NOT the Majority Opinion

The new Memorandum of Understanding for Greece

2012-02-13T02:05:00.000-08:00

April 1, 2010 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM Portland Expo Portland, Maine 3:17 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Portland! (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Portland. AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can! THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (

Applications to Elite Universities Rise

2010-04-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

(from the NYT) Applications to elite private colleges rose again this academic year, despite the economic constraints on many families. As a result, admission rates often fell to record lows. Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Cornell, Stanford, M.I.T. and Duke each reported sharp increases in applications this year compared with last year. Undergraduate

FBI raids California university

2010-02-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

The FBI and California investigators raided the administrative offices of Sonoma State University yesterday morning to probe the possible misappropriation of federal grant money by a former university office, reports The Press Democrat. “The investigation is focused on 20 grants originally awarded and administered by the California Institute of Human Services,” university president Ruben

Crisis in a Stoic Land

2010-02-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

From today's NYT By VASSILIS VASSILIKOS Published: February 13, 2010 Athens Greece has entered the third millennium having survived many foreign occupations. The most trying was that of the Ottoman Empire, starting in 1453 when Constantinople was renamed Istanbul, from the Greek phrase meaning “going to the city.” Since our liberation from the Turks in 1821, we have suffered many

Wall St. Helped Greece to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis

2010-02-14T01:04:00.000-08:00

An interesting article in today's NYT. By LOUISE STORY, LANDON THOMAS Jr. and NELSON D. SCHWARTZ Published: February 13, 2010 Wall Street tactics akin to the ones that fostered subprime mortgages in America have worsened the financial crisis shaking Greece and undermining the euro by enabling European governments to hide their mounting debts.

2010 Quality of Life Index

2010-02-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

http://www1.internationalliving.com/qofl2010/ Country Cost of Living Leisure & Culture Economy Environment Freedom Health Infrastructure Risk & Safety Climate Final Score France 55 81 69 72 100 100 92 100 87 82 Australia 56 82 71 76 100 87 92

Greek prime minister fights "credibility deficit"

2010-02-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

George Papandreou has stuck by his pledge to increase transparency despite economic woes. By Nicole Itano - GlobalPostPublished: February 8, 2010 06:40 ET ATHENS, Greece — Government jobs in Greece have long been seen as the spoils of power, handed out by whatever party was in control to reward supporters. But when Greece’s new Socialist government won national elections last October, it did

Google in China

2010-01-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

from Google. Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security

Cambridge University offers place to 14-year-old

2010-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

A 14-year-old maths prodigy is on the verge of breaking a 237-year-old record by becoming the youngest Cambridge University undergraduate since William Pitt the Younger. Arran Fernandez, from Surrey, has been offered a conditional place at Fitzwilliam College after passing the university's entrance exams. The teenager, who has sat his maths and further maths A-levels, now needs only to pass

Salaries of University Presidents

2009-12-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

In a recent survey published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the median presidential pay at private American colleges and universities for fiscal year 2008 was $358,746, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year. Presidents at major research universities, such as Carnegie Mellon University, did even better, with a median compensation package of $627,750, which is 5.5 percent higher than

Why the Japanese System Isn't True Democracy?

2009-12-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

When asked if Japan is a democratic nation, one can say--sarcasm aside--that Japan is indeed a constitutional democracy. Elections are held, and the country has a representative-style parliament. Elections allow ordinary citizens to swap those at the pinnacle of power and are undeniably an important constituent of democracy.

Government e-petitions give power to the people

2009-11-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

Government plans to roll out e-petitions across the UK could offer people a real say in the democratic process, a conference has heard.The legislation to make e-petitions compulsory for all councils in the UK comes into force in April 2010. It could result in a national e-petition scheme and force Westminster to take more notice of people power, thinks web guru Tom Steinberg.One of the biggest

Swiss court grants Polanski bail in US child sex case

2009-11-26T03:47:00.000-08:00

A Swiss court has accepted film-maker Roman Polanski's plea to be freed on $4.5m bail from a Swiss jail where he is being held for a US child sex case.The court said Polanski could stay at his chalet in the Swiss Alps. He would be monitored by an electronic tag.Polanski, 76, has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex a year earlier

The Obama administration on open source

2009-11-21T01:19:00.000-08:00

(From the information week).Having rebuilt Whitehouse.gov on the open source Drupal platform, President Obama's new media team is calling on the open source community for new ideas and technology. By J. Nicholas Hoover InformationWeek November 19, 2009 04:25 PM MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — At Harvard, Carrie Grimes majored in anthropology and archaeology and ventured to places like Honduras, where she studied Mayan settlement patterns by mapping where artifacts were found. But she was drawn to what she calls “all the computer and math stuff” that

Political corruption in Israel

2009-08-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

I never understood that part of Israeli politicsIsraeli police have recommended charging the country's hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, with several counts of corruption as part of a bribery investigation, in a move that could lead to his resignation and a significant government reshuffle. Lieberman, head of a popular far-right party, is suspected of bribery, fraud, breach of trust,

