By Kyung Lah
CNN May 23, 2011
Lee Min kyong stretches on the ballet bar in the dance studio. The
12-year old is a little awkward and nervous in front of strangers, until
the music begins.
Min-kyong moves to the classical tune,
springing easily onto her toes, the very picture of childhood grace and
poise. But when the music stops, she falls back into an awkward stance.
She
lacks confidence, explains Min-kyong's mother, a problem she hopes will
be solved when her pre-teen undergoes plastic surgery, to westernize
her eyes.
"If I get the surgery, my eyes will look bigger,"
explains Min-kyong. Everyone, she says, points out her small eyes. It's
why she doesn't think she's a pretty girl. A surgery which cuts a fold
into her eyelid to create a double fold will widen her eyes. The effect
will also be to give her a slightly more western look.
READ MORE.....
Monday, May 25, 2015
China migration: At the turning point
Financial Times - May 4, 2015
A shrinking labour force from rural areas is driving huge economic change
When Deng Xiaoping left his rural village of Guang’an in 1919 to study in Paris, he was leaving behind a desperately poor agricultural community in Sichuan province where standards of living had barely risen in over 200 years.
Sixty years later, when Deng’s historic economic reforms unleashed a wave of migrants that powered the country’s transformation into an industrial powerhouse, his fellow villagers from Guang’an led the charge.
China’s farm output soared in the 1980s as agricultural communes were dismantled. By allowing farmers to keep a portion of what they produced, Deng gave them incentive to boost their yields. But Guang’an’s hilly landscape was unsuitable for mechanised agriculture, blunting the gains from reform.
READ MORE....
A shrinking labour force from rural areas is driving huge economic change
When Deng Xiaoping left his rural village of Guang’an in 1919 to study in Paris, he was leaving behind a desperately poor agricultural community in Sichuan province where standards of living had barely risen in over 200 years.
Sixty years later, when Deng’s historic economic reforms unleashed a wave of migrants that powered the country’s transformation into an industrial powerhouse, his fellow villagers from Guang’an led the charge.
China’s farm output soared in the 1980s as agricultural communes were dismantled. By allowing farmers to keep a portion of what they produced, Deng gave them incentive to boost their yields. But Guang’an’s hilly landscape was unsuitable for mechanised agriculture, blunting the gains from reform.
READ MORE....
Pac-man at 35: the video game that changed the world
Thirty-five years ago a Japanese company released a video game quite unlike any other and it took the world by storm.
Tarek Bazley
Al-Jazeera | 25 May 2015
In 1980 the video games world was dominated by games like Space Invaders and Asteroids. These were aimed at boys, who mainly played them in video games arcades.
That was until Japanese game developer Toru Iwatani set out to design a game to appeal to women. The inspiration reportedly came from a pizza he was eating.
Two slices in, the idea of a rounded character with a large mouth occurred to him. He initially called the game “Pakkuman”, based on the sound your mouth makes when it opens and closes rapidly.
Later, when the game was launched in the US, this was changed to Pac-man and it became an over-night hit.
“This was the first game to have real competitive artificial intelligence that hunted you down,” says Jake Baldino, from video game website Gameranx.com.
"There was just a lot of personality. There was a lot of great music, beautiful colors, there were colorful fruits, a yellow main character, blinking lights, flashy music and it was just a lot of fun and the excitement drew people in.”
350,000 Pac-Man arcade machines were sold in the first 18 months.
READ MORE....
Tarek Bazley
Al-Jazeera | 25 May 2015
In 1980 the video games world was dominated by games like Space Invaders and Asteroids. These were aimed at boys, who mainly played them in video games arcades.
That was until Japanese game developer Toru Iwatani set out to design a game to appeal to women. The inspiration reportedly came from a pizza he was eating.
Two slices in, the idea of a rounded character with a large mouth occurred to him. He initially called the game “Pakkuman”, based on the sound your mouth makes when it opens and closes rapidly.
Later, when the game was launched in the US, this was changed to Pac-man and it became an over-night hit.
“This was the first game to have real competitive artificial intelligence that hunted you down,” says Jake Baldino, from video game website Gameranx.com.
"There was just a lot of personality. There was a lot of great music, beautiful colors, there were colorful fruits, a yellow main character, blinking lights, flashy music and it was just a lot of fun and the excitement drew people in.”
350,000 Pac-Man arcade machines were sold in the first 18 months.
READ MORE....
Sunday, May 24, 2015
China and Latin America: Diversification is the Key Word
By Alicia Bárcena
People's Daily - May 25, 2015
The visit that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang begins last week to Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru marks a new milestone in the deepening of economic, political and cooperation ties between Latin America and the Caribbean and China.
Premier Li's visit and the speech he will give to the region from ECLAC's headquarters on May 25th are part of China's sustained effort to forge a joint path since that country recognized in 2008 the strategic nature of relations with our region in its White Paper (the formal document where it states official policy in that regard).
These bilateral economic relations face many challenges, but there is a key word: diversification. In the past 15 years, ties have been highly dynamic. The value of bilateral trade grew 22 times greater between 2000 and 2014, and China is already the region's second most important trading partner.
READ MORE.....
People's Daily - May 25, 2015
The visit that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang begins last week to Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru marks a new milestone in the deepening of economic, political and cooperation ties between Latin America and the Caribbean and China.
Premier Li's visit and the speech he will give to the region from ECLAC's headquarters on May 25th are part of China's sustained effort to forge a joint path since that country recognized in 2008 the strategic nature of relations with our region in its White Paper (the formal document where it states official policy in that regard).
These bilateral economic relations face many challenges, but there is a key word: diversification. In the past 15 years, ties have been highly dynamic. The value of bilateral trade grew 22 times greater between 2000 and 2014, and China is already the region's second most important trading partner.
READ MORE.....
John Nash, mathematician portrayed in A Beautiful Mind, dies in taxi crash at 86
Nash and wife Alicia killed in taxi crash on New Jersey Turnpike
Russell Crowe salutes ‘beautiful minds, beautiful hearts’
Tom McCarthy in New York
THE GUARDIAN - MAY 24, 2015
John Nash, the Nobel prize-winning mathematician whose life story inspired the film A Beautiful Mind, was killed with his wife Alicia in taxi cab crash in New Jersey on Saturday night, police said.
Nash, 86, was senior research mathematician at Princeton University in New Jersey. He and Alicia, 82, were traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike when their driver lost control, NJ.com quoted state police sergeant Gregory Williams as saying. The cab hit a guardrail and the couple were thrown from the vehicle.
The cab driver and a passenger in a second vehicle were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to reports.
John and Alicia Nash married in 1957 and divorced in 1963. They remarried in 2001.
Russell Crowe, who starred as Nash in director Ron Howard’s 2001 movie, which won four Academy Awards including best picture, tweeted his condolences on Sunday morning.
READ MORE.....
Russell Crowe salutes ‘beautiful minds, beautiful hearts’
Tom McCarthy in New York
THE GUARDIAN - MAY 24, 2015
John Nash, the Nobel prize-winning mathematician whose life story inspired the film A Beautiful Mind, was killed with his wife Alicia in taxi cab crash in New Jersey on Saturday night, police said.
Nash, 86, was senior research mathematician at Princeton University in New Jersey. He and Alicia, 82, were traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike when their driver lost control, NJ.com quoted state police sergeant Gregory Williams as saying. The cab hit a guardrail and the couple were thrown from the vehicle.
The cab driver and a passenger in a second vehicle were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to reports.
John and Alicia Nash married in 1957 and divorced in 1963. They remarried in 2001.
Russell Crowe, who starred as Nash in director Ron Howard’s 2001 movie, which won four Academy Awards including best picture, tweeted his condolences on Sunday morning.
READ MORE.....
John F. Nash Jr., Mathematician Whose Life Story Inspired ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ Dies at 86
By ERICA GOODE
The New York Times - MAY 24, 2015
John F. Nash Jr., a mathematician who shared a Nobel Prize in 1994 for work that greatly extended the reach and power of modern economic theory and whose decades-long descent into severe mental illness and eventual recovery were the subject of a book and a 2001 film, both titled “A Beautiful Mind,” was killed, along with his wife, in a car crash on Saturday in New Jersey. He was 86.
Dr. Nash, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike when the driver lost control while trying to pass another car and hit a guard rail and another vehicle, said Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police.
The couple were ejected from the cab and pronounced dead at the scene. The taxi driver and the driver of the other car were treated for non-life threatening injuries. No criminal charges have been filed.
Dr. Nash was widely regarded as one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century, known for the originality of his thinking and for his fearlessness in wrestling down problems so difficult few others dared tackle them. A one-sentence letter written in support of his application to Princeton’s doctoral program in math said simply, “This man is a genius.”
READ MORE......
The New York Times - MAY 24, 2015
John F. Nash Jr., a mathematician who shared a Nobel Prize in 1994 for work that greatly extended the reach and power of modern economic theory and whose decades-long descent into severe mental illness and eventual recovery were the subject of a book and a 2001 film, both titled “A Beautiful Mind,” was killed, along with his wife, in a car crash on Saturday in New Jersey. He was 86.
Dr. Nash, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike when the driver lost control while trying to pass another car and hit a guard rail and another vehicle, said Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police.
The couple were ejected from the cab and pronounced dead at the scene. The taxi driver and the driver of the other car were treated for non-life threatening injuries. No criminal charges have been filed.
Dr. Nash was widely regarded as one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century, known for the originality of his thinking and for his fearlessness in wrestling down problems so difficult few others dared tackle them. A one-sentence letter written in support of his application to Princeton’s doctoral program in math said simply, “This man is a genius.”
READ MORE......
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Why Men Kill Themselves
In every country in the world, male suicides outnumber female
Will Storr
PACIFIC STANDARD - MAY 23, 201
Will Storr
PACIFIC STANDARD - MAY 23, 201
Finally,
Drummond had everything he’d ever dreamed of. He’d come a long way
since he was a little boy, upset at his failure to get into the grammar
school. That had been a great disappointment to his mother, and to his
father, who was an engineer at a pharmaceutical company. His dad had
never showed much interest in him as a child. He didn’t play with him
and when he was naughty, he’d put him over the back of a chair and
wallop him. That’s just the way men were in those days. Your father was
feared and respected. Dads were dads.
It was
difficult, seeing the grammar boys pass by the house in their smart
caps, every morning. Drummond had always dreamed of becoming a
headteacher in a little school in a perfect village when he grew up, but
he was only able to get a place at the technical school learning
woodwork and bricklaying. The careers tutor almost laughed when he told
him of his dreams to teach. But Drummond was ambitious. He earned a
place at college, became president of its student union. He found a
teaching job, married his childhood sweetheart, and slowly climbed his
way to a headship in a Norfolk village. He had three children and two
cars. His mother, at least, was proud.
READ MORE.....
Friday, May 22, 2015
Teaching While Asian
Study finds students give lower ratings to Asian professors.
By Scott Jaschik
INSIDE HIGHER ED - MARCH 2, 2015
Rate My Professors is a student evaluation site that frustrates many professors, who say that the nonscientific standards leave faculty members open to unfair ratings.
