OpinionJournal - The Real World: "But that's hardly the worst outrage that's been bubbling at the UNHCR. If you believe in the U.N. charter's promise to promote 'justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties,' along with 'the dignity and worth of the human person,' then the real scandal--less racy, but colossally more devastating in human cost--has been the UNHCR's failure in recent years to stand up for refugees fleeing North Korea. The problem here is not, as far as I am aware, one of embezzlement or fraud. Nor is it on a par with any amount of sexual harassment in the comfortable Geneva headquarters of the UNHCR--however upsetting that might be. The true horror is the way in which the well-mannered nuances of U.N. bureaucracy, structure and management have combined to dismiss demurely the desperate needs of hundreds of thousands of human beings fleeing famine and repression in the world's worst totalitarian state."

Apostolic Letter The Rapid Development to those Responsible for Communications: "11. We are faced with three fundamental options: formation, participation and dialogue.

In the first place, a vast work of formation is needed to assure that the mass media be known and used intelligently and appropriately. The new vocabulary they introduce into society modifies both learning processes and the quality of human relations, so that, without proper formation, these media run the risk of manipulating and heavily conditioning, rather than serving people. This is especially true for young people, who show a natural propensity towards technological innovations, and as such are in even greater need of education in the responsible and critical use of the media.

In the second place, I would like to recall our attention to the subject of media access, and of co-responsible participation in their administration. If the communications media are a good destined for all humanity, then ever-new means must be found � including recourse to opportune legislative measures � to make possible a true participation in their management by all. The culture of co-responsibility must be nurtured.

Finally, there cannot be forgotten the great possibilities of mass media in promoting dialogue, becoming vehicles for reciprocal knowledge, of solidarity and of peace. They become a powerful resource for good if used to foster understanding between peoples; a destructive �weapon� if used to foster injustice and conflicts. My venerable predecessor, Blessed John XXIII, already prophetically warned humanity of such potential risks in the Encyclical, Pacem in Terris.[13] "

Power Line Fox Hunting | July 2003 Archives: "These pro-fox hunting demonstrators in London, on the other hand, with painted on fox hunting garb, are both creative and fetching:"

Capitalism and Human Nature: "We are Coalitional
The size of hunter-gather bands in the EEA ranged from 25 to about 150 people. The small size of those groups ensured that everyone would know everyone else; that social interactions would be conducted face-to-face; and that reputations for honesty, hard work, and reliability would be common knowledge. Even today, people's address books usually contain no more than 150 names. And military squadrons generally contain about as many people as Pleistocene hunting expeditions."

TCS: Tech Central Station | Dull, But Worthy: "Not only do dull business sectors avoid flocks of competitors, they also tend to be undervalued by the stock market.

That makes perfect sense when you consider Efficient Market Theory, the idea, made popular by economist Eugene Fama in the 1960s, that today's stock prices are determined by swarms of investors using the best current information. With a stock like Microsoft or General Electric, there are so many professionals buying and selling that it's a good bet the price is highly efficient, or accurate. In other words, you're unlikely to beat the Street by investing in a portfolio composed of well-known stocks. "

This, from my post-prandial point of view, is the beginning of the end for the silly, leftist protest-culture which has infested the Western world since the 60s. Witness:

Times Online Britain Sod Off, Swampy: "WHEN 35 Greenpeace protesters stormed the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) yesterday they had planned the operation in great detail.

What they were not prepared for was the post-prandial aggression of oil traders who kicked and punched them back on to the pavement.

"We bit off more than we could chew. They were just Cockney barrow boy spivs. Total thugs," one protester said, rubbing his bruised skull. "I've never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our point of view."

Piling on to a good idea:
Roger L. Simon: Referendum in Iran | A Proposal for Bloggers: "I think the blogosphere should devote itself to this, make the call for a democratic referendum in Iran one of our top priorities. We have been accused of late (falsely, I believe) of being a destructive force, of tearing things down like a mob. Surely, the call for a referendum in Iran is not that. It is the promotion of democracy at its purest. Bloggers on all sides of our political spectrum should be able to get behind that. I'm in."

TIME.com: China's Big Export -- Feb. 21, 2005: "Ning Wen and his wife were arrested last fall at their home office in Manitowoc, Wis., for allegedly sending their native China $500,000 worth of computer parts that could enhance missile systems. As these naturalized citizens await trial, similar episodes in Mount Pleasant, N.J., and Palo Alto, Calif., point only to the tip of the iceberg, according to FBI officials keeping tabs on more than 3,000 companies in the U.S. suspected of collecting information for China. A hotbed of activity is Silicon Valley, where the number of Chinese espionage cases handled by the bureau increases 20% to 30% annually. Says a senior FBI official: 'China is trying to develop a military that can compete with the U.S., and they are willing to steal to get [it].' "

The New York Times > Week in Review > The Dragon for Trade, the Eagle for Safety: "Ma Licheng, an independent Chinese academic, wrote in Japan Echo magazine: 'The fact is that China has nothing to fear from Japan today; indeed, it is the Japanese who regard China with trepidation. The doctrine of the 'Chinese threat' is gradually taking hold in Japan.'

