Word: past
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...elected President in May 2007, who immediately set out to lower income taxes, scrap France's 35-hour workweek, revoke special retirement privileges for public-transport workers, and harangue employees to "work more to earn more"? Or is he the leader who in the past year has slapped down greedy bankers, fumed at U.S. and British resistance to French plans for strict new regulations of the global finance sector, and preached the gospel of "moralizing capitalism"? Is he the man, a son of a Hungarian immigrant, who, newly elected, challenged French pretense of color-blind égalité by arguing...
Neither measure, leftist and conservative critics complain, was part of Sarkozy's original platform; both were hastily put together and poorly thought through. "Sarkozy's problem is that when he promised 'rupture' with the past during his campaign, he built expectations that go farther than merely revolutionizing the language and methods of governing by actually conceiving and shaping a new face and vision of France," Muzet says. "In many ways, Sarkozy reflects the contradictions of the French themselves: demanding both free markets and social job protection, wanting modernity and tradition, and wanting fast results with no pain. But those...
...imagine if Babbage hadn't abandoned it. Fork the timeline. Imagine if computing technology had developed along the lines of Babbage's vision: brass and steel instead of silicon and plastic; clockwork instead of electronics. In fact, imagine if all the great technological revolutions of the past 100 years hadn't happened. Our world would run on Victorian tech--it would be a handmade, steam-powered world, finished in leather and mahogany. It's an elegant, romantic vision. And it has a name: steampunk...
Before New Mexico meets its future, however, it has to reckon with its past. Human habitation here dates back 12,000 years; in the 16th century the storied Camino Real - a 1,500-mile trade route from Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo, near Santa Fe - passed through the spaceport site. Because of this history, the Federal Government required a cultural-resources survey before construction could begin, as well as constant monitoring since. So on this balmy afternoon, archaeologist Elizabeth Oster is examining a spot she says is "right smack in the middle of the runway." If she unearths anything...
...today's hard economic times, something startling began showing up in public-opinion polls: fewer people than in the past wanted Washington to step in. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, only 23% of respondents said they trust the government "always or most of the time"--the smallest proportion in 12 years. The percentage of voters who think government should "do more to solve problems and meet the needs of people" has dropped 5 points since Obama's first weeks in office, while that of those who think government should leave more things "to businesses" rose 8 points...