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Magazine April 20, 2009, Issue
By NR Staff
About NR Staff
(Roman Genn)
‐ Carter-era Fiat: Fix It Again, Tony. Obama-era Fiat: Fix It Again, Taxpayers.
‐ "What's good for the country is good for General Motors," Charles Wilson, the company's president in the 1940s and early 1950s, is supposed to have said. But it was not until TARP that General Motors and the country were fused, as GM and Chrysler pleaded to be on the federal teat. President Obama's dismissal of CEO Rick Wagoner was a predictable consequence; who pays the piper calls the tune. Obama was even tougher on Chrysler, telling it to find a viable partner (he suggested Fiat) or fold. These were salutary shocks: Bankruptcy would have administered them earlier, and delay has cost the taxpayer billions in interim life support. Will the Obama administration keep pushing? Many in it hope to use the auto crisis as an occasion for creating budget-busting green cars, and the United Auto Workers will not want its membership gutted. Political considerations inevitably displace economic ones when the government itself takes on the responsibility of micromanaging economic decisions.
‐ The special election in New York's 20th congressional district, for a seat vacated by newly appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, won't be decided for a while. Democrat Scott Murphy had a 65-vote edge over Republican Jim Tedisco, but 6,000 absentee ballots have to be counted. The election was billed, not very convincingly, as an early referendum on Obama's first 70 days. Should the Democrats have won it because they held the seat, or should the Republicans have won it because it had been a GOP district before Gillibrand's first victory in 2006? Pundits will have to get their augurs elsewhere.
‐ First, the House passed a 90 percent tax targeted at AIG bonuses. Obama was right to resist that mob maneuver, which has faded. Now, Rep. Barney Frank is attempting an even bigger power play: Recently introduced legislation would give congressional overseers the power to set wages for all employees — not just highly paid executives — at firms in which the government now has a capital interest, meaning that Washington will reserve the right to approve a 5 percent raise for a $10-an-hour drive-thru teller in Toad Suck, Ark. We think this proposal is imprudent but not indefensible: You take Uncle's money, you get Uncle's interference. What is indefensible is Representative Frank's frankly expressed desire to have Congress remodel the entire compensation structure for the financial-services industry, regardless of whether the firms in question have received government money. The itch to control is as boundless as greed.
‐ The president continues to say that he wants Congress to enact a cap on carbon emissions this year. But the Senate looks less and less likely to give him what he wants. In part, that is because the Democratic majority includes many lawmakers from states that depend on coal either for power or for money. It is also because Obama's bill would inflict severe economic pain in return for benefits that are small, notional, and distant. Let us therefore hope that Obama uses up as much political capital on this issue as possible before moving on to health care.
‐ We once called Arlen Specter "the worst Republican senator." We're still not fans, but we did breathe a sigh of relief when the "moderate" senator decided he'd vote against the Employee Free Choice Act — denying Democrats the 60 votes they'd need to force a vote on the bill, which would essentially eliminate the secret ballot in union elections and give government arbiters the right to impose contract terms on workers and employers. There's a lot of fighting yet to do, but it's nice to see Specter allying with his own party, even temporarily.
Overstimulated
The radicalism of the Obama administration has startled even European lefties. Writing in the Guardian, Jonathan Freedland remarked on the spectacle: "[Obama] and Brown stand together, supposedly the representatives of Anglo-American turbocapitalism, struggling to push the statist French and Germans — and this is the bit that was in nobody's script — leftward."
President Bush seemed to revel in the European indignation his policies aroused, but Obama seems genuinely surprised. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in his failed attempt to convince Europeans to launch Keynesian atomic bombs at the economic crisis.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy made a classic French drama out of his rejection of "Obama-style" stimulus. Czech prime minister (and current head of the rotating EU presidency) Mirek Topolánek warned that Obama's plans could destabilize world markets, adding that "all of these steps, these combinations and permanency, is [sic] the road to hell."
As a result, European policy has been fairly calm in this storm. The chart at right indicates how dramatically U.S. policy has diverged from world norms this year. It compares the fiscal impact of the stimulus package that Obama and the Democrats enacted to the impact of similar packages adopted by European countries from 2008 to 2010. In each case, the total impact is scaled by GDP.
Source: OECD
Relative to GDP, the fiscal impact of the U.S. stimulus is nearly ten times larger than that of France, and almost double that of Germany. It is significantly larger than that of even the most Keynesian of European countries, Luxembourg. Obama may have a calm presence on television, but his economic policy looks like it has been driven by panic.
Europeans may have been reluctant to adopt massive Keynesian plans because their policy elite have become very data-driven. They know that such plans are unlikely to be effective. In addition, they recognize that stimulus today must eventually be paid for with higher taxes, and Europeans seem to cherish the competitive advantages associated with their low marginal tax rates.
America's Left spent the last century striving to drive the United States to the European model. But while they were doing that, the Europeans changed. Thus, we can expect another four years of classic European derision targeted at the American president. Only this time, it will be more fun.
– KEVIN A. HASSETT
‐ The Social Security surplus has vanished, not that anyone has noticed. In February, the program paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes. When the economy recovers, a surplus may reappear temporarily. But the decades of using the payroll-tax surplus to finance the rest of the government have now come to an end. The Democrats, who have spent the last few years insisting that the program will be fine until the 2040s, are left holding the bag. Or, rather, we are.
‐ Everyone knows that the Catholic Church opposes abortion, but the basis and implications of its teaching are surprisingly unfamiliar to many people and even many Catholics. They see that the Church considers abortion immoral but not that it also considers abortion gravely unjust — which is why pro-choice Catholics who claim to agree with their Church about abortion are simply mistaken. Whether or not pro-choicers (of any faith or none) themselves personally wish anyone to have an abortion, all of them by definition wish for unborn children to do without the legal protections against deliberate homicide that apply to everyone else. This widespread confusion provides the backdrop for the controversy over the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree. The president favors keeping abortion legal at any stage of pregnancy, subsidizing abortion, funding experiments that kill human embryos, and allowing the killing of previable infants who survive abortions. He pledges to appoint Supreme Court justices who will prevent legislators from correcting the injustice of our abortion laws. He speaks of common ground but has shown no interest at all in compromise. Notre Dame's invitation sends the message, intentional or not, that the radical injustice of abortion is a matter of interest only to Catholics, and perhaps not even all that much to them.
‐ House Republicans stumbled into a PR disaster when they rushed out a half-baked budget blueprint in response to the Obama administration's taunts that they were the "Party of No." The 19-page document contained no numbers or deficit projections, but it did have a few charts depicting platitudinous solutions springing from a box labeled "Republican Road to Recovery." Republicans need to come up with fresh policy ideas, but they need to take the time to get the details right and not take the bait every time the administration tries to portray them as obstructionists. Obama's budget calls for the biggest tax and spending increases in American history. There's nothing wrong with saying no to that.
‐ George Bush saw an "axis of evil": America confronted by a trio of rogue nations. Now, Barack Obama gives us the "axis of disobedience": America as part of a rogue trio — with Saddam Hussein's terrorist regime and Communist North Korea. That's the world according to Harold Hongju Koh, Yale Law School dean and Obama's choice for State Department legal adviser. The U.S. is a renegade, Koh argues, because it "disobeys" global authority. He'd ditch U.S. sovereign self-determination in favor of "a smoothly functioning international legal regime" — the kind where leftist grandstanders like Spain's Baltasar Garzón invoke "universal jurisdiction" to prosecute Bush officials for human-rights crimes (i.e., what used to be known as "national defense"). Koh would have the Constitution "evolve" to incorporate foreign-law norms — thus invalidating, for example, the death penalty and the right to own guns, while enforcing diktats from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. This is Obama's worst appointment, and that's saying something.
‐ Though reputed to be extremely bright, Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) has made a fool of himself in attacking Justice Antonin Scalia as "homophobic." Representative Frank maintained that he was not just hurling epithets at his opponents: Justice Clarence Thomas, he said, was an opponent of same-sex marriage but not a phobe. Scalia, in contrast, thought it was "a good idea" for governments to punish homosexual sex. Look through the case law, however, and you will find, first, that Justice Scalia merely ruled that states have the power to prohibit such behavior, not that they should exercise it; and second, that Justice Thomas endorsed Scalia's opinion while adding that in his view they should not exercise it. Our preliminary diagnosis is that Frank suffers from a case of blindness to the Constitution aggravated by logicphobia.
‐ At a news conference held by retired admiral Dennis Blair, our new director of national intelligence, the issue of terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay came up. What's the administration going to do with them? the DNI was asked. He replied, in part: "If we are to release them in the United States, you can't just . . . put them on the street . . . We need some sort of assistance to them to start a new life and not return to some of the conditions that may have inspired them in the first place." So apparently foreign terrorists are to receive stipends. What else are we to give them, free flying lessons?
‐ The first to go was "enemy combatants." The Obama administration eliminated that term and made sure that everybody knew; after all, Americans don't want "enemy combatants" released into their neighborhoods, as will soon be done with some of Guantanamo's trained practitioners of terror. Sorry, did we say "terror"? That's out, too. Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, prefers to say "man-caused disaster," because "it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear"; like FDR, she seems to think that all we have to fear is fear itself. Presumably someone who perpetrates one of these acts will be called a "man-caused-disaster-causing man." The latest term sent down the memory hole for being too honest is "War on Terror." No replacement has been specified, though the bloodless phrase "Overseas Contingency Operation" is becoming popular around Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon. Obama got elected by endlessly repeating meaningful-sounding slogans that amounted to nothing at all. Now, in office, he is doing the opposite: attaching bland phrases to things of great consequence in hopes that it will make people forget their importance.
‐ According to Obama administration lawyers, the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law empowers the federal government to censor books and films if their content and funding do not conform to its stipulations. At issue is a film called Hillary: The Movie, a documentary produced by the nonprofit group Citizens United, which did not wish to see Senator Clinton elected president. McCain-Feingold prohibits so much as mentioning a candidate's name in pre-election communications paid for by unions or corporations, so the government forbade distribution of the film, which was to have been made available on a pay-per-view basis. The filmmakers sued, and the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has been heard by the Supreme Court. In a remarkable exchange with Justice Alito, Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart argued that the law entitles the government to censor any political communication that runs afoul of McCain-Feingold's statutory requirements — and he is quite correct in that argument. The Supreme Court should agree and then nullify most of McCain-Feingold.
‐ New Hampshire, which already has civil unions for same-sex couples, is considering treating such couples as though they were married. The Democratic governor, John Lynch, has said he may veto a same-sex-marriage bill. We hope that it does not come to that, but that he will follow through if it does. Governmental recognition of marriage is pointless except as a way to nurture the vital but delicate relationship between sex and the raising of children. Same-sex marriage does not expand the institution so much as empty it of content.
‐ New York governor David Paterson and the state legislature have agreed to undo the last vestiges of the Rockefeller drug laws: 1970s legislation that imposed draconian penalties on drug offenders. The tough penalties went by the wayside five years ago; the new laws propose to give discretion in sentencing to judges, which worries prosecutors, with some reason: Will crooks who were also drug users or pushers get revolving-door doses of rehab, rather than hard time? New York's prison population is falling, even as crime rates remain low. "If you saw something that was so successful, why would you tinker with it?" asked the Staten Island DA. How to administer the law justly and humanely in the midst of a drug war is a conundrum that will be with us as long as the drug war is.
‐ The trial of abortionist George Tiller resulted in no conviction, but it did serve to remind any who needed reminding of the seediness of the abortion racket. Tiller, who performs late-term abortions that kill viable babies, is required by Kansas law to do so only after receiving a second opinion from an independent physician. For this grim task he chose Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, who during that time was operating with a restricted medical license because of controlled-substances violations — and she "needed the money," as Tiller wrote in his journal. Neuhaus was paid, in cash, by Tiller's patients, whose appointments with her were scheduled by Tiller's office, and she endorsed their abortions on forms drawn up by Tiller's attorneys. But she was, in the judgment of the jury, something short of a full-time employee, and so Tiller was acquitted of the charges against him. His license will be reviewed by a panel that rejoices in the title Kansas State Board of Healing Arts.
‐ Bill "We Didn't Do Enough" Ayers was invited to speak at Boston College by two student groups (one of them was the College Democrats), but after talk-radio host Michael Graham kicked up a fuss, BC administrators cancelled the event, "out of concern for the safety and well being of our students." Perhaps they were worried that some student soul-mates of Ayers's might blow themselves up (that's happened before), or that they might blow other people up (that would have happened if the Weather Underground had been more competent bomb makers). Ayers has changed his m.o. over the years, preferring now to work as a termite in the bureaucracies of foundations and universities; he's a friend of the president of the United States. But his past is scarlet, and he regrets it only when it is necessary to make a show of contrition. Good for Graham for calling him out, and good for BC for dishonoring him.
‐ Mickey Kaus, sprightly e-pundit, posts a thread from JournoList, the secret online barbershop where liberal pundits share story ideas, but so much more. How much more? Well, the thread — called "Breaking: Marty Peretz is a crazy-a** racist" — flays the editor-in-chief of The New Republic, wonders to what degree it is permissible to discuss the sex lives of (non-list) journalists, and weighs the relative sanity of Michael Savage and Keith Olbermann. It's as lively as a flock of crows, and as interesting as a collection of navel lint. Rob Long would write about it, but he's waiting until the JournoListers show up on Larry King.
‐ In Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of America's "shared responsibility" for the horrific drug violence now plaguing that nation: "We know very well that the drug traffickers are motivated by the demand for illegal drugs in the United States, that they are armed by the transport of weapons from the United States." Well, yes and no. She is right, of course, that the drug trade is demand-driven, but on the supposed flow of guns southward, she is on much shakier ground. At a recent Senate hearing, law-enforcement personnel testified that firearms smuggling from the U.S. is a minor problem, with most of the Mexican kingpins' guns coming from other sources. The Los Angeles Times says the drug gangs are switching to higher-powered weapons, most of which are "smuggled from Central American countries or by sea." Secretary Clinton's admission about supply and demand, which is obvious but too often denied or ignored, could be the basis for more sensible drug policies, but probably won't; her assertion about gun-running, which is questionable at best, should not be the basis for firearms policy, but probably will.
‐ Clinton also visited the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where she was given a special up-close viewing of the cloak on which Catholics believe that an image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously imprinted almost 500 years ago. Said Mrs. Clinton to the monsignor who was escorting her: "Who painted it?" "God," he answered. One does not have to agree with the monsignor to know that the image, displayed in millions of Mexican homes and stores, is a national icon, and that to show ignorance of it is rather like asking, on a visit to Valley Forge, say, or Gettysburg, "Now what happened here again?" We suspect that George W. Bush, former governor of Texas, would not have made such a mistake when he was representing the U.S., and we strongly suspect that if he had, the press would have been less charitable than it was to Mrs. Clinton — or than Our Lady was (for better reasons).
‐ Daniel Hannan is one of a number of conspicuously bright young Conservatives in Britain. He happens to be a member of the European Parliament in Brussels, a splendid irony as he is a preeminent critic of the whole European project and deploys his great gift for the striking phrase to ridicule what's going on around him. In an address to the Brussels Parliament, British prime minister Gordon Brown as usual claimed that everything was fine because he has the economic crisis under his sole control. Daniel Hannan's reply was electrifying. "When you repeat in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others," he said in particularly choice language, "I have to tell you that you sound like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line." A video showed Hannan's command performance and Brown squirming as he listened. Posted on YouTube, this video has been the sensation of the moment, with more than a million hits, and taken up by news outlets from Australia to America, including Rush Limbaugh. Hannan has helped boost himself into a future Conservative cabinet.
‐ Watch the skies over the Pacific these days and you are likely to see an intercontinental missile with a range of 6,000 miles winging from North Korea over Japan and towards Hawaii. Satellite photos have confirmed that this missile has been on its launch pad for some time, and there may even be a second missile ready to go. The North Koreans say that they are merely putting a satellite into orbit, but truth for them is a variable concept, and everybody takes it for granted that this is a stage in the development of their nuclear weapon. The United Nations specifically bans North Korea from testing missiles and nuclear devices, and it would be possible, legal, and in the interests of world security to shoot down any and every North Korean missile. But South Korea opposes any such response and the Japanese limit themselves to saying that they might destroy any debris falling on them. The United States has sent two ships on a mission to observe, and in a television interview a flummoxed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spelled out that there are no plans to take military action to halt the launching or to shoot any missiles down — unless one does actually head for Hawaii. Take comfort in that if you can.
‐ In a (related?) development, at the behest of dictator Kim Jong-il, North Korea has opened its first pizzeria. We hear the Pyongyang eatery is preparing a promotional campaign: "Delivery radius of 6,000 miles — get it in 30 minutes, or it's free! Now delivering to Japan!"
‐ The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is commonly known as "the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog." There are two main candidates to run it: Yukiya Amano of Japan and Abdul Minty of South Africa. The agency's board votes them in, and, in the early voting, neither man won the required two-thirds majority. As a Wall Street Journal article put it, "The deadlock reflects the different views of the IAEA's mission. Mr. Amano's candidacy was backed by developed countries in the European Union and the U.S. who emphasize the agency's role in monitoring the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Mr. Minty found support in non-aligned developing countries that seek development of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes." Shouldn't there be quotation marks around "peaceful"? (And what does "non-aligned" mean in the post–Cold War context, by the way?) It sounds like Mr. Amano is the better horse — but the IAEA should be taken with many grains of salt anyway. Someone will have to be watching the "watchdog," regardless. It can fall asleep on the job — which is one reason the George W. Bush administration had to create the Proliferation Security Initiative, which actually got results. See Libya.
