Santa Safari

By FRED R. CONRAD

SANTAS PAST

North Pole Noir

Historically, Santa was often more naughty than nice.

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I went on safari this season to track down the true Santa Claus. I found whole herds of them. But which was real? At my first stop, the annual parade of Sidewalk Santas sponsored by the Volunteers of America, I saw several dozen walking up Fifth Avenue as tourists gawked. The next stop was SantaCon, an event that defines itself as a chance for guys and girls of legal age to dress up like Santa and go cavorting around town. I was startled by the sight of hundreds of Santas crowding streets and bars before gathering at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Among them was at least one Jack Skellington Santa, channeling the spirit of The Nightmare Before Christmas, alongside a Santa whose suit was adorned with a much-repeated line from A Christmas Story: Youll shoot your eye out, kid. I found a rickshaw wallah who dresses like Santa. I asked him why. It seems to make people happy, he said. I tracked down the Santa of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular a Kentucky native, it turns out in his dressing room at the music hall, where hes been reporting to work for 24 years. Of course, I went to the prime preserve, at Macys Santaland. There, I found a 4-year-old girl curled up on Santas lap and thought of Edmund Gwenns portrayal of Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street. It dawned on me that everyone Id seen was the real Santa, because Santa is whomever we want him to be. Thank you, Santa.

Ever thought of how useful lemons can be?

Lemons not only have high nutritional values, but they can also help you stay fit!

The nutritive values of lemon per 100 gm are:

Vitamin B: Thiamine 0.04 mg.;. Vitamin C: 50 mg Calcium: 40 mg Phosphorus: 22 mg Carbohydrates: 8.7 gm. Protein: 0.9 gm. Calories: 32

The other, health benefits, of lemon are:

A NATURAL ANTISEPTIC:
Lemon juice contains citric acid that acts as a great antiseptic when directly applied on wounds.

AGAINST SKIN PROBLEMS:

In case of skin problems, apply lemon juice directly to the skin and allowed to dry, especially in cases of acne and eczema. Then remove the juice with some olive oil, and cleanse with water. The juice is also good for the removal of blackheads, freckles and wrinkles.

AGAINST STRESS:
Take some lemon juice and mix it well in some warm water (NOTE: It wont dissolve in plain water, you need warm water). Then use this mixture for aromatherapy (an aromatherapy stand, which is available in most general stores, is required for this) before sleep every night and it will help reduce stress greatly.

FOR BETTER DIGESTION:

The digestive qualities of lemon juice greatly relieve indigestion disorders such as heartburn, bloating and belching. By drinking lemon juice regularly, the bowels are helped in their clearing, thus preventing constipation and diarrhea.

AGAINST SCURVY:
Scurvy is a deficiency disease, caused due to lack of Vitamin C, which lemon juice has in abundance. So applying lemon juice directly on scurvy affected areas in the gum helps reduce the problem.

AGAINST INTESTINAL AND KIDNEY

DISORDERS:
Read more in Health Three Reasons Why You Feel Sick Health Strategies to Maintain a Proper Diet and Exercise Routine

Lemon juice has long been used to reduce kidney and intestinal disorders as it helps in flushing out toxic wastes from the body, and also, it kills intestinal worms!

AGAINST LIVER PROBLEMS:

Consume a tea-spoon of lemon juice in a cup of warm water everyday and it will act as an excellent purifier for the liver.

AGAINST BLOOD PRESSURE:

Consumption of a tea-spoon of lemon juice daily reduces blood pressure and also strengthens capillaries, using Vitamin C. It also acts as an excellent sedative for nerves and relieves palpitation.

AGAINST CANCER:
The limonoid phytochemicals present in lemons help reduce the risk of cancer, if lemon juice is consumed daily.

AGAINST HEART DISEASES:

Lemon juice is a powerful anti-oxidant as it contains Vitamin C. It helps raise HDL cholesterol (the required one) and prevents the bad LDL cholesterol from getting oxidized, which in turn stops plaque (that which clogs the arteries) formation. So have lemons everyday, and.well. you CAN keep the doctor away!

Read more: http://healthmad.com/health/stay-fit-with-lemons/#ixzz198ceTVhY Associated Press Plant Scherer, a coal-fired plant in Juliette, Ga.

Ghosts of a Christmas Past

By ADAM GOODHEART Disunion follows the Civil War as it unfolded.