By Scott Jaschik
INSIDE HIGHER ED - MARCH 2, 2015
Rate My Professors is a student evaluation site that frustrates many professors, who say that the nonscientific standards leave faculty members open to unfair ratings.
Last month, a study documented the extent to which students use different sets of words (many of them with gender implications) to
discuss their male and female professors. Now a new study looks at how
students on Rate My Professors rate instructors who have Asian-sounding
last names, and the results suggest that these instructors are getting
significantly lower scores than those with other last names in Rate My
Professors’ categories of clarity and helpfulness.
The author of the study, who also examined comments students
made about the instructors, said that his findings raise questions
about whether American colleges and universities are as international in
outlook at they boast of being—and whether Asian instructors are being
reviewed fairly. The study—“She Does Have an Accent But”—has just been
published in the journal Language in Society (abstract available here).
READ MORE.....
READ MORE.....
Made in China 2025
CCTV - 05-22-2015
China's State Council has unveiled a ten-year national plan, Made in China 2025, designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power. The plan, endorsed by Premier Li Keqiang, is the country's first action plan focusing on promoting manufacturing, a notice said on May 19th,2015.
READ AND WATCH MORE....
China's State Council has unveiled a ten-year national plan, Made in China 2025, designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power. The plan, endorsed by Premier Li Keqiang, is the country's first action plan focusing on promoting manufacturing, a notice said on May 19th,2015.
READ AND WATCH MORE....
The Decline of the Humanities and the Decline of Society
Ikpe, Ibanga B.
Theoria, Volume 62, Number 142, March 2015, pp. 50-66(17)
Abstract:
The debate as to whether the humanities is in decline is almost over. Statistics on declining enrolments, shrinking job prospects, dwindling funding and growing condescension from society add up to show that all is not well. Humanities scholars have, in the recent past, tried to discover what is wrong as well as do something to demonstrate that the humanities is still relevant to society. In this regard, many have suggested that the humanities should change to accommodate the needs of the marketplace, while others have argued that to do so will change the humanities so drastically as to render it unrecognizable. This article is about the current state of affairs in the humanities and the different views that have been expressed on it. It argues that rather than the humanities, it is actually society that is in decline, and as such changing the humanities to suit the needs of the marketplace would be a disservice to our long humanistic tradition. It acknowledges that humanities scholars need to engage more with society even as they continue in activities that have defined the humanities through the years and argues for humanities therapy as a way for the humanities to engage with a world that is increasingly enamoured with technê.
READ MORE....
Theoria, Volume 62, Number 142, March 2015, pp. 50-66(17)
Abstract:
The debate as to whether the humanities is in decline is almost over. Statistics on declining enrolments, shrinking job prospects, dwindling funding and growing condescension from society add up to show that all is not well. Humanities scholars have, in the recent past, tried to discover what is wrong as well as do something to demonstrate that the humanities is still relevant to society. In this regard, many have suggested that the humanities should change to accommodate the needs of the marketplace, while others have argued that to do so will change the humanities so drastically as to render it unrecognizable. This article is about the current state of affairs in the humanities and the different views that have been expressed on it. It argues that rather than the humanities, it is actually society that is in decline, and as such changing the humanities to suit the needs of the marketplace would be a disservice to our long humanistic tradition. It acknowledges that humanities scholars need to engage more with society even as they continue in activities that have defined the humanities through the years and argues for humanities therapy as a way for the humanities to engage with a world that is increasingly enamoured with technê.
READ MORE....
Half of Beijing's population live far from downtown
ENGLISH.PEOPLE.CN - May 22, 2015
Beijing's population reached 21.52 million at the end of 2014, with 57.1 percent living between the 3rd and 6th ring roads, and most of them outside the 5th ring road. (Graphics by Beijing Evening News)
Beijing's population reached 21.52 million at the end of 2014, with 57.1 percent living between the 3rd and 6th ring roads, and most of them outside the 5th ring road, according to statistics released Thursday by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
Beijing's population has been increasing, but at a slower rate, due to economic restructuring and functional changes, as well as a rising cost of living and transportation.
Compared to the numbers in 2013, Beijing's population increased by 368,000, which was 87,000 less than the year before. The growth rate decreased from 2.2 percent in 2013 to 1.7 percent in 2014.
Beijing had about 8.19 million migrant residents from all over the country at the end of 2014. While this was an increase of 160,000 (2 percent), the rise was 129,000 (1.7 percent) lower compared to 2013.
READ MORE....
Beijing's population reached 21.52 million at the end of 2014, with 57.1 percent living between the 3rd and 6th ring roads, and most of them outside the 5th ring road, according to statistics released Thursday by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
Beijing's population has been increasing, but at a slower rate, due to economic restructuring and functional changes, as well as a rising cost of living and transportation.
Compared to the numbers in 2013, Beijing's population increased by 368,000, which was 87,000 less than the year before. The growth rate decreased from 2.2 percent in 2013 to 1.7 percent in 2014.
Beijing had about 8.19 million migrant residents from all over the country at the end of 2014. While this was an increase of 160,000 (2 percent), the rise was 129,000 (1.7 percent) lower compared to 2013.
READ MORE....
Mapping Migration in the United States
By Gregor Aisch and Robert Gebeloff
The New York Times - AUG. 15, 2014
Where people who lived in each state in 2012 were born Each shape represents where the people living in a state were born. Within a state, larger shapes mean a group makes up a larger share of the population.
READ MORE...
The New York Times - AUG. 15, 2014
Where people who lived in each state in 2012 were born Each shape represents where the people living in a state were born. Within a state, larger shapes mean a group makes up a larger share of the population.
On Thursday, we published a series of interactive charts
showing how Americans have moved between states since 1900. The charts
show striking patterns for many states: You can trace the rise of
migrant and immigrant populations all along the Southwest, particularly
in Texas and Arizona; the influx of New Yorkers and other
Northeasterners into Florida starting in the 1970s; and the growth in
the Southern share of the Illinois population during the Great
Migration.
In
1900, 95 percent of the people living in the Carolinas were born there,
with similarly high numbers all through the Southeast. More than a
hundred years later, those percentages are nearly cut in half.
Taken
individually, each state tells its own story, and each makes for
fascinating reading. As a follow-up, here is the big picture: a map
showing all of the states at a given time.
READ MORE...
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Cfp: International Summer School “Cultures, Migrations, Borders” Plomari, Lesvos, 7 – 19 July 2014
The “University of the Aegean Summer Schools” are supported by the project «The University of the Aegean, the prominent and driving factor for the economic and social growth of the wide Aegean area» of the Operational Programme “Education and Lifelong Learning”, which is co-funded by European Union (European Social Fund) and National Resources.
For the third year the Department of Social Anthropology and History of the University of the Aegean and the Institute of Migration and Ethnic Studies of the University of Amsterdam welcome applications for the Summer School ‘Cultures, Migrations, Borders’ that will take place on the island of Lesvos from 7 to 19 July, 2014. The broader socioeconomic and political transformations in Africa and Asia have recently resulted in increased migration flows to Greece and, more generally, to Europe. Being at the crossroads of populations and cultures the islands of Eastern Aegean have served as one of the entry “gates” to Europe. In this context, and especially in connection to the current crisis, border crossings have become the focus of intense debates as they are intertwined with issues of culture and identity formation, the European Union and state policy, and constructions of 'otherness'. By drawing on an increasing interest in the study of cultures, migrations and borders, our Summer School examines how migrations shape and are shaped by processes of boundary formation in a variety of cultural encounters.
The programme of the course is structured around four thematic axes:
a. Theoretical and methodological issues in the study of migration and borders.
b. Institutional and political aspects of the migratory condition.
c. People on the move: immigrant groups, refugees and host communities.
d. Cross-cultural encounters across borders and interactions of host/immigrant on the border.
Along with the seminars, the programme includes a number of fieldtrips. Participants will be given the opportunity to experience the reality of border crossing from Greece (Mytilene) to Turkey (Ayvalik), interact with citizens on the island assisting refugees, meet asylum seekers and discuss with descendants of refugees at the Museum of Refugee Memory. While acquainting themselves with the reality of migration on an Aegean island, participants will develop research skills and learn how to place their findings within wider local and global processes. Doctoral students and researchers will also have the opportunity to present their work at the Reseach Seminar. The Summer School includes the public screening of films on migration and border-crossing.
https://migbord2014.pns.aegean.gr/
For enquiries please send e-mail to: migbord2014@aegean.gr
For the third year the Department of Social Anthropology and History of the University of the Aegean and the Institute of Migration and Ethnic Studies of the University of Amsterdam welcome applications for the Summer School ‘Cultures, Migrations, Borders’ that will take place on the island of Lesvos from 7 to 19 July, 2014. The broader socioeconomic and political transformations in Africa and Asia have recently resulted in increased migration flows to Greece and, more generally, to Europe. Being at the crossroads of populations and cultures the islands of Eastern Aegean have served as one of the entry “gates” to Europe. In this context, and especially in connection to the current crisis, border crossings have become the focus of intense debates as they are intertwined with issues of culture and identity formation, the European Union and state policy, and constructions of 'otherness'. By drawing on an increasing interest in the study of cultures, migrations and borders, our Summer School examines how migrations shape and are shaped by processes of boundary formation in a variety of cultural encounters.
The programme of the course is structured around four thematic axes:
a. Theoretical and methodological issues in the study of migration and borders.
b. Institutional and political aspects of the migratory condition.
c. People on the move: immigrant groups, refugees and host communities.
d. Cross-cultural encounters across borders and interactions of host/immigrant on the border.
Along with the seminars, the programme includes a number of fieldtrips. Participants will be given the opportunity to experience the reality of border crossing from Greece (Mytilene) to Turkey (Ayvalik), interact with citizens on the island assisting refugees, meet asylum seekers and discuss with descendants of refugees at the Museum of Refugee Memory. While acquainting themselves with the reality of migration on an Aegean island, participants will develop research skills and learn how to place their findings within wider local and global processes. Doctoral students and researchers will also have the opportunity to present their work at the Reseach Seminar. The Summer School includes the public screening of films on migration and border-crossing.
https://migbord2014.pns.aegean.gr/
For enquiries please send e-mail to: migbord2014@aegean.gr
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Britain’s criminally stupid attitudes to race and immigration are beyond parody
Frankie Boyle
The anti-immigration election rhetoric is perverse – we fear the arrival of people that we have drawn here with the wealth we stole from them
The Guardian - Monday 20 April 2015
I sometimes wonder if satire has reached a nadir in Britain because British society has itself become a parody of itself. The Chipping Norton Set: the prime minister, a tabloid editor and a Roger Mellie-ish TV icon all conveniently living in the same little town and taking turns at being the centre of scandal, feels like a novel Martin Amis bashed out because his conservatory was leaking. Likewise there has been an element of tragic irony this week as the growing drumbeat of anti-immigration election rhetoric has been punctuated by the mass drowning of migrants.
