Keith Olbermann's 9/11 Commentary on President Bush. Comment

dwyane wade - a true champion

via truehoop.com

Absence Of America's Upper Classes From The Military

"Thanks to Sen. John McCain's youngest son checking into Marine Corps boot camp, the number of Congress members with enlisted children will skyrocket a whopping 50 percent."

A Duke University study demonstrates that it matters whether civilian decision makers have military experience: A review of U.S. foreign policy over nearly two centuries shows that when we have the fewest number of veterans in leadership and staff positions in Congress and the Executive branch, we are most likely to engage in aggressive (as opposed to defensive) warfighting. And we are most likely to pull out of conflicts early.

A study by the eminent military sociologist Charles Moskos shows that the population of a democracy is not willing to sustain military engagements over time if the leadership class does not also serve in the armed forces. Its lack of service sends a signal that the conflict is not vital, or worthwhile. Since we don't know what conflicts will come -- or which party will be in power when they do -- these findings should matter to all of us. ...

But how can we expect privileged young people to do military work? Military work is dangerous. You could be asked to kill or be killed. It is fraught with the risk of being sent into an unpopular conflict, as many now understand Iraq to be. Why should the children of our leadership classes or those ambitious for leadership chose such a path, when there are so many better options available to them?

In World War I, one of Congress's stated reasons for proposing a draft was that without it, too many of the upper-class children would rush to service, and we'd lose the leadership class of the country. In 1956 a majority of the graduating classes of Stanford, Harvard and Princeton joined the military, and most were not drafted. Leadership was then understood to have a moral dimension -- the cry "follow me" was more convincing than "charge!" Those who aspired to future leadership saw service as a hallmark of credibility.

As a country we have stopped presenting military service as a principled statement. We sell it instead as a job opportunity, one from which those with "better options" are excused. We need to revisit our stance on who should serve, and why. All members of our elites need not serve, just a representative number, enough to bring the leadership in line with the rest of the country, to bring the wisdom and perspective that in the aggregate can come with experience and responsibility. With such leaders, with such a military, we will be a stronger, fairer, better country. With such leaders, the enlistment plans of young Jimmy McCain need not seem so surprising.

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Beyond Lebanon

Brent Scowcroft (national security adviser to Ford and G.H.W. Bush) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "Now, perhaps more than ever, we have an opportunity to harness that concern and energy to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the entire 58-year-old tragedy. Only the United States can lead the effort required to seize this opportunity."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stated that a simple cease-fire in Lebanon is not the solution to the current violence. She says it is necessary to deal with the roots of the problem. She is right on both counts. But Hezbollah is not the source of the problem; it is a derivative of the cause, which is the tragic conflict over Palestine that began in 1948. ...

The outlines of a comprehensive settlement have been apparent since President Bill Clinton's efforts collapsed in 2000. The major elements would include:

• A Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with minor rectifications agreed upon between Palestine and Israel.
• Palestinians giving up the right of return and Israel reciprocating by removing its settlements in the West Bank, again with rectifications as mutually agreed. Those displaced on both sides would receive compensation from the international community.
• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia unambiguously reconfirming his 2002 pledge that the Arab world is prepared to enter into full normal relations with Israel upon its withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967.
• Egypt and Saudi Arabia working with the Palestinian Authority to put together a government along the lines of the 18-point agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah prisoners in Israeli jails in June. This government would negotiate for the Authority.
• Deployment, as part of a cease-fire, of a robust international force in southern Lebanon.
• Deployment of another international force to facilitate and supervise traffic to and from Gaza and the West Bank.
• Designation of Jerusalem as the shared capital of Israel and Palestine, with appropriate international guarantees of freedom of movement and civic life in the city.

These elements are well-known to people who live in the region and to those outside who have labored over the decades seeking to shape a lasting peace. What seems breathtakingly complicated, however, is how one mobilizes the necessary political will, in the region and beyond, to transform these principles into an agreement on a lasting accord.

The current crisis in Lebanon provides a historic opportunity to achieve what has seemed impossible. That said, it is too much to expect those most directly implicated -- Israeli and Palestinian leaders -- to lead the way. That responsibility falls to others, principally the United States, which alone can mobilize the international community and Israel and the Arab states for the task that has defeated so many previous efforts.

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Bush's Embrace of Israel Shows Gap With Father

When they first met as United States president and Israeli prime minister, George W. Bush made clear to Ariel Sharon he would not follow in the footsteps of his father. He told Sharon in that first meeting that "I'll use force to protect Israel", which was a shock to everybody, said one person present.

Unlike the first President Bush, who viewed himself as a neutral arbiter in the delicate politics of the Middle East, the current president sees his role through the prism of the fight against terrorism. This President Bush, unlike his father, also has deep roots in the evangelical Christian community, a staunchly pro-Israeli component of his conservative Republican base.

The first President Bush came to the Oval Office with long diplomatic experience, strong ties to Arab leaders and a realpolitik view that held the United States should pursue its own strategic interests, not high-minded goals like democracy, even if it meant negotiating with undemocratic governments like Syria and Iran.

The current President Bush has practically cut off Syria and Iran, overlaying his fight against terrorism with the aim of creating what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls “a new Middle East.” In allying himself so closely with Israel, he has departed not just from his father’s approach but also from those of all his recent predecessors, who saw themselves first and foremost as brokers in the region.

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Kimball: Historical Analogies, the Middle East, and World War

Jeffrey Kimball (from HNN):

Polls indicate, for example, that 60 percent of Americans, as well as many editorialists across the political spectrum, believe that the fighting in Lebanon could or might lead to a larger war in a manner similar to the onset of World War I, when the assassination of one high official and his consort escalated into a global war. ...

[T]here was at least one element in the lead-up to World War I that to my mind serves as a useful analogy in the Middle East imbroglio. In 1914, the status-quo government of Austria-Hungary foolishly decided, with the support of imperial aspirant Germany, to militarily punish Serbia for having supported the nationalist assassins of the Austrian archduke. Austria-Hungary cared little about the assassination compared to its larger purpose: by seizing upon the event to teach the Serbs a lesson, pan-Slavism might be contained and the old order preserved. In our day, the status-quo government of Israel, supported by hegemonic America, decided to punish Hamas and Hezbollah, and collaterally Lebanon—not for the kidnapping of a few soldiers but to teach them a lesson in military power and perhaps even to "root out" Hamas and Hezbollah. Both Austria-Hungary/Germany and Israel/United States chose military force over real diplomacy; that is, they chose the sword over a political solution to a deeply-rooted struggle between status-quo governments and the tide of nationalistic/religious/ideological rebellion.

