Month: September 2009

[S]cience fiction as a form is where theological narrative went after Paradise Lost, and this is undoubtedly true. … The form is often used as a way of acting out the consequences of a theological doctrine. .. Extraterrestrials have taken the place of angels, demons, fairies and saints, though it must be said that this […]

A report to be released publicly today found that two of five working-age Californians do not have a job, underscoring the challenges in one of the toughest job markets in decades. The last time employment levels among this group were this low was February 1977, according to a study by the California Budget Project, a […]

I think I could pretty much guarantee you that if the question in the public mind was “Would you like the option of buying into Medicare before you turn 65?” the opposition would be vastly diminished. via Talking Points Memo.

Poor Obama. He came to town preaching the religion of nice. But every time he bows politely, the harder the Republicans kick him. No one’s ever conquered Washington politics by constantly saying “pretty please” to the guys trying to cut your throat. Let’s get on with it, Mr. President. via Bill Moyers Journal

The bankers plan to buy “life settlements,” life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash — $400,000 for a $1 million policy, say, depending on the life expectancy of the insured person. Then they plan to “securitize” these policies, in Wall Street jargon, by packaging hundreds or thousands together into bonds. They […]

The “Smart Choices Program,” backed by some of Big Food’s major powerhouses (“Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods”), works like this: they can pay up to $100,000 for a membership, with a fee based on the total number of products sold. So, in essence: the Smart Choices Program makes […]

What’s interesting, to my mind, is the manner in which these images are identifiably part of an English – or perhaps British – tradition. Since Wells at least, British speculative fiction has tended to imagine our end in similarly muted terms . . . This vision stands in stark contrast to American visions of world’s […]