The SNP’s growing popularity has prompted a little low-level press racism of the kilts-and-porridge variety, as an English electorate struggles with the idea that there will be Scottish people holding the reins of power for the first time since the last government. Nicola Sturgeon has been called “the most dangerous woman in Britain”, by someone who hasn’t met any other Scottish women. Of course, it’s difficult to explain to English people that we have always had their best interests at heart – if we hadn’t invented penicillin they would have all died in a Greek airport departure lounge. There have already been a couple of amusing moments in the campaign when leaders standing in front of union jacks expounding on the need for a £100bn missile system have taken time out to warn us about the dangers of nationalism. Personally, I think it might be invigorating to have a hung parliament where, before any law was passed, the government had to have an argument with a Scottish person.
READ MORE.....
The anti-immigration election rhetoric is perverse – we fear the arrival of people that we have drawn here with the wealth we stole from them
The Guardian - Monday 20 April 2015
The SNP’s growing popularity has prompted a little low-level press racism of the kilts-and-porridge variety, as an English electorate struggles with the idea that there will be Scottish people holding the reins of power for the first time since the last government. Nicola Sturgeon has been called “the most dangerous woman in Britain”, by someone who hasn’t met any other Scottish women. Of course, it’s difficult to explain to English people that we have always had their best interests at heart – if we hadn’t invented penicillin they would have all died in a Greek airport departure lounge. There have already been a couple of amusing moments in the campaign when leaders standing in front of union jacks expounding on the need for a £100bn missile system have taken time out to warn us about the dangers of nationalism. Personally, I think it might be invigorating to have a hung parliament where, before any law was passed, the government had to have an argument with a Scottish person.
READ MORE.....
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Disgraced Former Georgian President to Fight Corruption in Moldova
SPUTNIK NEWS - 16.05.2015
Moldova is awaiting the possible arrival of disgraced former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to give its government lessons on fighting corruption. Local media has voiced its concerns with the fact that Saakashvili is wanted in his home country in connection with several large-scale embezzlement scandals.
Last week, embattled Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici announced the establishment of a fresh anti-corruption campaign, following mass anti-corruption protests in the country's capital of Chisinau earlier this month. Among his tasks will be to invite the former Georgian president, whom Gaburici stated has "great experience in conducting reforms."
READ MORE.....
Moldova is awaiting the possible arrival of disgraced former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to give its government lessons on fighting corruption. Local media has voiced its concerns with the fact that Saakashvili is wanted in his home country in connection with several large-scale embezzlement scandals.
Last week, embattled Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici announced the establishment of a fresh anti-corruption campaign, following mass anti-corruption protests in the country's capital of Chisinau earlier this month. Among his tasks will be to invite the former Georgian president, whom Gaburici stated has "great experience in conducting reforms."
READ MORE.....
7 countries where Americans can study at universities, in English, for free (or almost free)
By Rick Noack
The Washington Post - October 29, 2014
Since 1985, U.S. college costs have surged by about 500 percent, and tuition fees keep rising. In Germany, they've done the opposite.
The country's universities have been tuition-free since the beginning of October, when Lower Saxony became the last state to scrap the fees. Tuition rates were always low in Germany, but now the German government fully funds the education of its citizens -- and even of foreigners.
[Related: Why Danish students are paid to go to college]
Explaining the change, Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a senator in the northern city of Hamburg, said tuition fees "discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany."
What might interest potential university students in the United States is that Germany offers some programs in English -- and it's not the only country. Let's take a look at the surprising -- and very cheap -- alternatives to pricey American college degrees.
Germany
Germany's higher education landscape primarily consists of internationally well-ranked public universities, some of which receive special funding because the government deems them "excellent institutions." What's more, Americans can earn a German undergraduate or graduate degree without speaking a word of German and without having to pay a single dollar of tuition fees: About 900 undergraduate or graduate degrees are offered exclusively in English, with courses ranging from engineering to social sciences. For some German degrees, you don't even have to formally apply.
READ MORE.....
The Washington Post - October 29, 2014
Since 1985, U.S. college costs have surged by about 500 percent, and tuition fees keep rising. In Germany, they've done the opposite.
The country's universities have been tuition-free since the beginning of October, when Lower Saxony became the last state to scrap the fees. Tuition rates were always low in Germany, but now the German government fully funds the education of its citizens -- and even of foreigners.
[Related: Why Danish students are paid to go to college]
Explaining the change, Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a senator in the northern city of Hamburg, said tuition fees "discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study. It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany."
What might interest potential university students in the United States is that Germany offers some programs in English -- and it's not the only country. Let's take a look at the surprising -- and very cheap -- alternatives to pricey American college degrees.
Germany
Germany's higher education landscape primarily consists of internationally well-ranked public universities, some of which receive special funding because the government deems them "excellent institutions." What's more, Americans can earn a German undergraduate or graduate degree without speaking a word of German and without having to pay a single dollar of tuition fees: About 900 undergraduate or graduate degrees are offered exclusively in English, with courses ranging from engineering to social sciences. For some German degrees, you don't even have to formally apply.
READ MORE.....
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Europe's boat people
THE ECONOMIST - May 13th 2015
THE SMUGGLING of people across the Mediterranean is not new; nor are the losses at sea that come with it. But the trade has vastly expanded over the past few years thanks to two developments. The civil war in Syria has displaced 8m people inside that country and forced 4m to leave it. Most of these refugees stay in neighbouring countries. But many wish to go farther. Some head for Libya, either by crossing Egypt or by flying to Sudan and joining one of the smuggling routes that cross the Sahara. There they will meet refugees fleeing Eritrea, a country which, with its mixture of indefinite military service, torture, arbitrary detention and all-round government repression has one of the worst human-rights records in the world. Libya is now another casualty of the Arab spring. So the smuggling routes which used to take people there as an end in itself—moving there was an attractive proposition for many in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to an oil-rich economy—now continue right through it and into the sea.
READ MORE....
THE SMUGGLING of people across the Mediterranean is not new; nor are the losses at sea that come with it. But the trade has vastly expanded over the past few years thanks to two developments. The civil war in Syria has displaced 8m people inside that country and forced 4m to leave it. Most of these refugees stay in neighbouring countries. But many wish to go farther. Some head for Libya, either by crossing Egypt or by flying to Sudan and joining one of the smuggling routes that cross the Sahara. There they will meet refugees fleeing Eritrea, a country which, with its mixture of indefinite military service, torture, arbitrary detention and all-round government repression has one of the worst human-rights records in the world. Libya is now another casualty of the Arab spring. So the smuggling routes which used to take people there as an end in itself—moving there was an attractive proposition for many in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to an oil-rich economy—now continue right through it and into the sea.
READ MORE....
Asia tops biggest global school rankings
By Sean Coughlan Education correspondent
BBC - 13 May 2015
The biggest ever global school rankings have been published, with Asian countries in the top five places and African countries at the bottom. Singapore heads the table, followed by Hong Kong, with Ghana at the bottom. The UK is in 20th place, among higher achieving European countries, with the US in 28th. The OECD economic think tank says the comparisons - based on test scores in 76 countries - show the link between education and economic growth. "This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education," said the OECD's education director, Andreas Schleicher. "The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world's education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them," he said.
READ MORE....
BBC - 13 May 2015
The biggest ever global school rankings have been published, with Asian countries in the top five places and African countries at the bottom. Singapore heads the table, followed by Hong Kong, with Ghana at the bottom. The UK is in 20th place, among higher achieving European countries, with the US in 28th. The OECD economic think tank says the comparisons - based on test scores in 76 countries - show the link between education and economic growth. "This is the first time we have a truly global scale of the quality of education," said the OECD's education director, Andreas Schleicher. "The idea is to give more countries, rich and poor, access to comparing themselves against the world's education leaders, to discover their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to see what the long-term economic gains from improved quality in schooling could be for them," he said.
READ MORE....
The top 25 hedge fund managers earn more than all kindergarten teachers in U.S. combined
By Philip Bump
The Washington Post - May 12, 2015
During his remarks on poverty at Georgetown University on Tuesday, President Obama noted the discrepancy in pay between two very different sets of workers.
This comparison has been made before in different ways, but we figured it was worth checking.
The most recent government data on teacher employment covers the 2011-2012 school year. The Education Department's tallies of all teachers in elementary and secondary schools nationwide found that they made about $56,600 that year. But kindergarten teachers are a different group. For that, we turn to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2012, the nation had about 158,000 kindergarten teachers, excluding whose who work in special education. The average salary was $53,480.
READ MORE...
The Washington Post - May 12, 2015
During his remarks on poverty at Georgetown University on Tuesday, President Obama noted the discrepancy in pay between two very different sets of workers.
This comparison has been made before in different ways, but we figured it was worth checking.
The most recent government data on teacher employment covers the 2011-2012 school year. The Education Department's tallies of all teachers in elementary and secondary schools nationwide found that they made about $56,600 that year. But kindergarten teachers are a different group. For that, we turn to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2012, the nation had about 158,000 kindergarten teachers, excluding whose who work in special education. The average salary was $53,480.
READ MORE...
Monday, May 11, 2015
America’s Changing Religious Landscape
Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population; Unaffiliated and Other Faiths Continue to Grow
PEW Research - May 12, 2015
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men.
READ MORE: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/
OR
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT: http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/05/RLS-05-08-full-report.pdf
PEW Research - May 12, 2015
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an extensive new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men.
READ MORE: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/
OR
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT: http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/05/RLS-05-08-full-report.pdf
Hookers, kidneys & nose jobs: New map shows most searched cost obsessions by country
Russia Today - April 30, 2015
The cost of flying a MiG fighter in Russia, buying kidneys in Iran, prostitutes in Ukraine and rhinoplasty in S. Korea are just a few of the most popular Google requests worldwide, a new map shows. It does give some weird insights into the countries.
Fixr.com, a cost-estimating website has put together a map of the world with the most-Googled things in each country, using the autocomplete formula of “How much does * cost in [x country]."
The search results turned out to be hilarious and informative, and gave a peek into humanity’s cost obsessions per country.
“Looking at some of the most popular Google searches throughout the World reveals some cultural differences, but also many key similarities. It also provides insights into the sometimes strange things people think about when they are alone,” says fixr.com website.
Russians are most interested in “How much does it cost to fly a MiG [military aircraft] in Russia?”
Iranians are eager to sell or to buy kidneys, while the South Koreans are obsessed with their appearance and fixated on rhinoplasty (nose plastic surgery) costs.
The Chinese, Apple's biggest iPhone market, desire iPhones, of course. On Tuesday, Apple said it sold more iPhones in China than in the US.
READ MORE.....
The cost of flying a MiG fighter in Russia, buying kidneys in Iran, prostitutes in Ukraine and rhinoplasty in S. Korea are just a few of the most popular Google requests worldwide, a new map shows. It does give some weird insights into the countries.
Fixr.com, a cost-estimating website has put together a map of the world with the most-Googled things in each country, using the autocomplete formula of “How much does * cost in [x country]."
The search results turned out to be hilarious and informative, and gave a peek into humanity’s cost obsessions per country.
“Looking at some of the most popular Google searches throughout the World reveals some cultural differences, but also many key similarities. It also provides insights into the sometimes strange things people think about when they are alone,” says fixr.com website.
Russians are most interested in “How much does it cost to fly a MiG [military aircraft] in Russia?”
Iranians are eager to sell or to buy kidneys, while the South Koreans are obsessed with their appearance and fixated on rhinoplasty (nose plastic surgery) costs.
