Again, that World Cup post-partum blues.
That sense of emptiness, the brain progressively training itself to intercept signals involving other things than soccer balls, the effort even tougher this time because of those damned vuvuzelas (time difference ? I kind of got used to it after my tenth World Cup).
The embarrassing realization that I've been outsmarted by a squid in my predictions.
The embarrassing realization that 2010, a great year for African soccer, started with shootings at Togolese players in Angola, and continues with the murder of fans in Uganda. A Christmas tree at the DRC Soccer Federation ? Thanks, but no thanks.
The embarrassing realization that, while players tried to understand the tricky aerodynamics of Jabulani, our small planet kept moving in its very predictable way :
- The First Scrabble Wars ended with a draw between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
- Again, Barack Obama welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu who, again the previous day, promised that this time, he would be a nice guy.
- As videos of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest rocked the web, Haiti's Daily Eating Challenge only got a few clicks.
- US citizens let Tony the Octopus spill as much ink as he could in the Gulf of Mexico. As if Tony Hayward had a clue about what was at stake if BP picked this well instead of that one.
blogules 2010
20100713
20100615
Ronaldo's Yogi Berra moment (or is it Forrest Gump ?) : goals are like ketchup
Lucky you : it's that period when I don't spill many blogules on this lousy blog.
If "blogules" sucks most of my energy during US elections, "footlog" sucks most of my energy during FIFA World Cups*. Mercifully, both events happen every four years, with two years between each period of apnea. But as you already know, both blogs suck 24/7/365...
Anyway. Since last Friday, I've been on World Cup mode, trying not to miss a single game in spite of time difference... and failing for some of those scheduled at 3 AM Seoul time (I could do that back in 1986 but that was the previous millenium).
So today, I will only deliver you this pearl of wisdom from Cristiano Ronaldo, a 25 year-old Portuguese striker : goals are like ketchup because when ketchup comes out, it all comes out at once.
From a 5 year old kid, it could have been cute. Here, it sounds more like an artificial Forrest Gump line than a genuine Yogi Berra moment.
Thierry Henry could join the MLS and the New York Red Bulls after the World Cup. Even past his prime, the man is able to give more to the beautiful game than nice dribbles and stupid statements. Maybe because, unlike Ronaldo, Henry loves the game more than himself.
blogules 2010
* note that footlog is in French.
If "blogules" sucks most of my energy during US elections, "footlog" sucks most of my energy during FIFA World Cups*. Mercifully, both events happen every four years, with two years between each period of apnea. But as you already know, both blogs suck 24/7/365...
Anyway. Since last Friday, I've been on World Cup mode, trying not to miss a single game in spite of time difference... and failing for some of those scheduled at 3 AM Seoul time (I could do that back in 1986 but that was the previous millenium).
So today, I will only deliver you this pearl of wisdom from Cristiano Ronaldo, a 25 year-old Portuguese striker : goals are like ketchup because when ketchup comes out, it all comes out at once.
From a 5 year old kid, it could have been cute. Here, it sounds more like an artificial Forrest Gump line than a genuine Yogi Berra moment.
Thierry Henry could join the MLS and the New York Red Bulls after the World Cup. Even past his prime, the man is able to give more to the beautiful game than nice dribbles and stupid statements. Maybe because, unlike Ronaldo, Henry loves the game more than himself.
blogules 2010
* note that footlog is in French.
20100602
Seoul National University : a league of their own
Korea's most prestigious university, "Seoul Dae", has always been a laughing stock as far as sports are concerned : Seoul National University never leaves the bottom of national rankings in collective sports, and a ten goal deficit in soccer or a twenty run loss in baseball are more than commonplace.
Chosun Ilbo Senior Editor OH Tae-jin nailed an hilarious tribute* to SNU's baseball team, but keeping one's seriousness is not that easy when you consider the bold facts : in 2004, SNU stopped a 199-game losing streak only to start a 56-game losing streak the next match, and personal statistics against this team have not been taken into account in the league standings since 1992.
Now this joke of a team just hired a prestigious coach : LEE Gwang-hwan won the KBO title (Korean pro baseball league) in 1994. Imagine Jose Mourinho taking over the perennial underdog of Portuguese university soccer.
