It’s official: you spend tens of thousands of dollars to send your kids to college. In return, the colleges turn out graduates who are more ignorant than when they enrolled.
According to a recent report from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, seniors at Yale, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and several other top schools actually know less about American history and government than entering freshmen.
But students don’t just learn (or unlearn, as the case may be) facts in college. They also learn attitudes and principles. In other words, they form their characters—which, Aristotle pointed out more than 2,000 years ago, means learning to love and delight in certain things and spurn others. For example, American students used to learn more from the Gettysburg address than just the facts of Civil War military history. They also learned to love self-government—and its necessary condition, the courage and sacrifice of the patriotic soldier.
But today’s politically correct college professors aren’t interested in persuading young Americans to adopt any such traditional attitudes as patriotism, civic responsibility, or traditional morality. In fact, American colleges seem to be teaching students to spurn the very things that students used to learn to love and delight in.
Today’s trendy English professor doesn’t read Shakespeare for the beauty of the poetry or its peerless insights into human nature. The point is to uncover the oppression that’s supposed to define Western culture: the racism, “patriarchy,” and imperialism that must lurk beneath the surface of everything written by those “dead white males.” (The latest book from University of Pennsylvania professor emerita Phyllis Rackin, for example, investigates how “Macbeth” contributed to the “domestication of women.”) With their low opinion of Western civilization, it’s no wonder that so many English professors teach material that isn’t English literature at all: Marx and Derrida—and even comic books, politically correct bestsellers from the eighties, foreign films, and pornography—rather than Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
To a lot of professors, Western culture is something students need to be liberated from. It is not something to pass on and preserve.
What a pity. Especially now, when we’re under attack from enemies who want to replace our civilization with a very different kind of culture.
Western culture isn’t in our genes. It’s learned. And despite what the typical 21st-century college professor may believe, Western civilization has conferred enormous benefits on the human race: extraordinary freedom and respect for women, workable self-government, freedom of speech and the press.
If students actually studied the classics of English and American literature under the guidance of sympathetic teachers, they’d learn many other politically incorrect truths as well. From “Beowulf,” students could learn that military virtue is both necessary and noble. In Chaucer, they might come to understand chivalry, and see how it changed the position of women. In Shakespeare, students could glimpse the existence of universal underlying patterns that shape and define human characters (as well as all our institutions, from marriage to government). From Milton, they could learn about the origins—in Christian theology, not in anti-religious Enlightenment thought—of our intellectual freedoms. From Jane Austen, they might pick up insights into the real perennial problems between men and women, which have very little to do with an excess of “patriarchy.” From Dickens, they could learn about the risks of unintended consequences and the costs of revolutionary expedience.
Some of these lessons are characteristically Western. Others—respect for military virtue, for example—are typical of almost any healthy culture. But English professors are detached not just from the heritage of the West but in a sense from culture at all, or even from objective reality. “Essentialist” is the term of abuse that feminists and “queer theorists” apply to anyone who suggests that the stubborn facts of nature—the differences between men and women, for example—limit or define human beings in any way.
These are the folks we’ve entrusted with the formation of young people’s minds and the preservation of our culture. Isn’t it time we reconsidered whether we can trust them with the job?
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Gadgets To Get You Organized In 2007
Another year, another chance to get organized.
Whether you are gearing up to do your taxes, have resolved that you'll keep better records this year, or just want to avoid a potential data disaster, the good news is there are tech products that can help you.
Online Banking
Let’s start with financial recordkeeping. If you’re not already using online banking, give it a try. I know — you worry about security and you’re right to be concerned, but millions of people are banking online and the vast majority of people don’t get into trouble.
Check to see if your bank offers free online banking and bill pay. If not, consider changing banks. Most banks not only let you see your balance and transfer funds between accounts but also pay bills either manually or automatically.
Auto payment works great for bills that don’t change, such as fixed mortgages, car payments or rent. Be sure to read all the fine print regarding how long it takes for the payment to arrive and whether the bank takes the money out of your account right away, the day the payment is processed or after the payment reaches its destination.
Most banks will let you issue online payments to anyone by drafting paper checks to individuals and small companies and electronic funds transfers to larger businesses like utilities and credit card companies.
If you really want to automate, consider signing up for Paytrust (www.paytrust.com). The service, which costs either $2.95 a month plus 50 cents per transaction or $12.95 a month with up to 30 free transactions, not only pays your bills, but lets you receive bills online and sets rules as to what is paid and how much.
You could, for example, tell it to pay your minimum balance on a credit card or the entire balance if less than $500, but to alert you if it’s higher.
I’ve been using this service for years and love it. Not only does it help me avoid ever being late with a payment, but it also gives me detailed reports at the end of the year, which is great at tax time. Plus you can search for transactions going back to the day you signed up for the service.
Tracking Credit & Cash Transactions
In addition to tracking your checking account, it’s a good idea to keep track of credit cards and cash transactions, especially if you can deduct any of those funds from your taxes.
Both Quicken and Microsoft Money do an excellent job with all aspects of finance including budgeting, managing your debts as well as your assets. If you’re going to use one of these programs, it’s best to start early in the year so that you have a full year’s worth of data to analyze.
Intuit, which publishes Quicken, also offers the Quicken Home Inventory Management program ($29.95) which helps you keep track of your belongings and household items, which can certainly help if you ever have to make an insurance claim.