The Chinese, Apple's biggest iPhone market, desire iPhones, of course. On Tuesday, Apple said it sold more iPhones in China than in the US.
READ MORE.....
The Killing of Osama bin Laden
By Seymour M. Hersh
London Review of Books - Vol. 37 No. 10 · 21 May 2015 pages 3-12
It’s been four years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden in a night raid on a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The killing was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. The White House still maintains that the mission was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written by Lewis Carroll: would bin Laden, target of a massive international manhunt, really decide that a resort town forty miles from Islamabad would be the safest place to live and command al-Qaida’s operations? He was hiding in the open. So America said.
The most blatant lie was that Pakistan’s two most senior military leaders – General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the army staff, and General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, director general of the ISI – were never informed of the US mission. This remains the White House position despite an array of reports that have raised questions, including one by Carlotta Gall in the New York Times Magazine of 19 March 2014. Gall, who spent 12 years as the Times correspondent in Afghanistan, wrote that she’d been told by a ‘Pakistani official’ that Pasha had known before the raid that bin Laden was in Abbottabad. The story was denied by US and Pakistani officials, and went no further. In his book Pakistan: Before and after Osama (2012), Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think tank in Islamabad, wrote that he’d spoken to four undercover intelligence officers who – reflecting a widely held local view – asserted that the Pakistani military must have had knowledge of the operation. The issue was raised again in February, when a retired general, Asad Durrani, who was head of the ISI in the early 1990s, told an al-Jazeera interviewer that it was ‘quite possible’ that the senior officers of the ISI did not know where bin Laden had been hiding, ‘but it was more probable that they did [know]. And the idea was that, at the right time, his location would be revealed. And the right time would have been when you can get the necessary quid pro quo – if you have someone like Osama bin Laden, you are not going to simply hand him over to the United States.’
READ MORE...
London Review of Books - Vol. 37 No. 10 · 21 May 2015 pages 3-12
It’s been four years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden in a night raid on a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The killing was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. The White House still maintains that the mission was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written by Lewis Carroll: would bin Laden, target of a massive international manhunt, really decide that a resort town forty miles from Islamabad would be the safest place to live and command al-Qaida’s operations? He was hiding in the open. So America said.
The most blatant lie was that Pakistan’s two most senior military leaders – General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of the army staff, and General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, director general of the ISI – were never informed of the US mission. This remains the White House position despite an array of reports that have raised questions, including one by Carlotta Gall in the New York Times Magazine of 19 March 2014. Gall, who spent 12 years as the Times correspondent in Afghanistan, wrote that she’d been told by a ‘Pakistani official’ that Pasha had known before the raid that bin Laden was in Abbottabad. The story was denied by US and Pakistani officials, and went no further. In his book Pakistan: Before and after Osama (2012), Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think tank in Islamabad, wrote that he’d spoken to four undercover intelligence officers who – reflecting a widely held local view – asserted that the Pakistani military must have had knowledge of the operation. The issue was raised again in February, when a retired general, Asad Durrani, who was head of the ISI in the early 1990s, told an al-Jazeera interviewer that it was ‘quite possible’ that the senior officers of the ISI did not know where bin Laden had been hiding, ‘but it was more probable that they did [know]. And the idea was that, at the right time, his location would be revealed. And the right time would have been when you can get the necessary quid pro quo – if you have someone like Osama bin Laden, you are not going to simply hand him over to the United States.’
READ MORE...
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Campus Debates on Israel Drive a Wedge Between Jews and Minorities
By JENNIFER MEDINA and TAMAR LEWIN
The New York Times - MAY 9, 2015
LOS ANGELES — The debates can stretch from dusk to dawn, punctuated by tearful speeches and forceful shouting matches, with accusations of racism, colonialism and anti-Semitism. At dozens of college campuses across the country, student government councils are embracing resolutions calling on their administrations to divest from companies that enable what they see as Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians.
And while no university boards or administrators are heeding the students’ demands, the effort to pressure Israel appears to be gaining traction at campuses across the country and driving a wedge between many Jewish and minority students.
The movement is part of the broader Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, or B.D.S., which has spread in recent years both in Europe and the United States. The issue has received intense attention on campus particularly since the conflict in Gaza last summer, which killed hundreds of Palestinians. The movement’s goal is to isolate and punish Israel for its policies toward Palestinians and its occupation of the West Bank.
READ MORE....
The New York Times - MAY 9, 2015
LOS ANGELES — The debates can stretch from dusk to dawn, punctuated by tearful speeches and forceful shouting matches, with accusations of racism, colonialism and anti-Semitism. At dozens of college campuses across the country, student government councils are embracing resolutions calling on their administrations to divest from companies that enable what they see as Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians.
And while no university boards or administrators are heeding the students’ demands, the effort to pressure Israel appears to be gaining traction at campuses across the country and driving a wedge between many Jewish and minority students.
The movement is part of the broader Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, or B.D.S., which has spread in recent years both in Europe and the United States. The issue has received intense attention on campus particularly since the conflict in Gaza last summer, which killed hundreds of Palestinians. The movement’s goal is to isolate and punish Israel for its policies toward Palestinians and its occupation of the West Bank.
READ MORE....
George Soros’ son builds a PAC for Jewish voters
By Tarini Parti
POLITICO - 4/20/15
The son of Democratic mega-donor George Soros is gearing up to play a more active role in the 2016 election with the launch of new political action committee focused on representing the views of Jewish Americans — beyond foreign policy.
Alex Soros, 29, who has steadily increased his political and philanthropic giving in recent years, has helped establish Bend the Arc PAC, the first ever national Jewish political action committee in America focused entirely on domestic issues. Bend the Arc, a non-profit, has an advocacy arm chaired by the younger Soros but has not previously had a political action committee.
Bend the Arc PAC will back progressive candidates by making direct contributions to their campaign committees. It will focus on issues such as income inequality, marriage equality, social justice and immigration reform.
“There’s an opportunity to launch something that actually speaks to what the American Jewish community cares the most about and to show the narrative of what the real American Jewish experience is,” Alex Soros said in an interview.
“The Jewish community has a lot to say based on what we, as Jews, have contributed to the country. It really reflects a lot about me personally. I’m really excited about it.”
READ MORE....
POLITICO - 4/20/15
The son of Democratic mega-donor George Soros is gearing up to play a more active role in the 2016 election with the launch of new political action committee focused on representing the views of Jewish Americans — beyond foreign policy.
Alex Soros, 29, who has steadily increased his political and philanthropic giving in recent years, has helped establish Bend the Arc PAC, the first ever national Jewish political action committee in America focused entirely on domestic issues. Bend the Arc, a non-profit, has an advocacy arm chaired by the younger Soros but has not previously had a political action committee.
Bend the Arc PAC will back progressive candidates by making direct contributions to their campaign committees. It will focus on issues such as income inequality, marriage equality, social justice and immigration reform.
“There’s an opportunity to launch something that actually speaks to what the American Jewish community cares the most about and to show the narrative of what the real American Jewish experience is,” Alex Soros said in an interview.
“The Jewish community has a lot to say based on what we, as Jews, have contributed to the country. It really reflects a lot about me personally. I’m really excited about it.”
READ MORE....
Saturday, May 9, 2015
China building drone army, US report reveals
By Bill Gertz
Fox News - May 09, 2015
China's military plans to produce nearly 42,000 land-based and sea-based unmanned weapons and sensor platforms as part of its continuing, large-scale military buildup, the Pentagon's annual report on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) disclosed Friday.
China currently operates several armed and unarmed drone aircraft and is developing long-range range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both intelligence gathering and bombing attacks.
"The acquisition and development of longer-range UAVs will increase China's ability to conduct long-range reconnaissance and strike operations," the report said.
China's ability to use drones is increasing and the report said China "plans to produce upwards of 41,800 land- and sea-based unmanned systems, worth about $10.5 billion, between 2014 and 2023."
READ MORE.....
Fox News - May 09, 2015
China's military plans to produce nearly 42,000 land-based and sea-based unmanned weapons and sensor platforms as part of its continuing, large-scale military buildup, the Pentagon's annual report on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) disclosed Friday.
China currently operates several armed and unarmed drone aircraft and is developing long-range range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both intelligence gathering and bombing attacks.
"The acquisition and development of longer-range UAVs will increase China's ability to conduct long-range reconnaissance and strike operations," the report said.
China's ability to use drones is increasing and the report said China "plans to produce upwards of 41,800 land- and sea-based unmanned systems, worth about $10.5 billion, between 2014 and 2023."
READ MORE.....
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Cover Story An insight into the glamorous world of hijabi fashion and how it reflects social change in Turkey.
Al-Jazeera - 06 May 2015
When Turkey was founded in 1923 it was on firm secular principles. Turkish women were restricted in wearing the headscarf - known as the hijab outside Turkey - in all public sector jobs and universities for most of the 20th century.
During the current AKP party government, a young, confident, female, Muslim middle class has emerged, that is less worried about being socially accepted and more comfortable sharing public spaces with secularists.
Hulya Aslan is the editor of Ala, a monthly fashion magazine in Istanbul that serves a growing Turkish market of Muslim women who think that fashion and Islam are compatible - "conservative" women who want to wear the hijab but also want to dress fashionably, with colour and style.
READ MORE...
When Turkey was founded in 1923 it was on firm secular principles. Turkish women were restricted in wearing the headscarf - known as the hijab outside Turkey - in all public sector jobs and universities for most of the 20th century.
During the current AKP party government, a young, confident, female, Muslim middle class has emerged, that is less worried about being socially accepted and more comfortable sharing public spaces with secularists.
Hulya Aslan is the editor of Ala, a monthly fashion magazine in Istanbul that serves a growing Turkish market of Muslim women who think that fashion and Islam are compatible - "conservative" women who want to wear the hijab but also want to dress fashionably, with colour and style.
READ MORE...
Columbia University Dining’s Unofficial English-Only Rule Raises Concern
by Aura Bogado
Colorlines - Wed, Apr 29, 2015
Columbia University, an Ivy League school that spans about six Manhattan blocks, has 12 cafés, lounges and dining halls. According to several student activists and an employee, dining service workers who keep the students and faculty fed have been barred from speaking Spanish on the job. They also add that for several months, workers in one eatery, Butler lounge, were told to have their meals in a small utility closet that also housed a garbage can. A group of students from a campus economic justice organiation, Student Worker Solidarity (SWS), is now petitioning the university to stop these practices.
SWS member Alex Hastings, who attends Barnard, the women’s college affiliated with Columbia, says she noticed that dining hall workers weren’t responding to students speaking to them in Spanish. She says she also saw Butler workers take their meals in the closet. The college junior sought a meeting with Vicki Dunn, who runs Columbia’s dining services. Dunn wasn't available so on April 15, Hastings, along with a friend, Sasha Hill, met with assistant director Justine Sacks and executive chef Michael DeMartino instead.
READ MORE....
Colorlines - Wed, Apr 29, 2015
Columbia University, an Ivy League school that spans about six Manhattan blocks, has 12 cafés, lounges and dining halls. According to several student activists and an employee, dining service workers who keep the students and faculty fed have been barred from speaking Spanish on the job. They also add that for several months, workers in one eatery, Butler lounge, were told to have their meals in a small utility closet that also housed a garbage can. A group of students from a campus economic justice organiation, Student Worker Solidarity (SWS), is now petitioning the university to stop these practices.
