Wisconsin Assembly passes bill to curb collective bargaining

After weeks of demonstrations in the state capital, Wisconsin Republicans managed to surpass the final hurdle preventing them from passing their controversial bill. On Thursday the state passed an amended version of a bill that would curtail the bargaining rights of most state workers. The vote was 53-42 in favor of the bill. The State Senate Republicans managed to approve the bill Wednesday night even though 14 Democratic senators had fled the state in order to prevent the necessary quorum of 20 votes to pass the bill amendment. The amended bill enabled the State Senators to pass their measure with fewer votes. The bill will soon be delivered to the governor’s desk where his will sign the bill into a law. With regards to the missing senators, they are expected to be returning soon, but all of their efforts seem to have been to no avail. Senate Democrats have called the bill an attack on the negotiating rights of state employees. Complaints have already been files with the District Attorney's office, stating that the hearing for the collective bargaining bill violated Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law as they did not mention that they had intended to pass the law that very night. Despite the fact that public employee unions had already agreed to a financial compromise to make up for the State’s fiscal needs, State Republicans still held the position that the limits on public bargaining were the main components of achieving fiscal stability. Unions rallied their supporters to oppose the bill, drawing tens of thousands of workers to rallies opposing this bill. Sen. Mark Miller, the Democratic Senate leader, said Republicans "In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin."

Japan's cost moves 8 ft?

The earthquake in Japan has moved the whole of Japan more than 8 feet, or 2.8 meters. The quake ruptured along an area of 250 miles by 100 miles long, as a result of tectonic plates which slipped more than 18 meters reported USGS geophysicist Shengzao Chen.

The quake was so powerful that USGS reported a GPS station moved 8 feet. Still not impressed? The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy, reportedly estimated "the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters)". Is that powerful enough?

A lesson from Japanese culture

In the aftermath of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that have hit Japan, one thing that usually plagues relief efforts has been conspicuously missing—looting.

Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, as well as a culture that is incredibly community-oriented and disapproving of rule-breaking. This incredible social order is seen in the orderly lines strewn throughout even the hardest-hit areas. Compare this to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in which looting was a significant problem that local law enforcement officers, businesses, and relief effort teams had to deal with.

According to Gregory Pflugfelder, director of Japanese culture center at Columbia University, this difference stems from a cultural difference; "Japanese have 'a sense of being first and foremost responsible to the community,' he said." Compare this to the individual-oriented American society, in which people do what is most advantageous for themselves.

Merry White, an anthropology professor at Boston University who studies Japanese culture, stated that American looting stems from "social alienation and class gaps." While these also manifest in Japan, she states that Japanese culture overwhelmingly disapproves of violence and stealing.

In conclusion, this will help the Japanese relief effort, states Pflugfelder.

I find cultural differences between countries fascinating. I have been in a Japanese airport, and I could already tell that Japanese society revolved around courtesy, helping others, order, and hard work.

I don't know how some people in the U.S. consider breaking the law "cool" or conducive to creating one's "street cred," but do you think America needs to teach these values (courtesy, helping others, and order) more? If so, how do you think we could start?

This is also an interesting question, although slightly tangential: which do you value more—your individualism or societal order? There are a few people that suggest that America's individualism contributes to its creativity and innovation, and that stricter, more conformist cultures suffer from a lack of creativity. However, using Japan as an example, a powerful conformist attitude against criminals is obviously beneficial to society as a whole; at what point does conformity become stifling?

Also, I want to send my prayers to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, including those with friends and family members in Japan. I hope that, at the very least, that we value life more and that we can learn lessons about disaster relief from this tragedy.

Nuclear Threat?

In the tradgey of the earthquake in Japan, Japanese officials have another thing to worry about. The nuclear power plants. According to the Japanese officials, two nuclear power plants "can no longer cool radioactive substances". The two plants, Fukushima Daini and Fukushima Daiichi power plants, both had reactors that failed. The cause of the failure was damage due to the earthquake. In response from the news, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered an evacuation to those within 10 kilometers of the reactor. It's sad that bad things keep piling onto Japan's plate. I hope that Japan can overcome this difficult time.

Income Inequality

Once again, it seems that Europeans have a slightly different view on politics/economics as us Americans. In this blog post, Daniel Hamermesh, an economist, outlines statistical differences in poverty lines, which arose "during a seminar in Germany last week." He states that the U.S. sets the poverty line at three times the income needed to maintain a healthy diet, while the EU sets the poverty line at half the median income. This means that our measure of poverty is absolute, while Europe's is relative.

This, he asserts, has some interesting implications. It means that in the U.S., income inequality is seen as less of a problem; there can be extreme gaps between the poor and rich, but if a relatively poor person has an income over a certain absolute value, then he or she is not counted as "poor."

Fixing the poverty line to the median income, on the other hand, is a relative measure of poverty. If the median income drops, so does the income that defines poverty. If the median income increases, so does the poverty line. Thus, if you make less than half of what the "normal" person makes in Europe, you are considered impoverished. Thus, this system inherently favors income equality.

Now let's take a look at economic growth's effects on poverty through these two differing lenses. In the USA, poverty can be eliminated through pure economic growth so long as everyone benefits. It doesn't matter how much more one person benefits than the other. The only thing that matters is that the poor start earning incomes that exceed three times the income needed for a basic nutritious diet. In Europe, however, poverty can only be eliminated by decreasing income inequality. Even if everyone starts earning more money, there can still be poverty because the median income has also increased.

Which method do you guys prefer? How important is income inequality to you? It seems that the studies we read in class suggest that our happiness in relation to income is relative, but do you think poverty is relative? What if someone who is considered "impoverished" in Europe earns fifty times more in purchasing power (meaning they can buy fifty times more goods, already adjusted for price differences) than the middle class of another country? Are they still impoverished because they are poorer in the context of their society?

(For your information, this link does not explicitly state that Daniel Hamermesh is an economist, but I did some research and found out that he is a professor of economics at the University of Texas, Austin. He has a PhD. in economics.)

Sendai Earthquake

Today (Japan time), a magnitude 8.9 earthquake and 23-foot tsunami hit the coast of Japan, near the city of Sendai. Severe shocks were even felt in Tokyo, over 200 miles away from Sendai. For reference, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake is ten times larger than a magnitude 8.0 earthquake and 100 times larger than a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. It is the largest earthquake in Japanese recorded history.

There are currently 200 to 300 casualties, but this number is expected to rise dramatically in the near future.

The earthquake has prompted tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific, including the West Coast of the United States.

If you search for some videos, you can see the tsunami wiping away cars and gas storage tanks catching on fire, creating fumes of fire hundreds of feet tall. News has spread that a number of Japanese nuclear power plants' "fail-proof" mechanisms are failing; people within one mile of nuclear power plants have been evacuated.

Are we prepared for an earthquake that large? Do we have the necessary infrastructure not only for earthquake tremors, but for relief efforts? In light of the possible natural disasters that could happen, are nuclear power plants too risky?

A Loophole?

Recently, the rebels in Lybia have been losing ground, to the well-armed pro-Gadhafi troops. The Western country has done nothing but just watched, as the violent airstrikes, and fighting continues. Today France became the first country to formally recognize the rebels' Interim Governing Council, and saying that it was "planning "targeted operations" to defend civilians if the interim council demands them". I think this is finally a loophole in where Western countries can finally get into the conflict. The question is: Do you think the US will get involved?

Ivory Coast: Anti-Gbagbo protesters killed

For all those interested in the effects of the Egyptian rebellion, the stories just get better and better. Although the Ivory Coast had a first round of rebellion against the current president after he refused to accept the results of the last election last year, it seems as though people have become even more vocal and have been motivated to fight against the injustice which they face. Using Egypt as their model, people in the Ivory Coast have started rioting in the streets and a blood shed has started with some people fearing that a political, if not ethnic, genocide will take place as the nation is quite split. A few relevant questions in relation to all of the uprisings is: at what point will people stop rioting? Will the rioting spread to even more nations? And, who will take control of the chaos in unstable nations?

