The Great British Battle Between Privacy and the Press

It was the final act in what Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper called “one of the biggest acts of civil disobedience in modern times.” Chafing under a court order that banned the press from naming a top player with an English soccer club who was alleged to have had an affair with a reality TV star, Britons took to Twitter. By May 21, details of the affair had been leaked so widely on the internet that over 50,000 users had tweeted the name of the player: Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs.

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How Manchester United Became the Biggest Soccer Team in the World

On Saturday, May 14, as the final whistle ended a 1-1 draw in the English Premier League between Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United, a man looking perhaps a shade younger than his 69 years began dancing around and hugging everyone in sight. If Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s manager, looked like a bit of a dork — as he usually does when celebrating — nobody cared.

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Language: Spanglish Spoken Here

In Manhattan a first-grader greets her visiting grandparents, happily exclaiming, “Come here, sientate!” Her bemused grandfather, who does not speak Spanish, nevertheless knows she is asking him to sit down. A Miami personnel officer understands what a job applicant means when he says, “Quiero un part time.” Nor do drivers miss a beat reading a billboard alongside a Los Angeles street advertising CERVEZA — SIX-PACK! This free-form blend of Spanish and English, known as Spanglish, is common linguistic currency wherever concentrations of Hispanic Americans are found in the U.S

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What Does the Queen Do?

In February, the English cricket team — virtual demigods in their country after defeating Australia last summer — were attending a reception amid the Rembrandts and Rubenses in the Picture Gallery of Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth had just pinned medals on the athletes’ chests signifying their new status as Members of the Order of the British Empire, and was strolling among them, chatting and laughing with their proud families

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