AdamSmith

Thank you in turn! I joined the party late, but made up for it by seeing Cody last night. Gentlemen, start your engines! Physically gorgeous, totally versatile, affectionate & sweet as sin. Review forthcoming.

What did you think? I'm as pink as they come. If you still worked, I would try to fix that by letting you fuck me all night. Arguing the whole time. Politics does make strange bedfellows. Long live!

Sorry -- I would rim Barack (& eat out Michelle) if offered the chance. Anyway I pay local taxes in the People's Republic of Cambridge, Mass. So I gave at the office.

I feel like I am all-night barebacking to say it, but I just about agree with 2h2t.

No, no! Kings posts are good too. The midcentury aesthetics pundits got it ass-about: More is more.

I had a good time too, even tho I only joined in on Sunday night at Dick's. Thanks to all.

I respectfully dissent. (As Their Honors say.) Example: In this recent thread -- http://www.maleescortreview.com/forum/inde...?showtopic=3357 -- Conway pointed us back to the well established (roughly half-century-old) Supreme Court precedent on which the Bush Administration based some of its decisions about wartime detainee rights. Before Conway's post, I had known the name of the precedent but not much about it. Thanks to Conway, I was provoked to go back and find out more about the original decision -- both its contents, which the administration relied on, and the reasons why some contemporary observers think the precedent may be shakier than its adherents would like to admit. Of course political discourse and argumentation will be skewed to one view or another. Even my last sentence in the paragraph above contains an implicit -- okay, explicit -- bias. But if we all make good-faith efforts to ensure that at least 51% of any political post consists of the facts, as opposed to the conclusions we draw from them, then other posters will have some basis to agree or disagree, and say why. I realize none of this really answers Caeron's or TY's point that brawls will ensue regardless. I have no answer to that. I just have a sense that this forum will be less enhanced than diminished if we banish all political discourse, even given the evils that such discourse necessarily risks.

I would enjoy still being able to discuss politics here. I grant all the risks that TY names here and in another thread -- that even the best-intentioned discussions, ballasted with facts out the wazoo, can easily tip over into demagogery (or whatever variant of that idea is meaningful here), vitriol, insults, etc. The only solution I can think of is to cordon off political discussion into its own forum. But even then, not hard to imagine that personal attacks originating there will spill over, if not in content then in tone, to the other forums here. I know what I want, but not how to have it while guaranteeing that management's expressed preferences for this community will be safeguarded. Anyone?

...Gets slightly nasty halfway through.

In this thread alone, TY knocks Matthews and Olbermann. I praise Buckley. TY praises Kathleen Parker, David Frum, Peggy Noonan, George Will. I compliment Frum. Lemme pile on further: Olbermann is really getting old, and Matthews is working hard to remove all doubt that he is a blithering idiot. Of Rachel Maddow we will not speak. Give it a rest already.

Wonders never cease. Brilliant though frequently off-color Onion News Network just won a Peabody, one of journalism's most prestigious awards. From the Peabody press release: Onion News Network (www.theonion.com) The Onion The satirical tabloid's online send-up of 24-hour cable-TV news was hilarious, trenchant and not infrequently hard to distinguish from the real thing. http://www.peabody.uga.edu/news/press_release.php?id=156 One of my favorite ONN pieces -- "Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport." By some accounts, bits of this actually got picked up as real news: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/prag...a_international Yuck: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/anon...hropist_donates Eek: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/age_...sion_technology

"...the war on drugs has pushed the incarceration business into overdrive. The number of people serving time for drugs has increased from 41,000 in 1980 to 500,000 today, or 55% of the population of federal prisons and 21% of those in state prisons..." From a new Economist article on efforts by Jim Webb to spur prison reform: http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstate...ory_id=13415267

Speaking of plungers (sorry!)... Where's Canada? 'Bathroom break' scuppers G20 family photo Spot the gap. World Leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chinese President Hu Jintao, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva pose for a group photograph at the G20 summit Summit etiquette has it that every major gathering of world leaders features a "family photo", in which - no matter how fierce the rows and recriminations behind the scenes - all the kings, presidents and prime ministers line up football-team style to smile for the cameras in a show of unity. But it seems that for the 2009 London Summit of the G20 there will be no comprehensive memento of all those attending, not because of any furious bust-ups or walkouts but - apparently - due to a simple call of nature. When the world leaders lined up for the scheduled photo-call after their working breakfast at the ExCeL Centre in Docklands this morning, cameras were already flashing before the whisper went round from some of the more eagle-eyed photographers: "Where's Canada?" By the time it was realised that Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper was indeed not present, the brief picture session was over, and his fellow world leaders were moving on to the next round of discussions. Rumour has it that Mr Harper had chosen an inopportune moment to take a "bathroom break". While Mr Harper was missing his opportunity to feature in the photographic record of the summit, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi used his showbiz instincts to ensure himself prime position. Every leader at this conference wants to be pictured close to glamorous new American president Barack Obama, but few would have the chutzpah to do it the way Berlusconi did. As the leaders got into place for the line-up, the Italian PM flung his arms around the shoulders of Mr Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and the three of them beamed into the camera lenses - Obama with his thumbs up - for all the world like a trio of old buddies. The organisers of the summit made a second attempt to arrange a family photo after the first two-hour session of talks, but their efforts to get all the G20 leaders on film was again thwarted, as this time Mr Berlusconi and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were missing. It is thought unlikely there will be time to make a third attempt. As Mr Harper arrived for the second photo-call, he was subjected to some light-hearted joshing by Mr Obama, who went over to welcome him with a pat on the back as if to congratulate him for having made it this time. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/po...to-1660658.html

