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| There are great benefits to connectedness, but we haven't wrapped our minds around the costs. |
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The Business of America Is to Stay in Business |
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| Topic: Business |
6:07 am EST, Mar 24, 2005 |
General Motors, once the symbol of corporate giantism, both admired and reviled, is now a shriveled husk of its former corporate self. And thereby hangs a tale of post-industrial America and a warning for America itself. The Business of America Is to Stay in Business |
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Selling Out for a China Deal? |
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| Topic: International Relations |
6:04 am EST, Mar 24, 2005 |
Thirty years ago, Henry Kissinger played the China card against the Soviet Union. Today, China is playing the Europe card against the United States. Europe's response should not be to side unthinkingly with the US but to work out, in conversations among ourselves and with the Americans, what are the basic conditions on which we will engage with the emerging dragon of the East. Selling Out for a China Deal? |
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Pentagon Increases Its Spying Markedly |
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| Topic: Military |
5:59 am EST, Mar 24, 2005 |
The Pentagon's new emphasis on intelligence gathering overseas has led to a major expansion of espionage operations and a more prominent role for intelligence officers in military decision making and war planning. "The volume of these smaller-scale clandestine activities has expanded dramatically." (Unlike covert operations, clandestine missions are not intended to influence the internal dynamics of another nation.) [ "Oops! Do I do that?" ] "This is a turf battle." "DIA is now engaged in doing far grander things." "It's happening all over the Islamic world." It's a free-market economy! What could be wrong with that? Pentagon Increases Its Spying Markedly |
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Startling Scientists, Plant Fixes Its Flawed Gene |
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| Topic: Science |
5:54 am EST, Mar 23, 2005 |
In a startling discovery, geneticists at Purdue University say they have found plants that possess a corrected version of a defective gene inherited from both their parents, as if some handy backup copy with the right version had been made in the grandparents' generation or earlier. The finding implies that some organisms may contain a cryptic backup copy of their genome that bypasses the usual mechanisms of heredity. If confirmed, it would represent an unprecedented exception to the laws of inheritance discovered by Gregor Mendel in the 19th century. Equally surprising, the cryptic genome appears not to be made of DNA, the standard hereditary material. The discovery also raises interesting biological questions -- including whether it gets in the way of evolution, which depends on mutations changing an organism rather than being put right by a backup system. Startling Scientists, Plant Fixes Its Flawed Gene |
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Newspaper Giants Buy Web News Monitor |
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| Topic: Media |
5:48 am EST, Mar 23, 2005 |
Three of the nation's biggest newspaper publishers are joining forces to buy three-fourths of Topix.net, a Web site that monitors more than 10,000 online news sources. Newspaper Giants Buy Web News Monitor |
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Who's Afraid of Intelligent Design? |
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| Topic: Science |
5:45 am EST, Mar 23, 2005 |
Many education experts and important scientists say we have to keep this religious-based "intelligent design" nonsense out of the classroom. But is that really such a good idea? Turning Darwin into an unassailable god without blemishes doesn't give student brains enough exercise. "If you don't see the risks, if you don't see the gaps, you don't see the genius of Darwin." I think it depends on the quality, knowledge, and skill of the teaching staff. In the wrong hands, this approach would only lead to further confusion and misunderstanding. Who's Afraid of Intelligent Design? |
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National Defense Strategy of the United States, 2005 |
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| Topic: Military |
5:36 am EST, Mar 23, 2005 |
This strategy, released on March 18, is one of the driving documents for the Quadrennial Defense Review, which is just getting under way. This Strategy outlines our approach to dealing with challenges we likely will confront, not just those we are currently best prepared to meet. Our intent is to create favorable security conditions around the world and to continue to transform how we think about security, formulate strategic objectives, and adapt to achieve success. This strategy emphasizes the importance of influencing events before challenges become more dangerous and less manageable. That sounds like the preemption strategy we all know and love, but there's also a certain General Memetics Corp. quality to it. National Defense Strategy of the United States, 2005 |
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Transcript of Briefing on National Defense Strategy of the United States |
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| Topic: Military |
5:31 am EST, Mar 23, 2005 |
The document was released on March 18; this is a transcript of a Pentagon briefing announcing the release, describing the strategy, and answeringi press questsions. The National Defense Strategy is the guidance that the secretary provides on what the department has to do to implement the president's National Security Strategy. The National Defense Strategy also serves as the foundation for the Quadrennial Defense Review process. Basically, what the Quadrennial Defense Review does is, it asks what kinds of capabilities does this department have to have in order to fulfill the National Defense Strategy. Transcript of Briefing on National Defense Strategy of the United States |
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Not Far From The Tree | This American Life |
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| Topic: Computers |
11:33 pm EST, Mar 22, 2005 |
You've seen this before. Now you can hear the rest of the story. This is a RealAudio stream from March 11, episode 284. Act Two. Not Far From The Tree. Amy O'Leary tells the story of a software writer at Apple Computer whose job contract ends, but refuses to go away. He continues to show up at work every day, sneaking in the front door, hiding out in empty offices, and putting in long hours on a project the company cancelled. There were no meetings, no office politics, no managers interfering with his work. Soon, he had written a perfect piece of software. His final problem is figuring out how to secretly install it in Apple's new computers without anyone noticing. (12 minutes) Act Two begins at 20 minutes into the broadcast. Not Far From The Tree | This American Life |
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Epithet Morphs From Bad Girl to Weak Boy |
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| Topic: Media |
7:03 am EST, Mar 22, 2005 |
Television's word of the day is bitch, but this is not your mother's bitch. The new "bitch," in a usage that has become popular on network television, refers not to dogs or women, but to men. And while parody and overuse are taking the misogynistic sting out of the old one, this new bitch is just getting its claws. Epithet Morphs From Bad Girl to Weak Boy |
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