The Grass-Eater

This stuff is always cool.

The big event occurs at about 2:07.

Bindi's tribute to Steve Irwin | The Daily Telegraph

Bindi's tribute to Steve Irwin | The Daily Telegraph

Archived Webcast Available Sept 21. // News & Events // Notre Dame Forum // University of Notre Dame

Archived Webcast Available Sept 21. // News & Events // Notre Dame Forum // University of Notre Dame

Jeffrey Sachs at Notre Dame Forum 2006

Thursday I attended the Notre Dame Forum at the Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame, near where I live. The theme was The Global Health Crisis: Forging Solutions, Effecting Change. An interesting title, I thought, noting the use of the word "Effecting" vs. "Affecting."

Among the speakers was a hero of mine, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard. Sachs is the most famous economist around, and is known for working with the likes of Bono (most famously), Angelina Jolie, and Madonna -- who, after reading his book The End of Poverty, called him up to ask what she could do, and just announced her plans to travel to Malawi to raise $3-million for orphans there. (Mail & Guardian Africa 2006-09-07)

Other speakers were Dr. Paul Farmer, a medical anthropologist whose work is centered in Haiti, and Dr. Miriam Opwonya, an AIDS researcher from Kampala, Uganda.

Sachs gives his talk entitled "Practical Approaches to Extreme Poverty in Africa"

I have always admired Dr. Sachs for his vision, his strong foundation in the numbers, and holistic approach to economic repair -- "clinical economics," he calls it in his groundbreaking book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. What I saw at the forum on Thursday was all of this and then some: A passionate, eloquent speaker, with a great sense of humor but also a distinct underlying air of anger, which Bono highlights in his introduction to the book:

He's not just animated; he's angry. Because he knows that a lot of the crisis in the developing world can be avoided. Staring at people queuing up to die three to a bed, two on top and one underneath, in a hospital just outside of Lilongwe, Malawi, and knowing this doesn't have to be is too much for most of us. I am crushed. He is creative. He's an economist who can bring to life statistics that were, after all, lives in the first places. He can look up from the numbers and see faces through the spreadsheets, families like his own that stick together on treks to the far ends of the world. He helps us make sense of what senseless reallly means: fifteen thousand Africans dying each aned every day of preventable, treatable diseeases -- Aids, malaria, TB -- for lack of drugs that we take for granted.

This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea that many of us hold on to very tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern, and questions our commitment to that whole concept. Because if we're honest, there's no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives -- African lives -- Are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It's an uncomfortable truth.

In her forum introduction, moderator Gwen Ifill quoted the latter paragraph. The other panelists, particularly Dr. Farmer, continued to sing his praises throughout the discussions.

Professor Sachs began his talk by addressing the students in a manner one might imagine he addresses his own students at Harvard. He had good news and bad news for them. The good news was that these problems to be discussed today had practical solutions. The bad news, he said, "is that it's your homework." This he said with a sense of urgency, as if this would be the most important assignment these students would ever undertake.

He then showed us a photo of two children lying next to each other in malaria coma in Zambia. He called this an "unforgivable, unforgettable" scene, because malaria costs $2.86 to treat -- even less for a pediatric dose. He multiplied that by the amount of children who were contracting the disease, and then taking into account the massive amounts the U.S. is spending on the Military right now, and figured that it would cost just one day's worth of U.S. military expenses to get malaria under control. "Don't let anybody ever tell you we can't afford this," he said to thunderous applause.

He talked about his work with Millenium Villages, and laid out all of the practical steps to the economic transformation of a village in one year:

1. Grow more food
2. Control malaria
3. Ensure access to clean drinking water
4. Make sure all of the children get to go to school. A surefire technique, he said, was to "promise lunch, and they'll come." This solution harkens back to step #1

The panelists answer questions asked by recent Notre Dame grads and a few current students.

He ended his talk by stating what an inspiration it was to be here at this "great university," and that Fr. Hessburg had been a lifetime hero of his. He then said, "The world today is very dangerous. The only way out is peace, and development is peace."

