Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Aishwarya Rai
VIEWS
REVIEWS
from the world's best print media
Rai: India’s Angelina Jolie
China's first international press digest www.nvrmagazine.com
People, pg 10
Britain under attack
What hope now On the front pages, pg 2
Caught: Indonesia’s most wanted
for Palestine? On the front pages, pg 2
pg
3 Yang at Yahoo
Business, pg 8
The world’s ugliest plant
Health & Science, pg 13
Sept 11. and Chinese food
Opinions, pg 16
Hillary and Celine
Opinions, pg 17
Kevin Costner: Serial killer
Film, pg 19
Forgedaboudit: Sopranos bow out
Arts & Entertainment, pg 24
The axis of decency
Travel, pg 26
Chris Patten... ten years on
Penultimately, pg 38
RMB12 HK$20 July 6, 2007
On the front pages July 6, 2007
N E W S
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S On the front pages
Front page of
Cover story
Hamas “accepts none of these things.”
Palestine splits in two Ever since Hamas won Palestinian elec-
The story...
Palestinian Islamist party Hamas seized
tions in January 2006, the United States
and Israel have done everything they
could to isolate it. Now, 18 months on,
the week
control of the Gaza Strip on June 14 “Hamas is that much stronger and Fatah
after days of bloody fighting with rival is that much weaker.”
party Fatah, which left 116 people dead Yes, it’s “wishful thinking” to believe
and put an end to the two parties’ so that aid money alone can create a strong
called “unity government.” new administration in the West Bank
After Hamas militants routed Fatah in or squeeze Hamas in Gaza, said The
Gaza, Palestinian President and Fatah Washington Post in an editorial. “While
leader Mahmoud Abbas declared a state it’s worth trying” to support the new
of emergency, dismissed the Hamas-led government of the “moderate” Abbas,
unity government and installed a new he’s proved incapable of controlling
cabinet comprising mostly bureaucrats. Fatah’s armed gangs or ridding the
Abbas, who is based in the Fatah- party of “rampant corruption and mal-
controlled West Bank, vowed to reunite the feasance” which led to Hamas’ election victory
Palestinians under their “lawful” government. in 2006. Hamas still has the support of a large
But Hamas declared the new government illegal number of Palestinians: it can’t be “abolished The Independent (London), Friday, June 15.
and refused to recognize it. by decree,” and isolating it “will only make it The Independent uses the Palestinian
The United States and European Union more radical and more dependent on sponsors flag for its front page to make the
said it would support the Abbas government in Syria and Iran.” point that Hamas’ triumph in Gaza
through direct financial aid, while continuing “In seeking to boost ‘moderates’ such as may well be Palestine’s tragedy.
an economic boycott of Hamas. Sanctions Abbas, the west only hugs them to death,” said
were imposed last year when Hamas — which Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian (London).
the United States regards as a terrorist organ- The more aid Abbas takes from the west will
ization — formed the unity government with only confirm him as a “western proxy” in
Fatah. In Washington, U.S. President George Arab eyes, casting him alongside Afghanistan’s
W. Bush praised Abbas as “a voice for modera- Hamid Karzai, Iraq’s Nuri al-Maliki and
tion” and called him the true “president of all Lebanon’s Fouad Siniora. If the West Bank is
the Palestinians.” showered with money but most of it stays in
Meanwhile, Israel said it would release US$560 “Fatah’s gilded circle,” it will foster “precisely
million in frozen tax revenue to the Abbas the resentment” that brought about Hamas’
government. election victory in 2006. 南开大学电子音像出版社
One thing’s clear, said Niall Ferguson in 责任编辑:宋立君
The comment... The Sunday Telegraph (London). Any “lingering
Managing Editor JFK Miller
It might seem like there’s not much choice be- hopes” of a two-state solution to the Israeli-
Editors Paul Collins, Toby Skinner,
tween “the gunmen of Fatah and the gunmen of Palestinian conflict have now “evaporated.” Japhet Weeks
Hamas,” said The New York Times in an editorial. The next peace plan for the Middle East Editorial Assistant Daisy Lu
“But there is.” Fatah has renounced terrorism and will need to be a “three-state solution: Israel, Designer Vivien Gu
supports a two-state peace settlement with Israel. Hamastan and Fatahland.” Editorial Consultant Steven Crane
Contributors Anton Berkovic, Phil Boyle,
Vera Charlie, Emma Faulkner, Jake Hamilton,
Marissa Holden, Sophie Loras, Karlijn Meulman,
“Doctors of death.” The Sun (London), July 2. Anna Shen, Sherry Shen, Casey Whale
HK Focus Media Ltd, Hong Kong.
The Sun describes the doctors arrested in connection with the
failed car bombing attacks on London and Glasgow. China PO Box: 032-058
广告代理:
China
上海礼乐广告有限公司
Town and country 中国上海胶州路397号14楼F303室
Managing Director Leo Zhou
A recent U.N. report said that more than half of Operations Director Lily Qin
China’s population will be living in cities in 10 Business Director Travis Murray
years. An estimated 150 million people moved Production Manager Samz Hwang
to China’s urban areas between 1999 and 2005. Marketing Executives Joe Zhou, Chris Hu
William Ryan, information adviser for the U.N. Sales Manager Aven Wang
Population Fund in Asia and the Pacific, said: Account Manager Rachel Chen
Living for the city: migrants on the move
“From 1980 to 2030, the population of China Web & IT Milo Zhang
will go from being 20 percent urban to almost “glittering karaoke club” in a “booming eastern Advertising Hotline +86 21 5238 5446
two-thirds urban.” Chinese city.” General enquiries +86 21 5238 5453
Zhang Bing is one of “huge wave of rural China’s urbanization “is unique in that it Email info@nvrmagazine.com
workers streaming into China’s cities to seek stems largely from migration instead of natural Web site www.nvrmagazine.com
opportunity,” said the Associated Press. Zhang, population growth.” It is only recently that “ris- 定价:12元
26, who until recently herded sheep and raised ing wealth and greater personal freedoms have ISBN 7 – 900667 – 90 – 8/ H.90
chickens in Inner Mongolia, now manages a allowed rural dwellers to move to cities.”