Tags:
Christmas, civil war, Slavery Macon, Ga., Dec. 24, 1860 Advertisement from the Macon Daily Telegraph, Dec. 24, 1860. CLICK TO ENLARGE The city was preparing itself for the holiday. In the pages of the Macon Daily Telegraph, ads touted toys and sweets, books and jewelry, all at bargain prices. In a large front-page ad, the store of H.N. Ells & Co., on Mulberry Street, reminded readers that Old Santa-Clauz was coming to town, and urged upon them such last-minute stocking stuffers as apples, figs, candy, and firecrackers. On the next page of that Christmas Eve newspaper was a more discreet advertisement, this one just five lines of small print: FOR SALE. A NEGRO WOMAN 21 years old, and her daughter about six years old. The woman is a good house servant, plain cook, and good washer and Ironer. Warranted sound. Terms cash. Advertisement from the Macon Daily Telegraph, Dec. 24, 1860. CLICK TO ENLARGE

Men, women, and children were for sale throughout the much of the United States during that last holiday season before the Civil War, exactly a century and a half ago. In Easton, Md., Negro Henry, Aged about 26 years, and Negro George, aged about 19 years, were offered at private sale until the 25th inst. that is, until Christmas Day. In Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House, one owner advertised a servant girl, seventeen years of age a slave for life. In the Christmas morning edition of the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, the local sheriff announced the upcoming sale of a Mulatto Boy slave named Charles, about 14 years of age. The lad, who had been seized from his mistress to satisfy debts, was to be put up for public auction in the town market on New Years Day. The last weeks of each December were a strange and frightening time to be a slave in America. (Was there ever a normal time, however?) In the antebellum period, the end of the calendar year was as it is now a busy period for financial transactions. Assets were liquidated, debts settled, taxes paid, balance sheets scrutinized. Any of these might lead a slaveholder to divest himself of some human property. Based on the evidence in contemporary newspapers, New Years Day slave auctions like the one in Augusta were common. The estimated five to 10 percent of American slaves who were rented from one master to another (in some regions the figure was more than 60 percent) had their own reasons to be terrified. Jan. 1 was when old rental contracts expired and slaves services were auctioned off for the year ahead, sending them to different, often far-flung, plantations. One former bondsman would recall how each New Years Day, the cries and tears of brothers, sisters, wives, and husbands were heard in the streets as black families were separated at least for twelve months, but possibly forever. At the same time, surreally enough, Christmas was a time when many masters encouraged their slaves to eat, drink, and be merry. Field hands were commonly given the entire week as a holiday their only one of the year. South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond who did not hesitate to rape female slaves and to lash servants with his own hand distributed gifts throughout the quarters, and noted in his journal that on Christmas, a barbecue is given, beef, mutton, and pork, coffee and bread being bountifully provided. On the morning of Dec. 25, right after opening presents and

emptying stockings, masters would bring their families down to the slave cabins to watch blacks perform dances and songs that had been handed down from Africa. Library of CongressWinter Holydays in the Southern States Plantation Frolic on Christmas Eve, from Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, Dec. 26, 1857. The slaveholders and their family can be seen in the background, watching the dancers and distributing gifts. CLICK TO ENLARGE Frederick Douglass, remembering boyhood Christmases on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, wrote: From what I know of the effect of these holidays upon the slave, I believe them to be among the most effective means in the hands of the slaveholder in keeping down the spirit of insurrection. These holidays serve as conductors, or safety-valves, to carry off the rebellious spirit of enslaved humanity. But for these, the slave would be forced up to the wildest desperation; and woe betide the slaveholder, the day he ventures to remove or hinder the operation of those conductors! I warn him that, in such an event, a spirit will go forth in their midst, more to be dreaded than the most appalling earthquake. The holidays are part and parcel of the gross fraud, wrong, and inhumanity of slavery. They are professedly a custom established by the benevolence of the slaveholders; but I undertake to say, it is the result of selfishness, and one of the grossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave. The Yuletide season was an unquiet time throughout the nation on the brink of the Civil War and not just among black Americans. Judging from period newspapers, Christmas 150 years ago was just as politicized as it is now, if not more so. With the nation splitting in half (South Carolina had seceded on Dec. 20), each side of the Mason-Dixon Line tried to claim the holiday as its own. In the South, the Augusta Chronicle accused the Yankee Puritans of being joyless Christmas-haters: Our broad Union is divided between the descendant of the Norman Cavalier reverencing Christmas, and the descendant of the Saxon Puritan repudiating it Let us hear no more of a Cotton Confederation but let us have instead (what may sound like a jest,

but which has something of seriousness in it) a Confederation of the Christmas States.

Related

Civil War Timeline

An unfolding history of the Civil War with photos and articles from the Times archive and ongoing commentary from Disunion contributors.

