Monthly Archives: February 2008

A NATO OF THE EAST?

A NATO OF THE EAST? Dick Weisfelder called my attention to this article which describes the Shanghai Co-operation Organization. The organization consists of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzystan and Tajikistan and observers and among other things has called for a timetable … Continue reading

Posted in History, Politics | 1 Comment

AN AMERICAN AND A CLOCHARD. (COMMENT).

AN AMERICAN AND A CLOCHARD. (COMMENT). Annalisa commented here on my post about French tourists who were thrilled to encounter an American who was down on his luck. Annalisa pointed out that as a tourist in France, I had a … Continue reading

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MEASURING THE AMERICAN DREAM.

MEASURING THE AMERICAN DREAM. Kids, in reading articles about income distribution you have to pay attention to measurement problems. The word “poverty” is ambiguous. Sometimes it refers to relative poverty and sometimes to absolute poverty. I think that in the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 1 Comment

AN ECONOMIST LOOKS AT THE AMERICAN DREAM.

AN ECONOMIST LOOKS AT THE AMERICAN DREAM. This article by Paul Krugman points to a study which followed individual families in the United States for two generations. “According to one recent estimate, American children born to parents in the bottom … Continue reading

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THE GREAT GATSBY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM.

THE GREAT GATSBY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. THE GREAT GATSBY is a favorite book for high schools not just because it is a great novel but because essays on Gatsby and the American Dream are such obvious assignments. This article … Continue reading

Posted in History, Literature | 2 Comments

EUROPEANS AND AMERICAN POVERTY.

EUROPEANS AND AMERICAN POVERTY. Europeans have always been fascinated by the extremes of American life. I once showed New York City to some French friends on their first evening in the United States. It was an extraordinarily hot August day. … Continue reading

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WELCOME TO SOBRO.

WELCOME TO SOBRO. A New York cab driver told me a number of years ago that a lot of international fares that he picked up at Kennedy asked to see Harlem even before they went to their hotel. He said … Continue reading

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MEANINGLESS DRAMA.

MEANINGLESS DRAMA. I am surprised to see that Albee and Stoppard are considered by Ben Brantley to be descendants of Beckett. I think that Becket pretty much fully explored and exhausted his vision and left little for followers to say—if … Continue reading

Posted in Literature, Theater | 1 Comment

IS ALBEE AN ABSURDIST? SHOULD HE BE?

IS ALBEE AN ABSURDIST? SHOULD HE BE? Ben Brantley argued in the article I linked to yesterday that “Mr. Albee and Mr. Stoppard are directly descended from Beckett” and that “Stoppard and Albee remind us of how much the Absurdists … Continue reading

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CHOOSING WORDS–STOPPARD AND THE CRICKET BAT.

CHOOSING WORDS–STOPPARD AND THE CRICKET BAT. It is surprising to see Ben Brantley saying that Stoppard despairs of communicating with words considering that one of Stoppard’s characters has an eloquent statement of what can be done with words and craftsmanship. … Continue reading

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