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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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| Topic: Society |
11:14 pm EDT, May 11, 2002 |
David Gerlernter explains why Americans stand with Israel. The United States and Israel are pick-up nations, created out of ideas. American and Israeli settlers had to leave Europe; they felt the pressure at their backs. And once they arrived in their new lands, everywhere they looked they saw empty space, and so they naively assumed that there would be room for everybody. If you want a homeland, you must create one. That's how America got its homeland, and that is why Israel belongs to the Israelis. American settlers (the tragic fact is) committed gross crimes against American Indians. We don't lessen the significance of those crimes by noting that Indians committed crimes against the settlers too, and crimes against other Indians. No analogy between Palestinians and American Indians will fly. The differences are too deep. But in other ways there are remarkable similarities between proto-Israeli and proto-American settlers, especially New Englanders. A Nation Like Ours |
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Self-organized complexity in the physical, biological, and social sciences |
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| Topic: Science |
2:24 pm EDT, May 11, 2002 |
Proceedings of a recent National Academy of Sciences colloquium. The organizers had no difficulty in finding many examples of complexity in subjects ranging from fluid turbulence to social networks. However, an acceptable definition for self-organizing complexity is much more elusive. The governing equations (if they exist) are generally nonlinear ... A few characteristics of self-organized complexity: Frequency-Size Statistics (power law scaling); Networks; Time Series; Slider Blocks; Deterministic Chaos vs. Stochasticity. This is clearly a field that is rapidly growing. The growth is likely to be particularly strong in the biological and social science applications. From the table of contents: Proteins: Paradigms of complexity
Self-organized complexity in economics and finance
Random graph models of social networks
Scaling phenomena in the Internet: Critically examining criticality Self-organized complexity in the physical, biological, and social sciences |
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Use the blog, Luke | Salon.com |
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| Topic: Technology |
11:07 am EDT, May 11, 2002 |
What makes blogs interesting is precisely the way in which they're not journalism. The true revolution promised by the rise of bloggerdom is not about journalism. It's about information management. The Blogger Effect is what happens when the arbiters of relevance in the "attention economy" shift toward a bottom-up structure. Steven Johnson, founder and former editor of Feed Magazine, on blogs. Should Johnson be told about MemeStreams, immediately, if not sooner? Use the blog, Luke | Salon.com |
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Double Trouble Could Lead to Corning's Collapse | theStreet |
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| Topic: Economics |
10:43 am EDT, May 11, 2002 |
Corning's numerous problems go well beyond the collapse of the teleconomy. The company is essentially betting everything on a return of demand for its fiber-optic cable and equipment. Perhaps more troubling, its capital structure is also in shambles, meaning that at least an organizational restructuring -- and maybe a recapitalization -- almost assuredly lie ahead. The fiber market won't likely return to its heady levels of yesteryear. ... Now, fewer customers exist for that fiber, and that compounds Corning's problem. Only the cable companies (AOLTW, Comcast, Verizon, BellSouth) have any capital to spend. Plus, pricing declined ... Fiber demand would have to skyrocket for revenue to even remain flat. ... [And capital expenses put] the company in a tight spot. ... The bottom line is that Corning will either end up in default of its credit facility or be forced to raise some cash. Neither scenario does existing shareholders any favors. Double Trouble Could Lead to Corning's Collapse | theStreet |
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The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | _Foreign Affairs_ |
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| Topic: Society |
10:01 pm EDT, May 10, 2002 |
Foreign Affairs is making available the full text of a selection of new and previously published articles on the interests, goals, and political dynamics on all sides, as well as the history of the two parties' recent interactions and American involvement in the region. The Last Negotiation, Hussein Agha and Robert Malley (May/June 2002) Conventional wisdom says the best approach to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict is to strive for a ceasefire followed by a return to painstaking step-by-step negotiations. In fact, the incremental approach is doomed to failure, and peace will only come through outside intervention based on a clear plan to end the conflict once and for all. The Last of the Patriarchs, Aluf Benn (May/June 2002) What does Ariel Sharon want? Not to make peace or push the Palestinians out of the territories, but rather to freeze the status