Cut Down On Those Piles Of Paper
One advantage to online banking and financial management is that — in some cases — you can ask your financial institutions to stop sending paper statements. Such statements can sometimes be used by identity thieves to gather information and the fewer you have coming in the mail, the less likely they are to get into the wrong hands.
Assuming you do still get some financial information on paper, make sure you dispose of it properly. The best way to do that is with a shredder. You can get personal shredders such as the Techko Identity Guard 6-Sheet Strip Cut Paper Shredder for under $30. This model is designed for light duty – up to 6 sheets at a time. For about $70, you can buy the Staples Mailmate Junk Mail Shredder which handles 10 folded sheets as well as CDs/DVDs, credit cards, staples & small paper clips.
Before you shred those documents, consider scanning them so you can keep a computer record. Visioneer makes a series of simple document scanners starting at $59 for the OneTouch 7300 USB but your best-bet is often a multi-function device that scans, copies, prints and, perhaps, faxes. Hewlett Packard’s HP Deskjet F380 All-in-One does costs $79.99 and does an adequate job as printing, scanning and copying. Having a copier around can also be extremely handy.
Labels For Gadgets & More
Putting labels on things can help you keep track of them. For example, some power bricks or rechargers that come with cell phones, MP3 players and other electronic products aren’t marked and it’s easy to get them mixed up so it’s a good idea to label them. I also put labels on portable devices that I’m likely to lose as well as books that I lend out, spice jars and anything else that needs to be identified.
You can get an inexpensive hand held label printer like the Casio KL-780 EZ Label Printer for as little as $27, or you can get one for your PC from Casio, Dymo, or Brother.
My favorite is the Brother P-touch QL-500, which can be purchased online for under $60. It hooks up to a PC or Mac and can use continuous feed label stock, which saves money because it uses only as much stock as you need.
It also accepts stock up to 2 3/7 inches wide for really big labels or even bumper stickers. Brother makes special label stock for CDs and DVDs, but I just use the 1 1/7 inch continuous label stock for CDs. 100 feet of that stock costs $14.99, which translates to 1.2 cents an inch.
Back Up Your Data
Finally, no start-of-the-year getting organized technology story would be complete if I didn’t nag you about backing up. You know you should, but if you’re like most people, you probably don’t. I’m a big fan of external USB hard drives such as the Seagate 250GB Hard Drive (about $130) or the 500 gigabyte My Book Essential Edition ($279) from Western Digital.
These and other external drives typically come with easy to use backup software and they plug into a PC or a Mac via the USB (2.0) port.
Even if you don’t buy an external drive, be sure to backup your absolutely essential information by emailing it to yourself or burning copies to CDs or DVDs that you store off-premise just in case the unthinkable happens to your home or office.
Whether you are gearing up to do your taxes, have resolved that you'll keep better records this year, or just want to avoid a potential data disaster, the good news is there are tech products that can help you.
Online Banking
Let’s start with financial recordkeeping. If you’re not already using online banking, give it a try. I know — you worry about security and you’re right to be concerned, but millions of people are banking online and the vast majority of people don’t get into trouble.
Check to see if your bank offers free online banking and bill pay. If not, consider changing banks. Most banks not only let you see your balance and transfer funds between accounts but also pay bills either manually or automatically.
Auto payment works great for bills that don’t change, such as fixed mortgages, car payments or rent. Be sure to read all the fine print regarding how long it takes for the payment to arrive and whether the bank takes the money out of your account right away, the day the payment is processed or after the payment reaches its destination.
Most banks will let you issue online payments to anyone by drafting paper checks to individuals and small companies and electronic funds transfers to larger businesses like utilities and credit card companies.
If you really want to automate, consider signing up for Paytrust (www.paytrust.com). The service, which costs either $2.95 a month plus 50 cents per transaction or $12.95 a month with up to 30 free transactions, not only pays your bills, but lets you receive bills online and sets rules as to what is paid and how much.
You could, for example, tell it to pay your minimum balance on a credit card or the entire balance if less than $500, but to alert you if it’s higher.
I’ve been using this service for years and love it. Not only does it help me avoid ever being late with a payment, but it also gives me detailed reports at the end of the year, which is great at tax time. Plus you can search for transactions going back to the day you signed up for the service.
Tracking Credit & Cash Transactions
In addition to tracking your checking account, it’s a good idea to keep track of credit cards and cash transactions, especially if you can deduct any of those funds from your taxes.
Both Quicken and Microsoft Money do an excellent job with all aspects of finance including budgeting, managing your debts as well as your assets. If you’re going to use one of these programs, it’s best to start early in the year so that you have a full year’s worth of data to analyze.
Intuit, which publishes Quicken, also offers the Quicken Home Inventory Management program ($29.95) which helps you keep track of your belongings and household items, which can certainly help if you ever have to make an insurance claim.
Cut Down On Those Piles Of Paper
One advantage to online banking and financial management is that — in some cases — you can ask your financial institutions to stop sending paper statements. Such statements can sometimes be used by identity thieves to gather information and the fewer you have coming in the mail, the less likely they are to get into the wrong hands.
Assuming you do still get some financial information on paper, make sure you dispose of it properly. The best way to do that is with a shredder. You can get personal shredders such as the Techko Identity Guard 6-Sheet Strip Cut Paper Shredder for under $30. This model is designed for light duty – up to 6 sheets at a time. For about $70, you can buy the Staples Mailmate Junk Mail Shredder which handles 10 folded sheets as well as CDs/DVDs, credit cards, staples & small paper clips.