Japanese leaders increasingly talk of the relationship with the United States as overridingly important. 'The future of Asia will be decided by the two-way balance between China and the U.S.-Japan alliance, not a trilateral balance among the three countries,' Hisahiko Okazaki, a retired Japanese diplomat, said in an interview. 'What is Japan's China policy in the future? Strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance. What do to about North Korea? Strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance.'"

TCS: Tech Central Station - Sufism and the Future of Islam

VDH's Private Papers::Aiding and Abetting the Enemy: "What about the media's portrayal of the enemy? Why do these ruthless murderers, kidnappers and thieves get a pass when it comes to their actions? What did the the media show or tell us about Margaret Hassan, the director of C.A.R.E. in Iraq and an Iraqi citizen, who was kidnapped, brutally tortured and left disemboweled in streets of Fallujah? Did anyone in the press show these images over and over to emphasize the moral failings of the enemy as they did with the soldiers at Abu Ghuraib? Did anyone show the world how this enemy had huge stockpiles of weapons in schools and mosques, or how he used these protected places as sanctuaries for planning and fighting in Fallujah and the rest of Iraq? "

Victor Davis Hanson::Questions Log::January 2005: "I enjoyed your response about the Greeks teaching us the 'unchanging nature of man,' and how motives like honor, status and envy propel our actions. Do you have any book recommendations (classic and modern) that address these emotions and how they shape history?

Well, as far as the ancient literature: start with Homer's Iliad. Then read Sophocles, either Antigone, Ajax, Philoctetes, or Oedipus. The locus classicus is Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War, especially the speeches at Sparta, Melos, and the debate over Sicily, as well as the great ones, such as the Funeral Oration or the debate about Athenian character in book one.

For modern work, Bernard Knox's work on Sophocles remains unparalleled. Read Bruce Thornton's Greek Ways or Eros, or his Plagues of the Mind. I co-wrote a book called Who Killed Homer? that discusses some of this. Virgil's Aeneid, Horace's Odes, and some stoic writing like the younger Seneca and Marcus Aurelius gives you a good flavor of a practical tragic view of resigned endurance. Good luck!"

The Great Pursuit | Tozer on Sin: "Until the sinner has been brought before the bar of God and convicted of personal guilt, any notions he may have about Christ are bound to be academic, nothing more, and wholly unrelated to life. One deadly result of our failure to face up to the fact of sin is the widespread moral insensitivity which characterizes Christians these days... The nerve has died in the Christian conscience and the sin that would have driven our Christian fathers to their knees in a paroxysm of repentance leaves us almost untouched.'"

Welcome to the 21st century 

Mashup: "Paperback Writer/I'm a Believer"

Policy Review, No. 129 | Demographics and the Culture War by Stanley Kurtz: "What could reverse the decline of the Western nuclear family? Anything that might counter the affluence, secularism, and individualism that led to family decline in the first place, says Popenoe. Economic decline could force people to depend on families instead of the state. A religious revival could restore traditional mores. And a revised calculation of rational interest in light of social chaos could call the benefits of extreme individualism into question. We�ve already seen that a demographic-economic crisis could invoke all three of these mechanisms."

Demographics and the Culture War by Stanley Kurtz Policy Review, No. 129

Astronomoerotica: Yahoo! News | Leo's Bright Star Flies like Bullet: "'Literally we have thousands of other targets to choose from for future study,' he said, adding after studying the young, hot Regulus, he'd like to measure the diameters of cooler, older stars."

Times Online - Sunday Times | Nork Meltdown: "According to exiles, North Korean agents in Beijing and Ulan Bator are frantically selling assets to raise cash � an important sign, says one activist, because �the secret police can always smell the crisis coming before anybody else�. "

Yahoo! News | Study shows some teens not as Web-savvy as parents: "... Teens preferred sites with a cleaner design.

There's a fine line, though, because a site deemed boring is the kiss of death, says Jakob Nielsen, a principal at Nielsen Norman.

How can businesses make their Web sites more teen-friendly? Youngsters typically visit the Web to research products they buy offline. They are drawn to games, quizzes, polls and sites where they can communicate with their peers. They like posing anonymous questions on topics too touchy to ask face-to-face."