Finally I am about to begin tweeting, on account of professional obligations. But the Luddite in me finds twitter truly idiotic. Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink • Newspaper to be available only on messaging service • Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters Rio Palof The Guardian, Wednesday 1 April 2009 Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology, the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication. The move, described as "epochal" by media commentators, will see all Guardian content tailored to fit the format of Twitter's brief text messages, known as "tweets", which are limited to 140 characters each. Boosted by the involvement of celebrity "twitterers", such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Stephen Fry, Twitter's profile has surged in recent months, attracting more than 5m users who send, read and reply to tweets via the web or their mobile phones. As a Twitter-only publication, the Guardian will be able to harness the unprecedented newsgathering power of the service, demonstrated recently when a passenger on a plane that crashed outside Denver was able to send real-time updates on the story as it developed, as did those witnessing an emergency landing on New York's Hudson River. It has also radically democratised news publishing, enabling anyone with an internet connection to tell the world when they are feeling sad, or thinking about having a cup of tea. "[Celebrated Guardian editor] CP Scott would have warmly endorsed this - his well-known observation 'Comment is free but facts are sacred' is only 36 characters long," a spokesman said in a tweet that was itself only 135 characters long. A mammoth project is also under way to rewrite the whole of the newspaper's archive, stretching back to 1821, in the form of tweets. Major stories already completed include "1832 Reform Act gives voting rights to one in five adult males yay!!!"; "OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5x6e for more"; and "JFK assassin8d @ Dallas, def. heard second gunshot from grassy knoll WTF?" Sceptics have expressed concerns that 140 characters may be insufficient to capture the full breadth of meaningful human activity, but social media experts say the spread of Twitter encourages brevity, and that it ought to be possible to convey the gist of any message in a tweet. For example, Martin Luther King's legendary 1963 speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial appears in the Guardian's Twitterised archive as "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by", eliminating the waffle and bluster of the original. At a time of unprecedented challenge for all print media, many publications have rushed to embrace social networking technologies. Most now offer Twitter feeds of major breaking news headlines, while the Daily Mail recently pioneered an iPhone application providing users with a one-click facility for reporting suspicious behaviour by migrants or gays. "In the new media environment, readers want short and punchy coverage, while the interactive possibilities of Twitter promise to transform th," the online media guru Jeff Jarvis said in a tweet yesterday, before reaching his 140-character limit, which includes spaces. According to subsequent reports, he is thinking about going to the theatre tonight, but it is raining : ( . A unique collaboration between The Guardian and Twitter will also see the launch of Gutter, an experimental service designed to filter noteworthy liberal opinion from the cacophony of Twitter updates. Gutter members will be able to use the service to comment on liberal blogs around the web via a new tool, specially developed with the blogging platform WordPress, entitled GutterPress. Currently, 17.8% of all Twitter traffic in the United Kingdom consists of status updates from Stephen Fry, whose reliably jolly tone, whether trapped in a lift or eating a scrumptious tart, has won him thousands of fans. A further 11% is made up of his 363,000 followers replying "@stephenfry LOL!", "@stephenfry EXACTLY the same thing happened to me", and "@stephenfry Meanwhile, I am making myself an omelette! Delicious!" According to unconfirmed rumours, Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive of Craigslist, will next month announce plans for a new system of telepathy-based social networking that is expected to render Twitter obsolete within weeks. From the archive Highlights from the Guardian's Twitterised news archive 1927 OMG first successful transatlantic air flight wow, pretty cool! Boring day otherwise *sigh* 1940 W Churchill giving speech NOW - "we shall fight on the beaches ... we shall never surrender" check YouTube later for the rest 1961 Listening 2 new band "The Beatles" 1989 Berlin Wall falls! Majority view of Twitterers = it's a historic moment! What do you think??? Have your say 1997 RT@mohammedalfayed: FYI NeilHamilton, Harrods boss offering £££ 4 questions in House of Commons! Check it out http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/0...edia-technology

To...