No, I don't think that the current conflict in the Middle East will lead to a world war, though it might lead to a larger regional conflict. Even if no wider war comes about, we should nonetheless remember one of the lessons of the onset of World War I: explosive political issues cannot be solved with brute force in an age of "people's war," or weapon-rich guerrilla war. Political problems mainly require political solutions. Conventional military responses alone produce conventional failures.

Kristof: Another Small Step for Earth

Nicholas Kristof in the NYT:

It’s true that the risks of climate change are uncertain, but when encountering other kinds of dangers — like Iran apparently trying to develop nuclear weapons — we don’t shrug and say there’s no point in doing anything because of the uncertainties. The risks of warming are potentially enormous — imagine much of the east coast under water — and our obligation to protect our planet is not just technical but also moral.

So it’s time to abandon the old self-defeating notion that curbing greenhouse gases is too costly to be effective. Portland and other localities are showing that there’s plenty we can do inexpensively, at least in the early phases — if we don’t mind rush-hour traffic smelling of French fries.

I almost didn’t write this column, because with the Middle East in flames it’s obvious that climate change is not the most important topic of the day. But it could be the most important issue of this century.

Modern Humans So Big And Robust That Their Ancestors Seem Unrecognizable

New research from around the world has begun to reveal a picture of humans today that is so different from what it was in the past that scientists say they are startled. Over the past 100 years, humans in the industrialized world have undergone a form of evolution that is unique among the 7,000 or so generations of humans before us.

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one of the most striking shifts in human existence — a change from small, relatively weak and sickly people to humans who are so big and robust that their ancestors seem almost unrecognizable.

New research from around the world has begun to reveal a picture of humans today that is so different from what it was in the past that scientists say they are startled. Over the past 100 years, says one researcher, Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago, humans in the industrialized world have undergone “a form of evolution that is unique not only to humankind, but unique among the 7,000 or so generations of humans who have ever inhabited the earth.”

The difference does not involve changes in genes, as far as is known, but changes in the human form. It shows up in several ways, from those that are well known and almost taken for granted, like greater heights and longer lives, to ones that are emerging only from comparisons of health records.

The biggest surprise emerging from the new studies is that many chronic ailments like heart disease, lung disease and arthritis are occurring an average of 10 to 25 years later than they used to. There is also less disability among older people today, according to a federal study that directly measures it. And that is not just because medical treatments like cataract surgery keep people functioning. Human bodies are simply not breaking down the way they did before.

Even the human mind seems improved. The average I.Q. has been increasing for decades, and at least one study found that a person’s chances of having dementia in old age appeared to have fallen in recent years.

The proposed reasons are as unexpected as the changes themselves. Improved medical care is only part of the explanation; studies suggest that the effects seem to have been set in motion by events early in life, even in the womb, that show up in middle and old age.

U.S. history provides insight into current Israeli situation

by Steve Carol, from the Jewish News Weekly:

As we witness much of the world decrying the “lack of proportionality” in Israel’s response to the unprovoked attack on its military personnel and civilians within the State of Israel, it would be important to recall a similar episode in United States history.

On March 6, 1916, a group of 360 Villistas (followers of Pancho Villa) crossed the international border between the United States and Mexico and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. Their immediate goal was to obtain weapons from the nearby headquarters of the U.S. 13th Cavalry. Eighteen Americans were killed during the raid and additional nine were killed in pursuit of the attackers back to the border.

The raid was led by German agents directed by Luther Wertz, a key German operative in Mexico. Germany wanted to keep the United States out of World War I, which was then raging, and sought to divert U.S. attention from Europe to south of the border.

The unprovoked attack on the United States triggered demands for retaliation and punishment of the raiders. There was no talk of “proportional” response.

As a result, President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing and 6,000 American troops on a “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico. The force crossed into Mexico some two weeks after the initial attack and would penetrate some 300 miles into Mexico. During its nine-month stay in Mexico, U.S. forces would clash with Villistas as well as with Mexican Federal troops.

The Villistas again attacked the United States on May 5, 1916, raiding Glen Springs and Borquilla, Texas. This prompted President Wilson to send an additional force of 8,000 troops into Mexico. On June 18 he called up the Texas, New Mexico and Arizona National Guard and sent 150,000 men to patrol the U.S. border. Wilson also placed an arms embargo on Mexico, which included food and even horses.

On June 24 there was a clash between U.S. and Mexican forces at Carrizal, with 84 U.S. soldiers being surrounded by superior Mexican forces. Over half escaped but 14 were killed and 24 U.S. servicemen were taken prisoner.

Wilson’s reaction was immediate. The next day he demanded the release of the captured soldiers, and to back up his demands he mobilized the entire U.S. National Guard and incorporated it into the regular army. He dispatched American warships to patrol and enforce a blockade on Mexican ports on both its east and west coasts. All the American prisoners were released five days later, on June 30. There was no talk of a “lack of proportionality.”

While U.S. forces did not catch Pancho Villa, they crippled his ability to strike at the United States and inflicted heavy casualties on his forces in Mexico.

The American force was withdrawn, unexpectedly, on Jan. 25, 1917, not because of any Mexican or international pressure, but rather because the U.S. had obtained information that Germany intended to resume unrestricted submarine warfare, a step that would bring the U.S. into World War I. Additionally, the U.S. had obtained proof, via the Zimmermann Telegram, that Germany was seeking an anti-U.S. alliance with both Mexico and Japan. Thus the U.S. force was withdrawn so as not to give Mexico additional cause for considering such an alliance.

Similarly, the world has witnessed agents of Iran and Syria instruct Hamas and Hezbollah to attack military positions within Israel. This came after the Nov. 14, 2005 Iran-Syria Strategic Accord, whereby Iran pledged, among other things, military support for Syria. ...