NPR Thinks That Republicans are " seriously racist, racist people," and Americans for The Most Part Are "Uneducated."

What a surprise, NPR is not liberally biased! In a rigged interview two top NPR executives have been recorded as supporting the radical "Islamic Brotherhood" and denouncing American activity so far with regard to Egypt, the execs also implied that a disproportionate number of Republicans and conservatives were "uneducated," "gun-toting" hillbillies. These executives show exactly the issues which NPR is willing to support in order to receive donations. And while this does not subtract from the quality of news which they report, it does undermine their legitimacy as an unbiased news radio station. For the record, the execs knew that the goal of their interviewees organization (Muslim Education Action Center) was to "combat intolerance to spread acceptance of Sharia across the world. " Thats the news for the hour.

Qaddafi Bombs Towns Containing Rebels.

I'm sure that everyone has been following the events which have been taking place in Libya these past few months. In summary, the long ruling president of Libya (Qaddafi) has faced opposition and has started a quasi civil-war in his nation between his supporters and the mostly radical Islamics who are not in support of his policies or his "oppressive rule." Until recently the world at large was curious as to how Qaddafi would deal with the rebels in his nation but now, enough has been done to answer that question. As a self-proclaimed "martyr" Qaddafi has sworn to eradicate the radicals from his nation as he blames Osama bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda for having incited the rebels to fight against his rule. Most recently, Qaddafi has started a bombing campaign on rebel towns and villages in an attempt to suppress the wave of rebellion which has swept through the region ever since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in early February this year. Now that Qaddafi has put troops on the ground and is not curbing to international pressures (specifically from the UN and the United States) he has made it clear that although do control many strongholds he will not be one to cause rebellion to spread. As it seems, the wave of rebellion has slowly calmed due to Qaddafi's strong military response, what other rebellion will occur if the rebels win. From one perspective the rebels represent grass roots support for a new government in Libya, but from another perspective it is these same rebels who are anti-American and also support radical Islam. As a moderate if not quasi-progressive Muslim, Qaddafi has openly shown some allegiance to western goals of increasing literacy rates, creating gender equality, and raising the standard of living in his nation. Also, Qaddafi as shown support for Israel by stating that he opposes a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict as Israel would be quickly crushed and the radical Islamic control of the region would grow to dangerous proportions. What opinions do people have on this issue? Should the US get involved or stay out of this issue?

Get more Gitmo.

All of us can remember that at the beginning of his presidency, Barack Obama decided to release highly sensitive material relating to the American facilities in Guantanamo Bay in an attempt of buying public support by appearing to be "transparent." Not only was the President's action unprecedented (no pun intended) but his attempts to decommission the Guantanamo Bay facilities blew up in his face as Americans realized that the only way to do so would be to transport all terrorists from the facilities onto American soil where they would stand trial in American courts as if they deserved, or had the same rights as American citizens. Since Obama suspended military activity in the facilities and earlier last year managed to start getting terrorists from some of the facilities tried in courts, he has had to revoke his suspension of the facilities and as lawmakers are trying to block courts from trying cases of the terrorists in Guantanamo Bay there may be no other option but to keep the facilities open. Currently, habeus releases by the executive branch are the fastest way to empty Guantanamo Bay of terrorists. However, even though many terrorists have won due process lawsuits against the government for being detained without trial or processing, they are still not released because there still remains the concern as to whether or not they will return to terrorist activities and a congressional ban prevents such releases from occurring. As for now, the future of Guantanamo Bay detainees is undecided and only time will decide their fate.

"Mathematically Annoying Advertising"

My friend Anthony Lu suggested these comics to me, and I must say that I find them hilarious (and relevant to what we have been learning in economics)!

All three poke fun at advertisements that trick consumers, either because of the consumers' price confusion (in which consumers don't know how much goods and services are really worth) or misleading advertising that suggest that people aren't the rational actors classical economics assume them to be.

Behavioral economics at work

A fairly new gym program in Boston charges customers $25 dollars if they skip a lesson in their program.

According to the Boston Globe, co-founder of Gym-Pact Yifan Zhang, who calls the $25 charges "motivational fees," was inspired by his behavioral economics professor at Harvard, who taught that people are motivated more by short-term satisfactions than by long-term "possibilities."

Personally, I would not buy into such an exercise plan; although it may motivate somebody to exercise, fundamentally it looks like this: you pay to commit yourself to doing some work or else you have to pay more. I do, however, think that this business utilizes behavioral economics to its advantage, which has interesting business applications. Would "motivational fees" work for other businesses? Commit yourself to golf lessons! You've tried learning golf many times, but just kept on making excuses for your failure! If you miss one session, you'll pay even more!

What do you guys think? Would you join a program like this? Does this say anything about people being economically rational actors?

I just knew that we would one day be allowed to bring guns on campus!

Although America has witnessed the atrocity of gun violence on campus in the 1999 Columbine High School shooing and in the more recent 2007 Virginia-Tech school shooting, lawmakers in a dozen states including Arizona and Texas are moving toward making the possession of guns by teachers and students on campus legal. Strangely enough, lawmakers believe that allowing students and teachers to carry guns on campus would act as a deterrent for any people with the intent of attacking a university campus. There doesn't seem to be much support for any such law by people in respective states, and I don't believe that there will be. Although one may argue that the ability to carry a firearm is a Second Amendment right, I'm not quite sure as to how this would play out on school campuses as to how students feel or interact with their peers. If anything I believe that upset or unstable students might just resolve their disputes by drawing out a firearm and releasing a spray of bullets on campus. I know that I would feel a lot more comfortable if teachers on campus had guns but not if students had the same liberty. What do you guys think? Would you feel more comfortable if you were able to wield a weapon on campus?

Disenfranchising College Students

In recent years, several States with predominantly Republican leadership have enacted voter registration changes. They claim this is to prevent voter fraud. My review of the evidence is that voter fraud is not a serious problem and that the laws are more likely motivated by wanting to create obstacles that impact Democratic-leaning groups more than Republican ones. The latest: making it harder for college students to register to vote.

In a related example, in 2004 the State of Ohio provided 2 polling booths for an entire college town, requiring students who wanted to vote to wait 8-10 hours. Long delays also happened in heavily African-American neighborhoods. Curiously, mistakes like this were not made in places with predominantly Republican voters.

Florida has restricted ex-cons from voting after they served their prison sentence. Changes to their rules prior to the 2008 election are being changed back to be more restrictive.

Trumped up charges of voter fraud and corruption were pushed by the Department of Justice under the Bush administration and Republican prosecutors that didn't pursue these weak cases were fired. See this timeline. Politics ain't beanbag, as the saying goes, but using the power of the state to whip up baseless criminal charges against your political opponents is creepy.

Bottom line: if you want to vote next year (and especially in 2012), don't wait until last minute to figure out how to register. It might be a small pain. Not making the effort rewards those who intentionally raise the cost of voting as a political tactic.

Car insurers in Europe will no longer be able to use gender as a factor for price discrimination

Recently, the European Court of Justice, Europe’s top court, ruled that in vehicle insurance matters, price discrimination due to gender violates laws protecting gender equality.

The Association of British Insurers said that as a result of this decision, women in the U.K. could face a 25% rise in insurance rates, while males in the country could expect their insurance rates to drop by 10%.

The insurance companies and some politicians are disappointed by the ruling, citing facts that suggest male drivers are considerably more risky than female drivers; “a male driver under 21 is twice as likely to have an accident than a woman under 21, insurers say ... Moreover, the development of the new discipline of ‘gender medicine’ in places like Germany and Austria has shown that men and women ... react in different ways to the same medicine, and therefore need different treatments.” This evidence suggests that males and females are truly different in classification and that gender can be considered for differential insurance pricing.

