Saybie & Others

A friend’s post on Facebook led me to research an issue that would never have occurred to me: Would the world be more peaceful if more women were in power? A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research by
Oeindrila Dube and S.P. Harish examines the issue through historical context. I did not read the entire paper, which is long, geared toward scholars and chock full of minutiae. Here are highlights I spotted while browsing, edited by yours truly: The sample covers 193 reigns in 18 polities, with queens ruling in 18% of them. Those ruled by queens were 27% more likely to participate in inter-state conflicts compared to those ruled by kings. Among unmarried monarchs, queens were attacked more than kings. Among married monarchs, queens participated as attackers more than kings, and were also more likely to fight alongside allies. Fascinating. Kudos.

A Seattle brewery came under fire for products that had a unique marketing angle — beer geared to the notorious Crips and Bloods gang. The campaign was scrapped. The world never gets dull.

Saybie, nicknamed by nurses, is home. Born in December at a San Diego hospital at just 23 weeks gestation and at just 8.6 ounces, she is the smallest baby ever to have survived. At birth she would have fit in the palm of an adult’s hand. She is now five pounds. Doctors decided on the early delivery to save the life of the mother, believing the child would die. She defied the odds. Welcome to the great adventure, little one. Live long and prosper.

My thanks to the gentleman and lady who each purchased a book in Russian, and to Michael, who bought two romance novels by Joanna Lindsey; and to the guy who selected Yiddish Wisdom: Humor and Heart from the Old Country; and to actor-singer JVS Socks, who went home with a copy of Inside Out.

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