United Kingdom

The once-mighty British economy is buckling, and the effects could be felt in New York City. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning:

The investment-banking business is already stalling, potentially eliminating thousands of high-paid jobs and demand for everything from tailored suits to high-end hunting trips.  read more »

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The Monday Room is no ordinary restaurant.  read more »

A nationwide Quinnipiac poll gauged the popularity of various countries with American voters and found that North Korea became slightly more popular, Iran became less popular and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela stayed the same. Here are the current approval ratings of the most popular and least popular countries, along with their scores from a Quinnipiac survey back in November.

1) England - 77.9 (78.9)

2) Canada - 75.4 (73.4)

3) Israel - 66.5 (68.2)

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12) Venezuela - 30.3 (30.9)

13) Iraq - 27.1 (25.9)

14) Palestinian Government - 24.3 (23.8)

15) Syria - 23.8 (24.3)

16) Cuba - 21.8 (24.1)

17) North Korea - 15.7 (13.5)

18) Iran - 13.5 (15.5)  read more »

The full list is after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

All of Harley Granville-Barker’s great Edwardian plays are about moral corruption, which accou  read more »

Michael Apted’s 49 Up continues and possibly concludes the most remarkable chronicle of a slice of  read more »

Michael Apted’s 49 Up continues and possibly concludes the most remarkable chronicle of a slic  read more »

In a recent column, neocon Daniel Pipes openly questions the loyalties of British Muslims.

Polling indicates that a majority of Muslims perceive a conflict between their British and Muslim identities. Two polls show that only a small proportion identifies itself first as a British (7% and 12%), but they differ widely on the number who identify first with their religion (81% and 46%).

Pipes concludes, "Britain's potential terrorists live in a highly nurturing community."

His point is well taken. Terrorism is a hearts-and-minds issue. Terrorists draw strength, both in finances and in morale, from law-abiding communities. One reason I am for Islamic reformers.

Pipes's point also opens the door on my question: How important is Israel, politically/religiously, in the hearts and minds of the neoconservatives and other Jewish hawks? I think, very large. For instance, former Bush speechwriter David Frum describes America as "this new Israel," while Elliott Abrams, Bush's aide on Middle East matters, writes:

Outside the land of Israel, there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nation in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart--except in Israel--from the rest of the population....

The neocons, along with a lot of Democratic hawks, have thoroughly conflated American and Israeli interests, to the detriment of U.S. foreign policy. They honestly believe our interests and Israel's are congruent. I think they're wrong, and Americans should debate this. And if it's legitimate to talk about how Muslims identify themselves, and I think it is, it is also fair to ask how important Israel is to rightwing Jewish-Americans who have pushed for war with Iraq, Syria and Iran.

God preserve us from the British upper classes!  read more »

Monica Ali is not a subscriber to the guest-worker school of fiction, the vaguely held assumption th  read more »

A reader, John, has nailed me on a recent soccer post, where I echoed Kissinger's statement that U.S. soccer needs "minorities."

Not sure if you're agreeing fully with Kissinger here -- I hope not, because his comment is effectively racist. K's saying "minorities," i.e., the dark people, are better at sports, regardless of if a hardscrabble life makes you hungry for the game. And this, if I can be mean, is what Kissinger likely believes those minorities can be proud of in life.

The irony is that soccer's great teams belie this view. Aside from Brazil, who are the powerhouse teams today and historically? Germany, for sure -- not many minorities there. Argentina, which has largely been a team of European ancestry. And Italy, a homogenous white team if there ever was one. The Netherlands and England are also perennially near the top -- and very, well, white.

Maybe the problem in the U.S. is entitlement, I don't know -- but the racist "minority" argument has the virtue of being an easy explanation, and the vice of being factually wrong, and bigoted.

Wow. Smart readers.

My response: O.K. Yes; I was agreeing with Kissinger. Obviously, I'm wrong, in some large measure. Culture is a significant factor in soccer performance. Saying "minorities" is pretty offensive. And I call myself an internationalist...

But to rally to my side for a second: There is a widespread equation in mainstream American culture of athleticism and blackness. C.f., Jayson "White Chocolate" Williams on the Heat, the movie, White Men Can't Jump, and Larry Summers's fatal, and scientistic, musings about innate abilities of a year ago ("the data will, I am confident, reveal that... white men are very substantially underrepresented in the National Basketball Association."). Isn't it true that, right now in America, basketball and football are dominated by black athletes, in part because they are faster and jump higher? And that if we want to perform in soccer, we have to get some of those guys on the team? What say you, John?