Swiss knife

2009-07-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Swiss army knife had humble beginnings, and, at the start, it wasn't even red. In the late 19th Century, the Swiss army issued its soldiers with a gun which required a special screwdriver to dismantle and clean it.more

Communal Webcasting platform at UC Berkeley

2009-07-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

An interesting piece of newsAs a growing number of worldwide learners log on, free of charge, to video and podcast lectures and events at the University of California, Berkeley, the campus is leading an international effort to build a communal Webcasting platform to more easily record and distribute its popular educational content.With grants from the Andrew W. Mellon and William and Flora

Politicians, officials and rabbis in a corruption scandal

2009-07-24T02:34:00.000-07:00

More than 40 people, including politicians, officials and several rabbis have been arrested in a major FBI operation in the US.Three hundred agents raided dozens of locations in New Jersey and New York as part of a 10-year probe into corruption and money laundering.Three mayors from the state of New Jersey and two members of the state legislature were among those held.One man is accused of kidney

Obesity 'link to same-sex parent'

2009-07-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

There is a strong link in obesity between mothers and daughters and fathers and sons, but not across the gender divide, research suggests.A study of 226 families by Plymouth's Peninsula Medical School found obese mothers were 10 times more likely to have obese daughters. For fathers and sons, there was a six-fold rise. But in both cases children of the opposite sex were not affected. The

Ethnicity segregation in UK schools

2009-07-11T00:47:00.000-07:00

Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated, deserted by white parents if they find their children becoming outnumbered by pupils from ethnic minorities, a report by a thinktank set up to promote community cohesion has warned. Councils should consider allocating school places using lotteries in some inner-city areas to tackle a growing phenomenon of "white flight" in the

Cutting Calories prolongs life?

2009-07-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Over 20 years, monkeys whose diets were not restricted were nearly three times more likely to have died than those whose calories were counted. Writing in Science, the US researchers hailed the "major effect" of the diet. It involved reducing calorie intake by 30% while maintaining nutrition and appeared to impact upon many forms of age-related disease seen in monkeys, including

Coffee against Alzheimer's'

2009-07-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease, US scientists say.The 55 mice used in the University of Florida study had been bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. First the researchers used behavioural tests to confirm the mice were exhibiting signs of memory impairment when they were aged 18 to 19 months, the equivalent to humans being

Swedish pirates capture EU seat

2009-06-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

Sweden's Pirate Party has won a seat in the European Parliament.The group - which campaigned on reformation of copyright and patent law - secured 7.1% of the Swedish vote. The result puts the Pirate Party in fifth place, behind the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the Moderate Party. Rickard Falkvinge, the party leader, told the BBC the win was "gigantic" and that they were now negotiating

Google's Wave

2009-05-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Google is uniting instant messaging, e-mail and document collaboration into a new service with the audacious goal of changing how people communicate online.The service, called Wave, will erode the distinction between the various ways people keep in touch on the Web and eliminate the need to use multiple tools to do so, the company said.Wave's users invite others to join their "wave" about a

World's 100 most influencial people

2009-05-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

The TIME 2009 list is here

YouTube helps man deliver baby

2009-05-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

An engineer in Cornwall delivered his baby son after watching an instructional video on YouTube.Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth."I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted

Nude hiking in Alps

2009-04-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

Voters in the heart of the Swiss Alps on Sunday passed legislation banning naked hiking after dozens of mostly German nudists started rambling through their picturesque region.By a show of hands citizens of the tiny canton (state) of Appenzell Inner Rhodes voted overwhelmingly at their traditional open-air annual assembly to impose a 200 Swiss franc ($176) fine on violators.The cantonal

Peter Zumthor wins the Pritzker Prize

2009-04-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

The prize, worth $100,000, is given for a body of work across a career, and is mainly valued for the prestige and commissions it can bring. Zumthor's works are found mainly in his native Switzerland, as well as elsewhere in Europe and the US. His most famous commission is the thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland. Peter Zumthor is about as far as its possible to be

Iowa Supreme Court ruling on Gay Marriage

2009-04-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

It was not just the California Supreme Court... And it is a unanimous decision!(From the Des Moines Register)The Iowa Supreme Court this morning upheld a Polk County judge’s 2007 ruling that marriage should not be limited to one man and one woman.The ruling, viewed nationally and at home as a victory for the gay rights movement and a setback for social conservatives, means gay couples can legally

Chris Knight and the Bankers

2009-03-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Chris Knight, of the University of East London, told BBC Radio 4 things "could get nasty" after ex-bank boss Sir Fred Goodwin's Edinburgh home was attacked.The university confirmed in a statement the professor of anthropology had been suspended from duties on Thursday.An investigation was being launched into his comments, it said.The statement read: "Professor Chris Knight has been suspended from

