The ultimate break for fish fans.

I know the basics about Iceland – spectacular volcanoes, Bjork, the glaciers, Reykjavik’s famous nightlife and the good-looking locals. I’m just not sure what the nation is like, how the people live and what makes them tick. Turns out, the answer is fish.

Fish are everywhere – on posters, T-shirts, on all the coins in my pockets and, of course, every menu and breakfast buffet. It’s understandable for a country that at one point owed half of its export income to herring fishing alone, and the connection to fish and fishing goes deep into this nation’s culture.

It’s not surprising when you see the landscape of the north. It’s stunning but harsh, and fish were at one point the only reliable local source of food and income as the lack of decent topsoil makes growing crops tough here.

The sights, smells and sounds are like nothing else on the planet, with geysers and boiling mud pools spewing steam into the air and yellow residue all over an alien landscape. I’m staring out at a horizon of cracked lava stone jutting up through green pastures. It’s lunchtime and to the right of me is a glass wall with cows and milking equipment on the other side.

My host strikes up a conversation with the owner of The Cowshed (a working farm, café and guesthouse that has got the Slow Food concept right) on how they may be related through a mutual great-grandfather.

The café is an amazing concept in a land with so little farming. Impressively, it provides customers with meals of almost exclusively locally sourced food, including butter, cheese and skyr – an Icelandic cheese similar to strained yogurt. Guests are invited to enjoy the scenery while sipping a latté, made with milk from the cow of your choice, which you can milk yourself. It really would be impossible to get ingredients any fresher.

The café’s owner has brought the menu for me to enjoy. It consists of local smoked trout, wild salmon gravlax, their own smoked, raw Icelandic lamb and geyser-steamed bread.

We’re almost finished when the owner comes to ask how everything was. The tender, subtly flavoured smoked lamb is my favourite. When asked what kind of smoke has been used, she nods at the remaining pieces on the plate and says she’ll tell me when I’m finished. With the last piece polished off on a corner of geyser bread she says, with the subtlest hint of a wry smile, “cow dung”.

She goes on to explain how the dung is dried for well over a year and, of course, burned, producing a bacteria-free and very well-rounded smoke, using an environmentally-friendly technique. The revelation doesn’t actually cause much shock. It makes sense in a country of rich, clean, geothermal energy (so abundant there are serious discussions about running a line all the way to Scotland to sell the surplus) that respect for the environment is a part of the culture. It’s not just respect for Icelanders’ natural resources that you can sense; it’s a respect for most things, especially other people.

Moving on, it turns out I’m just in time for the Dalvik annual fish festival. Here is where the present-day connection between fish and community shines, or maybe shimmers.

The festival started three days ago with a neighbourhood fish-soup swap. Participating homes tie balloons (taking the place of jack-o’-lanterns) to the mailbox at the end of their drives, indicating that anyone is welcome to join their table for a bowl of their fish soup.

The main event is at the port and centre of the small fishing village. Here, the entire population and several thousand visitors celebrate all things fish each year. Exhibits displaying the local species, examples of them on ice and multiple food stands abound and gourmet restaurants and local producers show off their piscine prowess to locals and visitors. The mayor – a confident and attractive woman with long blond hair – explains that the official opening of the festival consists of the village people and their guests linking arms side-by-side and listening to a speech on friendship.

It all comes back to fish, in the end. While herring fishing wrapped up in the late 1960s due to overfishing by more than one Nordic country, almost all the approximately 320,000 inhabitants of Iceland have their traditions and their family history anchored in the sea. It’s a shared heritage that is literally bound in blood, with most Icelanders able to trace their families back to the same handful of settlers in the late ninth century.

I don’t know if it’s the size of the population, their common roots or their intimate connection to their stark environment, but the result is a comfortable and proud people without bravado or pretension. They are just Icelanders. They are happy to be Icelanders, and happy to share their stories, their homes and their tables without any agenda.

The next morning I am champing at the bit for the day’s fishing trip. I get up at the more reasonable time of 8am, avoiding a 4am start and spoiling my chance of gaining an authentic Icelandic fisherman’s experience from the off. I skip my breakfast of geyser-bread and pickled herring as penance and head to the coast.

A charming sea-savvy man named Freyr Antonsson greets our group at his fishing boat around 9am and we are off. The day begins with whale watching, with a few Minke sightings and a couple of pods of white-sided dolphins.

