Random

• As the cold and snowy weather continues to batter the US mainland I am reminded again of how fortunate we are to live on tropical Guam. Sure we've always got one eye on the weather map and we have to deal with some pretty quirky infrastructure and territorial governance but the positives far outweigh the negatives -- especially at this time of the year.

• The Japanese government is annoyed with the Australian government for releasing pictures of Japanese whalers killing a mother minke whale and its calf. The Japanese recognize the power of such images. -- Link

• It's getting more and more difficult for foreign students to attend American universities. So prestigious American universities are setting up branch campuses in foreign countries. -- NY Times Link

PIBC probably needs to look at establishing a branch in Qatar. :-)

• Pimp-Gate: Are the Clintons so out of touch with the American mainstream that they actually believe that to "pimp" something always has sexual connotations? In contemporary American vernacular it's not necessarily even a derogatory or negative thing -- e.g. "pimp my ride" -- regardless of the history of the word. David Shuster didn't really say anything inaccurate -- maybe off-the-wall but not untrue or insulting. Chelsea Clinton IS being paraded -- but so are all the other politicians and their families -- putting their best faces forward -- selling images -- pimping.