These pages are a modest attempt to provide up-to-date news that is relevant to the areas of mathematics, education, computer science or information technology. Reader should keep in mind that old links often disappear.
11/30/12
TechNews for the week: November 30; November 28; November 26;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Israeli troops open fire on Gaza border; Israel's Barak quits politics injecting new turmoil into the Israeli political system; Can leaders make Gaza cease-fire last?
U.N. votes to recognize Palestine; Defiant Israel to boost settlements after UN's Palestine vote; U.S. overseeing a mysterious construction project in Israel;
Grab for power in Egypt threatens democracy; Egyptian judges to fight Morsi's move;
Morsi may have misjudged Egypt' s tolerance of authoritarianism; Egyptian assembly approves new constitution in a hurried vote;
Syrian rebels making advances; In Syria, clashes between Arab rebels, Kurds complicate opposition effort; Palestinians in Syria pick sides;
The Internet goes dark in Syria; The conundrum that is Qatar;
South Korea halts latest attempt to put satellite in orbit;
Obama’s pick for CIA could affect drone program; Job cuts, detainee provision draw threat to veto defense budget bill;
Supreme Court allows new challenge to Obama health care law; Supreme Court conflicted over whether — or how — to fix a mistake;
Climate skeptic groups (funded by energy companies) target renewable energy mandates;
Lindsey Graham, Peter King break with Grover Norquist;
Retiring Republican U.S. Senators Propose Alternative to Dream Act;
Romney strategist lauds white, wealthy, middle-class support;
Tom Ricks Says Fox Is 'Making Up' His Apology for Slamming Fox on Fox;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
The Psychology of IT Security Trade-offs; Advances in Attacking ATMs; Technology use by oppressive governments;
Senate Committee OKs Warrants to Access E-mail;
Math and science
The math of God: Market predictor Tom DeMark has some big names among the faithful;
Dangerous Intersection: an example from catastrophe theory; A History Of Dishonest Fox Charts;
Moon-Based 3-D Printers Could Create Tools From Lunar Dust; 3D-Print Circuits With Innovative Conductive Plastic;
Turbocharge Your Workout — Choose a Gym Buddy Stronger Than You;
Can Viagra enhance athletic performance? Pfizer says Viagra doesn’t enhance performance, in football;
Web issues
How to secure your Twitter account; Five of the better desktop ebook readers; 10 Essential Android Apps For Work, Home;
Google expands max Gmail attachment size to 10GB; Can you ditch your smartphone data plan for Wi-Fi?
How to spot fake user reviews while shopping online;
Introduction to GIMP image editing tool with simple demos;
SC Politics
How South Carolina Failed To Spot Hack Attack;
Finance and Economics
Updating a ruling: Social Security and its role in the nation’s debt; Obama offers plan for ‘cliff,’ not compromise;
Warren Buffett’s mistake; or is it common sense;
Record special dividend payouts from US companies; Fed proposes tougher rules for foreign banks operating in U.S.;
GAO considering charging fees to challenge a contract award; Drug firms’ influence over research grows;
Other news
Moral values and the fiscal cliff; Lessons From America’s First Fiscal Cliff;
Education:
Khan Academy Founder Proposes a New Type of College; The Uneven Value of Academic Credit; Four In 10 Americans Feel College Is A Good Value;
Engineering Professor: STEM Students Must Be Taught To Fail; Compressed Online Courses Draw More Scrutiny;
Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over UCLA's Streaming of Videos to Students;
Florida Governor Calls On Colleges To Offer $10,000 Bachelor's Degrees; Private-College Group Steps Up Criticism of Federal 'Financial Responsibility' Test;
Navy Fires President and Provost of Graduate School; Accreditor Questions LSU.’s Leadership Merger;
After President’s Ouster, Alabama State U. Puts 2 More Administrators on Leave; Penn State Paid Spanier $3.3-Million in 2011;
The Tricky Economics of Firing a Football Coach; End the Charade: Let Athletes Major in Sports;
Atlantic Coast Conference Sues U. of Maryland for $52-Million Exit Fee;
11/23/12
TechNews for the week: November 21; November 19;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Cease-fire brings halt to Gaza violence; Egypt’s Morsi emerges as key player; After Gaza truce, U.S. looks ahead; Clinton’s Mideast talks don’t include Hamas;
Gaza Conflict tests Israeli defense system; Israeli-Hamas conflict creates wedge in U.S. relations with Mideast allies; Winning wars will not make Israel safe;
Israel strikes media buildings in Gaza, expanding its range of targets; Photographs of Gaza conflict bring accusations of media bias;
Jordan calm for now, but new storms loom;
‘Little Hu’ eyed for the next wave of Chinese leaders;
Lifestyle of four-star generals under scrutiny; Broadwell investigation shows FBI’s long reach into digital lives;
Tough times for Army, facing budget cuts and uncertainty about future role;
The ‘fiscal cliff’ deal we need; Paul Ryan’s political capital rides on ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations;
Conservative Republicans fight back after Romney loss; Norquist insists the GOP will stick to his Pledge;
Creationism is the norm among potential GOP 2016 contenders; Paul's GOP plan: Immigration, defense cuts, and pot;
Why Is Arizona Still Counting Votes?