Then Antonsson collects and prepares the fishing lines. When asked what our chances are of catching anything today, he replies in a soft, friendly tone, “about one hundred percent.” The engines slow and we halt in the middle of the fjord.

I’m amazed when Antonsson demonstrates to me how the line is dropped into the water, hands me the rod and informs me a fish has already taken the lure. He’s not kidding, and as soon as I haul in the first fish and examine it for size and species, another one is on the hook. An hour later and we have caught more than enough to feed everyone on the tour, and then some.

Filleting the fish on the boat shows how plentiful supplies are, as large portions of fillet are discarded because “they have bones”. Returning to port, fish filleted, foiled, and brushed with garlic and herb butters, our catch is slapped onto a barbecue, pre-heated and awaiting our arrival. Within seven minutes the fish (caught not half an hour ago) are pleasing our palates with delicate and gorgeously fresh flavours.

Having experienced the plenitude of the Icelandic fish stocks at first hand, it’s easy to understand why few people believed the authorities in the 1960s when they said the herring were being depleted. It just didn’t seem possible. Now that it has had 40 years to bounce back, aided by environmentally conscious line-catching techniques, fishing in Iceland can be a much more sustainable industry.

Northern fjords, fish festivals and lunar landscapes behind me, the twin-propeller plane casts its shadow on miniature fishing boats hauling in trout, salmon, cod, haddock and herring for the next days’ meals. The flight to Reykjavik from Akureyri, the main city in the north, takes us over miles of uninhabited land, flat, glacier-scraped mountains and snow-filled, long-extinct craters.

Compared with the tiny population of the north, Reykjavik is teeming with life. Boasting two-thirds of Iceland’s inhabitants, Greater Reykjavik has a 200,000-strong population. This is Iceland’s cultural heart. It’s home to many of the nation’s writers, artists, architects and musicians.

Reykjavik’s nightlife is also world-famous, with foreign party-goers trying to keep up with locals until 10am. I pass on this and make my way to a few of Reykjavik’s culinary favourites.

Iceland has a flair for the quirky and unique and its restaurants rarely disappoint. The Sjavarkjallarinn seafood cellar restaurant on Aoalstraeti serves eccentric flavour combinations like salted cod in a papaya sauce with figs and polenta or whale sashimi (a non-endangered, abundant species) with spiced sesame oil and scallions. Dishes are served on large, amorphous ceramic plates, presented in bite-sized portions to be eaten with chopsticks as a shared experience.

Icelandic cuisine is unique and can be subtle or equally intense in its style and flavourings but I wouldn’t recommend the fermented shark. It is buried to get rid of toxic levels of ammonia but tastes like someone is removing nail varnish under your nose as you eat. My only regret? I never got a chance to try puffin.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/life-style/travel-outdoors/iceland-uncovered-1.825428

Euro Final by the Numbers

If there was ever any doubt the economy has moved to center stage in the Presidential campaign, this was the week that dispelled it. Coming on the heels of the Bear Stearns (BSC) rescue and deepening worries about the state of the housing and financial markets, all three contenders in the race, Senators Hillary Clinton [D-N.Y.], John McCain [R-Ariz.], and Barack Obama [D-Ill.] hit the hustings to give major speeches outlining their views on what needs to be done to revive the economy.

"It's getting to the point where I can't keep up anymore," says Daniel Clifton, head of Washington research for investment firm Strategas Research.

Indeed, in the rhetorical equivalent of one-upsmanship, Clinton gave not one but two major addresses. After a speech she gave on Mar. 24 in Philadelphia on the housing crisis, Obama was in lower New York on Mar. 27, at the Cooper Union, to offer his views on how to improve the broad regulatory structure governing the financial markets and stem the problems in the housing markets. And just a few hours later, Clinton was back again, this time outlining her plan to bolster training and education programs for workers who lose their jobs.

In between, McCain also laid out his views on the crisis hitting housing and the financial markets.

"The No. 1 Issue"

"They are all trying to have an 'I feel your pain' moment with voters, although they're going about it in somewhat different ways," says Ann Mathias, the head of Washington research for the Stanford Group, an investment adviser.

The shift into high gear on the economy should come as little surprise: With each passing day, pollsters say, voters are becoming increasingly worried. "First and foremost, the economy is the No. 1 issue now," says Democratic pollster Peter Hart. And he argues it's no longer just a long-term or vague worry. Not only does the majority of the country believe the U.S. will go into a recession, if it is not there already, about 55% of those surveyed in March say the slowing economy has already affected them in a major way. Sixty-five percent say they have been greatly affected by rising gasoline and home heating oil prices, for instance, and 33% say the economy is having an impact on their retirement savings. "The problems are impacting real people's lives in real ways," says Hart.

