Slowly destroying our ideals from within. Over at the New Yorker, Jane Mayer has written what amounts to a must-read report on how the U.S. executive branch has come to condone cruelty and torture in its ongoing fight against terrorism. Alberto Mora, the recently-retired general counsel to the U.S. Navy, plays a large role in… Continue reading Slowly destroying our ideals from within

9 tips for running more productive meetings. I very much enjoyed Ethan’s recent post about avoiding “vampire meetings” and thought I’d share a few of my own tips for getting the most out of your meetings — primarily from the perspective of being the organizer and facilitator. For the love of God, please respect your… Continue reading 9 tips for running more productive meetings

Free online ebook on entrepreneurship. Author Bruce Judson has taken his book on starting your own business, Go It Alone to the WWW. And it's free. From the intro: Today, the conventional wisdom about how to start a substantial business is just plain wrong. Now, you don’t need to raise a lot of money first,… Continue reading Free online ebook on entrepreneurship

American Cohen Leads After Short Program. Sasha Cohen, the U.S. champion, dazzled the judges with a sassy, sensational program Tuesday night and slipped past world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia by a slim .03 points. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. [NYT > Home Page]

Bush Threatens to Veto Any Bill to Stop Port Takeover. The president rejected calls to block a state-owned company from Dubai from assuming control of six American ports. By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC LIPTON. [NYT > Home Page]

I'd love to see Bob Costas strap in and give snowboardcross a go!. Being a complete news whore, I read about Lindsey Jacobellis's last-minute loss of the snowboardcross gold medal hours before I actually saw NBC's coverage of it. Watching the event, though, I'm not entirely convinced that she was outright showboating — but I… Continue reading I'd love to see Bob Costas strap in and give snowboardcross a go!

Incredible audacity and success. Marketing guru Seth Godin says, You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice. There are a lot of examples that come to mind, but Hugh McLeod is an outstanding example of someone who knows the marketing game so well that he can fearlessly break the rules when it suits his purpose.… Continue reading Incredible audacity and success

Taking responsibility. The problem with accepting responsibility, though, is that you can be too glib about it. A lot of responsibility taking in today's newspaper for example, “It was not Harry's fault,” Cheney said Wednesday on Fox News. “You can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend.” “I… Continue reading Taking responsibility

The Reason. The reason they teach biology before they teach chemistry in high school is that biology was invented first. Even though you need chemistry to do biology, but not vice versa. The reason that you have a water bubbler in your office is that it used to be difficult to filter water effectively. The… Continue reading The Reason

Senate Chairman Splits With Bush on Spy Program. Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas wants the domestic spying program brought under the authority of a special intelligence court. By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG. [NYT > Home Page]