Yes, this is a striking stat. But it doesn't tell us that college is losing its value. It tells us that more people are going to college -- and not enough are finishing.(Reuters) Everybody is looking for the next big "bubble". Maybe it's bonds. Or tech stocks. Or ... college? With tuition soaring and job prospects not, a growing chorus thinks higher education might just be too big not to fail. The calculus is simple. If college costs keep rising, but job prospects don't improve, eventually higher education won't be worth it. Pop goes the campus bubble -- or so the story goes.That brings us to one of the more inauspicious recent headlines. For the first time ever, the majority of the unemployed have attended ... Continue reading →
Friday's G-8 summit at Camp David may seem something of an oddity -- an archaic reminder of a time before the rise of the BRICs and the supposed decline of the Western powers. But the West is still very much alive and kicking -- and, driven by its most dynamic members, has a chance of remaining on the top of the heap for the foreseeable future. The West is not in decline, at least not in its entirety. Rather, the financial crisis has created a two-speed West. Four large countries -- Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States -- are actually increasing their international influence, while the others are stuck in a rut. Ironically, America's obituary as a great power has repeatedly been written ... Continue reading →
It is a Hebrew class, beginning with the Aleph Bet — there is a six-word Arabic acrostic of the 22 Hebrew letters to help students remember. It has been nearly two decades since the language was taught in Gaza’s schools, and last month, after much debate, Hamas officials chose to add it to the optional curriculum rather than Turkish or German. “Through the Hebrew language we can understand the structure of the Israeli society, the way they think,” explained Mahmoud Matar, director general of the Hamas-run Ministry of Education here. “The Arabic language is a basic thing for the Israelis, and they use it to achieve what they want,” Dr. Matar added. “We look at Israel as an enemy. We teach our students the language ... Continue reading →
A Chinese immigrant who beheaded and cannibalized a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in western Canada four years ago thought he was attacking an alien, according to a mental health advocate who interviewed him. In 2009, Vince Li was found not criminally responsible due to mental illness for the death of Tim McLean, a 22-year-old carnival worker who was sitting next to him on a bus traveling near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. McLean had his eyes closed and was listening to music on his headphones when Li suddenly stood up and started stabbing him. As the bus stopped and horrified passengers fled, Li carved up McLean's body, ate portions of it, and displayed the victim's head to some passengers outside the bus. After the ... Continue reading →
Germany doesn't always win. British PM David Cameron, Chancellor Angela Merkel, EC president José Manuel Barroso, and French president François Hollande watch Chelsea vs Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 19. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza In helping to bail out struggling eurozone economies, Angela Merkel has already gone well beyond what her electorate wants. And the eurobonds France’s new president François Hollande is pushing for might just be a step too far. For the increasing number of people who have been accusing the Germans of smugness and complacency over the eurozone crisis, the Champions League final defeat of Bayern Munich by the Russian protectorate known as Chelsea FC will have provided a certain amount of ... well, the only ... Continue reading →
Suit on Contraception Rule; Ave Maria Ends Coverage The University of Notre Dame has joined 42 other Roman Catholic institutions -- including three other colleges -- in filing suit against the Obama administration over a rule that would require most religious institutions to offer employee (and student) health insurance plans that cover contraception at no cost. Colleges, Catholic dioceses, charities and other organizations filed 12 separate lawsuits Monday, alleging that the requirement infringes on their religious freedom. Catholic University of America and St. Francis University also sued, as did Franciscan University of Steubenville, which recently chose to discontinue its student health plan rather than offer insurance covering contraception. Also on Monday, Ave Maria University announced that it would stop offering student health insurance rather than ... Continue reading →
Germany to Borrow for Free at Two-Year Sale Amid Crisis By Anchalee Worrachate and Emma Charlton - 2012-05-22T10:57:27Z Enlarge image Germany to Borrow for Free at Two-Year Sale Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg The German national flag flies in front of the Reichstag, German's parliament building, in Berlin. The German national flag flies in front of the Reichstag, German's parliament building, in Berlin. Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Germany will borrow for free at a sale of two-year government notes tomorrow, betting it can lure buyers seeking a haven from the European debt crisis. Germany, the only country in the euro area with a stable outlook on its AAA rating, will sell as much as 5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) of two-year notes carrying a zero-percent ... Continue reading →
As the second presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin approaches, a former correspondent who once worked for him looks at the world view of the Russian iron man. His theory: The president is feeling dissed by the West and believes it conspires to "destroy" Russia. My first memory of Vladimir Putin – if you can call it a memory – goes back to late 1991, just a month before the collapse of the Soviet Union, when I caught sight of him, without knowing who he was, of course, in St. Petersburg. I was making a series of reports for the BBC in the city, which had just been given its original name back, after 67 years as "Leningrad." As we filmed a meeting between the mayor, ... Continue reading →
