Here’s a good attempt to explain a part of the intricate mechanism of the Democratic primaries.… Read more...
Author: raz
Saddam’s a bad copy writer!
The Russian Debutante’s Handbook
“The Russian Debutante’s Handbook”
by Gary Shteyngart
Summary: Russian immigrant Vladimir Girshkin – “part P.T. Barnum, part Vi.I Lenin” – lives a futile life in NY City. Gets involved with yuppy women, is terrorized by his mother and has a fat girlfriend. Until he messes with the Mafia and is forced to flee to the imaginary Eastern European country of … Read more...
Romania Uber Alles!
“Romanians … Read more...
Dean’s Vietnam brother
Remains of Dean’s brother possibly found in Laos (CNN):
“WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Pentagon said Tuesday that human remains have been found in Southeast Asia in a case involving the long-missing brother of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
The remains were recovered last week during an excavation in the Bolikhamxai Province of central Laos. They have not been identified.
The … Read more...
Media Criticism
Here’s a textbook example of the media framing technique of bipolarity (an example that I’m gonna use in my winter course, Media Broadcasting and Institutions, also known as Media Criticism…
From TIME Magazine, “The Insurgent and the Soldier (Tale of Two Warriors)”… Read more...
One thing that worries me about Dean
Excerpt from Washington Post’s “Democratic Hopefuls Play Down Gun Control:”
“Howard Dean, the early front-runner this year, proudly tells audiences that the National Rifle Association endorsed him as governor of Vermont. As president, Dean said he would leave most gun laws to the states. The federal government, Dean said in an interview here, should not “inflict regulations” on … Read more...
Gorby’s Trademarks
Genuine piece of news:
Mikhail Gorbachov, last president of the Soviet Union, currently living in Virgina, USA, has copyrighted the names “Gorbachov” and “Gorby,” apparently after he saw his name on some billboards somewhere. He later also learned that a Japanese noodle company uses his name as well, as do vodka companies in Russia. From now on, Gorbachov announced, his … Read more...
“Why the War Was Right”
Here’s a link to an excellent Newsweek editorial written by Fareed Zakaria (one of my favourite editorialists – see him on PBS, too). In this piece, Zakaria explains why even now, after the whole WMD debacle, he still thinks the war in Iraq was right. His opinion closely resembles mine.… Read more...
News paragraph I liked
Here’s a paragraph from an IHT article that talks about the “de-Baathification” and “de-Saddamization” of textbooks in schools. I have seen that happen in a Romanian and this story sounds so familiar!
“Those lessons about Saddam were so boring and stupid, but we had no choice,” she said. “Anybody who laughed would be punished.” Some teachers, though, had a harder … Read more...