April 2012 – DEMAGAGA

Television

Game of Thrones: Season 2, Episode 5 – ‘The Ghost of Harrenhal’ Review and Synopsis

After giving birth to a shadow in the last episode, we return to Renly’s camp to see what has to become of Melisandre’s magic. In a parlay between Catelyn and Renly, Renly offers to recognize Robb as King of the North so long as Robb swears fealty to Renly as King on the Iron Throne. […]

Television

Mad Men: Season 5, Episode 7 – ‘At the Codfish Ball’ Review and Synopsis

Sally and Glen have remained friends, even though she has moved away and he is apparently in some sort of private school. Pauline trips over the phone cord and hurts herself while bellowing through the halls for Sally and Bobby to prepare the dinner table for her. Megan’s family comes to visit in order to […]

News

Heroin: The Lifeblood of Tajikistan’s Economy

Less than two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, former Soviet republic Tajikistan can best be classified as an economic catastrophe: Tajikistan is dependent on remittances from Tajiks living abroad and this is equivalent to roughly 45% of GDP. Further, poverty is extremely widespread, with half of the country’s population of eight million […]

News

Argentina’s Shift Left: How President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s Flirtation with Socialism Hampers Prospects for Economic Growth

Argentina’s move to seize control of national oil giant YPF (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales) has cheered domestic supporters of embattled Peronist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, but the move has angered Argentina’s trans-Atlantic friends in Spain. What began as a business issue has now become a full-blown diplomatic incident. The proposed nationalization of YPF follows Kirchner’s previous […]

News

The Fall of Bo Xilai: Scandal in the People’s Republic of China Hints at Internal Power Struggle in the Politburo

The voice of the Communist Party of China has come through loud and clear in the Bo Xilai case: Bo is stripped of all titles and factional battles are alive and well within the Chinese Politburo. PRC internet sources are alive with rumors regarding the most public downfall of a powerful Chinese politician in recent […]

North Korea News Today

The Juche Dynasty: North Korea and the Heirs of Kim Il-sung

Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s first speech to the public has drawn the hermit kingdom back into the spotlight with a focus on his youth and deadly nuclear arsenal. Propaganda in North Korea has raised the youngest Kim to the heights of supreme status shared only by his father, the late Kim Jong-il, and grandfather, the […]

News

President of Argentina Cristina Fernández Kirchner Nationalizes 51% of YPF, the Former State Oil Company

The move is widely considered an economic catastrophe for Argentina but the nationalization of former state oil enterprise YPF, a hallowed mark in Argentina, will not only address energy and cash shortages but may also shore up the president’s popularity. Yet, many find this most recent move by Cristina Fernández disturbing because, like Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, […]

Television

Game of Thrones: Season 2, Episode 4 – ‘Garden of Bones’ Review and Synopsis

We return to the battlefield in this installment of Game of Thrones. Robb launches a night attack on the Lannister camp to bring slaughter down upon them. When next we see the soldiers on the field of battle we see death and destruction. Robb helps a field nurse tend to a wounded soldier who needs […]

Television

Mad Men: Season 5, Episode 6 – ‘Far Away Places’ Review and Synopsis

Peggy and her beau are having problems in their relationship because of Peggy’s work schedule. On top of everything, Peggy is being superstitious about having misplaced some lucky charm that Don had given her. She needs it to help her with the Heinz presentation. At the last minute, Don takes Megan to Howard Johnson’s and […]

Game of Thrones: Season 1, Episode 5 – ‘The Wolf and the Lion’ Review and Synopsis.

Please note: Spoilers ahead. The death of Ser Hugh is the focus of the opening of this episode. The match-up between the knights is determined by drawing straws. As discussed in the last post, Ser Hugh’s death is timely and suspicious, likely leading to some sort of Lannister concoction. King Robert wants to joust but […]

Month: April 2012