Clinton's Plan to Help the Unemployed

Those issues clearly play to Clinton's strengths with struggling working- and middle-class voters -- a key reason she has upped the ante with a handful of proposals aimed at showing her leadership and command of policy detail. Analysts say such an emphasis could help increase her lead in the critical Apr. 22 Pennsylvania primary. If successful, that message could provide some momentum going into Indiana, North Carolina, and the other remaining states. While that alone wouldn't be enough to win her the delegates needed to beat Obama, Clinton is clearly counting on it to help in her fight to win superdelegates to back her campaign.

"For Hillary the economic issue is obviously a godsend," says Hart. "It gives her a way of relating to the voters she's done best with, a way of talking about their concrete problems."

That aim was on full display in her Mar. 27 speech. Having devoted her earlier talk to the housing crisis, this time Clinton used a broad speech on the economy to introduce new proposals to spend $10 billion over five years on improving education and training programs, particularly for displaced workers. Clinton pledged to expand current government retraining programs, which are now targeted only to those who lose their jobs due to trade, to be available to all workers, regardless of how they ended up unemployed.

Every dislocated worker would be eligible for basic training, job search benefits, and other assistance. Clinton also promised to expand the existing Pell Grant program, which provides federal financial aid to students, to workers who enroll in education or training programs to bolster their skills after losing their jobs.

"We may be competing in a new global economy, but our policies to equip American workers for the 21st century are stuck back in the 20th century," Clinton told an audience in Raleigh, N.C.

Obama Favors a Stricter Regulatory Environment

For Obama, the challenge was clear: Step up and offer voters a more detailed view of how he'd handle the current problems. "Hillary trumped him on the economy in recent days," says Clifton. "He has to regain the upper hand and say, 'Here's my solution.'"

Much of Obama's emphasis was on the measures needed to shore up the regulatory structure surrounding financial markets. In his New York speech, Obama called for new standards for transparency and improved oversight of the financial sector to prevent the sort of crisis now roiling the markets. He argued that the deregulatory emphasis of the last decade has left the economy vulnerable to bubbles and special interests that have shaped the economy for their own benefit.

"Under Republican and Democratic Administrations, we failed to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation instead of productivity and sound business practices," Obama said. "We let the special interests put their thumbs on the economic scales. The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of steady, sustainable growth."

To reduce the risks that have been created as a result, Obama argued a new regulatory structure is needed that would include strengthening the liquidity and capital requirements for financial institutions, streamlining the overlapping regulatory agencies that oversee them, and increasing government oversight of the risks many institutions are taking.

To deal with the housing crisis, Obama renewed his support for legislation currently before Congress that would provide government backing for new mortgages if lenders agree to reduce the principal value to what the homes are currently worth. Nearly 9% of today's homes carry mortgages that are worth more than the house's market value, which raises fears that many homeowners will walk away from their mortgages. Obama also proposed a $10 billion Foreclosure Prevention Fund that would help homeowners who are victims of fraud refinance their homes. He called for a modification of bankruptcy laws to help victims of predatory lending remain in their homes and for a significant extension of unemployment insurance.

McCain Dismisses Expanded Role for Government

For all their efforts to differentiate themselves as the heated Democratic race continues, however, the two Democrats have strikingly similar approaches to the financial crisis. Moreover, pollster Hart says Clinton's recent heavy emphasis on lunch-bucket economics does not show signs of bolstering her polling numbers.

The real difference that is becoming increasingly obvious, says Mathias, is between the two Democratic candidates on one side, and McCain, the Bush Administration, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on the other. In his Mar. 25 speech, McCain argued against an expansive role for the government in responding to the crisis. And in a statement on Mar. 27, he added he believed "the role of the government is to help the truly needy, prevent systemic economic risk, and enact reforms that prevent the kind of crisis we are currently experiencing from ever happening again."

McCain derided the Democrats' proposals as little more than multibillion-dollar bailouts for big banks and speculators. "There is a tendency for liberals to seek big government programs that sock it to American taxpayers while failing to solve the very real problems we face," he said.