‐ The Iranian new year is called "Nowruz," and President Bush used to send a message of solidarity to Iranians on that day. This year, President Obama did something quite different. He addressed his message to "the people and leaders of Iran." He did not go in much for freedom and democracy and all that Bushian jazz. Instead, he appealed to Iran for a relationship based on "mutual respect." Bear in mind, the Iranian government stones young girls to death for the crime of having been gang-raped. Just a day before Obama sent his message, we learned that a young Iranian blogger, Omid Mir Sayafi, had died in an Iranian prison: Evin, that torture chamber and graveyard for so many good people. An American journalist, Roxana Saberi, is being held in that prison right now. Her fate is unknown. In his Nowruz message, President Obama said, "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations." The Islamic Republic of Iran: Obama said it twice, accepting the theocrats' view of Iran. That is not the view of most Iranians. Obama's performance was of a piece with the interview he gave to al-Arabiya, the Middle Eastern television network, in his first days as president. Fouad Ajami wrote a column about that interview for the Wall Street Journal. It was headed, "Obama Tells Arabia's Despots They're Safe: America's diplomacy of freedom is officially over." We fear that Obama will learn the hard way that abasing ourselves does not advance our interests.
‐ Almost miraculously, there is a youth orchestra in the Palestinian refugee camp at Jenin. At least there was. It was called Strings for Freedom, and they were conducted by Wafa Younis. Now Palestinian officials have shut down the orchestra, boarded up its rehearsal studio, and banned Ms. Younis from the camp. Why? She had taken the group to play for Holocaust survivors in Israel. As the Associated Press said, "The discord highlights both the distrust many Palestinians have of any engagement with Israel, as well as their reluctance to acknowledge Jewish historical suffering because of concerns that it weakens their own claim to this disputed land." There is a sickness in the Middle East — a sickness that says, "Playing music for Holocaust survivors is an act of treason." When this sickness will pass, no one knows.
‐ Khaled Abu Toameh is a Palestinian journalist who knows as much about the Palestinian world as anybody: its history, its players, its contentions. He is also extraordinarily conscientious. So when he says something about thought on American campuses, it pays to listen. In an article for the Hudson Institute, he wrote, "During a recent visit to several university campuses in the U.S., I discovered that there is more sympathy for Hamas there than there is in Ramallah. Listening to some students and professors on these campuses, for a moment I thought I was sitting opposite a Hamas spokesman or a would-be suicide bomber. I was told, for instance, that Israel has no right to exist, that Israel's 'apartheid system' is worse than the one that existed in South Africa, and that Operation Cast Lead was launched only because Hamas was beginning to show signs that it was interested in making peace," etc. Welcome to American higher learning.
‐ Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the senior Republican on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Recently she issued a statement with several of her colleagues. It called for a cessation of U.S. funds to UNRWA. What is UNRWA? The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, set up to benefit one group of people: Palestinians. As Ros-Lehtinen & Co. wrote, "For six decades, the United States has voluntarily contributed billions of dollars" to UNRWA. "In return for our generous investment, UNRWA subverts our laws, aids violent Islamist extremists, propagandizes against our ally Israel and in favor of Hamas, and works with banks targeted by the United States for money laundering and terrorist financing." They suggested that Congress "cut off funding to UNRWA and use our foreign aid to advance, rather than undermine, American interests and values." Sounds good to us. And one more thing: Palestinians do not benefit from a U.N. agency that mires them in grievance rather than lifting them out of it.
‐ Was there a more inspiring story last month than the people of Fargo, and other Red River towns, tirelessly filling and piling sandbags in hellacious weather, in a mostly successful attempt to stop the waters, swollen by rain and snow and jammed by ice, from flooding their homes and businesses? They showed the dogged relentlessness of some Fifties existentialist drama, and the pull-together can-do spirit of America: Camus meets Booth Tarkington. After the flood crested came the next danger: an early-spring snowstorm that threatened the improvised levees with wave damage. When Nature wants to overwhelm us, she simply does: the Black Death, Krakatoa. How nobly the people of the upper plains responded to their chance to fight her to a draw.
‐ The image is lurid: a headless, goose-stepping soldier, pushing a Star of David whose front-most points are transformed into a shark's jaws, pursuing a tiny mother and child, labeled "Gaza," off a cliff. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it mimicked "venomous anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi and Soviet eras." The cartoonist was Pat Oliphant, who wields a sharp pen, whatever his subject, and sticks up for fellow cartoonists who do the same (he defended NR's Roman Genn). The issue is not the image, but the point of view: Israel is a brutal, destructive power, driving hapless Gazans to their deaths. This is increasingly the mainstream view of Israel, whenever it responds militarily to asymmetrical warfare, whether in Gaza, Lebanon, or the West Bank. One of the goals of asymmetrical warfare — launching terrorist provocations from civilian neighborhoods — is to create that impression. The transformation of Israel into an imperialist oppressor (cf. Chas Freeman, Mearsheimer and Walt) proceeds apace. How odd to find Pat Oliphant in a herd.
‐ The little town of Eufaula, Ala., is home to Alatech Healthcare, which boasts on its website of being the "largest state-of-the-art condom production facility in the U.S." and "exclusive American supplier of condoms to USAID." That would be the U.S. Agency for International Development, which distributes millions of condoms to Third World nations via HIV-prevention programs. The agency, however, has announced plans to change suppliers. Alatech charges five cents per condom; USAID can get the item for two cents in China. Alatech CEO Lawrence Povlacs says that about 300 workers could lose their jobs as a result of the outsourcing. In this Age of Stimulus, should not the federal government display extra sensitivity towards decisions affecting American workers? And why are Chinese condoms so much cheaper? A theory comes to mind . . . but this is really not a suitable topic for ribbing.
‐ Nagasaki resident Mr. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was on a business trip in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The atom bomb caught him in the open, and he was badly burned. After stumbling through the shattered city and its horrors for some hours, Mr. Yamaguchi managed to get on a train back to his home town. After treatment for his injuries, he dutifully reported back to work at his company in Nagasaki on the morning of August 9. His boss demanded an explanation for his bandaged appearance, and was incredulous when told of the destruction of Hiroshima (of which the Japanese media had said nothing). He had just lost his temper and accused Mr. Yamaguchi of lying when there was an almighty flash . . . Mr. Yamaguchi, now 93 years old, has been formally certified as one of the very few to have survived both nuclear blasts; and, of that few, to have been closest to both — about two miles in each case.
AT WAR
The Cautious Surge
Barack Obama took a big step toward making the Afghan war his own with a speech explaining why he is sending an additional 21,000 troops.
Obama argued that we need the "comprehensive" approach of a full-scale counterinsurgency — encompassing security, governance, and development — rather than the narrow counterterrorism strategy some of his advisers favored. That minimalist strategy would have risked making all of Afghanistan into the equivalent of the tribal areas of Pakistan, where al-Qaeda operatives go unmolested except by the occasional Predator strike.
U.S. troops have been too thin on the ground and unable to hold areas after clearing them. That should change now, at least in crucial areas in the Pashtun South, where the Taliban is strongest. The summer will bring a tough season of fighting. The rest of the coalition effort has to be ramped up as well, with a greater civilian footprint, with more trainers for Afghan security forces, and with more focus on improving Afghan governance. Obama committed to all that.
Afghanistan need not make a grand leap into the First World for our effort to have been successful. It just needs to return to the relative stability of, say, 2004, or to a version of its golden period prior to the coups and the Soviet invasion of the 1970s. This is not merely a goo-goo project. If we do not want to keep a large force in Afghanistan for decades or to leave the country to the tender mercies of the Taliban and its allies, we need to foster an Afghan government competent enough to field a substantial army and decent enough not to send disaffected Afghans into the arms of the insurgency.
It is an important fight not just because we want to deny al-Qaeda safe havens again in Afghanistan, but because the future of Pakistan is caught up in it. If we demonstrate staying power in Afghanistan and stabilize the situation, it will be a blow to the extremists threatening the nuclear-armed Pakistani state. But our work in Afghanistan is made all the harder by the non-cooperation of the Pakistani government, and the active support for the insurgency by its security service, the ISI. Obama promised to impose more accountability on the Pakistani government at the same time as he called for more aid to the country — another $1.5 billion a year for the next five years. We hope he can manage to get the Pakistanis to perform rather than just vacuuming up our aid dollars as they play the same old double game.
What is most disturbing about Obama's position is the hint of hedging. Commanding general David McKiernan had asked for even more troops. Obama approved only part of his request, preferring to wait and make a call on the balance later. But it will likely get politically harder, not easier, to send them. Obama declined to explicitly endorse an expensive doubling of Afghan security forces, as some in his administration have advocated, saying only that further "increases in Afghan forces may very well be needed." And he talked of benchmarks for progress in the war, a politically seductive notion that proved useless at best — and often counterproductive — in the Iraq War.
Obama's strategic review is a start. Much will depend on how he performs later, when the Left is more restive and the politics of the war more parlous.
THE GEITHNER PLAN
Toxic for Taxpayers
Treasury secretary Tim Geithner finally released the details of his plan to create a public-private partnership to buy toxic assets from banks. It is unfortunately as bad as we thought it would be. Intentionally or not, the plan is structured to transfer, as much as possible, the losses on bad assets to taxpayers.
It would work like this. The Treasury would partner with private entities, such as hedge funds, to buy pools of mortgage-backed securities from banks. More than 80 percent of each purchase would be financed through a non-recourse loan from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, using the assets as collateral. Any assets that appreciate in price would yield profits that the Treasury and the private entities would split 50/50. Any assets that go bad could be forfeited to the FDIC, with the taxpayer eventually eating the loss.
It is no mystery why the markets liked this proposal. For investors, it presents an opportunity to buy the best of the banks' distressed assets for less than they are probably worth. For the banks, it presents an opportunity to offload their most toxic paper for more than it is probably worth. The investors get to keep the good assets; the taxpayers get stuck with the junk.
Geithner's plan also faces two logistical problems. First, mark-to-market accounting rules might cause the plan to backfire. Let's say a healthier bank like Wells Fargo decides to take advantage of this program and sell a pool of mortgage-backed securities to Geithner and Co. for 70 cents on the dollar. This becomes the new market price for these assets, even if their underlying value — the cash flow from people paying their mortgages — turns out to be higher. Mark-to-market rules would force a weaker firm like Citigroup to mark its assets to the new price, which could precipitate the collapse we are trying to avoid.
The government could dodge this problem by temporarily loosening mark-to-market rules — something policymakers are finally showing an inclination to do. But that wouldn't solve the second problem: The plan relies on the heroic assumption that the government can still find willing partners in the private sector after last month's Bonusgate inquisition, in which the House reacted to public outrage over compensation at AIG by passing a 90 percent retroactive tax on bonuses paid to employees at bailed-out firms.
If anything, Geithner's public-private partnership would be more offensive than the AIG bonuses: It would very plainly use taxpayer funds to finance new Wall Street fortunes. How many news stories do you think it would take to generate hearings, public recriminations, and ex post facto laws targeting those fortunes? How many investors want to find out?
THE G20 MEETING
Globaloney
Nobody expects much to come out of the Group of 20 meeting of the leaders of the world's largest economies, thank goodness. There are too many different agendas at play, and all of them are destructive. President Obama would like an internationally coordinated fiscal stimulus. French president Nicolas Sarkozy wants international financial regulations. The Chinese and Russians want to displace the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Within the Keynesian model, international fiscal coordination makes sense: Otherwise the stimulators end up partially subsidizing non-stimulators. But many G20 countries rightly worry about rising debt and rightly doubt the power of fiscal stimulus. Within limits, international financial regulation makes sense, as when setting capital standards for companies with global operations. But previous attempts at international financial standards have arguably made the current crisis worse, so we should tread more carefully than Sarkozy seems inclined to do.
China has expressed reasonable concern about the future of the dollar — which is to say, concern that the U.S. will be tempted to inflate its currency to reduce the real value of its foreign debt. But there are no serious candidates for replacements for the dollar. Who would issue the new monetary unit? Far the better course would be for the U.S. to bring down its long-term debt by reining in the growth of its entitlement spending.
If the G20 leaders cannot do much useful as a group to advance global economic recovery, they can at least refrain from impeding it. Protectionist pressures are predictably rising in all of the afflicted countries.
Free trade and entitlement reform may not match the political needs of any of these leaders or the mood of the public. They are nonetheless the right prescription.
Members of the National Review editorial and operational teams are included under the umbrella "NR Staff."
Robbing Bismarck to Pay Boston
By Duncan Currie
On June 6, 2008, the U.S. Senate rejected a motion to end debate on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, which would have established a "cap and trade" (CAT) system to ...
Green Bubbles Bursting
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With the selling of President Obama's economic agenda now in full gear, this is a good time to take stock of his energy plans against the background of energy trends ...
A Good Plan in Africa
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Nairobi, Kenya – Democracy promotion is and probably always will be America's default foreign policy, embarked upon when no other controlling interests prevail. This is so for two reasons: one philosophical, ...
Tip Jar Nation
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Here's what just happened. I'm in a hip coffee shop on Valencia Street in San Francisco. It's early afternoon, and I order a double espresso. I hand over the money and ...
How We Fight
The Republican party is now consolidated in its opposition to President Obama. Most of its members have decided that his central political project is to bring social democracy to these ...
The New Afghan War
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The Least-Bad Option
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Peter Wallison speaks with the confidence of a man who has a track record of making accurate predictions. Ten years ago, when Fannie Mae decided to loosen its underwriting standards ...
Beyond Terrorism
'Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." This is ...
City Desk: Open City
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The city is full of windows. More buildings, more stories, more rooms equal more panes of glass. The windowless room is a horror, which the laws aimed to banish from ...
By the Waters…
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Richard John Neuhaus, recently departed and greatly missed, enjoyed four overlapping careers in the American public square. Taken on its own, each would have been sufficient to guarantee the fame ...
Paleo Khan
By Charlotte Allen
In The Dangerous Book for Boys, the name Genghis Khan appears precisely once. It's a passing reference, toward the end, in a section on the Great Wall of China. Yet ...
On Our Side
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William F. Buckley Jr. wrote a successful series of espionage thrillers about Blackford Oakes, a CIA agent. Now National Review editor Rich Lowry (together with his friend Keith Korman) has ...
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David Bentley Hart is one of the most valuable theologians of recent years; his 2003 book The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth is a masterpiece. The ...
Keeping the Peace In the April 6 issue's "The Week," you ran a paragraph about the recent attacks on soldiers and policemen in Northern Ireland. The piece unfairly and incorrectly stated ...
‐ Carter-era Fiat: Fix It Again, Tony. Obama-era Fiat: Fix It Again, Taxpayers. ‐ "What's good for the country is good for General Motors," Charles Wilson, the company's president in the ...
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Marry in Haste, Repent at Leisure As the Obama administration enters its third month I keep thinking of an old rhyming joke. It's about an absent-minded girl who, being incapable of ...
A Twitter-istory of the World . . . Spent all a.m. trying to walk upright. Any1 in the Twitterverse had success at that yet? Also: what's the 411 in re: hunting, ...
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The scarlet torches of crape myrtle Crowd my window, kindled by the sun. Their thick foliage blocks my view Of all but the treetops and the sky. I enjoy the flower-clusters, and butterflies That visit ...
Happy Warrior
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Closing Up Shop As National Review's in-house demography bore — oh, hang on, the self-deprecating "demography bore" shtick is getting even more boring than just boring on about demography . . ...
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Today I hiked with a friend together along one of our local rivers. I didn't have my camera with me this time, and that was really bad because we spotted some grey herons on our way on the other side of the river, and it would have been close enough for my 300mm lens, but that just on a sidenote. I want to talk about something else in this post, we talked about the nature in and around our city and that we certainly have some cool places here in Lübeck, but we both dreamed a bit and asked ourselves how cool it would be to hike completely through Germany from the north to the south. This is one of those thoughts that follows me already since a long time, it was always one of my dreams, but I am aware that it's very difficult to accomplish, not because of the distance, but because you need money, time and zero commitments.
When you ask people what they would do if they won way too much money for some reason, you would usually listen to them talking about their materialist wish list. Of course, I definitely have a wish list too, but there are other things that I would like to do, and that I could do with a bucket full of money. A long-distance hike for a long period of time would be one of those things, it would be a real adventure. The money would just be needed for rations and shelter, and then there would only be the pure willpower to walk this long-distance. Sometimes it's just cool to talk about things that are not possible, and if that is daydreaming, then I do really enjoy daydreaming. Afterwards we talked about more realistic plans, and about things that happened recently, but it's just cool if you can ponder about less serious things with your friends as well.
That is true Dennis, it's good to dream and to share those dreams with like minded friends. I had a similar incident to you recently. I had gone out without my camera because it was a day for shopping. On the way back to where I get my bus at the end of the day I walked through a park and saw a kookaburra sitting quite still on a post. So close I would not even have needed the long lens. Very annoying not to have a camera with me. My phone is not a smart phone although it does have a camera but I did not think to use it.
I think there is a rule that I experienced so often… you can get the best shot when you forgot your camera at home (laugh). Today I didn't forget my camera, I just didn't expect that I would need one. We just met each other in the city and I didn't expect that we would get the idea to drive out of the city to hike in the nature.
I often hear kookaburras in the trees around here but rarely see one close up. Especially not in the city.