Before you shred those documents, consider scanning them so you can keep a computer record. Visioneer makes a series of simple document scanners starting at $59 for the OneTouch 7300 USB but your best-bet is often a multi-function device that scans, copies, prints and, perhaps, faxes. Hewlett Packard’s HP Deskjet F380 All-in-One does costs $79.99 and does an adequate job as printing, scanning and copying. Having a copier around can also be extremely handy.
Labels For Gadgets & More
Putting labels on things can help you keep track of them. For example, some power bricks or rechargers that come with cell phones, MP3 players and other electronic products aren’t marked and it’s easy to get them mixed up so it’s a good idea to label them. I also put labels on portable devices that I’m likely to lose as well as books that I lend out, spice jars and anything else that needs to be identified.
You can get an inexpensive hand held label printer like the Casio KL-780 EZ Label Printer for as little as $27, or you can get one for your PC from Casio, Dymo, or Brother.
My favorite is the Brother P-touch QL-500, which can be purchased online for under $60. It hooks up to a PC or Mac and can use continuous feed label stock, which saves money because it uses only as much stock as you need.
It also accepts stock up to 2 3/7 inches wide for really big labels or even bumper stickers. Brother makes special label stock for CDs and DVDs, but I just use the 1 1/7 inch continuous label stock for CDs. 100 feet of that stock costs $14.99, which translates to 1.2 cents an inch.
Back Up Your Data
Finally, no start-of-the-year getting organized technology story would be complete if I didn’t nag you about backing up. You know you should, but if you’re like most people, you probably don’t. I’m a big fan of external USB hard drives such as the Seagate 250GB Hard Drive (about $130) or the 500 gigabyte My Book Essential Edition ($279) from Western Digital.
These and other external drives typically come with easy to use backup software and they plug into a PC or a Mac via the USB (2.0) port.
Even if you don’t buy an external drive, be sure to backup your absolutely essential information by emailing it to yourself or burning copies to CDs or DVDs that you store off-premise just in case the unthinkable happens to your home or office.
India's forgotten tribes gain forest rights
By Rupam Jain Nair
Gir Sanctuary - Daya Rakha, 36, was born in the jungles of the Gir wildlife sanctuary in western India and knows little else except how to live off the forest's resources.
Just as his ancestors did generations ago, Daya ekes out a meagre living mainly by tending to his cattle which relentlessly graze in Gir's lush forests.
But Daya - like millions of India's forest dwellers - has never been able to call the forest his home. Instead he has been treated as a criminal by authorities as he has no legal right to stay in the forests where his forefathers lived and died.
"It is the eviction notices from the government and rules made to uproot us by the forest officials that give us sleepless nights," said Daya, who belongs to the 8 400-strong Maldhari tribe of Gir.
Over 40 million of India's most impoverished and marginalised people live in the country's forests - including tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks - but for years have been neglected by the government and left to fend for themselves.
The Maldharis have long lived with eviction threats, alleged harassment and extortion by officials who say they are guilty of environmental destruction and endangering wildlife in the sanctuary - one of the last bastions of the rare Asiatic lion.
But a new law will for the first time enshrine their right to live in the forests and national parks. Conservationists are worried this could hamper efforts to save India's endangered wildlife such as lions and tigers.
In Gir, the pastoral Maldhari community live a simple life in small mud houses hidden deep in the forests, with no electricity, running water, schools or access to healthcare.
They earn a living by producing milk from their cattle, growing vegetables, collecting honey and trading their produce in the local market for items like food grains. Most are illiterate and unable to count or use money.
Activists say these forgotten forest people lead a primitive life and face many hardships.
"The pastoral communities do not figure in the electoral rolls," said Shekla Rakha from Setu - a charity promoting the rights of forest dwellers. "They have become non-entities, left to fend for themselves for generations."
As a result, activsts say these communities are vulnerable to exploitation allegedly by forest officials who forcefully evict them or compel them to pay bribes to enter and exit sanctuaries.
"Two months ago when my mother died, the forest officials did not allow my relatives from nearby villages to enter the forest for the last rites," Amra Suba, a shepherd said as he tended to his flock of sheep.
"I had to pay to get permission for their entry to my own house."
But the Recognition of Forest Rights Bill 2006, passed by parliament in December, could help end the suffering of many of India's forest people by giving them rights over forest land.
The law, which will apply to those who have lived in the forests for at least three generations, will allow dwellers to use non-timber forest produce such as bamboo, stumps, cane and to collect honey. But it prohibits them from hunting animals.
Gir Sanctuary - Daya Rakha, 36, was born in the jungles of the Gir wildlife sanctuary in western India and knows little else except how to live off the forest's resources.
Just as his ancestors did generations ago, Daya ekes out a meagre living mainly by tending to his cattle which relentlessly graze in Gir's lush forests.
But Daya - like millions of India's forest dwellers - has never been able to call the forest his home. Instead he has been treated as a criminal by authorities as he has no legal right to stay in the forests where his forefathers lived and died.
"It is the eviction notices from the government and rules made to uproot us by the forest officials that give us sleepless nights," said Daya, who belongs to the 8 400-strong Maldhari tribe of Gir.
Over 40 million of India's most impoverished and marginalised people live in the country's forests - including tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks - but for years have been neglected by the government and left to fend for themselves.
The Maldharis have long lived with eviction threats, alleged harassment and extortion by officials who say they are guilty of environmental destruction and endangering wildlife in the sanctuary - one of the last bastions of the rare Asiatic lion.