Stephen Colbert on Global Warming

Friedman: Wasting Its Future

Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman:

When will the Arab-Muslim world stop getting its “pride” from fighting Israel and start getting it from constructing a society that others would envy, an economy others would respect, and inventions and medical breakthroughs from which others would benefit?

There will be no new Middle East — not as long as the New Middle Easterners, like Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, get gunned down; not as long as Old Middle Easterners, like Nasrallah, use all their wits and resources to start a new Arab-Israeli war rather than build a new Arab university; and not as long as Arab media and intellectuals refuse to speak out clearly against those who encourage their youth to embrace martyrdom with religious zeal rather than meld modernity with Arab culture.

Without that, we are wasting our time and the Arab world is wasting its future. It will forever be “on the eve of modernity.”

Middle East: Al Qaeda takes a back seat

Al Qaeda's Sunni ideology regards Shiites as heretics, and it profoundly distrusts Shiite groups like Hezbollah. But now Hezbollah has taken the lead on the most incendiary issue for jihadis of all stripes: the fight against Israel. The rise of Hezbollah makes it all more likely that Al Qaeda will soon seek to reassert itself.

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Heat spell melts European records

from IHT:

With Paris, London and Berlin experiencing peak temperatures above those of Bangkok, Hong Kong and New Delhi, Europe's heat wave this summer already has headed for the record books.

The severe and prolonged heat has prompted the authorities across Europe to advise on everything from personal safety to power use.

A 1911 record for the highest July temperature in Britain was broken last week when the village of Wisley in Surrey hit 36.5 degrees Celsius (97.7 Fahrenheit). Mark Vance, an entertainer at Warwick Castle who wears a full suit of armor and was dubbed the man with the hottest job in Britain by The Daily Express, was photographed frying an egg on the breastplate of his outfit.

In the Netherlands, July will probably qualify as the hottest month since temperatures were first measured in 1706, the Dutch meteorological institute, KNMI, said Tuesday.

Many parts of Germany have hit the highest July temperatures since records began to be kept.

The French health minister, Xavier Bertrand, urged Tuesday that medical students and retired doctors volunteer for hospital work as more than half the country was placed under the second- highest level of heat-wave alert.

Most of the 40 heat-related deaths in Europe in the last two weeks were in France, recalling the 2003 heat wave in which 15,000 died.

"The temperatures have not been so high in France as they were in the first weeks of August 2003, but the heat wave has lasted much longer," said Bernard Strauss, head of forecasting for Météo France.

"In the last six weeks we have had one of the longest stretches of higher than normal temperatures since we started records."

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An Electoral College alternative

from the San Francisco Chronicle:

A Stanford University computer science professor has come up with an idea to circumvent the more than 200-year-old Electoral College system and institute a national popular vote to elect the president of the United States.

The proposal by John Koza, who also invented the scratch-off lottery ticket, is receiving serious consideration by lawmakers in several states. Legislators in California, New York, Colorado, Illinois and Missouri have sponsored bills to enact such a plan.

Koza's scheme calls for an interstate compact that would require states to throw all of their electoral votes behind the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of which candidate wins in each state. The plan doesn't require all 50 states to join, but a combination of states that represent a majority (at least 270) of the electoral votes. If the largest states join in the agreement, only 11 would be needed.

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Should we worry about soya in our food?

Whether you know it or not, you'll probably be eating soya today. It's in 60% of all processed food, from cheese to ice cream, baby formula to biscuits. But should it carry a health warning?

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Is Israel now the lesser enemy between some Muslims?

an Op-Ed from Lebanon's Daily Star

Is the Sunni-Shiite divide in the Middle East now deeper than the antagonism between Israel and the Arabs? You might think so given the response of some Arab governments to Hizbullah's decision to attack Israel. Even as Israeli bombs fell on Beirut and Tyre, Saudi Arabia, perhaps the most conservative Arab Muslim state of all, openly condemned the actions of the Hizbullah in instigating conflict with Israel. Never before in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict has a state that considers itself a leader of the Arab Muslim peoples come down on Israel's side so openly.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia's breach with Hizbullah is not a one-time occurrence. Egypt and Jordan have also roundly condemned Hizbullah and its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, for their adventurism.

What is behind this stunning development? Are we seeing a fundamental shift in relations between Arab nationalism and Islamic sectarianism? Is Saudi Arabia's Sunni government more concerned and frightened by Shiite Islam than it is committed to Arab unity and the Palestinian cause?

Arab denunciations of Hizbullah suggest that the Muslim sectarian divide, already evident in the daily violence in Iraq, is deepening and intensifying across the Middle East. President George W. Bush's desire to shatter the Arab world's frozen societies was meant to pit the forces of modernization against the traditional elements in Arab and Islamic societies. Instead, he appears to have unleashed the region's most atavistic forces. Opening this Pandora's Box may have ushered in a new and even uglier era of generalized violence - what can only be called a "Muslim civil war." ...

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Multilateral Intervention in the Middle East: An Uninspiring Legacy

Efforts to stabilize and pacify the Middle East conflict with UN and multinational peacekeeping forces have proven difficult--if not impossible. This is a look at the history of such efforts.

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Top 10 NBA Dunks

video: Jimmy Kimmel - Unnessary Censorship

Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time

"LAST week, in an effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, I withdrew settlements in the Gaza Strip. But then a suicide bomber struck in Jerusalem. Desperate to retain control, I launched a missile strike against Hamas militants. I was playing Peacemaker, a video game in which you play the Israelis or the Palestinians."

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720 Dunk

Assassinations: Evaluating the effectiveness of a counterterrorism policy

...using the Israeli Stock Market. A new economics study shows that the Tel Aviv 25 rose (+0.6% on average) after the killing of an important militant. But when Israel attempted to assassinate a Palestinian political leader or low-ranking militant the market dropped (-1.1%) nearly the same as after a large terrorist attack (-1.2%).

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Ted Koppel in the NYT: "The US Is Already At War With Iran"

Ted Koppel begins his NYT op-ed, "The United States is already at war with Iran; but for the time being the battle is being fought through surrogates."
Koppel goes on to relay a conversation he had with a Jordanian intelligence officer, "Over the past couple of months alone, he told me, Hamas has received more than $300 million in cash, provided by Iran and funneled through Syria."