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EA merging BioWare Montreal with Motive
Combined team has over 100 new hires, will be working on Jade Raymond's new IP
News by James Batchelor Editor-in-Chief
Electronic Arts has confirmed that BioWare Montreal is being merged into Motive Studios.
Speculation about such a merger first began after the publisher seconded several staff from the Mass Effect Andromeda developer to Motive earlier this year. The move was deemed a response to the poor reception Andromeda received and would bulk up the team's working on Star Wars Battlefront 2.
TechRaptor reports CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed the publisher's plans for both studios during its most recent quarterly conference call. Staff from BioWare Montreal and EA Motive are now based in the same studio.
"We're building out a new studio in Montreal, as we've told everyone," he explained. "And we've hired over 100 people into that studio that are brand-new to EA. This is to build the new IP around Jade Raymond's team that she's been building. I was in that studio last month. And it's a wonderful new addition to our team. And we brought our BioWare Montreal team into that same facility."
The BioWare team is expected to continue working on updates and content for Mass Effect Andromeda, although when the staff originally moved over it was revealed the series has been placed on hold for now.
BioWare's other studios are focusing on Anthem, the sci-fi multiplayer outing revealed at E3 2017. The developer also recently revealed that general manager Casey Hudson has returned to the firm after three years.
EA Motive, meanwhile, is one of several studios working on Star Wars Battlefront 2, as well as an unannounced Star Wars title headed up by Uncharted director Amy Hennig. Earlier this year, the developer hired Portal designer Kim Swift.
BioWare Montréal
James Batchelor
James Batchelor is Editor-in-Chief at GamesIndustry.biz. He is based in Essex and has been a B2B games journalist since 2006