But a new law will for the first time enshrine their right to live in the forests and national parks. Conservationists are worried this could hamper efforts to save India's endangered wildlife such as lions and tigers.
In Gir, the pastoral Maldhari community live a simple life in small mud houses hidden deep in the forests, with no electricity, running water, schools or access to healthcare.
They earn a living by producing milk from their cattle, growing vegetables, collecting honey and trading their produce in the local market for items like food grains. Most are illiterate and unable to count or use money.
Activists say these forgotten forest people lead a primitive life and face many hardships.
"The pastoral communities do not figure in the electoral rolls," said Shekla Rakha from Setu - a charity promoting the rights of forest dwellers. "They have become non-entities, left to fend for themselves for generations."
As a result, activsts say these communities are vulnerable to exploitation allegedly by forest officials who forcefully evict them or compel them to pay bribes to enter and exit sanctuaries.
"Two months ago when my mother died, the forest officials did not allow my relatives from nearby villages to enter the forest for the last rites," Amra Suba, a shepherd said as he tended to his flock of sheep.
"I had to pay to get permission for their entry to my own house."
But the Recognition of Forest Rights Bill 2006, passed by parliament in December, could help end the suffering of many of India's forest people by giving them rights over forest land.
The law, which will apply to those who have lived in the forests for at least three generations, will allow dwellers to use non-timber forest produce such as bamboo, stumps, cane and to collect honey. But it prohibits them from hunting animals.
Monday, January 1, 2007
What has the iPod looking over its shoulder. . . and other tech predictions for the new year
Microsoft will hit the spot with buyers. Google will hustle to keep its frantic growth from slowing. Blogs will morph and diverge into several distinct forms. And the new technology mantra will be location, location, location.
Windows Vista surprise
I'm not trying to be a hometown booster, but I think Microsoft's going to do much better than expected with its new operating system.
Vista will satisfy the pent-up demand for a more secure version of Windows, as long as Microsoft stays on its toes and quickly patches weak spots that fame-seeking hackers and security firms will inevitably find.
Businesses in particular will want the premium version that encrypts files in case a laptop is stolen. It is hoped that Boeing has already put in its order.
Consumers will like the way Vista makes it easier to find stuff on a PC, handle digital media and connect to networks and devices.
Vista also is helping hardware companies build cool accessories, like touch-screen media centers and fancy new remote controls.
Another reason Vista will fly is good timing. The software is late, but it's coming to market as the PC industry rolls out dramatically more powerful multicore computers.
Demand for multicore Vista machines will be driven by digital video, new broadband services and upcoming wireless devices that stream high-def content through home networks.
When it boosts Microsoft's stock is anybody's guess.
The iPod loses its charge
Apple shaped the digital music player business with its well-designed, easy-to-use iPod, but its dominance will begin fading this year.
This isn't because of Microsoft's Zune, at least not the current version. The iPod is going to lose ground to new multifunction devices, especially phones that are getting as much music-storage capacity as low-end iPods.
What about the thousands of iPod accessories? Manufacturers are already figuring out how to switch parts so that their accessories support the Zune and other players. Some companies are also developing converters that will let you plug music phones and other MP3 players into cars and systems with iPod connectors.
Apple must see the writing on the wall, because it's expected to unveil an iPod phone at the MacWorld conference next week in San Francisco. But the phone may be too expensive to be a hit — analysts are saying it will cost $599 to $649 for 4-gigabyte and 8-gigabyte models.
Microsoft is likely to introduce a Zune-branded phone. It's also helping other companies build music phones with its Windows Mobile software that includes a media player and support for memory cards.
New players that take advantage of the flexibility, reliability and capacity of Flash memory cards will also put pressure on iPods, which can't be upgraded with additional memory.
On new players with memory-card slots, you can add more capacity with a $30 card instead of having to pay $200 or more for a bigger iPod. Flash players will be even more attractive as the cards' capacity goes up — 32-gigabyte Flash could come by the end of the year, and Samsung just announced that it's working on terabyte chips.
Another challenge to iPods will come from handheld devices that play music and video streamed over new wireless broadband networks operated by companies such as Clearwire and T-Mobile.
Imagine a device with 32 gigabytes of Flash memory and wireless connectivity. It could continuously sync with home and Web-based media collections, make phone calls over the Internet and display e-mail and text messages.
Instead of sharing three songs at a time, you could plug the memory card into a friend's player and upload your entire collection.
Blogs' big bang
There's been a lot said about the blog hype fading. But they're not going away, they're just evolving.
Corporate blogs will continue to grow in 2007, and individual bloggers will begin migrating toward hybrid blogs that give them more control over who sees their personal information.
The blogosphere has already forked down "corporate" and "personal" paths.
The most popular blogs are the corporate ones, and it's hard to call them personal online diaries. Sites like Engadget, BoingBoing and Gizmodo are really online magazines with paid staffs supported by advertising.
Others blogs have evolved into online newsletters for special-interest groups, like software developers or political junkies. Businesses are joining the crowd, with blogs used for marketing and brand building.
Calling these sites blogs is sort of like calling a professional lobbying campaign "grass roots."
The line has also blurred between blogs and Web sites in general, since so many sites are using the RSS subscription technology that made blogs unique.
Yet millions of individuals are still following the other fork, publishing truly personal blogs that may be read by only a few friends or relatives. These are wonderful windows into the thoughts of people around the world, but I wonder if the curtains will close a bit during 2007.
