Author Archives: Rory Marsh

For all the talk of modernization, China is still a very insular place. Even in Beijing, it’s possible to walk for hours without seeing another Westerner. If you care to go on such a walk, you’ll be rewarded with long stares from every corner and a chorus of voices calling out “foreigner” behind your back »

I was 10 years old on 9/11. It was just another day in fifth grade — until class was interrupted for a special announcement. Nothing could have prepared me for the words that came next. I remember the shock, the fear and the disbelief. Particularly the disbelief. How could it ever be possible? How could »

After weeks of infighting, the heavies in Washington have finally crafted a deal to keep the federal government in the green. Yet, for all the political brinksmanship, the recent political theater seems trivial. After all, the proposed 2011 budget achieves little more than a continuation of the status quo. Schoolchildren everywhere are celebrating, overjoyed that »

The story is sadly familiar: A major energy company consistently ignores warnings that a key facility is unsafe. Time and again, the company chooses the cheapest and most expedient way of addressing concerns and maintaining production. For a while, there are no consequences. Then, the inevitable happens — the predictions come true. Compounded by a »

One week has passed since the big hits and excitement of Super Bowl XLV and things are back to normal at Cowboys Stadium. In other words, the place is deserted. Indeed, all across the nation, NFL stadiums are dormant once again — aside from a concert or two, they will serve no purpose while consuming »

In the past few months, a familiar fear has grasped the American psyche: that our geopolitical dominance is being undermined by a relentless challenger. Gone are the days when the source of our apprehension was based in Moscow or Tokyo; the threat now comes from Beijing. If we believe the hype, the next Us vs. »

To many observers around the world, last week’s Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia offered proof of the Internet’s potential to promote freedom. As seen two years ago in the protests that racked Iran and Moldova, social media sites helped organize and inform the opposition movement. Demonstrations and clashes with government forces were reported and tweeted live, »

Two Fridays ago, I threw a few clothes into a bag and hit the road to Boston. Like so many other Yalies, I looked forward to the weekend of The Game with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. For the previous year and a half, upperclassmen had pumped me full of horror stories from the »

Welcome back, President Obama. Welcome back to Earth. Now that your tour through the clouds is over, it’s time for the real work to begin. Last Tuesday, Americans turned out en masse to demonstrate their disappointment with the recent turn of Democratic leadership. Many had voted blue just two years before, hoping that “change” was »

It’s amazing what Yalies will do to conform. Someone once told me that this University was a hub of free thinkers and those of strong moral character; I sometimes have my doubts. Over the past week and a half, much has been said about the misogyny and disrespect demonstrated by the pledge practices of the »

President Levin doesn’t abuse his ability to e-mail the entire Yale community. So on those rare occasions when he takes advantage of his invisible electronic podium, we should lend him our ears. This past Monday, Levin sent out one of the most interesting of his communiqués yet — one that called for widespread participation in »