But there are two things I find remarkable about the G.O.P., and especially its more conservative wing, which is now about all there is.
The first is how wrong conservative Republicans have been on so many profoundly important matters for so many years. The second is how the G.O.P. has nevertheless been able to persuade so many voters of modest means that its wrongheaded, favor-the-rich, country-be-damned approach was not only good for working Americans, but was the patriotic way to go.
Read the article @ NYTimes.com
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
[김혜리가 만난 사람] 배우 고현정 : 기사 : 씨네21
이지러졌다 피는 달
좀처럼 화장기를 들이지 않는 고현정의 얼굴은 천천히 그러나 끝없이 리듬을 타고 이지러졌다 피는 달과 닮았다. 그녀가 한번 지은 표정은 물이 빠지듯 서서히 사라지고 대화할 때면 거울이 되어 마주앉은 이의 표정을 그대로 비춰낸다. 그러나 그 활짝 열린 얼굴과 마주앉아 인터뷰하는 기자는 때때로 장갑을 낀 채 악수하는 촉감을 느낀다. 그녀의 떠들썩한 결혼과 이혼, 그리고 무엇보다 그 사이에 드리워진 침침한 공백은, 거대한 반점과 같아서 거론하기도, 못 본 체하기도 쉽지 않기 때문이다. “미스코리아 나왔다가 방송하고 그러다 재벌가에 시집갔다가, 이혼하고 나와서 다시 연기를 하고. 제 전적이 너무 지루한 코스잖아요. 나쁘게 보려면 얼마든지 그럴 수 있죠.” 단숨에 요약해버리는 쪽은 고현정이다. <여우야 뭐하니>의 대사가 스친다. “창피하면 씩씩해져야죠. 가만있으면 더 창피하잖아요.” 작품 수도 적고 아직 내가 배우인지 잘 모르겠다면서도 고현정은 연기의 각론을 건드리면 오래 쟁여둔 티가 역력한 생각을 풀어놓는다. 스물다섯살에서 서른네살까지 손과 발이 연기하기를 멈춘 10년 동안 그녀의 눈과 머리는 참으로 게걸스러웠던 모양이다. 그래서 지금 우리 앞에 있는 것은 아직도 갈증을 다 풀지 못한, 우듬지까지 물이 오른 배우다.
[김혜리가 만난 사람] 배우 고현정 : 기사 : 씨네21
좀처럼 화장기를 들이지 않는 고현정의 얼굴은 천천히 그러나 끝없이 리듬을 타고 이지러졌다 피는 달과 닮았다. 그녀가 한번 지은 표정은 물이 빠지듯 서서히 사라지고 대화할 때면 거울이 되어 마주앉은 이의 표정을 그대로 비춰낸다. 그러나 그 활짝 열린 얼굴과 마주앉아 인터뷰하는 기자는 때때로 장갑을 낀 채 악수하는 촉감을 느낀다. 그녀의 떠들썩한 결혼과 이혼, 그리고 무엇보다 그 사이에 드리워진 침침한 공백은, 거대한 반점과 같아서 거론하기도, 못 본 체하기도 쉽지 않기 때문이다. “미스코리아 나왔다가 방송하고 그러다 재벌가에 시집갔다가, 이혼하고 나와서 다시 연기를 하고. 제 전적이 너무 지루한 코스잖아요. 나쁘게 보려면 얼마든지 그럴 수 있죠.” 단숨에 요약해버리는 쪽은 고현정이다. <여우야 뭐하니>의 대사가 스친다. “창피하면 씩씩해져야죠. 가만있으면 더 창피하잖아요.” 작품 수도 적고 아직 내가 배우인지 잘 모르겠다면서도 고현정은 연기의 각론을 건드리면 오래 쟁여둔 티가 역력한 생각을 풀어놓는다. 스물다섯살에서 서른네살까지 손과 발이 연기하기를 멈춘 10년 동안 그녀의 눈과 머리는 참으로 게걸스러웠던 모양이다. 그래서 지금 우리 앞에 있는 것은 아직도 갈증을 다 풀지 못한, 우듬지까지 물이 오른 배우다.
[김혜리가 만난 사람] 배우 고현정 : 기사 : 씨네21
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Union Leaders Confronted by Resistance to Obama - NYTimes.com
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. says its nationwide campaign effort will involve knocking on 10 million doors, making 70 million phone calls, distributing 20 million leaflets and 25 million pieces of mail, and sending out more than four million e-mail messages. The nation’s unions talk of spending more than $300 million in the campaign, including $85 million by the Service Employees International Union.
To increase Mr. Obama’s chances of winning, labor’s field marshals have sought to make sure that canvassers, when distributing fliers and visiting union members, focus on economic issues, like Mr. Obama’s calls for cutting taxes on the middle class and repealing tax breaks for companies that invest overseas. The canvassers also emphasize protecting Social Security, problems with trade agreements and the need for change.