Personal blogs have lost ground to hybrid blogs/personal Web pages that people publish at social-networking sites like MySpace.
But as those in the MySpace generation mature and tire of harassment from strangers and viruses on first-generation social networks, they'll migrate to the next thing.
Two new social-networking options are Wallop, a service Microsoft is testing, and Vox, a San Francisco-based service that recently launched. They let users create limited social networks and fine-tune how broadly they share personal information online.
Google 2.0
Expect Google to make dramatic moves in 2007 to maintain its cachet as its rate of growth slows. I'm guessing it will significantly refresh its search experience, make interesting new partnerships and make a bigger push into devices beyond the PC.
Three factors are putting pressure on Google to be bold this year.
The biggest is the law of large numbers. Google's share of the online ad market is getting so big that the company will have trouble sustaining its past growth rate.
It will still earn more money and take market share, but investors get nervous when the growth rate tapers — just ask Microsoft.
Another factor is the challenge from Microsoft and Yahoo! Microsoft's online ad system has been a disappointment, but it should get a boost this year as Vista and Office 2007 bring millions of people back into its orbit.
Yahoo! is finally launching its Google-buster ad system, and there's speculation that Yahoo! and Microsoft will hook up this year to better compete.
Finally, Google is surely concerned about the ad market in general. Web companies won't be completely immune if there's a major slowing in the economy and ad spending.
A slowdown would have a ripple effect on all the little Web companies built largely on expectations of online ad sales continuing to soar.
Online advertising is outpacing the market, but it's not completely up for grabs. Newspapers and TV — where most of the ad dollars go — are also expecting a bigger share of online dollars, and there's only so much to go around.
There are hints of cooling. Merrill Lynch recently predicted little growth in overall ad spending during 2007 — it's forecasting 2.9 percent, less than nominal GDP growth, and down from the 5.3 percent it had predicted for 2006 before revising the number downward.
The firm expects online ad sales will grow 27 percent, down from its 29-percent forecast for 2006.
But Google will still be a great story in the Seattle area in 2007.
The company is shopping for a huge office in Seattle or on the Eastside, with enough space for 1,200 employees.
That would make Google one of the region's biggest software companies and make the area an even more attractive destination for software engineers.
Google's growth here could offset any slowdown at Microsoft, where hiring may slow now that its major new products are done.
Find yourself
in 2007
Location services will have a breakout year during 2007.
Driven largely by aggressive competition for online ad dollars, new services will take more advantage of the location information that's already being transmitted by your computer, phone, wireless devices and vehicles.
The trend will also accelerate with new "location aware" devices, many of which will debut at next week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Technology that tracks your whereabouts has been trickling into the mainstream for years.
Global Positioning Systems are becoming common in cars, and telecom companies have upgraded location systems to help emergency personnel locate callers.
Google and Microsoft are also merging location information with search results and blending this information with sophisticated new online maps and ad-delivery products.
Internet companies have long checked the Internet address of your computer to get a sense of where you're located. Now they're monetizing that information.
Microsoft's pushing the envelope with its Live Search service. If you search for "pizza," the top results are nearby pizza parlors.
Devices accelerating the trend include new semiconductors that will let consumer-electronics companies add GPS capability to their products.
Handheld computers, such as the Ultra-Mobile PC that Microsoft is promoting, and new automotive products will also use location data in creative new ways this year.
Among the products coming to CES: A system from Dash Navigation in Mountain View, Calif., that keeps cars continuously connected to the Internet, providing both traffic reports and local search results.
"This technology is opening up an array of new mobile couponing and promotional opportunities that help merchants reach consumers in new and unique ways," the company said.
If it gets to be too much, you may be grateful for another innovation Microsoft is delivering in 2007 — a new on-off button in Vista that gives you multiple ways to shut down your computer.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
'Molecular condom' to combat HIV
The liquid formulated by a University of Utah team turns into a gel-like coating when inserted into the vagina.
Then, when exposed to semen, it returns to liquid form and releases an anti-viral drug to attack HIV.
However, the technology, featured in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is still around five years away from being tested in humans.
And the researchers predict it will be around 10 years before it might be in widespread use.
Researcher Dr Patrick Kiser said: "The ultimate hope for this technology is to protect women and their unborn or nursing children from the Aids virus."
The Utah project is part of a worldwide research effort to develop "microbicides" - drug-delivery systems such as gels, rings, sponges or creams to prevent infection by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
They are seen as a way for women to gain power by protecting themselves from HIV, particularly in impoverished nations where Aids is widespread, where rape is rampant, or, where conventional condoms are taboo, not reliably available or where men resist using them.
Short-term effect
First-generation microbicides now being tested are expected to be available within four years and to be 50-60% effective.
However, Dr Kiser said they lasted only for a short time, meaning they had to be used shortly before sex.
The potential advantage of his technology is that it would be much longer lasting.
"We're shooting for a microbicide delivery system that would be used once a day or once a month," he said.
Tests have already shown that their 'hydrogel' is unlikely to cause significant side effects, or discomfort.
It is designed not to dehydrate vaginal cells, which can trigger infections, and not to be diluted by other fluids.
The next stage will be to see whether anti-viral drugs incorporated into the hydrogel can be released with the same efficiency as in the lab.
Indeed the researchers are hopeful that because the gel would be much thinner inside a woman than it was in the lab tests, the release of drugs should be even more effective.
