On the 8 Spot

Conversely, restrictions on marijuana use should be eased. I think it’s good that we don’t have a “marijuana industry” with slick marketing campaigns and lobbyists on the Hill, but letting people “grow your own” in the basement and smoke it in your house would help undercut serious criminal enterprises and let people have some relatively harmless fun.

Matthew Yglesias » By Request: Your Crime Control Policy On Drugs.

Hmm proofreaders/copy editors ? Damn this is another example of an organization that really doesn’t care much for the web.

GREENPEACE SAYS

BNPP revival based on ‘faulty economics’

By Amy R. Remo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 21:28:00 02/02/2009

Filed Under: Nuclear power, Protest

WB country director Bert Hofman declined to comment directly on the decision of the House of Representatives to clear the Filipino contractors permanently debarred from bidding for bank-financed projects.

“We’re quite confident that due process has taken place,” Hofman said at the sidelines of the yearend assessment of the Kalahi poverty alleviation program, an initiative of the government and the World Bank.

The bank’s internal investigation concluded that the three firms and two Chinese firms engaged in collusive practices to rig the bid.

“In response to questions, I elaborate on the process of investigation and evaluation and the sanctions of the Board,” Hofman said.

Hofman defended their investigation as a “very long and very careful” process, designed by the World Bank staff.

The process was approved by the stakeholders of the World Bank, including the Philippines, Hofman pointed out.

Eduardo de Luna, owner of the E.C. De Luna Construction Corp. which was banned permanently by the World Bank, denied in the two congressional hearings that he colluded with other Filipino and Chinese companies in rigging the bidding for a $33-million road project.

On January 14, the World Bank released a statement, which said it had banned the Filipino and Chinese contractors “for engaging in collusive practices under a major WB-financed roads project in the Philippines.”

Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity vice president, said in the statement that this incident was “one of our most important and far-reaching cases, and it highlights the effectiveness of the World Bank’s investigative and sanctions process.”

“As the World Bank Group continues to ramp up its anti-corruption work, INT (Integrity Vice Presidency) will remain vigilant in investigating allegations and holding wrongdoers accountable,” McCarthy said.

According to the statement, the INT is “responsible for investigating allegations of fraud and corruption in Bank-financed operations.”

BNPP revival based on ‘faulty economics’ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

Excellent read

The Winner Stands Alone : My comments on the book by Paulo Coelho

by Paulo Coelho on January 23, 2009

FOLLOW MY DREAM – BUT WHICH ONE?

One of the recurrent themes of my books is the importance of paying the price of your dreams. But to what extent can our dreams be manipulated? For the past decades, we lived in a culture that privileged fame, money, power – and most of the people were led to believe that these were the real values that we should pursue.

We all should be a “winner”. Not in the sense of someone who finally wins what is important to his/her life. Not in the sense that happiness is the most valuable gift on Earth – and it can be attained here and now, when your work fulfills your heart. We should be a winner in the sense that the system portraits a successful person: celebrity, influence, photos in glossy magazines, behaving like the masters of the universe.

Yes, you may reach the goal society has fed you – but will you be satisfied? Will you be whole? Will you be in peace? This cycle of possession never ends – because the moment that you think that you have reached your goal another desire creeps in. And how can you find rest when it is the hunt that moves you?

The Winner Stands Alone : My comments on the book by Paulo Coelho at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

Wow, Some people do get it. Read the whole thing!

Why I’m Twittering From Davos Even Though I Run Reuters

David Schlesinger | January 30, 2009 1:25 PM

schlesinger.jpgDavid Schlesinger is the Editor in Chief of Reuters News. His Twitter from Davos alerted us to the fact that George Soros had predicted the end of the world. We asked David whether, by live-Twittering, he was concerned about scooping himself. Here, in a post on Reuters, David responds:

Twittering Away Standards…Or Tweeting The Future of Journalism?

I’ve been tweeting from the World Economic Forum, using the microblogging platform Twitter to discuss the mundane (describing crepuscular darkness of the Swiss Alps at 5 a.m.) or the interesting (live tweeting from presentations).

Is it journalism?

Is it dangerous?

Is it embarrassing that my tweets even beat the Reuters newswire?

Why I’m Twittering From Davos Even Though I Run Reuters.

Cool learning resource!

I’m Attending MIT, Stanford & Harvard

January 29th, 2009

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Well, sort of.

Thanks to Academic Earth, a friggin’ gift, you can follow (video) lectures given at universities like Stanford, MIT, Harvard & Yale on some of the most popular subjects. There once was a time when you couldn’t wait to get out of school, I suppose it makes sense to have a time where you’d do anything to learn new things.

Especially things you choose. And only those subjects you really like (did anyone say obligated French?).

The videos include all sort of subjects, such as Computer Science (/love), Mathematics, Engineering, … all explained by well-respected professors.

I’m Attending MIT, Stanford & Harvard ~ Mattias Geniar.