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>> Engage with your alma mater and fellow alumni
Taped end to end, the diplomas of our 120,000+ alumni could bridge the widest point of the Grand Canyon — over 18 miles. Make meaningful connections with alumni from more than 160 countries, through alumni groups and gatherings, signature events, and Sun Devil traditions.
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The origins of the Carey Code began with our alumni community wanting a clear call of what it means to be a W. P. Carey Sun Devil for life. We hope it's also a reminder of the support and community you can always find here, and an inspiration to support the future success of every W. P. Carey Sun Devil — alumni, students, staff, faculty, and friends alike. Go to know!
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Engage with your W. P. Carey School community through alumni clubs and events — including our private LinkedIn group for W. P. Carey alumni.
When you graduated from W. P. Carey, you automatically became a lifelong member of the W. P. Carey School's dedicated alumni chapter. Your W. P. Carey alumni status guarantees you continued access to our career support, alumni events, learning opportunities, and more.
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To cut or not to cut, that is the father's question
Ask Dr. G, General Questions, Sexual Function
Dear Dr. G,
I am a proud father of two boys aged 12 and 13.
When I was in my early teens, my dad started telling me about sexual matters, including sexually transmitted diseases and contraception.
But when it came to circumcision, there wasn't any discussion. I remember being taken to hospital, accepting the family tradition, and had the cut.
I was traumatised during and after the operation, and I promised myself that I would not let any of my children go through the same experience.
Being a dad myself now, I am giving sex education with the boys earlier. I even discussed the "necessity" of circumcision to keep the penis clean and free from infection. However, the boys are asking questions about the long-term implications of being circumcised.
My dad asked me to just continue with the family tradition and force the kids to have the cut, but I want to know the pros and cons first.
In light of Father's Day, I would like to put Dr. G on the spot for more advice on risks and benefits of circumcision.
What is the origin of circumcision?Is it true the removal of foreskin is intended to dampen sexual desire for adolescents?
I look forward to reading your response on Father's Day!
Traditional Timothy
Circumcision has ancient roots amongst many ethnic and religious groups. The origin of the practice is uncertain, but commonly thought to be part of the coming-of-age ritual. Other schools of thoughts include religious sacrifice and a form of sympathetic magic to ensure virility and fertility.
There are many reasons for non-ritual or elective non-medical removal of the foreskin among different cultures. Proponents argue that circumcision ensures hygienic practices and the reduction of infection, including sexually transmitted infections. Others may treat it as a means of discouraging masturbation or reducing sexual pleasure in young adults.
The renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed circumcision allowed senior men to constrain the incestuous desires of their juniors, and play a role to mediate tensions inherent in the father and son relationship. Circumcision has become a controversial issue in modern days. Many parents are breaking generations-old family traditions and questioning the need for it.
Circumcision rates among newborns in the United States has declined from 65% in 1981 to 55.9% in 2008, according to the National Hospital Discharge survey. Of the more than 1,000 parents surveyed about their views, 81% of the respondents still agree it was the right decision for the family and 7% consider it a bygone tradition that is no longer relevant.
Medical professionals would rather remain neutral on the subject. The American Academy of Pediatrics published policy statements declaring that the medical benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks. However, the Academy also highlighted that the advantages were not substantial enough to make circumcision a routine practice.
There are minimal immediate complications from circumcision, and the Journal of American Medical Association published data supporting less than 0.5% adversity.
Opponents of circumcision argue that the removal of foreskin can lead to long-term decrease in sexual sensitivity and sexual function into adulthood. However, the evidence is not believed to be compelling. On the other hand, many scientific journals have published evidence of that circumcision is associated with a lower risk of urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted infections.
Some studies also pointed out the circumcised adult men in Africa have HIV transmission risk reduced by 60%. However, data also notes that 3% of uncircumcised boys will end up needing the op later in life due to a non-retractable foreskin, or recurrent infection.
The Germen parapsychologist, Hans Bender once stated: "Free yourself from the rigid conduct of tradition and open yourself to the new forms of probability".
It is always a difficult decision whether or not to circumcise – more open discussion and scrutiny of the real indications for the operation is often the right option. When Dr. G is often put on the spot to cut or not to cut the family tradition of routine circumcision, his response is to have a dialogue with the boys. If they promise to keep their foreskins clean, then they can free themselves from the traditional cut.
On that note, here's wishing all the fathers (circumcised or not) an amazing Father's Day!
Father's Day – From Boys to Men
Improving Primary Healthcare in Malaysia
Sex After Heart Surgery
Cracked wood and the wilting willow
Counting my blessings with each pleasure