www.nvrmagazine.com
Miscellany
July 6, 2007
N E W S
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S In brief: Asia
Kabul Beijing
www.nvrmagazine.com
In brief: World
July 6, 2007
N E W S
New York Montreal
Ripley’s re-opens for business Roid rage suspected in Canadian Crippler killings
After a 35-year absence, Ripley’s Believe it or Police are investigating whether steroid use is to blame
Not, famous for depicting the weird and the in the suicide and double murder of professional
wacky, has opened a new emporium in New wrestler Chris Benoit and his family. Nicknamed the
York’s Times Square. Ripley’s new “Odditorium” is being touted as the “Canadian Crippler,” Benoit is believed to have hung
“greatest collection of unbelievable odd and unusual items ever assembled himself using a weight machine pulley after strangling
under one roof, from this world and beyond!” The collection includes a two- his wife and then suffocating his 7-year-old son. A
headed calf, a six-legged cow, an albino giraffe, a lock of Elvis Presley’s hair Bible had been placed next to their bodies. Anabolic
and 24 shrunken heads from Ecuador. It’s an experience organizers insist is steroids, which can cause paranoia, depression and
a “family affair.” Ripley’s last exhibition in Times Square closed in 1972. explosive outbursts known as “roid rage,” were found
in the house. Benoit was known as a family man and
Washington no suicide note was found.
Bush’s immigration reform collapses
The authority of U.S. President George W. Bush continues to
be undermined after much of his party abandoned him on a key
vote to overhaul the country’s immigration policy. The bill, that
would have given legal status to millions of illegal immigrants in the
United States while strengthening the nation’s borders, was rejected 53 to
46. Despite last minute pleas from Bush, only 12 of 49 Senate Republicans
sided with him in the vote. The contentious bill would have meant some of
the most radical changes to U.S. immigration law in more than 20 years, but
opponents criticized the proposal for rewarding lawbreakers.
Caracas
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S In brief: World
London Berlin
www.nvrmagazine.com
Business
July 6, 2007
N E W S
Yang at Yahoo
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang (pic- Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s
tured) has replaced Terry Semel Bill Gates have pulled it off, but
as CEO of Yahoo, while Susan they’re exceptions to the rule.
Decker, a key Yahoo executive, What’s more, Yang has “a cred-
was named president. Semel pre- ibility problem” because he’s been
sided over five years of 20 percent at the company through its recent
annual sales growth at Yahoo, but problems, said the Los Angeles
in recent years, the company has Times. He “isn’t like Michael Dell,
lost its lead in Internet advertising Steve Jobs and other high-profile
to competitor Google. Last year executives who returned to rescue
alone, Yahoo shares fell 35 per- the companies they founded.”
cent. Taipei-born Yang, however, Some people at Yahoo believe
says he can turn things around. Yang’s position is only temporary
“I believe that Yahoo has all the and that Decker will soon take
assets it takes to win, and we’re well over, said Kevin J. Delaney in The
positioned to do just that,” he said Wall Street Journal. However, Yang
following the announcement. denies such claims. And at least
Will Yang and Decker be able to one former president of Yahoo,
do what Semel couldn’t? “I doubt Jeff Mallet, agrees. He described
it,” said Fred Vogelstein in Wired. Yang as having always been “half
com. Semel’s biggest mistake was in that chair [of CEO].” But others
that he let rival Google grow from in the company perceive Yang as
a “pipsqueak into a giant.” Now, a “gentleman founder” who’s “not
not only is Google the “most ef- that involved in the day-to-day
ficient producer of content on the operation of the business.”
planet,” but it doesn’t even have One thing’s for sure, said Miguel
to pay for marketing; when it re- Helft in The New York Times: the
leases a new product, “everyone shake-up has “left investors with
comes.” Founder and savior? Yang is more “a technologist than a manager” more questions than answers.”
Google isn’t Yang’s only chal- wiser” than when he founded the than a manager. Running a public Shortly after the announcement,
lenge, said the Financial Times company in 1995 [he’s now 38], company takes “sophisticated” Yahoo shares fell 49 cents to
(London). Yes, he’s “older and but he’s still more of a technologist management skills. People like US$27.63.
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S Business
Viewpoint Viewpoint
Media
www.nvrmagazine.com
10
People July 6, 2007
N E W S
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S
11
People
In their
Obituary
No more Paris
U.N. head who tried to hide his Nazi past
own words Mika Brzezinski,
an MSNBC mor- Kurt Waldheim, 1918-2007
“Other than the diamonds ning presenter, Kurt Waldheim, who was elected
and all of that... I’m “obviously wasn’t President of Austria despite rev-
really low maintenance.” thrilled with her elations of his former ties to Nazi
Bollywood actress Shilpa lead story” when she was given a
Shetty on her easy- Germany, has died aged 81.
script about Paris Hilton’s release The disclosure ensured he be-
going dating style. from jail, says Richard Gizbert came “the best known Austrian
“Reviewing takes expertise, in The Huffington Post. “She an- politician since Adolf Hitler,” said
wisdom and judgment. I am nounced on air that she didn’t want The Daily Telegraph (London). It
not much fond of the notion to read it,” which she got away with was an achievement that also owed
that anyone’s view is as good in the first news block. But when a something to his high-profile role
as anyone else’s.” Author Ian Hilton story appeared at the top of as Secretary-General of the United
McEwan on Internet reviewers. the second news block, Brzezinski Nations (1972-1982). After study-
tried to burn the script with a ing law in Vienna, his decision to
“A girl’s history book producer’s lighter, “before settling
is important. One join the Nazi student association
ex too many and
for just ripping it up.” At this point in 1938 showed “opportunism” if
others will think you her co-presenter, ex-Congressman not necessarily “convictions” in the Waldheim: "opportunism"
have a bad record.” Hong Kong Joe Scarborough, picked up the movement’s ideology. But his role He hoped to serve a third term but
actress Fiona Sit on how rumored scraps of paper and sniffed them, as an intelligence officer linking the proposal was vetoed by China.