When [Sheik Nabil Qaouk, the commander of Hezbollah forces in the southern part of the country] talked about Israel and Hezbollah, his organization's ambitions were not framed in purely defensive terms. There is only harmony between Hezbollah's endgame and the more provocative statements made over the past year by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president. Both foresee the elimination of the Jewish state.

Are the Israelis overreacting in Lebanon? Perhaps they simply perceive their enemies' intentions with greater clarity than most. It is not the Lebanese who make the Israelis nervous, nor even Hezbollah. It is the puppet-masters in Tehran capitalizing on every opportunity that democratic reform presents. In the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, in Egypt, should President Hosni Mubarak be so incautious as to hold a free election, it is the Islamists who benefit the most.

But Washington's greatest gift to the Iranians lies next door in Iraq. By removing Saddam Hussein, the United States endowed the majority Shiites with real power, while simultaneously tearing down the wall that had kept Iran in check.

According to the Jordanian intelligence officer, Iran is reminding America's traditional allies in the region that the United States has a track record of leaving its friends in the lurch - in Vietnam in the '70s, in Lebanon in the '80s, in Somalia in the '90s.

In his analysis, the implication that this decade may witness a precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq has begun to produce an inclination in the region toward appeasing Iran.

It is in Iraq, he told me, "where the United States and the coalition forces must confront the Iranians." He added, "You must build up your forces in Iraq and you must announce your intention to stay."

Sitting in his Amman office, he appeared to be a man of few illusions; so he did not make the recommendation with any great hope that his advice would be followed. But neither did he leave any doubts as to which country would benefit if that advice happened to be ignored.

read the full Op-Ed here (IHT)

[via the Huffington Post]

photos from Beirut

from BBC news -- in pictures:
Beirut destruction

The Best Nuclear Option

Imagine a nuclear industry that can power America for decades using its own radioactive garbage, burning up the parts of today's reactor wastes that are the hardest to dispose of. Add technology that takes nuclear chaff, uranium that was mined and processed but was mostly unusable, and converts it to still more fuel.

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Green Wonders of The World

Green building technology has reached a tipping point that makes it a more feasible -- and elegant -- choice for new construction. Here's a look at the best-looking green buildings around the world, with pictures.

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The Daily Show revisits net neutrality

with John "I'm a PC" Hodgman

Approved Items for the Bar Exam: 1 clear plastic storage bag...

New York test-takers are pretty lucky when it comes to the quiet snack. All it needs to be is quiet. Pennsylvania requires that snacks be small -- they give gum and mints as examples -- and unwrapped. It makes me feel sorry for all those folks in Harrisburg who, when hunger hits six hours into the multiple-choice section, have no recourse other than to reach into their pockets for a handful of warm Hershey's Kisses. Other states have fun rules too. Virginia requires test-takers to wear suits (or a tie and jacket) to the exam. And it encourages soft-soled footwear, like tennis shoes. Suits and sneakers: the classic grade-school prom costume. My first inclination was to think the soft-soled policy was for comfort. But this is Virginia, in July. If they wanted the test-takers to be comfortable, in the hundred-degree heat, the suit's a bigger problem than the tennis shoes.

The California Bar provides a list of twenty-three approved items, including "up to two pillows without cases," "silent analog watches, timers and clocks not measuring larger than 4x4 inches or smaller," and "ear plugs or plastic material normally associated with the sport of swimming." Huh? Is there a swimming section on the California bar exam? Maybe that's why so many people fail. Or maybe they fail because the questions are written by the same guy who wrote the "not measuring larger than 4x4 inches or smaller" clause. That leaves clocks measuring… exactly 4x4 inches? I guess so. It must stem from some episode in which a test taker tried to wheel in a "good luck" grandfather clock. Or something.

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CFR: Mideast Conflict Rages On

The violence continues in the Middle East. More than 200 Lebanese, nearly all civilians, have been killed (WashPost) in an Israeli offensive that followed Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers last week. In response to Israeli strikes, Hezbollah has launched rockets ever deeper into Israeli territory, killing dozens. Many international observers criticize the Israeli offensive in Lebanon as a disproportionate response to the kidnapping. This CFR Backgrounder examines the doctrine of proportionality in relation to Israel. In a July 17 address to Parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed the Israeli offensive would continue until two kidnapped Israeli soldiers are returned, the Lebanese army is deployed along the Israeli border, and Hezbollah halts its rocket attacks on Israel.

For its part, Hezbollah is trying to shatter the regional image of Israel's military strength and change the balance of power in the region (CSMonitor). The group's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, profiled here by the Washington Post, declared "open war" on Israel (al-Jazeera). Although members of Hezbollah's political wing serve in Lebanon's Parliament and its cabinet, the group's allegiances to Iran and Syria subvert the goals of Lebanon's central government (NYT). CFR President Richard Haass told CBS News that Iran and Syria are using Hezbollah as a vehicle to get at Israel and advance their interests in the region. The relationship between Tehran and Damascus, and the two countries' influence on the current conflict, is examined in this new Backgrounder.

This CSIS report by Anthony Cordesman says Syria and Iran both gain by this proxy war, which divides the United States and Europe, distracts international attention from Iran's nuclear program and Syria's continuing influence in Lebanon, and feeds Arab anger against the United States.

So far, Israel has not threatened to attack Syria directly (al-Jazeera). If it does, it faces the threat of retaliation from Iran, which many suspect has provided Hezbollah with the new, longer-range rockets the group is using to hit Israeli cities as far south of the border as Haifa (Haaretz).

Tehran has said it will back Syria if Israel attacks Damascus. The new unity between religious Tehran and secular Damascus surprises many. Some Sunni governments—those of Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia—are increasingly wary of the growing influence of Iran, and are blaming Hezbollah for its role in starting the conflict, a rare move (NYT). Middle East expert Robert Satloff writes in the Weekly Standard that the new cooperation between Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas is driven by political opportunism, not shared ideology.