Copyright 2008 BusinessWeek

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=BWK&date=20080330&id=8401447

　　是的，我不喜欢男人！男人们的想法我都知道！您知道跟男人讨论能带给我什么吗？一无所获！简直是浪费我的时间！女人至少让我开心

　　■让居易 发自巴黎

　　2005年算得上是法国的“萨特年”。6月21日和4月15日分别是萨特诞生100周年和逝世25周年纪念日。3月9日，“萨特生平回顾展”在法国国家图书馆开幕；法国媒体和文化界精心策划的各种纪念活动也纷纷登场。

　　因为和萨特算是有“邻居”关系，我一反平时不凑各种展览开幕式热闹的习惯，于萨特回顾展开展的当天便赶去观看。展览汇集了400多件萨特的手稿、图片、未出版书信、戏剧演出海报、萨特接受电视广播采访的片断，还陈列了几位和萨特有密切关系的艺术家的一些作品，如贾科梅蒂的雕塑、卡蒂埃－布勒松或布拉塞的摄影作品；此外，展室的视频系统还滚动播放作为萨特同代见证人的7位法国哲学家、学者、作家、记者的访谈录像，以极为丰富的方式，形象地展示了这位法国20世纪伟人的生平。我的最大惊喜，是找到了一张能在萨特和我之间建立某种关系的珍贵照片：一张1962年1月7日萨特住的那幢楼发生恐怖爆炸后情形的黑白新闻照片。

　　很多年后，我也住进了这幢楼。

　　波拿巴特街42号

　　我是在萨特去世20年之后的2001年搬入巴黎六区波拿巴特街42号的。听房主代理人说萨特曾在这栋楼的5楼住过16年的时候，我顿时有一种“喜出望外”的感觉。

　　我早知道这幢楼所在的圣日耳曼德普莱是巴黎最著名的文化圣地，一个“连咖啡馆冒出的气泡都有很高哲学含量”的富有神话色彩的街区。萨特与“花神(Café de Flore)”和“双偶(Les deux Magots)”咖啡馆的神话在全世界的流传是如此之广，以致如今还常常可以看到一些日本女游客坐在这两家咖啡馆的露天座上，手捧一本萨特的《苍蝇》或《恶心》在那儿作“存在与虚无”状的场景。近来也开始有愈来愈多的中国游客团队在稍有学问和文化意识的导游的带领下，在“双偶”或“花神”咖啡馆前闹闹哄哄地排队拍照留念。

　　许多法国书在描述战后巴黎圣日耳曼德普莱群星灿烂的景象时，都喜欢列举当时各色名人在这个街区的固定现身场所和特定的“迷群”，指出在哪个时辰哪条街的哪个地段或哪个咖啡馆，会遇到哪个著名诗人作家或艺术家；而在提到萨特时，通常都只说：“在圣日耳曼德普莱的任何一个街角，随时都有可能撞上萨特！”那意思是萨特“无处不在”。不过，很少有人知道萨特就住在波拿巴特街临圣日耳曼德普莱广场和教堂的一座并不起眼的楼房里。

　　萨特于1946年10月搬入波拿巴特街42号5楼，住到他母亲的一个套房里。波拿巴特街42号虽是一栋其貌不扬的楼房，但却因为那段辉煌的历史，不仅被全世界人视为战后法国思想文化的重要象征符号之一，而且也创下了近年来巴黎房产价格最昂贵的纪录——最近我家对面一个60多平米的套房准备出售，女房主的要价是86万欧元！我问她怎么敢开出如此“天价”，她回答说，她卖的不光是房子，还有窗外的那一片由圣日耳曼德普莱教堂、小广场和“双偶”咖啡馆组成的世界上独一无二的景观，以及人们对这个街区的景仰！这后者才更有价值，也并非有钱就能买到的。

　　萨特搬到这儿时，他主持的《现代》杂志创刊不久，虽然编辑部设在与这儿隔几条街的伽利玛出版社，可萨特每个星期天都要在家里召集编辑会议，约见一帮“介入作家”，在5楼他那间永远烟雾袅绕的小办公室兼书房里叱咤法国思想界的风云。 一时间，波拿巴特街42号成了法国战后思想文化界心脏的心脏和存在主义的大本营。

