25 October 2003

The pope beatifies Mother Teresa, a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud. It seems not everyone thought last Sunday's ceremony was appropriate.  Christopher Hitchens, so often of contrary views, has apparently written a book on this subject, and SLATE gives him a forum to use the beatification as an opportunity to promote it further. 10:37:56 PM    comment []

HAHAHA. The little peckers got what they deserved. I hope dad's embarrassed for leaving his "hard on" pills where the dumbasses could find them.... [dawnolsen.com] Ouch! Later:  again, it seems, a CNN gets lost (can't be another hoax, surely?).  Anyway, the original story is here. 7:12:10 PM    comment []

More Poetry from Zante What is it about Freddie's Bar that inspires poets?  Whatever it is, we're glad to have it.  Margaret and Jean are two sweet ladies from "near Blackpool" who leave their husbands behind to go fishing, and go off on holiday together, this year to Tsilivi.  They have been dedicated and regular users of our sunbeds, always cheerful and helpful, and great fans of Jacqui's food and Rory's cocktails (hic!).  They joined us for dinner at the family table the other evening, and Jean very adventurously tried parasailing (loved it!). So, when the time came to put their entry in our visitors' book, this is what they came up with, so totally descriptive of so many things we are trying to achieve here.  Thank you, ladies! On a grey and rainy Sunday, we flew across the sea, To the island of Zakynthos - known also as Zante; Our apartment was superior - all that we could want, We only needed now to find a super restaurant. Off we went, a-searching, and Freddie's Bar we found, A heavenly oasis - good food and wine abound. But even more importantly, our hosts - they are the best; They chat and smile and strive to please - because you are the guest. There's Robert choosing music - not just to "watch girls go by" - Ritsa's laugh and happy chat lift your spirits high; Jacqui is behind the scenes - she keeps good food a-cooking. Rory now - he serves the drinks - and boy, is he good-looking!!! We also have Mama who sits and has her little chores, But the boss of course, is he whose name is shown above the doors! Now Freddie is a smoothie - he loves anyone with food, You could call him a 'food magnet'because he's always in the mood To sit and look into your eyes as if to simply say, Ï know it's yours - please enjoy - but a taste would make my day! Margaret & Jean Tsilivi, 23 October 2003 6:33:01 PM    comment []

Never mind.  Duplicate.  5:26:43 PM    comment []

Athens 'must sprint to Olympic Finish' An item from the BBC on the just-completed inspection tour from the IOC.  Once again the video clip is intructive.  There is much to say and to link to on this topic, which I hope to do soon.  Watch this space! 4:16:50 PM    comment []

Bubba just saved a lot of lives!. Bill Clinton brokers AIDS deal .. Auntie Beeb .. Iscrpnije .. broker news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3209741.stm track this site | 6 links [blogdex - the weblog diffusion index] Good for him!  I hope the malign Minister of Health Manto doesn't manage to sabotage this initiative.  The video clip linked to the BBC item is sobering stuff, reminding us of the scope of the AIDS catastrophe.  (It features, again, my sometime Hydro friend Hilary Anderssen, who always does very good, very serious reporting, in this case 5 miles underground in miner's suit and helmet, but also looks good in a bikini). By the way, Bill Gates has also spent time doing good in Africa recently.  I read some very amusing coverage about his safari in Botswana and Mozambique, but didn't link to it, and now dont remember where - must look it up. UPDATE:  Yep, here it is - Nicholas Kristof in the IHT/NYT, including these telling comments: For all my admiration of Bill Gates' work in Africa, I believe there are two areas where his effort falls short. First, he waffles on public policy issues. If he used his megaphone to nudge President George W. Bush to fund fully his pledges on AIDS spending, or if he pressed South Africa's president to tackle AIDS aggressively, he might be able to save many thousands more lives. With a person infected with HIV every 6 seconds, this is no time for him to be deferential. Second, Gates' achievements in public health are undermined by cynicism that all this is just a promotion for Microsoft. And frankly, the world needs AIDS and malaria vaccines more than it needs a new version of Windows. So Gates should think about moving full time to his foundation to concentrate on what he does best - fighting malaria and AIDS, and, yes, holding research consultations with Botswana prostitutes. Here's more, from The Guardian, and from the Washington Post -  the Gates' must have had an enormous media entourage.   My own cynical side wonders whether all that cash will go where it is supposed to go, and not enrich a whole slew of middlepersons and "NGO's".   Also as a Rotarian, and an admirer of what Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Foundation have done, and are doing for global health (e.g. the Polioplus campaign), I wonder to what extent Bill Gates is working with Rotary - or are they considered to be "competition"? Finally, here are a couple of less-admiring views about Gates' and Microsoft's apparent philanthropy. 3:58:05 PM    comment []

A link from the ever-reliable and indispensable Instapundit to an interesting post on blogging vs professional journalism, a recurring theme, but written from the perspective of a person (Jeff Jarvis) who practises both blogging and profesional journalism. In fact, a post which itself illustrates the points he is making, since it links to fascinating and erudite authorities on the subject, which lead to yet other links, and so it goes. And the discussion continues. 2:31:51 PM    comment []

New Research on the Eruption of Thera A fascinating story from the IHT this week (now in the NYT archive - registration is free) on the eruption of the Thera volcano and its effects on Minoan and other ancient civilizations: or decades, scholars have debated whether the eruption of the Thera volcano in the Aegean more than 3,000 years ago brought about the mysterious collapse of Minoan civilization at the peak of its glory. The volcanic isle (whose remnants are known as Santorini) lay just 70 miles from Minoan Crete, so it seemed quite reasonable that its fury could have accounted for the fall of that celebrated people.......... Now, scientists at Columbia University, the University of Hawaii and other institutions are renewing the proposed connection. New findings, they say, show that Thera's upheaval was far more violent than previously calculated — many times larger than the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, which killed more than 36,000 people. They say the Thera blast's cultural repercussions were equally large, rippling across the eastern Mediterranean for decades, even centuries. "It had to have had a huge impact," said Dr. Floyd W. McCoy, a University of Hawaii geologist who has studied the eruption for decades and recently proposed that it was much more violent than previously thought. Read it all, and see the graphics - fascinating description of the scientific detective work that is going on to unravel the mystery of the eruption  (some say it is the source of the legend of the lost city of Atlantis), and the very widespread effects it had on the ancient world. I find it intriguing that such a beautiful and dramatic spot, visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year for other reasons (the spectacular scenery, superb hotels and guest houses, the shopping, the nightlife); is at the same time the location for fascinating and ongoing research into ancient civilizations.  My first visit to Santorini was in 1971 (click here for a picture), when the diggings were in their infancy.  When I visited again with the family in 1986, we stayed in the village of Akrotiri, close to the vast covered site where they are still today patiently excavating a major city from the ash which covered it, and we were spellbound.  We also frequently visit the National Archaeological Museum in Athens to view the beautifully-preserved wall frescoes brought from Akrotiri in the 1970's.  We eagerly look forward to our next isit to the island to see the progress and take in the implications of what we read in this article.   1:45:53 PM    comment []