Everything you always wanted to know about the G20 meeting but were afraid to ask. Those key G20 questions answered The big issue is: can they agree a plan to rebuild the world economy? But there are other pressing questions: Who should we be watching? What's in the Downing St goodie bag? And who's the new Carla Bruni? 1. Why 20? Um, it's not. In a nutshell, Gordon Brown has invited his fellow G20 members (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the US and whoever happens to hold the rotating EU presidency, currently the Czechs), plus Spain, the Netherlands, the respective chairs of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the African Union Commission, and the president of the EU Commission. Not to forget, of course, the heads of the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund. By my reckoning, that makes 29 if you include the hosts (that's us). The G20's regular meetings are for finance ministers and central bankers from what are described as "systemically important industrialised and developing economies"; this one is for the leaders of those economies because the world's finances, in case you hadn't noticed, are in something of a state. JH 2. Why Spain? That's a very good question. Ditto, the Netherlands. Certainly, Spain now has a pretty serious economy (the world's eighth biggest, in fact) but, as something of a latecomer to both democracy and the membership of major international institutions, it is not part of the G20. What seems to have happened is that when the first big we're-in-meltdown-what-are-we-going-to-do-about-it jamboree was held in Washington late last year, France found itself with two seats (as a G20 member, and as then president of the EU). Spain and the Netherlands lobbied furiously for the spare one, and Spain won. Then the Netherlands sulked, and because it has a financial sector out of all proportion to its size, everyone took pity. And, of course, it was only fair that everyone who attended the Washington party should get an invite to this one. So there you are. JH 3. How many Gs are there anyway? If a country wants to get ahead in the modern world economy, it must follow two cast-iron rules. It has to band together with other like-minded nations, who should then refer to themselves by a number prefixed with the letter G (standing for group). The G20 is meant to be a supercharged version of the G8 - which is the group of seven richest nations with an extra place set for Russia. Until the mid-80s, economic power was divvied up between Britain, France, Germany, Japan and America, otherwise known as the G5. And when they were in the mood to talk to a few more European states, that club was naturally called the G10. The number after the G doesn't have to be accurate. So the G77 group, which represents developing nations at the UN, has 130 members. But there are three golden principles. First, these groups only matter if there is a crisis or if they have a trade grievance to voice. Second, the fact that there are so many of them is evidence that we need a fairer system of running the world economy. And third, the lower the number after the G, the more important it is. The most effective clubs have a few powerful members who can agree a joint policy fast. Some might argue that the most effective group would consist only of America and China. They call it the G2. AC 4. Who will the world be watching? Barack Obama, of course. "We're ready to lead," he has said, but is the rest of the world willing to follow? The other traditional headline-grabbers are France's Nicolas Sarkozy, the ultimate Little Big Man and as heavy a hitter internationally as he is loathed and despised domestically; Germany's Angela Merkel, who represents the biggest economy in Europe and who is not entirely ecstatic about the Brown/Obama stimulus plan (Germans with memories of Weimar have an understandable reluctance to engage with proposals for unsecured spending), and may well become the focus of opposition to it; and, at a stretch, our very own Gordon Brown, whose baby (in a sense) this whole extravaganza is. Russia is always a crowd-puller too, but what role it ends up playing depends what mood it is in. The Russians, you see, thought they were going to be ruling the world by now, but then the oil price collapsed. JH 5. OK, but who REALLY matters? Brazil. The future. Huge emerging economy, and, in President Lula, a hugely confident leader who is not about to be told what's what by some guy in a suit. China, of course: the next superpower of the 21st century, or an undemocratic disaster waiting to happen (many observers fear that if China's economy falters, the power of the protesting poverty-stricken masses may cause the place to implode). Most importantly for now, though, China is the world's banker, and the US economy in particular is basically running on Chinese-financed debt. Japan, the dread spectre, will be influential: it has had 10 years' experience of what the rest of us are now going through. South Korea, a vibrant Asian economy; and Turkey, one of the great coming powers, at the crossroads of pretty much everything. Plus Saudi Arabia, of course: let's have those petro-dollars, guys! Bring on the sovereign wealth funds! JH 6. And who's only along for the free snacks? Argentina: not a great deal of traction as far as the global economy goes. Australia: Kevin Rudd's centre-left politics are a relief from those of his predecessor, but he is widely seen as just a wee bit conventional (some might say nerdy). Canada: nice, but irrelevant. India: another vast emerging economy, but one that somehow never quite fulfils its promise; too many problems and an octogenarian leadership. Indonesia: the world's largest Muslim country, so kind of had to be there really. Italy: all sizzle, no steak. Mexico: too many (drug) problems at home. The Netherlands: who? South Africa: potentially important, but the jury's still out on where it's heading. Spain: fell out with Bush after pulling troops out of Iraq, and now with Obama after announcing withdrawal from Kosovo too. JH 7. Why do those US Secret Service agents always wear shades? First, they don't always, and second, to protect their eyes from the sun's glare, which is the explanation the Secret Service gives on its website. The third reason is that a key part of the job is scanning the crowd for anomalies - the expressionless stare amid a sea of cheering spectators, or the overexcited member of an otherwise attentive audience - so it doesn't hurt that would-be attackers can't quite tell in which direction the agents are looking. Shades might make them more identifiable, but it's a misconception that they're trying to go unnoticed: if they were, do you think there'd be such a preponderance