　　上世纪50年代末、60年代初，萨特积极投入去殖民化运动，支持当时法属阿尔及利亚的独立。萨特的立场不仅给当时的法国政府造成压力，而且招来了坚持殖民主义的法国极右团体的憎恨。一个名为“秘密武装组织(OAS)”的团体先后两次对萨特在波拿巴特街42号的住所进行恐怖爆炸，第一次是在1961年7月，第二次发生在1962年1月7日。两次爆炸都未伤及萨特本人，但第二次爆炸对萨特的套房造成了严重破坏。萨特从此离开波拿巴特街42号，搬至也属六区的拉斯巴耶大道(Bd Raspail) 222号，在那儿一直住到1973年。

　　萨特在波拿巴特街42号从41岁一直住到57岁，他的许多重要名著都是在这里写成，或在这一时期出版，其中包括：自传体小说《词语》、剧本《魔鬼与上帝》、《肮脏的手》、《阿尔托纳的幽禁者》，哲学著作《辩证理性批判》等。在此期间还发生过的重要事件有：1951年6月7日，萨特与鲍里斯·维昂的第一任妻子米歇尔·维昂初次幽会；1955年9月至10月间，萨特和波伏瓦同赴中国；1956年3月，萨特初次结识阿尔莱特·艾尔凯姆，先作为情妇，后又于1965年将其收为养女，等等。

　　萨特在波拿巴特街的16年生活造成了著名的“圣日耳曼德普莱神话”，给这一街区打上了深深的存在主义烙印。直至今天，我几乎每天都可透过窗户看到外国游客在街对面“迪奥”时装店的橱窗前打开地图，然后朝我这边投来目光。可是，他们往往失望而归。波拿巴特街42号门外除了一块4楼的牙医招牌之外，没有与萨特相关的任何标识。

　　1962年1月的那起爆炸案后，一位专给法国旧贵族做衣服的裁缝弗莱德·朗萨克买下了产权属于萨特母亲的那套房子，并对房间布局作了大幅整修改动。现还健在的朗萨克先生告诉我，他那房子的墙内还残留着一片炸弹弹片。当年他刚买下时，房间里面还有不少萨特的物品，包括个人信函、记事本，甚至还有几件手稿。他把所有东西都给一位朋友看了，那朋友告诉他说这都不值钱。我问他为什么楼外不设一块纪念牌，标明萨特曾在这栋楼内住过。朗萨克先生很直率地说：因为我不喜欢萨特！他不无调侃地说，这世界也真有意思，我是替法国贵族做衣服的，偏偏住在一个对贵族恨之入骨的激进作家的老屋里！

　　摩登女郎说：

　　“我们是存在主义者！”

　　萨特不喜欢与男人交往。这差不多是一个公开的秘密。

　　曾担任过萨特私人秘书、并在每天早上10点准时到萨特家上班的让·戈在萨特过世后所写的一篇回忆文章中透露过不少有意思的情节。有一天，让·戈为萨特安排了一次和一位男士的午餐。萨特知道后说不愿和他一起吃饭。让·戈急了，赶忙向萨特解释该人是如何聪敏、如何有思想，而且又是如何紧缠了多少天以求见萨特一面。萨特听了大光其火，嚷道：“算了吧，他的思想与我何干？莫非他能教会我什么不成？”让·戈呐呐地说：“您不喜欢男人，真奇怪。”萨特接过话头，肯定地说：“是的，我不喜欢男人！男人们的想法我都知道！您知道跟男人讨论能带给我什么吗？一无所获！简直是浪费我的时间！”“女人呢？”让·戈紧追不放；萨特接着回答说：“女人至少让我开心；她们让我学到一些东西！……”

　　萨特和女人的关系，也许是解读萨特的一把重要钥匙。在萨特那个时代，除了存在主义哲学之外，还曾出现过各种其他哲学思潮，例如，结构主义、新哲学，等等；但是，无论哪种思想或哲学，其影响或“有名”程度，从未能和存在主义哲学同日而语。其中的奥秘，许多萨特论者都曾一针见血地指出过：萨特周围有一帮女人！这儿值得强调的是，在帮助萨特的存在主义哲学扬名方面，贡献最大的，恰恰不是波伏瓦，而是战后在巴黎圣日耳曼德普莱街区的地窖里唱歌、跳爵士舞的两位漂亮女郎——安娜－玛丽·卡萨利丝和于莉埃特·格莱戈。