Others reject that argument, citing racial differences as unsuitable for being used for differential pricing. They say insurance price should be determined on other factors such as number of previous accidents, age, and how much the person expects to drive.

I personally think that, morally, this is a step in the right direction. Pricing should be based on changeable variables, things that either the person can change or things that change naturally with time. One can't change his or her own gender or race. Therefore, I think it's unfair that pricing can be determined based on gender. It is true that there are other scenarios in which gender can be used as a factor, like in college admissions; however, I think that is distinguishable because in that case, diversity is a compelling educational interest. Is there a "legitimate" interest for this discriminatory pricing?

What do you guys think? Do you think differential insurance pricing is a form of price discrimination? Is the European Court of Justice justified in its ruling? In the U.S., do you think the overwhelming evidence that suggests males are more reckless drivers would be enough to pass the intermediate scrutiny test (since gender is not a suspect classification, even though gender discrimination is an ongoing problem)?

By the way, I should add that currently gender IS suitable to be used for differential insurance pricing in the U.S.

Healthy Fast Food is a Lie?

Is food that fast food companies claim to be low-calorie and low-fat really good for you? There were six foods found that one may believe to be healthy but really aren't. One such food is McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal, which sounds like a "healthy" breakfast choice, but actually contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than an Egg McMuffin. Even companies like Starbucks, which isn't really a fast food resturaunt, is in on the deception. Thake their egg white, spinach, and feta wrap. It may have only 10 grams of fat, but it also utilizes 78 ingredients. The egg whites alone are made from 11 ingredients, like whey powder, unmodified corn starch, and guar gum. Some resaurants like Applebee's use the tactic of promoting a dish's low calories and packing in the sodium. Applebee's Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp boasts as a meal under 500 calories, but it also packs in 2,440 mg of sodium, which is 140 mg over the upper limit of the daily recommendation.
These startling facts had me wondering: can we really trust any kind of food that any company makes to be fresh and healthy for us? These companies try to sell us the idea of being thin by eating food with less calories, but we may end up getting high blood pressure if we continue eating meals that have a day's worth of sodium in them. This health food craze began because people were worrying about their health, but it seems that all the companies producing the foods are trying to manipulate this health craze for their monetary benefit while selling us food that will just cause other health problems. Go figure.

US exchange student missing in Spain

A San Diego State student Austin Bice went missing in Madrid, Spain just recently. He was last seen on February 26, 2011. He was an exchange student and only in Spain for about a month and a half so far. Bice was going to walk home from a club to where his apartment was. Bice did not have his wallet, passport or a winter coat because it was freezing. He was not aloud in the club because he looked ill and had been drinking a lot. How do you think the United States should deal with this issue. This happend before but he has been missing for a bit. But! the jurisdiction is in another country. But it is not like he is in Iraq or anything. I feel like this is like getting missing in a cruise ship on international waters. You are kind of screwed. Once you leave the United States the rules are a bit different.

What do you think the United States should or can do? And what are the policies?

China Raises Defense Budget for 2011

The Chinese government announced on Friday that it plans to increase its defense budget by 12.7% for 2011. The planned increase the second spike in military spending in many years; China increased its defense budget spending by 7.5% in 2010 from the previous year. Li Zhaoxing, a former foreign minister for the Chinese government, states that China plans to increase its spending by 67.6 billion yuan to make it a grand total of 601 billion yuan, which is the same as $91 billion. Li states that "the limited military strength of China is solely for safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and would not pose a threat to any country." The stated reasons for the defense spending increase is to improve China's armament, training and human resource development and to raise living standards for China's armed forces. Li also stresses that "there is no such thing as a so-called hidden military expenditure in China", so the government is not under-reporting the amount of money it plans to spend on defense.

Do you guys think that it's a good idea for China to increase its defense spending? I think this may cause tension as the increase could be seen as a threat to the US and other countries, but what are some other outcomes that you guys predict for the increased spending?

More Fun in Libya, Hint: This Time it Involves Us

Well, of course, being the United States, it is once again time for us to contemplate whether being the world's police force is the right choice (and in what amount). President Obama and Congress have begun discussing our intervention plans in Libya. This could entail anything from a direct assault on government forces, to messing with communications from space. We've already moved some forces into position, and all I can say is that I hope we don't end up bringing them ashore.

The idea of enforcing a "no-flight zone" has also been thrown around. This would prevent the government forces from using bombers, while not directly engaging us, but also has some downsides. What do you guys think we should do?

Advertisements in Bathroom Mirrors

Advertisements may begin popping up in airport bathrooms. The first of these ads have been installed in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and may be on its way to other airport restrooms. The idea of the restroom ads is that a traveler will walk into an airport bathroom and see big, vertical display ads for products where mirrors are expected to be. When the person goes to the sink to wash his or her hands, the ads will become mirrors and the advertisement itself will shrink and move to a corner of a mirror. Thus, the traveler will be able to see their reflection in the mirror while the ad is also visible. The president of Mirrus, the company that manufactures and markets the mirrors, chose the ads to be in the bathrooms because the bathrooms are usually the place people stop at last before boarding a plan and the first place they enter when they get off a plane. These mirrors are already being used in sports arenas in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina.

I kind of have mixed feelings about having ads in the mirrors. On one hand, I feel like it's clever and I wouldn't mind it very much. When I was in China, there were little monitors above the urinal which allowed people to watch ads while doing their business, and I thought it was really cool because I didn't really have anything else to be doing while at the urinal. The ads were a nice twist to an everyday bodily function. However, on the other hand, I feel like there are too many places where advertisements are popping up and this is just another hassle to deal with. I'm really annoyed that Youtube has all these advertisements that they force one to watch before watching a video, and this has caused me to hate advertisements in general.

What do you guys think?

Is the singling out of US Muslim groups fair or not?

I was feeling guilty for my previous post which was on a really stupid subject, so I decided to compensate with a more serious and relevant topic. Is the singling out of US Muslim groups fair or not?

I found this interesting article in the BBC that discuss a US Muslim protest in Times Square over hearings conducted by Rep. Peter King NY-R and the Homeland Security Council about the extent of radicalization in APublish Postmerican Muslims. He believes that Muslim leaders are not doing enough to help American officials protect the nation, using the failed Time Square Bombing and Texas shooting spree in the past 2 years as evidence. The protesters say that they are protesting against unwarranted xenophobia from King, and they believe that the witnesses in the case do not represent mainstream Muslims.

Do you think that Muslim communities here face unwarranted xenophobia? Do you think that Rep King makes a fair point in light of the 2 serious attacks that have occurred?

Who wants to be on the Real Housewives of San Francisco?

I simply could not believe Bravo would consider ANOTHER Real Housewives, especially HERE. For all of you not familiar with the Bravo's hit franchise, the Real Housewives... I'll give you a brief rundown. The concept is a "reality" show based on the lives of 5-6 "fabulous" cougars/gold-diggers who flip tables or throw wine at their cast mates, try and convince us that they are oh so busy taking care of their kids, husbands, and maintaining a demand career of selling Avon products or the like, and other strange means of self-promotion. There are at least 5? 7? versions of this across the country, and all of them filled with drama-trauma princesses who are, simply put, TRASH. I first found the show entertaining until 2-3 years ago when the drama was enough...

I remember joking about how I would totally watch a Real Housewives of San Francisco filled with eco-conscious women ride the steep hills of San Francisco on bikes to shop at high-end Farmer Markets, buy pricey vegan shoes and have passive-agressive encounters with their fellow castmates who were also their former lovers in the 70's-80's. Or it would be a tense Palo Alto/ Los Gatos drama of housewives living vicariously through their overachieving children.