Visit the Timeline

Meanwhile, several hundred miles closer to the North Pole, the same days Philadelphia Inquirer called Christmas a good old Yankee custom and added: If Charleston growls and, playing the Scrooge, would curse our Christmas carol, let us hope that the Marleys Ghost of her old patriotism will soften her by and by. Culturally, Christmas in 1860 was also at a strange transition point. In many parts of America, it was still celebrated as a riotous old pagan Saturnalia: working-class revelers known as callithumpians paraded through the streets in drag or blackface (sometimes both), firing off guns and starting street brawls, defying annual attempts by the city fathers to ban Christmas, as it were. A few years earlier, the Grinch-like Horace Greeley had complained that the day was simply an excuse for New Yorks young men and boys to drink themselves silly: As early as 10 oclock we saw, in Broadway, between the Park and Broome-st., about a dozen parties of boys, each numbering from four to ten persons, nearly every one grossly drunk, and [some] being dragged along by the neck and heels by their hardly less drunk companions. But commercialized, mass-market Yule was already coming into its own. An article in the New York Herald analyzed Christmas retail trends much as a newspaper today might do. (Candy sales were up compared to the previous December, while jewelry sales were down: consumers, anxious about the political news, were economizing on gifts.)

American Christmases in the mid-19th century do not seem to have had much religious significance neither for the callithumpians, nor the protoshopaholics, nor anyone else. Many, if not most, Protestant churches did not even have Christmas services, though some staged holiday parties, pageants, and entertainments. The New-York Tribune remarked in 1860 that only gradually was the festival starting to become as widely observed as more important national celebrations like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and New Years Day. Very soon, however, Christmas more or less as we know it today would emerge. A young magazine sketch artist, Thomas Nast, was on his way home from covering Garibaldis conquest of southern Italy; two years later, in the pages of Harpers Weekly, he began publishing his iconic images of Santa Claus. In Galena, Ill., the middle-aged shop clerk Ulysses S. Grant was busy attending to his customers last-minute demands. Ten years later, as president of the United States, he would sign into law a bill declaring Christmas a national holiday. As for the slaves Henry and George, the teenage Charles and the nameless mother and daughter, it is not known how they spent future Christmases. Perhaps they survived that bitter December to celebrate in freedom.

Armies of anonymous Santas answer Christmas call

Updated 1d 21h ago

By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

Bart Grachan, left, Andrea Fannelli and Jeanna M.

Bannon read letters in search of appropriate ones for donatations.

By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

For many needy children this year, Santa will slip his gifts into the mailbox instead of sliding them down the chimney.

Secret Santas and their donated gifts poured into post offices around the nation after the U.S. Postal Service's Operation Santa received widespread news media attention last week, including a front page article in USA TODAY.

The Postal Service's Operation Santa matches children's and their parents' letters to Santa with anonymous donors who agree to buy some of the gifts on their wish list and return them to the post office for delivery before Christmas. This year, the letters reflected unusual economic hardship as many children requested basic items, such as warm clothes, instead of toys.

MAP: Post offices participating in Operation Santa

SANTA LETTERS: Kids ask for basic needs instead of toys

New York City Post Office's Head Elf Pete Fontana, a Postal Service employee, said the response this year

is "quadruple" last year.

"It's like a miracle," Fontana said. "Hundreds and

Advertisement

By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Pete Fontana, who runs Operation Santa, with some letters.

hundreds, maybe even thousands, of packages are just pouring in here. We can't even keep count. We've never had a week like this before."

VIDEO: Writing a letter to Santa goes digital

Rene Febles, special agent in charge at the New York regional inspector general's office for the U.S. Department of Housing, read the article and called a fellow federal agent at the Postal Service to find out how he could help.

"That there were parents who were distressed that they couldn't get their children gifts really spoke to me," said Febles, a father of three. "We, as federal

employees, are lucky to have jobs. It's our obligation to help those who don't. I don't think I could see a kid wake up on Christmas and not even get a gift."

Febles contacted Housing and Urban Development inspector general offices nationwide to tell other special agents about the program and urge them to participate. Febles' colleagues in the New York office adopted three families. "Everyone in the office has chipped in," he said.

The main post office in New York City will have letters available for adoption by secret Santas until 7 p.m. Thursday. Employees will deliver the gifts through what is known in New York as "Little Christmas" or Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, Fontana said.

The Chicago post office received about 15,000 letters, but not all will be adopted, spokesman Mark Reynolds said.

"It'll probably be a little less than last year, but we'll see," Reynolds said. "People were still picking out letters Monday, and tons of people came in to mail their gifts."

In Philadelphia, Secret Santas had adopted 246 of the 325 letters by Tuesday evening, U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said. In Boston, more than half of 1,100 letters have been adopted. In San Francisco, about 240 of 600 letters have been adopted.