of burly men with buzz-cuts in near-identical suits and ill-concealed earpieces? If presidential protection were invisible, a stupid assassin might imagine there wasn't any, while a rational one might disregard it as an unknowable risk. In either case, they'd be more likely to shoot. Far better to foster the panicky half-awareness that the crowd is seething with agents ready to pounce. OB 8. Why is Obama flying to Stansted? "When President Bush flew to Heathrow a few years ago," says a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman, "it was a bit of nightmare, and caused lots of disruption to other flights." So the 44th President of the US will descend into Essex aboard US presidential jet Air Force One. Why not RAF Northolt? "Five airports around London were considered but, for security reasons, we won't explain why Stansted was chosen." Won't this disrupt all the Ryanair passengers flying to grim-sounding places for 50p return? "No it won't," says a Stansted spokesman, "because he won't arrive at the main terminal." Obama will land at Stansted's allegedly executive Harrods terminal, whose facilities include a shop selling Harrods teddy bears which, unless we underestimate Obama, he won't be buying for Malia and Sasha. SJ 9. How much kit and personnel is the US president bringing? Air Force One has a gym, electronic defence units and shielding to protect it from nuclear blasts. At Stansted, Obama will transfer to his helicopter Marine One, which has flares and anti-missile countermeasures to deal with heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles. Obama will travel around London aboard Cadillac One, which does eight miles to the gallon and is described as "a panic room on wheels". It is equipped with shotguns, tear gas, a night-vision camera and bags of Obama's blood (group AB). Among the 500 or so US personnel who will travel with the president are nurses and surgeons. The lengths people go to to avoid NHS treatment. Other staff include security agents and Obama's personal aide Reggie Love, who will hand the president his (ideally bomb-free) basketball each morning so he can shoot hoops. SJ 10. And where will he be staying? Not at the Ritz, but at Winfield House, the official residence of the US Ambassador to the Court of St James's. Hidden behind 15ft iron gates, with a garden second only in size to that of Buckingham Palace, the house itself is a real slice of Americana in London. It might have been designed by a British architect, Leonard Rome Guthrie [1880-1958], on the site of one of John Nash's original eight grand villas around Regent's Park, but its mid-1930s, neo-Georgian style speaks Washington DC loud and clear. This isn't surprising, for the house was built for the American society heiress Barbara Hutton, who had inherited about $40m from her grandfather, Frank Winfield Woolworth. Yes, the Woolworth of one-time high-street fame. After Hutton left when war broke out in 1939, the house served as an RAF recruiting station. She then sold it for a dollar to the US government at the end of the war. Since then, the house, laden with gifts of antique furnishings, paintings, exotic chandeliers and restored Chinese Regency silk wallpaper and oak panelling, has been redecorated several times. Today, its opulent style oozes English country-house charm as seen through the eyes of a Hollywood set designer. JG 11. Why is Obama codenamed 'Renegade'? Sometimes, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the men and women surrounding the president are as excited by the coolness of the job as any ordinary fan of The West Wing or 24. How else to explain the Secret Service codenames? Once, they were a precaution against radio eavesdropping, but these days, no agency in the world has better access to encryption technologies - which is partly why nobody tries too hard to stop the codenames leaking out. Obama was given some say in choosing his codename: it had to be clearly distinguishable in radio communications, and all the first family's names had to begin with the letter R. "Renegade" fits Obama's message of change, though its outlaw connotations makes it an eyebrow-raising choice; more awkwardly still, it comes from an old Spanish word meaning a Christian who converts to Islam. Michelle Obama, more soothingly, is Renaissance, Malia is Radiance, and Sasha is Rosebud. John McCain opted for Phoenix - combining loyalty to Arizona with a message of Republican rebirth - while his wife, oddly, was Parasol. (Al Gore liked to joke that he was so boring, his codename was "Al Gore", though, in fact, it was Sawhorse, and later Sundance.) Sarah and Todd Palin went respectively for Denali, after an Alaskan mountain, and Driller, surely the only example of a codename embodying a campaign pledge. OB 12. What will Jamie Oliver cook for the Downing Street banquet? Last year, an 18-course extravaganza enjoyed by world leaders at a Japanese summit to discuss food shortages unsurprisingly went down like a lead balloon on the political stage. So tomorrow night, Brown's guests are expected to tuck in to a more modest dinner. The six courses that Jamie Oliver has devised apparently comprise "honest high-street products", and avoid costly "fancy" ingredients. The precise details of what Oliver will rustle up at this "pretty cool gig" (as he calls it on his website) remain a closely guarded secret (all we know is that pork will not be served). Perhaps there's a clue in the fact that his 40-strong team on the night will include staff from his restaurant Fifteen). It is not even definite that Oliver will be there to oversee the meal, as his wife Jools is due to give birth on Thursday. Not perfect timing, as he won't even be allowed to have a mobile handy due to security measures. He'll be contactable only through Downing Street officials. AF 13. Where do I go if I want to protest? If you wait long enough, one will come to you. There are protests planned for the City, east London, the West End and at many embassies around the capital most of tomorrow and Thursday. First off will be four simultaneous marches, led by effigies of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which will leave Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Cannon Street and London Bridge stations at 11am, converging on the Bank of England. Take your pick from war, climate chaos, financial crimes and land enclosures. Meanwhile, 1,500 people plan to bring tents and erect a climate camp in the City outside the European Climate Exchange at Bishopsgate at lunchtime. On top of that, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square in the afternoon. On Thursday, the official day of the summit, protests will centre on the Excel centre in Canning Town. JV 14. Will I be in