SWS member Alex Hastings, who attends Barnard, the women’s college affiliated with Columbia, says she noticed that dining hall workers weren’t responding to students speaking to them in Spanish. She says she also saw Butler workers take their meals in the closet. The college junior sought a meeting with Vicki Dunn, who runs Columbia’s dining services. Dunn wasn't available so on April 15, Hastings, along with a friend, Sasha Hill, met with assistant director Justine Sacks and executive chef Michael DeMartino instead.
READ MORE....
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Ayn Rand Comes to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
By Jedediah Purdy
The New Yorker - March 19, 2015
In January 16th, Tom Ross, the president of the University of North Carolina, and John Fennebresque, the chair of its board of governors, held a press conference to announce that the board had asked for and received Ross’s resignation. With Ross sitting beside him, Fennebresque insisted, in effect, that he had been fired for no reason. Ross had been successful in every way, he told reporters: “exemplary” in his handling of recent athletic scandals, and a model of “work ethic” and “perfect integrity.” “There was no precipitating event,” Fennebresque, who looked by turns mournful and defensive during the twenty-minute exchange, said. “He’s been wonderful.”
In response to a series of questions, Fennebresque insisted that the decision was not about politics, at least not “to the best of my knowledge.” Few observers believed that there was not some political motivation. Ross, a former judge, once headed the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a major funder of progressive causes in North Carolina. Since Republicans, many of them affiliated with the Tea Party movement, took over the North Carolina General Assembly in 2010, the board of governors has become a Republican redoubt. Ross, in an answer to one question, did allude to the elephant in the room, observing, “There’s been a dramatic change in the state’s leadership, in policymakers.”
READ MORE.....
The New Yorker - March 19, 2015
In January 16th, Tom Ross, the president of the University of North Carolina, and John Fennebresque, the chair of its board of governors, held a press conference to announce that the board had asked for and received Ross’s resignation. With Ross sitting beside him, Fennebresque insisted, in effect, that he had been fired for no reason. Ross had been successful in every way, he told reporters: “exemplary” in his handling of recent athletic scandals, and a model of “work ethic” and “perfect integrity.” “There was no precipitating event,” Fennebresque, who looked by turns mournful and defensive during the twenty-minute exchange, said. “He’s been wonderful.”
In response to a series of questions, Fennebresque insisted that the decision was not about politics, at least not “to the best of my knowledge.” Few observers believed that there was not some political motivation. Ross, a former judge, once headed the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a major funder of progressive causes in North Carolina. Since Republicans, many of them affiliated with the Tea Party movement, took over the North Carolina General Assembly in 2010, the board of governors has become a Republican redoubt. Ross, in an answer to one question, did allude to the elephant in the room, observing, “There’s been a dramatic change in the state’s leadership, in policymakers.”
READ MORE.....
Master in Public Policy and Social Change (MAPS) University of Turin - ITALY
From: Federica Gai <federica.gai (at) carloalberto.org>
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 4:38 AM
To: Sociology and Global Studies <tugrulk (at) vt.edu>
Subject: Master in Public Policy and Social Change (MAPS)
Dear colleague,
we are happy to inform you that the applications to the 2015-16 edition of the Master in Public Policy and Social Change (MAPS) of the Collegio Carlo Alberto and the University of Turin are now open. MAPS is an advanced programme taught in English at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, a real hidden gem of Italy and one of Europe’s most important and dynamic cities, with a vibrant city and nightlife. MAPS is open to students with a 4-year BA, or BA+MA. In 2015-16 MAPS faculty will feature, among others, Chiara Saraceno (Collegio Carlo Alberto), Margarita Estevez-Abe (Syracuse University & Collegio Carlo Alberto), Charles Ragin ( University of California, Irvine), Bruno Palier (Sciences-Po Paris), Klaus Armingeon (University of Berne), Stefaan De Rynck (European Commission), Martin Rhodes (University of Denver).
MAPS tuition fee is 5,000 €. Tuition waivers and scholarships are available on a competitive basis for those who apply by May 15th, 2015. Afterwards, a rolling application will be kept open. The attached leaflets as well as our web site (www.carloalberto.org/maps) provide information about the programme. We would be grateful if you could help us to advertise MAPS among potential applicants in your institution and throughout your own academic networks. Feel free to contact MAPS secretariat at maps@carloalberto.org, or the programme coordinator, Dott.ssa Monica Ferrin, at monica.ferrin@carloalberto.org for any further information. Also, we would kindly ask you to hand the enclosed poster to staff in your institution and see that it gets advertised. We do appreciate your help in this regard. We thank you in advance for your help.
With best regards,
MAPS Director Collegio Carlo Alberto
COLLEGIO CARLO ALBERTO
Via Real Collegio 30 - 10024 Moncalieri (TO), Italy phone: +390116705000 - fax: +390116705088 segreteria@carloalberto.org - www.carloalberto.org
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 4:38 AM
To: Sociology and Global Studies <tugrulk (at) vt.edu>
Subject: Master in Public Policy and Social Change (MAPS)
Dear colleague,
we are happy to inform you that the applications to the 2015-16 edition of the Master in Public Policy and Social Change (MAPS) of the Collegio Carlo Alberto and the University of Turin are now open. MAPS is an advanced programme taught in English at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, a real hidden gem of Italy and one of Europe’s most important and dynamic cities, with a vibrant city and nightlife. MAPS is open to students with a 4-year BA, or BA+MA. In 2015-16 MAPS faculty will feature, among others, Chiara Saraceno (Collegio Carlo Alberto), Margarita Estevez-Abe (Syracuse University & Collegio Carlo Alberto), Charles Ragin ( University of California, Irvine), Bruno Palier (Sciences-Po Paris), Klaus Armingeon (University of Berne), Stefaan De Rynck (European Commission), Martin Rhodes (University of Denver).
MAPS tuition fee is 5,000 €. Tuition waivers and scholarships are available on a competitive basis for those who apply by May 15th, 2015. Afterwards, a rolling application will be kept open. The attached leaflets as well as our web site (www.carloalberto.org/maps) provide information about the programme. We would be grateful if you could help us to advertise MAPS among potential applicants in your institution and throughout your own academic networks. Feel free to contact MAPS secretariat at maps@carloalberto.org, or the programme coordinator, Dott.ssa Monica Ferrin, at monica.ferrin@carloalberto.org for any further information. Also, we would kindly ask you to hand the enclosed poster to staff in your institution and see that it gets advertised. We do appreciate your help in this regard. We thank you in advance for your help.
With best regards,
MAPS Director Collegio Carlo Alberto
COLLEGIO CARLO ALBERTO
Via Real Collegio 30 - 10024 Moncalieri (TO), Italy phone: +390116705000 - fax: +390116705088 segreteria@carloalberto.org - www.carloalberto.org
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
The Animated Dostoevsky: Two Finely Crafted Short Films Bring the Russian Novelist’s Work to Life
The Dream Of A Ridiculous Man (A. Petrov) - part 1 (of 2) - English subtitles
The Dream Of A Ridiculous Man (A. Petrov) - part 2 (of 2) - English subtitles
10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea
From TED’s in-house expert - July 15, 2014
Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good. We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.
Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good. We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.
- Think about your slides last. Building your slides
should be the tail end of developing your presentation. Think about your
main message, structure its supporting points, practice it and time
it—and then start thinking about your slides. The presentation needs to
stand on its own; the slides are just something you layer over it to
enhance the listener experience. Too often, I see slide decks that feel
more like presenter notes, but I think it’s far more effective when the
slides are for the audience to give them a visual experience that adds
to the words.
. - Create a consistent look and feel. In a good slide deck, each slide feels like part of the same story. That means using the same or related typography, colors and imagery across all your slides. Using pre-built master slides can be a good way to do that, but it can feel restrictive and lead to me-too decks. I like to create a few slides to hold sample graphic elements and type, then copy what I need from those slides as I go.
The More a Society Coerces Its People, the Greater the Chance of Mental Illness
By Bruce E. Levine /
alternet.org - APRIL 20, 2015
alternet.org - APRIL 20, 2015
Throughout history, societies have
existed with far less coercion than ours. While these societies have had
far fewer consumer goods and less of what modernity calls “efficiency,”
they also have had far less mental illness. This reality has been
buried, not surprisingly, by uncritical champions of modernity and
mainstream psychiatry. Coercion—the use of physical, legal, chemical,
psychological, financial, and other forces to gain compliance—is
intrinsic to our society’s employment, schooling and parenting. However,
coercion results in fear and resentment, which fuel miserable
marriages, unhappy families, and what we call mental illness.
Societies with Little Coercion and Little Mental Illness
Shortly after returning from the horrors of World War I and before they wrote Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall were given a commission by Harper’smagazine
to write nonfiction travel articles about life in the South Pacific.
Their reports about the islands of Paumoto, Society and the Hervey group
were first serialized in Harper’s and then published in the book Faery Lands of the South Seas
(1921). Nordhoff and Hall were struck by how little coercion occurred
in these island cultures compared to their own society, and they were
enchanted by the children such noncoercive parenting produced:
“There is a fascination in watching these youngsters, brought up without clothes and without restraint. . . . Once they are weaned from their mothers’ breasts—which often does not occur until they have reached an age of two and a half or three —the children of the islands are left practically to shift for themselves; there is food in the house, a place to sleep, and a scrap of clothing if the weather be cool—that is the extent of parental responsibility. The child eats when it pleases, sleeps when and where it will, amuses itself with no other resources than its own. As it grows older certain light duties are expected of it—gathering fruit, lending a hand in fishing, cleaning the ground about the house—but the command to work is casually given and casually obeyed. Punishment is scarcely known. . . . [Yet] the brown youngster flourishes with astonishingly little friction—sweet tempered, cheerful, never bored, and seldom quarrelsome.”READ MORE...
China To Use Big Data To Rate Citizens In New 'Social Credit System'
By Michelle FlorCruz
International Business Times - April 28 2015
READ MORE....
International Business Times - April 28 2015
How good a citizen are you? China hopes to answer that
question for every one of its citizens with a numerical rating system
based on their financial standing, criminal record and social media
behavior. A new translation of the government’s plans for a so-called
social credit system sheds light on how China aims to utilize "Big Data"
to hold all citizens accountable for financial decisions as well as
moral choices.
China’s plans to roll out a citizen rating system has been
in the works for years. Rogier Creemers, a China expert at Oxford
University, recently published a translation
of a document circulated through various levels of government detailing
the six-year rollout of the program. According to a State Council
notice, the central government hopes to have every adult in China
assigned a credit code in addition to a government-issued identity card
by 2020.
“Accelerating the construction of a social credit system is
an important basis for comprehensively implementing the scientific
development view and building a harmonious Socialist society,” the memo
reads, adding that it has “important significance for strengthening the
sincerity consciousness of the members of society.” The "guiding
ideology," the name of a subsection in the memo, states that a key
principle of the system is "government promotion."
READ MORE....
