20100830
20100815
Europe's extreme right leaders expose Japanese counterparts
My first reaction when I saw Jean-Marie Le Pen and fellow fascists visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on every international media was to hope this would wake up the Japanese people : these guy are the shame and the scum of Europe, and they've been invited by your own fascist leaders. Would you still support a Japanese minister who visits this infamous shrine ?
Naoto Kan, the new P.M., officially stated that he would never do it*, and Japanese extreme-right leaders made the mistake of exposing their own stupidity through this miserable PR event. They proved they existed and had friends at the global level, but they also revealed their true nature to the Japanese public : not "nationalists", but die-hard fascist revisionists who are betraying their own people.
The question is : will the Japanese people keep allowing those thugs to decide who can be Prime Minister and what should be written in history textbooks ?
blogules 2010 - see also in VF ("L'extreme-droite Japonaise invite Le Pen... et les projecteurs")
* Well. Hatoyama started well too, but eventually gave in to the extremist minority that has been plaguing Japanese politics since WWII : "Hatoyama's Christmas gift to Japanese extreme right"
Naoto Kan, the new P.M., officially stated that he would never do it*, and Japanese extreme-right leaders made the mistake of exposing their own stupidity through this miserable PR event. They proved they existed and had friends at the global level, but they also revealed their true nature to the Japanese public : not "nationalists", but die-hard fascist revisionists who are betraying their own people.
The question is : will the Japanese people keep allowing those thugs to decide who can be Prime Minister and what should be written in history textbooks ?
blogules 2010 - see also in VF ("L'extreme-droite Japonaise invite Le Pen... et les projecteurs")
* Well. Hatoyama started well too, but eventually gave in to the extremist minority that has been plaguing Japanese politics since WWII : "Hatoyama's Christmas gift to Japanese extreme right"
20100806
Mid-Term Elections : Sarah Palin to run in West Dakota
My dear fellow Amerikans,
Howdy lads and gals ?
As you know, my second book, "Amerika by Heart: reflections on family, faith, and flags", will be published after the mid-term elections, around November 23. Depending on the result, it will either be about my role in the victory, or a "toldya so" condemnation of the GOP's doomed campaign of 2010.
After working on two books in one, my head is swimming with words, but thank God I kept my eyes on the ball... which, by the way, was much easier to find than Obama's cojones (wink - wink) !
As you also know*, I will run in 2012. I got all the credentials as a top FOX News barker. And if the Reps dare not nominate me, I'll merge the Tea Party and my fundamentalist base into a "Libertarian, Gonads, Bible, Tea Party". Will that "LGBT Party" be the pride of our glorious nation ? You betcha !
For 2010, I needed to legitimitize my involvation in the electoric process. I badly hadda run for a seat, and not only because I had a mean chili con carne for lunch. I long hesitated between West Dakota and North Virginia, and settled for the former, 'cause it has a border with Saskatchewanistan : this winter, with Todd, we're gonna Skidoo hunt Bin Laden and his fellow thugs, smoke'im out, gut'im out, hang'im high, you nam'it.
But before that, during this whole year, I'll keep reminding US voters why they need to vote Republican this November : to fight against Obama's unfair policies that granted medical care to whiners and deprived Wall Street execs from well deserved impunities, to drill deeper into the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska (and while we're at it drill even deeper into our prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo - wink - wink), to restore Amerikan values (starting with waterboarding) and the positive image of Amerika overseas, plus, of course, to go back to our sound economy of 2008.
Yours Truly,
Sarah Louise Palin
blogules 2010
* "GOP - From Morale Building to Moral Damage Control Mode"
Howdy lads and gals ?
As you know, my second book, "Amerika by Heart: reflections on family, faith, and flags", will be published after the mid-term elections, around November 23. Depending on the result, it will either be about my role in the victory, or a "toldya so" condemnation of the GOP's doomed campaign of 2010.
After working on two books in one, my head is swimming with words, but thank God I kept my eyes on the ball... which, by the way, was much easier to find than Obama's cojones (wink - wink) !
As you also know*, I will run in 2012. I got all the credentials as a top FOX News barker. And if the Reps dare not nominate me, I'll merge the Tea Party and my fundamentalist base into a "Libertarian, Gonads, Bible, Tea Party". Will that "LGBT Party" be the pride of our glorious nation ? You betcha !
For 2010, I needed to legitimitize my involvation in the electoric process. I badly hadda run for a seat, and not only because I had a mean chili con carne for lunch. I long hesitated between West Dakota and North Virginia, and settled for the former, 'cause it has a border with Saskatchewanistan : this winter, with Todd, we're gonna Skidoo hunt Bin Laden and his fellow thugs, smoke'im out, gut'im out, hang'im high, you nam'it.
But before that, during this whole year, I'll keep reminding US voters why they need to vote Republican this November : to fight against Obama's unfair policies that granted medical care to whiners and deprived Wall Street execs from well deserved impunities, to drill deeper into the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska (and while we're at it drill even deeper into our prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo - wink - wink), to restore Amerikan values (starting with waterboarding) and the positive image of Amerika overseas, plus, of course, to go back to our sound economy of 2008.
Yours Truly,
Sarah Louise Palin
blogules 2010
* "GOP - From Morale Building to Moral Damage Control Mode"
20100713
Paul the Octopus
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
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
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
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