Harvesting items, newsworthy or not

 
Ok, I'm gonna step on somebody's toes here, I'm sure, but that's life. This may be the only redeeming virtue (in my view) to come out of the whole "Survivor" program. I say that as one who never watched a single episode (and, full disclosure, did watch as many "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" episodes as possible). Anyway, good on 'em for the idea, here. Another celebration of good ideas comes from The Guardian; "The Seven Wonders of the Web". Thanks to Ms. Cohen for the link.

I've been up in arms about the executive order which forbade release of presidential papers, but this is unbelievable. (Link lifted from Skarlet, with my thanks). Our illustrious Attorney General, who just decided he'd better recuse himself from any Enron hearings, recently (Oct. 12) issued an order telling federal agencies not to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests. (Note that the official order seems more benign, at first glance, than the interpretation the Chronicle writer has gleaned from it). Further, he has said the Dept. of Justice will back up said agencies in any court fight they may have to keep from releasing information. Anyone else reminded of Stalin, Andropov, et al.?

Useful links regarding Enron include The Center for Responsive Politics and Oliver Willis. The first is a non-partisan organization dedicated to campaign finance reform; the second is unquestionably an individual with an agenda. Both have useful timelines and links, as does the Washington Post.

Lest we forget: Administration pandering to the social conservatives in the Republican Party continues with a delay in the release of money to the UN Population Fund. Then there's this celebration of the impending retirement of several of the Senate's most hidebound characters: Aloha, Messrs. Gramm, Helms, and Thurmond!

Heavy politics day, huh?
posted by Link Meister at 3:49 PM

 
And I thought yesterday's "Whoops" was odd. Now comes Arthur Andersen's announcement that they've somehow lost or destroyed documents pertaining to their audit of Enron. I've worked places where Big Five companies did the audits; the ones I worked with could pull workpapers from three, four, or five years earlier without too much of a stretch. Apparently Andersen itself felt that its original statement needed clarification.

New AIDS trial results will be examined over a seven-year period; I grant you I suffer from American "quick-fix" syndrome as much as anyone, but while these trials are going on, there are millions of people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa who can't wait.

"Feed a cold, starve a fever." We've all heard it. Now comes research that indicates it might be correct! And "take two aspirin" is advice too few of us follow, according to this research. This strikes me as bandwagon-jumping, however: the medical establishment's equivalent of merit badges for bioterrorism courses? Maybe I'm too skeptical.

Hey! An Al Gore sighting! He's still touting information technology, you will all be glad to know. This time it's for the public health sector.
posted by Link Meister at 2:36 PM

 
It may be a laudable idea, but what a title! "The Future of Music Policy Summit??" It did have a lot of big names, though. Here's one person's account of his experiences with the recent Excite@home collapse; sound familiar? I found this article informative; it also has a wonderful line I imagine we can all recognize: "We do control-alt-delete and chant, and eventually the connection comes back." Of course, if we had this, we wouldn't have to worry much. As one who was dragged kicking and screaming away from his original Mac Plus (Ok, I added a 40MB external hard drive--I wasn't that much of a purist), I want it. It's got all the power and functionality I can use, and what a beautiful design!

For you film devotees, in Oscar prelims, the technical innovators will be honored a little early. Air time, air time! They deserve air time! In another innovation, music is now being tried as relaxation therapy for breast cancer patients. I had an MRI scan about 18 months ago, and the Bach I listened to during that 45-minute ordeal certainly seemed to take my mind off the discomfort, so. . . Health and music may mix, but health and politics make uneasy partners; what else could explain this? Five directorships at NIH still vacant? What does that say about our leaders and their commitment to the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the "general welfare" clause?

Finally, from the "Whoops" file: Now this would be a helluva shock: remember the Italian woman who apparently conceived while pregnant? Elderly men impregnated!
posted by Link Meister at 3:03 PM

 
"One truck to rule them all, GPS to find them..."

Oy vey! Thanks to Pix for the link.

I used to work for a major hotel in Waikiki (see photo); if our front desk personnel had done this. . . (link lifted from Elise).

Remember Homer's "rosy-fingered dawn?" A new theory suggests that stars appeared in the universe the same way, bursting forth in full light (another allusion to the classics here? Hmm...Minerva from Zeus? No, better not; might be thought elitist). From classics to fairy tales: care for a brown dwarf? Or a single-pedal car? That one's for real; these I won't swear to. The Houseguru might be interested in the final item, there, though.