To tell the truth, I find that a bit unfair and disrespectful to essential traditions. Seoul Dae may produce the Korean elite of tomorrow in a campus roughly the size of a small "gu" (Samsung founder's former golf club in Gwanaksan), it may boast an art museum designed by Rem Koolhaas, it still used to be the symbol of meritocracy. A lot of poor students, not much funding for sports, and a food so miserable you sometimes felt on the wrong side of the DMZ.
But the times they are a-changing. Meritocracy became hagwonocracy** nationwide, and SNU starts caring for its image as a sports powerhouse.
Well. "Powerhouse" at least in the meaning "equipped with electricity".
blogules 2010 - see the original on Seoul Village
* "서울대 야구감독 이광환" / "LEE Gwang-hwan Seoul National University baseball coach" (오태진 20100529 - Chosun Ilbo)
** hagwons are for-profit private academies, the clear winners in Korea's suicidal competition for the best universities
Chosun Ilbo Senior Editor OH Tae-jin nailed an hilarious tribute* to SNU's baseball team, but keeping one's seriousness is not that easy when you consider the bold facts : in 2004, SNU stopped a 199-game losing streak only to start a 56-game losing streak the next match, and personal statistics against this team have not been taken into account in the league standings since 1992.
Now this joke of a team just hired a prestigious coach : LEE Gwang-hwan won the KBO title (Korean pro baseball league) in 1994. Imagine Jose Mourinho taking over the perennial underdog of Portuguese university soccer.
To tell the truth, I find that a bit unfair and disrespectful to essential traditions. Seoul Dae may produce the Korean elite of tomorrow in a campus roughly the size of a small "gu" (Samsung founder's former golf club in Gwanaksan), it may boast an art museum designed by Rem Koolhaas, it still used to be the symbol of meritocracy. A lot of poor students, not much funding for sports, and a food so miserable you sometimes felt on the wrong side of the DMZ.
But the times they are a-changing. Meritocracy became hagwonocracy** nationwide, and SNU starts caring for its image as a sports powerhouse.
Well. "Powerhouse" at least in the meaning "equipped with electricity".
blogules 2010 - see the original on Seoul Village
* "서울대 야구감독 이광환" / "LEE Gwang-hwan Seoul National University baseball coach" (오태진 20100529 - Chosun Ilbo)
** hagwons are for-profit private academies, the clear winners in Korea's suicidal competition for the best universities
20100522
Texas State Board of Education dumps Education in favor of Creationism
I love Texas, but my patience is wearing thin.
Hosting and supporting the worst POTUS in history was one thing, delivering his dystopia is pushing a bit too far.
Among the key changes voted by the State Board of Education for 10 years starting in 2011-2012 :
- pupils will be taught that "separation of church and state" isn't written in the Constitution, a necessary step towards Dubya's vision (Intelligent Design at school, theocracy in Washington)
- pupils will be asked to point out attacks from the UN and other international bodies against the US of Amerika (you know, them Human Rights and Geneva Conventions, those un-Amerikan terrorists who dared criticize the way we handled things in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo)
Contagion to other states would be certain : Texas being a major market for textbooks, it often sets the pace at the national level.
I'm speechless, but I hope true democrats and republicans (across the aisle, without the capital D and R) will not let this infamy happen.
The obvious ways out would be a gubernatorial win by Democrats or a Supreme Court overrule. But even if they lose in the end, GOP fundamentalists would win by reigniting a really un-american civil war. This episode is also a perfect stimulus for mid-term elections : expect a spectacular turnout across the Bible belt.
blogules 2010
Hosting and supporting the worst POTUS in history was one thing, delivering his dystopia is pushing a bit too far.
Among the key changes voted by the State Board of Education for 10 years starting in 2011-2012 :
- pupils will be taught that "separation of church and state" isn't written in the Constitution, a necessary step towards Dubya's vision (Intelligent Design at school, theocracy in Washington)
- pupils will be asked to point out attacks from the UN and other international bodies against the US of Amerika (you know, them Human Rights and Geneva Conventions, those un-Amerikan terrorists who dared criticize the way we handled things in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo)
Contagion to other states would be certain : Texas being a major market for textbooks, it often sets the pace at the national level.
I'm speechless, but I hope true democrats and republicans (across the aisle, without the capital D and R) will not let this infamy happen.
The obvious ways out would be a gubernatorial win by Democrats or a Supreme Court overrule. But even if they lose in the end, GOP fundamentalists would win by reigniting a really un-american civil war. This episode is also a perfect stimulus for mid-term elections : expect a spectacular turnout across the Bible belt.
blogules 2010
20100514
The Avengers (2010)
Did you notice ? David Cameron would make a perfect young Patrick Macnee.
