US general upbeat on Iraq 'surge'
The US commander in Iraq is hopeful over the latest security push, as four US troops are killed in Baghdad.
Study: Patients who have lost ability to understand grammar can still do math
--BBC News Selling Sex in NC
Air Date: 03/16/2007
North Carolina based Adam & Eve has posted record growth in recent months. The seller of adult movies and sex aids is one of the largest employers in Orange County North Carolina. Leoneda Inge reports: more
Lenovo computers to use Microsoft search
Canada.com
BEIJING (AP) - Lenovo Group Ltd. became the first computer maker to agree to pre-load Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Live toolbar and make its search portal the main service on all new computers worldwide.
In Hawaii, awa makes a comeback
By Julia Steele
The elixir of Oceania is a favorite at Honolulu's Diamond Head Cove Health Bar. A bowlful and kukakuka. What could be more relaxing?
Rare treat from nature:Perfect snow doughnuts Expert says 'natural occurrence' only 2nd he's seen in 30 years
--Seattle Times 'Crater' spied under California
Oil exploration work in Central Valley region uncovers possible space impact
--BBC News
Family sees meteorite hit ground
'There were sparks coming out of the back. It was wild'
--York Region Newspaper Group, Canada
Gold, guns, defying gravity fuel aviators with adrenaline
Bush pilots in Congo dodge militia men, thieves, cannibals every day
--Glasgow Sunday Herald, Scotland
***addenda #1***
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-schwartz18mar18,0,7478180.story?track=ntothtml
Make college admissions a crapshoot
Top schools are already too selective, so why not draw names from a hat?By Barry SchwartzBarry Schwartz is a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. His most recent book is "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less."
March 18, 2007
SPRING IS HERE, and along with the crocuses comes the annual admissions panic. High school kids get anxiety attacks as they approach their mailboxes. And in some parts of the U.S., parents stress as they await a phone call from their preschool of choice. The high school kids have tortured themselves to build up stunning credentials and then communicate those credentials strategically in a college application. And the parents of toddlers have struggled to find a way to distinguish their 18-month-old from all the rest.
. . . .
***addenda #2*** http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/cl-bk-price18mar18,0,3190835.story?track=ntothtml
BOOK REVIEW
'Cultural Amnesia' by Clive James
The critic ponders the fate of western liberal humanism.By Matthew Price
March 18, 2007
Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories From History and the Arts
Clive James
W.W. Norton: 876 pp., $35
In "Cultural Amnesia," the prodigious critic Clive James succumbs to a mighty ambition: In 100-plus alphabetically arranged essays, he pays homage to the vast western humanist enterprise (writing, filmmaking, music, philosophy, theater), defending it from myriad enemies. I don't fault his intelligence or erudition: This Australian omnivore has read, traveled and thought more than perhaps any critic alive. An eclectic master of the high/low, he writes on German metaphysics as fluently as on TV sitcoms (he's a former TV critic and sometime broadcaster), swiveling from poetry to novels to history with authority and conviction.