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
E-mail and Internet privacy in the U.S.; Ways the police can eavesdrop on cell phone calls;
Security Theater in American Diplomatic Missions;
Senate bill rewrite lets feds read your e-mail without warrants; Leahy scuttles his warrantless e-mail surveillance bill;
Fraud Rings Rampant in U.S., Especially Southeast;
Math and science
Mammograms said to barely cut death rate, lead to many wrong diagnoses;
Steven Strogatz: The Joy Of X;
Web issues
Design guru Nielsen: Windows 8 UI 'smothers usability'; Why Nielsen's critique is old-school thinking;
Adjust default settings for YouTube uploads;
SC Politics
S.C. Governor Provides Details on Hack of Tax Records;
Finance and Economics
If federal cuts happen, smaller contractors may feel worst pain; Pension insurer running $34B deficit;
Obama administration proposes altered rules for health insurers; Many unaware of health-care changes;
Brazil challenges U.S. farms’ reign; Argentina angry at hedge fund court win;
Other news
The Difficulty Of Making A Living Designing Apps;
Education:
Many College Graduates Now Seeking Associate's Degrees; Homeland Security Dept. Moves to Tighten Rules on Student Visas;
Rutgers U. Boards Approve Controversial Restructuring Plan; Wisconsin Governor Calls For Benchmarks For Higher Education;
Accreditors Urged to Take New Steps to Protect Academic Freedom;
Notre Dame Scores a First: No. 1 in Football and in Graduating Its Players;
Big Ten Expansion Talk Inches College Sports Closer to Superconferences; Maryland’s Quick Move to Big Ten Troubles Some Regents;
Critics Question Legality of U. of Maryland’s Big Ten Vote; Big Ten Makes Addition of Rutgers U. Official;
11/16/12
TechNews for the week: November 16; November 14; November 12;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Iran launches 'biggest ever' air drills; Israel military: Hamas assassination is beginning of an operation against Gaza militants;
Brief truce quickly collapses as Egypt’s PM visits Gaza;
Air Force trainers had improper relationships with dozens of students; Panetta orders Pentagon review of military commanders' behavior;
Trove of classified info at Broadwell's home; Fla. socialite attempts to invoke diplomatic immunity;
10 lessons from the 2012 election; The inconvenient truths of 2012;
Who Gets The Blame For The Romney Loss? The Tea Party Has A Theory; Karl Rove on why Romney lost: Obama was 'suppressing the vote';
Norquist: Mitt Depicted as 'Poopy-Head'; Romney's secret Project ORCA was supposed to deliver victory on election day;
Romney: Obama’s ‘gifts’ to youths, women, African Americans led to loss; From the 47% to gifts': Mitt Romney's ugly vision of politics;
House Democrats got more votes than House Republicans; Florida's West refuses to relinquish seat in Congress to Murphy;
The single best graph on what’s driving our deficits; Obama, Boehner lay out differing plans to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’; To cut deficit, U.S. could cut nukes;
Some states question administration’s ability to set up insurance exchanges; States get more time to decide whether to build health exchanges;
Loop’s view: From D.C. to Benghazi;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
November Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Cyber Fears, Hacking TSA PreCheck, and more;
Stuxnet Virus Infected Chevron’s Network; Jamming 4G Cell Networks; Senate Republicans Kill Cybersecurity Legislation;
Petraeus Fallout: 5 Gmail Security Facts; Webmail as Dead Drop;
Petraeus Case Highlights Online Civil Liberties Concerns; Google Says Government Surveillance on Rise; The FBI and CIA can read your email. Here's how;