High hopes
Yusef Azad, of the National Aids Trust, said: "Millions of women currently have little control over their sexual health and microbicides could put the power of preventing HIV into women's hands.
"It is vitally important that sufficient funding is channelled into the development of effective microbicides so that women have a range of options of products such as gels, liquids and creams that could provide a barrier to contracting HIV during sex."
Roger Pebody, treatment specialist for the HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust said microbicides were one of the biggest hopes for preventing new HIV infections in the near future.
He said: "This is one of many projects that are in the early stages of development, however other microbicides could be as little as five years away."
Then, when exposed to semen, it returns to liquid form and releases an anti-viral drug to attack HIV.
However, the technology, featured in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is still around five years away from being tested in humans.
And the researchers predict it will be around 10 years before it might be in widespread use.
Researcher Dr Patrick Kiser said: "The ultimate hope for this technology is to protect women and their unborn or nursing children from the Aids virus."
The Utah project is part of a worldwide research effort to develop "microbicides" - drug-delivery systems such as gels, rings, sponges or creams to prevent infection by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
They are seen as a way for women to gain power by protecting themselves from HIV, particularly in impoverished nations where Aids is widespread, where rape is rampant, or, where conventional condoms are taboo, not reliably available or where men resist using them.
Short-term effect
First-generation microbicides now being tested are expected to be available within four years and to be 50-60% effective.
However, Dr Kiser said they lasted only for a short time, meaning they had to be used shortly before sex.
The potential advantage of his technology is that it would be much longer lasting.
"We're shooting for a microbicide delivery system that would be used once a day or once a month," he said.
Tests have already shown that their 'hydrogel' is unlikely to cause significant side effects, or discomfort.
It is designed not to dehydrate vaginal cells, which can trigger infections, and not to be diluted by other fluids.
The next stage will be to see whether anti-viral drugs incorporated into the hydrogel can be released with the same efficiency as in the lab.
Indeed the researchers are hopeful that because the gel would be much thinner inside a woman than it was in the lab tests, the release of drugs should be even more effective.
High hopes
Yusef Azad, of the National Aids Trust, said: "Millions of women currently have little control over their sexual health and microbicides could put the power of preventing HIV into women's hands.
"It is vitally important that sufficient funding is channelled into the development of effective microbicides so that women have a range of options of products such as gels, liquids and creams that could provide a barrier to contracting HIV during sex."
Roger Pebody, treatment specialist for the HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust said microbicides were one of the biggest hopes for preventing new HIV infections in the near future.
He said: "This is one of many projects that are in the early stages of development, however other microbicides could be as little as five years away."
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saved by an Angel
MANY PEOPLE fervently believe in angels and in the reality of protective guardian angels who watch over them. Skeptics dismiss the idea as mere folklore and fantasy. Time and again, however, amazing stories are told of personal experiences with mysterious beings who appear seemingly out of nowhere at pivotal moments to lend comfort, provide physical assistance and even save lives. They often disappear just as mysteriously. Are these beings truly of the angelic realm? Whoever – or whatever – they are, you’ll have a hard time convincing the authors of the following true stories that they are not real.
Angel in the Back Seat
I was driving home one morning on a snow-covered highway that had been closed by the highway department due to a huge snow storm. I was very tired and fighting sleep every mile I drove.
Finally, I could stay awake no longer... and I drifted off to sleep while driving. I had just nodded off when a large hand reached up between the seats and grabbed me by the right shoulder and gave me a vigorous shaking that very quickly woke me up. I quickly turned to see who had hidden himself in the back. Imagine my surprise when I turned the overhead light on and saw only an empty back seat! I began driving again when once again I became sleepy... and yes, it happened again, only this time I heard an audible voice from the back seat shout while shaking me, “WAKE UP!” That did it! I was now totally WIDE AWAKE and I remained that way all the way to where I lived. I told my family what happened and we came to the conclusion that my guardian angel, who was riding with me, decided to keep me awake until I made it home safely. – Roger Wheat
Angel Flew Interference
It was 2:30 a.m. and a frigid February blizzard was in progress in Ohio. I was still wired, just having completed my musical performance in a night club near the military base, so decided to do the drive now. I cranked up the radio and merrily set off for home. I became aware that I was the only car moving on the interstate. Others were pulled off the road buried under a couple of feet of snow. I was plowing through deep fresh snow as if it weren't there. I finally became aware that I had never turned on my windshield wipers. I'm barreling along at 75 mph and there was not a speck of snow on my windshield! This snow was sticking to everything and everybody else, why not me? I continued driving at that speed for the entire trip on the interstate... without turning on my wipers! No snow accumulated on the car until I approached the exit ramp. When I made that exit I was inundated with the heavy wet stuff and my wipers could not work fast enough to keep the windshield clear. I drove the rest of the way home at about 20 mph. I was highly amused and extremely grateful when a mental image appeared showing me my guardian angel flying interference for me throughout the entire trip. Thanks for keeping me safe. – Pat Pfeffer
Angel's Message
It was a dull, winter afternoon. I was met by a sudden urge to get up and have a drink. I walked over to the sink in a sort of trance and turned the tap. Instead of water, a white mist erupted from the tap and filled the kitchen. The mist was sucked into the cupboard under the stairs, and I was forced to drag my feet along and open the door. What I found almost made me have a heart attack: a man, cramped into the small space between the vacuum cleaner and the boiler tank, walked out and greeted me. "Hi," he said. He was dressed rather formally. I watched as he sat himself down. "Please sit," he told me. "I have come from heaven, and I have come with a message: Your mother in Spain is ill and requires medicine she cannot get. You are to go there and deliver it to her in person, then tell her Howard sends his love." Howard was my father; he had passed away only weeks before. When I asked the man who he was, he simply got up and walked upstairs. I left for Spain the day after. Sure enough, when I got there, my mother was in bed and had a large lump on her throat. She hadn't left the house since the day before and couldn't move. I delivered the angel's message and she nodded, "I know," she said with a sly smile.