　　那是一个疯狂爵士舞(Be-Bop)风靡巴黎的年头。刚从战争废墟中站起来的法国年轻人，无忧无虑，天天晚上都往圣日耳曼德普莱街区酒吧的地窖里钻，在那儿跳节奏疯狂的爵士舞，尽情享受欢乐。各种地窖酒吧、舞厅、俱乐部如雨后春笋，其中最著名的一个叫“禁忌”(Tabou)， 卡萨利丝和格莱戈就是那儿的台柱。“禁忌”俱乐部不仅是时髦年轻人的必到场所，而且还吸引了大批追逐名人踪迹的记者。50年代初的一天晚上，《周六晚报》的一名专栏记者拦住刚要进“禁忌”地窖的卡萨利丝和格莱戈问：“你们都是些什么人？”两位和萨特交往甚密并在萨特那儿见到过他写的一些书的摩登女郎笑着回答：“我们是存在主义者！”记者听后如获至宝。第二天一大早，“存在主义者”这个醒目的通栏大标题一下子传遍整个巴黎、整个法国，又以极快的速度传遍了全世界！那帮在圣日耳曼德普莱寻欢作乐、享受生活，从未读过一行《存在与虚无》的年轻人，一夜之间都成了“存在主义者”！面对这一事实，萨特哭笑不得。从此，“存在主义(existentialisme)”或“存在主义哲学”与“存在主义者(existentialiste)”成了两个再也无法纠缠清楚的概念。后来有人戏称卡萨利丝和格莱戈是萨特最为得力的“新闻专员”。

　　三十年如一的情妇

　　说到萨特与女人，当然不能不涉及萨特私生活中的女人。关于和女人交往与道德的关系，萨特和他的私人秘书让·戈有过一段极精彩的对话。让·戈在波拿巴特街42号萨特家中经常遇到令他尴尬的场面：萨特先给一位女友打电话，讲述某一事件；又马上打电话给另一女友，讲的一切正好与先前的通话内容完全相反。让·戈对萨特这种“两面三刀”的伎俩只能故作镇静，装着没听见。萨特完全清楚让·戈的心事，搁下电话便对着让·戈叹气：“唉，有时真的不好办呐！”“是呀，我正思忖着您怎么脱身呢！处境艰难呀。”“是呀，亲爱的让·戈，您用的词准确极了。有时的确会出现那种我称之为‘烂透’了的处境；要想在外表不受损害的情况下摆脱那处境，根本不可能。” “是的，是的，我理解。”让·戈接着问萨特：“那么，您是怎样从内心解脱的呢？”萨特精辟地说道：“在这种情况下，人们就不得不有一种临时道德。”

　　好一个“临时道德”(它不应等同于“不道德”、“假道德”)！真是一个完整而充满人味的萨特的活生生的写照！在这儿，无论他的关于“处境”、“自由”、“他人”、“责任”的存在主义关键概念，还是其有关“道德”的学说，无不显现得淋漓尽致。

　　于是，他在他和波伏瓦的“现代爱情样本”神话之外，又和数不清的女人产生了许许多多绝不能简单称之为“不道德”的故事。

　　在萨特与众多女性的关系之中，特别值得一提的是他和著名作家鲍里斯·维昂的前妻米歇尔·维昂的交往。鲍里斯·维昂也是战后在圣日耳曼德普莱极其活跃、多才多艺的作家。到目前为止，他依然是法国年轻人最喜欢的20世纪作家之一。萨特很早就赏识他的才华，曾一度请他和《现代》杂志合作。鲍里斯·维昂开始也很欣赏萨特，在1947年发表的名作《岁月的泡沫》中，他还专门刻划了一个名叫“Jean-Sol Partre”(即通过把萨特法文名字——Jean-Paul Sartre——三词中的头一个字母互相置换造出的名字)的存在主义哲学家，以他特有的幽默手段，对萨特和他的哲学作了漫画式的描绘。他的妻子米歇尔·维昂，是圣日耳曼德普莱少有的几个女性偶像之一，年轻漂亮，聪敏，富有鲜明个性，曾担任过影评专栏主笔，从英文翻译过许多美国作品。米歇尔·维昂从40年代末即开始与萨特交往，在和鲍里斯·维昂分手后，成为萨特的情妇，直到萨特去世，历时近30年。在萨特的所有情妇中，米歇尔·维昂拥有最特殊的地位，并对萨特起过重要作用。1968年后，萨特把自己的许多手稿都交托给米歇尔·维昂。1985年，米歇尔·维昂把她所拥有的大量萨特手稿捐赠给了法国国家图书馆。