New York, the magazine that almost unmasked JT Leroy but didn't, revisits another one of its stories. "The first Brangelina baby photos hit the streets today," New York's Web site announces. "In April, New York imagined the moment. Did we get it right?"

The new item then painstakingly reviews how New York's predictions about the Pitt-Jolie baby media circus stack up to the facts—and how the magazine's mocked-up celebrity baby photos compare to the real thing. So: Did they get it right?  read more »

A few words about the wonderfully vulgar Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, sometimes known as “The  read more »

GABRIELLE: Monday afternoon.

I call Todd. "Hi. I'm pregnant."

"Honey! Are you kidding?! That's great! But you should have told me in person!"

"I'm sorry," I snap, "I didn't know the protocol."

"Well, that's terrific...." his voice smiles on the other end. Todd has wanted kids ever since he was five years old. At five he wanted to name his child Flash to rhyme with his last name Bash. Flash Bash. When we started dating three years ago we had our first big fight because I told him I might not want to have kids. And if I did, I would only want one. I work with kids, age four through 24, and I feel fulfilled in that department. I have 40 kids a year. I don't seem to have that deep need for a child that other women have. I know what it takes to be a good parent: selflessness, unlimited patience and more selflessness. "Is there anything I can do?" Todd joyously, adoringly offers.

"Just don't tell anyone yet. And why are you so happy?" I hang up the phone. I call my parents.  read more »

The Times in the UK has an annual essay contest in honor of its former editor Charles Douglas-Home. The question this year asked about the purpose of museums. The winner, James Delingpole, who incidentally also writes for the paper, believes museums should stay traditional. Forget rotating exhibits or serving the public. Screw presenting different historical perspectives or challenging an audience.

Delingpole wants a narrative, a dictate it seems--the history of museums, not their future.

It reminds me of the dispiriting way history is taught in school now where instead of the teacher giving you an idea of what actually happened you're handed a variety of different texts and accounts of the same event and invited to make your own mind up. A nice idea: creating a nation of free thinking intellectuals. The problem is, it's predicated on the lamentably optimistic notion that our ailing education system has given the nation sufficient intellectual grounding on which to form such subtle judgements.

- Riva Froymovich

ERICA: I just spent $82 on bridal magazines at Universal News.

The guy at the counter said "are you in advertising or something?" I had to quickly say "no" and avert my eyes. There were no Playgirls or Naughty Schoolgirl mags tucked in amongst my pile, and still I was embarrassed. I don't know what it is with me and magazines, but when I go into a store like Universal News, I feel exactly like a crack addict must feel walking into a crack house. There's the initial burst of adrenaline as I'm overcome by all the colors and all the glossiness. And then I feel this overwhelming sense of relief and calm. At which point, I'm able to scan the racks with a sniper's precision, picking out any new wedding magazines that have recently made their way to the shelves. Then I gingerly carry the stack over to the register as if I was cradling a newborn child. It's all rather ritualistic for me.

I should explain that the $82 price tag is due to the fact that I'm totally and completely addicted to English wedding magazines. They are my bridal porn...and they cost bank (anywhere from 9.95 to 11.95 per issue).

I mean, I am a very discerning bride-to-be myself...and I do have a bridal business...so is $82 really that bad?

It's hard to convey to others who have not yet read any Brit mags just how fantabulous they are, but I'll say this: to compare English bridal mags to the American versions is sort of like comparing a clunky old walkman to a sleek new ipod or Hanes control top pantyhose to Spanx. English wedding magazines rock and American wedding mags suck.

I mean, I read them all no matter what, so it's not like I'm burning an American flag in my tub or anything, but the English ones just set my heart-a-flutter. They feature loads of "style file" like features with endless ideas, always include lots of "real wedding" spreads and even the ads are more interesting.

Best of all, not every single, solitary, ever-lovin dress in their magazines is a white strapless ball gown. English girls sometimes wear sleeves! Or shorter skirts! Can you imagine??!! Didn't think so. It's hard to envision this because 99 out of every 100 dresses (in both the ads and the magazine spreads) featured in American wedding magazines are white strapless ballgowns. This is not a scientific analysis for sure, and I do realize that I am in the vast minority of brides-to-be, but I if I see one more white, princess, strapless ballgown, I'm going to throw up (let the hate mail roll on in).

