-Regarding this weeks cover-you have to enlarge it, and even then you still might need to hold the screen close to your face to see that the ledge underneath the dude is beginning to collapse behind him. Please hold the screen close to your face.
-Georgia claims they shot down a Russian drone last week, but the last issue of the Economist made it pretty clear that Russian drone's are the technological equivalent of a barrel full of pitch.
-Barack Obama has a lead in the polls and I really really hope this isn't the first time you heard that, because it's like so totally old news and it would be really weird if I was the first guy to tell you.
-Oh, Iran's president: "The Zionist regime is definitely sliding towards collapse." It's so hard to tell if he thinks that's a good or bad thing. Guy is always screeching, it's like replacing Wolf Blitzer with a hungry owl.
-California will now require all restaurants to display the calorie count of each item on the menu, something New York City already does, which is how I know that my regular lunch at Five Guys is roughly 1910 calories. For lunch.
-People in Ohio are trusting that neither McCain or Obama have a sex-tape style controversy coming, and they are voting early, starting...already!
-First big argument between Mugabe and Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe, this one over the allocation of ministries. In other words, they're fighting over the mechanics of their initial agreement to team up in the first place.
-Stephen Harper, Canada's prime minister, pulled an old school Biden trick in 2003 and jacked a speech from an Australian prime minister which he then delivered as his own. Thankfully, one of his speechwriters fell on their sword.
-There was another stampede in India, making four this year. 147 people died.
-China finally got an astronaut up and doing a space walk. Good for them, despite them being so totally late to the party ha hahah aha.
Leaders
-Look, these Economist write-ups are a week late even at their best. The cover article presented here is a good one, but it's about the financial crisis and it's already a bit out of date. At the time of it's publication, it was just beginning to settle in with Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Iceland that the rest of the world was going to get a chance to watch interest rates set records as credit stopped circulating. It's good, but you probably know about this, and more, by now. If not--well, then you're probably sleeping easier then Peer Steinbruck, Germany's finance minister. He though the problem would stay focused on American shores, and he made the mistake of saying so publicly a whole bunch of times. So now he looks sort of dopey.
-Besides the heavy fighting in Mogadishu that displaced thousands and left hundreds dead, the big story has been the pirates--they'd already captured more than 60 ships this year before they made the worldwide front page for grabbing a Ukrainian ship with 33 tanks. The Economist presents a pretty standard and easily agreeable solution: the already in place naval task-force staffed by a hodgepodge of countries needs to beef up it's fleet and go kick their asses before they do more damage. As with anything else like this, the hope is that somebody, somewhere, will do something before this story goes from what it is now--a mild irritation for a small number--to what it can become, which is something far, far worse. While the Economist goes on to argue that something needs to be done about Somalia itself, as it's been nothing more then a raging civil war with borders for years now, they don't harbor the fantasy too strongly--after all, if there's one thing that Somalia has proven to be, time and time again, is a place that no one wants to do the work to fix. At this point, the question might be if the idea of "fixing" is even possible anymore. Sad state of affairs, this one.
-European far-right parties are struggling their way towards power in Austria, following in the shoes of Italy's Northern League and Denmark's People's Party. Just to be clear, when using the term "far-right" to describe a political party, that doesn't translate to "European version of Republican," which is part and parcel of what's irritating about using the right/left terminalogy anyway: the People's Party doesn't have a stance on much besides not wanting anybody to immigrate (read: Muslims) to Denmark and there's no limit to the amount of upsetting stuff one can say about the Northern League. Whether they have solid plans for economics or government is something beyond the scope of this brief op-ed, but safely put: who gives a shit what their economics plans are? These cats are straight-up bigots, and they're delivering hate in smiles and suits. Austria: get your shit together, and start voting like you know what you're doing.
Letters
On the other side of the letters page is an advertisement designed by a good friend who also serves as an excellent model of a classic funny drunk. The letters page itself consists of another letter regarding old Blake Hudson, who readers of this column might remember as the guy who wrote in twice so he could showcase to the world what a boring whiner he is. Now Daniel Blumstein has written in to point out that Hudson's complaint--that the expensive tract of land Hudson wants "conserved," the one he has virulent concerns about due to the likelihood an Obama presidency will change estate taxation in such a way that makes ownership of the land financially unfeasible--is basically a moot, stupid point, as a conservation easement could easily be arranged that would provide the revenue necessary to pay the taxes, and it would serve to preserve the land in perpetuity. Which begs the question if "conservation" was really Hudson's motivation in the first place, or if he's just trying to make a name for himself in the Economist letter column. Actually it doesn't really beg that question. It's actually just a guy saying "that moron is a moron" and the Economist saying "yeah we know, that's why we published his first two letters."
