: Spain protests austerity
Whereas Greece was dragged kicking and screaming down the path of austerity, Spain has gone more willingly. At least initially. Spain now has the highest unemployment rate in the EU - a massive 23 per cent. People are beginning to get angry. ...
The Queen of Soul
The sultry British singer Adele swept the Grammys with six wins. Listen to her greatest hits and read about Britain's surprising tradition of soul music . . . ...
America and Bahrain’s Arab Winter
After initially hesitating, the United States has largely supported the uprisings of the Arab Spring. But not in Bahrain, where hundreds have been killed and wounded in anti-government protests. Recently, President Obama authorized a small, million-dollar arms sale to this Gulf city-state, though Congress killed a $53 million deal last September. Geopolitics would seem to ...
Crusading Spanish judge taken down on charges
His “ambition and pursuit of the spotlight may be without rival.” That’s a quote from a U.S. Embassy cable from Madrid to Washington about the controversial Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon. Citing the doctrine of “universal jurisdiction” Garzon has pursued both Osama bin Laden and Bush Administration officials. But now Garzon finds himself on the wrong ...
Photo Gallery: Greece on Strike
Flag-burning labor unions, the 'troika' and Sausage the Riot Dog. The cast of characters in Athens play out a drama that everyone hopes won't become a tragedy....
Russia says “nyet” to Damascus Spring
Syria burns and the West squirms as Russia takes its turn during talks in Damascus. The Russians called for "peace and harmony." That seems to involve a lot of shelling. Syrians are hoping to avoid a repeat of the Hama massacre. ...
Super Bowl pretty much all American
American culture spans the globe, but its most popular sport doesn't get much interest. Everyone else prefers European football, even on Super Bowl Sunday. Will a new American football league in India change things?...
The hard, strange life of “Tora Bora Jack”
The war on terror has produced few characters more bizarre than the American mercenary Jonathan Keith Idema, who died of complications from AIDS this January in Mexico after serving three years in an Afghan jail for torture and other crimes. Idema, a one-time Green Beret, arrived in Kabul two months after September 11th, 2001 He ...
Uzbekistan crushes Valentine’s Day
Good news for lazy boyfriends in Uzbekistan: the former Soviet republic has officially banned Valentine’s Day. The holiday has origins in the Christian Feast of St. Valentine and the Uzbeki government is said to be upset by its popularity in this predominantly Muslim nation. Last year, the newspaper Turkiston quoted authorities as saying Valentine’s Day ...
France, Turkey strangle free speech in their own ways
What’s free speech? Depends on who’s speaking, at least when it comes to whether Turkey committed genocide against Armenians in the early 20th century. The French Senate on Monday the 23rd passed a bill making it illegal to deny any genocide officially recognized by the government. Only two incidents qualify: the Holocaust of Jews and ...
Apple, Amazon contractor boss calls workers “animals”
When Terry Gou's workers started jumping off factories to protest working conditions, he installed nets. Now the Foxconn CEO, who makes the electronics we all buy, compared his workers to zoo animals. Does he need management lessons, or charm school?...
Chinese TV actor on “Undercover” hiding a criminal past
It’s a shocking twist that TV writers might wish they had dreamed up themselves. Ji Siguang, a popular Chinese actor on the television drama “Undercover,” has been arrested for a violent robbery he committed 13 years ago — under a different name. It turns out Ji was a better actor than even his most devoted ...
States aim to unveil Muslim women
Can the state play fashion cop? Maybe, when the garments in question belong to conservative Muslim women. Canada, for one, on Monday forbade new citizens from wearing the niqab or the burqa when they take the oath of citizenship. There’s a practical consideration here: the niqab is a veil that leaves an opening only over ...
Indonesia breaks up the party
Punk-rock enthusiasts got a real-life taste of the Ramones’ 1976 hit “Blitzkrieg Bop” in Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Saturday night when police broke up their charity concert and arrested sixty-four fans. The young people have not been charged with any crime but are nonetheless being detained at a state police school for “re-education,” reports Nurdin ...