The post office in Washington received more than 600 letters from needy children, and almost half have been adopted, said spokeswoman Sharon

Tennison. Secret Santas have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to adopt letters. Gifts must be returned to the post office by 5 p.m. Thursday.

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2010 Google - Send feedback - 3D data 2010 Zygote Media Group, Inc.Day 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61
Friday - Day 54: morning: juice afternoon: green berry smoothie with rejuvelac; orange juice evening: creamy red pepper soup; orange juice; honeydew melon juice So my stomach made some noise when I had the smoothie. It was talking and working out the solid foods but otherwise everything was fine. Saturday - Day 55: morning: tomato with half of an onion bread and chive nut cheese afternoon: creamy red pepper soup

evening: 3 onion breads with chive nut cheese, green peppers, onion; watermelon; slices of raw cheddar cheese Today I felt good and felt that I could transition to the harder stuff. No stomach talking or anything. Bowel movement totally normal. Sunday - Day 56 morning: cashews, watermelon, cheddar cheese afternoon: 2 onion breads with chive nut cheese and a tomato evening: zucchini pasta with "ranch" dressing; CHEESECAKE! Today I made my very own cheesecake. It came out AWESOME and delicious. Go to Mer's website to make it!! Trust me, you will not be disappointed! Monday - Day 57 morning: 2 onion breads with chive nut cheese and a tomato afternoon: watermelon, cheesecake evening: corn on the cob, juice! (romaine, fennel, cilantro, celery, squash, apple) Tuesday - Day 58 morning: 2 onion breads with chive nut cheese and a tomato afternoon: watermelon evening: squash ravioli in nut cheese, green juice, cheddar cheese I had an interview in NH today so on the way back my mom and I stopped over at Rawbert's in Beverly, MA. Its an organic cafe with some raw foods. The ravioli was a bit too sweet and heavy for my taste. I didnt have my phone on me so I couldnt take a photo, but wow was it beautiful looking. The squash was wrapped in dehydrated beet. My mom had a "quesadilla" but with tortilla wraps. She LOVED it. I also got some sushi to go. Wednesday - Day 59: morning: cashews, honeydew melon juice afternoon: sushi, cheesecake evening: creamy red pepper soup, tomato Thursday - Day 60

morning: green berry smoothie with rejuvelac afternoon: squash pasta with ranch dressing evening: onion bread with nut cheese and tomato, cheesecake Today I made some Kale chips but followed Meredith's dorito mixture. Instead of placing the dorito mixture onto some nori sheets I put them into cut up Kale leaves. I then dehydrated them overnight at a temperature of 105 degrees. They came out delicious - and taste very much like doritos without the guilt. My teenage brother tried them and loved them. See below the goodness: Friday - Day 61 morning: green berry smoothie with rejuvelac afternoon: kale chips, cherries, onion bread with nut cheese and tomato evening: stuffed red pepper, kale chips For dinner I made some stuffed red pepper for the first time. I stuffed it with the cheese, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It came out good but not as delicious when I had it at Meredith's. So I have officially been raw for 2 months now. Wow! Crazy to think that its been this long. Most SAD eaters probably think its nuts. But its shockingly easy to make a lot of these foods and there is a substitution for a lot of foods that you think you cant live without. I am most worried that I am not getting enough variety in my meals. I eat tons of onion bread, nut cheese and tomato as you noticed. So this concerns me a bit. My biggest struggle I would say is beef. Thats probably the food I will have the hardest time giving up. As this marks my two month - Im likely going to have a cheat day and on that day I will likely have a bacon cheeseburger from ted's. I know how shitty it made me feel but I think im still willing to go through it. I guess I am masochistic? But regardless I dont think I have eaten this healthy since living back in Poland. Im feeling totally awesome and more... alive. Just plain happier too. Since starting raw I have lost about 13 pounds total. I still have about 28 pounds to go to get at a weight Im happy with but I am okay with this being a gradual thing. Im eating like a queen with no starvation involved or resulting to crazy stuff. So onto the next month of rawness.

Just a warning, since school started Im probably going to slack off on the updates but ill do my best. Posted by Daria at 7:52 AM 0 comments Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz Thursday, August 26, 2010 Day 53: Day 5 of Juice Feast Thursday - Day 53: Day 5 of Juice Feast

morning: one mason jar of kale, cucumber, lemon, squash, apple afternoon: one mason jar of carrot, romaine, lemon, ginger, zucchini; 1/4 of a jar of orange juice evening: 1/3 of a mason jar of beet juice; 1/2 jar of orange juice; teaspoon of flaxseed oil result: 2 poops cravings: potato chips, french fries, nut cheese, onion bread So today I have decided its my last official juice feast day. I was thinking of going until day 7 but then I spoke with Mer and she told me I slowly have to wean myself back onto solid food, especially nuts and grains. I want some of my raw onion bread and chive nut cheese so there is no way that I can wait for next week. So if I start on some solid tomorrow ill be able to do my cheese on Sunday.