United States
-So the Economist did a poll of 683 economists from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Out of the 683, 142 responded. 46% of them identified as Democrats, 10% as Republicans, and 44% as neither. If you're reading along at home, then just wait until you turn the page to look at what all the graphed answers say. That's what I did. I tried to figure out in my head how that kind of breakdown would answer questions about the political candidates if the questions were all about their fiscal policies. And yeah, it's sort of interesting, I guess, if you're just really bored and want to know what 142 people said to an online survey. Here's the thing though--wouldn't it be more interesting to survey the 541 economists who didn't answer? Not even about this, just a survey about why they ignored the survey. That, now that would be interesting. Also, cake.
-Oh, Fort Mill, South Carolina. Will you ever get to live down the fact that your mayor circulated an e-mail suggesting that Barack Obama is the Antichrist? You really shouldn't get too. You should be shunned, like that weird ass Southern town that kept having segregated high school proms in the late 90's. Here's the response from the mayor: "I was just curious if there was any validity to it. I was trying to get documentation if there was any Scripture to back it up." Wait, that's your response? That you wanted you and your email buddies to check their Bibles, conveniently located next to their Rubix cubes and Garbage Pail Kids stickers, and see if there was some rarely quoted passage in Revelations where God mentioned that the Antichrist would come in the form of a pragmatic Democratic politician who happens to be running for President of a country that didn't exist even in fantasy when the acid-trip portion of the Holy Book was scribed? Oh wait I get it, it was one of those things were you look for some kind of loopy "teachings", like the ones they have in there about how my wife is supposed to sleep in a tent a mile from my campsite when her period turns up. Will some intelligent Christians hurry up and do something valuable soon and get these turds off the radar?
-By the way, did you know that half of retiring Congressmen end up as lobbyists? Or that, despite Obama's claims that he won't take money from lobbyists, he will allow them to volunteer for his campaign and take the maximum allowable donations from their relatives? How about all the former Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lobbyists who work for John McCain? Or the amount of money that Obama took from Fannie and Freddie, which puts him at number two on their "we give this guy a lot of money" sheet? Seriously, the whole reason people buy the Economist is so that they don't have to read these kinds of articles. We're supposed to walk away after 112 pages thinking that there's really a big difference between these two dudes, beyond the obvious one. (Age! Ha, you're a racist.)
-Not from the Economist, but too awesome not to be here: fuck all that issues shit. Barack Obama's favorite television show is MASH. John McCain's is Dexter and The Wire.
-Lexington writes the article he's probably been stewing in for a while, which is the takedown of the Bush legacy. Wait, didn't you read this like 800 million times before? Yeah, probably, but hey, it's Lexington. He uses the term "fag-end" to describe the time period of Bush's current presidency. It's fun stuff.
The Americas
-You might be surprised at how effectively this article covers the current position of the South American economy, as well as loosely estimating the possible impact of the global financial crisis (which has only recently begun its impact upon the continent.) Then again, you might not. I can't predict how much you know about South America, I'm not your dad. Either way, things look to be bad for Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador, while possibly okay for Chile, Brazil, Columbia & Peru. Mexico is more of a wait-and-see problem. Besides the slowdown in immigration to the US (as well as the drop in money sent back), they've also got to deal with the drop in exports.
-Although the previous article makes it clear that two of the most dangerous and ill-prepared countries in South America remain Venezuela (because Chavez is, at his core, a idiotic blowhard incapable of an intelligent economic policy) and Argentina (which is run by a woman whose understanding of economic policy is made up of whatever she thinks she might have read when she heard a tape of a speech by somebody like Chavez), Ecudaor doesn't have to go that route, except for the fact that now they kind of do, because President Rafael Correa says they do, and the electorate didn't really pay attention to the goofball consitution they just approved by a two-thirds majority. Ah, the apathy of Ecuadorian voters: god this tastes like syrup
Asia
-Well, it's about time for you to look into what kind of deals you can find in Auto Trader--seems like the Taliban is getting all growed up and such. No more bans on music, television, kite-flying, dog-fighting (thank god, that ban on dog-fighting was really putting a crunch on the pledge drives) and, yes, finally: you can be a member even if you shave on a regular basis. It's all part of the new Taliban--still as bloodthirsty and reprehensible as the old Taliban, but more likely to appeal to--oh, you know. All those civilians who are getting sick of living in a war zone.