Meanwhile, the Israeli campaign is wreaking havoc on Lebanon's infrastructure and economy, reversing the hard-won progress the country has made since its fifteen-year civil war ended in 1990. The Economist says Israel's actions risk destabilizing the entire region, and Beirut's Daily Star demands the United States step in to halt the "collective punishment" of the Israeli attacks. But some critics say the United States, divided from its allies and preoccupied with Iraq, has less influence than ever in the Middle East (CSMonitor).

[original article here]
from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), click on above links to read & learn more about any topic. The CFR has excellent daily analysis and briefings.

Top 10: Vehicles with the Highest Fuel Efficiency

1. Honda Insight - 66 mpg hwy - 60 mpg city
2. Toyota Prius Hybrid - 51 mpg hwy - 60 mpg city
3. Honda Civic Hybrid CVT PZEV - 51 mpg hwy - 49 mpg city
4. Volkswagen New Beetle GLS TDI - 46 mpg hwy - 38 mpg city
5. Volkswagen Golf GL TDI - 46 mpg hwy - 38 mpg city
6. Volkswagen Jetta GL 1.9 TDI - 46 mpg hwy - 38 mpg city
7. Toyota Echo - 42 mpg hwy - 35 mpg city
8. Toyota Corolla LE - 41 mpg hwy - 32 mpg city
9. Scion xA 4AT - 38 mpg hwy - 31 mpg city
10. Kia Rio Cinco 4AT - 38 mpg hwy - 29 mpg city

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Secrets of the Tarahumara, "The Running People"

One of the most remote people on the planet, fewer than 40,000 Tarahumara remain. When they do emerge from NW Mexico they run and win 100-mile ultramarathons, wearing sandals and togas. What are the secrets of a people whose diet consists of beer and corn "pinole", with near zero incidence of disease?

Until that strange scene in 1993, no one had ever taken the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon lightly. Leadville forces racers to run and climb 100 high-altitude miles over the scrabbly trails and snowy peaks of the Colorado Rockies. You don't train for Leadville with intervals and striders; you train the way a prison gang handles a rock pile, by constantly banging out lots of slow, steady miles and building the kind of thin-air endurance that lets you grind along at 15 minutes a mile all day long and then continue into the night. The Leadville ultra, you could say, is closer to mountaineering than marathoning.

But there, next to the carefully pulse-monitored and Polar-Fleeced top seeds at the 1993 starting line, were a half-dozen middle-aged guys in togas, smoking butts and shooting the breeze, deciding whether they should wear some new Rockport cross-trainers they'd been given earlier or the sandals they'd made out of old tires scavenged from a nearby junkyard. Most opted for the sandals. They weren't stretching or warming up or showing the faintest sign that they were about to start one of the most grueling ultramarathons in the world.

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Lebanon calls for cease-fire under U.N.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - ...
Despite worldwide alarm, there was little indication either Western or Arab nations could muster a quick diplomatic solution. The United States and France prepared to evacuate their citizens, and Britain dispatched an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean in apparent preparation for evacuations.

Choking back tears, [Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad] Saniora went on television to plead with the United Nations to broker a cease-fire for his "disaster-stricken nation."

The Western-backed prime minister, criticizing both Israel and Hezbollah, also pledged to reassert government authority over all Lebanese territory, suggesting his government might deploy the Lebanese army in the south, which Hezbollah effectively controls.

That would meet a repeated U.N. and U.S. demand. But any effort by Saniora's Sunni Muslim-led government to use force against the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrillas could trigger another bloody civil war in Lebanon. Many fear the 70,000-strong army itself might break up along sectarian lines, as it did during the 1975-90 civil war. ...

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Why Mosquitoes Hate Humans...

"Some unfortunate people are irresistible to mosquitoes, while the scent of some lucky individuals drives the blood-suckers away. Now the smelly chemicals from the sweat of these lucky people have been identified by researchers, who are testing its effectiveness as a natural mosquito repellent.

Everybody produces a mixture of odorous chemicals in their sweat, some of which attract biting insects, such as lactic acid. But people who do not get bitten also produce smelly chemicals that appear to mask the scent of the attractive chemicals. "

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Ancestor of every living human may have lived only 2000 years ago

"That means everybody on Earth descends from somebody who was around as recently as the reign of Tutankhamen, maybe even during the Golden Age of ancient Greece. There's even a chance that our last shared ancestor lived at the time of Christ."

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Why the U.S. Needs More Nuclear Power

"The best thing we can do to decrease the Middle East's hold on us is to turn off the spigot ourselves. For economic, ecological, and geopolitical reasons, U.S. policymakers ought to promote electrification on the demand side, and nuclear fuel on the supply side, wherever they reasonably can."

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Playing for Peace: Israel/Palestine

[updated: 7-30-2006]
ESPN the Magazine on Playing for Peace:

With violence escalating on several fronts in the Mideast, many are wondering what, if anything, can ever stop the madness consuming a region that, for many Jews, Muslims and Christians, is one of the holiest places on Earth.

Wars, diplomacy and mediation have failed to bring peace to the region. The cloud of failed accords hover over the area.

Not everyone has given up hope. A handful of brave and visionary people think the answer may lie, believe it or not, in basketball, specifically a nascent program called Playing for Peace.

Before the most recent hostilities began, ESPN.com sent Chad Ford, a professor of international conflict resolution at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and an ESPN basketball writer, to Israel on May 1-9 to check out PFP in action. What he saw was complicated, risky … and hopeful.

Playing for Peace Player Blogs:

July 26 -- Recently Brent Barry of the San Antonio Spurs and Mike Dunleavy of the Golden State Warriors traveled to Belfast, Ireland to take part in a clinic which brought together Catholic and Protestant children from the Short Strand and Dee Street Community Centres for an afternoon of basketball instruction at Queens University Physical Education Centre.

Playing for Peace's Building Bridges basketball camp 2005:



more info from the Playing for Peace website...

Playing for Peace has four main objectives:

• Bridge social divides
• Develop future leaders
• Educate children to lead healthy, constructive lives
• Build community involvement to ensure long-term sustainability

Since June of 2005, Playing for Peace has used the game of basketball to foster mutual respect and tolerance between Jewish and Arab youth in Israel and the West Bank. The participants are taught by a cadre of committed coaches, both local and from the United States, who have the knowledge, training, and tools necessary to address the difficult issues brought on by the conflict.