danger if I go to the protests? Most unlikely. These are peaceful protests and while many people have said they are prepared to take non-violent direct action, including occupation of premises and potential damage to property, hardly anyone is expected to seek physical confrontation. The police have ramped up the possibility of violence, saying that many groups are coming "out of retirement" to cause damage. There is little evidence of this. In recent years, police tactics have been to surround large groups, not allowing anyone in or out of tight cordons until late in the evening. This can lead to immense frustration and a possible backlash. This is the biggest police operation in nearly five years and, with so much of the world's media here, there is huge pressure on the police to be seen to be in complete control. JV 15. Who decides where everyone sits at dinner? Ask No 10, says the Foreign Office. Ask the Foreign Office, says No 10. I ask you. But it seems the seating plan for Wednesday night's Downing Street dinner for delegation leaders (ï¬nance ministers and central bankers are going to a dinner, hosted by Alistair Darling, at Tate Modern) is a matter for No 10. Protocol says the host and heads of state (as opposed to mere heads of government) should be seated towards the centre and out on the end is generally punishment for something (where Gordon Brown was placed by his Japanese hosts at a G8 dinner last summer). It's also important to put VIPs next to people they might get on with. Everyone might like to be beside Obama, but Silvio Berlusconi at his unreconstructed best might not ï¬nd full favour with Argentina's centre-left feminista Christina Fernà ndez. For the summit itself, the Foreign Office will say only that the "protocol of seating arrangements at G20 meetings is decided by the host country and based on a logical ordering system, for example alphabetical order". Of course. JH 16. What about the goodie bag? After tomorrow's dinner, Gordon Brown will present goodie bags that will showcase "British creativity". They will include a tie designed by one of three British tailors (Ozwald Boateng, Timothy Everest and Richard James), a tea towel from Ulster-based linen producer Thomas Ferguson Irish Linen, Kelly Hoppen candles, and Rococo chocolates. What about those world leaders who don't wear ties – German chancellor Angela Merkel, say, or Nehru-jacket-sporting Indian premier Manmohan Singh? Will they get an alternative gift? "I don't know," sighs a long-suffering No 10 spokesman. "I'll get someone to call you back with that information." At the time of going to press, no one has. SJ 17. Who are the partners to watch? It was billed as the Michelle and Carla show, with Sarah B as their lady-in-waiting. Sadly, the legendary chanteuse has made a last minute diplomatic withdrawal as the French would consider it a mortal sin if the two ï¬rst ladies were to meet for their style battle on British soil. But never mind, there's always Veronica Lario, Silvio Berlusconi's wife, as long as she turns up – the Italian embassy was spectacularly vague on the matter last night. We can't expect to hear much from Liu Yongqing, wife of Chinese president Hu Jintao; she has barely said a word in public. The Russian president's wife, Svetlana Medvedev, is just as publicity shy; and it would cause a sensation if any of the four wives of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia were seen, let alone heard. Sadly there will be no male wags present. Joachim Sauer, the German chemistry professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin, has always been rather grumpy about being roped in as Angela Merkel's sidekick on official occasions, so he has ducked out with a prior engagement. Nestor Kirchner, husband of the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, is also giving London a miss. He was Argentina's president before he retired to give his wife a go, so probably feels tagging along is a bit infra-dig. JC 18. Who's the new Carla Bruni? Big summits are the world cup of politics. And as we learned from the 2006 World Cup, it doesn't matter how badly your other half fares on the pitch, you can still go home feeling like a winner if you dress the best. With Carla Bruni away, and Michelle Obama already feeling a little old hat (fashion moves fast), this could be the chance for an outsider to shine. Step forward Sonsoles Espinosa, opera singer and wife of Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Previous public appearances have seen her working a range of looks from Pucci-esque prints to this sharp tux outï¬t, complete with skinny black trousers and heels. History proves she knows how to wear colour too (witness one striking orange shift), and she has even been photographed next to Penelope Cruz and held her ground. Perhaps most importantly, she understands that even when circumstances present the most restrictive of dress codes, you can always let a good haircut and a piece of statement jewellery do your talking for you. PC 19. How much is this jamboree costing? According to Foreign Office estimates, the summit will cost the government about £20m. This includes the hiring of the ExCeL London conference centre, event security and policing. The Foreign Office insists proper procurement processes have been followed to ensure value for money, and that all costs will be found from within existing budgets (which rather suggests that existing budgets normally have £20m of slack built in.) The Foreign Office justifies the spend by pointing out the summit is a good investment. "If action agreed at the summit adds just 0.1% to economic growth," it says, "this would be worth over £1bn to the UK this year alone." Still, the London summit is a great deal cheaper than other recent global get-togethers. Security for the 2007 G8 Heiligendamm summit in Germany came to ¤92m, while the 2008 G8 summit in Japan cost an astonishing $285m. Go ï¬ gure why a meeting of eight countries costs nearly 10 times more than one of 20. JC 20. Finally, who's the party animal? Once they ï¬nish setting the world to rights and go on the lash, is Gordon Brown going to show the world's lightweights – sorry, leaders – how to chug, Brit style? It seems unlikely. Most likely world leader to party like it's 2009 is Australian premier Kevin Rudd. It was Rudd who apologised to his wife a couple of years ago for going to a New York strip club after a heavy drinking session. He admitted to her that he'd been "a bit of a goose" and it's not impossible he'll be texting Jacqui Smith's husband from Spearmint Rhino around 3am to see if he can come and join the after-hours fun with Gord, Sarko, Barack, Angie and the rest. SJ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/31/g20

