Politics

I read three interesting books in December. All three of these books actually made me think, which doesn’t always happen. The first two books were an amazing contrast and I think I wouldn’t have enjoyed them as much if I had not read them back to back. Here’s my thoughts on my December books, Infidel

Note: This is the second guest post by one of my best friends, Beata Rak. Here is a link to her first, about her travels in Europe. After graduation, Beata moved to London, got a job as a tour guide and bartender at…

It stared with leaders like Hugo Chavez, Mahmood Ahamdinejad and Saddam Hussein who wear their anti-Americanism as a badge of honor. Next, it was the developing countries who generally liked the US but felt they were not getting a fair shake. Next was Russia and…

A charity in New York City is trying an innovative approach to helping people below the poverty line. Modeled after a program in Mexico that pays poor people to do things like immunize their kids, send them to school and make healthy food, Groundwork brings a similar approach to New York’s…

Note: I took a two week trip to Ireland, the Netherlands and England. This post is the second in a short series about where I went, along with observations about how Europe and the UK compare to the US. You can find the first here.

With the stock market looking toppy and the unemployment rate still on the rise, the “green shoots” are starting to look rather brown (or more like a mirage) and some are calling for a second stimulus. For now, leave the ridiculous fact that only a tiny percentage of first stimulus…

I talked about Twitter’s influence and response to the Iranian uprising compared to Google’s in a post a few days ago here and here. Google had been removing YouTube videos of the sometimes violent demonstrations because they…

Social Media and the Iranian Election

I wrote the other day about how Iran’s election could be swayed by Iran’s failure to qualify…