-Hey, Japan is getting in on the economic stimulus plan too! Their version is around $115 billion, although it's got more in common with the "go buy yourself something you really want, as long as 'really want' means around six-hundred bucks worth of baubles and dreamcatchers" plan that the US had a while back, as opposed to the "make sure some of these banks don't end up completely insolvent" one everybody was hemming and hawing about stateside. There's also the difference that what Japan's economy really needs is for America, as well as Europe, to start buying consumer products again. So maybe Taro Aso should just give the money to American consumers? Hey, just spitballing here. I think we can all promise to buy more Playstation crap, can't we? It'll be like charity.
-Chinese Christians may, if various word-of-mouth sources with a vested interest are accurate, number around 130 million, beating out official Communist party members by almost sixty million people. Still, Chinese Christians aren't a real focused group--most of them are broken up into what are called "house churches" that can't meet in groups larger then 25 at a time, and they don't have an overall governing body that can maintain any level of coherence throughout. (Anybody can be a pastor, and most house church sevices don't go too far beyond a glorified Bible study led by whomever has deemed themselves "in charge." As one pastor puts it "The two-year-old Christian teaches the one-year-old.") Still, this bodes well as a story to keep up on--Christianity can be as politicized a faith as Islam, and it's got quite a few tenets that stand in direct opposition to a Communist party that officially forbids members to hold religious beliefs of any kind. Either Chinese Christianity's desire for widespread acceptance and freedom of worship will happen, or it won't--but it's not a case that will be determined in a quiet fashion. Ah, the future--will you ever not be wrought with conflict?
-In English, we call it "crowdsourcing" when a bunch of people hook up on the Internet to talk shit about an individual politician, set up an irritating flash mob that will somehow convince people to do something about gas prices, or just to flood a New Yorker film critic's email box with death threats for saying that the Dark Knight didn't have comprehensible cinematography when it came time for fight scenes. China, who supposedly once called the Coen Brothers film Fargo "Murder In Snowy White Cream", refer to crowdsourcing "Human-flesh searching." Too which I say--god, what the hell do you call it that for?
Middle East and Africa
-In case you want more about Somalia, because you're worried that positive mood you are in might not be fraying at the edges as much as you'd like, here you go: the only people currently active on the ground, trying to prevent the number of dead civilians from passing this years 9,000 total, is a small 7,000 soldier contingent out of Ethiopia. While they'd love to pass off the responsibility to a team of UN peacekeepers, there isn't one promised anytime soon, as the UN is still trying to meet the promise it already made to send a group to Darfur. (Did you know that the United Nations announces it will send a group of soldiers to an area and then fails to meet the promise with action? I was unaware, and wonder why the Economist didn't do an article on this before--the promise of peacekeepers in Darfur is months old.)
-Both Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon are dealing with resurgent terrorist groups, but they don't seem to be doing so very effectively. Yemen's problems are wrapped up in it being an incredibly poor country that's suffering from a massive influx of border-crossing terrorists looking for a place to hide out and then deciding to practice their bombing skills while doing so, whereas speculation abounds as to what's happening in Syria and Lebanon. It's safe to imagine that the problems in the two latter countries stem from their constant manipulation in renegade terrorist groups--as the US learned with Afghanistan, sometimes the people you pay and teach to kill may eventually decide to turn around and bite back. Still, Syria and Lebanon aren't places that allow for much reportage--most of the article is gleaned from guestimation based on rumor.
-General David Petraeus is, according to the Economist, America's favorite general. I find that odd, as I doubt there's a massive amount of Americans who could even come up with Petraeus' name on a bet, but then again, most of the people I hear talk about the war only mention the American military in passing, as if they exist solely as an outgrowth of a politician they hate, less so as a group of vibrant, living human beings in what even the most red-blooded of right-wingers would agree is a pretty terrible situation. Still, if the Economist is right about Petraeus, it isn't hard to imagine why he's looked upon with fawning praise--try comparing what you know about the Rumsfeld doctrine against the general's thinking on counterinsurgency, made up of "25 pithy maxims" like "We cannot kill our way out of this endeavour." If nothing else, this cat certainly seems to be the right person for the current job, a job that no one would willfully seek out for themselves.