Here are my current crop of faves (in order of fabulosity):  read more »

*Brides UK ($8.95): sooo much more glam and glossy than the U.S counterpart with gorgeous photography *Cosmopolitan Bride ($8.95): fresh, young and fun. Has loads of non-traditional wedding ideas *You and Your Wedding ($9.99): this one is a bit more sophisticated and ad heavy, but has loads of great bridal fashion spreads and runway reports. *Wedding Magazine ($8.95): this one is best for real-life wedding reports

An irregular dispatch from our men's blog, The Cockpit. Here's Your Change Back, Missy Today seems to be International Women's Day, though, really, who woulda known? Even our ladyfriends over at The Catbox just gave it a lil' round-up.

In England, the Independent goes for it in a big way though—today they're all Women only own 1% of land, men make 9 out of 10 films. Well, buy an apartment and start shooting some movies, lazy ladies!  read more »

Or, you know, consider this. Women also had 100% of the babies. Is the Independent trying to say that silly movies are more important than cute little babies? Does the Independent hate cute little babies that much?

Besides, the Independent sorta blew their wad in late February, with an article called Cheated at birth; apparently Baroness von Something discovered that women make like, less than men do. 71 cents for every dollar. Because, you know, no men ever works as sole financial provider for a household. Anyway, what the fuck can you get for 71 cents? Even a Snickers bar costs 85 cents now. --Choire "Mmmm, Snickers!" Sicha

It’s a wrap: 2005 is over, and here’s what’s left of both the movies that will get you through  read more »

It’s a wrap: 2005 is over, and here’s what’s left of both the movies that will get  read more »

At the end of a long and productive life, the wise, curious, generous, opinionated and angelically l  read more »

One branch of the electronic-music family tree—though a solid limb, more than a decade old—has n  read more »

Jerry Nachman, the late newsman, used to tell his anchorpersons to show “contempt for the camera.  read more »

Jerry Nachman, the late newsman, used to tell his anchorpersons to show “contempt for the came  read more »

Now that Charles Peters has finished with Five Days in Philadelphia, we should draft him to overhaul  read more »

More than 30 years after firing its first shots, the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army h  read more »

More than 30 years after firing its first shots, the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army h  read more »

Will 7/7 make Britain back off from the war on terror?  read more »

As cataclysms go, it was indelibly British from start to finish.  read more »

It used to be so easy to loathe the Brits who passed through customs at Kennedy Airport with their H  read more »

As the U.S.  read more »

Will 7/7 make Britain back off from the war on terror? The nation of Churchill,  read more »

If you want to see British acting at its best, you owe it to yourself to catch the six brilliant act  read more »

1776, by David McCullough. Simon and Schuster, 386 pages, $32.  read more »

Many non-Jews are invited to a Passover meal, or Seder.  read more »

It's a pleasure to celebrate Spamalot a lot.  read more »

Touting the benefits of the Republican plan to privatize Social Security, politicians and pundits as  read more »

They might have horrible teeth, and they might have sent us Graham Norton, but credit where credit i  read more »

Photography made its entry into the arena of the fine arts as a kind of substitute for painting, yet  read more »

Comedians, now in a terrific revival by the New Group with Jim Dale leading what must surely be the  read more »

 "I'm not so sure America knows how to laugh at itself today as it did then," said Norman Lear, the  read more »

Exactly one week after the President accepts his party's nomination in New York on Sept.  read more »

Hearth: A Pocket Version of CraftIn Easygoing East Village  read more »

Pub Grub Not So GrubbyAt the Spotted Pig  read more »

About the English landscape painter John Constable (1776-1837), whose work is currently to be seen i  read more »

Tourondel's Frenchified SteakhouseGives the People What They Want  read more »

BAGHDAD-When New York Times foreign correspondent John F.  read more »

Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Bon Voyage , from a screenplay by Mr.  read more »

It always sounds clichéd: about to turn 40, married 15 years, two youngish children; just back from  read more »

"How do chefs think up such things?" asked my mother over the telephone from England.  read more »

Amuse Yourself:Eat Cheap or Put on the Dog  read more »

The story, like many that come out of Russia, is murky.  read more »