North Koreans fear the country is on the verge of a new famine – Times Online

Posted by Matt in March 19th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Koreas, 50s, China, Despair, Famine Times, Fear, Four Women, Frontier, Left Behind, Met, North Koreans, North-Korea, Safe House, Stalinist State, Starvation, Verge

The Times met four women in a safe house in China this week who fled recently across the frontier. They described despair in North Korea at the growing prospect of starvation in the Stalinist state. The youngest, only 16, crossed the frozen river last month. The other three, in their 50s, left last year and [...]

How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America – Magazine – The Atlantic

Posted by Matt in March 15th, 2010 | no comment

Published in U.S., America Magazine, Collar Men, Culture, Decades, Despair, Inner Cities, Jobless, Joblessness, Marriage, New Era, Recession, Warp, Young Adults

The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It [...]

Movie Review – ‘The Road’ – From Cormac McCarthy, Father and Son Bond After Disaster – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in November 24th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Off-Topic, Adult Guardian, Cataclysm, Charlize Theron, civilization, Cormac Mccarthy, Despair, Drift, Father And Son, Flashbacks, Movie Review, Multiplex, Nationwide, Nuclear Disaster, Nuclear War, Nytimes, Sunlight, terror, Viggo Mortensen, Violence, Young Actor

The father and son, played by Viggo Mortensen and a wonderfully sensitive young actor named Kodi Smit-McPhee, drift through a world ruined by an unspecified cataclysm. A few flashbacks of ease and sunlight conjure the time before, when there was a mother on the scene, glowingly incarnated by Charlize Theron. Then something happened — Nuclear [...]

China and India: Suddenly Vulnerable

Posted by Matt in December 14th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Economy, Financial, India, Asia, Big Beasts, China, China Leaders, Clouds, Contagion, Despair, Economic Gloom, Elephant, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, Global Downturn, Global Economy, Global Financial Crisis, India, Malnourished Children, Massive Unemployment, Most Populous Countries, Optimists, Panda, Recession

Asia’s two big beasts (Panda and Elephant) are shivering. India’s economy is weaker, but China’s leaders have more to fear
THE speed with which clouds of economic gloom and even despair have gathered over the global economy has been startling everywhere. But the change has been especially sudden in the world’s two most populous countries: China [...]