Playing for Peace's program in the Middle East involves two main components. First, it provides opportunities for meaningful interaction between Israeli and Palestinian children through joint basketball and social activities which take place on a regular basis. Secondly, the program works with the Palestinian Ministry of Youth Sport to develop the basketball infrastructure in the West Bank.

Immigration's Costs -- And Benefits

Two economists consider the costs and benefits of illegal immigration and weigh policy fixes.

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video: classic Steve Carell on The Daily Show

Steve Carell talks to a nutritionist (and eats a couple of scoops of Crisco)

World's 2nd Richest Man Give Away Fortune: To Bill Gate's Foundation

Warren Buffett: The world's second richest man - who's now worth $44 billion - will start giving away 85% of his wealth in July - most of it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

click on to page two for an excellent interview with Buffet

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clean technology could cut in 1/2 world energy consumption

World energy consumption could be cut by half if clean technology applied: IEA
"Accelerating energy efficiency improvements alone can reduce the worlds energy demand in 2050 by an amount equivalent to almost half of today's global energy consumption, said the report."

areas to invest in:
"The mix of technologies the IEA advocated included improved energy efficiency, carbon dioxide capture and storage, renewables and -- where acceptable -- nuclear energy" ... "[A] key technology is the capture and storage of CO2 emitted from power-generation or industrial processes. The IEA study pointed out that the early demonstration of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in full-scale power plants should be a high priority."

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Greenland's Ice Sheet Is Slip-Sliding Away

The massive glaciers are deteriorating twice as fast as they were five years ago. If the ice thaws entirely, sea level would rise 21 feet.

net neutrality

The Senate will debate network neutrality next week. Why You Should Care About Network Neutrality: The future of the Internet depends on it! (slate.com)

POINTS OF VIEW (wsj.com)
"The Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat. Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody -- no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional -- has equal access. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest." -- Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt

"We and the cable companies have made an investment, and for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts." --AT&T Chief Executive Edward Whitacre

"This is a vigorously competitive marketplace that is working to benefit consumers. There is no need for new laws and regulations." --David L. Cohen, a Comcast executive vice president

video: Banlieue 13 & David Belle doing stunts encore

here's the US trailer for Banlieue 13 (aka District B13 for US/Canada release)

of course that's D. Belle doing the stunts in this INCREDIBLE chase scene.

video: parkour & David Belle again

David Belle highlight video...


D. Belle and friends "play" in waves

Even D. Belle can fall. I just wish this video would show him getting back up and doing it again.

Now this is what I'm talking about. Parkour and hip-hop music, in a short leaping-onto-a-tree video.

professionally shot parkour aka freerunning video (with Diam's rapping)...

global warming's early signs [salon.com]

Salon.com has an excellent series of article on climate change Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet

Twilight of an ancient knowledge

For centuries, New Zealand's Maoris have used intimate observation of nature to harvest eels and predict the weather. That marvelous legacy is endangered by climate change.

By Durrell Dawson [2006-05-05]

The woes of Kilimanjaro

The fabled glaciers on Tanzania's majestic mountain will soon be gone. Its forests are disappearing, too. For local farmers, this could mean disaster. For the rest of us, it's another unbearable loss on an overheating planet.

By Kate Cheney Davidson [2006-04-28]

Before the flood

Global warming is threatening Bangladesh's coast. But the area's tens of millions of residents don't want to move.

By Emilie Raguso and Sandhya Somashekhar [2006-04-21]

The vanishing of a tropical nation

Rising seas are swamping the 33-island republic of Kiribati. Where will its 100,000 inhabitants go when their country becomes uninhabitable?

By Aaron Selverston [2006-04-14]

The heat on Ecuador

Global warming is vanquishing ancient glaciers throughout South America, killing crops and threatening the water source for millions.

By Felicia Mello [2006-04-07]

When the water runs out

Ecuador's crops, its power grid and the drinking water for its largest city are all threatened by climate change.

By Pauline Bartolone [2006-04-07]

Tuvalu is drowning

The island nation is slowly being inundated as the ocean rises, and some citizens are fleeing. How will the world handle a flood of "climate refugees"?

By Alexandra Berzon [2006-03-31]

The disappearing sardines

As Lake Tanganyika in Africa grows warmer, its massive schools of silvery fish get smaller. And nearby villagers say goodbye to their way of life.

By Jori Lewis [2006-03-24]

The bears of Churchill

In the "Polar Bear Capital of the World," vanishing ice is threatening to wipe out the polar bears -- and the town's livelihood. But Churchill's inhabitants say they'll survive.

By Jon Mooallem [2006-03-17]

Early Signs: Reports from a Warming Planet

TomatoMeter 93% An Inconvenient Truth

over 90% of reviews praise An Inconvenient Truth.

"Brings a feeling of history: Virtually everyone who sees this movie will be galvanized to do something about global warming -- and everyone should see this movie." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

"What could have been mired in political rhetoric or techno-speak is instead illuminating, fascinating and sometimes frightening." Claudia Puig, USA Today

As unsettling as it can be, it is also intellectually exhilarating, and, like any good piece of pedagogy, whets the appetite for further study. This is not everything you need to know about global warming: that's the point. But it is a good place to start, and to continue, a process of education that could hardly be more urgent. "An Inconvenient Truth" is a necessary film. A.O. Scott, New York Times

trailer for An Inconvenient Truth

Roger Ebert has given An Inconvenient Truth a Four-star review writing in the Chicago Sun-Times:

“The director, Davis Guggenheim, uses words, images and Gore’s concise litany of facts to build a film that is fascinating and relentless. In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.”

http://www.climatecrisis.net

video: more parkour & handstands

this makes me want practice some handstands

video: Gnarls Barkley

Ali G introduces Gnarls Barkley singing Crazy at the MTV Movie Awards

video: Ronaldinho's highlights

in time for the world cup (with music by Fort Minor aka Mike Shinoda)...