　　在搬到波拿巴特街42号之前，我因一次偶然的机会结识了头发花白、风韵犹存的米歇尔·维昂。我有一个两年前已英年早逝的朋友，在巴黎六区的另一个文化圣地——蒙巴纳斯街区开了一家 “红宝石”中餐馆。这家在蒙巴纳斯享有盛名的中餐馆就在米歇尔·维昂住所的隔壁！上世纪70年代，老萨特经常光顾“红宝石”；而米歇尔·维昂则像邻居串门那样，去得更勤，并且成了餐馆老板鲁先生夫妇的好朋友。她见鲁先生夫妇终日忙于经营餐馆，无暇顾及儿子的学业，便主动提出帮助辅导他们孩子的法文。那时，鲁先生还不知道米歇尔·维昂为何人，更不了解她和萨特的关系。有一天我在“红宝石”与他闲聊，跟他说起萨特、鲍里斯·维昂以及这帮人当年的各种故事。“维昂”两字引起了鲁先生的关注，他说他有一位邻居，叫米歇尔·维昂，是这里的常客。我说那很可能就是鲍里斯·维昂的前妻和萨特的情人。我还说，如果真是她，真愿意和她聊一聊，因为鲍里斯·维昂是我最喜欢的法国作家之一，在南京大学做毕业论文时，选题就是他的小说《岁月的泡沫》！

　　热心的鲁先生当天下午就跟米歇尔·维昂打电话，并于第二天在“红宝石”的“包厢”里安排了我和米歇尔·维昂的第一次会面。当时已年近80的米歇尔·维昂依然记忆清楚、思路敏捷；从她白皙的脸上还读得出当年令鲍里斯·维昂、令萨特和整个圣日耳曼德普莱倾倒的美貌。她跟我谈了当年圣日耳曼德普莱轰轰烈烈的生活，使我印证了各类书中读到过的许多细节。开始时，我还犹豫究竟该把她当作鲍里斯·维昂的妻子还是看成萨特的情人；渐渐地，我发现了她自己的情感偏向。在最后分手前，我直截了当地问她：她自己一生经历中最引以为自豪的，到底是曾是鲍里斯·维昂的妻子还是萨特的情人？她不加思索地回答，是萨特的情妇，而且还特别强调说是萨特“三十年如一”的情妇！我当时听了只是觉得有点感动，现在想来，这难道不也是对萨特“临时道德”论的另一种注脚么？

　　在米歇尔·维昂离开巴黎去法国南方与她和鲍里斯所生的儿子一起生活以前，我们还在鲁先生的“红宝石”餐馆见过多次。与米歇尔·维昂的接触使我对我的“邻居”萨特的认识变得更为具体。而人们带着某种假道德的偏见所提到的“萨特的情妇”，在我的脑子里马上转化为米歇尔·维昂老太太这一亲近而富有感染力的形象。

　　萨特-波伏瓦广场

　　萨特是一个在他所“介入”的各个领域中都能使崇拜者五体投地、令憎恨者咬牙切齿的人。这种或爱，或恨，或誉，或毁的情形在他生前即已如此。这并没有妨碍他成为其同代及随后数代人的一个参照坐标。

　　然而，在去世后25年的今天，萨特是否已经“过时”，是否已让人无动于衷？他留给当今世界的遗产及影响究竟如何？法国的媒体和学术界就是抱着这些疑问，开始今年“萨特年”的声势浩大的纪念活动的。

　　萨特逝世20周年前夕，巴黎圣日耳曼德普莱有了一个以萨特和波伏瓦两人名字命名的广场。2000年4月10日，巴黎市前任右派市长和六区区长共同主持了广场的揭幕剪彩仪式。

　　这大概是全世界最小的一个广场了——它其实只是圣日耳曼大道(Boulevard Saint -Germain)和雷恩街(rue de Rennes)交叉口中间的一个安全岛，也就是我每次去“莫诺普里”超市购物或去卢森堡公园散步都必须穿越、停留的那块三角形的“小飞地”！面积不足50平方米，两杆挂着禁止逆行标志的交通灯柱恐占去了十分之一的位置，剩下的地方估计还容纳不了30个人！比起全法国家喻户晓的、只要萨特那样的伟人振臂一呼就能聚集几万乃至几十万人的巴黎“共和广场”、“巴士底狱广场”或者“协和广场”来，“萨特－波伏瓦广场”简直就是一个“反广场”！