Astounding to recall how Buckley could pound an opponent into the dirt not with O'Reilly-style ranting but rather leaning back almost supine in his on-stage chair, speaking in a barely understandable Yale mumble (cultivated btw by all us Bulldogs in institutional opposition to pear-shaped Harvard accents), the triple martini all but visible just off-camera. To return to Frum, he is not a greatly original thinker, but is committed to intellectual honesty, insofar as he can make it out. I was gratified to see him finally heave his cookies and stalk out of National Review to start his own publication: http://newmajority.com (He came to my attention most forcefully one night in New Haven when I was bonking a girl, and she happened to mention Frum had been in the same place the night before. She did aver she had to be somewhat drunker to do him than me.)

The Cherokee of western N.C. did not understand their lands to be included in the bill of sale for Manhattan island. To take one example.

I was struck by this in the article: The conservative writer David Frum said Mr. Beck’s success “is a product of the collapse of conservatism as an organized political force, and the rise of conservatism as an alienated cultural sensibility.†Frum is an interesting case. A staunch defender of conservative philosophy, including a tenure as speechwriter for Bush (author in fact of the phrase "axis of evil," though he says he originally penned "axis of hatred," which I think would have been more effective in several respects). But who finally, with the Palin nomination, just could not hold his nose and avert his eyes any longer from the ruination being done to old-line conservatism.

I have zero knowledge of almost anything other than what I watch on CNN. Or read here. Or hear whispered in my ear by a hot twink boning me.

Same-sex marriage measure sails through Vermont Senate By Adam Silverman, USA TODAY The Vermont Senate on Monday evening overwhelmingly passed a bill that could legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The state Senate voted 26-4 in favor of the measure introduced by Democratic state Sen. John Campbell. The bill now goes to the state House, where Speaker Shap Smith, also a Democrat, predicted a majority would vote in favor of the "marriage equality" act. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to begin debating the bill Tuesday. A second vote in the state Senate also is expected Tuesday. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, has refused to answer questions about whether he would sign the measure, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. He has said that he believes marriage should be between one man and one woman. Smith refused to say Monday whether he believed there were enough votes in the Democrat-controlled House to override a gubernatorial veto. Vermont became the first state in the nation to enact civil unions for gay couples nearly 10 years ago, but advocates say the following decade has demonstrated that civil unions and marriage, as separate institutions, are unequal and relegate same-sex couples to second-class status. If the marriage bill becomes Vermont law, the state would be the first in the country to enact gay marriage by a vote of the Legislature. Other states that permit homosexual couples to wed have done so by court order. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-0...-marriage_N.htm Video of Senate speeches: http://www.365gay.com/blog/vanasco-vermont...o-gay-marriage/