I don't think this area has the type of people or audience interest to yield trashy drama. When you think of the Bay Area, especially SF, you think tolerance, pride at being any minority, intellectual awareness, Silicon Valley, or Oakland. Do you think the Real Housewives of San Francisco would work? Also are you sick and tired of these shows?

Saudi Arabia: Powder Keg?

With over two thirds of it's population younger than age thirty, and a tiny but extremely rich upper class, Saudi Arabia may be looking more and more nervous over the next few weeks. People's faith in King Abdullah is getting lower every day, while petitions and thoughts of protest have become more and more common. What will happen to this oil producing giant?

Well, it does have a few things going for it. Chief amongst these is the amount of money that the leaders could throw at crushing dissent if things get out of hand. Additionally, King Abdullah has responded fairly calmly to the upset, giving the country's lower class a small economic infusion. It is also unlikely that the many countries that rely on it's oil will let Saudi Arabia fall into disarray. Will this be enough? With neighboring governments falling one by one, many do not think so.

Lawyers Replaced by Cheaper Software

When five telivision studios entered an antitrust lawsuit against CBS in 1978, it cost over $2.2 million dollars for the studios to examine six million documents, with much of the money going to paying lawyers who worked for months at high hourly rates. However, there are new advances in artificial intelligence software that can analyze documents much faster than lawyers for only a fraction of the cost. In January, Blackstone Discovery, an artificial intelligence software, helped analyze 1.5 million document for less than $100,000. These programs can extract relative concepts instead of just finding relavent terms in documents. This is also an advancement in that lawyers will get bored after reading too many documents, but computers won't. Software is also making its way into other jobs that may have required human services in the past, like loans, mortgages, and taxes. David H. Autor, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that new jobs are coming at the bottom of the economic period, jobs in the middle are being lost to automation and outsourcing, and now job growth at the top is slowing because of automation. There is no doubt to Autor that new technology is a cause of unemployment.
I feel like a lot of today's society is too automated and technology-run. Many jobs that people used to do are being replaced by machines, and this is a major problem in causing downturns in the economy. Although machines are more efficient and cheaper, I think there should be a limit in how much machines should do in human society. What do you guys think? Should we continue having machines do tasks that humans used to do? Is it positive or negative to have machines do these tasks?

The Ex-German Defence Minister

On March 1st, German Defense Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stepped down from his post. This man, while most likely foreign (no pun intended) to most of us, was a very important figure in Germany. He represented something politically new and interesting, and was quite charismatic. How could this popular figure have been brought down? Well, scandal of course.

While writing his doctoral thesis five years ago, it has recently been revealed that he plagiarized a significant portion of it. Chancellor Merkel didn't seem to care, but the educational community was outraged. Sadly, this is how the story ends for Mr. (not Dr.) zu Guttenberg.

Should this new information about his educational background have warranted the reaction that occurred? Even now, he still has many supporters...

Do College Bound Teens, or the world for that matter, NEED the SAT?

Now that we will NEVER need to worry about these tests again in our lives (Praise the Lord), I have a different perspective on the SAT I than I did when I was a junior. When I was a junior, I thought that these tests were make or break for my academic life... but that was more because I was pretty lame :P. I was relieved that I got a decent score, but after I look back on my experience with SAT and college apps, I wonder if the schools I applied to really care about the scores I worked hard to get. Are they impressed, disappointed or apathetic, to the hours of extra classes and test prep I, or anyone for that matter, did to achieve score numbers that they see daily and are probably jaded towards? SAT I scores should not be held to the same standard as our high school transcripts or academics, and I think that they trivialize what we have accomplished. This will sound extreme, but I feel that a 3+ hour test that asks if we know the meaning of "jocular" or "conundrum", the ratio between 500 pairs of shoes to size 10 customers, whether sentences should have parallel structure, or if we can write about how wrong choices can be life lessons, insults all of our intelligence.

Mine, and others, frustration towards the limited scope of the SAT I seems to growing according to this Newsweek Article. Nearly a 1/3 of all 4-year colleges do not require standardized test scores, including some very accredited colleges like Bowdoin, Smith, and Wesleyan. Only one state requires the SAT for high school graduation. The ACT, a more comprehensive test, is branching out to numerous states, and has been taken more often than the SAT I, for the first time! -the difference is very slim, but fast growing-.

Yet, there are some benefits of the SAT that might help me get into college. It offers selective schools, like Ivies and UCs, another measure to weed out the multitudes of applicants they receive. With more and more people setting their sights on schools that were seen as fortresses for patrician education, it's obvious that these schools will not accept everyone no matter how amazing they are. A good score, even on a test like this, gives that applicant an edge. Yet, can we agree that great SAT I results come not from the raw brain power your mama gave you? Clearly, students that have access to those pricey courses and time to practice do better than students who simply cannot afford it. This goes against Collegeboard's general belief that high intelligence and high scores go hand-in-hand.

I feel that the SAT I needs to go. While I think that Standardized testing is important and a way to show of your skills, I would much rather have a HARD test about what I have learned in my 4 years at school than a test where I have to find the area of a Z- shaped pool in 30 seconds.

So what do you all think at the end of this experience? Do you think the SAT I should become extinct or that it is a necessary "evil"? Do you think my opinion is silly? I could after all be jealous/bitter that I don't have a phenomenal score.

Parents in Troy City School District Want to Keep Cops in Troy Schools

Police Chief John Tedesco of the Troy City Police Department needs his Troy Police Resource Officers to be patrol the streets and not school hallways when the police department is understaffed. Parents of the Troy City School District support the idea of keeping Troy Police Resource Officers in schools full time. They are worried about what could happen without policemen around to ensure safety of the children and staff. The parents say that knowing an officer is patrolling the schools in the district gives the parents and students peace of mind. The President of the PBA states that this isn't a union issue, but that "officers prevent problems. Now we've got to go back to reacting to problems." The parents are assured that the police will be nearby in case something occurs at the schools, however some parents like Maria Holmes believe that nearby isn't good enough in this day and age.
I realize that police are very effective at maintaining a safe environment in schools, but I don't believe that they are necessary in order for the school to be safe. Shouldn't the school staff be maintaining a safe learning environment? It sounds to me like the parents do not trust the staff of the school district. The staff also have a level of authority and will intervene if issues occur in the schools. I believe that the parents are slightly overreacting to the issue of removing policemen from the schools. I believe that policemen should be patrolling the streets to make sure the community is safe; having policemen in schools makes schools extra safe because there's school staff and police patrolling the area, but then who will be patrolling streets where people live and stopping crimes that are occuring in the community? What do you guys think?

China does not Like Protests and Foreign Jornalists: We are Reminded Yet Again

China seems to be looking nervous, but unreasonably so? The government is performing a crackdown of sorts on proposed protests, which began in late February . These small gatherings were supposedly inspired by and brought about as a result of the anti-government unrest in the Middle East. Reporters covering the story were harassed by police, and some equipment was confiscated. Is it just me or is this a complete overreaction on China's part? These were not huge protests, and the government probably got more bad press just by doing this. Can you imagine what would happen if something like this were to happen in the U.S.? I suppose that it's incidents like these which really illustrate what it means to be without freedom of speech and of the press.

