Thursday, September 05, 2002
The Native people of America
Very informative peek into the history of Native Americans.
The 1940's and 1950's Hollywood image of savages who mercilessly scalped innocent white settlers, has been replaced by a more true image as seen in recent films such as "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Little Big Man". To give a greater understanding of their culture, the Native People have successfully introduced educational schemes to publicise their true way of life. The mistruths of the past have slowly been replaced with what was actually true.
Very informative peek into the history of Native Americans.
Wednesday, September 04, 2002
The prestige of professions
Seems that In America today, most professions have lost a good deal of their social prestige. Doctors, once put on a high moral plane now are in business to make a buck, they no longer make house calls, are increasingly specialized and most make decisions based on profit rather than health.
Lawyers, once thought honorable, trained for leadership now are thought of as a dreary necessity to negotiate an intricate web of laws that they themselves have created to add to their profits.
The clergy also, seem to have lost its standing in American life, that is just too obvious to even require mention. As recently as 50 years ago clergy of all faith were figures of prominence.
What happened to the days when engineers, inventors, men with mechanical skills, business men with their pragmatic spirits were doing work building this great country. Competence was then the trademark. Even the ones considered great by today's standards have not really done a great job of exciting the American imagination.
For a brief time, professions that dealt with idealism were much admired, for example: Investigative journalists of the type who helped bring down the Nixon administration. Marine biology was big for a time with it's promise of saving the whales and talking with the dolphins or any thing having to do with saving the environment. Today, these do-gooding jobs are no longer front and center.
The emphasis for the new millennium is on a different order of worker. The agent, the broker, the trader, the marketer, the investment banker, the all-purpose executive, the entrepreneur, the IT professional, the consultant, the man or woman who does not provide the service but help bring it to market and usually making a profit along the way.
The main focus is on service, information and entertainment. Such people may not always be well liked or admired, but they are thought to be the insiders, the folks at the controls, the cogs in the wheel, the smart money.
Seems that In America today, most professions have lost a good deal of their social prestige. Doctors, once put on a high moral plane now are in business to make a buck, they no longer make house calls, are increasingly specialized and most make decisions based on profit rather than health.
Lawyers, once thought honorable, trained for leadership now are thought of as a dreary necessity to negotiate an intricate web of laws that they themselves have created to add to their profits.
The clergy also, seem to have lost its standing in American life, that is just too obvious to even require mention. As recently as 50 years ago clergy of all faith were figures of prominence.
What happened to the days when engineers, inventors, men with mechanical skills, business men with their pragmatic spirits were doing work building this great country. Competence was then the trademark. Even the ones considered great by today's standards have not really done a great job of exciting the American imagination.
For a brief time, professions that dealt with idealism were much admired, for example: Investigative journalists of the type who helped bring down the Nixon administration. Marine biology was big for a time with it's promise of saving the whales and talking with the dolphins or any thing having to do with saving the environment. Today, these do-gooding jobs are no longer front and center.
The emphasis for the new millennium is on a different order of worker. The agent, the broker, the trader, the marketer, the investment banker, the all-purpose executive, the entrepreneur, the IT professional, the consultant, the man or woman who does not provide the service but help bring it to market and usually making a profit along the way.
The main focus is on service, information and entertainment. Such people may not always be well liked or admired, but they are thought to be the insiders, the folks at the controls, the cogs in the wheel, the smart money.
Teacher reprimanded after correctly using the word "niggardly"
Fourth-grade teacher Stephanie Bell used the word "niggardly " -- it means stingy or miserly -- during a discussion about literary characters. A parent later protested, saying it was offensive the word sounds like the racial slur. The principal sided with the parent and reprimanded Bell for using poor judgment and lacking sensitivity to the school's diverse population. (Wilmington Star) Via [Obscure Store]
I've read that the origin of the word is probably from the ancient Norwegian word "hnoggr" or the old English word "hneaw" . Related is also the german word "genau". It's origin has absolutely nothing to do with the word "nigger". But I suppose that a gay person may also be offended if, in planning a bonfire for some civic event, a straight person suggested "pilling a few faggots on the fire" to get it going? ( Faggot means small wooden stick and, of course, gay person)
Fourth-grade teacher Stephanie Bell used the word "niggardly " -- it means stingy or miserly -- during a discussion about literary characters. A parent later protested, saying it was offensive the word sounds like the racial slur. The principal sided with the parent and reprimanded Bell for using poor judgment and lacking sensitivity to the school's diverse population. (Wilmington Star) Via [Obscure Store]
I've read that the origin of the word is probably from the ancient Norwegian word "hnoggr" or the old English word "hneaw" . Related is also the german word "genau". It's origin has absolutely nothing to do with the word "nigger". But I suppose that a gay person may also be offended if, in planning a bonfire for some civic event, a straight person suggested "pilling a few faggots on the fire" to get it going? ( Faggot means small wooden stick and, of course, gay person)
The Ten Biggest Problems Facing African-Americans Today
By Lee McGrath
Frontpage magazine has this article
A top ten list, ranked in order of despair caused. Sort of one-sided I think, but food for thought and a good read nonetheless.