Final volume of the great Dictionary of American Regional English is about to be published. I picked up the first volume in a discount bookstore years ago. Enjoy it immensely, though too cheap to have yet sprung for the rest. Maybe this will be the spur... On to Z! Quirky regional dictionary nears finish The dictionary chronicles how Americans do talk, not how they should ADISON, Wis. - If you don't know a stone toter from Adam's off ox, or aren't sure what a grinder shop sells, the Dictionary of American Regional English is for you. The collection of regional words and phrases is beloved by linguists and authors and used as a reference in professions as diverse as acting and police work. And now, after five decades of wide-ranging research that sometimes got word-gatherers run out of suspicious small towns, the job is almost finished. The dictionary team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is nearing completion of the final volume, covering "S" to "Z." A new federal grant will help the volume get published next year, joining the first four volumes already in print. "It will be a huge milestone," said editor Joan Houston Hall. Words used in distinct regions The dictionary chronicles words and phrases used in distinct regions. Maps show where a subway sandwich might be called a hero or grinder, or where a potluck — as in a potluck dinner or supper — might be called a pitch-in (Indiana) or a scramble (northern Illinois). It's how Americans do talk, not how they should talk. "It's one of the great American scholarly activities and people will be reading it for a century learning about the roots of the American language," said William Safire, who frequently cites the dictionary in his "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine. "It shows the richness and diversity of our language." Doctors have used it to communicate with patients and investigators have referred to it in efforts to identify criminals, including the Unabomber. Dialect coaches in Hollywood and on Broadway have used the dictionary's audio recordings of regional speakers to train actors. Author Tom Wolfe has called the dictionary "my favorite reading." In awarding the two-year, $295,000 grant that will get the final volume into print, National Science Foundation reviewers called the dictionary "one of the most visible public faces of linguistics," and a "national treasure." The concept dates to 1889, when the American Dialect Society was formed. But the project did not start in earnest until 1965, when English professor Frederic Cassidy dispatched workers to 1,000 carefully chosen U.S. communities to interview residents and make audio recordings of their speech. Field work alone took five years Workers often slept in "word wagons" — vans emblazoned with the UW logo — and even were chased out of a few Southern towns. The field work alone took five years and collected 2.5 million different words and phrases. Since then, linguists have painstakingly researched the words using print materials to decide which should be included. The dictionary project has about a dozen workers and a $750,000 annual budget. Cassidy died in 2000, still looking toward publication of the final volume. His tombstone reads: "On to Z!" Hall, who has worked at the dictionary since 1975 and been editor since 2000, said the complete series of five volumes published by Harvard University Press will contain about 75,000 entries. Draft entries still being reviewed Draft entries for the final volume are still being reviewed. During a recent visit to their offices at UW-Madison's English department, one was tracing the history of the word "stone toter," a type of fish found in parts of the eastern U.S. After the final volume is published, the next phase of the project will be to put the dictionary online. Hall envisions an online edition that will be updated constantly. Hall said her all-time favorite word is bobbasheely, used in Gulf Coast states as a noun meaning a good friend or a verb to hang around with a friend. It comes from the language of the Choctaw tribes. Occasional serious use Two people interviewed in Texas and Alabama in the 1960s used the word. Further digging revealed that Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner had once used it in a novel, and it was used in the early 19th century by a colleague of former vice president and duelist Aaron Burr. The dictionary has occasionally been put to serious use. Forensic linguist Roger Shuy said he occasionally referred to the dictionary when he studied the Unabomber's writings in the 1990s for clues to the writer's identity. His profile didn't help catch Ted Kaczynski, but it turned out to be pretty accurate: He guessed the Unabomber had a doctorate, grew up near Chicago and was older than some investigators initially believed. Hall said she has uncovered flaws in a test routinely given to diagnose a brain abnormality in which people have difficulty coming up with words for everyday items. The test's answer key does not allow regionalized answers; for instance, referring to a harmonica as a "mouth harp" is counted as a mistake. She hopes to help the authors rewrite the test to avoid misdiagnosis. Hall also was sought for help by reporters who didn't understand President Bill Clinton's comment in 1993 that an Air Force official who had criticized him "doesn't know me from Adam's off ox." Hall said the phrase is used west of the Appalachians in place of the more popular "he doesn't know me from Adam." The "off ox" refers to one of the two oxen once used to plow fields. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29824684

... To give the non-NC-fluent a further gauge, Gaston County in turn makes its next-door neighbor, Mecklenburg County (home of banking center Charlotte), look like the 16th arrondissement. One could keep going like this all day.