Europe
-Not really sure how to describe the plan for state subsidies to supplement low pay in France, subsidies which will be paid for by leveling an extra 1.1% ta on capital income. Is there any explanation that makes sense for that not to being one that ends up with the definition being wealth re-distribution? It's not really the point of the article, which is just an open description of the various ways in which France is responding to the economic situation. It is, however, the most notable part.
-Belarus had another "election" where the dictator's friends and loyalists won every seat available. Still, it's sort of not completely awful news, since Alyaksandr Lukashenka has gone ahead and started eking out the most simple of reforms in an attempt to escape the American and European Union sanctions currently crippling the country. Still, it's not like Belarus has magically become a place anybody wants to go to.
-Charlemagne takes a look at how the European Union has done on its claim 18 months ago that they would take a leading role in changing the way they use, develop and produce energy and thereby lead the world in combatting climate change. As is immediately pointed out, these claims were made back when all the Euoropean economies were doing pretty well, and therefore all that stuff about using something besides coal (which provides 90% of Poland's electricity) and cutting down on depending on Russian oil (yeah, right, no change there) is going to have to wait. Forever.
Britain
-The British political parties had a big vote to figure out who there favorite party member of all time was, which seems...I don't know, doesn't that seem like a waste of the workday? It's not like they did it in their spare time, you know? It's not like it was raining and they were all sitting around because they had a Labour party softball game planned anyway, so why not do a little popularity poll. Hell, the Guardian even organized the event. Doesn't the fucking Guardian have better shit to do? Oh well, no one cares but me, and it ain't like I vote there anyway. Margaret Thatcher was the Tory winner, big surprise, and James Keir Hardie was the Labour choice.
-Bagehot gives the rundown of the annual Tory conference in Birmingham, most of which focuses on the same thing that everything else has to focus on at this point--that neither Tory nor Labour can really talk about anything else right now but the current British financial crisis. Although David Cameron is still being groomed as the answer to Labour's unpopular Gordon Brown, his new "hope for change" platform can't pretend that it will have the money to "change" much, since, you know. Financial crisis, so on. I wish it wasn't a boring buzzphrase too, but seriously. It's a news magazine called the Economist, and what do you think they're going to talk about? So yeah, David Cameron: any plans and promises he makes have to be viewed under the view of this: he's not in power, and he may or may not be at some point, but either way, the only thing any British politician is going to be able to actaully focus on is going to be money.
International (God I'd Like To Punch You)
-The last few weeks in the International section have been pretty damn okay. All that is over with here, and we're back to--ugh. A long article on whether or not Wall Street and other global corporations owe "the people" an apology. God, what an incredible waste of time. Who cares about shit like this? Wait, no. Why does the Economist think that the kind of people who do care about shit like this read the Economist? They don't. They read the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants and the Boy Scout Handbook. Because they're children.
Business
-Warren Buffett doesn't come across as a dude who makes a lot of mistakes, and if he's going to put three billion into General Electric, maybe the rest of us should take a gander at the new $12 billion worth of shares that old GE has dumped onto the market. Then again, GE is only worth $244 billion at this point, as opposed to what they were worth last year. (Double that.) Of course, it's not like it really makes a lot of difference to most people, because most people are more interested in shares in milk at this juncture.
-A new plan for selling and making money in the music industry looks to spend some time pretending to give away free online-music subscription handsets (by subsidizing the costs within the monthly costs of the phone) and then offering it for a specified fee later. It's a mugs game, at best--by embracing the attitude that mp3's shouldn't cost anything, which is exactly why they don't display the cost openly, they're ensuring that all new consumers will view recorded music solely as a free commodity. Still, the music industry isn't really choking back a lot of great ideas right now, so we'll have to wait and see how this pans out. I do think "nothing" accurately describes what anyone should be paying to listen to Nickelback and any of the American Idol winners though.