But Nick Clegg as Emma Peel... ? If you don't mind, I'll stick to Diana Rigg.
The New New Avengers series were launched during an outdoor press conference routine, complete with the staged question from a friendly journalist, Nick's fake departure, and Dave's begging "please don't go".
To facilitate the transition of power Joanna Lumley recently met the Prime and Vice-Prime, simultaneously.
What is exactly a "Deputy Prime Minister" ? What are his powers ? Is see at least two : the power to pull the plug when he pleases, and a few legs until then.
blogules 2010
But Nick Clegg as Emma Peel... ? If you don't mind, I'll stick to Diana Rigg.
The New New Avengers series were launched during an outdoor press conference routine, complete with the staged question from a friendly journalist, Nick's fake departure, and Dave's begging "please don't go".
To facilitate the transition of power Joanna Lumley recently met the Prime and Vice-Prime, simultaneously.
What is exactly a "Deputy Prime Minister" ? What are his powers ? Is see at least two : the power to pull the plug when he pleases, and a few legs until then.
blogules 2010
20100505
The Housemaid (Im Sang-soo)
Ahead of the 63rd Festival de Cannes, "The Housemaid" (하녀) premiered yesterday in Seoul : IM Sang-soo's latest movie will air on Korean screens starting May the 13th, and on the Croisette the next day.
This is a remake of a great Korean classic by KIM Ki-young (1960) : a psychological drama, already audacious 50 years ago, where a man cheats on his wife with their maid. Korean media were pretty much excited by a glamorous erotic thriller featuring a clash of actresses : the betrayed spouse (Seo Woo) et her rival (Jeon Do-yeon as the title role). I was expecting different kinds of surprises from this audacious filmmaker.
And yesterday, I wasn't disapointed : IM once more delivered a well crafted movie, a stimulating actors direction, and a powerful social satire. He didn't hesitate to somehow rewrite the original story, inverting the roles and moral standards.
In this version, the femme fatale is not the maid but the mother in law (Park Ji-yeong) who forms with the husband and wife (Lee Jung-jae et Seo Woo) a perfect trio of vain characters as artificial as their luxurious yet Hitchcockian mansion.
The actual pair of actresses lies around the pivotal role of the housekeeper. In "The President's Last Bang
", IM Sang-soo carved an amazing Baek Yoon-sik. With "The Housemaid", he's not only pushing Jeon Do-yeon on the way to a second Palme d'Or, but also bringing the best in Yoon Yeo-jeong.
And once more, enjoying the winding road between a classic tragedy and a dark comedy.
blogules 2010 (see also this post in French)
This is a remake of a great Korean classic by KIM Ki-young (1960) : a psychological drama, already audacious 50 years ago, where a man cheats on his wife with their maid. Korean media were pretty much excited by a glamorous erotic thriller featuring a clash of actresses : the betrayed spouse (Seo Woo) et her rival (Jeon Do-yeon as the title role). I was expecting different kinds of surprises from this audacious filmmaker.
And yesterday, I wasn't disapointed : IM once more delivered a well crafted movie, a stimulating actors direction, and a powerful social satire. He didn't hesitate to somehow rewrite the original story, inverting the roles and moral standards.In this version, the femme fatale is not the maid but the mother in law (Park Ji-yeong) who forms with the husband and wife (Lee Jung-jae et Seo Woo) a perfect trio of vain characters as artificial as their luxurious yet Hitchcockian mansion.
The actual pair of actresses lies around the pivotal role of the housekeeper. In "The President's Last Bang
", IM Sang-soo carved an amazing Baek Yoon-sik. With "The Housemaid", he's not only pushing Jeon Do-yeon on the way to a second Palme d'Or, but also bringing the best in Yoon Yeo-jeong.And once more, enjoying the winding road between a classic tragedy and a dark comedy.
blogules 2010 (see also this post in French)
20100428
Arizona Dream
On his way back from the inauguration of the Great Arizonian Iron Curtain, President McCain inspected the Louisiana oil mess from Marine One chopper : "What a waste ! All those gallons will stick to our Shouthern shores for decades instead of fueling our fundamentally sound economy... Believe me my friends, heads will roll at the FEMA : we said 'drill baby drill', not 'spill baby spill', for Chrysler's sake !"
Meanwhile...
