An Update

Hello, faithful readers
As Ive hardly heard from most of you, owing to my rather abrupt disappearance from the blog world, I thought Id post a quick update on what has happened since the previous posting, oh so many moons ago.
After a few more months of travel, I made it back home safe and a little too sound. I loafed around my parents home for a while and took stock of things. The biggest difficulty I had was remembering how to speak English with other English speakers. A year of speaking to foreigners has a strange effect on the dialect, as you tend to use the barest vocabulary imaginable, and sometimes even deliberately mangle the grammar by simplifying it, so as to not confuse those who only know a few sentences.
I soon reacquainted myself with Western life, which turned out to be a little like slipping back into a warm bath from which you only made a desultory effort to get out of the water. I think Ill get up now& ohh, ahh, maybe not. Progress was rapid; I was back to wasting time reading web sites and newspapers in no time.
It was time to get a job. A friend called me up from New York. His company was hiring. Two days later I was on a plane. Back on the IT scene with a vengeance. We worked hard and lived a New York life. It was sweaty, great fun, and just what I needed after a year of meandering.
The company then offered me an assignment in the India office, and I accepted. Which brings me to today, where I write this from an apartment in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, in a room with a bed, a desk, two chairs, and an electrical system that appears to be haunted by ghouls.
I plan to start blogging again, which is not the same thing as actually blogging again, but you know, the best laid plans, etc. Over time Ill post the rest of my journal entries from my trip, which include more India, as well as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, as well as a couple places in the UK. I am also posting pictures sometimes.

World powers accept warming limit

Developed and developing nations agree global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels, a G8 declaration says.

NEWSWEEK Cover: She's One of the Folks (And That's the Problem)

In the October 13 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, October 6): "She's One of the Folks (And that's the problem)." Editor Jon Meacham writes an essay about how Sarah Palin's populist view of high office is risky for the country. Plus: the problems the next president will inherit; Biden opens up about the campaign; the fall of America Inc.; an interview with Irani Foreign Minister Mottaki; the Women & Leadership series and keeping kids healthy in cold-weather months. (PRNewsFoto/NEWSWEEK) |||DW_DOM_101308.tif NEW YORK UNITED STATES 10/05/2008 5 Oct 2008 16:56 Africa/Lagos NEWSWEEK Cover: She's One of the Folks (And That's the Problem) Editor Jon Meacham On Sarah Palin's Folksiness: 'Do We Want Leaders Who Are Everyday Folks ... Or Who Understand Everyday Folks?' Palin's Populist View Of High Office -- Hey, Vice President Six-Pack, What Should We Do About Pakistan? -- Is Dangerous NEW YORK, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham writes in an essay that the honest explanation of the rationale for Sarah Palin's candidacy -- not her preparedness for office, but her personality and nascent maverickism in Alaska -- raises an important question, not only about this election but about democratic leadership. "Do we want leaders who are everyday folks, or do we want leaders who understand everyday folks? Therein lies an enormous difference, one that could decide the presidential election and, if McCain and Palin were to win, shape the governance of the nation."(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081005/NYSU002 )In the October 13 Newsweek cover, "She's One of The Folks (And that's the problem)" (on newsstands Monday, October 6), Meacham examines this question of Palin's folksiness, looking at how it's a liability for the campaign and the country. Sitting with her for part of the Katie Couric interview on CBS, John McCain implicitly compared Palin to Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, saying that they, too, had been caricatured and dismissed by mainstream voices. The linkages are untenable, Meacham writes. "A successful two-term governor of California, Reagan had spent decades immersed in politics (of both the left and the right) before running for president. He did like to call himself a citizen-politician, and Lord knows he had an occasionally ambiguous relationship with facts, but he was a serious man who had spent a great deal of time thinking about the central issues of the age. To put it kindly, Palin, however promising a governor she is, has not done similar work."Meacham writes that he could be wrong, and perhaps Palin will somehow emerge from the hurly-burly of history as a transformative figure who was underestimated in her time by journalists who could not see, or refused to acknowledge, her virtues. "But do I think that I am right in saying that Palin's populist view of high office -- hey, Vice President Six-Pack, what should we do about Pakistan? -- is dangerous? You betcha.""A key argument for Palin, in essence, is this: Washington and Wall Street are serving their own interests rather than those of the broad whole of the country, and the moment requires a vice president who will, Cincinnatus-like, help a new president come to the rescue," Meacham writes. "The problem with the argument is that Cincinnatus knew things. Palin sometimes seems an odd combination of Chauncey Gardiner from 'Being There' and Marge from 'Fargo.' Is this an elitist point of view? Perhaps, though it seems only reasonable and patriotic to hold candidates for high office to high standards. Elitism in this sense is not about educational or class credentials ... It is, rather, about the pursuit of excellence no matter where you started in life. Jackson, Lincoln, Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton were born to ordinary families, but they spent their lives doing extraordinary things, demonstrating an interest in, and a curiosity about, the world around them. This is much less evident in Palin's case."Meacham praises Palin for her public service. "If she were seeking a Senate seat, or being nominated for a cabinet post-secretary of energy, say, or interior -- the conversation about her would be totally different. But she is not seeking a Senate seat, nor is she being nominated for a cabinet post, and so it is only prudent to ask whether she is in fact someone who should be president of the United States in the event of disaster. She may be ready in a year or two, but disaster does not coordinate its calendar with ours. Would we muddle through if Palin were to become president? Yes, we would, but it is worth asking whether we should have to."In a counterpoint essay, Karl Rove, the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President Bush and a Newsweek contributor, writes that, with respect, Meacham misses the principal arguments for Palin. "She is the governor of a state with an $11 billion operating budget, a $1.7 billion capital budget and nearly 29,000 employees; she's got more executive experience than any candidate for president or vice president this year. In Alaska she took on the state political establishment, the incumbent Republican governor and the oil companies. She's a rising star who accentuates McCain's maverick strengths and a 'hockey mom' who has developed a powerful tie to ordinary voters.""That link isn't itself an argument for Palin. But being able to connect with, and inspire, the public is an asset -- not a liability. As for Jon's argument against 'everyday Americans' as political leaders, many great presidents have been more average than elitist. Ronald Reagan, from Eureka College, was a far better leader than Woodrow Wilson, a former president of Princeton. Wilson would have given you 100 Supreme Court opinions he disagreed with, whether you wanted to listen or not," Rove writes. (Read cover story at www.Newsweek.com) Cover Story Rove essayPhoto: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081005/NYSU002 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN3PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Newsweek CONTACT: Jan Angilella of Newsweek, +1-212-445-5638Web site: http://www.newsweek.com/ House Passes Economic Stabilization BillWachovia's Board Approves Wells Fargo Merger ProposalLilly to Acquire ImClone Systems in $6.5 Billion TransactionTwo-Thirds of Struggling Homeowners Meet Key Criteria for Housing Bill Relief, According to Survey by CCCS of Greater Atlanta USA TODAY and MTV Survey Young People on Voting and Political IssuesParamount and DreamWorks Principals Finalize Separation, Outline Terms for Future Projects Together Ageing Populations Face Crisis of Rising BlindnessCrisis in Credit MarketsPresidential, Vice Presidential DebatesUK Government News Network Releases