-Face value, the business column that's rarely mentioned here unless it's about a fictional Japanese cartoon character or a trumpet piece about a woman who got fired the week it was published, happens to have a pretty interesting story about Hans Wijers, a chief executive for AkzoNobel, which recently finalized a takeover of ICI, making AkzoNobel the world's biggest maker of paints as well as one of the largest overall chemical corporations in the world. Wijers is most well known in the Netherlands for being the guy who figured out a way to shut down some pretty intense policies that ensured that shops and supermarkets were closed down at 5:30PM everyday. I can't remember the last time I've been able to go shopping for food on a weekday before 7:30 at the latest, so I think I'd remember this guys name too.
-At the same time that the original $700 billion bail-out didn't pass, Congress, the Senate and he-who-will be-played-by-the-dude-from-Young Riders agreed to give $25 billion to General Motors, Ford & Chrysler. Not just because of the economic crisis, but also because they spent the past couple of years making massive gas-guzzlers that nobody can afford to keep topped off. While I hate to be "that guy," I'll tough it out this time: what a stupid bullshit cockamamie fucking thing to do. Look for the airline industry to come a-begging soon enough.
Finance and Economics
-So both American presidential candidates want to increase deposit insurance from $100,000 to a quarter million. Yeah, you already knew that, but here you go: that just increases the amount of bank deposits that are protected from 27% to 38%, and the FDIC only has available funds to cover around 1.5% of commercial bank deposits anyway. Of course, there's still the two extremes that the US hasn't emulated--Australians, who have absolutely no deposit insurance whatsoever if a bank collapses, and Ireland, who decided to cover the entirety of all their bank deposits. (Which roughly equals to twice of the countries GDP.) So, yeah. There's that.
-The Economist tries it's hand at snark in a short piece where they make fun of failed companies for their marketing taglines: IndyMa probably wins some votes for worst with "You can count on us," but I agree with the magazine. Washington Mutual saying "Whoo hoo"? I think I'm glad you're out of business.
-Buttonwood's schizophrenic column on Finance hits a high note this week, as he usually does when he writes to my taste, which roughly translates to "something I can feel confident that I understand." (The rest of the time I just cry and fetal-up because it never feels good to be reminded how incredibly stupid years of over-the-counter drug addiction have left me.) What he's talking about this week is something we can all identify with: he's talking about the Norman Vincent Peale effect, where the economy can only get worse if we all keep standing around and saying how sick and old it looks. It'll just stop trying, you know? It'll go to K-Mart or Target, a place like that, get a five-pack of spandex stirrup pants and just start pouring Cool Ranch Pringles down it's throat while it wait around for the Cinemax channel to update whatever soft-core skin flicks are featured "On Demand." As Halle Berry once said to Billy Bob Thornton, the economy is looking at us right now, tears all running down it's face, and it's going "make me feel good."
Science and Technology
-Catholics versus scientists, but it ain't about history this time--it's about the future. The future of death. That's right, Catholics believe there needs to be a set definition of when death is death, not when death is "use grandma as an organ farm." Scientists are trying really hard to take the argument seriously, but are having a difficult go of out, since most scientists don't like it when some non-doctor type person starts telling them how they should go about doing their job.
-If you're still waiting to hear when they plan to send that boy-band singer into space, his name escapes as I do not care and am upset I know that much, then here's a breakdown of where things are at with SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and GeoOptics, three of the companies currently pursuing some form of commercial space travel. Some want to do satellites, some just want to find a way to get people off world. Either way, it's only in your price range if you're someone who doesn't keep up with the term "price range." If you've got to ask, no, you can't afford it, and you never, ever will. Alternatively, you'll miss nothing that turning off all the lights in your closet and spinning around until you puke can't give you.
Books and Arts
-If you've lost your faith in America, both Justin Webb and Bronwen Maddox have a couple of books they'd like to sell you. What's that? You're broke? Well, that kind of screws everything up, because the people who can afford to blow money on hardcover books about why America still deserves your hope, pride and faith aren't the ones who really need to be reading them. Wait, maybe we can get the government to pay for them. Or give them away free. You know, like we all lived in a commune, and we shared things. Would you like to read them then, comrade?