relationships destroy reputations. presumably “imagining that he Italian and German forces in 1942 If Waldheim had chosen to bow
had in his possession a pair of Ms. fully implicated him in the massacre out of public office at this point,
“She’s accomplished many Hilton’s underwear.” The third
missions impossible. It’s okay to be of partisans at Kozara in Bosnia “his Nazi past would probably
time a Hilton story appeared, that year. After the war, he served never have been revealed,” said
pushed down by a girl. I have my
movies anyway.” Singer Jay Chou
Brzezinski “ran the script through as his country’s ambassador to the Jonathan Kandell in The New York
on the possibility of losing to fellow the shredder.” Brzezinski’s father United Nations, a springboard to Times. But running once more for
songster Jolin Tsai in album sales. was President Jimmy Carter’s na- the organization’s top job. the Austrian presidency in 1986,
tional security advisor, and she’s “a He viewed his appointment as rival politicians began to investigate
“The price tag is the art.” Journalist bit of a celebrity herself, albeit one “fitting compensation” for failing his wartime record. A newspaper
Nick Cohen trashing artist Damien who is lumbered with a brain.” A la to win the Austrian presidency uncovered his Nazi associations
Hirst, who unveiled a diamond- Hilton, she could certainly “smell
covered skull for sale for US$100 the previous year, said The Times and the findings were made public
the ratings.” (London). But it was rumored that by the World Jewish Congress. The
million.
Waldheim’s “mediocrity” was seen revelations, however, were regarded
“It was pretty embarrassing. They as his most fitting qualification for by many Austrians as an “intolerable
brought Brad and me in, and they The other Churchill a post which was soon to be “de- interference by foreigners,” and they
just made us take off our shirts and Arabella Churchill, granddaugh- liberately downgraded.” A “hot elected Waldheim regardless. It was
stand there for a while, and then ter of Sir Winston, is one of the temper” may have marked him out also true that many Austrians saw in
they picked Brad.” Actor George “founders, organizers and guiding
Clooney on losing the hitchhiker
as a difficult boss, but his efficient his life a “parable of their own,” as
role in Thelma & Louise to Brad
spirits” of Glastonbury, England’s handling of what was then seen as citizens of a nation that was occu-
Pitt. biggest outdoor rock festival, says an “unmanageable” organization pied by Germany and which forced
Cole Moreton in The Independent ensured his re-election in 1977. As them to collaborate. But even an
(London). Churchill, 57, was an “indefatigable” worker, he acted investigation at Waldheim’s own
“I always felt as if I had “very close” to her grandfather, as a personal go-between in the behest found he must have been
been born into the wrong who died in 1965 when she was
family. I felt that I should
“tortuous” negotiations to release aware of certain “atrocities,” even
have been royal.” Actress
15. Back then, the Churchills the hostages from the American if he wasn’t guilty of “war crimes.”
Jessica Alba on growing were “almost as famous” as the Embassy in Tehran in 1981. And Right up until his death he expressed
up poor. royal Windsor family, which meant he wasn’t without “moral courage” no “remorse or regret” for his ac-
that the “glamorous debutante” in forcing the United Nations to tions, preferring to see himself as
“Seeing a hereditary monarch Arabella constantly found herself directly address terrorism after the “an ordinary citizen who had been
reward people by calling them a the subject of media scrutiny. So Munich Olympic Games massacre. caught in a maelstrom.”
‘Member of the British Empire’ she ran away to a Glastonbury
in 2007 makes me sad for my in 1971 and liked it so much she
country.” The Independent’s
columnist Johann Hari on the
decided to stay. Since then she has
overseen the festival’s non-musical
Farewell
Queen’s Birthday Honors List. Vilma Espin
acts. Once a year she commands
"First lady" of the Cuban revolution, aged 77.
“Here [in the United States] they “a mutant army of jugglers, sword
swallowers, contortionists and fire Gianfranco Ferre
get their snatches waxed. I get a
Italian designer known as the “architect of fashion,” aged 62.
strip, a runway strip. I don’t think I breathers as well as serious actors,
Ruth Bell Graham
could get it done in England. They dancers and some of the biggest The woman behind American evangelist Billy Graham, aged 87.
stare at it. They spend ages doing names in comedy.” Churchill dis-
it. It’s like, ‘Get it over and f***ing Bernard Manning
likes comparisons with her famous Racist, homophobic and misogynistic British comedian, aged 76.
done with!’” Britpop singer Lily
Allen admires the bravery of body
grandfather. “I was no good at be- Richard Rorty
conscious American women. ing Churchill,” she says. “People American philosopher, aged 75.
never saw me for me.”
www.nvrmagazine.com
12
Sport July 6, 2007
N E W S
Olympic watch
Basketball
Cycling
Profile
Avoiding scandal
Peng Shuai “Never mind who wins,” said Julien
Back from the brink Pretot in The Washington Post, the
Just a year ago, the “rise of the East” in women’s tennis was predicted Tour de France organizers “just
when Li Na became the first Chinese woman to reach the Wimbledon want their sport to emerge scan-
quarter finals, said Katie Scott in The Times (London). But this may dal-free” when the race finishes
have been a “false dawn” since only one Chinese player made the
second round in this year’s tournament. For Chinese No. 2 Peng Shuai,
later this month. After a “traumatic
however, even qualifying for Wimbledon was an achievement. Peng experience” last year, when winner
nearly quit the sport last year due to disillusionment and depression. Floyd Landis tested positive for
Her change of heart is due to her new coach Michael Chang, the former doping, and further drug scandals
world No. 2 and the 1989 French Open winner, who has made Peng throughout this year, everyone is
believe in herself again. And Peng may just have got the break she hoping for a “smooth ride.” The
needs. One half of the reigning Wimbledon doubles champions, Zheng Tour is not only looking for a new Vinokourov: "pin-up boy"
Jie, is about to winner, said Alasdair Fotheringham as the new hero? The favorite is
undergo surgery on in The Independent (London), but “for Alexander Vinokourov (pictured),
her ankle that will
put her in doubt for
some kind of credibility as a sport- said William Fotheringham in the
next year’s Games, ing event.” And “it will be looking Guardian (London). Kazakhstan’s
paving the way for hard.” This is one of the reasons that “most popular sportsman” is the
Peng to step in the start of the race will take place kind of pin-up boy the sport needs:
alongside Yan Zi. in London, giving the event a fresh “blond, with piercing blue eyes and
Yan believes she lease of life. But who will emerge the stocky build of a boxer.”
can emulate her
Wimbledon doubles Coming up
success with her
2014 Winter Olympics venue announcement, Guatemala July 7
new partner, despite
Tour de France, July 7-29
having never played
British Formula One Grand Prix, Silverstone July 8
together.
