Random

• HISTORIC -- Ted Kennedy's Senate seat goes to a Republican! When people are unhappy with the direction of things they'll make changes. It's just the way the system works. If things are rough when the Republicans are in office we vote them out. If things are rough when Democrats are in office we vote them out. It's not necessarily a mandate regarding a particular policy -- more so an expression of frustration -- frustration over the economy, the war, and the health care jostling.

• BILL GATES started tweeting today -- and he already has about 110,000 followers. ~ @BillGates

• MAF is quietly behind the scenes providing logistics, coordination, and communication which keeps a lot of the aid flowing in the air and on the ground in Haiti. ~ link

• SHIPPING containers as emergency housing in Haiti ~ link

• WHY does Haiti remain poor? --

Third, it is time to put the thorny issue of culture at the center of efforts to tackle global poverty. Why is Haiti so poor? Well, it has a history of oppression, slavery and colonialism. But so does Barbados, and Barbados is doing pretty well. Haiti has endured ruthless dictators, corruption and foreign invasions. But so has the Dominican Republic, and the D.R. is in much better shape. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island and the same basic environment, yet the border between the two societies offers one of the starkest contrasts on earth — with trees and progress on one side, and deforestation and poverty and early death on the other. ~ David Brooks in "The Underlying Tragedy"

• "Goodbye I, Hello We: The Decade of Interdependence" -- we can hope so. ~ link

• CHRISTIAN beach music? ~ link