I feel like within the past 5 days my skin cleared. I feel even more energized in the mornings and that feeling of hunger doesnt really exist. Its crazy how satisfying and filling the juices are. The best part about juicing is that I got that feeling of lightness back. While being raw you get used to it. But juicing has helped bring it back! The worst thing about juicing feasts is the actual act of making juices. Its just such a pain in the ass. I was lucky to have my mom help me make them. But I

still hated it and dreaded it. So ill be glad to cut down on the juicing time now that ill be making less. Also those weird cramps I got were actually period cramps. I got my period today. Definitely not scheduled to have it for awhile. I did forget to take a birth control pill on Sunday - so im thinking that my eating is regulating me to the max. Weight loss: 3-4 pounds. I wonder if ill gain this back as soon as I go back to solids. I also wish I could check out my colon somehow =) I have been thinking of getting a colonic. I would also like to thank Mindy for the possibility of this juice feast. She has lent me a juicer since ive gone raw. Thanks Mindy!!! (photo does not include juices consumed today - I forgot to take a picture so the juices are what was made for tomorrow. The light colored juice is rejuvelac I made for my nut cheese and soon to be made cheesecake!) Posted by Daria at 6:02 PM 0 comments Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Day 51 & 52: Day 3 & 4 of Juice Feast Tuesday - Day 51: Day 3 of Juice Feast morning: one mason jar of 1 stalk of celery, 4 carrots, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, apple afternoon: ginger root, 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 head of red cabbage, green pepper, apple, zucchini, sprinkled salt and pepper evening: one mason jar of 2 tomatoes, carrot, celery stalk, ginger root, horseradish root, cilantro, garlic clove, cayenne pepper 1/2 mason jar of watermelon juice; 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil result: 2 poops the afternoon brew was good at first, but then half way through it was disgusting. I had about 1/4 of it left and I just couldnt finish. But it was the most beautiful deep purple!

I was at journal orientation again in front of tons of free food. The food looked good but I was not tempted at all. It was when I got home, took a nap and got up that I really wanted solid food. But then I started juicing stuff for tomorrow and lost my appetite while sampling the new juices. Im kind of worried for tomorrow because of how often I need to go pee. For work Im going to various prisons to visit clients. I really do no want to use prison toilets =/ EEk! Ill report back. Sleep is back to normal. Energy level the same. Not feeling weak or hungry at all. Went on the scale and lost about 2-3 pounds. But Im feeling good! Doing a 5 day or 7 day feast wont be an issue. Ill go as long as the produce lasts. ... few hours later. EEEK! night time turned into hardness and contemplated quitting! Wednesday- Day 52: Day 4 of Juice Feast morning: 3/4 of one mason jar of 2 beets, 2 apples, spinach, cucumber, fennel, lemon afternoon: 3/4 of one mason jar of cucumber, romaine, lemon and apple evening: 1/2 of a mason jar of carrot, cilantro, ginger, lime, pears -> damn did this thing have a kick to it! I probably put way too much ginger. result: 1 poo cravings: omg mcdonalds, burger king!! bad bad bad So today were prison visits so I nursed my juices instead of downing them like I normally do in hopes of not needing to piss so badly. It kinda worked. Im also getting cramps - feels like im on my period? I feel rested when I wake up. Even today when I had to get up at 4:30 am! The mornings and afternoons are easy - its only night time that kills me and I want solid food. The key word here is want. Im not hungry or anything I just want it.

Food Photography: How to Shoot Ugly Food

By ANDREW SCRIVANI Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Black beans and rice.