- Veep Palin visited a Creationist School. "Onov'em kids made such a terrible mistake, I hadda get to the board rite-way to fix it by m'self. Lil'guy wrote 'when dinos roamed the Earth four thousand years ago, men used their bones to play baseball'. Can you believe it ? Did I add the e to "dinoes" ? You betcha !"
- Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Blankfein attended a pre-G20 summit. "I was taken abacus by the audacity of a brilliant young Frenchman : Fabulous Fab Tourre suggested to Jean-Claude Trichet that Greece be wrapped in toilet paper and sold to Abu Dhabi in a bundle with the Brooklyn Bridge. I suggested we that trew in the New York Mets as well, but Fab wisely noted that it could raise suspicions."
- In Mexico City, former First Lady Cindy McCain married former First Lady Carla Bruni.
- George W. Bush inaugurated his Presidential Library. "All the 10,000 books I've read so far are here. I never use twice the same copy of the Holy Book, and the West Wing is devoted to the only other book I read : 'My pet goat'. This year I intend to start page 5."
- Senator Obama attended a Milk Party : Michelle Obama's movement claims 10,000 new members every day and she remains in the polls the front runner for 2012.
blogules 2010
Meanwhile...
- Veep Palin visited a Creationist School. "Onov'em kids made such a terrible mistake, I hadda get to the board rite-way to fix it by m'self. Lil'guy wrote 'when dinos roamed the Earth four thousand years ago, men used their bones to play baseball'. Can you believe it ? Did I add the e to "dinoes" ? You betcha !"
- Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Blankfein attended a pre-G20 summit. "I was taken abacus by the audacity of a brilliant young Frenchman : Fabulous Fab Tourre suggested to Jean-Claude Trichet that Greece be wrapped in toilet paper and sold to Abu Dhabi in a bundle with the Brooklyn Bridge. I suggested we that trew in the New York Mets as well, but Fab wisely noted that it could raise suspicions."
- In Mexico City, former First Lady Cindy McCain married former First Lady Carla Bruni.
- George W. Bush inaugurated his Presidential Library. "All the 10,000 books I've read so far are here. I never use twice the same copy of the Holy Book, and the West Wing is devoted to the only other book I read : 'My pet goat'. This year I intend to start page 5."
- Senator Obama attended a Milk Party : Michelle Obama's movement claims 10,000 new members every day and she remains in the polls the front runner for 2012.
blogules 2010
20100407
FCC : another hot potato for the Congress
2010 - A regulator that fails to regulate may need some fixing.
After being awarded the right to deregulate broadband by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005 on the ground that it would not be a telecom service but an information service, the FCC allowed broadband subs to plug whatever hardware or software they pleased to their access, but after that ordered ISPs to fight against peer-to-peer abuses. Comcast logically sued and won the case at a federal court.
That same FCC has also been working on a much advertised National Broadband Plan which now appears to be left to its own devices.
The only way out of this farcical situation would be for lawmakers to restore some regulatory power, a move that could prove unpopular for partisans of freedom on the liberal front (no regulation for the internet : that's fascism) as well as on the libertarian side (no regulation whatsoever : that's socialism). If Obama thought he was done with ideological battles between health care madness and financial reforms, here's yet another hot potato to catch before mid-term elections.
blogules 2010
After being awarded the right to deregulate broadband by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005 on the ground that it would not be a telecom service but an information service, the FCC allowed broadband subs to plug whatever hardware or software they pleased to their access, but after that ordered ISPs to fight against peer-to-peer abuses. Comcast logically sued and won the case at a federal court.
That same FCC has also been working on a much advertised National Broadband Plan which now appears to be left to its own devices.
The only way out of this farcical situation would be for lawmakers to restore some regulatory power, a move that could prove unpopular for partisans of freedom on the liberal front (no regulation for the internet : that's fascism) as well as on the libertarian side (no regulation whatsoever : that's socialism). If Obama thought he was done with ideological battles between health care madness and financial reforms, here's yet another hot potato to catch before mid-term elections.
blogules 2010
20100323
J Street : It's Time
It's time for moderates to speak up and denounce impostors.It's time for Palestinian and Israeli democrats to say no to radicals who keep torpedoeing peace and undermining their own camps.
J Street is running a full page ad in the NYT to remind opinion leaders that a majority of Jews in the US think "it's time for Israel to stop allowing extremist settlers and their sympathizers to endanger not only the friendship of the United States, but also the very future of Israel"*.