Monday, May 4, 2015
Who Can Push for Change Within a Company?
Corporate structures can be mystifying, and sometimes it's hard to tell who on the inside has actual power.
Christine Bader
THE ATLANTIC - May 4, 2015
Innovation and change in business often mean a shiny new product or a “re-branding” with a redesigned logo and an acronym in a sans serif font.
But what interests me, as someone who has worked for years in corporate social responsibility, is the sort of innovation that changes how a business does business. I’m talking about how decisions get made and how resources get allocated; how projects and departments get evaluated; what gets people promoted and fired; how companies interact with partners, suppliers, the myriad constituencies they affect, and the natural environment. How, and why, do those systems and processes change?
External forces can help lead a company to change.
Regulators create laws and policies (and sometimes enforce them);
companies compete with each other (sometimes to the top, sometimes to
the bottom); investors, consumers, and the media can all exert pressure.
But whatever external forces suggest, the company decides whether and
how to internalize those pressures.
READ MORE....
Christine Bader
THE ATLANTIC - May 4, 2015
Innovation and change in business often mean a shiny new product or a “re-branding” with a redesigned logo and an acronym in a sans serif font.
But what interests me, as someone who has worked for years in corporate social responsibility, is the sort of innovation that changes how a business does business. I’m talking about how decisions get made and how resources get allocated; how projects and departments get evaluated; what gets people promoted and fired; how companies interact with partners, suppliers, the myriad constituencies they affect, and the natural environment. How, and why, do those systems and processes change?
READ MORE....
Future of the Internet
CSPAN - May 4, 2015
Vint Cerf talked about the future of the Internet at a National Press Club luncheon.
WATCH THE ENTIRE TALK.....
http://www.c-span.org/video/?325750-1/google-vice-president-vint-cerf-future-internet
Vint Cerf talked about the future of the Internet at a National Press Club luncheon.
WATCH THE ENTIRE TALK.....
http://www.c-span.org/video/?325750-1/google-vice-president-vint-cerf-future-internet
The Most Diverse Cities Are Often The Most Segregated
By Nate Silver
FIVE THIRTY EIGHT ECONOMICS - May 1, 2015
When I was a freshman at the University of Chicago in 1996, I heard the same thing again and again: Do not leave the boundaries of Hyde Park. Do not go north of 47th Street. Do not go south of 61st Street. Do not go west of Cottage Grove Avenue. 1
These boundaries were fairly explicit, almost to the point of being an official university policy. The campus police department was not committed to protecting students beyond the area,2 and the campus safety brochure advised students not to use the “El” train stops just a couple of blocks beyond them unless “traveling in groups and during the daytime.”
What usually wasn’t said — on a campus that brags about the diversity of its urban setting but where only about 5 percent of students are black — was that the neighborhoods beyond these boundaries were overwhelmingly black and poor. The U. of C. has, for many decades, treated Hyde Park as its “fortress on the South Side,” and its legacy of trying to keep its students within the neighborhood — and the black residents of surrounding communities out — has left its mark on Chicago.
On Dustin Cable’s interactive “Dot Map” of racial residency patterns, Hyde Park appears as an island of blue and red dots — meaning, mostly white and Asian students and residents — in contrast to Chicago’s almost uniformly black South Side, designated in green dots. Washington Park, the neighborhood just to Hyde Park’s west, is 97 percent black3. Woodlawn — the neighborhood on the other side of 60th Street — is 87 percent black.
READ MORE....
FIVE THIRTY EIGHT ECONOMICS - May 1, 2015
When I was a freshman at the University of Chicago in 1996, I heard the same thing again and again: Do not leave the boundaries of Hyde Park. Do not go north of 47th Street. Do not go south of 61st Street. Do not go west of Cottage Grove Avenue. 1
These boundaries were fairly explicit, almost to the point of being an official university policy. The campus police department was not committed to protecting students beyond the area,2 and the campus safety brochure advised students not to use the “El” train stops just a couple of blocks beyond them unless “traveling in groups and during the daytime.”
What usually wasn’t said — on a campus that brags about the diversity of its urban setting but where only about 5 percent of students are black — was that the neighborhoods beyond these boundaries were overwhelmingly black and poor. The U. of C. has, for many decades, treated Hyde Park as its “fortress on the South Side,” and its legacy of trying to keep its students within the neighborhood — and the black residents of surrounding communities out — has left its mark on Chicago.
On Dustin Cable’s interactive “Dot Map” of racial residency patterns, Hyde Park appears as an island of blue and red dots — meaning, mostly white and Asian students and residents — in contrast to Chicago’s almost uniformly black South Side, designated in green dots. Washington Park, the neighborhood just to Hyde Park’s west, is 97 percent black3. Woodlawn — the neighborhood on the other side of 60th Street — is 87 percent black.
READ MORE....
U.S. and Egypt Announce Multi-Million Dollar “Academic Aid”
Sarah Lynch
AL-FANAR MEDIA / 28 Apr 2015
CAIRO – The United States and Egypt announced a multi-million dollar higher education initiative at a long-delayed launch event Sunday, marking a milestone for educational ties between the two nations and expanding academic opportunities for Egyptian students to study at home and abroad.
The $250-million effort, which will extend over the next several years, involves a slew of scholarships, exchange opportunities and institutional partnerships with the aim of developing Egypt’s economy.
“You may wonder why the United States is investing so much in new scholarships to Egyptian students,” said Robert Stephen Beecroft, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, at the event, which was held at the American University in Cairo’s campus on Tahrir Square. “One reason is that Egypt’s future as a secure, prosperous, democratic country is critical to the stability of this vitally important region.”
READ MORE....
AL-FANAR MEDIA / 28 Apr 2015
CAIRO – The United States and Egypt announced a multi-million dollar higher education initiative at a long-delayed launch event Sunday, marking a milestone for educational ties between the two nations and expanding academic opportunities for Egyptian students to study at home and abroad.
The $250-million effort, which will extend over the next several years, involves a slew of scholarships, exchange opportunities and institutional partnerships with the aim of developing Egypt’s economy.
“You may wonder why the United States is investing so much in new scholarships to Egyptian students,” said Robert Stephen Beecroft, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, at the event, which was held at the American University in Cairo’s campus on Tahrir Square. “One reason is that Egypt’s future as a secure, prosperous, democratic country is critical to the stability of this vitally important region.”
READ MORE....
How Saudi Universities Rose in the Global Rankings
Charles McPhedran
Al-Fanar Media / 15 Oct 2013
The associate education professor’s program was one of the winners in this year’s rankings.
King Saud University’s education faculty was the only one in the Arab world to achieve a top 100 rating in its discipline in the 2013 QS rankings.
A key contributor to the department’s success, Alshamrani explains, are the “excellence clusters” that the university has set up, including his group, the Excellence Centre for Science and Mathematics Education.
“We have a clear focus,” he says, with evident pride. “It’s about improving our research and that will improve our situation in science and mathematics education in Saudi Arabia.”
The major rankings – those done by Times Higher Education, QS and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Center for World-Class Universities – give the impression that Saudi Arabia’s best universities, King Saud University and King Abdulaziz, comprise a minor Arab Ivy League.
READ MORE....
Al-Fanar Media / 15 Oct 2013
The associate education professor’s program was one of the winners in this year’s rankings.
King Saud University’s education faculty was the only one in the Arab world to achieve a top 100 rating in its discipline in the 2013 QS rankings.
A key contributor to the department’s success, Alshamrani explains, are the “excellence clusters” that the university has set up, including his group, the Excellence Centre for Science and Mathematics Education.
“We have a clear focus,” he says, with evident pride. “It’s about improving our research and that will improve our situation in science and mathematics education in Saudi Arabia.”
The major rankings – those done by Times Higher Education, QS and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Center for World-Class Universities – give the impression that Saudi Arabia’s best universities, King Saud University and King Abdulaziz, comprise a minor Arab Ivy League.
READ MORE....
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Better Life Index: Infographic shows what people around the world value most
BY ROSIN O'CONNOR
The Independent - Wednesday 29 April 2015
The OECD Better Life Initiative has been collecting information on a continuous basis since 2011, and to date has received over 60,000 responses from over 180 countries.
The result, called the Better
Life Index, is intended to allow viewers to compare well-being across
countries, based on the 11 topics the OECD identified as essential, in
the areas of material living conditions and quality of life.
READ MORE......
The Independent - Wednesday 29 April 2015
The OECD Better Life Initiative has been collecting information on a continuous basis since 2011, and to date has received over 60,000 responses from over 180 countries.
The result, called the Better
Life Index, is intended to allow viewers to compare well-being across
countries, based on the 11 topics the OECD identified as essential, in
the areas of material living conditions and quality of life. READ MORE......
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
LBJ’s Other War
Fifty years ago today, the United States invaded the Dominican Republic, continuing its sordid history in Latin America.
by Rory Fanning
JACOBIN - 4.28.15
Fifty years ago today, four hundred United States Marines landed on the shores of the Dominican Republic, beginning a fourteen-month occupation of the country.
Dubbing it “Operation Powerpack,” President Johnson’s administration sold the invasion with gruesome lies that played off mid-sixties anticommunist hysteria and a manufactured national security risk. On April 28, 1965, Johnson alerted the American public of the operation as it was happening in a brazen White House press conference, saying it was necessary to “protect American lives.”
The US had long viewed Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican Republic’s brutal dictator, as an ally who helped offset the political influence of Cuba’s Fidel Castro. But after Trujillo’s assassination, Juan Bosch, a liberal reformer and one-time political prisoner, was elected president.
READ MORE......
by Rory Fanning
JACOBIN - 4.28.15
Fifty years ago today, four hundred United States Marines landed on the shores of the Dominican Republic, beginning a fourteen-month occupation of the country.
Dubbing it “Operation Powerpack,” President Johnson’s administration sold the invasion with gruesome lies that played off mid-sixties anticommunist hysteria and a manufactured national security risk. On April 28, 1965, Johnson alerted the American public of the operation as it was happening in a brazen White House press conference, saying it was necessary to “protect American lives.”
The US had long viewed Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican Republic’s brutal dictator, as an ally who helped offset the political influence of Cuba’s Fidel Castro. But after Trujillo’s assassination, Juan Bosch, a liberal reformer and one-time political prisoner, was elected president.
READ MORE......
Robots are infiltrating the growth statistics
Scott Andes and Mark Muro
BROOKINGS | April 27, 2015
Robots remain an object of quizzical concern—and confusion. In early April the Third Way think tank published research by Henry Siu and Nir Jaimovich that attributes to robots and automation the fact that routinized jobs have all but vanished from the economic recovery.
And yet, in February, Larry Summers professed himself nonplussed that, for all of the anecdotal evidence that automation is altering the workplace and presumably increasing productivity, the “productivity statistics over the last dozen years are dismal.” In other words, something is failing to compute in the automation debate.
Especially frustrating has been the fact there hasn’t been much macroeconomic research on the impact of robots to persuade commentators to move from anecdote to analysis.
READ MORE.....
BROOKINGS | April 27, 2015
Robots remain an object of quizzical concern—and confusion. In early April the Third Way think tank published research by Henry Siu and Nir Jaimovich that attributes to robots and automation the fact that routinized jobs have all but vanished from the economic recovery.