Kudamemo Fruit-Shaped Sticky Notes.

Royal Sheikh Detained by UAE Over Torture Tape Allegations

ABC NewsA member of the royal family in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, has been "detained" in Abu Dhabi by authorities investigating a chilling videotape that shows him torturing an Afghan grain dealer, according to officials in Washington.UAE officials told American diplomats the Sheikh was put under "house arrest" this week and prevented from leaving the country as the UAE Ministry of Justice conducts a criminal investigation of the incidents on the videotape, the officials said.The 45-minute torture tape, first broadcast on ABC News Nightline two weeks ago, shows the Sheikh, the brother of the UAE crown prince, beating his victim with an electric cattle prod and a wooden plank with protruding nails. Men in police uniform are seen on the tape restraining the victim, who has sand shoved down his throat and is later repeatedly run over by a Mercedes Benz SUV driven by the Sheikh.After first insisting the case was closed and settled privately, UAE authorities reversed course. Officials told ABCNews.com that other individuals seen on the tape who worked for Sheikh Issa have also been detained in the investigation......

Laidback Pillows Rock!

Spring Home Makeover Anyone? It's a great time for any change and you know what's the easiest way to spice up your house and give it a bit of an urban hip flava? Pillows! Pillows! Pillows! For bold colors and prints try something new and funky, like these silk screened pillows from Laidback Home, a pop culture and hip hop inspired home decor brand created by Tina Shoulders. Her prints vary from a modern take on the still fashionable skull to vinyl records, with materials like denim and metal zippers which give it that rock and roll appeal. Laidback Home will be one of the brands showing at the BKLYN DESIGNS this weekend, New York’s hottest exhibition of designers and manufacturers of contemporary furnishings, lighting, and accessories made and/or designed in Brooklyn, all handpicked by a jury of editors from leading design and shelter magazines. I'm planning to be there reporting on the latest hottest home decor trends!

Jackson leaves estate to family

Jackson leaves estate to family Michael Jackson's will has been filed in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust.
The document, dated 7 July 2002, also reveals the star "intentionally omitted" to provide for his former wife, Debbie Rowe.
Jackson's mother, Katherine, is named as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of the singer's three young children, who are named in the will.
It estimated Jackson's estate at that time to be more than $500m (£303m).