The Terrorist Risk of Food Trucks;
Math and science
Lies, Damn Lies & Big Data;
Rare Particle Find May Cast Doubt on Popular Physics Theory;
Hovering moon base may be on NASA's horizon;
Web issues
Hands-on with Microsoft’s Surface tablet, part 2;
Best YouTube players for the iPad;
How to add Gmail and Yahoo accounts in Windows 8 Mail;
SC Politics
The Case Against Riley & I-526;
South Carolina to blame for Mitt Romney's Election Day loss;
Panel approves 7-8% raises for state agency heads, college presidents;
Finance and Economics
How business can bounce back from its 2012 election debacle; Business groups jostle for leverage ahead of ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations;
After Obama reelection, Murray Energy CEO announces layoffs;
When science collides with stock market pressure;
Nation’s highways remain an issue;
Japan likely headed for another recession;
Other news
Physicist, Congressman Calls For More Scientists-Statesman;
Education:
Economy Affects Students' Academic Performance as Well as Spending Decisions; New Graduates Will Face Sluggish Job Market Amid Uncertainty;
Pennsylvania Considers Tying State Funds to Colleges' Performance; Pa. Auditor Calls on Penn State to Reform Governance in Scandal’s Wake;
Cal State Trustees Postpone Vote on Controversial Fee Increases;
Appeals Court Strikes Down Mich. Ban on Race-Conscious College Admissions;
Wiley Teams Up With TED to Create Lecture Materials for Big-Idea Videos;
MOOC's Take a Major Step Toward College Credit; University Consortium To Offer Online College Courses For Credit;
UW-La Crosse Developing Free Online Math Course for students needing remedial math courses;
Academic Results Will Be Factor in Split of Revenue From College-Football Playoff; Researchers Weigh Value of Less-Prestigious Bowl Games;
After Player Quits, Washington State U. to Investigate Alleged Abuse by Coaches;
Need 3 Quick Credits to Play Ball? Call Western Oklahoma; Higher Learning Commission to Investigate Western Oklahoma State College;
Western Oklahoma State College course: 500 Pages in 10 Days: ‘I Wouldn’t Want to Do It,’ Historian Says;
Attention, Athletes! Get Your Fast Classes at Northeast Texas Community College;
11/9/12
TechNews for the week: November 9; November 7; November 5;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Barack Obama wins election for second term as president; Obama faces tough foreign challenges; Health-care law still faces challenges;
What makes an excellent president; Why does Mitt Romney want to be president? Ryan is stunning in his hypocrisy;
Election results set off Trump rant; NBC Is Sick and Tired of Employing Donald Trump; Trump Deletes Tweet Calling for ‘Revolution’ After Election;
Racial slurs reported at Ole Miss protest of Obama re-election;
Fox News Is Killing The Republican Party;
Election 2012: New Voting Tech Caused Some Headaches; Guess what? The polls (and Nate Silver) were right;
Israel’s crackdown on illegal African migrants draws critics; Netanyahu cool to Abbas’s comments on ‘right of return’; Israeli leader accused of tilting toward Romney;
Unusual Iranian report gives credence to negotiations with world powers; A sign of Libya’s deepening divide;
U.S. fingerprints on Afghan corruption; Pakistani Taliban hiding in Afghanistan;
Time to terminate ‘the warfare state’;
Florida Gov. Rick Scott says no to health care law;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Fake boarding passes pose safety threat at airports; On the Ineffectiveness of Airport Security Pat-Downs;
Everything you wanted to know about voting machines; Mail-in ballots: the hanging chads of 2012?