And yet, in February, Larry Summers professed himself nonplussed that, for all of the anecdotal evidence that automation is altering the workplace and presumably increasing productivity, the “productivity statistics over the last dozen years are dismal.” In other words, something is failing to compute in the automation debate.
Especially frustrating has been the fact there hasn’t been much macroeconomic research on the impact of robots to persuade commentators to move from anecdote to analysis.
READ MORE.....
Private Surveillance Drones Take Flight Over Iraq
The Kurds have help from an American entrepreneur
by BENEDETTA ARGENTIERI
WAR IS BORING - APRIL 2015
READ MORE.....
by BENEDETTA ARGENTIERI
WAR IS BORING - APRIL 2015
It was a clear day in mid-March
when a drone flew over the disputed city of Sinjar in northern Iraq,
photographing Islamic State’s fighting positions.
When
the drone landed after its 13-minute flight, a small crowd of Kurdish
Peshmerga soldiers cheered and smiled. They were puzzled by this odd
airplane with white polystyrene wings so small it could fit inside the
trunk of a car. They had never seen anything like it before.
The
flight plan had seven different points of interest to capture over
nearly five miles of flight. The GoPro camera attached to the LA-300 UAV was also able to photograph the details of buildings used as weapons caches.
The Daesh — what
Kurds call Islamic State — heard it flying over their heads and
broadcasted an alarm by radio. The jihadis thought the United States was
about to launch an air strike.
READ MORE.....
Corporate America’s Evolution on L.G.B.T. Rights
By Richard Socarides
THE NEW YORKER - April 27, 2015
Twenty years ago, when I was working as a White House special assistant in Bill Clinton’s public-liaison office, one of my jobs was to rally support for the President’s initiatives. We often focussed on enlisting business leaders, among whom the President had many supporters, thanks in part to the country’s robust economy. When I tried, however, to get C.E.O.s to endorse Clinton’s gay-rights initiatives, which included expanding protections against employment discrimination and hate crimes, as well as appointing gays to positions requiring confirmation by the U.S. Senate, I got very few takers. Just getting executives to a meeting about gay rights was a challenge, even though they generally liked being invited to the White House. I remember one event, in particular, for which the best we could do was get a producer, who was gay himself, to represent the business community. The entertainment industry was, at the time, the only business that wanted anything to do with gay rights.
I was thinking about that era as I read the amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of marriage equality by three hundred and seventy-nine major businesses and business organizations, in connection with four landmark cases that will be argued before the Court on Tuesday. The brief has been signed by a broad cross-section of American businesses from every region of the country, reflecting the commitment to the issue that has evolved, at first slowly and then forcefully, over the past decade. The brief argues that laws restricting marriage to heterosexual couples “impose a significant burden on us and harm our ability to attract and retain the best employees.”
READ MORE....
THE NEW YORKER - April 27, 2015
Twenty years ago, when I was working as a White House special assistant in Bill Clinton’s public-liaison office, one of my jobs was to rally support for the President’s initiatives. We often focussed on enlisting business leaders, among whom the President had many supporters, thanks in part to the country’s robust economy. When I tried, however, to get C.E.O.s to endorse Clinton’s gay-rights initiatives, which included expanding protections against employment discrimination and hate crimes, as well as appointing gays to positions requiring confirmation by the U.S. Senate, I got very few takers. Just getting executives to a meeting about gay rights was a challenge, even though they generally liked being invited to the White House. I remember one event, in particular, for which the best we could do was get a producer, who was gay himself, to represent the business community. The entertainment industry was, at the time, the only business that wanted anything to do with gay rights.
I was thinking about that era as I read the amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of marriage equality by three hundred and seventy-nine major businesses and business organizations, in connection with four landmark cases that will be argued before the Court on Tuesday. The brief has been signed by a broad cross-section of American businesses from every region of the country, reflecting the commitment to the issue that has evolved, at first slowly and then forcefully, over the past decade. The brief argues that laws restricting marriage to heterosexual couples “impose a significant burden on us and harm our ability to attract and retain the best employees.”
READ MORE....
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
China has become world's second largest vineyards: OIV
English.news.cn | 2015-04-29
PARIS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China has become the world's second largest vineyard owner with about 800,000 hectares of vineyards all over the country, Jean-Marie Aurand, the director general of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), has said. Spain remains in top place with its 1.02 million hectares of vineyards, while France dropped to the third place after China. The global wine production in 2014 stood at 279 million hectoliters, of which China contributed 11.1 million hectoliters, said Aurand on Monday, adding that China's booming wine regions were the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Ningxia and Sichuan.
READ MORE....
READ MORE....
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Here’s How Managers Can Be Replaced by Software
Devin Fidler
Harvard Business Review - April 21, 2015
Fortune 500 executives spend a fair amount of time thinking about how automation and the Internet are changing the nature of employment, but they rarely wonder how technology will have an impact much closer to home: on their own jobs.
For the last several years, we have been studying the forces now shaping the future of work, and wondering whether high-level management could be automated. This inspired us to create prototype software we informally dubbed “iCEO.” As the name suggests, iCEO is a virtual management system that automates complex work by dividing it into small individual tasks. iCEO then assigns these micro-tasks to workers using multiple software platforms, such as oDesk, Uber, and email/text messaging. Basically, the system allows a user to drag-and-drop “virtual assembly lines” into place, and run them from a dashboard.
READ MORE.....
Harvard Business Review - April 21, 2015
Fortune 500 executives spend a fair amount of time thinking about how automation and the Internet are changing the nature of employment, but they rarely wonder how technology will have an impact much closer to home: on their own jobs.
For the last several years, we have been studying the forces now shaping the future of work, and wondering whether high-level management could be automated. This inspired us to create prototype software we informally dubbed “iCEO.” As the name suggests, iCEO is a virtual management system that automates complex work by dividing it into small individual tasks. iCEO then assigns these micro-tasks to workers using multiple software platforms, such as oDesk, Uber, and email/text messaging. Basically, the system allows a user to drag-and-drop “virtual assembly lines” into place, and run them from a dashboard.
READ MORE.....
Barack Obama’s welcome Kissinger realism
Edward Luce
The essence of diplomacy: when adversaries come to terms, neither gets everything they want
Financial Times - April 19, 2015
The biggest rap against Barack Obama’s foreign policy is that he is naive. Yet, as his presidency matures, Mr Obama is showing qualities one would normally associate with Henry Kissinger — the arch-realist of US diplomacy. Neoconservatives and liberals alike care about the internal character of regimes with which the US does business. Mr Kissinger stands apart from that tradition. The less Mr Obama preaches morality to foreigners, the more he distances himself from the exceptionalists — the more opportunities he creates. It is a welcome sign of a president with a learning curve. The chief example is Mr Obama’s evolution on the Middle East. In 2009, he went to Cairo to offer a new chapter in relations between the west and the Muslim world. His felicitous words went down well in the region but were quickly forgotten. Today Mr Obama gives fewer speeches but has a bigger appetite for deeds. The best measure is his recent framework nuclear deal with Iran. Much to the chagrin of his critics, the agreement is silent on Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism abroad and repression at home. Its focus is on curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
READ MORE....
The essence of diplomacy: when adversaries come to terms, neither gets everything they want
Financial Times - April 19, 2015
The biggest rap against Barack Obama’s foreign policy is that he is naive. Yet, as his presidency matures, Mr Obama is showing qualities one would normally associate with Henry Kissinger — the arch-realist of US diplomacy. Neoconservatives and liberals alike care about the internal character of regimes with which the US does business. Mr Kissinger stands apart from that tradition. The less Mr Obama preaches morality to foreigners, the more he distances himself from the exceptionalists — the more opportunities he creates. It is a welcome sign of a president with a learning curve. The chief example is Mr Obama’s evolution on the Middle East. In 2009, he went to Cairo to offer a new chapter in relations between the west and the Muslim world. His felicitous words went down well in the region but were quickly forgotten. Today Mr Obama gives fewer speeches but has a bigger appetite for deeds. The best measure is his recent framework nuclear deal with Iran. Much to the chagrin of his critics, the agreement is silent on Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism abroad and repression at home. Its focus is on curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
READ MORE....
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Do grades matter? Depends if you’re asking Google or Goldman Sachs
BY Max Nisen
QUARTZ - APRIL 20, 2015
Goldman Sachs and Google are both thought of as companies that compete for talent. But they have different ways of spotting it. One of the best-known—and surprising—results of Google’s internal research into hiring and success is that academic track records don’t really matter. In a New York Times interview (paywall), HR chief Laszlo Bock said university grades are “worthless as a criteria [sic] for hiring.” At the People Analytics Conference April 10-11 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school, Bock reiterated the point:
"We did a bunch of analysis and found that grades are a little predictive your first two years, but for the rest of your career don’t matter at all."
Other companies, however, have found something different. At the same conference, Goldman Sachs managing director and operations data lead Afsheen Afshar spoke about the investment bank’s own data-intensive efforts to see if it’s missing potentially interesting candidates. The result is a very different way of thinking about the grade-point averages that universities use to measure academic achievement: “GPA isn’t the whole story, but it is part of it,” Afshar said at a panel discussion. “Leadership went into the analysis thinking it might not mean anything, but it does matter.”
READ MORE....
QUARTZ - APRIL 20, 2015
Goldman Sachs and Google are both thought of as companies that compete for talent. But they have different ways of spotting it. One of the best-known—and surprising—results of Google’s internal research into hiring and success is that academic track records don’t really matter. In a New York Times interview (paywall), HR chief Laszlo Bock said university grades are “worthless as a criteria [sic] for hiring.” At the People Analytics Conference April 10-11 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school, Bock reiterated the point:
"We did a bunch of analysis and found that grades are a little predictive your first two years, but for the rest of your career don’t matter at all."
Other companies, however, have found something different. At the same conference, Goldman Sachs managing director and operations data lead Afsheen Afshar spoke about the investment bank’s own data-intensive efforts to see if it’s missing potentially interesting candidates. The result is a very different way of thinking about the grade-point averages that universities use to measure academic achievement: “GPA isn’t the whole story, but it is part of it,” Afshar said at a panel discussion. “Leadership went into the analysis thinking it might not mean anything, but it does matter.”
READ MORE....
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The End of Development
BBC - MARCH 7, 2015
Anthropologist Henrietta Moore argues that the age of development is over and that we need new ideas on how to improve human lives.
LISTEN THIS LECTURE......
Anthropologist Henrietta Moore argues that the age of development is over and that we need new ideas on how to improve human lives.
LISTEN THIS LECTURE......
Does the Development Industry really need new clothes?
Africa is a country - March 18, 2015
Maria Hengeveld
(She is a graduate student at Columbia University. Previously she lived in Cape Town, South Africa)
Maria Hengeveld
(She is a graduate student at Columbia University. Previously she lived in Cape Town, South Africa)
If you don’t work in the international
development field, it may have escaped your attention but we currently
find ourselves in the dawn of a new global development epoch. As the
UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in September 2015, their
replacement – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – will soon take
over.