By Lee McGrath
Frontpage magazine has this article
A top ten list, ranked in order of despair caused. Sort of one-sided I think, but food for thought and a good read nonetheless.
Native New Yorkers (The Original Kind)
The city with the largest American Indian population, according to the 2000 Census, is not Phoenix. Not Los Angeles. It is New York City.
The news is a surprise even to some Indians living in the city. "You're kidding, right?" said Rosemary Richmond, the director of the American Indian Community House in Manhattan.
The census counted 41,289 American Indians and Alaska natives living in the city in 2000. [Link]
James Estrin/The New York Times
The city with the largest American Indian population, according to the 2000 Census, is not Phoenix. Not Los Angeles. It is New York City.
The news is a surprise even to some Indians living in the city. "You're kidding, right?" said Rosemary Richmond, the director of the American Indian Community House in Manhattan.
The census counted 41,289 American Indians and Alaska natives living in the city in 2000. [Link]
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
It was not to be
Andrew Cuomo yesterday moved to salvage his political career in New York by dropping out of the race for governor and throwing his support behind State Comptroller H. Carl McCall . Smart move. His campaign was disaster from the start. He's only 44, better days are ahead of him, plus, his support of the democratic party will not be forgotten.
Andrew Cuomo yesterday moved to salvage his political career in New York by dropping out of the race for governor and throwing his support behind State Comptroller H. Carl McCall . Smart move. His campaign was disaster from the start. He's only 44, better days are ahead of him, plus, his support of the democratic party will not be forgotten.
ALBANY -- Andrew Cuomo returned to the center of New York politics a year and a half ago a gilded candidate, full of hype and hope, an idealistic achiever who had wrestled a federal bureaucracy into shape and was going to rattle the status quo and agitate for change.
The son of the former governor had cachet: a star of the Clinton cabinet and married to a Kennedy, he boasted of money and muscle to oust popular Republican George Pataki. [Link]
The latest craze in body modification
I wonder if J-lo is one of their consultants.
A little botox for frown lines? A nip and tuck around the eyes?
How about some surgically inserted padding for that flat posterior?
The latest weapon in the plastic surgeon's arsenal against our perceived imperfections is the butt implant. That's right - a little extra gluteus maximus for those who think their tuchis is a bit on the minimus side.
I wonder if J-lo is one of their consultants.
Monday, September 02, 2002
Terror hunt may end privacy at the library
The Miami Herald has this story by Daniel De Vise
While it's unfortunate, this not entirely unexpected considering what our society has to contend with post 9/11. But as I stated in yesterday's Technology and Privacy post, what serves can also destroy without increased public awareness and appropriate public policies.
The Miami Herald has this story by Daniel De Vise
"It is called the USA Patriot Act , and the very name implies duty -- duty, in this case, to tell FBI agents what certain people are reading and writing at the local library.
Federal investigators want to strip away the cloak of anonymity that helped Sept. 11 suspects communicate on public library computers without detection. A provision buried within the 342-page Patriot Act, which took effect in October, allows agents to demand records from librarians and booksellers with unprecedented ease.
Many in the library community fear an intrusion by Big Brother into the sacrosanct privacy rights of library patrons. The Patriot Act trumps laws in 48 states, including Florida, that specifically protect library records as confidential.
Under the Patriot Act, the FBI can make its case in a special ''spy court'' -- a secret, closed proceeding -- and needs only to convince a judge that the patron in question may be linked to a known terrorist or terror plot. Once contacted by agents, a librarian can't tell anyone about the records request.
''Our rights have been taken away. We're being forced to go against our professional ethics,'' said Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's office for intellectual freedom. ``But the only way to overcome this is to act illegally. It's awful.''
While it's unfortunate, this not entirely unexpected considering what our society has to contend with post 9/11. But as I stated in yesterday's Technology and Privacy post, what serves can also destroy without increased public awareness and appropriate public policies.
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