-Some dude named Timothy Ryback has a book coming out next year, in February, and it's all about Hitler's favorite books. I'd imagine that it might be helpful to a biographer to know this kind of stuff, but is there really that much of a market for a book like this? There's enough people willing to buy a $25.00 hardcover called Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His LIfe that Knopf was convinced to publish it? I can get behind reading Mein Kampf, don't get me wrong, that thing totally has some impact and importance, despite how incredibly fucking stupid the whole thing reads, but seriously: 304 pages on the books Hitler liked? Why?
-I don't know if the books editor just didn't talk to any of the other Asian correspondants for this magazine, or if that individual just doesn't read that part of the magazine, but it's kind of curious to me that this review of a book about Chinese capitalism doesn't get more then just the top spot in the Arts section. If I'm reading it correctly--which I bet I am, since it's a book review and those aren't really that demanding in the comprehension department--then what the book argues, which the Economist then takes at face value, is that the rise of the urban based economy has effectively destroyed the rural forms of capitalism that had begun to rise on their own in the years ensuing after Mao's death. It pushes the idea that the reforms in China have actually hurt pre-existing organic forms of free enterprise that were still in the toddler stage, resulting in a form of state-based economic controls that have ceded, even more then usual, the rein of financial power to the Communist party. While no one has ever argued that what China is doing is what anybody but the crazy optimistic liar would call a "free market," this publication, as well as many other noted ones, have oft argued that the reforms (this article refers to the popular "Shanghai model" that gets talked about a lot) are responsible for the growth in the Chinese economy, as well as the rise in consumer spending. Interestingly enough, this has a bit more in common with the current financial crisis, although that's just my own extrapolation--if Yasheng Huang is correct, then China is actually following one the worst of the American mistakes, and tying government-backed companies into a growth pattern that's based on constant acceleration of consumption. (Although America argues that they don't back a lot of companies, things like farm and airline subsidies, as well as the bail-out plan, point to a different answer.) While that will obviously work for a while--China does contain a hefty portion of the world's population--it doesn't account for the fact that China has yet to actively create a consumer market anywhere near the voraciousness required. Either way, this is an article that the Economist shouldn't have shunted to the book review section, especially if they aren't going to present any major counterargument. It just makes the whole thing look too weird.
Obituary: Paul Newman
-Well, not a whole lot to say about this one, eh? "His sauces and snacks, sold for charity from 1982 onwards, turned him into the most generous individual, relative to his income, in the 20th-century history of the United States." My favorite was probably Cool Hand Luke, but it's a tough call. Hud is a definite contender. Not a lot of people get a chance to do it all, this guy, he pretty much did. I was sitting in this convention panel listening to people talk about upcoming events in DC Comics when I found out, and while it wasn't a big emotional reaction, it did make what already felt like a silly thing to be doing seem even more mundane.
-Next Week In The Economist Versus Idiot, it's all about the economy, all the time and sweet loving Lord of mercy, this stuff never, ever gets any easier. At this point in history, the best way to be cool with all this stuff is one of two choices--go full on nihilist and start sharpening a buck knife, or just stop paying attention at all to any form of news media that isn't somehow tied into Perez Hilton and Ryan Seacrest.
all art property of economist unless noted below
gunclock from roger ibars, graph from graphjam, my super sweet sixteen from mtv, welcome-have a deer copyright abdurahman, thatcher from the guardian, i don't know who owns the seventh seal or new jack city but i bet you can find them and they still won't sue me because nobody cares, blessed art thou copyright kate kretz
You are on this week. Plenty of laugh out loud-isms. Also, what the fuck is up with Congress shelling out $25 bil to automakers? Why aren't people pointing out that this is fucking stupid and complaining like with the bailout? Goddamn news is busy talking about McCain calling Obama "this one" and shit like that. Hey, actual news worthy of discussion going on over here! Idiots.
Also, McCain likes The Tudors and Lost. I get Radar (for some reason), so I end up reading that shit like you read the smart news. There's actually some interesting stuff in that magazine; the latest issue has a story about Amanda Knox, the American girl who is almost certainly being framed for murder in Italy and a drug called Ibogaine that seems to be a cure for addiction but will probably never actually be legalized. I actually feel somewhat informed when I read it. How about that?
Posted by: Matthew J. Brady | 2008.10.12 at 09:38
Thank God! Dammit, Tucker, I had to buy a copy of the Economist last week for myself and actually *gasp* read it! Fuck that shit! I'm an American! I want my work done by someone else and my news delivered in quick, short bursts with sarcasm!
