Rick Santorum has been getting a lot of mileage criticizing Barack Obama’s ‘theology’ of late, but it is really Mr. Santorum who has the most dangerous theology on Earth. Rick Santorum is a dominionist, which means he believes the Earth to be nothing more than a rock that was given to us by some old [...]
All this religion stuff – so where’s revrick?
Religious conflict seems to be at the heart of most of the major issues in the world. You hear relatively little about the Arabs or the Iranians (Persians) per se, as compared to Muslims. The Israelis are as much a subject of discussion because they are Jews as because they are Israelis. Jews and Muslims lived [...]
It is time to do something about Syria.
I find the situation in Syria to be most troubling. It bothers me because it stinks of realpolitik. It is almost like Russia and China are saying, o.k. you had your fun in Libya so now Syria is ours. The lack of action on the part of the West is especially perplexing given that Turkey [...]
Gay Marriage
I’ve long been unabashedly proud of Massachusetts, where I currently live. I’m not sure you can find another state with so much to offer in such a small package. We have incredible historical sites, an unparalleled academic culture, great museums and theaters, some of the top teams in all four major team sports, natural beauty, [...]
Obama’s Unprecedented War on Whistleblowers
Most people here are probably already familiar with some aspects of the Obama administration’s obsessive fight against government transparency. For example, his Justice Department has brought more prosecutions against people on espionage charges for mishandling government information than all prior administrations combined. He locked up one alleged whistle-blower for over a year, in conditions that [...]
The Prison industry
For those of you who ignored (for whatever reason) my thread on America’s food industry (based on the Rogoff article), here’s another one to ignore: Gopnik’s New Yorker article on the origins and character of America’s prison-industrial complex: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120130crat_atlarge_gopnik There are some interesting observations here. Mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history [...]
Film recommendation
Here’s an interesting film (available on Netflix Streaming): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave_%282008_film%29 It’s a German film from 2008. The plot involves a German high school teacher who, as part of a class on autocratic governments, tries an experiment to challenge his students’ assumption that nothing like the Third Reich could ever take place in modern Germany. [...]
He’s no Bill Clinton!
The ironic title comes from a recent piece by that ultimate contrarian political commentator, Alex Cockburn, editor of Counterpunch, a left political site I frequent. This may come as a shock to folks here like Revrick, who think that perhaps acting like an ass towards women is restricted to Tea- Republicans. No, Bill Clinton, our [...]
Razing Cain
Herman Cain and various right-wing blowhards have insinuated that the explosion of sexual harrassment allegations against him are part of a left-wing effort to tear him down. Setting aside the whole question of the authenticity of the claims themselves, does the idea that they’re a left-wing effort strike anyone as remotely plausible? I’m not an [...]
-
philfromcalifornia: It struck me that, when I started at RPI, the tuit...
-
Days: You have to view housing finance from the top down...
-
philfromcalifornia: No; that would move you further down the ladder, I...
-
erhoades: D.,
Didn't realize you were having an issue, a...
-
diogene: My reply got truncated again. I added that in the ...
-
diogene: Phil: you would remain in the same relative posit...
-
Days: poverty with dignity is hard earned. wealth with...
-
run75441: Eric:
I believe you are tilting with the wron...
- I tend not to blame Obama too much. May 17, 2012
- Before I forget it … May 18, 2012
- Spain drags the euro down another rung May 17, 2012
- Before I forget it … May 18, 2012
- Spain drags the euro down another rung May 17, 2012
- I tend not to blame Obama too much. May 17, 2012
APM’s Marketplace
- From little white to blatant: Lies are lies
- Nick Hanauer on the TED talk, income inequality controversy
- Hewlett-Packard reportedly will lay off 30,000
- GM passes on Super Bowl advertising
- Letters: Brogrammers and older workers
- Walmart expands its bribery investigation
- Weekly Wrap: What happened to Facebook's stock?
- Obama to announce food initiative for world poor
- Silicon Valley's new underground millionaires
- 'Supercommuters' board airplanes to get to work
Science.