Andrew Scrivani (@Andrew Scrivani) is a freelance photographer who contributes to The New York Times. He writes the blog Making Sunday Sauce. We have come to accept the term Food Porn as a way of describing pictures of food that heighten our desire to eat. Luscious images of dripping sauces, melting cheeses, glistening bowls of steamy soup and hearty meats entice us to indulge. When someone tells me that my pictures make him or her want to eat, it is the highest form of flattery. But let me tell you, its not always easy. Sometimes it takes all of my creative energy to make a good picture from an uncooperative subject. Being a food photographer is largely reliant upon the inherent desirability of my subjects. Cakes are by their nature easy to shoot. So is ice cream and pie. But show me a steaming pile of creamed corn that you look at and say, Hey, Id love to eat that and Ill show you a master at work. The first step in making ugly food look edible is to turn to other masters for inspiration: painters. The Dutch masters made food still life about setting, balance, symmetry and light, and when it comes to ugly or boring looking food you should do the same. Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Choosing an attractive table setting, beautiful props and/or using interesting angles and exquisite lighting will take the focus off of the food and onto the image as a whole. Creating a scene that has other elements for the viewer to focus on besides the fact that your herring potato salad is clumpy and gross looking is essential. In this image I chose to give the viewer something else to look at in the form of an elegant bowl and a lighting scheme that complemented its modern design. The result is a portfolio piece rather than, and may I borrow a line from Frank Bruni here, a gastronomic apocalypse. Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Also, recognizing that the food itself has graphically interesting elements can also save your bacon on a shoot. I did not find this mackerel dish to be particularly sexy but did like the shapes and colors. Creating the feathering effect by fanning out the filets and trailing the saut off the fan makes me think

of an Indian headdress. I know its sometimes like finding animals in the clouds, but by not being afraid to use your imagination you can make for interesting pictures. Finally, sometimes it helps to think in terms of the parts are greater than the sum when a particular dish is not lending itself to a great shot. A This agenda is critical to our economy back here at home, to our recovery and our ability to increase exports and create well-paying jobs here at home, said Mike Froman, the deputy national security adviser for international economics. But even with American CEOs in tow, it will be difficult for Mr. Obama to create a sense among Americans back home that the trip is for them. It wont be until he returns from the whirlwind trip that he can get back to the business of convincing Americans that he is focused on the need to create jobs. At the end of his news conference this week, Mr. Obama repeated his own frustration with feeling trapped inside the bubble of the White House. Getting out of here is good for me, too, he said. Its fair to assume that he didnt mean halfway around the world. In a statement Mr. Coppola discussed the origins of the movie, which stars Val Kilmer and which he said seemed to have the imagery of Hawthorne or Poe. Mr. Coppola wrote that the new project grew out of dream I had last year more of a nightmare. He continued: But as I was having it I realized perhaps it was a gift, as I could make it as a story, perhaps a scary film, I thought even as I was dreaming. But then some loud noise outside woke me up, and I wanted to go back to the dream and get an ending. But I couldnt fall back asleep so I recorded what I remembered right there and then on my phone. I realized that it was a gothic romance setting, so in fact Id be able to do it all around my home base, rather than have to go to a distant country.

Mr. Coppola said he then wrote Twixt Now and Sunrise as a short story (something I always do as a first step, he said) before turning it into a screenplay. While leaders of both parties are promising to cooperate, the prospects of bipartisanship are dicey especially with the 2012 presidential election on the immediate horizon. Republicans are already strongly positioned to win control of the Senate in 2012, when Democrats will be forced to defend 23 seats compared to just 10 for Republican incumbents, potentially limiting the partys incentive to compromise. And the issues facing the nation in the months ahead are hugely divisive, including a debate over the expiring Bush-era tax cuts and efforts to address the long-term fiscal problems, possibly by making big changes to Social Security and Medicare. Receiving a congratulatory phone call from Mr. Obama after midnight, the likely speaker, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, told the president that his top priority would be to create jobs and cut spending, aides said. But the parties have disagreed fiercely over how to accomplish such goals. At a news conference Wednesday morning at the Capitol, Mr. Boehner said Republicans would begin laying the groundwork for spending cuts and for repealing the health care law. The American people have concerns about government takeover of health care, Mr. Boehner said. I think its important for us to lay the groundwork before we begin to repeal this monstrosity. Overall, however, voters did not express any clear policy preferences that might help direct lawmakers. They indiscriminately ousted Democratic incumbents who loyally supported Mr. Obamas agenda, including the health care law, as well as lawmakers who carved their own path by voting against the president and the party leadership. In surveys outside polling places, 39 percent of votes said reducing the budget deficit should be the top priority for the next Congress, while nearly as

many said the first order of business should be job creation. Just 19 percent said the top priority should be cutting taxes. Voters were divided over the question of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone, as most Republican lawmakers advocate, or letting the rates expire on income above $250,000 for couples and $200,000 for individuals as Democratic leaders have proposed.