Reports of voting problems start pouring in; Election Officials Worry About Internet Voting; New Jersey Allows Voting by E-Mail;
Gary McGraw on National Cybersecurity; How Terrorist Groups Disband; DHS list of terrorist behaviors;
Microsoft warns of first critical Windows 8, RT security flaws;
Math and science
The Rise of the Poll Quants; Poll Quants Won the Election; Among the top election quants, Nate Silver reigns supreme;
Nate Silver's Big Data Lessons For The Enterprise; His methodology;
Regulation as a Prisoner's Dilemma;
Web issues
Five tools for recording web camera output;
How to enable Chrome's Do Not Track option;
Finance and Economics
Businesses oppose Visa, MasterCard fee deal;
Federal flood insurance is underwater;
Middle class faces fast ‘fiscal cliff’ hit; Contractors expect delay on sequester;
Other news
Charles Darwin Gets 4,000 Write-In Votes Against Creationist Congressman;
Education:
Fueled by China, International Enrollment at U.S. Graduate Schools Rises Again;
Elite education for the masses;
Calif. Voters Approve Ballot Measure to Stave Off 'Trigger Cuts' at State Colleges;
With Proposition 30 Approved, California's Public Colleges Now Look to Rebuild; California Higher Education Still Faces Uphill Battle;
Voters In Maryland Approve "Dream Act" Law;
Campus Technology Departments See Fewer Budget Cuts; Now E-Textbooks Can Report Back on Students' Reading Habits;
George Washington U. Inflated Class-Rank Data for More Than a Decade; Why Don’t All Colleges Have Their Admissions Data Audited?
11/2/12
TechNews for the week: November 2; October 31;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Israel reckons with unraveling Gaza policy; Suspected Israeli strike on a Sudanese factory raises questions over Iran arms smuggling;
Iran pulls back from nuclear bomb goal; Domestic politics shaping the international debate over a nuclear Iran;
Accusations against generals cast shadow over Army; CIA offers detailed account of attack in Libya; Japan wants access to U.S. base;
Supreme Court weighs new look at voting rights law; The truth about compromise? Only Dems are interested in it;
AP poll: Majority harbor prejudice against blacks; Can Storms Sway Elections? Does College Make You Vote?
Romney magazine to appear in swing-state papers; The cost of Romney’s larger military;
Paul Ryan spending millions on House race; Emails shed light on Ryan, Walker relationship;
Romney ignores questions about eliminating FEMA; Romney Finally Answers the FEMA Question, sort of;
GOP sees hope in three blue states; GOP’s digital strategists say New media can’t overcome old message;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Data Exposed in Attack on S.C. Revenue Department;
Detecting Fake Hurricane Photographs: A short tutorial; Doping in Professional Sports;
Dan Ariely: Truth about Dishonesty This American Life: Loopholes;
Math and science
Pollsters’ moment of truth;
Fireflies provide flash of inspiration for cheaper LED lamps;
Exercise may protect the aging brain;
Web issues
Five low-cost video chat apps;
How to stretch your battery life;
SC Politics
Senate District 41 foes express differences in debate;
Finance and Economics
U.S. economy added 171,000 jobs in October; unemployment rate up to 7.9 percent;
Fiscal cliff could hit economy harder than many expect; ‘Fiscal cliff’ plans divide business community;
Chrysler denies claim Jeep leaving US; Romney is wrong, Jeep not leaving US for China;
High court weighs closely watched copyright case; Bank says government suit violates its deal with U.S.;
Other news
New database grades lawmakers on their tech-friendliness; 6 Lies About Big Data;
People Who Can't Do Math Are So Mad at Nate Silver; Nate Silver to Joe Scarborough: Wanna Bet?
Hurricane Sandy: Disaster Recovery Improv Tales;
Education:
Colleges Must Help Prepare Students for Higher Education; Universities Offering Veterans-Only Courses To Help Ease Transition From Military;
Women Are Still A Minority In STEM Fields; Rebooting Recruiting To Get More Women Interested In Computer Science;
Teaching Children STEM Subjects Through Baseball; More STEM Majors Won't Solve Higher Education's Problems;
The Best Ratio of Tenure-Track Faculty to Administrators is 3:1;
Obama's 'Pay as You Earn' Plan for Student Borrowers Becomes Official;
Air Force Academy Cracks Down on Ritual Event After 27 Cadets Are Injured;
Support for Calif. Referendum Crucial to Colleges Remains Below 50%;
Penn State’s Ex-President Indicted on 5 Charges in Sandusky Scandal ; Penn State Enrollment and Gifts Seem Unaffected by $20-Million Scandal;
Tough New NCAA Penalties Could Hit College Teams Unevenly;