The ultimate goal of this brand new set of global standards
and targets is to put in place the strategies, principles and
partnerships to make this world a more equal and just place over the
next fifteen years. The recently released synthesis report offers a (provisional) blueprint of what sustainability will look like. Its ultimate aim? Ending poverty, transforming lives and protecting the planet. The first goal is to “eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere”.
The word sustainable shows up no less than 199 times in the report’s 34 pages (plus 12 hits for sustainability). As
it stands, there are seventeen goals, 169 targets and six essential
elements (dignity, people, prosperity, planet, justice and partnership)
that will guide the allocation of trillions of development dollars and
shape national policies of member states (though the extent of the
latter will differ in each country). With ambitions this high, the SDGs
are worth speculating about, as evidenced by a slew of recent op-eds and
blog posts.
With fifteen years of the MDGs behind us, an evaluation of their
impact seems a logical starting point to assess the new agenda’s
potential to drive positive change. Yet, as some commentators have
pointed out, there are some notable differences between the two agendas.
One major difference between the old and the new set of goals is the
process to create them. Unlike the ten MDGs, which were established
by then Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a handful of confidantes, the
SDGs are the product of huge rounds of global consultations. A
consequence of the more inclusive approach of the SDGs, as some
governments and human rights NGOs have lamented, is that the new goals
and targets are too many, and lack both clarity and direction. For economics professors Abhijit Banerjee and Varad Pande, who wrote about it in the New York Times, it will be challenging to balance ambition with practicality. Former World Bank Economist Charles Kenny is skeptical
about the impact of the MDGs and, by implication, the potential of the
SDGs. According to him, the MDGs may have led to an increase in aid –
but it’s not clear they always led to progress. One critical problem of
the new agenda, Kenny argues, is that the goals lack a clear rationale on what, exactly, they will accomplish and how.
Similarly, Duncan Green, an advisor for Oxfam, argues
that we lack the actual evidence to show that the MDGs influenced
government policies. Drawing on the findings of a report called Power of Numbers,
he points to the limitations and unintended consequences of measuring
justice and human well being with quantifiable targets. One example,
offered by the report and cited by Green, is the MDGs’ focus on gender
parity in education, the workforce and the political sphere. “’These
narrow targets were a dramatic change from the more transformative
understanding of “gender equality” that had emerged from the 1995
Beijing Conference on Women and the civil society movements of the
1990s.” With regards to education, the MDGs’
preoccupation with raising primary school access, often hailed as one of
its greatest achievements, has been singled out for its detrimental
effect on the quality of education, as many schools lack the resources
and teaching staff to actually accommodate the newcomers. While it’s
important to get all children in school, enrollment and attendance rates
don’t tell us much about what they’ve learned in class.
William Easterly, currently a Professor at NYU and famous for his skepticism towards development aid, told
the New York Times that development experts “mistake development for an
engineering problem” when in reality development progress only happens
“when people identify problems and push for solutions through their
political systems.” He recently shared on Devex that the SDGs mirror the
development community’s “fetish with action plans.” To him, the
excessive usage of the term sustainability in a global framework that
tries to please everyone rendered the project somewhat empty. Yet even
he admits that both the MDG and the SDG share the potential to spur
“advocacy and motivation.” However, with the efforts and budgets that
are invested in the SDGs, they should amount to a great deal more.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Ibn Khaldun, Islam’s Man for All Seasons By Benedikt Koehler
CapX - 19 April 2015
Tensions tearing at the basis of Islamic societies are never more acute than when stoked in the name of Islam. Idealists invoking Islam as a lever for change spark upheavals that time and again hand power to cynics. Looking for an explanation why Islamic societies wallow in paralysis, some suggest Islamic societies stagnate because Islam itself does not admit of contemplating change in society, that Islam, to put it simply, comes without a toolkit for handling social change. To think so is tempting – but wrong.
The very agenda of social sciences, why and how change occurs in society, was mapped by Ibn Khaldun who produced a coherent body of analysis of why societies rise, peak, and wane. Ibn Khaldun spread himself across so many disciplines and spheres of work, one wonders how so many activities fit into a single CV. Ibn Khaldun was born in 1332 in Tunisia to a family with a tradition of diplomatic service in Spain and the Maghrib, and he initially followed in his family’s footsteps into a diplomatic career that took him to act as lead negotiator in several diplomatic missions, but he fell from favour at court and chose to move to Egypt where he served as a senior judge until his death in 1406.
READ MORE....
Tensions tearing at the basis of Islamic societies are never more acute than when stoked in the name of Islam. Idealists invoking Islam as a lever for change spark upheavals that time and again hand power to cynics. Looking for an explanation why Islamic societies wallow in paralysis, some suggest Islamic societies stagnate because Islam itself does not admit of contemplating change in society, that Islam, to put it simply, comes without a toolkit for handling social change. To think so is tempting – but wrong.
The very agenda of social sciences, why and how change occurs in society, was mapped by Ibn Khaldun who produced a coherent body of analysis of why societies rise, peak, and wane. Ibn Khaldun spread himself across so many disciplines and spheres of work, one wonders how so many activities fit into a single CV. Ibn Khaldun was born in 1332 in Tunisia to a family with a tradition of diplomatic service in Spain and the Maghrib, and he initially followed in his family’s footsteps into a diplomatic career that took him to act as lead negotiator in several diplomatic missions, but he fell from favour at court and chose to move to Egypt where he served as a senior judge until his death in 1406.
READ MORE....
US ELECTION NEWS
Obama’s long & passionate Monday with Saban, Foxman, Hoenlein and other Jewish leaders demonstrates power of Israel lobby US Politics
Philip Weiss on April 14, 2015
‘Everything Hillary Clinton will do will always be for Israel’ — Saban warns the Republicans US Politics
Philip Weiss on April 18, 2015
Univision owner: 'When Hillary Clinton is president...'
By Eddie Scarry | April 17, 2015
Philip Weiss on April 14, 2015
‘Everything Hillary Clinton will do will always be for Israel’ — Saban warns the Republicans US Politics
Philip Weiss on April 18, 2015
Univision owner: 'When Hillary Clinton is president...'
By Eddie Scarry | April 17, 2015
Battle of the billionaires: Adelson vs. Saban
When Sheldon Adelson goes to bat against Haim Saban in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, one thing's for sure: It's not good for Israel.
By Avner Hopstein
Hareetz | Apr. 20, 2015
Israeli-American businessman Haim Saban, a major donor and fundraiser for the Democratic Party and one of those closest to the Clintons, was not happy with the results of the 2008 election campaign. He apparently foresaw U.S. President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech, the agreement with the Iranians and perhaps even the present frigid atmosphere in relations between Jerusalem and Washington. I met with him in December 2008, a moment before Obama assumed office, for an interview in his home in Malibu.
The view was breathtaking. A waiter offered me a soft drink, and Saban hissed: “And me you don’t bring anything. They always screw the blacks.” This comment led to a discussion of the new president. “I’m very, very worried,” he said repeatedly. He said that he had heard from people close to Obama that he intended to subject Israel to new standards of work with the administration, commenting that Obama’s attitude towards the Middle East would probably be diametrically opposed to that of his predecessors. He was apparently still disappointed at Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the primaries. He explained that he hadn’t raised money for Obama. After politely praisingObama, he added that his relationship with him was “much less warm” than his rapport with the Clintons. In their home he walks around barefoot and in shorts.
READ MORE....
By Avner Hopstein
Hareetz | Apr. 20, 2015
Israeli-American businessman Haim Saban, a major donor and fundraiser for the Democratic Party and one of those closest to the Clintons, was not happy with the results of the 2008 election campaign. He apparently foresaw U.S. President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech, the agreement with the Iranians and perhaps even the present frigid atmosphere in relations between Jerusalem and Washington. I met with him in December 2008, a moment before Obama assumed office, for an interview in his home in Malibu.
The view was breathtaking. A waiter offered me a soft drink, and Saban hissed: “And me you don’t bring anything. They always screw the blacks.” This comment led to a discussion of the new president. “I’m very, very worried,” he said repeatedly. He said that he had heard from people close to Obama that he intended to subject Israel to new standards of work with the administration, commenting that Obama’s attitude towards the Middle East would probably be diametrically opposed to that of his predecessors. He was apparently still disappointed at Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the primaries. He explained that he hadn’t raised money for Obama. After politely praisingObama, he added that his relationship with him was “much less warm” than his rapport with the Clintons. In their home he walks around barefoot and in shorts.
READ MORE....
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Interview: Bandung Spirit still plays positive role in building int'l order: Cambodian FM
by Xue Lei, Li Hong
English.news.cn 2015-04-20
PHNOM PENH, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The spirit of the 1955 Asian- African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, remains relevant and has played a positive role in building a more equitable and rational international political and economic order, said Cambodian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong.
In a written interview with Xinhua ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference on April 24 in Bandung, Indonesia, Hor Namhong said the Bandung Principles, which incorporated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, were adopted at the 1955 Asian-African Conference and subsequently endorsed at the 1961 Non-Aligned Movement Summit, of which late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk was one of the founders.
"Although the Bandung Principles were established in the Cold War era, I am of the view that it remains as relevant as ever with its growing significance and roles in today's critical juncture," Hor Namhong said.
"The evolution of international relations in the past six decades proves that the Bandung Spirit has not only become open and inclusive principles of international law, but embodies the values of sovereignty, justice, democracy and rule of law."
READ MORE....
English.news.cn 2015-04-20
PHNOM PENH, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The spirit of the 1955 Asian- African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, remains relevant and has played a positive role in building a more equitable and rational international political and economic order, said Cambodian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong.
In a written interview with Xinhua ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference on April 24 in Bandung, Indonesia, Hor Namhong said the Bandung Principles, which incorporated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, were adopted at the 1955 Asian-African Conference and subsequently endorsed at the 1961 Non-Aligned Movement Summit, of which late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk was one of the founders.
"Although the Bandung Principles were established in the Cold War era, I am of the view that it remains as relevant as ever with its growing significance and roles in today's critical juncture," Hor Namhong said.
"The evolution of international relations in the past six decades proves that the Bandung Spirit has not only become open and inclusive principles of international law, but embodies the values of sovereignty, justice, democracy and rule of law."
READ MORE....
U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons
Jonathan Masters
CFR - July 15, 2013
The debate over gun control in the
United States has waxed and waned over the years, stirred by a series of
mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings. The killing of twenty
schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 prompted a
national discussion over gun laws and calls by the Obama administration
to limit the availability of military-style assault weapons. However,
compromise legislation that would have banned semiautomatic weapons and expanded background checks was defeated in the Senate in April 2013 despite extensive public support.
Gun ownership in the United States far surpasses other countries, and recent mass shootings in particular have raised comparisons with policies abroad. Democracies that have experienced similar traumatic shooting incidents have taken significant steps to regulate gun ownership and restrict assault weapons. They generally experience far fewer incidents of gun violence than the United States.
READ MORE....
CFR - July 15, 2013
Gun ownership in the United States far surpasses other countries, and recent mass shootings in particular have raised comparisons with policies abroad. Democracies that have experienced similar traumatic shooting incidents have taken significant steps to regulate gun ownership and restrict assault weapons. They generally experience far fewer incidents of gun violence than the United States.
READ MORE....
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