"this is a great wall."
From a brief about most-stolen books:Does downtown still exist--and does it matter? The quick answer to the first question is no...As little kids in New York in the 1980s, my brother and I were scared (I blush to remember) of punks' metallic studs and mohawks; its hard to imagine first graders being terrified of a hipster in a trucker cap and expensive jeans. Today, the city is so expensive that the real Bohemians are dispersed among disparate, far flung neighborhoods.
But maybe that's not so tragic. After all, the third factor in the disappearance of Downtown is the Internet...If there is to be a new downtown, it is probably taking shape in a city like Portland, Ore., out among the fresh pine trees, and those of us in New York can visit it online.
He added, interestingly, that the engimatic novels of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami have begin to disappear at a fast clip. His explanation: "In his own way, Murakami is a subversive writer with an outlaw sensibility. His characters have this everyman thing going on, but they are also working against the grain."
Op-Ed Contributor
Recounting Our Way to DemocracyMexico City
NOT since 1910, when another controversial election sparked a revolution, has Mexico been so fraught with political tension.
The largest demonstrations in our history are daily proof that millions of Mexicans want a full accounting of last month’s presidential election. My opponent, Felipe Calderón, currently holds a razor-thin lead of 243,000 votes out of 41 million cast, but Mexicans are still waiting for a president to be declared.
Unfortunately, the electoral tribunal responsible for ratifying the election results thwarted the wishes of many Mexicans and refused to approve a nationwide recount. Instead, their narrow ruling last Saturday allows for ballot boxes in only about 9 percent of polling places to be opened and reviewed.
This is simply insufficient for a national election where the margin was less than one percentage point — and where the tribunal itself acknowledged evidence of arithmetic mistakes and fraud, noting that there were errors at nearly 12,000 polling stations in 26 states.
It’s worth reviewing the history of this election. For months, voters were subjected to a campaign of fear. President Vicente Fox, who backed Mr. Calderón, told Mexicans to change the rider, but not the horse — a clear rebuke to the social policies to help the poor and disenfranchised that were at the heart of my campaign. Business groups spent millions of dollars in television and radio advertising that warned of an economic crisis were I to win.
It’s my contention that government programs were directed toward key states in the hope of garnering votes for Mr. Calderón. The United Nations Development Program went so far as to warn that such actions could improperly influence voters. Where support for my coalition was strong, applicants for government assistance were reportedly required to surrender their voter registration cards, thereby leaving them disenfranchised.
And then came the election. Final pre-election polls showed my coalition in the lead or tied with Mr. Calderón’s National Action Party. I believe that on election day there was direct manipulation of votes and tally sheets. Irregularities were apparent in tens of thousands of tally sheets. Without a crystal-clear recount, Mexico will have a president who lacks the moral authority to govern.
Public opinion backs this diagnosis. Polls show that at least a third of Mexican voters believe the election was fraudulent and nearly half support a full recount.
And yet the electoral tribunal has ordered an inexplicably restrictive recount. This defies comprehension, for if tally sheet alterations were widespread, the outcome could change with a handful of votes per station.
Our tribunals — unlike those in the United States — have been traditionally subordinated to political power. Mexico has a history of corrupt elections where the will of the people has been subverted by the wealthy and powerful. Grievances have now accumulated in the national consciousness, and this time we are not walking away from the problem. The citizens gathered with me in peaceful protest in the Zócalo, the capital’s grand central plaza, speak loudly and clearly: Enough is enough.
In the spirit of Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we seek to make our voices heard. We lack millions for advertising to make our case. We can only communicate our demand to count all the votes by peaceful protest.
After all, our aim is to strengthen, not damage, Mexico’s institutions, to force them to adopt greater transparency. Mexico’s credibility in the world will only increase if we clarify the results of this election.
We need the goodwill and support of those in the international community with a personal, philosophical or commercial interest in Mexico to encourage it to do the right thing and allow a full recount that will show, once and for all, that democracy is alive and well in this republic.
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7//13//0642% say they're conservative and really are conservative"Duh" Breakthrough: The answer to recent trendy question, "Why is it that girls are doing way better in college than they did 30 years ago while boys are treading water?" It's just another reason why girls rule and boys drool: video games.
5% say they're liberal but are actually conservative
13% are genuinely centrist (or perhaps just confused)
13% say they're conservative but are actually liberal
27% say they're liberal and really are liberal from Washington Monthly
The mayor of a small Bergen County town is calling for a McDonald's boycott if the fast-food chain does not take down a Spanish-language billboard advertising iced coffee.
Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan said the advertisement is "offensive" and "divisive" because it sends a message that Hispanic im migrants do not need to learn English.
"The true things that bind us together as neighbors and community is our belief in the American flag and our common language," Lonegan said. "And when McDonald's sends a different message, that we're going to be different now, that causes resentment."
In a June 13 speech in Hong Kong, Hawking said the survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy Earth.He said that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.
Dear Fernanda of the Future,Ah, yes, that perfect day. And here I am, reading an entry I actually adressed to my future self, reading it as a full-year future self, meant to serve as a super detailed memory outliner of when you were most in love...ok, sorry. i'm aware this is neat only to me.
I'm writing this letter to you to make sure you don't forget how delightful this day was. You loved a lot today. Or, perhaps you just realized how fully you did.
...You put on a salmon-pink ruffled chiffon skirt that wasn't really a skirt, but more of a scarf, over your jeans, and put your wet hair up, waiting until you got picked up. He would later tell you you looked very nice today, that...well...i mean, you always do, but today especially. Then you were whisked off by this ruggedly handsome man at your door, wearing what some would consider an offensive tshirt condemning the sanctity of marriage. You held hands while he drove, something you do a lot yet manages to always surprise and comfort you........
...Be Good,
Fernanda of the sixth of July.
