Wednesday, February 23, 2005



How did the great rivers and seas gain dominion over the hundred lesser streams? By being lower than they.
- Lao Tzu
Just as professionals built the Titanic and amateurs built Noah's Ark, it seems amateurs are crossing the Digital Cold Rivers ... Welcome Mat on the Morava River

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Snow Castle: Bush, Putin in Blava
Children look at a snow sculpture of the Bratislava castle with flags and portraits of Russian president Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President George W. Bush are displayed in Bolesov village, about 140 kilometres north of Bratislava, Slovakia, on Monday Feb. 21, 2005

For a pretty small country, it's a pretty big deal.
This week's summit in Bratislava between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin will showcase Slovakia, which shook off Soviet-era communism and has become a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Slovaks hope hosting the leaders will raise the profile of their tiny nation, which Bush once famously confused with Slovenia during the 2000 American presidential campaign.


Bush seeks to begin a thaw in a Europe still cool to him [Best of Google on Bratislava Talks ; Czechs hope U.S. leader will press Russia on democracy ]
• · Slovak success story holds lessons for Bush ; The intrepid Russian spy, saving the Motherland if not the world, has come in from the cold In Russia, a Pop Culture Coup for the KGB ; Google on Summit
• · · Putin said the road to democracy must be adapted to the realities of Russian life, traditions, and history Russia Will Pursue Democracy On Its Own ; Three security rings will be formed in the Slovakian capital during the Russian-US presidential summit Google: on Security & Biological Weapons
• · · · Opponents of Communism Seek Prohibition of Party and its Symbols The Big Ban; Whatever you do, do not think of an elephant. I’ve never found a student who is able to do this. Every word, like elephant, evokes a frame, which can be an image or other kinds of knowledge: Elephants are large, have floppy ears and a trunk, are associated with circuses, and so on. The word is defined relative to that frame. When we negate a frame, we evoke the frame Don't think of a dragon
• · · · · Those watching from the sidelines as the reputation of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross further implodes over his housing scandal have the right to be very confused - Everyone loves a political scandal ; If this be the case (and I'm not sure that it is) for a Christian, is the basic issue whether it is more moral to kill or be killed, with numbers have nothing to do with it. And is it reasonable to raise the question of whether it is only an assumption that it is necessarily better staying alive, at any cost. From here the moral debate spirals. For me, the clear message from Christ is that dogma itself is the trap, and that the golden rule is that 'as you judge so shall you be judged' And boy, can I judge: It pays to be prudent on morality in world politics
• · · · · · A decade after the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Force: Bloodied room cleaned by police ; Businesses had a legal responsibility to provide enhanced security at workplaces to thwart terrorist attacks Terrorist targets warned on duty of care