Election 2010
Voters in Tuesdays elections sent President Obama a loud message: They dont like how hes doing his job, theyre even angrier at Congressional Democrats and they gave the House back to the Republicans. The Republicans spent months fanning Americans anger over the economy and fear of big government, while offering few ideas of their own. Exit polls indicated that they had succeeded in turning out their base, and that the Democrats had failed to rally their own. Americans who voted described themselves as far more conservative than they did in 2006 and 2008 and than the population as a whole. More than 4 in 10 said that they supported the Tea Party movement. But more than half of the conservatives said they have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party. The question is: Will either side draw the right lessons from this midterm election? Mr. Obama, and his party, have to do a far better job of explaining their vision and their policies. Mr. Obama needs to break his habits of neglecting his base voters and of sitting on the sidelines and allowing others to shape the debate. He needs to do a much better job of stiffening the spines of his own partys leaders. Jump to: navigation, search Shoah
film poster

Directed byClaude Lanzmann StarringSimon Srebnik Mordecha Podchlebnik

Motke Zaidl Hanna Zaidl Jan Piwonski Richard Glazar Rudolf Vrba CinematographyDominique Chapuis Jimmy Glasberg William Lubtchansky Editing byZiva Postec Anna Ruiz Distributed byNew Yorker Films Release date(s)23 October 1985 Running time613 min (France), 503 min (USA), 566 min (UK), 544 min (Sweden) LanguageEnglish / German / Hebrew / Polish / Yiddish / French
House Results
Democrats 185 Undecided 11 Republicans 239 -60 seats 218 for majority +60 seats

Senate Results
Democrats 51 Undecided 3 Republicans 46 -6 seats 50 +6 seats

Give Obama a Break

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

In politics as in finance, markets overshoot. Traders and voters swoon over stocks or politicians one week, and then rage at them the next.

Thats why Im feeling a bit sorry for President Obama as we approach a midterm election in which he is poised to be cast off like an old sock. The infatuation with Mr. Obama was overdone in 2008, and so is the rejection of him today. So heres my message: Give him a chance. The sourness toward Mr. Obama reminds me of the crankiness toward Al Gore in 2000. We in the news media were tough on Mr. Gore, magnifying his weaknesses, and that fed into a general disdain. So some liberals voted for Ralph Nader, and George W. Bush moved into the White House. Like others, I have my disappointments with Mr. Obama, including his tripling of forces in Afghanistan. Yet the central problem isnt that Mr. Obama has been a weak communicator as president or squandered his political capital although both are true but that were mired in the aftermath of the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s. After all, Gallup polls still show Mr. Obama with public approval a hair ahead of Ronald Reagans at a similar point in his presidency (when America was also in recession). And maybe the best comparison is with President George H. W. Bush, a solid president and admirable man who had stratospheric approval ratings in 1991 at the end of the Persian Gulf war and then was fired by the public a year later when he sought re-election because of a much milder recession than todays. Bill Clinton, who was as good a president as weve had in modern times, captured Mr. Obamas challenge: Id like to see any of you get behind a locomotive going straight downhill at 200 miles an hour and stop it in 10 seconds, Mr. Clinton told a crowd in Washington State, according to a Washington Post account. Mr. Clinton also noted that the midterm elections are not a referendum. Lets make this a referendum on everything thats bothering you about life right now, he paraphrased the Republicans as saying, before adding: It is not a referendum. It. Is. A. Choice. A choice between two different sets of ideas. The criticisms of Mr. Obama from the left often ring true to me, but I also think we elide the political difficulties of getting better legislation past obstructionists in Congress. A public option would have improved the health care package in my judgment, but it might also have killed it. The economic crisis has also distracted from authentic accomplishments. Presidents since Harry Truman have been pushing for health care reform, and it was Mr. Obama who finally achieved it. The economy seemed at risk of another Great Depression when he took office, and that was downgraded to a recession from which we have officially emerged even though the pain is still biting. Mr. Obama has also helped engineer a successful auto bailout, a big push for clean energy, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to reduce sex discrimination, tighter tobacco regulations aimed at the 1,000

Americans under age 18 who become smokers each day, and tighter financial regulation including reform of credit card rules. Above all, Mr. Obama has been stellar in one area crucial to our countrys future: education. Democrats historically have been AWOL on school reform because they are beholden to teacher unions, but Mr. Obama has reframed the debate and made it safe to talk about teaching standards and bad teachers. Until Mr. Obama, Democrats barely acknowledged that it was possible for a teacher to be bad. Mr. Obama used stimulus money to keep teachers from being laid off and to nudge states to reform education so as to benefit children for years to come. His Race to the Top focused states on education reform as never before. He has also revamped and expanded student loans and bolstered support for community colleges, opening a new path to higher education for working-class Americans. Millions more Americans may end up in college. Presidents in both parties have talked for years about the importance of education, but until now it has been lip service. Improving Americas inner-city schools will be a long slog, but Mr. Obama has done far more than any other president in this area arguably our single greatest national challenge. In my view, its his greatest achievement, and it has been largely ignored. So, sure, go ahead and hold Mr. Obamas feet to the fire. He deserves to be held accountable. But lets not allow economic malaise to cloud our judgment and magnify Americas problems in ways that become self-fulfilling.