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Sabrina Stanley-Coming Back To Where I Belong
Sometime In life we have to appreciate a place once we leave it. For Ms. Sabrina Stanley moving to a major city help her rediscover where she truly belong... the trails.
Ms. Sabrina Stanley- The Professional Trail Runner. Growing up one out of 6 siblings in Washington State that participates in other team sports and activities. She competed in volleyball, basketball and softball. Then she discover running and have not look back since. She have many accomplishments as a professional trail runner and breaking many records and make some history along the way in journey of trail running. Some of Ms. Stanley many achievements are: winner of hardrock 100 miler 2018 endurance run, 3rd runner up at 2017 Western States, 2019 170k Grand race winner, becoming the first American male or female to win the 170k Grand Raid in 29 years when the race first started. Recently in Oct. 2020, Sabrina became the faster women the run the Nolan's 14 100 miler in 48 hours and 49 mins beaten the previous record by 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Before becoming a professional trail or knowing that she could become one of best in her sport, there was the process of getting to the peak in her life. She received a DNF(Did not finished) in Leadville 100 race, then move to New York City. It was in New York she realized that the trails is where she belong, that where her passion lies. Sabrina journey taken her back to Colorado to rediscover her passion for running and finding a new lease in life. Sabrina, a desire to be her best in whatever she do and to prove that she belong. You could say she is making the most of what the trail running life have to offer and becoming one of the best at it..
To hear and see full interview of her story go to my YouTube channel https://youtu.be/DcsocgcSLaM