Fed Cup tennis semi-finals and play-offs, July 14-15
German Moto GP, Sachsenring July 15
Peng's return: the Chinese No. 2 almost quit British Open Golf Championship, Carnoustie July 19-22
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
N E W S
13
Health & Science
Older and wiser
A 20-year study from Norway Gellene in the Los Angeles Times.
has confirmed “what many older Nobel prizes are awarded to more
siblings have thought all along firstborns than other siblings, and
— they’re smarter,” said Kavita they make up “disproportion-
Mishra in the San Francisco Chronicle. ate numbers” in American col-
Experts have long disputed the leges. Kristensen’s analysis found
role that birth order plays in in- firstborns had an average IQ of
telligence, but now “the debate 103.2, roughly 2 points higher
is over,” according to researcher than second-borns and 3 points Some might say I'm smarter: Noel and Liam Gallagher
Petter Kristensen, a professor of higher than third-born sons. But their families. But then, as birth as a perfect example of a later-born
epidemiology at Oslo University. the reason they’re on a “trajectory order expert Prof. Frank Sulloway who proved to be “good at differ-
His team looked at the IQ scores of for success” has nothing to do points out, Isaac Newton and ent things.”
250,000 men as they entered com- with genetics and everything to do Charles Darwin are both examples A famous older child like rock
pulsory military service, including with their parents. Boys who only of “revolutionary thinkers” who singer Noel Gallagher of Oasis,
60,000 pairs of brothers. Previous became the eldest after the death had older siblings. however, would no doubt agree
studies suggest women are similarly of an older sibling, for example, In fact, Charles Darwin was the with the findings, said Steve Connor
affected by birth ranking. were found to have IQs very close fifth of six children and “didn’t in The Independent (London). While
The findings are “the latest twist to firstborns. Kristensen contends fare very well in some of his classes younger sibling Liam “causes havoc,
in a phenomenon that scientists this is because they are given a at Cambridge,” said Katharine starts fights and occasionally sings,”
have long noticed but have been similar amount of responsibility Sanderson in Nature. Sulloway cites there’s little argument about where
at a loss to explain,” said Denise and are treated as “leaders” by the father of evolutionary science the real talent in the pair lies.
www.nvrmagazine.com
14
Opinions: Asia V
I E W S
July 6, 2007
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
V
I E W S
15
Opinions: Europe
United Kingdom Germany/Poland
Berlin or bust
A knight’s crusade? “It’s not exactly how one
expects to see German
Chancellor Angela
Merkel,” says Charles
Hawley in Der Spiegel (Hamburg). Polish week-
ly magazine Wprost recently headlined with
“Europe’s Step-Mother,” showing a picture of
Merkel with “two breasts spilling out” of her
blouse and Poland’s governing Kaczynski twins
— Prime Minister Jaroslaw and President Lech
— “suckling” one each. The article makes it
clear that while Merkel treats the rest of Europe
like her step-children, “she has been particu-
larly condescending to the Poles.” Reaction
to the image in Germany has been “predict-
ably shrill”: Cologne daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
said the Chancellor had been “mocked” and
“ridiculed,” while Bild quoted a number of
politicians criticizing the cover’s “tasteless-
ness.” It’s “just the most recent salvo” in an
“ongoing media war between the two coun-
tries.” In 2003, Wprost printed a cover show-
ing then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder being
“ridden dominatrix style” by Erika Steinbach,
head of a group representing Poles kicked out
of Germany in World War II, wearing a Nazi
uniform. Germany’s Die Tageszeitung has printed
images of the Kaczynskis “with potatoes as
heads,” while Der Spiegel showed Merkel being
Rushdie: a “living target” for over a decade “ridden” by the Polish twins.
The fuss about Salman Rushdie’s knighthood is move away from such “literalist fanaticism.”
