The Recession's Racial Divide

Seeded on Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:57 AM EDT (The New York Times)

What do you get when you combine the worst economic downturn since the Depression with the first black president? A surge of white racial resentment, loosely disguised as a populist revolt... Despite the sense of white grievance, though, blacks are the ones who are taking the br …

race, obama, us-news, recession, subprime-mortgages, financial-crisis

States Most Likely to Win Under Heathcare Overhaul Are Its Biggest Foes

Seeded on Wed Sep 2, 2009 11:34 AM EDT (The L.A. Times)

Wyoming, with an economy marked by farming, ranching and small businesses, has a disproportionate number of people without medical insurance. And by that measure and others, its people are among the likely winners if Congress approves a healthcare overhaul.

politics, republicans, healthcare-reform

Why the Imp in Your Brain Gets Out

Seeded on Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:46 PM EDT (The New York Times)

The visions seem to swirl up from the brain's sewage system at the worst possible times — during a job interview, a meeting with the boss, an apprehensive first date, an important dinner party.

science, psychology, behavior, impulse

A Silver Lining to the Gloom of the Recession?

Sun Jul 5, 2009 3:24 PM EDT

Continue reading this entry ...

Easing a College Financial Aid Headache

Seeded on Wed Jun 24, 2009 5:51 PM EDT (The New York Times)

The Obama administration is moving to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa, a notoriously complicated form that asks students seeking financial aid for college as many as 153 questions. "The Fafsa improvements will reduce the burden on the 16 million …

college, education, financial-aid, fafsa, arne-duncan

Acer to Launch Google Android Notebook

Seeded on Wed Jun 3, 2009 12:21 AM EDT (FT.com)

Acer, the world's third biggest PC maker, on Tuesday said it would start producing the world's first mainstream notebook computer using Google's Android operating system before the end of September.

google, technology, microsoft, acer, android, netbooks

Will Obama's Hard Stance Force Major Change in Israel?

Seeded on Wed Jun 3, 2009 12:09 AM EDT (Guardian Unlimited)

Israeli alarm is growing over Barack Obama's perceived tilt away from the Jewish state and towards its historic Arab foes. Whether this shift is merely tactical, and related to the peace process,or of longer-term strategic significance, is actively debated.

egypt, israel, obama, world-news, israel-palestine-relations

The Case for Working with Your Hands

Seeded on Fri May 29, 2009 7:32 PM EDT (The New York Times)

Many of us do work that feels more surreal than real. Working in an office, you often find it difficult to see any tangible result from your efforts.

education, knowledge-workers, office-culture, vocational-training, manual-labor

Would you Slap Your Father? If So, You're a Liberal

Seeded on Fri May 29, 2009 7:12 PM EDT (The New York Times)

If you want to tell whether someone is conservative or liberal, what are a couple of completely nonpolitical questions that will give a good clue? How's this: Would you be willing to slap your father in the face, with his permission, as part of a comedy skit? And, second: Doe …

conservatives, politics, psychology, liberals, political-philosophy

Why Does the Vaccine/Autism Controversy Live On?

Seeded on Thu May 21, 2009 9:16 PM EDT (discovermagazine.com)

Vaccines do not cause autism. That was the ruling in each of three critical test cases handed down on February 12 by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

science, vaccines, autism

Vietnam Vet Works to Limit Military Recruiting in Fla. HS

Seeded on Mon May 11, 2009 6:33 AM EDT (The New York Times)

Every morning before school starts, Miles Woolley, a drafting teacher at Southwest Miami High School, gets a reminder of military life when the Junior R.O.T.C. honor guard marches by his classroom. Mr.

military-recruiting, us-news, vietnam-veterans, jrotc, asvab, american-album

A Parent's Disgust with a University's Gender Neutral Housing Policy

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:24 AM EDT (National Review Online)

If sharing a bedroom with a student of the opposite sex is not your idea of appropriate college housing for your son or daughter, beware. The college or university to which you have just sent a deposit may have other ideas.

stanford, education, gender-rights, gender-neutral, college-housing

Obama Distances Self from National Day of Prayer Ceremonies

Seeded on Fri May 8, 2009 12:59 AM EDT (World Magazine)

