MetaFilter posts tagged with sweden and USA

You must've heard of a few

vidur — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:00:31 -0800

The Most Powerful Women You've Never Heard Of 1. Helen Clark, Administrator, U.N. Development Program | New Zealand 2. Liu Yandong, State councilor | China 3. Lael Brainard, Treasury undersecretary for international affairs | United States 4. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance minister | Nigeria 5. Mary Schapiro, Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | United States 6. Theresa May, Home secretary | Britain 7. Fatou Bensouda, Incoming chief prosecutor, International Criminal Court | Gambia 8. Marisela Morales, Attorney general | Mexico 9. Kim Kyong Hui, Politburo member | North Korea 10. Valerie Amos, U.N. emergency relief coordinator | Britain 11. Ann Dunwoody, Commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command | United States 12. Atifete Jahjaga, President | Kosovo 13. Lubna Al-Qasimi, Minister for foreign trade | United Arab Emirates 14. Gleisi Hoffmann, Presidential chief of staff | Brazil 15. Cecilia Malmstrom, European commissioner for home affairs | Sweden 16. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee | United States 17. Peng Liyuan, Major general, People's Liberation Army | China 18. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Former finance minister | Indonesia 19. Fayza Abul Naga, Minister of international cooperation | Egypt 20. Marina Berlusconi, Chair, Fininvest | Italy 21. Josefina Vázquez Mota, Presidential candidate | Mexico 22. Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker, Federation Council | Russia 23. Viviane Reding, European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights, and citizenship | Luxembourg 24. Lindiwe Mazibuko, Party leader, Democratic Alliance | South Africa 25. Hanan Ashrawi, Member, PLO executive committee | West Bank

Pakistan and the Mumbai Attacks: The Untold Story

vidur — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:25:37 -0800

"Uniforms have been stolen in the past for this kind of thing." An update on the investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008. (Previously)

Basking in the warm glow of the television.

DoctorFedora — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:42:31 -0800

Sure, we all know that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is broadcast every year in the US as a Christmas tradition, and that Sweden basically closes every year from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on December 24th to watch Donald Duck, but what about other countries? Germany joins the party by showing an obscure British comedy sketch called "Dinner for One" (YouTube link) every year for New Year's Eve, famous enough that the phrase "The same procedure as last year?" will get you the response "The same procedure as every year, James," and that the parody "Dinner für Brot" ("Dinner for Bread" — YouTube links in German) was created with puppets, based on the original sketch. Japan takes an approach less akin to Sweden and Germany's tradition of airing the same program year after year, instead opting for something more along the lines of the US's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, called Kouhaku Uta Gassen ("Red and White Song Battle" — Wikipedia link), featuring two teams of competing musicans, divided by sex. The show is by invitation only, and is such a cultural touchstone that when Jero, the African-American enka singer (Wikipedia link), was invited to perform at 2008's edition, there was hardly a dry eye in the audience when he talked about promising his late grandmother that he'd one day be famous enough to perform on Kouhaku. And of course, in the United States, who could forget the annual broadcasts of such traditions as It's a Wonderful Life, the Christmas Episode,, Frosty the Snowman (and its rather more poorly regarded '90s sequel, Frosty Returns), and, naturally, 1984's A Christmas Story, based on the novel by Jean Shepherd. A distinctly American cultural touchstone, it's been adapted from In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash (Amazon link) into not only a movie, but also into numerous stage musicals and a 30–second reenactment by animated bunnies. The annual 24–hour marathon of a dozen nonstop showings of the movie for Christmas on TNT (and now TBS) has become famous, but this year it's got competition from one of the Swaziest movies ever made. (Previously, and previouslier)

flacid

plexi — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:14:42 -0800

"There is powerful literature in all big cultures, but you can't get away from the fact that Europe still is the centre of the literary world... not the United States," he said. "The US is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature... That ignorance is restraining."

Nobel literature prize judge Horace Engdahl comes down hard against Don DeLillo, David Foster Wallace, and other crazy American shit that just can't cross the waters.