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The Iron Lady (DVD)
April 25, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
Starring: Meryl Streep, Olivia Colman, Jim Broadbent
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
If you read a variety of the reviews of The Iron Lady when it came out at cinemas, it really is like they were talking about completely different films. Everyone agrees Meryl Streep is ace, but to some it's an apologia for a tyrant, to others a left wing fantasy, there are those who feel its concentration on her old age is schadenfreude taking pleasure in her mental problems, while a few believe it is a suitably reverential, right wing look at a great woman and will make people with a liberal philosophy take stock.
The problem with making a movie about Margaret Thatcher is that she's such a divisive figure that people come to anything about her incapable of viewing it through anything but the prism of their own prejudices. The film is actually quite agnostic on whether she was a hero or villain, which makes it even easier to paint your own thoughts onto the movie. [Read more…]
Weekend Picks Up Best Film At Gay and Lesbian Critics Awards
January 16, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
GALECA, the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, has announced the winners of its Dorian Awards, giving Best Film Of The Year to the more than deserving Weekend. As everyone loves the movies but it's getting shut out by bigger movies at other award ceremonies (it's still shocking it didn't make it onto the BAFTA longlist in any category), it's great GALECA has recognised it.
Other winners include Meryl Streep for Film Performance of the Year for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (perhaps if the critics knew more about Maggie's record on gay rights they wouldn't have been as kind), as well as Michael Fassbender, who picked up the 'We're Wilde About You Rising Star of the Year' award.
The excellent We Were Here, about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, won both Best Documentary and Best LGBT-Themed Documentary Of The Year. Another great choice was 50/50, which was given Unsung Film of the year.
On the TV side, the LGBT friendly American Horror Story and Modern Family won in the Best TV drama and comedy categories, while Modern Family picked up LGBT-themed TV show of the year as well. GALECA also gave out gongs for Campy (Intentional Or Not) Film and TV show of the year, with The Muppets and Revenge getting the awards.
The may like quirky categories, but GALECA seems to make a lot more sensible choices than most awards bodies! For more info about GALECA, head to their website.
ACTORS: Meryl Streep, Michael Fassbender FILMS: Weekend, The Iron Lady, Shame, Modern Family, We Were Here
Golden Globe Winners Announced – Christopher Plummer Wins For Beginners
If anyone was hoping that the Golden Globes would reveal a frontrunner for the Oscar, they'll be disappointed, as that awards went pretty much across the board when they were handed out last night. The big winners were The Descendants for Best Picture (Drama) and The Artist for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).
Although The Descendants has been a bit of a quiet success, there are many who feel it could do well at the Oscars and may win George Clooney a Best Actor award (as he got at the Globes on the Drama side).
On the LGBT side, the only film winner was Christopher Plummer, who picked up the Best Supporting Actor awards for playing an elderly gay man in Beginners. While Glenn Close was nominated for playing a woman living as a man in Albert Nobbs, she was beaten out by Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady in the Best Actress (Drama) category. In the TV categories, gay-friendly Modern Family did well, winning Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Interestingly, while Best Director normally goes to someone who helmed one of the Best Picture winning films, in this case Martin Scorsese won for Hugo, which was that movie's only award. It would be surprising if that patterns followed again at the Oscars. Other films to get at least one gong include Tintin, W.E., and A Separation. However overall it was The Artist that did best, with three awards, although it certainly didn't sweep the boards and while it puts it in a strong position for the Academy Awards, it is by no means a cert.
Take a look below for all the winners in all the categories at this year's Golden Globes.
George Clooney for The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender for Shame
Ryan Gosling for The Ides of March
Brad Pitt for Moneyball
Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady
Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis for The Help
Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin
Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Brendan Gleeson for The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50
Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris
Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn
Jodie Foster for Carnage
Charlize Theron for Young Adult
Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids
Kate Winslet for Carnage
Christopher Plummer for Beginners
Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks for Drive
Jonah Hill for Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method
Octavia Spencer for The Help
Bérénice Bejo for The Artist
Jessica Chastain for The Help
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley for The Descendants
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
George Clooney for The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Ides of March: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin
W.E.: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry(Masterpiece)
Albert Nobbs: Brian Byrne, Glenn Close(Lay Your Head Down)
Gnomeo & Juliet: Elton John, Bernie Taupin(Hello Hello)
The Help: Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas(The Living Proof)
Machine Gun Preacher: Chris Cornell(The Keeper)
The Artist: Ludovic Bource
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Hugo: Howard Shore
War Horse: John Williams
W.E.: Abel Korzeniowski
A Separation (Iran)
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid with a Bike (Belgium)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Cinema Verite
Kelsey Grammer for Boss
Steve Buscemi for Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad
Jeremy Irons for The Borgias
Damian Lewis for Homeland
Claire Danes for Homeland
Mireille Enos for The Killing
Julianna Margulies for The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe for Revenge
Callie Thorne for Necessary Roughness
Matt LeBlanc for Episodes
Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
David Duchovny for Californication
Johnny Galecki for The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane for Hung
Laura Dern for Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel for New Girl
Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Laura Linney for The Big C
Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Idris Elba for Luther
Hugh Bonneville for Downton Abbey
William Hurt for Too Big to Fail
Bill Nighy for Page Eight
Dominic West for The Hour
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Kate Winslet for Mildred Pierce
Romola Garai for The Hour
Diane Lane for Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern for Downton Abbey
Emily Watson for Appropriate Adult
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce for Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins for Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet for Modern Family
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Lange for American Horror Story
Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey
Sofía Vergara for Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood for Mildred Pierce
ACTORS: George Clooney, Glenn Close, Christopher Plummer, Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer, Jean DuJardin, Michelle Williams DIRECTORS: Martin Scorsese FILMS: The Artist, The Descendants, W.E., The Iron Lady, My Week With Marilyn, Beginners, Alber Nobbs, The Help, Midnight In Paris, The Adventures Of Tintin, Modern Family
Meryl Streep Surprised She's A Gay Icon
January 5, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
Meryl Streep is an icon to a lot of people, but it appears she hadn't realised that she was a gay icon as well. The actress, who's won massive plaudits for playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (out Jan 6th), says "I just recently found out I'm a gay icon from a show where they do little arias from all my movies."
She adds, "It's flattering of course. Whether or not Margaret is also a gay icon I don't know. That's a difficult one for me." You can understand the uncertainty as while Maggie's a strong woman, she wasn't exactly a fan of the gays, having enacted anti-gay measures such as Section 28 and blocked legislation that backed gay equality.
Source: ShowbizSpy
ACTORS: Meryl Streep FILMS: The Iron Lady
New The Iron Lady Trailer
November 14, 2011 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
A new trailer for the upcoming The Iron Lady has arrived, via The Daily Mail, but we've embedded it below (which should help those of you who understandably have an aversion to going anywhere near anything to do with the Daily Mail). Although some Mrs. T. lovers are still uncertain about Meryl Streep playing the great lady – partly because they immediately assumed the film will be a liberal hatchet job – she certainly seems to be doing a good job here! The film sees Maggie as an older woman looking back over her remarkable career, becoming Britain's first female Prime Minister and one of the world's most famous women, while facing a divided nation and becoming hated by many in the UK. The film opens in the UK on January 6th.
ACTORS: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E Grant, Anthony Head DIRECTORS: Phyllida Lloyd FILMS: The Iron Lady