quo and put off final-status negotiations for years. Palestinians Divided, Khalil Shikaki (January/February 2002) Yasir Arafat will be able to fend off internal leadership challenges only if he can deliver a substantial settlement with the Israelis or give his own people better and more open government. Neither is likely, and what follows Arafat may be even worse. Back to the Bazaar, Martin Indyk (January/February 2002) After its victory in Afghanistan, the United States has an opportunity to strike a new bargain with its major Arab allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It should indeed press for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also challenge authoritarianism, anti-Americanism, and the lack of Arab support for Middle East peace. The Sentry's Solitude, Fouad Ajami (November/December 2001) Arafat wants the "Arab street" to rise up in rebellion and force the United States to accept his claims. Better the fire of an insurrection, he reasons, than the risks of reconciling his people to a peace he has not prepared them for. Middle East Peace Through Partition, David Makovsky, (March/April 2001) Why did the peace process begun at Oslo fall apart? Because of what the Palestinians and Israelis failed to do, because of what the Palestinian Authority became, and because there was no clear strategy for an endgame. Now disengagement is the only route to stability. Israel After Heroism, Eliot A. Cohen, (November/December 1998) On its fiftieth birthday, Israel looked on the verge of a new and less epic phase of its history. With survival no longer in question, the country could turn to the less stressful, if less edifying, challenges of identity and normal life. That was then. Dive in deeply, and go beyond the nightly news with the crew at the Council on Foreign Relations. In particular, I highly recommend the Martin Indyk article cited above. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | _Foreign Affairs_ |
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Credit Rating of WorldCom Is Cut to Junk |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:35 am EDT, May 10, 2002 |
WorldCom's credit rating was cut below investment grade yesterday by Moody's Investors Service, but the company narrowly averted a cash squeeze by securing a waiver from its lenders that allows it to have access to an important borrowing program. Moody's says: "We estimate that WorldCom's operating earnings will fall below its interest obligations within six months." Translation: a debt default may be on the horizon, or closer. Credit Rating of WorldCom Is Cut to Junk |
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An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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| Topic: Society |
6:32 am EDT, May 10, 2002 |
Doughnuts may not be quite as American as, say, apple pie, but they come close enough to make Samir Nasier, a Saudi fast-food king, nervous. So nervous, in fact, that Mr. Nasier and his brothers are offering roughly $300,000 to anyone who can prove that their House of Donuts chain has any connection to the United States. This reminds me of "Homer the Smithers", episode 3F14 of The Simpsons, in which Homer temporarily fills in for Smithers as Mr. Burns' assistant. Trying to make up for past mistakes, Homer decides to bring him breakfast in bed, consisting of a cup of coffee and a big bag of doughnuts. Burns takes one look and casts them aside, saying, "Doughnuts? I told you, I don't like ethnic food!" An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
7:01 am EDT, May 9, 2002 |
The song may sound familiar at first. But, suddenly, the recording changes course. As the recording moves on, it is clear that the song is neither fish nor fowl; it is a crossbreed. It is something that is completely different, often illegal and, thanks to the Internet, becoming explosively popular. "The best bootlegs don't sound like bootlegs; they work at a profound level, and actually sound like they are the original record." "It is a case of bootleggers bootlegging bootlegs." "It's my favorite record of the year so far." Neil Strauss on the latest fad in online music. Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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Kirch Pay TV Unit Files for Bankruptcy |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:55 am EDT, May 9, 2002 |
In a move that will affect Hollywood movie studios as well as the world of soccer, the Kirch Group's pay television company filed for bankruptcy today after negotiations with creditors collapsed. The possible collapse of Premiere, a German pay TV network in which the firm is heavily invested, has already created a financial crisis for German professional soccer. Kirch Pay TV Unit Files for Bankruptcy |
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NTL Files World's Largest Debt Default |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:51 am EDT, May 9, 2002 |
NTL Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing $23.38 billion in debt, as part of a recovery plan that will hand bondholders a controlling stake in Britain's largest cable-television company. The New York-based company's debt default is the largest in history, eclipsing Enron Corp.'s $9.9-billion nonpayment last year. NTL Files World's Largest Debt Default |
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