Nice exposition of an old chestnut about Dorothy & Co. Secrets of the Wizard of Oz The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of the world's best-loved fairytales. As Judy Garland's famous film nears its 70th birthday, how much do its followers know about the story's use as an economic parable? By Rumeana Jahangir BBC News Dorothy in Kansas conjures up nostalgic thoughts of childhood Christmases hiding behind the sofa from the Wicked Witch of the West. Or those flying monkeys. It's unlikely its young fans will have been thinking about deflation and monetary policy. But the story has underlying economic and political references that make it a popular tool for teaching university and high school students - mainly in the United States but also in the UK - about the economic depression of the late 19th Century. At a time when some economists fear an onset of deflation, and economic certainties melt away like a drenched wicked witch, what can be learnt from Oz? The 1939 film starring a young Judy Garland was based on Lyman Frank Baum's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. It told of an orphaned Kansas girl swept by a tornado into a fantastical world, but who wants to return home to her aunt and uncle. Thinking the great Wizard of Oz can grant her wish, she sets out to meet him with her beloved dog, Toto, joined by a scarecrow, a tin woodman and a lion. Baum published the book in 1900, just after the US emerged from a period of deflation and depression. Prices had fallen by about 22% over the previous 16 years, causing huge debt. Farmers were among those badly affected, and the Populist political party was set up to represent their interests and those of industrial labourers. The US was then operating on the gold standard - a monetary system which valued the dollar according to the quantity of gold. The Populists wanted silver, along with gold, to be used for money. This would have increased the US money supply, raised price levels and reduced farmers' debt burdens. Yellow brick code In 1964, high school teacher Henry Littlefield wrote an article outlining the notion of an underlying allegory in Baum's book. He said it offered a "gentle and friendly" critique of Populist thinking, and the story could be used to illuminate the late 19th Century to students. Since its publication, teachers have used this take on the tale to help classes understand the issues of the era. And Littlefield's theory has been hotly debated. He believed the characters could represent the personalities and themes of the late 1800s,with Dorothy embodying the everyman American spirit. US political historian Quentin Taylor, who supports this interpretation, says: "There are too many instances of parallels with the political events of the time. "The Tin Woodman represents the industrial worker, the Scarecrow is the farmer and the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan." Bryan was a Democratic presidential candidate who supported the silver cause. But he failed to win votes from eastern workers and lost the 1896 election. In the same way, the Lion's claws are nearly blunted by the Woodman's metallic shell. The Wicked Witch of the West is associated with a variety of controversial personalities, chief among them the industrialist Mark Hanna, campaign manager to President William McKinley. In this scenario, the yellow brick road symbolises the gold standard, the Emerald City becomes Washington DC and the Great Wizard characterises the president - and he is exposed as being less than truthful. Off to see the President Yet none can help Dorothy return home. Eventually she discovers that her silver shoes (changed to ruby for the film) have the power to take her back to Kansas. The possible implication is that gold alone cannot be the solution for the problems facing the average citizen. But Professor Taylor thinks it's unlikely the book took sides. Instead he says it was merely explaining the story of the Populist movement, some of whom marched on Washington DC in 1894 to demand government improve their plight. Their demand for the use of silver with the gold standard was not met, although within a few years, inflation returned after discoveries of gold in South Africa and other parts of the world. In Baum's story, Dorothy loses her silver slippers in the desert before she reaches home - a possible reflection of the decline of the silver cause after 1896. But not everyone believes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz includes any hidden meanings. "Nobody ever suggested it until 1964," says Bradley Hansen, who is a professor of economics at the University of Mary Washington. "There's no solid evidence that Baum had written it as a monetary allegory," he adds. "While it may have grabbed students' interests, it doesn't really teach them anything about the gold standard and, in particular, the debate about the gold standard." Professor Hansen thinks the author was just trying to create a new kind of fairytale, the "Harry Potter of its time". Soon after publication, Baum adapted his book into a stage musical for adults which opened in 1902. Ranjit Dighe, who wrote The Historian's Wizard of Oz, says it poked fun at Theodore Roosevelt and the Populists, but Baum was playing for laughs, like Jay Leno. Little can be learnt from Baum about the modern economic crisis, says Professor Taylor, although in both instances people have demanded more government action. The Bank of England has - as the Populists more than 100 years ago demanded - provided a boost to the monetary supply, although the term "quantitative easing" was probably little known in the 1890s. And ultimately the US defeated deflation by creating money from new discoveries of gold abroad. L Frank Baum died before the debates over his true intent had started. But in the book's introduction, he stated that he was only writing to please children. He was no doubt unaware of its future appeal to economics students. SYMBOLISM OF CHARACTERS Dorothy: Everyman American Scarecrow: Farmer Tin Woodman: Industrial worker Lion: William Jennings Bryan, politician who backed silver cause Wizard of Oz: US presidents of late 19th Century Wicked Witch: A malign Nature, destroyed by the farmers' most precious commodity, water. Or simply the American West Winged Monkeys: Native Americans or Chinese railroad workers, exploited by West Oz: An abbreviation of 'ounce' or, as Baum claimed, taken from the O-Z of a filing cabinet? Emerald City: Greenback paper money, exposed as fraud Munchkins: Ordinary citizens http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7933175.stm