No room for great-grandma

Here is a timely article for All Saints Day.   While this article is American (and also talks about the UK and Hong Kong), on the news yesterday I noticed that Bratislava is having trouble as well and that there are discussions afoot about how to expand the Ruzinov cemetary.  Surely expansion cannot go on indefinitely however.  What do you think about the solutions that others have found?

Are you man too much?

Is a desire for toughness natural in men, or is it, as this writer argues, promoted and exploited?  Do you agree with his analysis, or do you think he portrays the desire for toughness in too negative a light?  What do you think about the solutions he proposes?

Diplomatic invulnerability

Is the delimma of security versus accessability and discretion a solvable one?  How well, in your opinion, does the US embassy in Bratislava balance these concerns?  What about other embassies here?  Should embassies be inviolable by their host countries, or can exceptions be made in certain circumstances?

Ah those beautiful windmills

How important is scenery and landscape in our lives and how can it best be preserved?  Should it be regulated, as city-scapes are?  If so, how?  In modern times, when landscapes are changing so rapidly, is the writer′s idea of preserving landscapes through the visual arts a good one?  If wind-turbines destroy the view of landscapes, do their costs outweigh their benefits?  Should Slovakia go the way of our western neighbor and build more of them?

Running in the mud

What do you think of the controversial decision of New York to hold its marathon on the scheduled date despite the circumstances?  Will this help or hurt the image of the city for its citizens?  What about for those outside the city?  Do this writer′s arguments hold water for you?  Is there something she is missing?  (Since the writing of this article, the marathon has been called off.  Good choice?)

The Liberal Arts as an anti-terrorism weapon

This is the last entry you can comment on for the month of November.

Why do you think religious fanatics also tend to be well-educated?   Is the author′s explanation a good one?  Can a liberal arts education, rather than a specialized one, help to increase creative and critical thinking and even better prepare students for being flexible on the job market?  Has the choice between a liberal arts education, such as those in US Universities, and a more specialized one, as is often the case in Slovakia or the UK, played a role in where you have decided you want to go next?