A Running Diary of Thought

This site made possible by:

 
Creepy: "A Swedish ecologist and entrepreneur called Susanne Wiigh-Masak has started a movement and a company to promote the use of human remains as compost: corpses will be freeze-dried and then pounded by ultrasound waves into little compost-sized chunks that can be used to fertilise memorial rose bushes as well as commercial crops. "

posted at 2:02 AM |

 
A WP article shows how post-war planners missed the mark:

In addition to believing that Iraqi soldiers and police officers would help secure the country, they thought that Iraqis would embrace the American invaders and a future marked by representative government, civil liberties and a free-market economy, and that Iraqi bureaucrats, minus a top layer of Baath Party figures who would quit or be fired, would stay on the job.

Does anyone else find these assumptions a little, the skeptic doesn't know, pie-in-the-sky?

posted at 1:38 PM |

 
So, quick comment: the skeptic likes Slate's new redesign for the top half of the page. But he thinks the links under "Inside Slate" are too small, and the days too easily flow into each other (this probably was the point).

Second comment: take a look at Wednesday's page. See the "cover story" (if that's what you call it) about subletting summer houses? That story's from 1997! Yes, it's evergreen, but it seems dishonest to give it the flashy graphic if it's an old story. Right?

posted at 12:58 AM |

 
An interesting glimpse of how African politics mix with the war on terror:

The Kenyan arrested in Malawi last month by American agents for suspected terrorist links is in Zimbabwe.
Federal Bureau of Investigation officials and Malawian security forces arrested Mr Khalif Abdi Hussein, interrogated him and deported him to neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Foreign Affairs assistant minister Moses Wetangula yesterday said after investigating the issue through diplomatic channels, the government had been informed that Mr Hussein was released in Zimbabwe after the FBI and Malawi police concluded that he had no links with terrorists.

posted at 4:22 PM |

 
Why Trade Matters

posted at 2:40 AM |

 
An African 'Big Brother' Unites and Delights (washingtonpost.com):

Forget Africa's civil wars, its brutal dictators and its worries about trade, genetically modified food and free and fair elections. Africa has a new obsession in an unlikely form: a reality television show called 'Big Brother Africa.'

The real-time, voyeuristic, 24-hour program is the highest-rated show in the history of African television. It has farmers and financial workers alike racing to television sets at home, in bars or restaurants -- or even at the rural health clinic -- to watch, especially the daily 6 p.m. highlights.

The show began by confining a dozen English-speaking Africans in their twenties, from 12 countries, in one big house in South Africa. Each week, a housemate is voted out by viewers; the last one to remain after 106 days will win $100,000.

The show is the talk of the continent. It's been praised for getting Africans to question national stereotypes and criticized for 'shower hour,' as well as scenes of cuddling and kissing in bed that seem to condone casual sex in the midst of Africa's AIDS pandemic. Some viewers say it has done more to unite them than independence, the Cold War or the pan-African movement. The producers say 30 million people are watching.

"It's great for Africa," Alan Nsubuga, 31, shouted over the booming television broadcast at the Venue bar in Kampala. "There is so much tribalism and stereotypes that we Africans have about each other. This show is changing all that. We have never had a chance to get to know each other, since most of us don't travel. And if we do, it's only to the West. It's so nice to have this."
[...]
The show is so popular in Uganda that it has replaced the state news on the set in the parliament's cafeteria.

On a recent day, a viewer's text message flashed across the bottom of the screen. It said, "Since BBA I see Africa in a whole new light. One Nation. One People. No Borders."

posted at 1:53 PM |