Gingrich Tests 2012 Presidential Support

Yes, you read right. This former Speaker of the House, whom we all remember as the hyperactive man from Silton's movies that we didn't really understand (just kidding), is genuinely considering to run as a Republican candidate for the Presidential Election of 2012!!!! Mr. Gingrich is forming what is called a "presidential exploratory committee", where he hires a staff and tries to fundraise and advertise himself to test the waters. And he seems to be treading quite cautiously. Even in his brief visit to Washington, he declined to talk longer to the press past a 10 minute session and a tight-lipped smile when asked whether he would definitely run for president. It's shocking to see Gingrich so quiet considering how much of a media darling he was in the early 90s when we were barely babies! Yet Gingrich seems to have learned a few things since his fall from the pinnacle of success, a fall that includes a major run-in with Clinton over budget, the government shut down in 1995, and an affair with a former aide who is now his wife. He claims that "Americans to rethink their “cultural values, institutions and policies in the poorest parts of America so every American has their creator-endowed right to pursue happiness.”and the best days of America are actually right ahead of us. However, Gingrich's declaration caused a just a little stir in interest as much of the nation is focused on budget and immigration matters.

So do you think Gingrich could potentially be the next candidate? I think not, considering that the peak of his career was 20 years ago when he retired from politics shortly after. And he came from an era that was completely different with more people becoming fed-up of centralization and big government. That image of partisanship was the image he sold, and no matter how he tries to reinvent himself, I always associate him with Old America. But hey, this is America. Here everyone changes all the time and sometimes it's for the better. And he looks much better than Palin (who will only become president if the Fundamentalists take revenge against our country by stuffing our ballot boxes). Gingrich, The bright new future of America or NAWT?

4-Day Week for Missouri School District

Next year, in the Ray County school district, students and staff will go to school for only 4 days per week. The Stet School district approved of a four-day workweek, which gives students and staff Mondays off. Fourty-five minutes will be added to each school day in order to compensate for taking Monday off. Superintendent John Wiggans states that the district will be be able to save $65,000 by giving Mondays off. It's a solution for the reduction in funding due to the tightening of the state budget. However, Wiggans also states that this change may not be permanent, and that the district will observe student performance and attendance rates in response to the four-day week.
I really like this change because I believe that 2 days off from school isn't enough for me to recuperate. Homework takes away a majority of my Sunday, which makes it feel like only a one day weekend. What do you guys think about this change to the school schedule?

No more five second rule

The nutrition teacher Ms. Hontales posted a link to this article on schoolloop...

No longer is it safe to eat something that has fallen on the floor. Growing up we all used this rule when we dropped food on to the floor and we didn't want to waste it. In the NY Times Dr. Roy M. Gulick, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medical College was quoted saying "The 5-second rule probably should become the zero-second rule," ... "Eating dropped food poses a risk for ingestion of bacteria and subsequent gastrointestinal disease, and the time the food sits on the floor does not change the risk." .

SO the question the article posed was this When something you're eating falls to the ground, do you pick it up and eat it, or do you throw it in the trash or wash it off?

Westboro wins in Supreme Court case :(

Today in a 8-1 Supreme Court decsion that the Westboro Baptist Church anti-gay protest at furnerals was protected by the First Amendment. The Opinion of the Court was written by Cheif Justice John Roberts, in it he said the First Amendment "even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."
What I got from the article was that because the Westboro Baptist Church has a long history of picketing at funerals and other things, their protest at Matthew Snyde's funeral wasn't a personal attack on him. So its protected by the First Amendment. I totally disagree with the court. Alito the only disenter, said the protesters" "brutally attacked" Matthew Snyder to attract public attention." Just because the protest funerals all the time doesn't make them protesting the funeral any less personal for the parents of the fallen Marine. Alito said "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case,"
The father's reaction to the court was thus: "My first thought was, eight justices don't have the common sense God gave a goat." ... "We found out today we can no longer bury our dead in this country with dignity." The article goes on to say that the Snyders, the victims in this case, might also have to pay for the legal fees for the Westboro Baptist Church since they lost the case.

I think the Supreme Court made the wrong decsion, how about you?

Racist Western Zionists Plot to Control Olympics: Be Scared!

=

Isn't it obvious?

After England finally got around to choosing a proper symbol for London's 2012 Olympics, it appears that it is not as innocuous as planned. Iran is now claiming that the symbol clearly says "Zion" and is inherently racist. If the symbol is not removed, Iran warns that it will boycott the Olympics and encourage others to follow suit. In response, the International Olympic Committee said the following: "The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012". I find it pretty funny that this logo has been around since 2007 and no one had objected to it until now.

What do you guys think? Is the symbol racist? I see the "Z" and the "O", but the "N" is kind of a stretch. Do you think that Iran will follow up on it's boycott threats, and more importantly, should we even care?

Truck Drivers Protest Gax Tax Increase Proposal

In Maryland, lawmakers are thinking of signing a gas tax increase, which would raise money to cover about a third of the $1.6 million budget gap. However, people opposed to the tax increase believe it's putting more pressure on the people who can least afford the increase in gas. Truckers gathered in Annapolis, Maryland to protest the gas tax increase. The gas tax is already 23.5 cents a gallon, and one bill is proposing an increase of 12 cents in the gas tax, which would go to fix the roads. This tax increase is supported by Baltimore's mayor and other county leaders, who have experienced transportation budget cuts. This tax would give the state of Maryland more money to work with in order keep roads well kept and the government running. Howard County State Executive Ken Ulman states that "roads throughout the state of Maryland are deteriorating and are going to deteriorate a lot more if we don't act,". This increase would make Maryland's state tax the highest in its region, which is a main cause for the outrage. Although I do oppose taxing middle class citizens further, if the state of Maryland is in critical condition when it comes to the transportation funds, I think there is no choice but to impose a tax on citizens in order to improve the condition of the state. What do you guys think? How should Maryland generate funds in order to maintain roads and improve transportation?

Of Irish Blood and Ugandian Politics?!?!

Well, this is certainly inspiring... and funny. 59 year old Ian Clarke, a physician from Ireland who lives in Uganda, has decided to take a leap from a local hospital he runs to the murky and messed up world of Ugandian politics. This dual citizenship holder is running for chairman of the Katwe slum, and many of his to-be constituents are confident that he will win. This man, who is portrayed like Rambo in posters across Uganda's capital Kampala with the phrase "Londa mzungu" -vote for the white guy- , is far from the typical Ugandian politician. He has devoted 30+ years to providing low cost health care and basic amenities for the poorest of an already very poor country. While he adds to using the "development and progress" image in his campaign, citizens across the neighborhood idolize him because they see him as an outsider who truly cares for them unlike typical politicians who only care to spend state money on their lavish lifestyles. While the traditional distrust for whites that is commonly present in Africa doesn't exist in Uganda -- the nation was declared a protectorate so few settlers came-- Clarke is not without opposition. Local Ugandian elections are very dirty as incumbents spend millions of dollars to win votes and hire gangs to stuff ballots. And Clarke also had to play in the goodie game by giving new walls, paved roads, etc. though he gave much less than common. Ballot stuffing and playing the race card are the biggest problems for Clarke as he runs for office. Oddly enough, he is a bit concerned about the "White Monkey" stereotype, one that was oddly created by the movie "The Last King of Scotland". The dictator of Uganda had hired a Scottish physician to be his personal assistant as he went about his corrupt regime. I wish Clarke the best of luck in his upcoming election.

I think that it is great and inspiring for a man who cares very deeply for the community that he works in to run for local office. I know that it may inspire more Ugandians to take a civil interest in their country if they see a -- former-- foreigner joining. However, part of me thinks that Clarke might be better suited to helping his community by staying in his hospital. Ugandian politics seems to be a great mess and he may spend years trying to accomplish something as a politician than if he were a prominent citizen. And while he obviously cares for this country, a professor mentioned that his running for politics reemphasizes Ugandian stereotypes that foreigners know what's best for their country instead of their own citizens.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Clarke will win or not, or do you think he shouldn't run at all?

