Sunday, December 30, 2007

"Does Mr. Bush consider Musharraf his friend or Pakistan his friend?”

Question by Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister of Pakistan, upon his visit to Benazir Bhutto's gravesite. The full article is here.

More on Sharif can be found here and an interesting blog discussing events in Pakistan is here.

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Friday, December 28, 2007

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Benazir Bhutto Assasinated

News reports from Pakistan and elsewhere confirm that 54-year-old Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in Pakistan.

The NY Times reports that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan was shot in the neck and head before an explosion moments later. At least 20 others were killed in the suicide attack. Bhutto had been speaking at a public rally in a park in Rawalpindi, a city near the country's capital.

This is the second attempt on her life since she returned from exile in October of this year. Bhutto was the leader of Pakistan's People's Party (PPP), the largest opposition party in Pakistan, a country which has been under military rule for eight years.

Bhutto, a graduate of Harvard,held the post of prime minister twice, first from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to hold that position in Pakistan. After her father's death by hanging, Bhutto assumed leadership of the PPP.

Just before the rally in which she was killed, Bhutto had met with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In a statement after their meeting, Bhutto said:
“We too believe that it is essential for both of our countries, and indeed the larger Muslim world, to work to protect the interest of Islamic civilization by eliminating extremism and terrorism.”

Bhutto had left her self-exiled life in London to present herself as an alternative to the military rule of General Musharraf, whose government was responsible for her security. Before returning to Pakistan, Musharraf had dropped the graft charges that had caused Bhutto to flee the country years earlier, making it possible for her to return without threat of imprisonment. This was considered a first step toward a potential power-sharing pact between Musharraf and Bhutto to occur after the general elections this coming January 8.

The U.S. government considered Musharraf its strongest ally against al Kaida. However, just a month ago, the leader of Amnesty International urged the U.S. to investigate the repressive actions of Musharraf, specifically his house arrest of Bhutto as well as his imprisonment of thousands of PPP members including lawyers, and the removal of Supreme Court justices. Amnesty International urged the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan to visit Bhutto and asked that Pres. bush suspend economic and military support of Musharraf, stating:

While the Bush administration continues to view Pakistan as a valuable ally in the war on terror, it must not turn a blind eye to Musharraf's continued repression of the Pakistani people. Amnesty International urges President Bush to direct U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson to visit Bhutto, Chaudhry and Jahangir to evaluate their welfare and discuss recent developments. President Bush and the United States need to send a signal to Pakistan's civil society that Musharraf's blatant disregard for freedom of movement and peaceful assembly and the use of martial law will not be tolerated.

CNN reported that "the attack came just hours after four supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Thursday, Pakistan police said."

In a statement from the hospital where Bhutto died, Sharif vowed to avenge her death.

Bhutto was sharply interrogated by MSNBC correspondent Ann Curry for the loss of life that followed in the wake of the first attack against her in an interview days after the attack. A video of this interview can be found at MSNBC.

Reuters news report on Bhutto's assassination is here. The Canadian Press report is here. Time article here. CNN report here. UK government reaction here. BBC report here.


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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Swinging the Ching












Here's today's random draw from the I Ching: 59. Huan / Dispersion [Dissolution]

Commentary below (from deoxy.org with gender-specific pronouns intact):

Wind blowing over water disperses it, dissolving it into foam and mist. This suggests that when a man's vital energy is dammed up within him (indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower trigram), gentleness serves to break
up and dissolve the blockage.

THE JUDGMENT

DISPERSION. Success.
The king approaches his temple.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Perseverance furthers.
The text of this hexagram resembles that of Ts'ui, GATHERING TOGETHER (45). In the latter, the subject is the bringing together of elements that have been separated, as water collects in lakes upon the earth. Here the subject is
the dispersing and dissolving of divisive egotism. DISPERSION shows the way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together. This explains the similarity of the two texts.

Religious forces are needed to overcome the egotism that divides men. The common celebration of the great sacrificial feasts and sacred rites, which gave expression simultaneously to the interrelation and social articulation of the family and state, was the means of employed by the great ruler to unite men. The sacred music and the splendor of the ceremonies aroused a strong tide of emotion that was shared by all hearts in unison, and that awakened a consciousness of the common origin of all creatures. In this way disunity was overcome and rigidity dissolved. A further means to the same end is cooperation in great general undertakings that set a high goal for the will of the people; in the common concentration on this goal, all barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must unite in a joint task.

But only a man who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and who perseveres in justice and steadfastness, is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.

THE IMAGE
The wind drives over the water:
The image of DISPERSION.
Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord
And built temples.
In the autumn and winter, water begins to freeze into ice. When the warm breezes of spring come, the rigidity is dissolved, and the elements that have been dispersed in ice floes are reunited. It is the same with the minds of the people. Through hardness and selfishness the heart grows rigid, and this rigidity leads to separation from all others. Egotism and cupidity isolate men. Therefore the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion. They must
be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity-stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.