video: le parkour -- David Belle

interview with the creator of le parkour, David Belle

video: The Evolution of Dance

Nelly & Gnarls

Nelly Furtado's cover of Gnarls Barkley's song "Crazy" (download the mp3 here) is excellent. The whole album St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley is crazy good too.

google adds online spreadsheets

you can sign up for it here. Google Spreadsheets

After the recent additions of Google Notebook & Google Calendar, Google is pushing to help move all the functions of the desktop (Word, Outlook, Excel) to their own online google servers, plus they will be more collaborative it seems.

reading list

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore







The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk







Real Money by Jim Cramer

photo: san diego petting zoo

pink twins and a deer, originally uploaded by BrianS..

photo of the week

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore's movie about the greenhouse effect, "An Inconvenient Truth," will soon be showing everywhere. The film may convince skeptics of global warming that there is no longer any doubt (from a NYT Op-Ed):

Many who already believe global warming is a menace will flock to the film; many who scoff at the notion will opt for Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. But has anything happened in recent years that should cause a reasonable person to switch sides in the global-warming debate?

Yes: the science has changed from ambiguous to near-unanimous. As an environmental commentator, I have a long record of opposing alarmism. But based on the data I'm now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert.

[The] research is now in, and it shows a strong scientific consensus that an artificially warming world is a real phenomenon posing real danger.

Check out the film's website, ClimateCrisis.net

what to do about OBESE children

NYT Talking Points feature, "The Big, Fat American Kid Crisis"

Over the last 30 years, obesity rates have doubled among pre-schoolers and tripled for those age 6 to 11. For those added pounds, the young are starting to pay a terrible price. Adult diabetes has rapidly become a childhood disease. Pediatricians are seeing high cholesterol and high blood pressure and other grown-up problems in their patients. Teachers and school psychiatrists are coping with a plague of shame and distress among children whose size subjects them to hazing and other cruelties by their classmates.

The author's list of how to reverse the trend of childhood obesity:

• 1. Stop Bombarding Children With Junk Food Ads
• 2. Proselytize for Healthy Eating
• 3. Ban the Junk Food in Schools
• 4. Upgrade the School Snack
• 5. Tax the Fatteners
• 6. Stop Subsidizing Junk Food
• 7. Start Subsidizing Healthy Food for Poor People
• 8. Label Food in Chain Restaurants
• 9. Educate Parents and Teachers
• 10. Exercise for Everybody

Intelligent Thought : Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement

via Boing Boing...

John Brockman of Edge.org on "Intelligent Thought," a new book of essays released today:

This book — sixteen essays by Edge contributors, all leading scientists from several disciplines — is a thoughtful response to the bizarre claims made by the [Intelligent Design] movement's advocates, whose only interest in science appears to be to replace it with beliefs consistent with those of the Middle Ages. School districts across the country — most notably in Kansas and later in Pennsylvania, where the antievolutionist tide was turned but undoubtedly not stopped—have been besieged by demands to "teach the debate," to "present the controversy," when, in actuality, there is no debate, no controversy. What there is, quite simply, is a duplicitous public-relations campaign funded by Christian fundamentalist interests.

Amazon has some great quotes in their Editorial Review of Intelligent Thought

An evolutionary understanding of the human condition, far from being incompatible with a moral sense, can explain why we have one. —Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist

What counts as a controversy must be delineated with care, as we want students to distinguish between scientific challenges and sociopolitical ones. —Marc D. Hauser, evolutionary psychologist

Incredulity doesn’t count as an alternative position or critique. —Marc D. Hauser, evolutionary psychologist

Rather than removing meaning from life, an evolutionary perspective can and should fill us with a sense of wonder at the rich sequence of natural systems that gave us birth and continues to sustain us. —Scott D. Sampson, paleontologist

The Accidental Empire : Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977

from the NYT Sunday book review...

Generally speaking, there have been two prevailing explanations: one of Israeli innocence, the other of guilt. In the first, the tiny state was forced into war in 1967 and grabbed Gaza, Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights in self-defense, planning to hold them only until they could be safely traded for peace. In the other, Israel used its victory in 1967 deliberately to expand its borders. It disenfranchised the locals, stole their land and settled the territories with religious fanatics.

Now Gershom Gorenberg, an American-born Israeli journalist, has produced a remarkably insightful third account. In "The Accidental Empire," he portrays the first two decades after '67 as a melancholy story of inadvertant colonialism. It's a groundbreaking revision that deserves to reframe the entire debate.

According to Gorenberg, the Israelis did not quite acquire their colonies as the British were said to, in a fit of absent-mindedness — but just about. In 1967, Israel won an unexpected victory in a war it didn't seek and found itself sitting on new territory three times its original size.

But Prime Minister Levi Eshkol was paralyzed by this unhappy prize. He refused either to annex the land (since this would mean either expelling or absorbing 1.1 million Arabs) or to return it (since Israel's 1949 borders were deemed indefensible).
Instead, he and his Labor Party successors (Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin) pursued a policy of no policy. The tragedy of this dodge, Gorenberg reveals, was that it ended up amounting to a policy anyway, for "stalemate was the soil in which settlements grew." As the deadlocked cabinet dithered, a decisive few — mostly young zealots dreaming of a biblical "Greater Israel" — took action.

The Accidental Empire : Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977 by Gershom Gorenberg

a bicycle resurgence

Bicycle is king of the road as gas costs rise.

London, Paris, Chicago, Bogotá and Seoul have embarked on major campaigns to incorporate the bicycle into traffic grids. The results have led to substantial shifts in fuel consumption, commuting times and even real estate values.

Consider the case of Enrique Peñalosa, the mayor of Bogotá from 1998 to 2000. In that city of seven million, he set in motion a transformation of the transport grid with measures like peak-hour restrictions on cars and about 300 kilometers, or 185 miles, of bicycle paths. He said that cycling has become a primary mode of transport for 5 percent of the population, up from 0.1 percent when he started. The share using the car as primary mode, by contrast, has fallen to 13 percent of the population from 17 percent.

