TODAY'S NERVOUS CHUCKLE [SPONSORED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE] Poppolitics.com brings us "The Ashcroft Follies," a musical that helps the average lover of musical theatre understand how a man brought so low by his Senatorial defeat in 2000 has risen so high on the wings of the terrorist threat. Remember: You can love law and order without loving John Ashcroft. Sure, you might go to jail for it, but...

IGNORING THE OBVIOUS WITH HIV/AIDS A new report issued by UNICEF needs to be a wake-up call for many countries, especially in Africa and Asia where the impact of AIDS continues to magnify beyond comprehension. The report, simply enough, declares that education is a proven key to stemming HIV/AIDS, citing declines in infection rates in Thailand and Uganda. The report shows that a majority of young people do not know how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. "The report stresses that young people are at the centre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: they are both the hardest hit by the disease and also the key to overcoming it. Yet despite this, strategies for responding to the epidemic generally disregard young people."

REDEFINING AFRICAN UNITY Next week, if all goes well, the African Union (AU) will become an important locus of leadership and change on the continent, replacing the largely inept Organization for African Unity (OAU). The AU already has made some positive steps in advance of next week's opening sessions in Durban, South Africa, including barring several countries from voting or participating because of significant debts owed to the OAU or voting irregularities. The next year will be a telling one, especially given the rising uncertainty and concern about political stability, HIV/AIDS and famine redeveloping, especially in the south.

BRACKNELL (UK) OR BUST This alternative guide to the town of Bracknell is almost enough of an enticement to pick up the phone and immediately book reservations direct to the United Kingdom for you and someone dear to you. It seems Bracknell could be a model for many small American towns seeking to develop a solid brand identity based on concrete, porridge and other beige-colored fixtures of yesteryear.

WHITHER EUROPE? This article in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Eurofocus newsletter takes a look at the strategic divergence between the United States and Europe. It is, in part, the result of Europe's regional focus (and emphasis on quiet diplomacy or humanitarian efforts outside of the region) standing in stark contrast to America's new and singular focus on "global threats" vis-a-vis terrorism. Toss in differences of opinion on defining things like "terrorism," "human rights" and "international court systems," and you've got a gap developing. Add a dash of the U.S. realizing that eager, reformed dictators in Malaysia are more useful to their end-game than the reluctant, philosophical Europeans, and... well, it becomes a bit of a crevasse.

THE EMPEROR'S CLOTHES I almost didn't link this excerpt from John Pilger's new book, "New Rulers of the World," because like so many people on both sides of the spectrum, Pilger pulls many unrelated strands together to form an almost-compelling argument. And some of his facts are out-of-date, imprecise or plain wrong. But his is the second side of a very important argument taking place behind the headlines: what is the nature of modern imperialism? Pilger sees it as a great danger, others as a solution, and still others as the natural state of global interactions, albeit a natural state that demands constant attention.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE David Ignatius hits a homerun this morning with his snapshot look at how change can best be effected -- and derailed -- in the Arab world. Three key points, all echoed in the July 4 issue of the Economist, he makes: there is nothing more dangerous than American good intentions; the projection of "hard" American power is likely to destroy more good will than it builds; and the avenues for productive "soft" power have never been more open. Ignatius is one of the more quiet, astute voices on what it really means to "fight the good fight."

SHOOT FIRST, APOLOGIZE LATER Accidental or just stupid? I'm not sure it matters to the 140+/- Afghans killed or injured earlier this week when an errant American bomb or gunship let loose on a wedding party. This is the third wedding party since December attacked by American forces, and the largest incidence of civilian casualties since U.S. troops hit the dirt last autumn.

SAVE THOSE LINKS Aaron Swartz is a hacker. And here he has created a fairly useful tool. Enter a URL into the space provided and click "Go." You'll almost immediately have the webpage in question converted into plain ASCII text with all the links posted as footnotes at the bottom. It's a great way to print articles that are chockful of hyperlinks without losing all the link references. Snaffy!ê

AND ON PIANO, GEORGE BUSH Oded Eran lays out a smart piece at bitterlemons.org on the conundrum created by President Bush's speech last week on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Eran says Bush sounded like "a piano concert in which it is not always clear how the music played by the left hand is related to that of the right hand," which is probably one of the nicer descriptions you can give a muddled vision that lacks in strategic or tactical solutions. Eran, who headed the Israeli negotiating team prior to Camp David, isn't all critique; he outlines some of the conditions that can help Bush's vision gel. And he provides a thoughtful perspective on the real challenges the speech creates.

BLOWING IN THE WIND I usually feel better about things when I read something from the MIT Technology Review, such as this article and collection of links on wind turbines and how advances in technology are making wind-generated electricity an inexpensive reality. Sometimes good things really do start small -- like the hand-powered radios now being delivered all across Africa to rural populations.

UNAIDS PROGRAMME Read the latest alarming report from UNAIDS about the Global HIV/AIDS epidemic, but then take a few moments at the site to explore some of the hugely positive projects this organization and others are tackling to defy the odds, save lives and help people live well with HIV.