Crisis averted for now

The House passed legislation today that would cut federal spending by $4 billion dollars. The final vote was 335-91. For at least a little while, a crisis has been averted and the federal government will continue to function. The next step is for the White House and lawmakers to work together to come up with a bill to set the spending levels through the end of fiscal year. Some say this is an early win for the Republican party which want to rein in the government's power. Congress avoided the same problem it ran into during Bill Clinton's presidency when they failed to pass a budget and certain federal programs halted work. The halt to the federal programs later hurt the Republican party, obviously they learned their lesson and aren't letting history repeat itself
My question to you is do you think that the Obama administration will be able to work with the Congress and create a follow-up bill in two weeks set out?

Are we frogs waiting to get boiled.

There is a saying "Place a frog in boiling water and it will jump out. But put it in a pot of water thats slowly warming up and soon you'll have a boiled frog." Helen A.S Popkin (a writer for MSNBC tech) uses this metaphor to describe facebook.com's latest decision that it is going to give users' phone #s and addresses away to third parties. Facebook little by little is striping its users of their privacy. The users of Facebook are letting it happen.
Helen A.S Popkin has said "Facebook is the slowly warming pot of water and we, my friends, are the frog. By the time we noticed our peeling skin, another hunk of our privacy is long gone," Facebook users' need to open their eyes and demand that their right to privacy be protected.
Warning to all you out there that the information you share with Facebook may not be as private as you think it is.
Lots of us have Facebooks, including Mr. Silton. In a generation that seems to have an obsession with letting everyone know what were doing 24/7 people need to be more conscious of the things they post. Once somethings on the internet, its there forever. It may get barried by other things but its still out there for anyone to dig up.

Something Smells Dead... Oh Wait, It's China's Music Industry!

VS.

Ever wonder what the U.S. would be like if no one payed for their music.... well, welcome to China! I'm sure that you've all heard about the lack of effective patents/intellectual property rights in China to some extent, but did you know that the illegal downloads issue has literally become ingrained in the modern day culture? It's so bad that even sites that charge trivial amounts for access to open music libraries can't survive. What does this mean for record companies and music groups? Well, essentially that China is no longer a viable market (I guess you could say that the demand curve got shifted down). For some of you aspiring musicians this could be bad news. The U.S. has been sheltered from this to some extent, but how long can we hold out? The fact of the matter is that many people are already using free downloads, and while it seems nice to get something valuable for nothing, this could eventually erase any incentive to produce non-live music. Like it or not, this is the direction in which we are moving.

What does this mean for the future of the music industry? Is this an inevitability? Am I just being a naive optimist when I pay 99 cents on iTunes, or are those of you who download illegally just amoral fiends (you know who you are)?


Inspired by this great article that appeared in The Economist a couple months back:
http://www.economist.com/node/17627557?story_id=17627557&CFID=157628359&CFTOKEN=89819932

DUI for a passenger

This article from the SF Chronical really caught my eye. A girl,in 2009, while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .10 grabbed the steering wheel when she and her boyfriend got in a fight. The boyfriend lost control of the car and it spin into a ditch. Both the girl and her boyfriend suffered injuries.

The girl was found guilty of driving drunk. Her lawyer appealed siting the fact that she wasn't behind the wheel, her boyfriend was. In a 3-0 decision the state appeals court in San Fransisco, the girls conviction was upheld. " 'State law defines a driver as someone who has "physical control of a vehicle,"' "

So what do you think, should a passenger who is intoxicated and interferes with driver get a DUI?

Seatle Farmers Market Sells Medical Marijuana

Seatle's first medial marijuana farmers market was held on Sunday at a small club where "erotic poetry" readings are held. The event spread by word alone and attracted hundreds of people who were lined up to go in. The people were allowed in only with a recommendation from a health care provider which stated that the individual required marijuana for treating a medical condition. The farmers market is operating in a legal gray zone concerning marijuana.
Department of Health spokeman Donn Moyer states that "medical marijuana is not legal in the state of Washington", but a law passed in 1998 that allowed juries to take into account if someone charged with marijuana possession was taking the drug for health purposes. Under current law, only certain health care providers like doctors and nurse practitioners can issue recommendations for medical marijuana for health purposes. Despensaries are not legal in Washington; the medical marijuana community has remained mainly underground in Washington. However, Seatle is something of a safe haven for medical marijuana users because a 2003 measure put arrests for personal use of marijuana as the lowest priority for the city's police department. The farmers market organizers are hoping for a bill that can work its way through Washington's legislature will give them better legal footing to operate on. However, in the meantime, the organizers will hold more farmers markets within legal limits.
I found the requirement to enter the farmers market interesting because only people with recommendations from health care providers can enter the market. Do you think that this would be an appropriate measure for legalizing marijuana? There is no doubt that marijuana can be useful in treating certain ailments, but what do you think are the necessary precations that must be taken to ensure safe distribution and usage of the drug? Do you think that marijuana should be legal at all?

Mubarak not the next billionaire?

When Mubarak left office people speculated that he had acquired billions of dollars during his time in power. Many said he could be the richest man in the world. But yesterday Mubarak's family was denied permission to leave the country with out special permission. Many family members and friends accumulated fortunes through corrupt means when Mubarak turned a blind eye. The military regime currently in power is trying to eradicate all of the corruption that happened during Mubarak's time in power. Egypt is in the process of reaching out to foreign countries in trying to freeze all of Mubarak's many accounts. So far Switzerland is the first to try and identify all of his accounts and freeze them.
So how much of an effect could this possible have on Egypt's economy where so many live below the poverty line of $2 a day.

Scandal Strikes in Italy. Is Anyone Surprised?

Berlusconi: perv, president or both?

For those of you who haven't been following the adventures of Italy's Prime Minister, hopefully, I can fill you in a bit. First coming to power in 1994 Silvio Berlusconi switched his main career track from media giant to political figure. All three of the elections which he has won were credible, but there is no doubt that his connections have helped his chances (he basically owns the Italian media). The most recent news about Berlusconi, however, may prove to be too much for this political powerhouse.

He has certainly had his run-ins with the justice system before, but having barely won the most recent election, it appears that he may have partied a little too hard. This time, he is being accused of having sex with an under-aged prostitute and then helping her escape petty theft charges. The evidence is apparently fairly solid, and the case is set for April. No connection, but I find it interesting that this is happening at the same time that many of the middle eastern "strongmen" are being taken out of power.

What do you guys think? Should Berlusconi die (politically) at the hands of the court? Will he escape as he has done many times in the past? Are the Italian's being way too lax about their prime minister's conduct, since his entire political career has been filled with fraud and scandal?

The case:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/europe/10italy.html?_r=2&hp

The background:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/silvio_berlusconi/index.html

Sweetened Drinks sell

Just recently I have read these articles about Diet Sodas and healthy alternatives on many reputable websites such as Men's Fitness and Yahoo News. I have been brought to an assumption that pretty much anything is bad for you (within reason and depending on your condition). And I am not saying only natural food is all good for you too because arsenic is natural. Diet soda is a big product in the world especially the US. My question is why are bad products or certain pharmaceutical or herbal products sold that can potentially harm people. Why does the government allow it? Does the some of the money go to the government in the form of taxes or another tie? Cigarettes are sold in the US and they can kill people and the government makes quite a bit off that. The Soda companies such as Coke or Pepsi are huge and diet sodas are a big seller especially for those people who think they are dieting and think they are getting better off. I was a victim to the diet coke trap for a while and now I try to keep it all naturale and I stay at the gym for the extra 10 minutes so I drink my large REGULAR coke at Mcdonalds while I get my Big Mac and large fries with tons of ketchup. And I'll tell you what Coke is an addiction but if you are to drink it, drink the real deal because it not only tastes better, less sugary but it also will not give you a stroke when you are older. You just have to take the stairs instead of the escalader.

My big question is why does the government allow this stuff like Diet Coke? But then again you are responsible for yourself, then if they banned it that would be another extreme I do not want to get into.

I wonder if the US has the most Diet Soda sales in the world?

