Category Archives: Media

February 2, 2012

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While Declinists Groan, America’s Factories Hum

Predictions of imminent American decline are looking shakier by the day. A new report cited in the Wall Street Journal finds that manufacturing has expanded dramatically over the past month and looks set to continue. Fears that the U.S. could … Continue reading

2 Comments

January 8, 2012

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Waiting for the Science to Settle

With shale gas and “fracking” shaping up to be the hot environmental issue of the year, the airwaves have been awash with a breathtaking number of scientific reports claiming either to link the practice to any number of environmental catastrophes … Continue reading

13 Comments

January 6, 2012

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Dumbest Complaint of the Day

In a shocking abuse of civil rights, a college newspaper adviser may have been fired for publishing explicit photos of a streaker at a football game. This brave soul is fighting back, and now considering a lawsuit against the university … Continue reading

3 Comments

January 1, 2012

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How To Get Smart in 2012

The Mead list of the top ten things to do to get smart hasn’t changed since 2011, but it deserves reposting nonetheless. Here it is: enjoy — and let one of your New Year’s resolutions be to get smart in … Continue reading

45 Comments
ESSAY

The “News” That Isn’t News

The Iowa caucuses are coming much too early this year, but it feels as if we have been waiting forever for them to actually arrive.  A barrage of excessive and pointless press coverage has drowned the country for months.  Iowa’s … Continue reading

27 Comments

December 21, 2011

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Genius Analysis from the Times

Western reporters have had a few days to mull over the video of wailing North Koreans publicly displaying their grief.  Days and sleepless nights of prolonged analysis have led the Times to a shocking conclusion: this outpouring of grief for … Continue reading

6 Comments

November 18, 2011

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Mindless Green Flackery at the Times

A recent press release masquerading as a news article in the New York Times is a classic example of journalistic flackery at its worst. A profile of new “green” urban development in Fort Collins, CO doesn’t just cross the line … Continue reading

17 Comments

November 4, 2011

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Understanding India

This seems to be Via Meadia’s day to praise the New York Times.  Besides publishing an important story on poverty, the NYT also deserves credit for a blog post that sheds light on modern India for a western audience. Such … Continue reading

1 Comment
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Rethinking Poverty

As we’ve been hearing for years, census data shows that serious poverty has been rising dramatically in the US. A new article in the New York Times, however, shows that those statistics may be less reliable than often claimed: Concocted … Continue reading

7 Comments

October 27, 2011

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Change in the Air

The secret is out — there are fundamental shifts taking place in the economic and political landscape of the world in which we live. And although the majority of our intellectual and policy elites — those tasked with recognizing and … Continue reading

1 Comment

October 14, 2011

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Solyndragate: Blood in the Water

There’s blood in the water and the sharks are circling — the Solyndra story just keeps getting deeper. Two newspapers — the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post — are carrying front-page stories today about the Solyndra debacle, each … Continue reading

20 Comments

September 20, 2011

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Grey Lady Fumbles in Africa

Only six years after the resolution of its civil war, Burundi is again on edge. A bar shooting this week resulted in the deaths of at least 36 Burundians, and the violence has roots in the ongoing conflict between the … Continue reading

3 Comments

September 17, 2011

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Taiwanese Film Stirs Romantic Nationalism

“Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” is a new Taiwanese film about an aboriginal revolt against Japanese overlords in the 1930s. It’s violent (the Economist says “its violence is disturbing to the extreme”) but apparently historically accurate as these things go. … Continue reading

3 Comments

September 15, 2011

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Brazil’s Active Media Takes Down Corrupt Politicians

Corruption scandals are rocking the administration of Brazil’s new president Dilma Rousseff – yesterday saw the ouster of the fifth cabinet-level official since June. According to the WSJ: Though none of the officials have been formally charged with any crimes, … Continue reading

1 Comment