GRIM NEWS Imagine 25% of the workers at your company not showing up, or 25% of the residents in your city vanishing. Imagine 25% of your nation's population gone in the blink of an eye. Now imagine that the 25% was the healthiest, most vibrant quarter of the population. Now stop imagining. In your lifetime, Africa will be decimated by AIDS. Moreso than it is today. If you think the 2.2 million people who died of AIDS in Africa last year was too many, the future looks very sad and bleak.

CHAMPIN' AT THE BYTES An interview with Heather Champ of harrumph.com and jezebel.com and The Mirror Project (links all available in the interview itself) about the ups-and-downs of creativity on the web, photo-blogging and other 'net forces. If you don't know, Heather Champ has a deft hand at using visuals online. Deft.

INCARCERATED JUSTICE Whether you think Jose Padilla is a street-thug who happens to be a convert to Islam, or an insane Islamist ready to destroy America, Marie Cocco asks one very cogent question in her Newsday column today: What makes Jose Padilla, who has committed no crime and is an American citizen, less worthy of basic legal rights (legal representation among them) than, say, Timothy McVeigh, who killed dozens and seriously injured hundreds of Americans?

TIME TO PACK THE BAGS Seven U.S. cities have passed resolutions that, in varying degrees, question the USA Patriot Act. And whether you worry about your basic civil rights, have concerns about the laws in the Act being misinterpreted or implemented inappropriately, or just think that any Act that implies patriotism can be mandated or should be enforced, you should at the least be pleased that people continue to question some of the rushed decisions made by our government after September 11.

THE SMARTEST THING I'VE READ TODAY An interview with ethnobotanist Wade Davis just explodes with beautiful sense. "It's really the sum total of all the thoughts, beliefs, myths, and institutions brought into being by the human imagination. It is humanity's greatest legacy, embodying everything we have produced as a curious and amazingly adaptive species." And:

"When asked the meaning of being human, all the diverse cultures of the world respond with 10,000 different voices. Distinct cultures represent unique visions of life itself, morally inspired and inherently right. And those different voices become part of the overall repertoire of humanity for coping with challenges confronting us in the future. As we drift toward a blandly amorphous, generic world, as cultures disappear and life becomes more uniform, we as a people and a species, and Earth itself, will be deeply impoverished. "

TOOT. HORN. The Guardian in the UK is one of my regular stops on my daily webrounds, and wasn't I shocked this afternoon to see Buttermilk & Molasses listed on their list of non-UK weblogs that they've liked and enjoyed. Of course, the sudden spike in unique visitors means that I need to get off my rear and finish updating the Caffeine section, patching some soggy links and the like.

IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW JUST HOW CONSERVATIVE HE WAS Attorney General John Ashcroft takes a few steps to the right. Hopefully, each step brings him closer to the precipice. The threat to your civil liberties aside, take a gander at Ashcroft's recent track record on the death penalty. "Since taking office early last year, Ashcroft has reversed the recommendations of federal prosecutors 12 times, ordering them to seek the death penalty in cases where they had recommended against doing so, according to statistics compiled by the federal capital defense bar." This at a time when some states and courts are beginning to reconsider aspects of the death penalty, and when huge racial inqequities in sentencing are readily apparent.

SLEEP ON IT This review of Paul Martin's analysis and homage to sleep ("Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams") covers plenty of ground without, well, putting you out. It sums up quite nicely why we sleep, how we sleep and reasons we're all the better for it (the sleep, that is).

AND NOW THE GOOD NEWS Media analyst Howard Kurtz tackles the corrosion of public trust in today's down-to-earth survey of current events and media coverage. Kurtz wades through the litany of professions who have shattered public confidence: business leaders, accountants, Wall Street brokers, religious leaders, historians and atheletes... "In fact, the corrosion of public trust may turn out to be the greatest casualty of the early 21st century. Other than that, have a nice day." He then goes on to bring us up-to-speed with Al Gore's re-emergence (the first Presidential loser since two-time stumbler Adlai Stevenson set to reclaim the crown) and with George Bush's newfound strategic drive, replete with the risks that strategy and drive bring with them.

VISIT FOR THE VIEW harrumph.com still draws me in for a daily peek, usually of one or two images on the main page, and a link or two at the bottom. Minimalism at its best; I could probably learn a thing or two about that.

WORLD CUP'S BEST (AND WORST) Peter Maass pointed me toward the Guardian's World Cup wrap-up, which queried a handful of football writers on highlights from this year's competition. Amy Lawrence's description of her post Brazil-Turkey busride is priceless, but points go to John Carlin's best moment, which was when Spain's Ivan Helguera tried to take out a referee for a truly bad call: "The impulse to beat the crap out of the referee, guilty together with his Trinidadian linesman of the fiasco of the tournament, revealed Helguera as a man of flawless moral instincts."

PREPARING FOR HUSSEIN The Bush Administration has never made a secret of its ongoing efforts to replicate or replace its state-of-the-art air support center in Saudi Arabia, especially since the Saudis might pull the plug on the base if American troops roll into Iraq. This Guardian piece looks at the expansion of an air base in Qatar, which combined with bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, creates quite the little hub of U.S. military muscle.

TRACTOR LOVE No, this isn't a link to the John Deere Boys of Summer Calendar, but rather to another of Jeanne Marie Laskas' weekly Post Magazine pieces in which she combines well-phrased, clever writing with spare, poignant insight. My new favorite columnist, now that Joel Achenbach's taken his odd self on sabbatical.