Guffawing Gaddafi foreshadows special trouble for Libya

Hey y'all. Instead of discussing the Oscars and how the King's Speech won practically everything even though no one watched (just kidding I'm sure it was great in an unconventional way), I want to blog about the situation in Libya. I found this very interesting article in the Economist and another one in yahoo that summarizes and analyzes Libya's current situation and how it is and will remain the bloodiest of all the recent revolutions in North Africa. A perception that I share.

Libya probably is the most backward country out of all those in North Africa despite having the best natural resources in the region. All its misery is thanks to heavy trauma from Italy in World War 2 that lead to the rise of their crazy autocratic leader Gaddafi, who says that this current uprising is the result of Al-Qaeda, America, and drug addicts. Since he took control of Libya in the late 60s, he completely destroyed its bureaucracy, gave all its industries to his crazy friends, denied his citizens any voice in politics or economics, weakened the military so he could stay as the Center of Libya. Even though most of the nations of N Africa had corrupt autocracies backed by the West and other entities, Libya is well... the most screwed up of them all because of its violent past and Gaddafi's stupidity. Therefore it's no surprise that Libya's people decided enough was enough when Tunisia and Egypt starting protesting against their leaders. Yet Gaddafi still doesn't get the message that his time is up as he laughingly tells Amanpour in a rare interview that his people love him and he holds on to the country.

I have these very mixed and ambivalent feelings about the uprisings, especially in Libya. Don't get me wrong, I think its fantastic and inspiring that ordinary citizens from some of the most repressed societies were able to oust leaders that had kept them under their thumbs for decades. But, the situation in Libya throbs with an explosive amount of violence and hate that was absent in Egypt and less apparent in Tunisia. Both sides of this revolution are pairing with tribal leaders that were previously controlled by Gaddafi. These leaders, now sensing a rare opportunity to get in control, are deserting Gaddafi and militarizing these protesters, which is never good. It's also quite clear that Gaddafi is not leaving without a fight, but he will have to leave eventually. The problem with him leaving is that EVERYTHING centered around him. While the nations of Tunisia and Egypt have bureaucracies and infrastructures that will probably keep the nations stable but in the same direction, Libya has little of the same structures and too many repressed people vying for power. For a nation much more oppressed and impoverished, I think that it is in store for years more of turmoil and unrest that might even spread to more peaceful nations like Egypt. This is all why I think that Libya is the most concerning of all these nations.


So what do you think, do you think I am completely wrong in being worried about Libya and that all the other nations had similar violent uprisings? Do you agree with me that Libya is in for worse when Gaddafi leaves or do you think things will work out? Do you think this generation of North Africans will ever taste true democracy or not? And do you think I should write smaller blogs? :)

Yacht to make landfall in Somalia

Just recently two couples from California were captured by Somalian pirates in the Arabian Sea. Another weight on America. What do you think the USA should do? because time is ticking and the pirates are close to the coast of Somalia. The pirates have been known for torturing their victims and making a lot of cashola. They hold 660 captives and these are the first American captives. This will set the tone for America with the Somalia Pirates if they end up paying ransom or doing whatever they do. This causes a catch-22 because if we pay for their release it will be an incentive for them to do it again. Just like when the Somalian pirates hijacked an oil tanker from Oman and another one from Italy. It is said 40% of shipbound oil passes through the Gulf of Aden where Somalia is. Those people have a big source. They also earn 10's of millions of dollars in ransom. It is a good business for them but America needs to get smart and do something as our gas prices goes up. Even Arco is getting expensive. And hopefully the couples from California get rescued before they hit land

Massive security deterring would-be protesters in China

On February 20 and 27, unidentified bloggers issued a call for protest in Wangfujing, a busy shopping street in downtown Beijing. While it produced very little civilian response, the Chinese government did react, deploying many uniformed and plainclothes police, issuing warnings to journalists requiring official clearance to report in Wangfujing and Tianamen, and arresting foreigners. One reporter was "punched and kicked, by people who appeared to be plainclothes police, and then detained for several hours." This crackdown may suggest that the government fears large-scale revolt similar to that in the Arab world.

Judging by the lack of actual protesters, the media seems to be making something out of nothing. But considering the recent mass protests in Egypt (leading to Mubarak's removal) and Libya, might a nation like China legitimately have reason to fear?

Falling unemployment: bad news?

In January, the unemployment rate was 9% - down from 9.8% just two months earlier, and the lowest since 21 months ago.

That looks like good news, but there are some troubling folds to this. Unemployment is a percentage of the labor force, that is, the number of people either working or looking for work. And the labor force has been dropping for two reasons. First, the population is growing more slowly overall (in part because of reduced immigration). Second, the participation rate - the percentage of people in the labor force - is also decreasing. Some people are giving up the job search, going back to college, or (importantly) retiring early, which (while lowering the unemployment rate) is bad news for the economy.

This relates to what we discussed in class today. Unemployment is a surplus of labor. What happens when less labor is demanded than supplied? Here we're seeing one possible consequence: fewer people are willing to supply their labor anymore.

Which leads to some tough questions. Is this a serious issue? How can it be dealt with?

Pretty People do get paid more

Growing up your always told its the inside that counts. According to researcher the outside also counts. It used to be that men were always paid more the women just because they were men. This such as weight, facial symmetry, and hair color can all effect how much you are paid and if your even hired. Some of it has been know for awhile, like CEOs of fortune 500 companies are most likely to be men above 6 foot and things like beards make people think you're less trustworthy.

What really caught my attention was the part of the study that focused on how someone can be too pretty. It seems pretty ridiculous to me. Women who are considered extremely attractive can discriminated against in fields that are mainly dominated by men. Yet extremely attractive men were not discriminated against.

Things I learned form this: dress conservatively, wear at least some make up, practice good posture, and wear heels cause height counts just as much as looks.

Immunity Stops Arrest of Arizona Lawmaker after Freeway Fight

Arizona State Senator Scott Bundgaard was driving on the freeway with his girlfriend Aubry Ballard when they got into a physical dispute. Officers were called in to investigate, and they arrested Ballard and took her to jail while Bundgaard was allowed to go.
The two were on their way home from a charity "Dancing with the Stars" fundraiser and Ballard accused Bundgaard of inappropriately touching his partner. Bundgaard states that "she proceeded to throw my clothes and other things out of my car on a freeway as I took her home," which caused the physical dispute. Bundgaard says he tried to prevent his girlfriend from causing him bodily harm, which resulted in marks on her knees. He then said he pulled her out of the car but denied hitting or pushing her. However, it was only Ballard who was arresed and forced to spend 17 hous in jail.
The Arizona constitution states that legislators are immune from arrest "in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace" and grants them immunity from civil process when the legislator is in session. However, Bundgaard says that he is waiving this right to immunity and wants to be charged if he did something wrong.
Although Bungaard waives his right to immunity, do you think that this type of protection should be given to lawmakers? Are they allowed certain privileges such as protection from civil law when the legislator is in session? Is this an appropriate law to ensure that the law-making process isn't hindered?

Collective bargaining rights, a state issue?

For 13 days now, protesters in Wisconsin have held demonstrations against the bill backed by Wisconsin Governer Walker that would end collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public servants.

Now, New Jersey Governer Chris Christie speaks out, saying that while he believes in fair and reasonable bargaining, he sees it as a state by state decision whether to uphold collective bargaining rights. He asserts that these rights are granted by lawmakers and can be overturned - they "didn't come down from tablets at the top of a mountain" or our Constitution for that matter, so states can take them away if they want to.

Sounds like a federalism issue. Do the states have the final say on collective bargaining rights, or are they bound by the federal government to honor them?