Angel in the Back Seat
I was driving home one morning on a snow-covered highway that had been closed by the highway department due to a huge snow storm. I was very tired and fighting sleep every mile I drove.
Finally, I could stay awake no longer... and I drifted off to sleep while driving. I had just nodded off when a large hand reached up between the seats and grabbed me by the right shoulder and gave me a vigorous shaking that very quickly woke me up. I quickly turned to see who had hidden himself in the back. Imagine my surprise when I turned the overhead light on and saw only an empty back seat! I began driving again when once again I became sleepy... and yes, it happened again, only this time I heard an audible voice from the back seat shout while shaking me, “WAKE UP!” That did it! I was now totally WIDE AWAKE and I remained that way all the way to where I lived. I told my family what happened and we came to the conclusion that my guardian angel, who was riding with me, decided to keep me awake until I made it home safely. – Roger Wheat
Angel Flew Interference
It was 2:30 a.m. and a frigid February blizzard was in progress in Ohio. I was still wired, just having completed my musical performance in a night club near the military base, so decided to do the drive now. I cranked up the radio and merrily set off for home. I became aware that I was the only car moving on the interstate. Others were pulled off the road buried under a couple of feet of snow. I was plowing through deep fresh snow as if it weren't there. I finally became aware that I had never turned on my windshield wipers. I'm barreling along at 75 mph and there was not a speck of snow on my windshield! This snow was sticking to everything and everybody else, why not me? I continued driving at that speed for the entire trip on the interstate... without turning on my wipers! No snow accumulated on the car until I approached the exit ramp. When I made that exit I was inundated with the heavy wet stuff and my wipers could not work fast enough to keep the windshield clear. I drove the rest of the way home at about 20 mph. I was highly amused and extremely grateful when a mental image appeared showing me my guardian angel flying interference for me throughout the entire trip. Thanks for keeping me safe. – Pat Pfeffer
Angel's Message
It was a dull, winter afternoon. I was met by a sudden urge to get up and have a drink. I walked over to the sink in a sort of trance and turned the tap. Instead of water, a white mist erupted from the tap and filled the kitchen. The mist was sucked into the cupboard under the stairs, and I was forced to drag my feet along and open the door. What I found almost made me have a heart attack: a man, cramped into the small space between the vacuum cleaner and the boiler tank, walked out and greeted me. "Hi," he said. He was dressed rather formally. I watched as he sat himself down. "Please sit," he told me. "I have come from heaven, and I have come with a message: Your mother in Spain is ill and requires medicine she cannot get. You are to go there and deliver it to her in person, then tell her Howard sends his love." Howard was my father; he had passed away only weeks before. When I asked the man who he was, he simply got up and walked upstairs. I left for Spain the day after. Sure enough, when I got there, my mother was in bed and had a large lump on her throat. She hadn't left the house since the day before and couldn't move. I delivered the angel's message and she nodded, "I know," she said with a sly smile.
World Economy at Risk From Chaos of Bush Regime
The world survived 2006 without a major economic catastrophe, despite sky-high oil prices and a Middle East spiralling out of control.
But the year produced abundant lessons for the global economy, as well as warning signs concerning its future performance.
Unsurprisingly, it brought another resounding rejection of fundamentalist neo-liberal policies, this time by voters in Nicaragua and Ecuador. In neighbouring Venezuela, Hugo Chavez had an overwhelming electoral victory: at least he had brought some education and health care to the poor barrios, which previously had received little of the benefits of the country's enormous oil wealth.
Perhaps most importantly for the world, voters in the US gave a vote of no-confidence to President George Bush, who will now be held in check by a Democratic congress.
When Bush assumed the presidency in 2001, many hoped he would govern competently from the centre. More pessimistic critics consoled themselves by questioning how much harm a president could do in a few years. We now know the answer: a great deal.
Never has the U.S.�s standing in the world�s eyes been lower. Basic values that Americans regard as central to their identity have been subverted. The unthinkable has occurred: an American president defending the use of torture, using technicalities in interpreting the Geneva Conventions and ignoring the Convention on Torture, which forbids it in any circumstances.
Likewise, whereas Bush was hailed as the first �MBA president�, corruption and incompetence have reigned under his administration, from the botched response to Hurricane Katrina to its conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In fact, we should be careful not to read too much into the 2006 vote: Americans do not like being on the losing side of any war. It was this failure, and the quagmire into which the U.S. had once again so confidently stepped, that led voters to reject Bush.
But the Middle East chaos wrought by the Bush years also represents a central risk to the global economy. Since the Iraq war began in 2003, oil output from the Middle East has not grown as expected to meet rising world demand. Although most forecasts suggest oil prices will remain at, or slightly below, present levels, this is largely due to a perceived moderation of growth in demand, led by a slowing U.S. economy.