J Street also sends a message to AIPAC : now that Obama's healthcare reforms have passed, the politics of fear cannot rule the agenda until next elections. Change must come to the Middle East, with full support from the US, but also from Israeli citizens who reject as false the choice between their security and their ideals**.
blogules 2010
* see "Our Full-Page Ad in the New York Times"
** see "Israel accepted as true the choice between its security and its ideals"
20100318
Joe Biden's stand-up comedy routine
Back from Israel, Joe Biden at 2010 Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner : his trip in Israel, his tips from Tiger Woods, his palm reading of Sarah, his foot in mouth disease...
blogules 2010
blogules 2010
Barack "No Crisis" Obama
Joe Biden publicly humiliated by Bibi Netanyahu* ?
Israeli hardliners pushing provocations to new standards, embarrassing even their "regular hawk" followers ?
General David Petraeus confirming the impossibility to support at the same time this clique of warmongers and peace ?
"No Crisis", answers Barack No Drama Obama.
The POTUS doesn't mean that there is no crisis between the US of A and Israel : he simply doesn't want a crisis between his healthcare reform agenda and AIPAC ahead of US mid-term elections.
So be it. No Crisis, then.
As planned by Netanyahu & co, Salam Fayyad and Fatah reformers will lose to radicals, the Palestinian Authority collapse for good, and even if Bibi doesn't get the intifada he wants**, Tel Aviv extremists will strengthten their grip on the Israeli democracy without even the weakest reaction from the Israeli people (I won't even mention Israeli opposition parties : they either joined or condoned this infamous coalition, and Amir Perez is not my idea of a peace maker).
No Crisis, Oby wan Kennedy said.
Barack Hussein Obama also said these few words, during his inaugural address : "to those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy". Netanyahu obviously took it as an encouragement : "great ! I will destroy peace, and I'll be rewarded for the illegal colonies I build."
No Crisis, I'm telling you : all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
blogules 2010
* maybe, instead of Joe The Biden, the Israeli PM expected Joe The Plumber, who would have more cheerfully given a hand for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem ("Home Improvement" after "Israel's Funniest Away Videos" ?)
** see "Netanyahu's al Aqsa intifada"
Israeli hardliners pushing provocations to new standards, embarrassing even their "regular hawk" followers ?
General David Petraeus confirming the impossibility to support at the same time this clique of warmongers and peace ?
"No Crisis", answers Barack No Drama Obama.
The POTUS doesn't mean that there is no crisis between the US of A and Israel : he simply doesn't want a crisis between his healthcare reform agenda and AIPAC ahead of US mid-term elections.
So be it. No Crisis, then.
As planned by Netanyahu & co, Salam Fayyad and Fatah reformers will lose to radicals, the Palestinian Authority collapse for good, and even if Bibi doesn't get the intifada he wants**, Tel Aviv extremists will strengthten their grip on the Israeli democracy without even the weakest reaction from the Israeli people (I won't even mention Israeli opposition parties : they either joined or condoned this infamous coalition, and Amir Perez is not my idea of a peace maker).
No Crisis, Oby wan Kennedy said.
Barack Hussein Obama also said these few words, during his inaugural address : "to those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy". Netanyahu obviously took it as an encouragement : "great ! I will destroy peace, and I'll be rewarded for the illegal colonies I build."
No Crisis, I'm telling you : all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
blogules 2010
* maybe, instead of Joe The Biden, the Israeli PM expected Joe The Plumber, who would have more cheerfully given a hand for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem ("Home Improvement" after "Israel's Funniest Away Videos" ?)
** see "Netanyahu's al Aqsa intifada"
20100316
Detox
It was definitely high time for me to come back to Seoul for a good doenjang jjigae. Here is the indecent menu of my 9 dinners and 9 lunches in Paris :
- andouillette
- Britanny galettes
- grilled sausages
- couscous at Charly's
- chili con carne
- Relais de l'Entrecote
- paella
- "canette de barbarie rôtie aux olives pommes sautée"
- delicatessen
- light salad picnic at the Luxembourg garden (the odd one, probably the reason why my arteries didn't explode during the flight back to Korea)
- gastronomic dinner at Les Bouquinistes
- Relais de l'Entrecote redux (just to check something about their damning sage sauce)
- lasagna
- kebab
- black pudding with apples
- vietnamese pho (second odd one, but there's some beef inside)
- Savoyard fondue
- pot au feu stew with bone marrow
Of course, I spare you the breakfasts (croissants in Saint Germain des Pres, kouign amann - tarte tatin duet, cheese platter...) and snacks (aah, La Pâtisserie des Rêves... and thanks again Francois for that tea at Jacques Genin's - caramels were a huge success too).
