:: meanders ::

:: Jeb Bush Gets a Big Kudos
Just tuned into a news update on the "3 men and a car bomb" situation in Florida. Governor Bush speaks absolutely EXCELLENT Spanish! I'd never heard him before, but based on his responses, in Spanish, to questions posed, in Spanish, he is not only fluent but expressive. I am quite impressed. One doesn't often get that positive an experience listening to non-native speakers, particularly those in public office. Heck, my own Spanglish leaves much to be desired. I can better see now that skill would serve him well politically.

:: Dear Mr. Chretien

BBC News -- PM warns 'arrogant' West The Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, has warned the US and other wealthy nations against "humiliating" poorer countries and said perceived Western arrogance had played a part in the 11 September attacks.

"You know you cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for the others ."

From a recent UN report on Arab Nations:

The first regional Report for the Arab States finds substantial progress over the past three decades. Life expectancy has increased by 15 years; mortality rates for children under five years of age have fallen by about two thirds; adult literacy has almost doubled�and women�s literacy has trebled�reflecting large increases in gross educational enrollments. Yet it is evident that Arab countries have not developed as quickly as comparable nations in other regions. More than half of Arab women are illiterate. The region�s infant mortality rate is double that of Latin American and the Caribbean, and four times that of East Asia. And over the past 20 years, growth per capita income was the lowest in the world except sub-Saharan Africa. The Report probes the causes of these deficits and identifies three areas where Arab institutional structures are hindering performance and crippling human development: governance, women�s empowerment, and knowledge....About 65 million adult Arabs are illiterate, two thirds of them women. Illiteracy rates are much higher than in much poorer countries. This challenge is unlikely to disappear quickly. Ten million children between 6 and 15 years of age are currently out of school; if current trends persist, this number will increase by 40 per cent by 2015. The challenge is far more than overcoming the under-supply of knowledge to people. Equally important is overcoming the under-supply of knowledgeable people, a problem exacerbated by the low quality of education together with the lack of mechanisms for intellectual capital development and use.

With those illiteracy rates, it is unlikely that the vast majority of the impoverished third world nations will read about Mr. Chretien's misplaced sympathy. Perhaps Mr. Chretein will translate for them. Alas, that would assume access to a free press and suitable media. Mr. Chretien, and others who so loudly desire to abase their own way of life from the comforts of the west in which they live and thrive, refuse to see is that the first obstacle to bringing prosperity to improverished nations is the very leadership of the impoverished countries. Those "leaders", be they civil or religious, are no different than Mr. Chretien. They have positions of power and do what they must to maintain it. Unlike our democratic society, however, they are far more overt in keeping their people slaves through dogmatic religious and social strictures. To change that way of life has absolutely nothing to do with "westernization". Not only have these "leaders" pocketed "aid" from the west (and or diverted it to cronies), but they also squandered the wealth of their own countries in personal luxuries, jewels, countless palaces, and on and on and on. Judging by the statistics in that UN report, it is they who humiliate their own people through misuse of power. It is doubly tragic that otherwise intelligent and gifted people such as Chretein are so ready to scold "the west" rather than, through their own very powerful positons, tackle the need to cultivate genuinely progessive leadership in those impoverished countries. Unfortunately, it is Mr. Chretien's seeming definition of "equality" is that is the greatest danger. To exhalt the lowest common denominator, which in effect abasement of "western" values entails, does just that. Perhaps Mr. Chretein be the first to give up his own riches, including freedom to believe and express those very opinions.

:: Outrage or Pathos?

Save the planet, kill the people In Zambia, one of the most wretched nations in the world, people are foraging for roots and berries. The country has been stricken by famine. Luckily, the warehouses in Lusaka are stuffed with sacks of corn. Unluckily, people aren't allowed to eat it. Some of it is genetically modified. It might be dangerous.

An observant market watcher linked this story elsewhere. The Fox, MSNBC, etc "Moral Outrage" shows haven't picked up on this one yet. The issues this story touches are so convoluted, sorting out my own reaction is difficult. One can only wonder who is hiding behind these masks of "saving the planet", be it the agrotechs or enviro-crusaders. I am left for now with simply presenting it to the tiny band of readers of this page, with apologies to those who already saw it before.
Braided Mask of Corn Husks, � John R. Poss / Roma Stock