This is a very interesting article about the Great Depression and how the government and it’s tragicomical mismanagement of the situation actually started the Great Depression and then seemed to do everything in its power to prolong it.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/Mackinac%20Great%20Depression.pdf
It’s a long read, but definitely worth your time.
http://www.sixwise.com/Newsletters/2010/January/01/Top-Predictions-for-2010.htm?source=nl
This site usually does health-related stuff, so it was interesting to see what they said. Housing price declines, stock market crashes and currency crises are all in the cards according to this article. From what I’ve been reading in the past year, I tend to agree. We’re not out of the woods yet, economically speaking.
I found this article to be very interesting. For me, the take-home point was what happens when you don’t pay attention to science or even simply to what works. I personally call it “ignoring what the universe is telling you.”
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/17438347/how_america_lost_the_war_on_drugs/print
“There’s something perversely fascinating about educational policies that are clearly at odds with the available data. Huge schools are still being built even though we know that students tend to fare better in smaller places that lend themselves to the creation of democratic caring communities. Many children who are failed by the academic status quo are forced to repeat a grade even though research shows that this is just about the worst course of action for them. Homework continues to be assigned – in ever greater quantities – despite the absence of evidence that it’s necessary or even helpful in most cases.”
…
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/homework.htm?2
I have to say that, despite reading the article, I’m still slightly skeptical for some of it. Sometimes drill to the point of reflexive knowlege is useful. I don’t want to have to think about what 3*9 is. I just want to *know* it. Nevertheless, the article is an eye-opener regarding homework.
The Trap is a 3 hour BBC series by Adam Curtis who did another BBC series called The Power of Nightmares. That one is a “must watch” in my opinion.
I have yet to finish the whole series, but I’m sure it’s equally as good as The Power of Nightmares.
Check them out!
Much like many anti-gun groups, according to this article, MADD is now cooking the statistical books in order to justify their existence…
http://www.drunkard.com/issues/08_02/08_02_fighting_madd.htm
This is an interesting little “expose” on why so many students suck at math. The “algorithms” that are being presented in some schools are simply atrocious.
This is a very interesting series by the BBC. Each episode is about 1 hour. It concerns the virtual creation of Al Qaeda by neoconservatives in the US and Britian. The series starts with the founding of the islamist movement in the 40s & 50s and goes to near the present day.
This is a must watch series in my book.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8217638438978899371
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2839463332690200955
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3649090417189127240
This article sums up various trains of thought I’ve had by myself and with other people over the years regarding why we are rich and other countries are poor.
