Warner delivers a shot to the gut with her Domestic Disturbances blog and this stinging indictment of rampant American misogyny. The juxtaposition of the collapse of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign with the smash-hit success of "Sex and the City" is more powerful and decidedly less cutesy than the headline suggests. A brief walk through the sexist cottage industry that sprung up around Sen. Clinton (nutcrackers, anyone?) brings the point home, as does a collection of nasty quotes from assorted talking heads. "It’s nothing other than an expression of woman-hate — and the degree to which such expressions have flourished ... has added up to be a real national shame."
Posted 12:18, 6 June 2008
Cue the violins and get out your hankies, folks. Thompson's treacly love letter of a profile of the Golden Bear reads like a bad tearjerker, and actually does a disservice to its subject. Nicklaus is a compelling figure, and Thompson captures some nice anecdotes that illustrate the golf legend's competitiveness, work ethic, devotion to family, and commitment to his good name. Unfortunately, bathing every moment in a golden light only makes the story feel contrived: "Jack takes aim, as he has done for most of his life. When his family needs something, he wants to deliver." Yeesh. A few nice pictures, though, and interesting bits about Nicklaus' creative process.
Cieply's straight-ahead obituary of Sydney Pollack will make you sadder than you ever expected to be at news of the director's death. His filmography as a director includes more than 20 movies and spans five decades, and includes "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969), "The Way We Were" (1973), "Tootsie" (1982), "The Firm" (1993) and "The Interpreter" (2005). He also played memorable roles in films such as Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" and Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton." In the end, "Mr. Pollack’s career defined an era in which big stars ... and the filmmakers who knew how to wrangle them ... retooled the Hollywood system." RIP, Sydney.
We long ago gave up on the notion of a free lunch, in the air or otherwise. Now American Airlines has announced that it will be charging passengers $15 to check their first bags. The airline, which has been hit hard by soaring fuel prices, also said it would be taking up to 85 aircraft out of its fleet by the end of the year. However, it's unclear whether the cutbacks will aid the ailing airline, as the parent company's shares fell nearly 25 percent in the first 24 hours after the announcement. A sad but useful primer on a significant player in a beleaguered industry.
“Invading the Middle East is the kind of imperial overreach that breaks the spine of great powers.” That’s the point Powers repeatedly brings home in this lengthy essay. Drawing from ten books about current and past Middle East wars, Powers is pessimistic about America’s prospects for success in Iraq and Afghanistan. He further argues that even though the Democratic presidential candidates have pledged to begin troop withdrawals in their first year in office, political realities will make that impossible and we will be having the same argument in four years' time. There's nothing fun about this essay, but it feels important nonetheless.
Posted 11:29, 20 May 2008
Finnegan reports on Moldovan women swept up into prostitution through their search for better economic opportunities abroad. His story centers on Stella Roteru, a social service worker in Chisinau, but also includes interviews with victims, traffickers, police, and anti-trafficking activists both in Moldova and as distant as Dubai. Finnegan describes the brutality many women experience, placing it in the context of the complexities surrounding the fight against sex slavery. Criminal networks are often in league with the police, and the wide economic gap between rich and poor countries encourages women to accept dubious offers in the first place. It's a somewhat depressing article, but still illuminating.
Posted 3:01, 29 April 2008
Morris draws a fascinating picture of PepsiCo's Indra Nooya, the first Indian-born woman to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Nooyi's style as CEO is unique -- for one thing, she talks often and sincerely about corporate social responsibility. A vegetarian, Nooyi has already begun to lead the soft-drink company in the direction of healthier offerings. Many think she's like to be tapped for a government post, but in the meantime, she's facing some near-term challenges: A looming recession, soaring corn syrup prices and new products from arch-rival Coca-Cola will all test Nooyi's leadership.
Posted 10:27, 21 February 2008
Warner delivers a shot to the gut with her Domestic Disturbances blog and this stinging indictment of rampant American misogyny. The juxtaposition of the collapse of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign with the smash-hit success of "Sex and the City" is more powerful and decidedly less cutesy than the headline suggests. A brief walk through the sexist cottage industry that sprung up around Sen. Clinton (nutcrackers, anyone?) brings the point home, as does a collection of nasty quotes from assorted talking heads. "It’s nothing other than an expression of woman-hate — and the degree to which such expressions have flourished ... has added up to be a real national shame."