THE LINES
Six at the beginning means:
He brings help with the strength of a horse.
Good fortune.
It is important that disunion should be overcome at the outset, before it has become complete - that the clouds should be dispersed before they have brought storm and rain. At such times when hidden divergences in temper make themselves felt and lead to mutual misunderstandings we must take quick and vigorous action to dissolve the misunderstandings and mutual distrust.
Nine in the second place means:
At the dissolution
He hurries to that which supports him.
Remorse disappears.
When an individual discovers within himself the beginnings of alienation from others, of misanthropy and ill humor, he must set about dissolving these obstructions. He must rouse himself inwardly, hasten to that which supports him. Such support is never found in hatred, but always in a moderate and just judgment of men, linked with good will. If he regains this unobstructed outlook on humanity, while at the same time all saturnine ill humor is dissolved, all occasion for remorse disappears.
Six in the third place means:
He dissolves his self. No remorse.
Under certain circumstances, a man's work may become so difficult that he can no longer think of himself. He must set aside all personal desires and disperse whatever the self gathers about it to serve as a barrier against others. Only on the basis of great renunciation can he obtain the strength for great achievements. By setting his goal in a great task outside himself, he can attain this standpoint.
Six in the fourth place means:
He dissolves his bond with his group.
Supreme good fortune.
Dispersion leads in turn to accumulation.
This is something that ordinary men do not think of.
When we are working at a task that affects the general welfare, we must leave all private friendships out of account. Only by rising above party interests can we achieve something decisive. He who has the courage thus to forego what is near wins what is afar. But in order to comprehend this standpoint, one must have a wide view of the interrelationships of life, such as only unusual men attain.
Nine in the fifth place means:
His loud cries are as dissolving as sweat.
Dissolution! A king abides without blame.
In times of general dispersion and separation, a great idea provides a focal point for the organization of recovery. Just as an illness reaches its crisis in a dissolving sweat, so a great stimulating idea is a true salvation in times of general deadlock. It gives the people a rallying point - a man in a ruling position who can dispel misunderstandings.
Nine at the top means:
He dissolves his blood.
Departing, keeping at a distance, going out,
Is without blame.
The idea of the dissolving of a man's blood means the dispersion of that which might lead to bloodshed and wounds, i.e., avoidance of danger. But here the thought is not that a man avoids difficulties for himself alone, but rather that he rescues his kin - helps them to get away before danger comes, or to keep at a distance from an existing danger, or to find a way out of a danger that is already upon them. In this way he does what is right.

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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Counting

8:45am Eastern Time. Jacksonville, FL. Outside my window, the squirrel is holding a pecan in its gloved claws and chipping away at the husk. The shrimp plants raise their vivid heads. Their leaves won't take another 30-degree night. Already, they hang like limp flags, needle thin and stunned by last night's cold.

My house is clean except for a spot of wet catfood on the kitchen tile, ashes on my desk, toothpaste in the sink, rabbit pellets in the animal room.

Tomorrow I travel. Wake at 4:30am, take a ride to the airport an hour later, walk the gauntlet called Homeland Security, find seat 17A, land briefly in Charlotte, that nexus of boredom, and then fall into L.A.

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The Sylvan Echo: Take Two

Congrats to my fellow Scarlet Tanagers for the publication of issue two of The Sylvan Echo.

Editors Mel Jones, Barbara Simpson, Andreanana Binder, Kristen Stoner, Apinya Pokachaiyapat and Desiree Kannel have produced an online journal that is visually attractive and packed with quality writing.

Unlike some other literary efforts, The Sylvan Echo presents a wide field of writing, which includes poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and an editorial. Not stopping there, it also reproduces visual artwork and wood carvings.

Hats off to you guys! Antioch's MFA Creative Writing Program gets another feather in its cap. Click on over and check it out!

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Sunday, December 2, 2007

Merit pay for teachers?

The prospect of merit pay in the teaching field is a can of worms. But it's an issue that continually pops up on the campaign trail, sparked no doubt by the generally lousy pay scale of teachers across the nation.

While on a campaign stop in Iowa, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton discouraged the prospect of merit pay for teachers, saying the results would be "demeaning" and "discouraging" and asking the all-important question: who will determine the recipient? School-based merit plans are more to her liking.

When teachers address the issue, they often find more fault than benefit. The National Education Association (NEA) along with some state teachers' unions are opposed to the concept. Why? Well the first question was targeted by Clinton: who will be the judge? Will it be at the administrative level, where actual teaching progress is not based on individual student accomplishments but on the institution's retention goals? In other words, in a class of at risk students, a fair percentage simply will not complete a course. Some drop outs may be academically related issues. But economic conditions, family climate and discipline issues all take a huge toll on student success rates. How would it be fair to judge a teacher's performance when case management rather than pedagogical issues determine success?

Who or what else could determine performance? Test results? Students? Peers? Objective bodies?

In each case, the determination would have to create some kind of standard. Objectivity and relativity would be required. Comparison and contrasts, statistical baselines, variables, and time frames would all fall into the mix.

But the idea of inserting another layer of economic-based competition among educators is disturbing. Particularly when a more substantial solution could be made available: across the board increases in starting pay.

Here in Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist re-worked a formerly contested merit pay plan and signed it into law last June. The old plan was legally contested by the state teacher's union.

The plan covers the public school system and participation is optional. Each of the 67 school district decides at the administrative level whether to join the program. If elected, teachers must be awarded at least five percent of "average teacher pay," a move that pre-empts higher bonuses to veterans already earning a higher salary.

The bonus is determined by a mixture of test results (60%) and measurable levels of effectiveness among teachers (40%). Offhand, it sounds like an incentive mix of school-based and teacher-based criteria.

But the issue nationwide still lacks a resolution, and by many accounts is a shortcut for resolving the low level of overall compensation for teachers, an issue the NEA labelled a "national emergency" seven years ago when it rejected merit based pay incentives. More recently, the NEA flatly refuted the proposal:

The fundamental problem is low teacher pay, period. Merit pay schemes are a weak answer to the national teacher compensation crisis.


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