“We’ve lost something like 600,000 jobs so far this year,” said Anthony Rainey, president of U.A.W. Local 469, which represents workers at Master Lock in Milwaukee.
Mr. Rainey said his wife had warned him that Mr. Obama would lose if voters were not able to distinguish his economic policies from Mr. McCain’s. “There hasn’t been anything on the issues and it’s going to be crunch time,” Mr. Rainey said, “and people have to understand where these presidential candidates stand on economic issues.”
But many union members have a history of basing their votes on noneconomic issues, giving Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, a shot at winning their support. Mr. Pyne, who knocks on doors wearing a Steelworkers for Obama T-shirt, witnessed that firsthand while visiting Scott Siegel, a union plumber, and his wife, Amy.
“We basically vote pro-life,” said Ms. Siegel, a mother of five. “As a ‘little person,’ I don’t feel that any of these candidates have our best interests in mind. So if there’s a specific thing that sways our vote, it would be abortion.”
Read the article @ NYTimes.com
To increase Mr. Obama’s chances of winning, labor’s field marshals have sought to make sure that canvassers, when distributing fliers and visiting union members, focus on economic issues, like Mr. Obama’s calls for cutting taxes on the middle class and repealing tax breaks for companies that invest overseas. The canvassers also emphasize protecting Social Security, problems with trade agreements and the need for change.
“We’ve lost something like 600,000 jobs so far this year,” said Anthony Rainey, president of U.A.W. Local 469, which represents workers at Master Lock in Milwaukee.
Mr. Rainey said his wife had warned him that Mr. Obama would lose if voters were not able to distinguish his economic policies from Mr. McCain’s. “There hasn’t been anything on the issues and it’s going to be crunch time,” Mr. Rainey said, “and people have to understand where these presidential candidates stand on economic issues.”
But many union members have a history of basing their votes on noneconomic issues, giving Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, a shot at winning their support. Mr. Pyne, who knocks on doors wearing a Steelworkers for Obama T-shirt, witnessed that firsthand while visiting Scott Siegel, a union plumber, and his wife, Amy.
“We basically vote pro-life,” said Ms. Siegel, a mother of five. “As a ‘little person,’ I don’t feel that any of these candidates have our best interests in mind. So if there’s a specific thing that sways our vote, it would be abortion.”
Read the article @ NYTimes.com
Britain on a plate: Jamie Oliver's TV series Jamie's Ministry of Food
There was a moment in the first episode of the new Jamie Oliver TV series last night when the Essex-lad-made-millionaire had an outburst worthy of a revolutionary. Emerging from a mealtime visit to Natasha, a single mother on benefits in Rotherham, he raged in his own inimitable language of protest: "Fucking hell ... it's fucking Great Britain. It's 2008. I've been to Soweto and I've seen Aids orphans eating better than that."
The article is from The Guardian
Jamie Oliver: I'm massively excited about my new project, Ministry of Food and a new food movement, called Pass It On, that I'm hoping will be a huge part of it. My new book, Jamie's Ministry of Food and the TV show (also called Ministry of Food) will both be coming out in the next couple of weeks. They're both basically about inspiring people to get back into their kitchens and make simple, delicious food from scratch again.
More at Jamie Oliver's website
Special campaign website: Jamie's Ministry of Food
The article is from The Guardian
Jamie Oliver: I'm massively excited about my new project, Ministry of Food and a new food movement, called Pass It On, that I'm hoping will be a huge part of it. My new book, Jamie's Ministry of Food and the TV show (also called Ministry of Food) will both be coming out in the next couple of weeks. They're both basically about inspiring people to get back into their kitchens and make simple, delicious food from scratch again.
More at Jamie Oliver's website
Special campaign website: Jamie's Ministry of Food
US elections; Hockey moms are key players in hunt for women's vote | World news | The Guardian
Others at the rink in Livonia, a Detroit commuter town, agree that Palin seems more approachable than an earlier generation of female politician including Clinton or even Nancy Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the house and, like Palin, a mother of five.
Clinton, with her suits and her pride in her profession as a lawyer and senator, was off-putting to those women who still place importance in traditional roles. "[Palin] just seems like someone you can relate to. Hillary Clinton doesn't seem like you could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her," says Vicky Rokas, a solid Republican voter who counts herself a Palin fan.
For Rokas, who has spent years shuttling three hockey-playing children to practice and out-of-state tournaments, Palin's hockey mom experience is just as valid as her professional credentials.
But the positive image is far from universal. Many women admit a visceral dislike of McCain's running mate.
"She scares the hell out of me. Every time I see her I go home and open my wallet, and write another cheque for Obama," says Pilar Herrera-Fierro, looking up from her copy of the New York Times to watch her daughter's practice.
