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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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UPI Commentary: Al-Qaida in Africa |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
6:54 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
The UN and Doctors Without Borders said they were now faced with "the worst humanitarian crisis in the world." No TV footage, no story. South Africa keeps 75,000 under arms. Forty percent of the force is HIV positive. And only 3,000 men are deployable. West Africa is a graveyard of failed nation-states. The DRC, formerly Zaire, is the size of the United States east of the Mississippi. DRC is only a country on a map. Nineteenth-century tribalism has displaced the Western notion of a nation state. Al-Qaida cells operate autonomously with sleeper agents among Muslim communities in most western, eastern and African countries. Bin Laden's capture -- dead or alive -- won't change the correlation of forces between terrorists and counter-terrorists. The toughest among them survive the desert trek to Morocco and Algeria and from there take small craft to Spain. Their bodies wash up on Spanish beaches every day. UPI Commentary: Al-Qaida in Africa |
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Are You Going to Eat That? |
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| Topic: Health and Wellness |
6:34 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
I wouldn't want to let anything go to waste ... "Hey, tubby! Want another Pop Tart, tubby?" Are You Going to Eat That? |
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Today's Theme Is ... Fat. |
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| Topic: Health and Wellness |
6:33 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
"The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now." Today's Theme Is ... Fat. |
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This Progress Is Killing Us, Bite by Bite |
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| Topic: Society |
6:30 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
The epidemic of obesity epitomizes the unsettled character of progress in affluent Western society. Our lives are characterized by too much of a good thing -- too much to eat, to buy, to watch and to do, excess at every turn. Increasingly, Western life is afflicted by the paradoxes of progress. Material circumstances keep improving, yet our quality of life may be no better as a result -- especially in those cases, like food, where enough becomes too much. "The maximum is not the optimum," the ecologist Garrett Hardin, who died last year, liked to say. Americans are choosing the maximum, and it does not necessarily make us healthier or happier. This Progress Is Killing Us, Bite by Bite |
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Reflections on the Life of the Mind in an Era of Abundance |
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| Topic: Education |
4:29 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
Increasingly, the focus of attention in higher education on accessibility, affordability, and accountability has blunted attention to a fourth "A": abundance. The history of human learning can perhaps best be described in terms of a lack of abundance, or scarcity. The current and prospective era of abundance will challenge many basic assumptions and practices about safeguarding, protecting, filtering, cataloguing, and vetting information ... The next half-century is likely to be characterized by ... the shift of attention, invention, and investment to systems designed to foster learning productivity and outcomes. One underlying principle of the knowledge-driven era is that education is a lifelong endeavor. The capacity to create a comprehensive digital record of work and life experiences ... will immensely influence institutional and individual behaviors, expectations, and experiences. In the race to leave no child behind, do we risk leaving everyone behind? ... a MemeStream on every desktop ... Reflections on the Life of the Mind in an Era of Abundance |
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The Politics of Self-Pity |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
12:39 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
It's as if his inner fat boy is complaining that a classic triple cheeseburger from Wendy's jumped out of its wrapper and forced its way down his unwilling throat, topped off by a pushy Frosty. Mmm, Frosty. Are you letting your inner fat boy tell you what to do? (As opposed to your inner frat boy.) The Politics of Self-Pity |
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Florida as the Next Florida |
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| Topic: Elections |
12:33 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
"Florida now has 'the very best' technology available," Florida's secretary of state declared on CNN. Hours later, results in Bay County showed that with more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, Richard Gephardt, who long before had pulled out of the presidential race, was beating John Kerry by two to one. There were, no doubt, other mishaps that did not come to light because of the stunning lack of transparency around voting in the state. When a Times editorial writer dropped in on one Palm Beach precinct where there were reports of malfunctioning machines, county officials called the police to remove him. "Nightmare!" Florida as the Next Florida |
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Preaching Blues: Eric Clapton, back to the crossroads |
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| Topic: Music |
11:54 am EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
In 2001, Eric Clapton announced his retirement from touring. It wasn't the first time he had turned away from the spotlight. During each of these self-imposed exiles, Clapton found salvation, and rediscovered his purpose as a musician, by listening to the blues. "I've listened to these songs my whole life," says Clapton, who will release an album of fourteen Johnson covers in classic Chicago-blues style, Me and Mr. Johnson, on March 30th. "It's the most enjoyable music I've ever listened to." If the last ten are anything like the first four ... Wow. "All my life I've been saying things like, 'I'm quitting because everything is so commercial. The scene is corrupt.' It's a dissatisfaction with the status quo." Also, Eric Clapton collects graffiti. Preaching Blues: Eric Clapton, back to the crossroads |
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Advancing Both Science and Safety |
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| Topic: Science |
11:33 am EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
Sean O'Keefe puts the Hubble decision in context. It's nice to see him following one of Powell's Rules: "Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it." In making my decision I had to balance the world-class science that the Hubble has produced, and will continue to produce, against the risks to the shuttle and its crew. The safety considerations tipped the scales. I welcome the decision of the National Academy of Sciences, announced last week, to review my conclusion. If you've not seen the plans for the James Webb Space Telescope, take a Google and see what NASA has in store for the next decade. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Advancing Both Science and Safety |
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| Topic: Society |
11:15 am EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
These are the two basic responses to globalization: Infosys and Al Qaeda. ... a culture that prizes education, science and rationality ... rewards anyone with a good idea ... In India they're called "call centers." In Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia they're called "madrassas." In a globalizing world, staying competitive means continuous learning. Are you getting good ideas? Or just getting angry? What do you call your school? Origin of Species |
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