Here's one for ToxicLabRat; kidney transplantation from one colleague to another; the two people were on NPR's Talk of the Nation a few weeks ago. This is a less inspiring story: Milosevic continues to live in what could be called cloud-cuckoo-land. Oh, and I ran across this oddity while reading Sports Illustrated. It's a collection of gravesite photos and other information about deceased baseball players.

Back in real life, biotech is hiring, if you live in the right place and have the quals.
posted by Link Meister at 4:46 PM

 
I am perplexed. Yes, yes, so what's new, you say; well, let's say I'm perplexed about a particular event which occurred over the past few days in the land of blog. Apparently (remember, I just got into this blogging biz a few weeks ago, so don't laugh uproariously) there is an individual who recently refused to allow links to his projects if there is even a smidgen of commercial use at the linking site. This seems to include employment histories, as well as sites like this one (due to the Geocities pop-up ad).

This is what perplexes me: if this is a stand against commercializing the web, hasn't he already lost? I'm all for idealism, but quixoticism makes little sense. Does he hope that Amazon will close its doors? Or that E-bay will fade into the distance? Or that nearly every major corporation in the Western world will shut down its web presence? I don't get it. He might as well campaign to end the lunar cycle. Can't be done. If that's his goal, he would do well to recall that Galileo's views about earth's revolution around the sun prevailed, despite the opposition of the Holy Roman Church. Surely he doesn't think he has more authority than 16th-century Popes? And how long has he been tilting at this particular windmill, anyway?
posted by Link Meister at 5:16 PM

 
Anyone a fan of both archaeology and mystery fiction? If so, you'll know the name Elizabeth Peters. If you're familiar with her work, you might wanna try this crossword based on the books. Ok, so I was an anthro major once; what else could explain my interest in that item and in this one? Of course, the latter mentions the La Brea Tar Pits; I once bought a cheap ring with a malachite stone there. From digging up old sites to finding new gadgets: here's a preview of the Consumer Electronics Show, in Vegas July 8-11. Moving forward (?) from electronic gadgetry to medical disagreements: Who should administer anesthesia? What's the view in Shickshinny? Oh, and one other medically-related item: a review of the memoir of an American psychiatrist in Zimbabwe.

One does tend to forget that cultural xenophobia didn't begin with today's Islamist movements; remember the "black ships" of Commodore Perry? James Clavell made a fortune writing about that period with Shogun. It can become internecine, as well. Nor is it confined to non-Western societies; there are 600 US-based hate groups tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Today's milestones: Dave Thomas of Wendy's Restaurants fame passed away last night. Who could forget the "Where's the beef" ads? And Ozzie Smith was the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today.
posted by Link Meister at 2:46 PM

 
Somehow this story makes me think of Roman retribution at Carthage; and what symbolism was involved in sending all these villagers to the Soviet Embassy in Kabul?

I admit to occasionally being amused by Bill Safire. Usually it occurs when I'm reading his columns about language; in this instance, he's reveling in the outraged correspondence he's been getting from all his putative buddies on the right. They have apparently been flummoxed by his recent columns railing at Messrs. Bush and Ashcroft and the apparent willingness of same to trample on the Constitution and abuse executive privilege. He considerately publishes his E-mail address at the bottom of the page; looking for grist, perhaps? Another columnist, Howard Kurtz, has a great time bewailing the plight of political reporters in a time of conflict. Poor souls, nobody seems to be interested in their stock-in-trade: Lost surpluses? Who cares? Congressional races too close to call? Big deal. What's an analyst to do? And lookie here: in what I call a sop to the whiners like me who think all non-sensitive Presidential papers should be released, the Administration has given up some Reagan-era documents. Note the final sentence in the story: I would still like to know just what the hell these people find so potentially embarrassing in this material. If ever there were a case study in the technique of conspiracy theory creation, this would be item one.

Given the snowfall in many parts of the country, it may seem unfair or even rude to cite our current conditions, but I can't resist; this happens to a greater or lesser degree every winter. For indoor entertainment, may I offer you a satellite radio? I'm a radio guy, but so far I have my doubts; will anyone really want to pay between $11-$13 a month for a service you can get for free, albeit with spotty signal reception? Any thoughts from NPR listeners? (NPR has a deal with one of the service providers).

Oops, potential landscapers coming; that's it for now.
posted by Link Meister at 12:42 PM