(And yes, I'm making fun of my own laziness, not you. You actually got me to buy an issue of the Economist on my own. So, props to you.)
Posted by: Kenny | 2008.10.12 at 10:35
Amalia over at the AV Club made a great point that McCain may not necessarily be truthful about his tv watching, but he does seem to bring up dexter quite a bit. It wouldn't surprise me for it to be bullshit--i totally hope Obama is just straight up lying about Mash, because--c'mon. Fucking Mash? How is that anybodies "favorite" tv show? Movie, I can see. But television?
Kenny, if you really bought the Economist because I didn't post about it, I want that copy, and I want to frame it so that everytime I'm too tired, too horny, or just too whatever, I remember who I'm doing this for. You're the man.
Posted by: Tucker Stone | 2008.10.12 at 18:14
Tucker, it's a true story. I have the issue right here next to me with Henry Paulson as Uncle Sam. I rave about your weekly re-cap all week long to anyone who will listen, so when you took that week off, I felt like I had to do something drastic to get my fix: buy my own copy and try to make sarcastic quips. I was, um, unsuccessful at bringing the funny, but I read the damn thing.
But yeah, if you want it, I'll gladly mail it to you. Can you see my e-mail address from when I comment? If so, e-mail me your address and I'll mail it to you.
Posted by: Kenny | 2008.10.12 at 20:52
BTW, if you were joking, now you can see why I need someone else to read a damn magazine for me! lol
Posted by: Kenny | 2008.10.12 at 20:55
"Ah, the apathy of Ecuadorian voters"
It's not apathy the problem. People, for reasons that I just don't goddamn get and burn my ass, actually think the stupid new constitution is going to solve everything... SOMEHOW! And the people who are not that optimistic, but voted in favor of it anyway did it as a sign of rejection to all the previous politicians that have ruled the country for years. People are so hungry for a change they don't seem to mind they are trading the frying pan for some awesome looking fire.
Correa is just another guy in a long line of messianic assholes who become president here by knowing how to work a crowd more than having plans that make any goddamn sense. And the saddest thing is that when people tire of him, he will be replaced by another one just like him.
The only good thing about the economic collapse is that Correa won't be able to keep with all his Santa Claus-like campaign promises and he'll either get kicked out of the job or have to shape up his show before he does too much damage.
You know what Correa said when asked if he was worried about the U.S. economic problems? He said that he will worry about the U.S. economy when the U.S. worries about the Ecuadorian economy. Which, as you know, is not the goddamn point. God! I hate that ass. I think I just wanted to vent.
Posted by: Juan Arteaga | 2008.10.13 at 18:07
Man, Obama's move to the centre wrt to TV is pronounced - he originally touted The Wire as his fave prog and fucking OMAR as his favourite character - "I don't approve his actions though, of course".
Posted by: Duncan | 2008.10.13 at 19:44
Juan,
Your comment is exactly why I live and die for this article like a crack junkie. Your comment kicked the shit out of any of the letters in the actual Economist magazine! it was much more insightful and passionate.
Posted by: | 2008.10.14 at 08:50
I've gotta second that remark Juan. Great rant.
Posted by: Tucker Stone | 2008.10.14 at 09:06
Yo, I'm not sure the pop culture debate would have been a lock for McCain. He would have blown it on music, when he tried to defend ABBA and Linda Ronstadt while Obama just quoted some Jay-Z and Bob Dylan lyrics.
Posted by: Marty | 2008.10.14 at 11:00
Marty, marty, marty. Marty! One more time, here we go:
The Wire = Winner of all pop cultural arguments.
Q: "Why does TV matter?"
A: "The Wire."
Q: "Which is better, the new Hair Police album or the re-release of last years Yellow Swans album?"
A: "The Wire."
Q: "I like Sportsnight."
A: "The Wire."
Q: "Dark Knight made almost as much as Titanic."
A: "The Wire."
Q: "The Wire."
A: "The Wire."
Bob Dylan + MASH + Jay-Z doesn't equal the Wire. Doesn't even come close.
Posted by: Tucker Stone | 2008.10.14 at 11:14
See, I get what you're saying, but you gotta ask yourself if you want to hang with someone who listens to ABBA AND watches The Wire. That takes a very special kind of dementia.
Posted by: Marty | 2008.10.14 at 13:48