Dont go there
Ramen Seto is a small Japanese eatery near Oxford Circus and Carnaby Street, and it has the dubious honour to be the worst restaurant that Ive experienced in London not including some stalls in Camden Town Stables Market.

The food is sort of Japanese, but the taste is more greasy than Asian. I felt almost sick after eating it, and the bad feeling prevailed for a few hours. The restaurant is inexpensive, but I still thought being ripped off. The joint is located on Kingly Street, a narrow alley parallel to Carnaby Street.

Ramen Seto, 19 Kingly Street, London, United Kingdom, +44 871 332 8396

Moss man

World browns, is rather shameful, even if the food were any good.

The Next Two Years

By DAVID BROOKS

President Obama is likely to suffer a pummeling defeat on Tuesday. But the road map for his recovery is pretty straightforward. First, the president is going to have to win back independents. Liberals are now criticizing him for being too timid. On the other hand, he cannot survive the defection of the independents. In 2008, independent voters preferred Democrats by 8 percentage points. Now they prefer Republicans by 20 points, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Unless Obama wins back these moderate, suburban indies, there will be a Republican president in 2013. Second, Obama needs to redefine his identity. Bill Clinton gave himself a New Democrat label. Obama has never categorized himself so clearly. This ambiguity was useful in 2008 when people could project whatever they wanted onto him. But it has been harmful since. Obama came to be defined by his emergency responses to the fiscal crisis by the things he had to do, not by the things he wanted to do. Then he got defined as an orthodox, big government liberal who lacks deep roots in American culture. Over the next two years, Obama will have to show that he is a traditionalist on social matters and a center-left pragmatist on political ones. Culturally, he will have to demonstrate that even though he comes from an unusual background, he is a fervent believer in the old-fashioned bourgeois virtues: order, self-discipline, punctuality and personal responsibility. Politically, he will have to demonstrate that he is data-driven that even though he has more faith in government than most Americans, he will relentlessly oppose programs when the evidence shows they dont work. Third, Obama will need to respond to the nations fear of decline. The current sour mood is not just caused by high unemployment. It emerges from the fear that Americas best days are behind it. The

publics real anxiety is about values, not economics: the gnawing sense that Americans have become debt-addicted and self-indulgent; the sense that government undermines individual responsibility; the observation that people who work hard get shafted while people who play influence games get the gravy. Obama will have to propose policies that re-establish the link between effort and reward. Fourth, Obama has to build an institutional structure to support a more moderate approach. Presidents come into office thinking that they will be able to go ahead and enact policies. Then they realize that they can only succeed if there is a vast phalanx of institutions laboring alongside them. Liberals already have institutions. To be a center-left leader, Obama will have to mobilize independent institutions as well. These dont exist in Washington, but they do around the nation. Civic organizations, local business groups and municipal leagues run from Orlando to Kansas City to Seattle. These groups are filled with local leaders who lobby for balanced budgets, infrastructure plans and other worthy causes. If Obama can mobilize these groups, he would not only build coalitions, but he would help heal the venomous rift between the White House and business, which is a cancer on his presidency. Over the next few months, the Republicans will have their time in the sun. On Tuesday, Ill offer some thoughts on how they can seize the moment. But if Obama is to rebound, he is going to have to suppress his natural competitive instincts. If he gets caught up in the Beltway fight club, the Republicans will emerge as the party of limited government and hell emerge as the spokesman for big government surely a losing proposition. Instead, he will have to go out and do his own thing. That means every day reinforcing the following narrative: the Republicans are only half right. They want to cut things; I want to cut but also replace things. They want to slash government; I want to restructure it. They want destruction; I want renovation. Companies like Ford cut wasteful spending while doubling down on productive investment. Thats exactly what the nation has to do over all. There have to be cuts, the president could say, in unaffordable pension commitments, in biofuel subsidies and useless tax breaks. But there also have to be investments in things that will produce a vibrant economy for our children: a simpler tax system with lower rates on investment; more scientific research; a giant effort to improve Hispanic graduation rates; medical courts to rationalize the malpractice system and so on. Instead of being disjointed, as he has been, the president will have to reinforce this turnaround story day after day. The problem is not that America lacks resources. The problem is that they are misallocated. If Obama can establish credibility as someone who can cut and replace, Election Day 2012 will be rosier for him than Election Day 2010.