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Feb. 5th, 2010
Fiscal Scare Tactics
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 4, 2010
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 4, 2010
These days it’s hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit. The deficit threatens economic recovery, we’re told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world. These claims generally aren’t stated as opinions, as views held by some analysts but disputed by others. Instead, they’re reported as if they were facts, plain and simple. ...
For the fact is that thanks to deficit hysteria, Washington now has its priorities all wrong: all the talk is about how to shave a few billion dollars off government spending, while there’s hardly any willingness to tackle mass unemployment. Policy is headed in the wrong direction — and millions of Americans will pay the price. More
Dog, anyone?
Feb. 5th, 2010 04:38 amDog Days in China
By ROGER COHEN
Published: February 4, 2010
By ROGER COHEN
Published: February 4, 2010
NEW YORK — I see the Beckhams, David and Victoria (Posh), have acquired a couple of “micro pigs” as pets and that said pigs (65 pounds when fully grown) are now a fashionable item in Britain, at least among those who can afford a $1,000-plus price tag. More
Shocked! I'm just shocked!
Feb. 5th, 2010 04:47 amLobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 4, 2010
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 4, 2010
WASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders. More
Terribly Happy (2008) NYT Critics' Pick
Feb. 5th, 2010 05:05 am
Kim Bodnia and Jakob Cedergren in “Terribly Happy, " directed by Henrik Genz.
Not Exactly a Danish Grover’s Corners
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: February 5, 2010
Henrik Ruben Genz’s diabolical comedy “Terribly Happy” assures us that yes, something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark, or least in the rural Danish county of South Jutland. From the moment the camera surveys the dirty brick buildings in Skarrild, a desolate backwater in the county’s soggy flatlands, you sense that this is a village of the damned. More
Eyes Wide Open (2009) NYT Critics' Pick
Feb. 5th, 2010 05:07 am
Ezri (Ran Danker...left) and Aaron (Zohar Strauss) in EYES WIDE OPEN,a 2010 film directedd by Haim Tabakman.
Passion and Identity Crisis in a Pious Community
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: February 5, 2010
“Eyes Wide Open,” the quiet and confident feature debut of the Israeli director Haim Tabakman, explores the conflict between sexual desire and religious obligation. Set in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, the film, written by Merav Doster, gives nearly equal weight to both sides in that struggle. It does not sensationalize lust or treat piety with condescension, but rather treats these two basic, often antithetical human impulses with respect and compassion. Faith can console as well as constrict, and sex can bring confusion along with intimacy and pleasure.