- Report using private health claims data shows prices are driving health spending growth
- Folic acid may reduce some childhood cancers
- AAPS National Biotechnology Conference to highlight innovative vaccines
- Study says children exposed to tobacco smoke face long-term respiratory problems
- Statins prevent cancer in heart transplant recipients
- Good news for nanomedicine: Quantum dots appear safe in pioneering study on primates
Scientific American
- Stuxnet-Like Viruses Remain a Top U.S. Security Risk
- Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds
- Coyotes Are the New Top Dogs
- Self-Worth Shattering: A Single Bomb Blast Can Saddle Soldiers with Debilitating Brain Trauma
- Track Record: Do Major Urban Subway Networks Evolve along Similar Patterns?
- Not-So-Quick Fix: ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run
- In Search of the Best (Energy) Ideas: A Q&A with ARPA-E's Arun Majumdar
- Ancient Time: Earliest Mayan Astronomical Calendar Unearthed in Guatemala Ruins
- Climate Forecasting: A Break in the Clouds
- Hive and Seek: Domestic Honeybees Keep Disappearing, but Are Their Wild Cousins in Trouble, Too? [Slide Show]
The New Yorker
- Peter Hessler: My life in British police lineups.
- Xan Rice: Runner Samuel Wanjiru’s tragic death.
- Richard Avedon: “Allen Ginsberg’s Family.”
- Jeffrey Toobin: How John Roberts orchestrated Citizens United.
- Alec Wilkinson: Can John Douglas Thompson act in Shakespeare’s comedies?
- David Owen: Daniel Nocera’s artificial leaf.
- Larissa MacFarquhar: Clayton Christensen’s disruptive innovation.
- Michael Specter: Can geoengineering solve global warming?
- Evan Osnos: Gong Haiyan, Jiayuan, and dating in China.
- Andrea K. Scott: Sarah Sze’s sculpture from everyday objects.
NYT global headlines.
- Robin Gibb, Member of the Bee Gees, Dies at 62
- Nationalist Wins Serbian Presidency
- Greek Crisis Poses Hard Choices for Western Leaders
- Supply Lines Cast Shadow at NATO Meeting on Afghan War
- Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, Lockerbie Bomber, Dies at 60
- Hamas and Fatah Agree in Cairo to Begin Work on Elections
Spiegel
- Taliban Death Threats: The West's Afghan Workers Fear NATO Withdrawal
- 'Lost Nation': US Think Tank Slams Germany's NATO Role
- Unreliable Partners?: Germany's Reputation in NATO Has Hit Rock Bottom
- US Nuclear Weapons Upgrades: Experts Report Massive Cost Increase
- Disses and Death Threats: Rapper in Germany Fears for Life after Fatwa
- Profiting from Power?: The Dubious Business of the Yanukovych Clan
- A Global Petition to Asma Al-Assad: Being a Bystander Is a Choice
- Champagne Before the Crash: Pilot Bravado May Be to Blame for Superjet Disaster
- Interview with Greenpeace Head Kumi Naidoo: 'We Are Losing the Planet'
- Disaster in the Sahel: Fighting in Mali Adds Chaos to Troubled African Region
Reuters politics
- Pro-Romney Super PAC sees fundraising dip in April
- NATO seeks unity on Afghan war despite French exit plan
- U.S. banking laws unable to stop JPMorgan loss: Republican Boehner
- Obama pledges tough enforcement of Wall Street reforms
- At ''bridge to nowhere,'' Romney slams Obama on economy
- House Republicans top Democrats in April fundraising
FED research papers.
- 2012-35: Using the "Chandrasekhar Recursions" for Likelihood Evaluation of DSGE Models
- 2012-34: Time-to-Plan Lags for Commercial Construction Projects
- 2012-25: The Government-Sponsored Enterprises and the Mortgage Crisis: The Role of the Affordable Housing Goals
- 2012-23: International Policy Spillovers at the Zero Lower Bound
- 2012-21: Arbitrage, liquidity and exit: The repo and federal funds markets before, during, and emerging from the financial crisis
- 2012-24: Changes in Bank Lending Standards and the Macroeconomy