“depressingly predictable,” said India Knight in The truth is that “the Islamic world has United Kingdom
The Sunday Times (London). Eighteen years after acquired a penchant for self-righteous fury,”
the Iranian government called for his death fol- said Jenny McCartney in The Daily Telegraph Broker Blair
lowing the publication of his novel The Satanic (London). It’s now the “emotion of choice” for The speed with which former British Prime
Verses, Tehran has now made the “inane” sug- many, in much the same way that Westerners Minister Tony Blair “has scripted his own
gestion that his knighthood is somehow an “in- have developed a taste for “mawkish sentimen- sequel” by becoming the world’s envoy to the
sult to Islamic values.” Like most of us, Rushdie tality.” In the case of Rushdie’s knighthood, Middle East “gives the impression of self-ab-
could never have predicted the “calamitous there’s no shortage of “competitive outrage” sorption,” says Bronwen Maddox in The Times
consequences of his act of creativity” and his between Iran, Pakistan and homegrown crit- (London). The rush to announce a new role
deserved knighthood surely takes account of his ics, all keen to be seen as the “authentic voice” for Blair by the time he left office seemed “de-
being a “living target” for over a decade. But of their community. But such anger “need not signed to ease the sting of surrendering high
rather than “pandering to extremists” with half- define Islam.” Moderate voices like that of late office more than to solve the problems of the
hearted apologies, British politicians should be Arab scholar Zaki Badawi who pleaded with Middle East.” That said, Blair’s appointment
defending the government’s decision to award fellow Muslims to “spurn” The Satanic Verses isn’t as absurd as it might seem, as long as “you
Rushdie a knighthood, as well as championing but “spare” its author, remind us that anger “is take a long step around” his role in Iraq and
the right to free speech. In the face of pressure not a compulsion” but “a choice.” his support for Israel’s military campaign in
from this “grotesque distortion” of the Islamic As a British Muslim who enthusiastically Lebanon last summer. After all, Blair’s “pas-
faith, it appears that “art, beauty, reason and supported the fatwa against Rushdie at the sion for tackling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
morality” must now be sacrificed. time, I now admit “our detractors had been is beyond dispute.” But it will be virtually
And all because a writer said some “question- right,” said Inayat Bunglawala in the Guardian impossible to define his new role “while the
ing, querying things about a man who died over (London). I still “strongly disagree” with political route ahead remains so unclear,” with
a thousand years ago,” said Johann Hari in The Rushdie’s caricature of revered Islamic figures, the only certain conclusion being that it will
Independent (London). By simply trying to “nudge but acknowledge that banning the novel “was be political rather than economic. Blair faces
his fellow Muslims” away from a literal reading not the answer.” In the intervening years I’ve serious problems in reconciling U.S.-Israeli
of the Quran, the Indian-born writer ensured that come to realize that the “freedom to offend is plans and those of Palestine, though he may
beheading became “a legitimate form of literary a necessary freedom.” That said, our protests at feel the “paralysis plays to his strengths.” His
criticism.” The mullahs he so “enraged” by men- the time gave Muslims immigrants from Arabic, great success in bringing peace to Northern
tioning the Prophet Muhammad in The Satanic Bengali, Gujarati, Pakistani, Turkish and other Ireland “sprang from his skills as a broker.”
Verses would rather maintain their own “monop- backgrounds, a sense that we were, together, But that approach could “make too light” of
oly” on how the Holy Book is interpreted. And “British Muslims.” And for that I can only say his new mission, in which he will lack “the
the jihadism seen in the years since the fatwa was “Thanks, Sir Salman.” clout of a government head.”
pronounced in 1989 underlines the urgency to See Letters, pg 17 See Blair’s final farewell, pg 7; Letters, pg 17
www.nvrmagazine.com
16
Opinions: Americas V
I E W S
July 6, 2007
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
V
I E W S
17
Letters
Exchange of the week
A knight’s crusade?
much offence but I don’t want Mr. Siddiqui
silenced because he and I clearly differ on Blogs View
this, and I hope he would feel the same.
You and I: Hillary and Celine
To The Independent (London) Paula Jones, London
See A knight’s crusade, pg 15
How can I express my personal outrage at
the queen’s lack of judgement in agreeing
to bestow a high honor on Salman Rushdie, Broker Blair
a person who is widely considered to be a To the Guardian (London)
scoundrel by U.K. Muslims and by the vast Blair’s failure to condemn Israel’s destruction
majority of the entire Muslim world? of Lebanon last summer would appear to make
Nearly 19 years ago when The Satanic Verses him unfit for the job; but on the other hand
was published, my wife and I skimmed he got Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness to Celine with backing by Hillary
through the book. It is filled with utterly have tea together. Hillary Clinton hit upon the idea that she should
filthy language including four-letter explet- let the American public choose her 2008
ives all over the place, not to mention a San Cassimally, Edinburgh presidential campaign song. So, which song
grotesque portrayal of the personal life of did the people decide upon? U2? KT Tunstall?
Muhammad. I cannot help but feel that this news redefines Smash Mouth? No, it was Celine Dion’s ‘You
irony in a way not seen since Henry Kissinger and I.’
What were the advisers thinking of when See Twatting about on the Net, pg 16
they chose to recommend Rushdie for this was awarded the Nobel peace prize.
From LAist:
honor? They surely would have thought Julian Howes, Plymouth It’s possibly the lamest campaign song EVER.
about the offense this would cause. But Move over, Bill and Fleetwood Mac. Here comes
clearly this mattered not a jot. I am deeply To the Los Angeles Times Hill and Celine Dion. Yup, to appeal to all those
disappointed that Her Majesty did not reject Tony Blair may be passionate about Middle kids and liberals out there, she picked the
this out of hand. Does she not see the news? East issues, but I do not detect any passion Canadian queen’s ‘You and I.’ (Why? For the
I was born and bred in the United Kingdom. for him by the people of the Middle East. His love of God, why?) Of course, Hillary held an
interactive voting campaign on her Web site to
I am a subject of Her Majesty, whom I have nomination to be a Mideast envoy makes about
let the masses pick the winning song, but those
always held in high esteem. I also adhere to as much sense as President Bush seeking the Celine fans probably stuffed the ballot box. What
the Muslim faith. same position in 2009. was wrong with Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’?
While the Danish cartoons were produced Dodd Sheikh, Redondo Beach Hillary, this is America. Democracy can always be
by someone I consider to be plain ignorant, See Broker Blair, pg 15 overruled.
but caused deep offence, I’m afraid this Christine N. Ziemba
knighthood to Rushdie cuts even deeper. Tainted toys
This is a highly public endorsement by the From TimesOnline.co.uk:
To The New York Times Songs have always been associated with
Establishment of Rushdie’s offensive book.
I would urge that a precedent be set with As the Thomas the Tank Engine recall shows, presidential candidates — Jimmy Carter used the
the export of goods from China is seemingly Rocky tune, for instance, and Al Smith had ‘The
Rushdie and that his knighthood be revoked Sideways of New York’ in 1928. Clinton’s use is
on the grounds that it was a mistake. A very driven by greed and that the regulation of im-
very clever, since she has dumped five songs and
bad error of judgment. ports from that same country is dangerously inserted public choices in the “second round” and
Athar Siddiqui
lax. So let’s not wait for hundreds or thousands is noting who writes in so as to add them to her list
of poisoned Americans to force a revision of supporters. Clinton-Obama, Clinton-Richardson,
of consumer safety laws governing imported Clinton-Inouye or Clinton-Mabus in 2008 looks
I am sorry that Athar Siddiqui is offended
products. a real possibility, though one final thought is
by Salman Rushdie’s writing and the deci-
sion to award him a knighthood. He says Congress should pass legislation that requires that song saying ‘we’re gonna rock this country’
a prominent warning label when any product continues ‘and blow it out of this world’... uh oh...
he is outraged by the queen’s lack of judge-
ment in this matter, an opinion he is fully sold in the United States is manufactured in or Dr. M Meenagh, London, England
entitled to express publicly however much contains ingredients obtained from China.