Posted 12:18, 6 June 2008
Is bigger better? In the world of private banking, the answer's not clear. A behemoth like Citibank offers one-stop shopping. But a boutique like Calibre, Wachovia's wealth-management unit, offers the individualized attention a mega-bank can't. McGee's common-sense conclusion? The right size depends on a client's particular needs. Hedge fund investors will be safer choosing a mega-bank. But if you want to provide for your grandchildren, a smaller institution with specialized trust experience is a better bet. McGee's article is food for thought for those with so much wealth they can't manage it themselves; for everyone else, it's a waste of time.
Posted 4:03, 23 October 2007
Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo are planning to make some of its snack foods in the middle of the Arizona desert using nothing but renewable resources. This retrofitted "net zero" plant in Casa Grande would be powered by 50 acres of solar concentrators and a methane generator, and would use all recycled water. Martin covers the plans capably, but he gives too little space to the larger trend of corporations lowering their energy consumption, essentially providing a fact sheet on behalf of Frito-Lay.
Posted 12:25, 16 November 2007
Despite the recession, conspicuous consumption is alive and well for the ultra-rich. In this interesting-in-a-sickening-way article, Horne writes that although those making $200,000 to $500,000 are cutting back, multimillionaires are welcoming the chance to live more cheaply, and billionaires look forward to shaking loose from the "centa-millionaires" who dilute their privilege. Luxury sellers, such as fashion designers, yacht makers, and ultra-high-end realtors, aren't seeing any slowdown in their business. Although some of the rich are willing to tone down their "grotesque exhibitions" in public, Horne says in private not much has changed.
Answer: not much, apparently. Cave grouses and grumbles his way through an interview with Gell, discussing drugs, music, his family, and his (lack of) faith. Cave mentions his latest album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, but the interview only touches on it. Although family life and quitting his drug use has seemed to calm him, Cave still has plenty to complain about -- awards, the media, global warming. Still, Cave's reticence makes it difficult to get much out of him in this forgettable piece.
America's fascination with celebrities blithely extends to their children, the cheekily labeled "aristo-brats." We already love their ultra-famous parents, so we gladly accept these "human sequels, easier to green-light than untested projects." They pop up in fashion circles, at movie festivals, on the talk show circuit and in other artistic positions. Though some try to distance themselves and be accepted on their own merits, most capitalize on their parents' celebrity to gain extra clout for their projects. This piece is snarky, but it's also funny and accurate, reminding us that if the "Lucky Sperm Club" stays in the spotlight, we only have ourselves to blame.
Ketcham spins a nightmare scenario in which a database called Main Core names millions of Americans to be detained or watched in case of a "national emergency" of unspecified nature. The government feeds surveillance and wiretap information -- as well as private info such as email subject lines, ATM withdrawals, and credit card purchases -- into Main Core . This might sound like the standard conspiracy tale -- for example, FEMA is supposed to seize power in this scenario -- and some of Ketcham's sources are anonymous. But Ketcham does an excellent job reminding readers that "enemy lists" and electronic surveillance aren't new, and the Bush administration's record gives his story the unsettling whiff of truth.
This titillating feature reveals pop-culture historian Billy Geerhart’s late '90s correspondence. Geerhart, masquerading as a 10 year-old who wanted to drop out of school, wrote celebrated personalities requesting their advice. Responses came in from Dick Cheney, Oprah, Mister Rogers, Janet Reno, Larry Flynt and others, but the article focuses on responses from killers Richard (The Night Stalker) Ramirez, Charles Manson, David (Son of Sam) Berkowitz, Ted (The Unabomber) Kaczynski and Eric (My Two Sons) Menendez. Worth a look for just for Manson's doodles, the replies are fascinating; so is the fact that Geerhart has followed up with letters from an older, college aged Billy.
