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Seattle, take heed: Rosy times won't last
Large pool of talented, educated workers. Major center of forward-looking sectors, such as software, biotech and aerospace. Close ties to Asia and world trade. Tradition of innovation, stewardship and reinvention. High quality of life, tolerance and diversity. Relatively compact urban form. Competitive challenges: Global warming. New competitors in innovation. Volatility from trade destabilization and energy prices. Average school performance facing an Asian "educational arms race." Middle-class affordability. Transportation infrastructure. .
Churches share the season's joy with musicals, nativity tableaus
Josh Spangler knows exactly where he'll be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight: In the woods next to Trinity Church, dressed as Joseph with a pregnant Mary in tow, pleading with an innkeeper for a room. His moment in the spotlight takes place every six minutes and is one scene from "The Christmas Journey." In it, tour guides take visitors on a woodsy walk past biblical scenes acted out by Trinity members. "It's a good way to share with people who wouldn't normally go and sit in church and listen to the Christmas message," said Spangler, 27, who lives in Laingsburg. .
According to Harold Bloom, “What We Are Seeing Is…the Fall of ...
The Bushites are bullies and for a long time nobody dared criticize them and just swallowed their propaganda and lies. People have become scared. In this kind of climate, nobody is interested in the critical voice. You ask about the role of the intellectual in America today and I have to say: What role? What intellectuals? There is no room for them in the simplified and dumbed down world of today's media. We used to play a role, and there are still a few left, but we are a dying breed. Nobody seems to be interested in nuance anymore." This is where the real danger lies, he says. "Democracy, whether in Sweden or the United States, depends on the voter's capacity to think. If you have read the best of what has been thought and said, then your cognition and understanding is on a much higher level than if you have read Harry Potter or Stephen King.
Techspin: Capitalism and Its Discontents
As the people who really rule the world hobnob this week at the annual Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum, there's always a strong whiff of do-goodness to justify the gathering. So it was no surprise that Bill Gates, in his last appearance as chairman of Microsoft before retiring to run his foundation, decided to plead for a kinder, gentler capitalism. In a speech to be delivered Thursday, Mr. Gates, one of the richest men in the world, will express concern that the benefits of capitalism seem to bypass the poorest people in the world. He is calling for companies to develop products aimed at the poor, products that will make a profit, of course, but will also improve the lives of the poorest. Of course, social entrepreneurship is nothing new. But Mr.
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