My great-uncle NC Surya wrote often about the topic of ‘specific diseconomy’ — a measure of the degree to which systems are self-undermining. In his case, as a doctor, he was interested in the degree to which the medical system contributed to peo…
Read more "Specific Diseconomy of Nonprofits"President Obama carries in his pocket a figurine of the Hindu deity Hanuman – the embodiment of the divine strength that arises from humble, devoted service. Tonight, I adapted this page from the Neem Karoli Baba website to create a PDF of a word-…
Read more "The Hanuman Chalisa, word-by-word"Like most, I am strong, decent, kind man. Flawed, but good. And, like many, I have borne much in this life, but this – this, I can hardly bear. I am nauseous as I write. Actual footage from an American Army chopper outside Baghdad. The ill-informe…
Read more "Bearing witness to modern warfare"It was suggested to me by a friend, Rajeev Goyal of http://www.PushforPeaceCorps.org, that I reach out to former Senator and Peace Corps Associate Director under JFK and LBJ — the Honorable Harris Wofford. Before I did so, I wanted to read his book Indi…
Read more "Clare and Harris Wofford’s India Afire"This week, I have had much occasion to meditate on the Obama administration’s approach to openness in government. As a result, I have decided to put together a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for a wide range of Peace Corps records, whic…
Read more "Freedom of Information in American Government"What does it even mean? No world war? No nations warring each other? No nations preparing for war? No nations embroiled in civil war? No violent organized opposition to standing governments–guerrilla war, drug cartels, and separatist movements? N…
Read more "World Peace"This earlier post on media bias led me to think, perhaps it’s best to abandon objectivity altogether, and instead be totally, even painfully, subjective — but with self-awareness. Also, it reminded me that this blog is itself is a media outlet of…
Read more "What’s my bias?"I had an interesting conversation with a friend and freelance reporter for NPR last night. She will rename nameless here — interesting when a blogger has to protect the anonymity of a journalist source, isn’t it? In any case, she told me she felt…
Read more "Media bias in America including this blog"At least, it works as a piece of creative pop philosophy, along the lines of Nicholas Negroponte’s Being Digital. Both books stimulate thought while affirming the conviction and creativity of its author and offering some fresh insight into the nat…
Read more "Quick Review of You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier"With 2% of our population dead, and 10% homeless, the numbers would be 6 million and 30 million… This photo-essay in today’s Washington Post on this weekend of prayer vigils held across Haiti is beautiful and touching. Out of this unfathomable d…
Read more "Haiti’s Tragic Earthquake of 2010"
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