Supermen to overpower the Super-Empowered

■"Arab Superheroes Leap Pyramids in a Single Bound," by Daniel Williams, Washington Post, 16 February 2005, p. C1.

Fascinating article on rise of AK Comics in Egypt. An interesting tale of globalization, with cross-cultural fertilization galore. Not the clash of civilizations, but their merging.

In countries where the real social issues canít be addressed directly in the media and arts, stuff like comics and science fiction can be huge (like both were in the Soviet Union) because itís the ìsafeî way of exploring todayís issues in alternative universes, plus these media naturally appeal to the youngóthe hearts to be won.

Modeled behavior is everythingóin governance, in parenting, in shrinking the Gap.

You know, when I taught my class at the college on ìThinking Systematically About Alternative Global Futures,î the whole point of the in-class training was to get the students to the point where they really didnít need me, because they could see the news and read it with an eye to placing it naturally within larger contexts.

By the time I got to my email Wednesday night, a slew of readers had sent me this article, and most were the longest-reading ones (I can tell, because of the older email address they use for me). I really love it when I see that, because it means Iíve got to get smarter if I want to stay ahead of my own audience!