From www.mickwright.net:
it might offend the head of state and others Pietro Allar This may be the worst lyric ever written: ‘Brighter
in Britain. See Tainted toys, pg 9
than the sun and darker than the night / I can see
I would, however, ask him to consider your love shining like a light.’ Then there’s: ‘If I
whether he would enjoy the same entitle-
ment in states where religious or political
Polling booth could travel across the world / The secrets I would
tell.’
frictions lead to death for those who speak Varying states of failure Is Hillary Clinton really going to “travel across the
freely. I have never read The Satanic Verses The threats of weak nations “ripple far beyond world” and tell our secrets? What is this, a love
nor any of Salman Rushdie’s work so am their borders,” says Foreign Policy in its Failed song for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
unable to offer an opinion on his literary States Index. Corruption and an absence of Mick Wright
achievement. I do think he is among those the rule of law are among some of the “all too
similar” problems that beset many failed nations. From Grammar.qdnow.com:
writers who, at no small risk, have defended When I heard that Hillary Clinton had chosen the
the right to free expression which is so fun- Unfortunately, the “complex” process of state
failure “remains little understood.” Using 12 song ‘You and I’ by Celine Dion for her campaign
damental to democratic society. That to me social, economic, political and military indicators, theme song, I knew it was finally the right time to
is worth acknowledgement and is what I Foreign Policy listed 177 states in order of tackle this topic!
suspect lies behind his award. vulnerability to “violent internal conflict and Celine Dion’s song ‘You and I’ is grammatically
We are all offended by opinions and beliefs societal deterioration.” For the second year in a correct, whereas the Jessica Simpson song
we don’t share, especially those we see as row, Sudan topped the list, followed by Iraq and ‘Between You and I’ is incorrect. It should be
a threat to our view of the world. For me, Somalia. Eight of this year’s 10 most vulnerable ‘Between You and Me.’
belief in God and prophets is the source of states are in sub-Saharan Africa. Grammar Girl
www.nvrmagazine.com
18 July 6, 2007
Film R E
V
I E W S
Heist caper Comedy Biopic
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
R E
V
I E W S
19
Film
Horror Thriller Feature
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
R E
V
I E W S
21
Music
Top tunes
White Stripes
www.nvrmagazine.com
22Nonfiction July 6, 2007
Books R E
V
I E W S
Biography Science/Philosophy History
∂∂∂∂∂
William Rosen
∂∂∂∂∂
Published: May 3 Published: May 3
∂∂∂∂∂ 400 pages, Allen Lane 384 pages, Viking Adult
Published: June 5
640 pages, Hutchinson Taleb has penned an “important, Rosen’s book is “a librarian’s
albeit at times, abstract book” nightmare” in that it defies easy
The legendary Watergate journal- dispelling the notion that humans categorization, said The Economist.
ist’s account of Hillary Clinton are somehow able to predict “ex- It “reads like several books in one,”
“stands as a model of contem- treme impact” events, said Michael dealing with cultural, medical, mil-
porary political biography,” said Scown in The Asian Review of Books. itary, political and even zoological
Ronald Brownstein in the Los The author calls these “Black history. It examines the bubonic
Angeles Times. In a “balanced, judi- Swans”: events that couldn’t pos- plague’s effect on the fall of the
cious and deeply reported” study “slapdash six pages,” depriving us Roman Empire and the rise of
he paints a “three dimensional of an insight into the kind of pres- modern Europe. But Rosen also
portrait” of the Democratic Party’s ident she might make. covers the evolution of the Silk
leading presidential contender that Bernstein’s book “will please nei- Road, the rise of Islam, and even
challenges common assumptions. ther Friends of Hillary nor Enemies dabbles in microbiology with
The belief the Clintons’ marriage of Hillary,” said Michiko Kakutani the development of the bubonic
only served Hillary’s own political in The New York Times. It’s “often bacteria, Yersinia pestis. “At the
ambitions, for example, is turned critical” of her as a politician, yet is core of the book, however, is a
“on its head” with the revelation “often sympathetic” toward her as splendid biography of the em-
she sacrificed her early “forays an individual coming to terms with peror Justinian (482-565),” said Ian
into political activism” for family a complex marriage and trying to Pindar in the Guardian (London).
life. Yet later as a governor’s wife put her genuine idealism into ac- sibly have been predicted, such Justinian survived the plague and
and then first lady, Bernstein shows tion. Bernstein “tries hard to feel as Sept. 11 and World War I.
her “defining characteristic” was to the Clintons’ pain,” arguing that Historians may now tell us of “ris-
view politics uncompromisingly the couple “were “treated more ing tensions” before 1914, but the
as “war.” While the president was harshly” than any other president price of bonds at the time “barely
happy to “convert” or somehow and first lady of the 20th century. moved” until war broke out. This
“envelop” his opponents by ac- His retelling of the “sex and real inability to come to terms with
commodating their concerns, estate follies” of the Clinton era is unforeseen phenomena is “in part,
Hillary was living proof that “even like a “slow acid flashback” where hard wired into us,” said Will Self in
paranoids have enemies.” This we learn anew about “Monica, The Independent (London). But this
shrewdness allowed her to spot Whitewater, bimbo eruptions” and doesn’t excuse whole disciplines
Monica Lewinsky-investigator the changing state of the couple’s being built on the “shifting sand
Kenneth Starr early on as a “sanc- marriage. of our ignorance” as practised by went on to leave lasting memorials
timonious partisan” out to destroy Yet it’s exactly the “central mys- economists and other professional such as Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.
