Via The New Yorker. Goo: Somewhere over the Pacific, Pabst Blue Ribbon began putting on airs. That reliably blue-collar Milwaukee lager, later adopted by unbearable hipsters on the coasts, has turned up in China. And P.B.R., best known in the U.S. for being the cheapest beer on the grocery-store shelf, has—like so many expatriates before it—taken the move as an opportunity to change its image. For a beer, that appears to involve an elegant glass bottle and a fantastically ridiculous price tag. One bottle: forty-four dollars.
Continue reading...International
"There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong."
British Prime Minister David Cameron today apologized in Parliament for the events of Bloody Sunday, after Lord Saville’s inquiry was finally completed and released. From the Guardian: The prime minister told a sombre Commons: “The conclusions of this report are absolutely clear. There is no doubt, there is nothing equivocal, there are no ambiguities. What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.” “Some members of our armed forces acted wrongly. The Government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of our armed forces and for that, on behalf of the Government – and indeed...
Continue reading...ConDems?
The insanity that has been the last week of British politics looks to be coming to an end. Somehow a coalition made up of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives will be ruling Britain (at the pleasure of the Queen, of course.) The Tories did go further than I imagined they would to make this deal happen, a referendum on AV and several cabinet posts to name a few. It seems Nick Clegg will be deputy PM, with other Senior Lib-Dems, including Danny Alexander and Vince Cable, in important roles. Yet, I’m unclear as to how this...
Continue reading...Another unelected Prime Minister for the U.K.?
A bit ago, I made a (likely inebriated) prediction to Estes that I suspected that David Miliband, who had served as Foreign Secretary in the last Labour government, would be Prime Minister before 2011. And, gosh darn it, it looks as though it might be closer to reality. Gordon Brown today announced that he will resign as soon as a new government is formed, an action that had been predicted would be a necessary preerequisite to any deal with the Liberal Democrats to form a government. The Lib Dems had first approached the Tories because the Tories...
Continue reading...With Apologies to Howard Dean: What Happened Yesterday
(Some quick thoughts while Estes collects his) Well, the U.K. voted yesterday. The results were not terribly surprising: The Tories won a plurality of seats, but not enough to form a majority government. This much was expected. However, what was not expected was the relative strength of Labour or the precipitous downfall of the Liberal Democrats. I’ll start where the story is now, and move on to what I suspect happened. The onus is on Gordon Brown to form a government, and if he cannot, to step down and allow somebody else to do so. I don’t...
Continue reading...Wait, people can vote in a monarchy?
So, I’ll be out for the next several hours, but will leave thoughts later. Exit polls seem to indicate a drop in Lib-Dem seats. I don’t buy this, uniform swings, postal votes, etc… They may not be getting the gains many hoped for, but I can’t believe they’re not gonna pick up a few. Anyway, you should be following 538’s liveblog and listening to BBC Radio 4. Or just pick up a paper tomorrow. Either way.
Continue reading...What happens tomorrow and Friday
Tomorrow, Britons will go to their polling locations and elect a new House of Commons. This much is certain. What happens next is anybody’s guess. Currently, there is no parliament, but as required by law, there is still a Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. And, until the votes are tallied, and the “winner” is summoned to the palace, Brown will remain the No10. As according to convention, Brown, as the P.M., will be the first asked by the Queen to form a government. It is widely expected that Labour will do terribly tomorrow, and that the Tories will...
Continue reading...Champions and Also-Rans
The British Parliament is holding elections on Thursday, with perennial majority Labour looking certain to lose 10 Downing St. to the Tories, or perhaps the Liberal Democrats. Today, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City — the English football teams supported by Ghost of Hemingway’s Gun and Estes, respectively, square off in Manchester to potentially decide who finishes fourth in the English Premier League, reaping the financial windfall (and prestige bump) of appearing in the Champions League, in which neither has appeared for at least a decade. Estes and I are here to guide you through both of these...
Continue reading..."Sweating like Vegas Elvis on a squash court" or Liveblogging the Brits part 2.
In the last week, Nick Clegg, of the Liberal Democrats, went from leader of the third party to the leader of the tied for first (for the first time in 104 years!!!) party, to being unfairly demonized by the Daily Mail party. Shock. Any, in about two minutes Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg slug it out over foreign policy. Perhaps there will be a tea break in about half and hour. We’re just not quite sure. 3:00- Brown starts it out. Nothing to write, nothing. 3:02- Cameron wants to help families. Great foreign policy talking...
Continue reading...No hipsters in China
China is the world’s largest bicycle market, where 51 million bikes were sold in 2009 alone, according to the China Bicycle Association. However, the world’s largest bicycle trend, fixed-gear bikes, or “fixies,” have been lagging in popularity. Actually, they’re basically non-existent. “Fixes,” so-called because they rely on only one fixed gear and the cyclist slows the bike by slowing their pedaling, were born from New York bike messengers, and have become a staple of urban bicycling almost everywhere; well, except China. They’re not nearly as functional as multi-gear bicycles (complete with brakes!), so many assume that a...
Continue reading...
Recent Comments