The White House has announced it will mark Thursday's National Day of Prayer with a proclamation but not with a public ceremony involving the event's organizers, something that had become commonplace during George W. Bush's administration.

religion, prayer, obama, church-and-state

Blame the Machines: How Computer Models Worsened the Financial Crisis

Seeded on Thu May 7, 2009 11:59 PM EDT (American Scholar)

Computer models have three inherent problems. The first problem is that those who created the models don't understand the markets.The second problem is that managers don't understand the modelers.

business, economic-crisis, ltcm, computer-models, financial-regulations

Disney Signs a Deal with Hulu: Online Media Juggernaut is Born

Seeded on Sat May 2, 2009 6:37 PM EDT (TV Week)

Disney is hopping on Hulu, closing a deal to become a joint venture partner and equity owner of the online video aggregator.The deal, which has been expected for several weeks, unites Disney and its TV networks with NBC Universal, News Corp.

entertainment, media, disney, merger, online-tv, hulu

Brain Gain: Are Neuroenhancing Drugs the Beginning of a Mental Arms Race?

Seeded on Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:24 AM EDT (New Yorker)

Adderall, a stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, is commonly prescribed for children and adults who have been given a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

science, brain, mental-health, prescription-drugs, adderall, neuroenhancement

Rev. Billy for Mayor: The Interview

Seeded on Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:38 AM EDT (The Village Voice)

Rev. Billy Talen, the Stop Shopping advocate and subject of the acclaimed documentary, What Would Jesus Buy, has announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, on the Green Party ticket. This interview, which reads almost like a stump speech, includes Rev.

nyc, politics, mike-bloomberg, mayoral-race, rev-billy

Is Tweaking the Atmosphere a Solution to Global Warming?

Seeded on Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:27 AM EDT (Foreign Affairs)

On average, about 70 percent of the earth's incoming sunlight is absorbed by the atmosphere and the planet's surface; the remainder is reflected back into space.

global-warming, environment, science, geoengineering

Geithner Admits Mixed Results from Bailouts

Seeded on Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:51 AM EDT (FT.com)

Tim Geithner appeared before a congressional oversight panel expressing his confidence that commercial banks have sufficient capital. Stocks in the financial sector, after suffering losses Monday, rallied again on Tuesday on the heels of this news.

business, federal-reserve, bailout, geithner

African Americans Losing Ground in Higher Ed?

Seeded on Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:22 AM EDT (Journal of Blacks in Higher Education)

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education has released a study confirming the suspicions of Harvard professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., namely that African and Caribbean immigrants and their children are enrolling in colleges at much higher rates than American- born Blacks.

immigrants, education, higher-education, african-american, caribbean-american

Why Bono, Madonna and Brangelina Cannot Save Africa

Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:08 AM EDT

Former Goldman Sachs and World Bank employee Dr. Dambisa Moyo has written a book, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working And How There is a Better Way For Africa. In it, Dr. Moyo suggests that the traditional means of delivering aid as support for Africa are doing more harm than good.

Continue reading this entry ...

business, africa, foreign-aid

You Are Being Lied to About Pirates

Seeded on Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:57 AM EDT (The Huffington Post)

Behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menace of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell -- and some justice on their side.

somalia, pirates, world-news

Why Bono, Madonna and Brangelina Cannot Save Africa

Seeded on Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:27 AM EDT (The Root)

The new book 'Dead Aid' targets the fatal flaws in white benevolence to Africa's struggling economies

economy, africa, world-news, world-aid

A Black Imam Breaks Ground in Mecca

Seeded on Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:38 AM EDT (The New York Times)

Although he is known for his fine voice, Sheik Adil is black, and the son of a poor immigrant from the Persian Gulf. Leading prayers at the Grand Mosque is an extraordinary honor, usually reserved for pure-blooded Arabs from the Saudi heartland.

race, religion, saudi-arabia, islam

Is the US Still a Mecca for Skilled Immigrants?

Seeded on Thu Apr 9, 2009 4:36 AM EDT (Newsweek)

The U.S. gives out only 85,000 [H-1B visas] each year, and 20,000 of those are reserved for applicants with advanced degrees. The demand for these visas is so strong that generally all 85,000 are given out within the first couple days of filing, which begins April 1.

business, economy, immigration

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