her husband. But such “pugna- tery” of this enduring relationship forecasters. Taleb accepts, like most But Rosen’s central contention,
cious instincts” were also her un- that Bernstein renders “curiously of us, that sometimes “shit hap- that the plague gave rise to the
doing. Threats to “demonize” any flat-footed,” said Ana Marie Cox pens.” But his dismissal of these development of today’s Europe,
Democrat senator opposing her in The New York Observer. He con- industry “bluffers” is a “little un- seems “too slick an answer,” said
ambitious universal healthcare plan, cludes that “some kind of partner- fair,” said The Economist. Countless Mary Beard in The Sunday Times
merely had the effect of killing the ship” means they could never have business successes, for example, (London). The birth of modern
proposal altogether. Bernstein only achieved what they did without can be attributed to “rigorous re- Europe “is a rather more com-
falters in glossing over Clinton’s each other: not exactly an earth- search and canny marketing,” and plicated process than a series of
more recent senate career in a shattering revelation. not just mere chance. footnotes to a pandemic.”
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
R E
V
I E W S
Fiction
Books
23
Novella Historical novel Thriller/fantasy
www.nvrmagazine.com
24Arts & July 6, 2007
Entertainment R E
V
I E W S
Documentary Architecture
Icons wanted
Pilger’s War on Democracy Buildings by well-known architects have their
fair share of critics, and Beijing’s National
Grand Theater “is no exception,” said Calvin
Veteran journalist-documentarian John Pilger’s Low in The Straits Times (Singapore). Known
new film, The War on Democracy, looks at “half as the “egg,” the structure (pictured) has been
a century of furtive and bloody U.S. interven- criticized as “too modern” for the city. But
tion” in South America, said Danny Leigh in the “time heals all wounds,” if the once-contentious
Guardian (London). It shows how U.S. foreign examples of the Eiffel Tower and Louvre pyra-
policy has sought to topple many of the sub- mid are anything to go by. Citing the “Bilbao
continent’s democratically elected leaders and effect” as justification, city planners the world
put brutal pro-U.S. strongmen in their place. over are constructing more and more “elabor-
Pilger’s film details a “noxious story,” which ate and expensive edifices” to attract tourists.
“needs to be told.” Bilbao’s iconic Guggenheim Museum, de-
Perhaps the film is “rightfully indignant” of signed by Frank Gehry, swelled the coffers of
U.S. foreign policy on South America, said the former “rust-belt” Spanish city by US$400
Kevin Maher in The Times (London). But it’s Whiter than white: Pilger in South America million within two years
ultimately spoiled by its presenter Pilger — the of it opening in 1998. But
veteran of over 50 documentaries — “who can’t istic duty” by glossing over the darker side of procuring the “gilded ser-
help but jump into frame at the slightest provo- the Venezuelan president’s regime. Chávez’s vices” of a “starchitect”
cation, attired in Man-From-Del-Monte whites decision to bypass the National Assembly and is no guarantee of success, as the developers
and loaded with oily amour-propre.” Whether rule by decree for 18 months, for instance, is of London’s Millennium Dome found to their
he’s ingratiating himself with Venezuelan conveniently ignored. cost with Richard Rogers. A bigger problem
President Hugo Chávez, praising the spirit of “Yet for every interview that feels contrived is that the centers of power that once created
the poor, or tricking a rich Venezuelan business- or staged,” said Rich Cline in RealMovieNews.com, architectural icons like Beijing’s Forbidden City,
man into being an ignoramus on camera, “the there’s another that “bristles with raw honesty.” Athen’s Parthenon and Agra’s Taj Mahal, no
temptation to reach into the screen and slap Pilger’s film digs under the surface “to show a longer exist. Today, architects and the “consum-
him is overwhelming.” side of the story the media rarely reports.” It ing public” alike need to discover new points
The Chávez interview in particular “has mo- also serves as an “eerie” parallel to the current of reference to create our own “contemporary
ments of almost Hello! magazine deference,” said U.S. occupation of Iraq. iconography.”
Peter Bradshaw also in the Guardian (London).
Pilger is unabashed in his admiration for See the trailer at www.youtube.com [Search for John Television
Chávez, but he’s “in dereliction of his journal- Pilger, The War on Democracy]
Sopranos bow out
The final episode of The Sopranos arrived in “a
Venice Biennale frenzy of audience speculation” but was “per-
versely non-earth shaking,” said Frazier Moore
What’s dug up, Doc in The Huffington Post. There was no “mass ex-
The 52nd Venice Biennale won’t be remem- termination” and the only violence came when
bered as “groundbreaking or dynamic,” said Leotardo was “whacked”; a predictable, “even
Michael Kimmelman in The New York Times. comical” demise witnessed by his grandchil-
But this year’s festival — the largest yet — is dren. True to form, producer David Chase
at least “independent” and “strong in its con- refused to give viewers “comfortable closure,”
victions.” or even “catharsis.” Even in the final scene,
That’s certainly true of the Korean pavilion’s every moment during the family gathering at a
display which features the imagined fossil re- diner seemed to “foreshadow disaster” which
mains of Bugs Bunny. But overall, this year’s never came. But then “any ending would have
displays could hardly be described as “funny.” been a letdown” for the “most unusual and
Typical is Emily Prince’s “deeply moving” draw- realistic family drama in television history,” said
ings of every U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan Alessandra Stanley in The
and Iraq. Meanwhile, Tracey Emin’s etchings New York Times. For the
are like “warmed over Egon Schieles” and sug- Floor act: an installation at the biennale whole of the final season
gest that even Britain’s cheekiest artists are just springs to mind. But the selection suffers some “myriad hints and red
“reactionaries at heart.” It’s true that this year’s “uncharacteristic lapses in discrimination,” herrings” suggested any number of outcomes,
event may be “a little boring” but it certainly notably in curator Thomas Storr’s favored cat- but Tony (James Gandolfini) finally turning
“grows on you.” egory of painting. state’s evidence perhaps wasn’t the hardest
We critics can secretly wonder “how we got That may be, but if “curators could win the to predict. Gandolfini “looked like he hadn’t
lucky enough to call this work,” said Sarah Nobel Prize,” said Richard Dorment in The slept in week,” said Phil Gallo in Variety. Yet
Milroy in The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Many Daily Telegraph (London), “I’d nominate him.” his performance was as “tough and focused”
nations boast their “best curatorial picks in a For the first time ever, artists from the north as any we’ve seen in 85 episodes. Chase and
long time,” and there’s less of the cheap and and south of Ireland share the same pavilion his team did “yeoman’s work” trying to tie up
“hastily installed” exhibits we’d come to expect including one whose “masterly” film depicts loose ends, but there were still enough gaps to
from past biennales — Switzerland’s recent the “haunting” of this troubled region by the have us wondering where “all those Sopranos
“menstrual hut in upholstered maxi pads” ghosts of murdered civilians. might be five, 10, 15 years from now.”
