Category: Uncategorized
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Migration and Language
While Syriana’s claims about the ties between the CIA and Big Oil are questionable, there is a quick scene that relates to my research. The young Pakistani teen, after being fired from his oil company job in Saudi Arabia, is going to be deported unless he finds another visa. He is so desperate that he…
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Cinema
Syriana’s politics is intriguing if not exactly believable. King Kong is a three hour movie: a very nice two hour movie with an hour of nausea-inducing, horror-esque gore in the middle.
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Foreign language
Why is foreign language instruction in the US poor? Extrapolating from my own case, I would say because it started late (9th grade) and did not emphasize how this might really be useful in one’s day-to-day life. [n.b. ‘Reality-based’ learning is useful for foreign language if not calculus.] However, things seem to be improving. International…
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Happy New Year!
Welcome 2006. Where is my flying car? Or at least a hoverboard? On the other hand, China has certainly changed dramatically. 140 million migrants (or maybe 200 million), abolishing agricultural taxes, 10% growth, massive construction, etc…. Best wishes for the new year to you and yours.
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City beautification, Mugabe style
By Michael Wines in the NYTimes: link BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – President Robert G. Mugabe has one word for reports that Operation Drive Out Trash, the urban-demolition campaign aimed at slum dwellers that his government describes as a civic beautification program, has rendered thousands of his impoverished citizens homeless. Nokuthula Dube’s home was demolished in June.…
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Migration and Matching
A NYT story on ‘brain drain’ in the developing world. The story references a World Bank report entitled, International migration, remittances, and the brain drain. The full report is here. The report reminds me of (1) the importance of international – not just internal – migration and (2) Easterly’s thoughts on matching from Elusive Quest…
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And all the senators are above average
A small piece from the New Yorker: CAPITOL GAINS by James Surowiecki James Surowiecki on senators in the stock market. Techie aside: Printer friendly pages are excellent. In fact, I use a script through greasemonkey that automatically opens the printer friendly pages on Salon.com. However, Salon’s don’t link back to the homepage. The New Yorker’s…
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Booms
NYT 2005.10.18 – China builds its dreams, and some fear a bubbleNYT 2005.10.15 – Chinese Classes (in US) Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
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Bubble Bursting?
From the most emailed article at nytimes.com, Is It Better to Buy or Rent?“THE thought has occurred to just about everybody who owns a home in a hot housing market: maybe it’s time to cash out.”
Jeremy Wallace 