Air Force gives Boeing $35 billion contract

The Air Force has hired Boeing to produce 18 next-generation aeriel refueling tankers. The contract, which is expected to support thousands of jobs, is the result of a decade-long process involving a lot of political pressure from lawmakers to bring those jobs to their home districts. Boeing is planning to build the tankers in Washington and Kansas; it won the contract over its competitor, EADS, which would have based production in Alabama.

The tankers will allow military aircraft to refuel in midair, extending their range of operation.

Websites complain about Google's algorithm change

This week, Google tweaked their algorithm to favor high quality content over low quality content, particularly punishing "content farms" which put out a lot of shallow content to capture popular search terms, such as (allegedly) AOL, Demand Media, and Huffington Post.

Many webmasters complained that the change negatively affected their web traffic and their business. However, I don't see the big deal. If they want revenue, they should generate better content so that people want to come, rather than make Google feed them. Quality talks; trying to game the system through "search engine optimization" is just cheating, and I'm glad Google tries to fight it.

11-year-old arrested for stick figure drawing

[Link to video story in title.]

This is sad.

The boy was only trying to vent his feelings in a way that would be the least disruptive, in accordance with his therapist, by drawing pictures rather than disrupting class. Yet for that he was handcuffed, imprisoned, and charged for "interfering with staff and students."

Our government is supposed to protect our civil liberties, but cases such as this costing simple people thousands of dollars and emotional trauma overreacting to harmless non-crimes makes it harder to keep faith in the system.

One Step Closer!

I think this is a huge step for gay rights. The only thing that concerns me about this sudden change in heart is if Obama has really changed his beliefs or if he has switched sides for political reasons coming up in his reelection. The article does quote him on saying that "I struggle with this" and "constantly evolving". I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I think that when a president has truly taken a step forward on a national issue, things are going to get better.

The Deficit is Too Damn High

Jimmy McMillan, founder of the Rent is Too Damn High Party, has joined the Republican Party.



No longer a single-issue candidate, he claims to want to put pressure on Obama to focus on economic issues (like the rent). He has a new slogan: "The deficit is too damn high." And he plans to run for president.

How about that.

WAIT! No Football?!??!?!!!

The threat of a lockout season is very real right now. In about one week the original contract will expire, and no, that does not mean the NFLPA (natonal footbal league player association) and team owners (owners of the teams) have only one week to come up with a new contract. It means that training camp will have to take a stop, but for the important part.....



The league owners want to extend the regular season by an extra two games from 16 to 18 and potentially add 4 post season games (playoffs). By doing this the league will gain more revenue. Along with this addition of game the owners want more than double of their profits from the buisness. The league generates about 9 billion annually, the owners take home 1 billon from that figure. The owners want to increase their paychecks to 2.4 billion, that is more money than what I have in my wallet!

The NFLPA finds this proposal odd because the league recently put in new rules cracking down on helmet-to-helmet hits (when one players hits another player in the helmet with his own). The league claims that this rule was put in place to decrease the owner's priority, injuries. The players find it odd that the owners would add more games when more games increase the chances of sustaining injuries.

I think if the season and post season is lengthened, then the games should be shortened. What do you guys think?

Unrest in middle east means high gas prices for US

Each morning on my way to school I pass a 76 gas station and a Chevron the prices seemed to keep rising every time I passed by. The reason for it is all the unrest in the middle east. Specifically Libya. Even though such a small percent of of the US's oil actually comes from Libya, price per barrel pass $100 this week. The price per barrel of crude oil hasn't gone into triple digits since October of 2008. Being senior with a car,this issue seems a lot more pressing to me than is was when gas prices went soaring 2 years ago. Many of us pay for our own gas, so now with rising gas prices we need to be more conscious of how much we use our cars and also try and carpool as much as possible. The school parking lot has about 3-5 parking spaces reserved for people who carpool to school,so be courteous and don't take the spaces unless you actually carpool to school. Also disclaimer** I'm not abdicating that you carpool if your under 18 and haven't gotten your year yet.

Now that Obama has officially come out and said its time for Gadhafi to step down as leader, the unrest in Libya will soon die down enough that oil production returns to normal.

NASA space shuttle program coming to an end

Tomorrow, the space shuttle Discovery is making its last journey to resupply the international space station. After that, only two more shuttle flights are scheduled to launch: Endeavor in April, and Atlantis in the summer.

According to NASA chief Charles Bolden, the space shuttle program should have ended a long time ago, in favor of larger scale missions that would go to the Moon and beyond. However, even now, the U.S. doesn't have anything to replace the shuttle once the program ends, and NASA will temporarily have to rely on Russian spacecraft to maintain the space station. Bolden hopes that companies will soon come out with commercial spacecraft to fill this role, so that they can focus on the future: heavier vehicles capable of leaving orbit and perhaps landing humans on Mars.

On one hand, it's nice that NASA will now be shifting their focus to larger projects such as Mars, and it will be interesting if private businesses get involved in space travel. However, it does seem like kind of a messy transition. Are commercial spacecraft really a viable option, considering all the design and safety concerns that go into space missions? And who is going to pay for them? (Is maintaining the international space station a public good? Hm.)

What do you think?

New Zealand earthquake kills 75+ people

As many of you may have already heard, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Christchurch, New Zealand today. The disastrous earthquake killed at least 75 people while burying many others underneath the rubble of fallen buildings, with hundreds of people reported missing. Prime Minister John Key has requested for New Zealand's parliament to declare a state of emergency for the country. Downtown Christchurch was hit the hardest, with many people trapped under collapsed buildings.

The United States has deployed " a U.S Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team." President Obama has offered condolences on behalf of the United States to people affected by this natural disaster.

The city of Christchurch is no stranger to earthquakes, having experienced a 7.1 magnitude earthquake just five months ago which resulted in $3.8 million in damages. The recent quake has virtually erased rebuilding efforts, with more rebuilding needed in the city. The earthquake also could not have really come at a worse time with New Zealand's economy faltering with debt issues. However, economists predict that the rebuilding efforts in New Zealand will help with economic improvement through new jobs and investments. What do you guys think? Do you look for things in New Zealand to improve? Does this disaster compare with any other major natural disaster?

Federal Budget Graphic

This is from the 2010 budget; the big picture has not changed in any substantial way, although it seems that there is more bipartisan support for cutting the Defense Department than in previous years. Note that all the current budget cuts proposed by the GOP House of Representatives come from "other discretionary."

Libya Follows Egypt in Protests

The protests in Egypt kicked off a number of other nations to protest their corrupt governments; among them was Libya. Libya's president of 40 years ordered armed forces backed by helicopters and warplanes. With both helicopters and warplanes firing on the people it made their efforts to continue protesting difficult.

The conflict began to escalate six days after the protests began after 220 people were killed in the city of Benghazi. But the governments hold on power seemed to be weakening since the protesters remained in control.

Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, Colonel Qaddafi’s son, gave a speech where he blamed Islamic Radicals and Libyans in exile fr the uprising. The protesters were so angered by his speech that they converged at the capital and fought with armed troops for several hours.

Planet maybe 'unrecognizable' by 2050

By the year 2050, scientists have estimated that our population could rise to well over nine billion people. The rising population, which occurs mostly in Africa and South Asia, will deplete what resources we have. The more people there are, the more consumption there is, but we still have the same planet. Luckily, population experts support a significantly greater amount of funding for family planning programs which should, at least somewhat, control the population.

Civil War in Lybia?

After gunfire, 233 Lybian protesters were left dead. These protesters, influenced by both Egyptian and Tunisian protest, wanted more democracy. The Lybian government promised more democracy once the protest stopped. But violence has not stopped. Unlike the non-violent Egyptian protest, the anti-government protesters have set fire to cars and has even invaded a South Korean construciton site and stabbed two workers. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the Lybian ruler said that he would like to talk to the protesters peacefully, but if there is no peace,"forget about democracy, forget about reform ... It will be a fierce civil war."