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(06/01/04 9:00am)
John Kerry reminds me of Abraham Lincoln. Before you choke on your B-Feld, understand that I'm talking about Lincoln the person, not Lincoln the legend. Several friends and pundits alike criticize Kerry for not being "likable" and "inspiring." Emerging from the primaries as a "vague" Democrat, Kerry is merely the anti-Bush. All Kerry has going for him, it seems, is his brilliance and strength of character. A walk down memory lane shows Lincoln possessed these virtues. Do we really need a popular, TV-friendly president? We're in serious times and a president with strength of character and intelligence is more compelling than, as one former congressman describes, a "frat boy."
(05/05/04 9:00am)
Years ago India and Pakistan declared themselves nuclear powers. At the time, Indian National Minister L.K. Advani warned Pakistan that one wrong move would result in a sub-continental Hiroshima. The hostile Indian stance, coupled with the aggressive Pakistani position, seemed like both countries would surely wage war for the first time in 17 years. There were some efforts at diplomacy -- in February 1999, both countries signed the "Lahore Declaration," a promise to end the conflict peacefully. But three months later, the Indian army patrol encountered fierce combat by Pakistanis in Kashmir. Things haven't looked rosy until now. On Nov. 26, 2003, both sides agreed to a general ceasefire. The countries have restarted the old Pakistan-India cricket matches, and they have resumed air and train links. This ceasefire, however, isn't your traditional one. It wasn't wrought by traditional means; rather, it was brought about by General Electric.
(04/19/04 9:00am)
Every so often a war arises. No, I don't mean a military conflict like Vietnam or Iraq but a business one. A business war is similar to a military one with fewer casualtiesthe winner becomes the (industry) leader for years to come. In years past we've had a host of business wars. Decades ago it was the big three automobile companies. In the 1980s, the cola companies were wrestling with each other. In the mid 1990s there were the browser wars: Microsoft's Internet Explorer versus Netscape Navigator. We all know who won. This time around it's the search wars. And in less than six months, the battle between Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft will be won. And if you write papers or "research" Paris Hilton, the result will likely affect you. Google ought to win because it represents a potent cocktail of market dominance, innovative solutions, and anti-Microsoft-ness.
(04/07/04 9:00am)
When did Diet Coke become a men's drink? When I was growing up, you didn't touch Diet Coke. It was a diet-conscious, weight-watching, Slim-Fast alternative. For us men, we drank the real thing: Coca-Cola Classic, thank you very much. Nowadays, everywhere I look, what once was a Coke can-stained ring on the kitchen coffee table is a Diet Coke can-stained ring. At Food Court, Coke's cue has dwindled, abetting Diet Coke consumption (unofficial study). Why oh why has the world turned topsy-turvy?
(02/24/04 11:00am)
On Feb. 17, Comcast launched a surprise bid to buy Walt Disney & Co., Magic Kingdom and all, for $54 billion. If successful, Comcast would become the largest media company, surpassing Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp (FoxTV, DirecTV) and General Electric's media conglomerate (NBC, Universal). Comcast is already the nation's largest cable provider. Comcast plus Disney equals ABC, ESPN, Disney's film studios combined with Comcast's Philadelphia 76ers, E! Entertainment, Golf Channel and Comcast's recent $29 billion purchase of AT&T's cable services. It would be a monumental deal -- monumentally wrong.
(02/17/04 11:00am)
Howard Dean's scream may well have been the beginning of the end for the candidate's candidacy. The vocal harangue helped prove two of his competitors' primary points: Dean is un-presidential, and Dean is not just a left-winged loony but a pied piper of hot air. I got a kick out of seeing Dean's infamous "I have a scream" speech 687 times. Talk about overplayed. But what you see isn't what you get. In an in-depth look at the speech, ABC News concluded that the room in which Howard was speaking was so loud that one could barely hear the speech. We often complain about the media controlling the discourse of the nation. Folks, if you knew all the facts about the "I have a scream" speech, you'd be surprised, perhaps even you may have even voted differently. Don't gulp down everything you see.
(02/05/04 11:00am)
Seems quiet around here with the primaries now over. But for the past 120 days, some of us have been making a lot of noise. It all started last summer. We felt that since Dartmouth is in New Hampshire, we ought to bring a presidential debate to campus. OK, maybe it's happened before, but we wanted the current student body to experience it. Initially started as a BuzzFlood venture, the project took on a life of its own. It was a roller coaster ride -- we went from having all the major Democratic presidential candidates on board to experiencing one of the greatest disappointments imaginable. Here's the story:
(11/14/03 11:00am)
I'm sick of the whining. The record companies are acting like how Fat Albert would if someone took away his plump, oozing Twinkie. These companies are crying about their "lost profits," because too many people are downloading mp3s for free. Did it ever occur to these "monster companies" that while their arguments are ideologically sound (e.g., protect the artist's rights, intellectual property), they are pragmatically stupid. Most people will download an mp3, for it's just a click a way, and besides, the monster companies don't need any more money. The monsters just can't stand it -- instead of screwing consumers, the consumers are screwing them. It's bigger and better than any class action lawsuit. Instead of hiring legions of lawyers and suing the consumers to inferno and beyond, these monsters should realize lawsuits aren't the solution. You have to make people want to buy mp3s. These companies were out-innovated by consumers, so instead of whining, dear monsters, innovate and provide the users a more compelling service.