Well well... All at building my Sasquatchian carbon footprint, I couldn't find the time to do everything I wanted to do nor see all the friends I wanted to see... Mea maxima culpa. Et meus maximus stomachus.
blogules 2010
- andouillette
- Britanny galettes
- grilled sausages
- couscous at Charly's
- chili con carne
- Relais de l'Entrecote
- paella
- "canette de barbarie rôtie aux olives pommes sautée"
- delicatessen
- light salad picnic at the Luxembourg garden (the odd one, probably the reason why my arteries didn't explode during the flight back to Korea)
- gastronomic dinner at Les Bouquinistes
- Relais de l'Entrecote redux (just to check something about their damning sage sauce)
- lasagna
- kebab
- black pudding with apples
- vietnamese pho (second odd one, but there's some beef inside)
- Savoyard fondue
- pot au feu stew with bone marrow
Of course, I spare you the breakfasts (croissants in Saint Germain des Pres, kouign amann - tarte tatin duet, cheese platter...) and snacks (aah, La Pâtisserie des Rêves... and thanks again Francois for that tea at Jacques Genin's - caramels were a huge success too).
Well well... All at building my Sasquatchian carbon footprint, I couldn't find the time to do everything I wanted to do nor see all the friends I wanted to see... Mea maxima culpa. Et meus maximus stomachus.
blogules 2010
20100220
GOP meets Poujadism
When Karl Rove says the Tea Party should keep distances from the GOP*, what he actually means is that the GOP should stay away from this political dead end.
But if the Architect knows a few things about winning and losing elections, I don't think he is familiar with French Poujadism, the movement which inevitably comes up to my troubled French mind each time I hear about this laughingstock of a Tea Party.
During the early 1950s, Shop owner Pierre Poujade defied the French tax system and founded a party that surfed on a collapsed political system to claim 400,000 members and more than 50 seats in the National Assembly... where the absence of program of the movement became an embarassment for everyone. Charles de Gaulle's comeback put an end to the doomed IVth Republic, and Poujade's Union de Defense des Commercants et des Artisans left for ever the political centerstage.
Pathetic indeed. But one can worry a bit more about what could happen in a country where a certain Joseph Stack III just crashed his plane on an I.R.S. building in Austin, TX**... Furthermore, among UDCA's law"makers" was Jean-Marie Le Pen, who later founded the extreme right party Front National... I wouldn't be surprised to find this kind of "great democrats" within the Tea Party's dream team.
Hardcore taxophobes are not comfortable with the very concept of a state, and such platforms never bloom in healthy democracies because they are, fundamentally, anti-democracy.
Populism and tax breaks sell well in the short term, but only simple minds stick to it whatever happens. For instance : the same voters who followed G. W. Bush on that path are now mad at Obama because he doesn't know how to reduce Dubya's abyssal deficits with more tax reductions.
Unlike Poujadism, the Tea Party is purely grassroot and lacks a leader. Ron Paul might fit the job, but Sarah Palin proposed to take the helm at the inaugural National Convention in Nashville, TN, reading from her Palm Pilot (actually a low tech model counterfeited by John McCain). Sarah Tea Party Palin... what a match.
We already saw how Palin represented the no-future of the GOP ("Sarah Palin and the Segolene Royal Syndrome - The GOP on the same path as the French Socialist Party"). So a Tea Party Spin Off with Mrs Theocon on board would definitely leave some space for Republicans who actually respect the republic (see "GOP : time to split").
Anyway, instead of following the ones who yell and destroy, GOP leaders would better sit down and think. Even if it means losing the upcoming elections - actually, THAT could come as a blessing : they decently cannot postpone their own reforms any longer.
But Democrats shouldn't rejoice too soon : if the popular success of the Tea Party unmistakably corroborates the ideological collapse of the GOP, it also is a gorilla-sized canary in their own coalmine. And they must prevent the most liberal aisles to stretch beyond the limits of the republic. Obama took the blame and seems to be correcting communication to restore some of the truth : OK, I didn't deliver the goods, but I had a few bads to take care of first.
blogules 2010
* "Where the Tea Parties Should Go From Here" (WSJ 20100219)
** At least, a political crash of the GOP wouldn't cause much damage.
But if the Architect knows a few things about winning and losing elections, I don't think he is familiar with French Poujadism, the movement which inevitably comes up to my troubled French mind each time I hear about this laughingstock of a Tea Party.