Of course, a slowing U.S. economy constitutes another major global risk. At the root of the U.S.�s economic problems are measures adopted early in Bush�s first term. In particular, the administration pushed through a tax cut that largely failed to stimulate the economy because it was designed to benefit mainly the wealthiest taxpayers. The burden of stimulation was placed on the Federal Reserve, which lowered interest rates to unprecedented levels.
While cheap money had little effect on business investment, it fuelled a real estate bubble, which is bursting, jeopardising households that borrowed against rising home values to sustain consumption.
This economic strategy was not sustainable. Household savings became negative for the first time since the Great Depression, with the country borrowing $3bn a day from foreigners. But households could continue to take money out of their houses only as long as prices continued to rise and interest rates remained low. Thus, higher interest rates and falling house prices do not bode well for the U.S. economy.
According to estimates, roughly 80% of the increase in employment and almost two-thirds of the increase in gross domestic product in recent years stemmed directly or indirectly from real estate.
Making matters worse, unrestrained government spending further buoyed the economy during the Bush years, with fiscal deficits reaching new heights, making it difficult for the government to step in now to shore up economic growth as households curtail consumption.
Many Democrats, having campaigned on a promise to return to fiscal sanity, are likely to demand a reduction in the deficit, which would further dampen growth.
Meanwhile, persistent global imbalances will continue to produce anxiety, especially for those whose lives depend on exchange rates. Though Bush has long sought to blame others, it is clear the U.S.�s unbridled consumption and inability to live within its means is the major cause of these imbalances. Unless that changes, global imbalances will continue to be a source of global instability, regardless of what China or Europe do.
In light of these uncertainties, the mystery is how risk premiums can remain as low as they are.
With the dramatic reduction in the growth of global liquidity as central banks have successively raised interest rates, the prospect of risk premiums returning to more normal levels is itself one of the major risks the world faces today.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics and professor of economics at Columbia University.
But the year produced abundant lessons for the global economy, as well as warning signs concerning its future performance.
Unsurprisingly, it brought another resounding rejection of fundamentalist neo-liberal policies, this time by voters in Nicaragua and Ecuador. In neighbouring Venezuela, Hugo Chavez had an overwhelming electoral victory: at least he had brought some education and health care to the poor barrios, which previously had received little of the benefits of the country's enormous oil wealth.
Perhaps most importantly for the world, voters in the US gave a vote of no-confidence to President George Bush, who will now be held in check by a Democratic congress.
When Bush assumed the presidency in 2001, many hoped he would govern competently from the centre. More pessimistic critics consoled themselves by questioning how much harm a president could do in a few years. We now know the answer: a great deal.
Never has the U.S.�s standing in the world�s eyes been lower. Basic values that Americans regard as central to their identity have been subverted. The unthinkable has occurred: an American president defending the use of torture, using technicalities in interpreting the Geneva Conventions and ignoring the Convention on Torture, which forbids it in any circumstances.
Likewise, whereas Bush was hailed as the first �MBA president�, corruption and incompetence have reigned under his administration, from the botched response to Hurricane Katrina to its conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In fact, we should be careful not to read too much into the 2006 vote: Americans do not like being on the losing side of any war. It was this failure, and the quagmire into which the U.S. had once again so confidently stepped, that led voters to reject Bush.
But the Middle East chaos wrought by the Bush years also represents a central risk to the global economy. Since the Iraq war began in 2003, oil output from the Middle East has not grown as expected to meet rising world demand. Although most forecasts suggest oil prices will remain at, or slightly below, present levels, this is largely due to a perceived moderation of growth in demand, led by a slowing U.S. economy.
Of course, a slowing U.S. economy constitutes another major global risk. At the root of the U.S.�s economic problems are measures adopted early in Bush�s first term. In particular, the administration pushed through a tax cut that largely failed to stimulate the economy because it was designed to benefit mainly the wealthiest taxpayers. The burden of stimulation was placed on the Federal Reserve, which lowered interest rates to unprecedented levels.
While cheap money had little effect on business investment, it fuelled a real estate bubble, which is bursting, jeopardising households that borrowed against rising home values to sustain consumption.
This economic strategy was not sustainable. Household savings became negative for the first time since the Great Depression, with the country borrowing $3bn a day from foreigners. But households could continue to take money out of their houses only as long as prices continued to rise and interest rates remained low. Thus, higher interest rates and falling house prices do not bode well for the U.S. economy.
According to estimates, roughly 80% of the increase in employment and almost two-thirds of the increase in gross domestic product in recent years stemmed directly or indirectly from real estate.
Making matters worse, unrestrained government spending further buoyed the economy during the Bush years, with fiscal deficits reaching new heights, making it difficult for the government to step in now to shore up economic growth as households curtail consumption.
Many Democrats, having campaigned on a promise to return to fiscal sanity, are likely to demand a reduction in the deficit, which would further dampen growth.
Meanwhile, persistent global imbalances will continue to produce anxiety, especially for those whose lives depend on exchange rates. Though Bush has long sought to blame others, it is clear the U.S.�s unbridled consumption and inability to live within its means is the major cause of these imbalances. Unless that changes, global imbalances will continue to be a source of global instability, regardless of what China or Europe do.
In light of these uncertainties, the mystery is how risk premiums can remain as low as they are.
With the dramatic reduction in the growth of global liquidity as central banks have successively raised interest rates, the prospect of risk premiums returning to more normal levels is itself one of the major risks the world faces today.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics and professor of economics at Columbia University.
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