(10/30/03 11:00am)
I'm standing at Thayer waiting to check blitz. This time the usually defunct blitz terminals are working. The keys are still greasy. I'm standing behind an '07, wearing one of those shirts that say his class year in size 1,032 font; the '07 continues to hack away. What gives? All I want to do is blitz a friend and spending seven minutes in line behind an '07 attempting to write a novel to his professor isn't my idea of common courtesy. I employ the rush tactics that I learned from my DOC trip leader freshman year: crowd the person and sigh la Al Gore. The '07 doesn't get the message and starts to open Internet Explorer, and then banner student, all this with now five people standing in line. I interrupt, "excuse me, do you think you could hurry up or at least not sign up for classes at Thayer?" He replied curtly, "it's a public computer; I can do whatever I want." Lovely. I guess you can't argue with the '07s. I'd like that student to take a crash course in Blitz Etiquette.
(10/17/03 9:00am)
Remember all that affirmative action fuss? Grutter v. Bollinger, Bakke, Supreme Court -- all frequently-used Google keywords a few months ago. Ever since the High Court made its decision, the affirmative action debate has vanished from the national spotlight only to reappear in the soporific Democratic primary. But with all this talk about democracy in Iraq, instilling freedom to a previously oppressed nation, dare we talk about affirmative action? Shi'ites will soon be in control of the nation; but should Sunnis, Kurds, Turks and Christians be given some sort of promised and guaranteed voice through an affirmative action program? We all know that free elections and freedom of speech are building blocks to democracy, but, in the case of Iraq, is affirmative action also part of the democratic equation?
(10/03/03 9:00am)
Dot com, dot gone. The internet was once the talk of the town, B2B this, and e-commerce that. It was a grand story -- millions of people learning new technologies, "making" money, but there wasn't a fairy tale ending: most left the internet bubble jobless and even hopeless. But for many more, the internet story has yet to be told for the very reason that there is nobody to tell it. Under-served rural and inner city communities are hungry for the internet and other communicative technologies, but with little incentive to offer broadband to unprofitable communities, broadband corporations have ignored the have-nots. Known as the "last mile" problem, connecting underserved communities is important to the economic growth of our country. Solving this problem with a dash of government help could be the long term spark to a revitalized, tech-propelled economy.
(08/20/03 9:00am)
Confused with the California recall? Yeah, things are pretty dicey, but more than that, ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger entered the California gubernatorial race, weird things have been happening. It's been raining more, the Red Sox are still in the race, Libya took full blame for the 1988 Lockerbee Pan-Am attacks, the lights went out (the blackout didn't affect Hanover, another example that we live "in da bubble"), someone even told me that they saw a Chi Gam smiling for once. This goes to show you that Arnold's decision to run is affecting more than your run-of-the-mill California Democrat. Arnold's decision got me thinking not only "how good a governor would he be?" but "who else should have run?" and "what would happen if they did?"
(08/14/03 9:00am)
What are the top three academic programs at Dartmouth? I had trouble answering the same question when a senior administrator posed it. "Kabir, have you seen the list?" he asked. "List? What List?" I said. "We don't publish a list because we don't want to isolate other departments." I don't see anything wrong with this position -- Dartmouth is known for being an egalitarian place. Instead of having an academic program ranked in the top three in the country, we prefer to have all our programs ranked in the top 50. This being the case, Dartmouth could still do an ounce more in celebrating its excellence. It could do more in rewarding and affirming those things that make this place so special. That's our ultimate story: excellence.
(07/21/03 9:00am)
What's the tallest mountain in the world?
(07/03/03 9:00am)
You will benefit. I can say that without knowing who you really are. In my last two columns, I've addressed why and how Dartmouth should go about building a potent brand. I've examined problems and suggested solutions. Today I'll explain a more powerful Dartmouth brand will benefit students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others. Voila, our benefits.
(06/23/03 9:00am)
It's the Seinfeld School of Business (SSB).
(05/23/03 9:00am)
HYP -- Harvard, Yale, Princeton. Like it or not, these three schools are generally considered the nation's top three schools, the most selective and elite. Dartmouth may be an Ivy League school, but some don't consider Dartmouth in the same league as HYP. In truth, Dartmouth beats the pants off these schools in some areas (quality of life and accessibility to professors come to mind). Yet, however much better Dartmouth is in its quality of academics, student body, or even athletics, Dartmouth will not be considered in the same sentence as HYP. Why? HYP are hyped. Dartmouth isn't. HYP are brand names that people use interchangeably with "smart" and "successful." Dartmouth has the credentials and possibility to supplant one of these three, but it has to fight the battle not in the classrooms or libraries, but in the world of imagery and branding.
(05/09/03 9:00am)
Sniff, sniff. Something stinks. America's skies are more polluted than Chi Gam's basement. Driving accounts for 30 percent of the total air pollution in America. Detroit, we have a problem. I wanted to see what the top carmaker in Detroit thought about the future of fuel-efficient cars, namely hybrid cars. Mr. Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of General Motors (the largest auto manufacturer and second largest company in America), was kind enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions about the future of cars.
(04/28/03 9:00am)
Before applying Dartmouth, if someone told you that your college essay, on which you had worked so diligently, would be the reason Dartmouth would deny you, would you revise your essay to preach to the Dartmouth admissions committee? Or would you submit your original, more honest essay, believing that success is not an acceptance letter but holding true to a core set of values?
(04/11/03 9:00am)
Do you like to laugh? I like to laugh. I think everyone likes to laugh. The problem is that the last few weeks I have not laughed much, and I suspect the whole world has not laughed much. The war in Iraq has made things more serious, more grave, more un-laugh-worthy. It does not help matters that I am addicted to war coverage.