During the early 1950s, Shop owner Pierre Poujade defied the French tax system and founded a party that surfed on a collapsed political system to claim 400,000 members and more than 50 seats in the National Assembly... where the absence of program of the movement became an embarassment for everyone. Charles de Gaulle's comeback put an end to the doomed IVth Republic, and Poujade's Union de Defense des Commercants et des Artisans left for ever the political centerstage.
Pathetic indeed. But one can worry a bit more about what could happen in a country where a certain Joseph Stack III just crashed his plane on an I.R.S. building in Austin, TX**... Furthermore, among UDCA's law"makers" was Jean-Marie Le Pen, who later founded the extreme right party Front National... I wouldn't be surprised to find this kind of "great democrats" within the Tea Party's dream team.
Hardcore taxophobes are not comfortable with the very concept of a state, and such platforms never bloom in healthy democracies because they are, fundamentally, anti-democracy.
Populism and tax breaks sell well in the short term, but only simple minds stick to it whatever happens. For instance : the same voters who followed G. W. Bush on that path are now mad at Obama because he doesn't know how to reduce Dubya's abyssal deficits with more tax reductions.
Unlike Poujadism, the Tea Party is purely grassroot and lacks a leader. Ron Paul might fit the job, but Sarah Palin proposed to take the helm at the inaugural National Convention in Nashville, TN, reading from her Palm Pilot (actually a low tech model counterfeited by John McCain). Sarah Tea Party Palin... what a match.
We already saw how Palin represented the no-future of the GOP ("Sarah Palin and the Segolene Royal Syndrome - The GOP on the same path as the French Socialist Party"). So a Tea Party Spin Off with Mrs Theocon on board would definitely leave some space for Republicans who actually respect the republic (see "GOP : time to split").
Anyway, instead of following the ones who yell and destroy, GOP leaders would better sit down and think. Even if it means losing the upcoming elections - actually, THAT could come as a blessing : they decently cannot postpone their own reforms any longer.
But Democrats shouldn't rejoice too soon : if the popular success of the Tea Party unmistakably corroborates the ideological collapse of the GOP, it also is a gorilla-sized canary in their own coalmine. And they must prevent the most liberal aisles to stretch beyond the limits of the republic. Obama took the blame and seems to be correcting communication to restore some of the truth : OK, I didn't deliver the goods, but I had a few bads to take care of first.
blogules 2010
* "Where the Tea Parties Should Go From Here" (WSJ 20100219)
** At least, a political crash of the GOP wouldn't cause much damage.
20100219
Israel's Funniest Away Videos
Following the murder of Hamas VIP Mahmoud Abu Al-Madbouh in Dubai, the Emirate's authorities have been pointing a collection of fingers and cameras at the Mossad.
Of course, the question is not : "did the Mossad do it ?" but "did the Mossad lose its mojo ?"
I mean : one can expect blunders from say French inspectors Clouseaus (remember the "Rainbow Warrior" ?), but these guys are not supposed to be a bunch of amateur spies or Borat wannabes smiling for the surveillance cameras.
I wish CCTVs were that omnipresent when Ehud Barak used to dress as a woman to play pranks on Palestinians in Beirut... Maybe there's a record somewhere, who knows ?
Anyway, let's keep this UAE footage for "Israel's Funniest Away Videos".
blogules 2010
Of course, the question is not : "did the Mossad do it ?" but "did the Mossad lose its mojo ?"
I mean : one can expect blunders from say French inspectors Clouseaus (remember the "Rainbow Warrior" ?), but these guys are not supposed to be a bunch of amateur spies or Borat wannabes smiling for the surveillance cameras.
I wish CCTVs were that omnipresent when Ehud Barak used to dress as a woman to play pranks on Palestinians in Beirut... Maybe there's a record somewhere, who knows ?
Anyway, let's keep this UAE footage for "Israel's Funniest Away Videos".
blogules 2010
20100209
Googling Paris
"Parisian Love", Google's Superbowl ad. Rom@nce, cliches and snapshots... as artificial and predictable as Avatar, only cheaper. And just like Avatar, you keep watching :
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