The Science of the Pope and HIV/AIDS

2009-03-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

From the Lancet (March 28, 2009)The Vatican felt the heat from an unprecedented amount of international condemnation last week after Pope Benedict XVI made an outrageous and wildly inaccurate statement about HIV/AIDS. On his first visit to Africa, the Pope told journalists that the continent's fight against the disease is a problem that “cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms: on the

Twitter and blogs in primary schools in the UK

2009-03-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

(From the Guardian)Children will no longer have to study the Victorians or the second world war under proposals to overhaul the primary school curriculum, the Guardian has learned.However, the draft plans will require children to master Twitter and Wikipedia and give teachers far more freedom to decide what youngsters should be concentrating on in classes.The proposed curriculum, which would mark

The US economy and China

2009-03-25T01:34:00.000-07:00

Despite the new enthusiasm at the White House and on Wall Street, there is little solid evidence to suggest an end was in sight to the severe recession that has already cost 4 million American jobs, driven down home values and sent foreclosures soaring.Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he was concerned about the safety of the stimated $1 trillion his country has invested in U.S.

The elections in El Salvador

2009-03-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Leftist Mauricio Funes of El Salvador's former Marxist rebel FMLN party has won the country's presidential election.He defeated his conservative rival, the Arena party's Rodrigo Avila, who has admitted defeat. Arena had won every presidential election since the end of El Salvador's civil war 18 years ago.The FMLN won 51.3% of the vote against Arena's 48.7%, Reuters news agency reported.FMLN (

Echoes of Plato today

2009-03-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

An interesting article by Harry Eyres in the Financial TimesEchoes of Plato today By Harry Eyres Published: March 14 2009 01:10 | Last updated: March 14 2009 01:10 I have just been giving a talk about Plato at the Aldeburgh Literary Festival – or rather engaging in a Platonic dialogue with Irene Noel-Baker, the only translator I know who has ever dared to render the great poet-banisher into verse

Travel Alert for Mexico

2009-03-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

an email sent to Berkeley faculty and students.The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel alert for Mexico due to a sharp increase in violence and crime along the northern Mexican border. The Berkeley International Office strongly encourages all students and scholars who plan to visit Mexico during spring break to read the travel alert and consider revising travel plans. The increase in

Federal funding for stem cell research

2009-03-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

At last!US President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines.Officials say Mr Obama will authorise the move by executive order on Monday, a major reversal of US policy.Ex-President George W Bush blocked the use of any government money to fund research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after 9 August 2001.Scientists say stem

Chavez wins referendum

2009-02-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

With 94% of votes counted, 54% backed an end to term limits, a National Electoral Council official said.More than 11 million voters out of almost 17 million who were eligible took part in Sunday's referendum, said the head of the electoral body, Tibisay Lucena.International observers said the ballot was free and fair, and opposition leaders were quoted as saying they would not contest the

A cure for common cold (and asthma attacks)?

2009-02-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

A very interesting scientific finding reported in today's NYT.Curing the common cold, one of medicine’s most elusive goals, may now be in the realm of the possible. Researchers said Thursday that they had decoded the genomes of the 99 strains of common cold virus and developed a catalog of its vulnerabilities.“We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective

Tom Daschle's nomination

2009-02-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

Today's excellent editorial of the San Francisco Chronicle on the issue.PS. I have just read that Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination to be US health secretary. In a statement, Obama said he regretted the way he had handled the case. "I've got to own up to my mistake which is that ultimately it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules," he said,

Addison St., Berkeley

2009-01-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

Deemed the Downtown Berkeley Arts District in recent years, this lively, revitalized area bustles with university students, businesspeople and visitors. Distinguished by a cluster of low-rise 19th and 20th century buildings, it's centered on Addison Street. With live theater, music and more, there's plenty to keep one engaged.more

al-Zaidi seeks political asylum in Geneva

2009-01-19T05:20:00.000-08:00

According to an exclusive of Tribune de GeneveThe Tribune de Genève just learned that the Iraqi journalist Al-Zaidi Mountaz is seeking political asylum in Switzerland and wanrts to move to Geneva. Imprisoned in Baghdad, he fears for his safety.Since last week, his lawyer in Switzerland, Mr. Mauro Poggia, intensifying its activities towards this. "Earlier this month, his family got in touch with

Iowa City

2009-01-19T01:49:00.000-08:00

I found the following information about Iowa City (a city a have a soft spot for).In 2008 Forbes ranked Iowa City #10 America's Smartest City. In 2007 Sperling's ranked Iowa City #5 Best Places to Live in the nation, and Outdoor Magazine ranked Iowa City the #1 Best Midwestern Town. In 2006 Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked Iowa City the #10 Smartest Places to Live in the nation. Iowa

How science works

2009-01-12T00:35:00.000-08:00

A nice image on how science works.The flowchart represents the process of scientific inquiry. Most ideas take a circuitous path through the process, shaped by unique people and events.