July 2011

3 posts

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Jul 30, 201126 notes

“Today in the Senate, I met with Senators Jon Kyl and Mark Kirk. The meeting is very useful because it shows that the alternative to Barack Obama is a collapse of all the programs of cooperation with Russia. Today, I had the impression that I was transported in a time machine back several decades, and in front of me sat two monsters of the Cold War, who looked at me not through pupils, but targeting sights.” —And here is why relying on policy-makers who grow up during the Cold War will never lead to a more cooperative relationship with Russia. (via adamweinstein)

Jul 28, 2011309 notes

#Politics #Russia

“And what a show it is. In Hermione, Joanne Rowling undermines all of the cliches that we have come to expect in our mythic heroes. It’s easy to imagine Hermione’s origin story as some warmed-over Star Wars claptrap, with tragically missing parents and unsatisfying parental substitutes and a realization that she belongs to a hidden order, with wondrous (and unsettlingly genetic) gifts. But, no: Hermione’s normal parents are her normal parents. She just so happens to be gifted. Being special, Rowling tells us, isn’t about where you come from; it’s about what you can do, if you put your mind to it. And what Hermione can do, when she puts her mind to it, is magic.” —

In praise of Joanne Rowling’s Hermione Granger series

Fantastic.

Jul 21, 20112 notes

#Harry Potter #Hermione #Sady Doyle