The immediate burst of enthusiasm about Palin's candidacy has faded. The comedian Tina Fey has turned Palin's gaffes on foreign policy - such as the line about seeing Russia from Alaska - into a spoof on the TV show Saturday Night Live.
Women voters have also become more conscious of Palin's retrograde views on global warming and others issues.
Read the article @ The Guardian
Clinton, with her suits and her pride in her profession as a lawyer and senator, was off-putting to those women who still place importance in traditional roles. "[Palin] just seems like someone you can relate to. Hillary Clinton doesn't seem like you could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her," says Vicky Rokas, a solid Republican voter who counts herself a Palin fan.
For Rokas, who has spent years shuttling three hockey-playing children to practice and out-of-state tournaments, Palin's hockey mom experience is just as valid as her professional credentials.
But the positive image is far from universal. Many women admit a visceral dislike of McCain's running mate.
"She scares the hell out of me. Every time I see her I go home and open my wallet, and write another cheque for Obama," says Pilar Herrera-Fierro, looking up from her copy of the New York Times to watch her daughter's practice.
The immediate burst of enthusiasm about Palin's candidacy has faded. The comedian Tina Fey has turned Palin's gaffes on foreign policy - such as the line about seeing Russia from Alaska - into a spoof on the TV show Saturday Night Live.
Women voters have also become more conscious of Palin's retrograde views on global warming and others issues.
Read the article @ The Guardian
FT / Martin Wolf: Congress decides it is worth risking depression
Against this dire background, what is one to make of the failure of Congress to ratify the plan? It is both understandable and a gross error.
It is understandable because the use of taxpayer money to buy so-called “toxic” mortgage-backed securities from the greedy fools who created the crisis is hard to tolerate. It is also understandable – even creditable – that those Republicans hostile to “socialism” do not want to bail out the undeserving rich, at least before an election. It is understandable, too, because, for reasons I put forward last week, the plan is not convincing. It is designed to deal with a problem of illiquidity in what seems certain to be a growing crisis of insolvency, particularly as house prices fall and the economy continues to weaken.
Yet the rejection is grossly mistaken because the resulting ruin will hurt the weak and destroy the legitimacy of the market economy. The plan is indeed flawed. But failure to ratify it is unlikely to convince anybody that something better will be forthcoming. It will convince them, instead, that the US is choosing to be impotent. At a time of such fragility, when the insurance offered by government is most indispensable, this is the worst possible message. It is a pity Mr Paulson did not choose another plan. It is a pity, too, that a former titan of high finance was charged with bailing out Wall Street. Yet it was still a mistake to reject the plan. It was necessary, instead, to build upon it.
Read the article @ FT.com
It is understandable because the use of taxpayer money to buy so-called “toxic” mortgage-backed securities from the greedy fools who created the crisis is hard to tolerate. It is also understandable – even creditable – that those Republicans hostile to “socialism” do not want to bail out the undeserving rich, at least before an election. It is understandable, too, because, for reasons I put forward last week, the plan is not convincing. It is designed to deal with a problem of illiquidity in what seems certain to be a growing crisis of insolvency, particularly as house prices fall and the economy continues to weaken.
Yet the rejection is grossly mistaken because the resulting ruin will hurt the weak and destroy the legitimacy of the market economy. The plan is indeed flawed. But failure to ratify it is unlikely to convince anybody that something better will be forthcoming. It will convince them, instead, that the US is choosing to be impotent. At a time of such fragility, when the insurance offered by government is most indispensable, this is the worst possible message. It is a pity Mr Paulson did not choose another plan. It is a pity, too, that a former titan of high finance was charged with bailing out Wall Street. Yet it was still a mistake to reject the plan. It was necessary, instead, to build upon it.
Read the article @ FT.com
FT/Columnists Martin Wolf: Paulson’s plan was not a true solution to the crisis
Now turn to the criteria to be used in judging the intervention. First, it would deal with the systemic threat. Second, it would minimise damage to incentives. Third, it would come at minimum cost and risk to the taxpayer. Not least, it would be consistent with ideas of social justice.
The fundamental problem with the Paulson scheme, as proposed, is then that it is neither a necessary nor an efficient solution. It is not necessary, because the Federal Reserve is able to manage illiquidity through its many lender-of-last resort operations. It is not efficient, because it can only deal with insolvency by buying bad assets at far above their true value, thereby guaranteeing big losses for taxpayers and providing an open-ended bail-out to the most irresponsible investors.
Read the article @ FT.com
The fundamental problem with the Paulson scheme, as proposed, is then that it is neither a necessary nor an efficient solution. It is not necessary, because the Federal Reserve is able to manage illiquidity through its many lender-of-last resort operations. It is not efficient, because it can only deal with insolvency by buying bad assets at far above their true value, thereby guaranteeing big losses for taxpayers and providing an open-ended bail-out to the most irresponsible investors.
Read the article @ FT.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)