Throughout the Q&A session, Sachs would throw out various numbers and calculations to illustrate his points. "Math is my only specialty," he'd joke. But this is where his credibility lies. Numbers don't lie, my friends. That's why mathmaticians are the most honest people you'll ever meet. His book is jam-packed with graphs (most of which I just scratch my head at), and some are even in color. At one point the moderator asked the panelists about what they'd like to see the world be like in 2025. "They're not my wildest dreams," he replied. "they're my most practical calculations."

"Corruption," he said when asked of its challenges. "Is often the face of extreme poverty." The other two panelists agreed, with Dr. Farmer highlighting success with his program in Haiti "despite corruption and support for bad foreign policy." He pointed to Rotary's efforts to eradicate Polio, which has been reduced a thousand fold. "If Africa is so corrupted," he asked. "How did smallpox get eradicated when it required government functions to do it?"

Jeffrey Sachs and some drooling fan.

After the forum had ended, Dr. Sach's rockstar status became apparent as a crowd of students descended upon him for autographs and photos. "These guys are the real rock stars," a student commented to me. And if you had been there and seen me you'd think I didn't know the difference. I started out good, playin' it cool. I barely got past introducing myself and shaking his hand before I blurted "WILLYOULIKESIGNMY LIKEBOOKFORMEPLEASE??" And it was pretty much all downhill from there. In the photo I got with him I basically look drunk.

My companion Jarett, however, is tres cooler than I, and also smarter. He went right up to Sachs and started asking him a well-formed question to which he got an interesting answer. I am going to ask him to make a guest entry here, detailing the exchange.

So stay tuned. In the meantime, you can view my photos of the event on flickr.

Two Notable Headlines from Playfuls.com

Keane's Tour Break Continues

After initially postponing their North American tour last month, the British band announced that they decided to cancel it as a result to Chaplin’s slow rehabilitation.

After postponing their American tour last month, due to Tom Chaplin’s addiction, the band’s American fans were asked for even more understanding as the 27-year-old singer is in need of more time before he gets back on stage. His band mates are doing the best they can giving him all the support he needs at the moment.

....


"We'll be keeping in close touch with Tom and his doctors about how he's progressing and we'll keep you posted."

....

"I feel desperately disappointed to be letting down our fans, but I want to get myself right now so that I can be back on the road for the rest of the year," Chaplin said.

The three-member group released their debut album “Hopes and Fears” in 2004 and turned out to be a huge success, the songs play along the lines of melancholia, imploring change and lamenting stagnancy in equal measures just as the title suggests. Their second album, “Under the Iron Sea”, entered the British album charts at No. 1 when it was released in June.

Full article at Playfuls.com


2nd X-Files Movie Update from D-Squared

Actor David Duchovny said in New York he would like to star in another film based on his Fox TV sci-fi/mystery TV series, "The X-Files."

Created by Chris Carter and co-starring Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, the show originally ran from 1993 through 2002 and spawned a 1998 film version, called "The X-Files."

Asked if a sequel is in the works, Duchovny said, "It's always on the horizon."

"I'm still very much in touch with Chris Carter, Gillian. Both Gillian and I are positive about it. It's not like we're running from it," he said. "There are some legal things that need to be resolved over at Fox."

Although no script has been written yet for a sequel, "There is an idea," Duchovny said.

The star of the new big-screen comedy, "Trust the Man," denied, however, reports he is planning to take over the role of Bruce Banner from actor Eric Bana in an upcoming sequel to the 2003 film, "Hulk."

"No," Duchovny said. "I don't know where that came from."

Full article at Playfuls.com


Some relevant bits from my endless plethora of useless knowledge: September 10th marked the 13th anniversary of The X-Files' pilot's first airing in 1993. The number 13 was a favorite number of Writer/Producer Chris Carter's as his birthday (and Mulder's) fell on the 13th of October. "1013" was a number he commonly used for random purposes (clocks, phone numbers) on the show, and is also the name of his production company (Ten Thirteen Productions).

Steve Irwin Dies at age 44

At 11am today, possibly the greatest conservationist of this generation, Steve Irwin, died of a stingray strike to the chest and subsequent heart attack -- I can't believe I'm writing this -- while filming a documentary off the shores of New Zealand. Details: Google News

Having been a huge fan, I'm too shocked for words. I'll try later.