Remodeling a home can be an expense that you don't necessarily have a ready supply of cash available to finance. Luckily, there are several borrowing options open to homeowners that can help you renovate your property into your dream home. The important thing to remember before you begin researching loans is to get an accurate estimate of how much the remodel will cost. If working with a contractor, request a detailed estimate and add a minimum of 10 percent to that price in case of any extras that pop up during the renovation process.
If you have equity in your home, this is probably the most likely option you'll choose to pay for your remodel. Loan amounts can range from 80 to 100 percent of the appraised value of your property. A home equity loan has fixed rates and terms with payments required monthly. A home equity line of credit will likely have a variable interest rate and offer a revolving line of credit that you can access as needed while making the renovations.
If you're not doing a major remodel, you may be able to finance small to medium-sized home projects with a low-interest credit card. Many credit card companies extend new customers a grace period where interest rates remain at 0 percent. If you're certain you can pay off the card within this period, this could be a good option.
The Federal Housing Association allows qualified applicants to receive low-interest loans for home improvements. The FHA insures the loan and borrowers must go through an approved lender.


text:
Q: AJAX Get from a JSON Tree I'm just starting out with AJAX, trying to use JQuery's $.getJSON function (or any related, ie $.load(), $.ajax(), etc). I have a JSON file with a structure something like this:
[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "email": "user@domain.com",
        "password": "password"
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "email": "one@two.com",
        "password": "password"
    }
]

