One of the more embarrassing aspects of the Cold War, which we can acknowledge without undue shame in retrospect, was that the safety of both superpowers depended on collective punishment. The vast arsenals of nuclear warheads on both sides, especially in the early days of missile guidance, were aimed not at military bases or government centers. They were not aimed at the White House, the Capitol or the Kremlin. They were aimed at the cities in which millions of civilians lived. Another word for the sonorous term of "deterrence" was holding the enemy nation's population accountable for the actions of the leaders.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Chef Shuffle at Ba Bay, and District Taco's Wild Ride: The Week in Food News
Every week we fill you in on what's been going on in the food and restaurant world.
¡Dios Mio! Image courtesy District Taco
¡Dios Mio! Image courtesy District Taco
In Tom Sietsema's chat this week, he broke the news that two notable new restaurants have lost their opening chefs: Nick Sharpe, formerly of Ba Bay, and Miles Vaden, once the chef de cuisine at Fabio Trabocchi's Fiola. Sietsema didn't divulge much on the latter, but we learned that Sharpe—who helmed the kitchen at Sonoma before opening the modern Vietnamese eatery in November—was lured away by prospects with a San Francisco-based restaurant group in early June. In the kitchen now is owner Khoa Nguyen, sous chef Sara Siegel, and Nguyen's 83 year-old-grandmother, Hoa Tran, who's helping steer the menu toward more traditional family dishes. Fans of the crispy autumn rolls and banh mi, fear not: While the majority of the menu will change in the coming weeks, certain staples such as those two are staying.
¡Dios Mio! Image courtesy District Taco
¡Dios Mio! Image courtesy District Taco
In Tom Sietsema's chat this week, he broke the news that two notable new restaurants have lost their opening chefs: Nick Sharpe, formerly of Ba Bay, and Miles Vaden, once the chef de cuisine at Fabio Trabocchi's Fiola. Sietsema didn't divulge much on the latter, but we learned that Sharpe—who helmed the kitchen at Sonoma before opening the modern Vietnamese eatery in November—was lured away by prospects with a San Francisco-based restaurant group in early June. In the kitchen now is owner Khoa Nguyen, sous chef Sara Siegel, and Nguyen's 83 year-old-grandmother, Hoa Tran, who's helping steer the menu toward more traditional family dishes. Fans of the crispy autumn rolls and banh mi, fear not: While the majority of the menu will change in the coming weeks, certain staples such as those two are staying.
In Antitrust Probe, Google's Critics Have it Wrong
It's about the consumer, stupid.
The proponents of an antitrust investigation of Google suggest Google is inhibiting competition by setting up barriers harming consumers. But a close examination of Google's entry into multiple consumer markets illustrates the opposite -- that where Google competes, consumers benefit. In fact, what many supporters of an antitrust investigation of Google do is to intentionally conflate the interests of consumers with the interests of competitors of Google. They are indeed distinct and separate; mistakenly intertwining the two to justify an investigation of Google is a fundamental twisting of facts and a misuse of longstanding antitrust law.
The proponents of an antitrust investigation of Google suggest Google is inhibiting competition by setting up barriers harming consumers. But a close examination of Google's entry into multiple consumer markets illustrates the opposite -- that where Google competes, consumers benefit. In fact, what many supporters of an antitrust investigation of Google do is to intentionally conflate the interests of consumers with the interests of competitors of Google. They are indeed distinct and separate; mistakenly intertwining the two to justify an investigation of Google is a fundamental twisting of facts and a misuse of longstanding antitrust law.
Remembering Black L.A.
There is a dearth of historical stories on black life in Southern California. Those that do exist focus on entertainment, crime, or sports. But looking back, one might wonder -- what was every day life like for black Angelenos thirty or forty years ago? Where, and how, did they live, work, and play?
There have always been more stories written for and about the communities west and north of downtown. South and East L.A. stories are mostly crime-related or reports of 'just how bad it is' for African-Americans and Latinos in Southern California. It was the same when I grew up in the period following the Watts riot. Then, as now, crime, poverty, unemployment, educational inadequacies, and racial tensions, formed the nucleus of the stories on Black L.A.
There have always been more stories written for and about the communities west and north of downtown. South and East L.A. stories are mostly crime-related or reports of 'just how bad it is' for African-Americans and Latinos in Southern California. It was the same when I grew up in the period following the Watts riot. Then, as now, crime, poverty, unemployment, educational inadequacies, and racial tensions, formed the nucleus of the stories on Black L.A.
Obama's Big Republican Problem (It's Not What You Think)
Barack Obama has plenty of problems with the Republican Party. But his biggest problem is the least obvious of them: the Republicans are turning anti-war. And as they do so, any popular base of support for the Afghan War disappears.
While the Republicans' long-entrenched hawk faction favors a less aggressive withdrawal from Afghanistan than Obama outlined in his Wednesday night address, or none at all, growing numbers of Republicans in Congress, many new Tea Party types, want the war to simply end. And because they are backed up by polling numbers showing a sharp decline in support for the war among Republican voters, the party's presidential candidates have responded with much less resolute rhetoric than in the past.
While the Republicans' long-entrenched hawk faction favors a less aggressive withdrawal from Afghanistan than Obama outlined in his Wednesday night address, or none at all, growing numbers of Republicans in Congress, many new Tea Party types, want the war to simply end. And because they are backed up by polling numbers showing a sharp decline in support for the war among Republican voters, the party's presidential candidates have responded with much less resolute rhetoric than in the past.
Are Men Funnier Than Women?
In 2007, Christopher Hitchens wrote an essay for Vanity Fair arguing that, on the whole, women aren't very funny. It was meant to elicit a strong reaction (as proof, the word "provocation" appears above the headline) and, boy, did it. Even now, four years later, the essay still comes up. In her new book, Bossypants, Tina Fey takes Hitchens on: "It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that because you don't like something, it is empirically not good," she writes. "I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist."
Republican Economics and Other Fanciful Thoughts
Rep. Eric Cantor's irresponsible canter notwithstanding, it's worth clarifying a point he and other Republicans have recently raised. They've signaled that they could actually live with raising more revenue through closing loopholes associated with tax expenditures, that $1 trillion or so we forgo every year by giving tax breaks for things like mortgage interest and ethanol production.
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