That rather sad, muffled noise you hear behind the whoops and cheers of Democrat America is not the sound of defeated neocons mourning the passing of trickle-down economics; it is the sound of sobbing in the Élysée Palace. For Carla Bruni, reigning queen of First Ladies, the game is finally up. Cindy McCain would have been a push-over; even Sarah Palin she could have coped with, sexy specs or otherwise. But in Michelle Obama, Ms Bruni has truly met her match. This is a First Lady like none before. In truth, from the moment Michelle Obama stepped on to that podium at the Democrat convention what seems like, ooh, about three million years ago, we all secretly knew which way this race was going. Sure, he had big, sticky-out ears; sure, all those luvvies made that embarrassing YouTube song about him; but if Michelle thought that he was OK -- if she chose him -- then he just had to be a good man. Everything about this woman speaks to the modern, post-feminist woman: she is manifestly clever, independently minded, attractive in a normal, accessible way (and not in a scary, plastic-fantastic Cindy way). Her demeanour is a reassuring mixture of sassy and self-deprecating; her easy, confident dress sense neither too sexy nor too self-conscious. Most of all, however, she appears to be the personification of sanity, a woman who, while clearly supportive of her husband's quest for world domination, is nevertheless not afraid to point out when he is danger of drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid.
That rather sad, muffled noise you hear behind the whoops and cheers of Democrat America is not the sound of defeated neocons mourning the passing of trickle-down economics; it is the sound of sobbing in the Élysée Palace. For Carla Bruni, reigning queen of First Ladies, the game is finally up. Cindy McCain would have been a push-over; even Sarah Palin she could have coped with, sexy specs or otherwise. But in Michelle Obama, Ms Bruni has truly met her match. This is a First Lady like none before.
In truth, from the moment Michelle Obama stepped on to that podium at the Democrat convention what seems like, ooh, about three million years ago, we all secretly knew which way this race was going. Sure, he had big, sticky-out ears; sure, all those luvvies made that embarrassing YouTube song about him; but if Michelle thought that he was OK -- if she chose him -- then he just had to be a good man.
Everything about this woman speaks to the modern, post-feminist woman: she is manifestly clever, independently minded, attractive in a normal, accessible way (and not in a scary, plastic-fantastic Cindy way). Her demeanour is a reassuring mixture of sassy and self-deprecating; her easy, confident dress sense neither too sexy nor too self-conscious. Most of all, however, she appears to be the personification of sanity, a woman who, while clearly supportive of her husband's quest for world domination, is nevertheless not afraid to point out when he is danger of drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid.
As the eulogies wash over Barack Obama today, he can at least rely on his wife Michelle Obama - America's next First Lady - to bring him down to earth. Others may gush over her husband but Michelle Obama, not only the first black First Lady but one of the youngest presidential wives since Jackie Kennedy, likes to be brutally honest about him.Unlike some First Ladies, the 44-year-old Princeton and Harvard Law School graduate, and working mother of two, is certainly her own woman. In her words, she doesn't want to be "so tied to all that (Barack) is that I don't have anything for me".Critics have labelled her arrogant, haughty, cold and an "angry black woman". Supporters portray her instead as independent-minded, unafraid to speak out and a devoted mother who puts family firmly before career.During the campaign she would give a standard 45 minute stump speech, which she wrote herself and delivered without notes. While other would-be presidential wives traditionally stick to sunny, uncontroversial topics, Mrs Obama would tackle issues such as education and inequality.
Others may gush over her husband but Michelle Obama, not only the first black First Lady but one of the youngest presidential wives since Jackie Kennedy, likes to be brutally honest about him.
Unlike some First Ladies, the 44-year-old Princeton and Harvard Law School graduate, and working mother of two, is certainly her own woman. In her words, she doesn't want to be "so tied to all that (Barack) is that I don't have anything for me".
Critics have labelled her arrogant, haughty, cold and an "angry black woman". Supporters portray her instead as independent-minded, unafraid to speak out and a devoted mother who puts family firmly before career.
During the campaign she would give a standard 45 minute stump speech, which she wrote herself and delivered without notes. While other would-be presidential wives traditionally stick to sunny, uncontroversial topics, Mrs Obama would tackle issues such as education and inequality.
That rather sad, muffled noise you hear behind the whoops and cheers of Democrat America is not the sound of defeated neocons mourning the passing of trickle-down economics; it is the sound of sobbing in the Élysée Palace. For Carla Bruni, reigning queen of First Ladies, the game is finally up.
When in doubt, bash something (mostly) French. Un - friggin-believable. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
That could be interesting.
And "(mostly) French"? Don't go all Caribou Barbie on us. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Highlights of the IEA report In a flagship report due to be published next week by the International Energy Agency, the developed world's energy watchdog doubles its forecast the price for oil will reach by 2030 and predicts the era of cheap oil is over. Below are the report's highlights. (...) "Modern renewable technologies grow most rapidly, overtaking gas to become the second-largest source of electricity, behind coal, soon after 2010."
In a flagship report due to be published next week by the International Energy Agency, the developed world's energy watchdog doubles its forecast the price for oil will reach by 2030 and predicts the era of cheap oil is over. Below are the report's highlights.
(...)
"Modern renewable technologies grow most rapidly, overtaking gas to become the second-largest source of electricity, behind coal, soon after 2010."
Not sure how they get this number, but it's a stunning turnabout for the IEA, whose earlier predictions had wind power installations between now and 2030 at a yearly rythm half of the actually happening rythm last year. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
20 years too late, but in the spirit of Obama's "Green Jobs" plan, better than 40 years too late. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
BBC NEWS | The Reporters | Justin Webb
I have been talking to Francis Fukuyama - he of "end of history" fame - about whether or not America is really morphing into Europe...
...head explodes.
Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park,""Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said. Crichton died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after privately battling cancer.
He had also lectured Aliens Cause Global Warming.
