Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Wake Up!! It's Tuesday!!

Is it necessary? Is it possible!!? Pervez Hoodbhoy does a fine job Re-Imagining Pakistan. Gwynne Dyer thinks about the future, and it includes carbon rationing. RAW STORY says the Navy buildup off Iran is a WARNING, and a Canadian hockey player has been fired for not desecrating a flag -- for the troops, of course!

Over at Atlantic Free Press, Rod Amis asks Keith Olbermann to pay attention to Mexico, while Phil Rockstroh says we're Eating the Planet Like a Bag of Doritos for Jesus. Would you like a beverage with those Doritos? Be careful what you put in it! "Mythbusters" explain what happens when you drop Mentos in your Diet Coke.

On a personal note: Homeyra has been dreaming of a nearly frozen blog, my Liquid Bombers piece, "Brother of Ringleader Released Without Charges", has been published today at Start The Revolution, my more recent piece, "Mission Accomplished! Attacks in Iraq at highest levels ever!!" has been published today at Atlantic Free Press, and Technorati finally rates this humble blog above the 100,000 mark! (It's in the 85,000 range now, up from the quarter-of-a-million range the last time I looked.)

For the penultimate words -- and a jolt of serious wisdom -- let's turn to the above-mentioned Pervez Hoodbhoy. Last week he gave the commencement address at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi. He was talking about Pakistan, but his words may have been more universal than he realized:
First, I wish for minds that can deal with the complex nature of truth.
...
My second wish is for many more [people] who accept diversity as a virtue.
...
My third, and last, wish is that [people] learn to value and nurture creativity.
...
We have to wake people up and get them politically engaged again.
...
We can change for the better. We can be like other nations on this planet. We can make responsible choices for who should govern us. We can bring justice to our people. We can be a decent civilized, peaceful, well-informed, educated people. It’s only a question of trying and getting our act together. That is the task before all of us, young and old.
Yes, it's necessary. Yes, it's possible.