www.nvrmagazine.com
26 July 6, 2007
Travel R E
V
I E W S
Gourmet traveler
Macau United States
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
R E
V
I E W S
27
Travel
Beat the crowd
The world’s wackiest hotels
Looking to stay in one of the world’s “craziest”
hotels? Oddee.com lists some of its favorites.
www.nvrmagazine.com
28
Consumer
July 6, 2007
R E
V
I E W S
1. JVC HA-NC100
“You could buy seven pairs of these for the price of one Bose set.” And, solidly built, absolutely great-sounding headphones.” What’s more, the
since they rest on your ears instead of surrounding them, they’re very circuitry cuts out a “huge swath” of engine, road or train noise and the
small. The only problem is that they only cut out a “chunk of the lower music is “crystal clear, sweet and finely textured.”
frequencies, leaving much of the engine roar unabated.” www.audio-technica.com; US$132
www.jvc.com; US$40
4. Logitech Noise Canceling Headphones
2. Panasonic RP-HC500 The noise-canceling circuit on this pair is “superb.” And the music
The noise cancellation on this model works well, probably because the sounds “pretty good for the price,” though it can’t compare to
“pleasantly smushy-edged earcups “do an excellent job of isolating your Bose.
ears.” Also, the music reproduction is “stellar.” With these headphones, www.logitech.com; US$155
you’ll get “quality that’s nearly indistinguishable from the Boses — for
a third of the price.” 5. Bose Quietcomfort 2
www.panasonic.com; US$100 These may be pricey but Bose “know their acoustics.” The noise cancel-
lation is “amazing; when you throw the switch, the world just falls away.”
3. Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 And the music sounds “fantastic.”
These are Bose “without the marketing campaign.” They’re “comfy, www.bose.com; US$300
www.nvrmagazine.com
3
38
Penultimately
ten years on
Chris Patten was the last pampered and plumed Governor of Hong Kong. On the 10th anniver-
sary of the handover, he talks to Elizabeth Grice about the lasting impact of the experience.
www.nvrmagazine.com
July 6, 2007
Hand it over: the British left Hong Kong in "extremely good shape" This article originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph
(London). Used with permission.
www.nvrmagazine.com
4
40Sudoku
1 5
2 1 9
R E
V
I E W S
July 6, 2007
47
4 7
4 5 2
87 54
3 7 8
9 1
20
3 8 7
63 5 2
ly
Ju
Beijing 105 - 79
Shanghai 64 + 63
Guangzhou 45 - 22
*Air Pollution Index
Sources
Asia Times Online www.atimes.com; The Asian Review of Books www.asianreviewofbooks.com; Associated Press www.
ap.org; The Atlantic Monthly www.theatlantic.com; BBC News news.bbc.co.uk; The Boston Globe www.boston.com;
Chicago Sun-Times www.suntimes.com; The Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com; Daily Mail www.dailymail.
co.uk; The Daily Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk; Der Spiegel www.spiegel.de; Digital-Spy.co.uk www.digitalspy.co.uk; The
Economist www.economist.com; Edinburgh Evening News edinburgh-news.scotsman.com; Empire www.empireonline.
com; Entertainment Weekly www.ew.com; Financial Times www.ft.com; Foreign Policy www.foreignpolicy.com; The Globe
and Mail www.theglobeandmail.com; Guardian www.guardian.co.uk; Hello! www.hellomagazine.com; HecklerSpray.com
www.hecklerspray.com; Houston Chroni-cle houstonchronicle.com; The Huffington Post www.huffingtonpost.com; The
Independent www.independent.co.uk; International Herald Tribune www.iht.com; The Jakarta Post www.thejakartapost.
com; Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger www.ksta.de; Korrespondent www.korrespondent.net; Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com;
MSNBC.com www.msnbc.msn.com; National Geographic www.nationalgeographic.com; Nature www.nature.com;
New York Daily News www.nydailynews.com; The New York Observer www.observer.com; New York Post www.nypost.
com; The New York Times www.nytimes.com; The New Yorker www.newyorker.com; Newsweek www.msnbc.msn.com;
NME www.nme.com; The Observer observer.guardian.co.uk; Oddee.com www.oddee.com; RealMovieNews.com www.
realMovieNews.com; Reason www.reason.com; Reuters uk.reuters.com; Rolling Stone www.rollingstone.com; The Salt
Lake Tribune www.sltrib.com; San Francisco Chronicle www.sfgate.com/chronicle; Seattle Post Intelligencer seattlepi.
nwsource.com; SlashGear.com slashgear.com; Slate.com www.slate.com; South China Morning Post www.scmp.com;
The Straits Times straitstimes.com; The Sunday Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk; The Sunday Times www.timesonline.
co.uk; The Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au; Time www.time.com; The Times www.timesonline.co.uk; USA
Today www.usatoday.com; Vanity Fair www.vanityfair.com; Variety www.variety.com; The Wall Street Journal wsj.com; The
Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com
Photos: Amazon; The Barbican Center; China Foto Press; HBO; Imagine China; Lions Gate Films; Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer (MGM) Studios; Panorama; stock.xchng; Universal Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures
www.nvrmagazine.com