How can I call a GET on this JSON file (let's call it users.json) for a user with a specific email? I thought it would be the second paramter in $.getJSON, but that seems to just return the whole tree.
Thanks!

A: Short answer - you can't do this directly with AJAX.  jQuery can extract portions of HTML and XML documents, but not JSON.
Easiest answer - retrieve the entire object (you have to, anyway) and use jsonpath to get the structure you want
Longer answer - retrieve the entire object, and traverse it yourself to get the object you want
Best answer - make the email address a parameter to whatever script produces the json and have the server only return the data you want.

A: Once the JSON is parsed, you pass it to a callback function - then you can manipulate that array however you need.
You'll probably want some custom code:
$.getJSON(myURL, function(data) {
    /* data is an array of objects */
    for (var i=0, j=data.length; i<j; i++) {
        if (data[i].email === some_value) {
            /* do something with data[i] */
        };
    };
});

http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.getJSON/

A: You can 1 of 2 things, loop through the array on the client side, or dynamically have users.json generated on each call (this assumes a backend server language like php)
Using dynamically generated json file
JS
$.ajax({
   url:"/users.json.php",
   data:{
      useremail:"someusersemail@here.com"
   }
   type:"POST",
   dataType:"json",
   success:function(userdata){
      //users data will be in userdata
      console.log(userdata.email);
   }
})

Server Script (assumes PHP): users.json.php
$email = $_POST['useremail'];

//get user data based on email
...

echo json_encode($userdata);
die;

generated json file should end up outputing something like
{"id": 1,"email": "user@domain.com","password": "password"}

Loop Method: loop through the users array on client side
$.ajax({
   url:"/users.json",
   dataType:"json",
   success:function(data){
      for(i=0;i<data.length;i++) {
         var user = data[i];
         if(user.email == "someemail@gmail.com") {
            //do what you need to with user data
         }
      }
   }
})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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I stayed in my friend's little apartment in Potts Point in a lovely little neighbourhood and it just so happens that the rooftop looks like this.
I made it to Love, Tilly Devine, a fabulous wine bar specialising in natural wines.
I spent a day in Newtown, eating at Brewtown Newtown where I devoured my first cronut.
I shopped at the amazing Made 590 where all the clothes are locally made and I bought a skirt with cameras on it!
I walked from Potts Point to The Rocks to have wine and dinner with one of my dear ones, who I had not seen for 2.5 years.
I went to the Art Gallery, ate macarons (Zumbo no less), drank Champagne on a rooftop and ate pasta served in a giant wheel of cheese.
So much wonderful time spent exploring alone and catching up with wonderful friends. I feel terribly spoilt by the universe.
I was born in Sydney and grew up in northern NSW so have a real bond with Sydney. And so true, the CBD is not why you go there, there are so many beautiful places to see and stuff to do not too far out.
Lovely, lovely pics, it makes me miss it so much.
Thank you :) I grew up in Northern NSW too.
I think Sydney makes you think the centre is where it's at because of the amazing landmarks. Can't wait to go back.
I have been meaning to tell you- I went to Fratelli Paradiso on your recommendation and it was marvellous!
It looks like you had a wonderful time and four trips to Messina is nothing less then impressive!! My sister lived in Sydney for four years and I miss regular trips up there. I completely agree that the character is in the suburbs. Your friends rooftop is amazing, that view will never get old. I still havent tried a cronut!! That one looks particularly delicious.
I always say, my ice cream eating skills are impressive.


Life's a Twitch - Dr. B. Duncan McKinlay (Clinics Resources)!
As a good night's sleep is a "bedrock" strategy to coping with TS and other disinhibition conditions, sleep clinics in your community should be considered as well as the clinics listed below.
-Dr. Armand Boisjolie (613.738.6990) and Dr. Martine Jaworski (613.236.9344) both see patients and consult with family physicians.
3D-047 Edith Cavell Wing, 399 Bathurst St.
-this clinic is directed by Don Gilbert, M.D., and includes a neurologist, psychologist, and two nurses. Dr. Gilbert's recognition of TS as requiring a multi-faceted treatment approach, looking at the biological, environmental, and psychological contributions, was very impressive to me.
-a phenomenal collection of information, professional services, publications, resources, and camps based in Missouri, USA!
-specializing in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and related conditions, including Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Trichotillomania, as well as Tourette's Disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and all forms of Mood and Anxiety Disorders in adults, adolescents, and children.