Wednesday, May 2, 2007

This and That

Venezuela to quit IMF and World Bank

Pictures, Statistics and Genocide

Health, Wealth and Happiness

A Card Trick and a Religious Hoax

How Much Are Frivolous Lawsuits Really Costing You?

How Would an Audit of comScore and Nielsen NetRatings Work?

Saving the Planet, One Square of Toilet Paper at a Time

Property rights and the wrong path to democracy ;
There are two methods of allocating property rights: Top down – by the dictates of a central administration – or bottom up – rights to land are acquired by working it


Prudence is knowing that not all swans are white

It’s the Workforce, Stupid!;
There’s nothing wrong with costcutting, and in any dynamic economy layoffs will be necessary. The problem is that too many companies today define workers solely in terms of how much they cost, rather than how much value they create. This is understandable: after downsizing, it’s easier to measure a lower wage bill than it is to see the business the company isn’t getting because it has too few salesmen, or the new products it isn’t inventing because its R. & D. staff is too small. These lost opportunities may be hard to measure, but over time they can have a huge impact on corporate performance. Judging from its reaction to layoff announcements, the stock market understands this. It’s time executives did, too


Bernanke Advocates More Saving

The wise investment of insuring children

The middle of nowhere
Western analysts are forever bleating about the strategic importance of the middle east. But despite its oil, this backward region is less relevant than ever, and it would be better for everyone if the rest of the world learned to ignore it

The Kingdom in the Closet-gay life in Saudi Arabia

US proposes global ban on fishing aid
According to a study by the University of British Columbia, global fisheries subsidies total an estimated $30bn-$34bn annually, with at least $20bn (£10bn; €15bn) being “harmful” subsidies promoting over­capacity and overfishing.


As Blogs Proliferate, a Gadfly With Accreditation at the U.N

China's Muckrakers for Hire Deliver Exposés With Impact

Law Day;
President Dwight Eisenhower established May 1 as Law Day to co-opt the biggest day on the socialist calendar. While much of the world marked May Day with critiques of capitalism and parades celebrating working men and women, the United States would honor, President Eisenhower declared, the “national dedication to the principle of government under laws.”


Idle hands are the devil's workshop

U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons

What's the Relevance of Rodrik's Point?

In Ducks, War of the Sexes Plays Out in the Evolution of Genitalia
In some species of ducks, a female bonds for a season with a male. But she is also harassed by other males that force her to mate. “It’s nasty business. Females are often killed or injured,” Dr. Brennan said.

Species with more forced mating tend to have longer phalluses. That link led some scientists to argue that the duck phallus was the result of males’ competing with one another to fertilize eggs.


Lazy, Job-Stealing Immigrants?
People say that immigrants cause wage losses even if they don't cause job losses. Here the story is subtle: Some studies find no evidence that immigrants pull down wages, while others find that native-born high school dropouts lost as much as 9 percent of their earnings between 1980 and 2000 as a result of immigration. But -- and here comes the sane scream -- there's no way that even a 9 percent wage loss can justify the policies that immigration hawks advocate.


Embracing the Challenge of Free Trade: Competing and Prospering in a Global Economy

Does sex on first date boost relationship chances?

Hearts & Minds

Mind Reading- special issue on brain from Slate

Brain Lessons

God Is in the Dendrites

Is God the Decider or the Knower?

In Ahmadinejad's Iran, Jews still find a space

Inherited Persecution
LAST WEEK China sentenced Ablikim Abdureyim to nine years in prison. His crime? Having a human rights activist for a mother.


SYRIA: ELECTIONS 'ANOTHER FARCE'

Untying Turkey's head-scarf knot

Shear insanity in 'Kabul Beauty School'

The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children

Mathematica 6!

Australia's water shortage

Agrarian reform in Brazil

The fight against al-Qaeda-Who is winning?

Tapping the power of the sea

Birds have shown they can plan for a future state of mind;
HOARDING provisions for future use is not unique to humans. Birds, squirrels and monkeys do it. But the ability to think not just about tomorrow, but to realise how tomorrow's feelings might differ from today's, was thought to be the preserve of people. This week researchers demonstrated that Western scrub-jays, a type of crow, can do it too.


Migraines May Be Good for You!

AK-47 prices

Top 10 Naked People on Google Earth

Doctors Try New Surgery for Gallbladder Removal
Doctors in New York have removed a woman’s gallbladder with instruments passed through her vagina, a technique they hope will cause less pain and scarring than the usual operation, and allow a quicker recovery. The technique can eliminate the need to cut through abdominal muscles, a major source of pain after surgery


Two Views of Democracy

Study of N.B.A. Sees Racial Bias in Calling Fouls
A coming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell University graduate student says that, during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.


Subprime Primer

Taxing Traffic

In heart of India, a little-known civil war

Confused about monetary policy

Books Brad Delong and Tyler Cowan are reading

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