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Thursday, Aug 31, 2006
"Fostering Democracy"
fos·ter tr.v. fos·tered, fos·ter·ing, fos·ters
1. To bring up; nurture: bear and foster offspring. See Synonyms at nurture.
2. To promote the growth and development of; cultivate: detect and foster artistic talent. See Synonyms at advance.
3. To nurse; cherish: foster a secret hope.
American Heritage Dictionary
The San Jose Mercury News had an interesting contrast on the opinion page today. Victor Davis Hanson's piece, Push for democracy in the Middle East serves U.S. interests, and Bahia Amrani's Media are force for progress in Morocco provide wildly different views on how to help move countries in the direction of democracy.
1. To bring up; nurture: bear and foster offspring. See Synonyms at nurture.
2. To promote the growth and development of; cultivate: detect and foster artistic talent. See Synonyms at advance.
3. To nurse; cherish: foster a secret hope.
American Heritage Dictionary
Amrani, a journalist in Morocco, lauds "the efforts of ambitious independent media that consider themselves indispensable to the fabric of Moroccan civil society and a veritable agent of reform." She concludes with this thought:
Already, other Muslim countries in the Middle East and North African region are seeking to emulate Morocco's free press; if they succeed, reform and democratization are sure to follow.
Hanson spends the bulk of his piece on the profound proposition that "democracy ain't so bad after all", and concludes that we had absolutely no alternative to the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. He describes these military adventures as "fostering democracy." Well, his specialty is history, not vocabluary.
But if he considers invasion and occupation to be "fostering", I have to wonder about his views on other things. Would tossing a baby into a pool be "nuturing natation"? Would pumping raw sewage into his vineyard be "cherishing with nutrients"? Would napalming a village be "encouraging renewal"?
Hanson's views are the same as those of the childish bullies who lead this country: violence is the only solution. While Amrani has the more patient view of an adult: durable change requires intelligent action, persuasion and learning. She describes how to foster democracy, while Hanson reveals that he doesn't even understand the meaning of the phrase.
Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006
The Boat! The Boat!
The canoe arrived today, wrapped in layers of foam, cardboard and bubblewrap. It took about an hour to unwrap, and it survived the trip unmarked.
My god it's a big boat. I'm glad it's kevlar, or it would be a hundred pounds. I've joked about being able to carry an ice chest and a BBQ. Kayaks have less volume, and small little hatches, meaning they could carry a six-pack cooler and a hibachi. This baby could carry a fickin' smoker.
Initial launch: tomorrow evening at a local reservior.