The IHT article goes on to discuss the economic advantages of accommodating cyclists as well as the reversal of the trend in some developing countries like India and China, "Eight years ago roughly 60 percent of Beijing's work force cycled to work but that percentage has dropped below 20 percent."

stars are made (through practice)

Switching to sports for a moment. Dubner & Levitt (the Freakonomics guys) highlight the Expert Performance Movement, led by Anders Ericsson. The idea is that great "talents" in any given field aren't as naturally gifted as might be assumed, but that they have honed their skills through deliberate practice:

Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task — playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

Friedman: "With a Congress like this, who needs Al Qaeda?"

Friedman decries empty political gesturing in a NYT Op-Ed entitled Lets (Third) Party.

What would OPEC do if it wanted to keep America addicted to oil? That's easy. OPEC would urge the U.S. Congress to deal with the current spike in gasoline prices either by adopting the Republican proposal to give American drivers $100 each, so they could continue driving gas-guzzling cars and buy gasoline at the current $3.50 a gallon, or by adopting the Democrats' proposal for a 60-day lifting of the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents a gallon. Either one would be fine with OPEC.

Friedman envisions a centrist, forward-looking third party (the "American Renewal Party") as a solution. Less narrowly focused and less liberal than the Green Party, its primary focus would be on energy.

The only way Americans are ever going to enjoy relatively cheap gasoline again is if we raise the price now with a gasoline tax— and fix it at that higher level for several years — so investors know that it is not coming down, and therefore it makes economic sense for them to make the long-term investments in alternative, renewable sources of energy. That is the only way to break our oil addiction and ultimately bring down the price.

Friedman on Energy

Thomas Friedman opining on our addiction to OPEC oil:

Economists have long taught us about the negative effects that an overabundance of natural resources can have on political and economic reform in any country: the "resource curse." But when it comes to oil, it seems that you can take this resource curse argument a step further: there appears to be a specific correlation between the price of oil and the pace of freedom.

I call it the "First Law of Petropolitics," and it posits the following: The price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions in petro-ist states.

According to the First Law of Petropolitics, the higher the price of global crude oil, the more erosion we see in petro-ist nations in the right to free speech, a free press, free elections, freedom of assembly, government transparency, an independent judiciary and the rule of law, and in the freedom to form independent political parties and nongovernmental organizations. Such erosion does not occur in healthy democracies with oil.

finals matchup: LeBron vs Kobe?

A quote at the end of this NYT article on LeBron's rise to stardom caught my attention.

If the N.B.A. is as much like professional wrestling as I think it is, the league will find a way to manipulate a Kobe-LeBron finals matchup within the next two seasons.

If only it would come true.

the Shangri-La Diet :: the next fad?

The Shangri-La Diet is based on a simple and crazy premise: adding 2 tbsp of olive oil a day to your diet will speed up your metabolism, make you feel a lot less hungry, and regulate your body weight (the author lost 35lbs in 3 months!?). I remember first reading about this quirky professor's idea in Freakonomics(silly name, great book) and how over like 20 years he methodically/scientifically tested many different diet regimes on himself.
If this works anything like he claims (clinical trials are scheduled!), then I really should start buying stock in the olive oil commodities market.
Goodbye Atkins, hello extra virgin extra light olive oil.

more about the the Shangri-La Diet from Amazon's book description(just released, it's currently a top-5 best-seller)..

Psychologist and professor Seth Roberts has spent years analyzing why most diets don't work. A maverick with a curious mind, and a yen for self-experimentation, he started by asking a simple question most experts haven't tackled: What makes us feel hungry in the first place?

After scouring the scientific literature and tirelessly testing various theories and practices, Roberts hit upon a simple, effective strategy for controlling the body's internal "set point"- that is, the thermostat that controls weight gain or loss. Roberts lost thirty-five pounds in only three months, and he has kept it off for five years. Since then, others have replicated these results, andThe solution was counterintuitive: By taking two daily servings of either extra-light olive oil or plain sugar water, he took control of his appetite, with astonishing results. Formal clinical trials will soon be under way.

booyah JC

I have to admit to loving Jim Cramer's investment theories, his rules for investing, and the emphasis he puts on doing your own homework. Yes, his rhetoric is over-the-top and his show seems overly focused on entertaining. But, every once in a while JC demonstrates just how sincere and normal he is, in a genius with ADHD type way. The evenings that I miss his show I find myself waiting impatiently for Mad Money Recap to post his every spoken word.
His book, Real Money, of course is exceptional too.
And what's more fun than going over to Mad Money Performance (sadly only 2 months tracked) at the Street.com to see his track record and the few he's been completely wrong on.

essential program list

these programs are free, some are opensource, and all are better than what else is out there.

Google Pack - use Google Pack to install the latest versions of Firefox, Picasa, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Google Talk, and Adobe Reader (I recommend only installing these and not all the other ones)

Firefox - best internet browser

Ad-Aware SE Personal - for spyware removal

OpenOffice - free office suite (use instead of Microsoft Word, Excel, etc)

Zone Labs: Zone Alarm - firewall

avast! antivirus

VLC media player - plays every file media file type (mp3, avi, mpg, etc)

7-Zip - for archives, compressed files (better than WinRar, WinZip)

Google Toolbar - for Firefox

MP3tag - rename and tag MP3s

1-4a rename - bulk file renamer

CDex - rip CDs and transcode MP3s

File Sharing

eMule edonkey2000 client

Azureus - bittorrent client

preparing to make money

My own scattered ideas have been focused by Marshall Brain's plan: How to Make a Million Dollars
He advocates a "go-for-it" entrepreneurial spirit coupled with a solid idea, and hopefully a little luck, as the best way to escape the work-for-someone-else/make-money-for-someone-else cycle.
Brain has made me rethink my entertainment-filled free-time ways.

You are never going to get rich practicing video games. What I would suggest is that you stop playing video games. And get rid of your television. Take the music off your iPod. Instead go get some books-on-CD that talk about starting businesses. ... Put those on your iPod and listen to them over and over again.

I had already reserved 1/100th of my iPod for Michel Thomas's excellent Spanish (and previously German) learning language series. By deleting some bizarre French alternative rock (I never really got that excited about) I made room for Brain's first recommended audiobook, Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad

How to Make a Million Dollars

Understanding and Controlling Your Finances

Rich Dad Home

Rich Dad Poor Dad

The Automatic Millionaire

The One Minute Millionare

more Business & Investing books