Comprehensive Educational Platform

The Poetry of the Taliban

May 12th, 2012

The Poetry of the Taliban, edited by Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn and due out in July is already garnering a lot of discussion both positive and negative.

Richard Kemp, a former commander of British troops in Afghanistan criticized the book in The Guardian, cautioning readers against being taken in by a lot of self-justifying propaganda.

However, Michael Dwyer, managing director of Hurst Co., the British publisher of The Poetry of the Taliban, views the book as an important part of their list of books focusing on Afghanistan: All these books, including Poetry of the Taliban, contribute to our knowledge of Afghanistan and the vicissitudes endured by its people in recent decades.”

In the New York Times blog At War, C. J. Chivers argues that the book Reading The Poetry of the Taliban as a way of better understanding the Taliban and Afghanistan:

Whatever the current controversy, “Poetry of the Taliban” serves as a martial and social artifact from a broken land. Its p

Read more…

Tags: Taliban

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Prediction That More Colleges Will Close

March 17th, 2012

THE HIGHER EDUCATION MONOPOLY IS CRUMBLING

Kevin Carey writes in The New Republic: The historic stability of higher education is remarkable. As former University of California President Clark Kerr once observed, the 85 human institutions that have survived in recognizable form for the last 500 years include the Catholic Church, a few Swiss cantons, the Parliaments of Iceland and the Isle of Man, and about 70 universities. The occasional small liberal arts school goes under, and many public universities are suffering budget cuts, but as a rule, colleges are forever. I think that rule is going to change, and soon.

From Carnegie Foundation

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Mavericks Jump to No. 14 in NCBWA Poll

March 10th, 2012

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Minnesota State is now the 14th-ranked team in the nation according to the latest National College Baseball Writers Association Top-25 Poll which was announced Wednesday morning.

The Mavericks wrapped up their trip to Florida over spring break with a 10-3 victory over Saginaw Valley State.  During the trip, MSU compiled a 4-2 record as the team now has a 9-3 overall record this season.

As a team, the Mavericks rank 40th in the nation in batting average (.311), 35th with 2.08 doubles per game, 11th with 0.5 triples per game and first with a .986 fielding percentage.  Individually, freshman Nolan Johnson ranks first in the nation with a .667 batting average and is third with a .645 on-base percentage.  Senior right-handed pitcher, Harvey Martin, is 12th in the nation with four wins as he currently owns a 4-0 record with a 1.96 earned run average.

Tampa remains the top-ranked team in the poll with ten first-place votes accumulating 346 total points.  Joining MSU from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the top-25 poll is No. 3 S Read more…

Tags: 14 Ncbwa, Poll

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New Book Tuesday (Wednesday Edition): Theos Bernard, the White Lama

March 8th, 2012

A day late but heres our weekly list of books now available:

Theos Bernard, the White Lama: Tibet, Yoga, and American Religious Life Paul G. Hackett

Zong-qi Cai and Jie Cui

Screen Dynamics: Mapping the Borders of Cinema Edited by Gertrud Koch, Volker Pantenburg, and Simon Rothöhler

J. Hillis Miller

Border Politics: The Limits of Sovereign Power (Now available in paper) Nick Vaughan-Williams

Anna Barton

Risky Region: Memoirs of a Hungarian Righteous Gentile Eugene de Thassy

Tags: Lama, Theos Bernard, White Lama

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Can Obama Control College Costs ?

February 18th, 2012

CAN OBAMA REALLY LOWER THE COST OF COLLEGE?

Andrew Rotherham writes in Time Magazine: Let’s cut right to the chase — I have about the same chance of being picked up by the Boston Red Sox as a utility player as President Obama does of having his proposals to control college costs get through Congress this year. But looking at what the President proposed on Friday through the lens of short-term Capitol Hill feasibility misses the significance of what Obama is up to. Source: Carnegie Foundation

Tags: College, College Costs

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Mavericks No. 16 in Latest NCBWA Poll

February 14th, 2012

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Minnesota State was ranked No. 16 in the first National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II regular-season poll of the 2012 season Tuesday afternoon.

The Mavericks, yet to play a game this season, are joined in the top 25 by one fellow member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as St. Cloud State is ranked fifth after jumping out to a 4-0 start to the season.  Winona State is the only other NSIC school mentioned in the poll accumulating 25 points but falling short of a place in the top 25.

Tampa sits atop the poll with nine first-place votes while accumulating 361 points.  Preseason No. 1 Francis Marion fell out of the top-25 poll after a 4-2 start to the season.

MSU begins action Thursday when it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., to face Minot State in a doubleheader at the Metrodome.  First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.

NCBWA 2012 Division II Top-25 Poll

Rank School (First-Place Votes W-L Points Previous 1 Tampa (9) 6-0 361 T-6 2 Central Missouri (4) 0-0 352 3 3 Grand Valley State 0-0 322 4 4 UNC Pembroke (2) 8-0 320 17 5 St. Cl Read more…

Tags: Latest Ncbwa, Poll

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