　　然而，它却是一个确确实实、堂堂正正的“Place(广场)”，而既非有点歧视性的“Placette(小广场)”，也不是带英国味的“square(街心广场)”。法国人在用名人名字“命名”地域方面，历来是注意公道和“名正言顺”的：该给环形大道的，决不给单行道；应予以林荫道的，绝不给沿江马路；该称街的，决不叫巷；该得小道的，绝不要死胡同！一切都按“该归凯撒的都给凯撒”的古训，分配得秩序井然，公平得体。

　　萨特和波伏瓦是该得广场的。所以，他们拥有的就是一个“广场”——尽管别有用心者可以因它的狭小而将它贬低为“土墩”、“土块”。“萨特－波伏瓦广场”虽小，却处于巴黎文化的要冲地带，像是一个矗立在那儿的方向坐标。显然，“萨特－波伏瓦广场”已成了巴黎圣日耳曼德普莱永恒的定位标志。

　　1970年10月22日，萨特向雷诺汽车公司的工人发表演讲

　　1980年4月19日，成千上万的巴黎人在蒙巴纳斯为萨特举行了雨果式的葬礼

　　从“双偶”咖啡馆看波拿巴特街42号5楼萨特旧居

　　1962年1月7日恐怖炸弹在

　　波拿巴特街42号萨特寓所爆炸

　　萨特与米歇尔·维昂在一起

　　1964年，巴黎，萨特和两位女性在交谈

　　萨特生平回顾展3月9日至8月21日在法国国家图书馆举行

　　巴黎圣日耳曼德普莱的“萨特－波伏瓦广场”

What's the scariest investing story of 2008 so far?

It's not news that the median price of a new house is down 17% from its 2007 high --- and still falling.

Or that Miami has a 37-month supply of unsold condos, with 19,000 more new units set to hit the market this year.

Or even that losses at banks and investment banks in the debt-market meltdown could hit $400 billion.

Here's my nominee:

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the government agency that protects the pensions of 44 million workers in case their employers can't (or won't) pay promised benefits, has announced that to avoid going bust it will double the percentage of its portfolio -- to 45% -- that it puts into stocks. An additional 10% will go into alternative investments, including hedge funds.

In other words, facing a $14 billion deficit and even larger projected shortfalls, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., or PBGC, decided not to save (by raising premiums) or to live within its means (by cutting benefits) but to gamble in the financial markets by taking on more risk. The PBGC was so proud of its new strategy that it announced it on Presidents Day, when the U.S. financial markets were closed and almost no one was paying attention.

So why is this so scary?

Because as a result of 10 years of booms and busts -- the Asian currency crisis, the Long Term Capital Management hedge fund disaster, the tech stock bear market of 2000-02, the housing smash-up, the debt market debacle -- I've increasingly come to believe that those of us who play by the rules (work hard, live within our paychecks, save) are chumps. The way to get ahead is to gamble big and then, if you lose, find someone to cover your losses.

Anger and fear

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary;^[1] born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen independent states and their overseas territories and dependencies. Though she holds each crown and title separately and equally, she is resident in and most directly involved with the United Kingdom, her oldest realm and over parts of whose territories her ancestors have reigned for more than a thousand years.

In addition to the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, where she is represented by Governors-General. The 16 countries of which she is Queen are known as Commonwealth Realms, and their combined population is over 129 million.

Elizabeth became Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon^[3] upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952. As other colonies of the British Empire (now the Commonwealth of Nations) attained independence from the UK during her reign, she acceded to the newly created thrones as Queen of each respective realm so that throughout her 55 years on the throne she has been Monarch of 32 nations, half of which either subsequently adopted other royal houses or became republics. (See also Former Commonwealth Realms.)

She is currently one of the longest-reigning monarchs of the UK or any of its predecessor states, ranking behind Victoria (who reigned over the UK for sixty-three years), George III (who reigned over Great Britain and subsequently the UK for fifty-nine), James VI (who reigned over Scotland for fifty-seven years), and Henry III (who reigned over England for fifty-six).

She is one of only two people who are simultaneously head of state of more than one independent nation. (The other being the President of France, who is ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra.) In practice, she personally exercises virtually no political executive power.

Elizabeth also holds the positions of Head of the Commonwealth, Lord High Admiral, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Lord of Mann, and Paramount Chief of Fiji. Following tradition, she is also styled Duke of Lancaster and Duke of Normandy. She is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of many of her realms, and is styled Defender of the Faith in various realms for different reasons.

(from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom)