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.
10/31/14
TechNews for the week: October 31; October 29; October 27;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Iraqi forces press to secure Shiite south ahead of Ashura religious commemorations; Iraqi peshmerga fighters head for Syria to fight Islamic State;
First Iraqi Kurdish fighters enter Kobani; U.S. sees long alliance with Turkey crumble;
Netanyahu vows to continue building Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem; U.S. officials trash-talking Netanyahu?
Israel has the veto on US policy; "Friends of Israel": How AIPAC controls Congress;
Egypt declares state of emergency after attack; Egypt's leader grants military broad powers to put civilians on trial;
Ukraine, Russia and EU have agreed gas deal;
Constitution Check: Will the Supreme Court reinforce majority rule in Congress?
The Secretive Effort To Purge Thousands Of Minorities From 27 States' Voter Rolls; Texas Election Judge Turns Away 93-Year-Old Veteran Due To Strict Voter ID Law;
RNC's deal with Koch political operation raises questions about illegal coordination;
More tea party conservatives expected to win House seats, challenge Boehner; In S.C., entire congressional delegation is floating toward Nov. 4 free and easy;
Ga GOP Senate candidate Perdue Dismisses Pay Discrimination Lawsuit: 'It Was Less Than 2,000' Women;
Voters In Tennessee May Declare Income Tax Unconstitutional;
How the South's ugly racial history is haunting ObamaCare;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
NSA surveillance limits: The focus turns to courts; Hacking Team Documentation;
The "second source" for Snowden reporters, explained; US Intelligence "Second Leaker" Identified;
Survey What Americans Fear; The Risk of Unfounded Ebola Fears; 'Al-Quida'-Labeled Wi-Fi Hotspot Delays Flight;
Russia suspected to be behind White House hack; Shellshock attacks mail servers; Authentication Attack Against Credit Card Verification;
FBI Created Fake News Article to Lure Bomb Suspect; Virginia police can force you to unlock your smartphone with your fingerprint;
Verizon Wireless Embroiled In Tracking Controversy; Apple Copies Your Files Without Your Knowledge or Consent; Adobe Book Reader Surveillance;
Math and science
When will you ever use geometry in real life? Pumpkin geometry: stunning shadow sculptures that illuminate an ancient mathematical technique;
Martin Gardner's best mathematical puzzles; Crazy paving: the twisted world of parquet deformations; Golden Meaning: graphic artists depict the golden ratio;
The mathematical equation that caused the banks to crash;
Vanderbilt Researchers Work With Police To Examine Crime Data;
Web and computing issues
The FCC's latest airwave auction delay;
The difference between LibreOffice and OpenOffice; Five affordable page layout tools;
How to unroot your Android device so you can update;
SC Politics
Special election ordered for Harrell seat; Tinkler's S.C. Supreme Court complaint; Election Commission rejects Harrell withdrawal letters, call for special election anyway;
House District 114 election to go forward but case will be argued later;
Jenny Sanford dishes on 'Mark' in a new campaign ad;
State Plays Shell Game With Local Governments;
Secession: Bad for America, bad for South Carolina; We still haven't dealt with our own country's racist history;
West Ashley revitalization plan looks solid, lacks buy-ins;
Finance and Economics
U.S. economy grew at 3.5 percent rate in 3rd quarter; U.S. consumer spending falters; wage gains highest since 2008; Fed ends bond-buying, leaves guidance on rates unchanged;
U.S. Oil Output Surges to Highest Since 1980s on Shale; Fracking Driving Down The Cost Of Oil;
U.S. governmental accounting board takes on tax abatement programs; FTC Sues AT&T for 'Throttling' Internet Speeds; Considers Rule Changes for Internet Video;
3D Printer Shipments To Double Annually Through 2018; HP to enter 3D printing market in 2016; HP's 3D printing invasion strategy: 7 things to know;
DuPont resists calls for break-up; Lockheed Martin to buy health care technology company Systems Made Simple;
Pimco Rehires Spence, Banet to Rebuild After Gross Departure;
Find a financial adviser who will put your interests first;
Other news
What the College Football Playoff committee is already getting wrong;
Pope Francis says evolution is real and God is no wizard;
Education:
Harvard Leads 'U.S. News' Ranking of Global Universities; Special Report on Diversity in Academe;
Student-Loan Servicers Are Often 'Unfair' to Borrowers; 3 Colleges Drop Questions About Applicants' Criminal Histories;
Service Academies Should Have to Publicly Report Sexual Assaults;
In the Final 'Gainful Employment' Rule, a Key Measure Vanishes; What the Wonks Are Saying;
Gallup Poll: Teachers Who Use Common Core Like Standards; Common Core Emphasizes Focus On Math Strategies;
Most Colleges in Boston Don't Pay in Full for City Services; Ohio State is considering privatizing its utilities;
Federal Court Protects an Adjunct's Complaints About Working Conditions; The War on teachers escalates;
NCAA Touts Higher Graduation Rates, but Numbers Remain Fuzzy; NCAA's Graduation Rates Don't Necessarily Prove Success;
Reform Group Proposes Academic-Integrity Rules for Athletics; Trend in Athletes' Benefits Widens as Pac-12 Guarantees 4-Year Scholarships;
Embattled Athletic Director Is Out at U. of Michigan ; Another Florida State Football Player Faces Investigation;
10/24/14
TechNews for the week: October 24; October 22; October 20;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
U.S. drops weapons, aid to Kurds fighting Islamic State in Syria; Turkey allows Iraqi Kurds to join fight in Kobani; IS fighters seize weapons cache meant for Kurds;
Syrian tribe says Islamic State atrocity ignored; Islamic State seizes two Yazidi villages as it advances on Mount Sinjar;
U.S., Iraq planning offensive by Iraqi forces to reclaim territory from Islamic State;
Kurds' ambitions add explosive element to Syria equation; reject Erdogan report of deal with Syrian rebels to aid besieged Kobani;
Israeli Netanyahu rejects two-state approach;
Russia Adds New Conditions on Ukraine Gas Supplies;
Hong Kong takes time out to debate political showdown;
Supreme Court allows Texas to use voter ID law; Ginsburg Pens Scathing Dissent; Dangerous Legal Rule Behind Supreme Court's Latest Voter Suppression Decision;
Vote suppression in Kansas backfiring against Kris Kobach; With Voter ID On Hold, Here's What Wisconsin Republicans Have Planned For Election Day;
7 instances of blatant GOP fearmongering this election cycle; Fears over Ebola and Islamic State recast N.C. Senate race;
Ohio Gov. John Kasich to skip gubernatorial debate; GOP changes tune on cutting Social Security with elections on the line;
From Secret McConnell Audio, 12 Destructive Things a GOP Senate Would Do;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Another case where NSA provides surveillance data to the FBI and the DEA; The NSA's Role in Commercial Cybersecurity;
The Ineffectiveness of Sealing the Border Against Ebola (and Other Viruses);
More Crypto Wars II; Why Outlawing Encryption Is Wrong; Financial Ass'n Releases Cybersecurity Principles;
Whisper Tracks Users; US 'probes hackable flaws' in medical devices; Analysis of Printer Watermarking Techniques;
Math and science
NASA Spacecraft Sending Back Data On Comet Encounter; Weather Service stops getting satellite data, warns about forecast quality;
Stone Discovered In Jerusalem May Answer A Nearly 2,000 Year-Old Question;
6,000-Year-Old Temple with Possible Sacrificial Altars Discovered; Egyptian Mummy's Brain Imprint Preserved in 'Peculiar' Case;
Web and computing issues
Wearables At Work: 7 Productivity Apps; Can a phone replace your wallet; 5 Internet of Things startups to watch; With Inbox, Google dares to be different;
SC Politics
Haley tries running out the clock; See if you can find the "liberal"; Rep. Mark Sanford faces a radical write-in opponent in November;
Bobby Harrell pleads guilty to 6 counts, resigns from House seat;
Finance and Economics
Huge Market Sell-Off Sparks Some Gigantic Insider Buying; 25 European banks set to fail health checks;
Chicago's camera speed traps backfire, bigtime;
Why Boeing Keeps Losing Money on Each 787 Dreamliner;
Other news
Beijing marathon runners don masks to cope with smog;
Police Arrogance: Florida police shoot woman in back with stun gun;
Education:
Poor kids who do everything right don't do better than rich kids who do everything wrong; Measuring Humanities Degrees Misses Much of Their Value;
Public-College Leaders Rail Against Education Dept.'s 'Regulatory Culture'; A Tool Taps Data for Answers to What Really Happens at Community Colleges;
Coming Soon for PLUS Loans: More Eligible Borrowers, New Data on Defaults;
Using Evernote in the Classroom; How To Organize Evernote;
AP Science, History Courses Slated For Major Overhaul; School Teaches Chinese To Help Students Learn Math;
Publishers Win Reversal of Court Ruling That Favored 'E-Reserves' at Georgia State U.;
Vast academic fraud uncovered at North Carolina; 3 Key Findings; Key administrators involved; Widespread Nature of Campus's Scandal Is Laid Bare;
The Big-Time College-Sports Sausage Factory; 3 Questions Left Unanswered by Chapel Hill's Academic-Fraud Report;
New Lawsuit Argues Athletes Should Be Paid Minimum Wage; Many Athletes Receive Little Education on Concussion;
10/17/14
TechNews for the week: October 17; October 15;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Kurds claim to hold central square in Kobane; Strikes near Kobani have killed hundreds; Kurds thwart IS in Kobane, Turkey boosts involvement;
Turkey bombs PKK rebels inside Turkey while Kurds in Kobani face Isis;
Iran blames 'errors' of outsiders for rise of Islamic State; Pakistani Taliban leaders pledge allegiance to Islamic State;
ISIS Seizes Anbar Base After Iraqi Army's 'Tactical' Retreat; Islamic State fighters continue their advance in Iraq's Anbar province; Flying three Iraqi jets in Syria;
U.S. has 'smoking gun' evidence against Assad;
British MPs back Palestinian statehood alongside Israel; Israel is losing its friends in the world; The Israeli Solution: There Should Be No Palestinian State;
Israel, Palestine and the almost deal; American taxpayer are helping to fund Israeli settlements;
U.S. taxpayers paid $486 million for Afghan air fleet. DOD sold it for scrap;
'Citizens United' is turning more Americans into bystanders; An Unlikely Trio Files a Rare Supreme Court Protest;
Justices block Texas abortion law; Judge blocks Wisconsin law used in Walker probe; Why voter ID laws are evil; Voter ID backers claim opponents are the real racists;
Republicans Pave Way to All-White Future; To Scare White People About Voter Fraud Show Them Pictures of Blacks Voting;
What happens to tech policy if Republicans take the Senate?
Joni Ernst faces big problem in Iowa Senate race: women voters;
Civil seizures fuel hundreds of millions in police spending; Civil Seizures Part 2; Civil seizures Part 3;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
October Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Encryption, NSA and more; White House Abandons 'One Big Cybersecurity Bill';
NSA Undercover Operatives in Foreign Companies; James Bamford: The NSA and Me; NSA Classification ECI = Exceptionally Controlled Information;
UN Report Calls Internet Surveillance 'Corrosive'; Glenn Greenwald: Why privacy matters; Grooming students for a lifetime of surveillance;
The government wants a record of your voice; Rise of 'voiceprint' ID technology has privacy campaigners concerned;
Europol Official Sees 'Around 100' Cybercriminal Kingpins; Russian Hackers Used Windows Bug for Gov't Spying; FBI Warns Businesses About China-Backed Hackers;
DEA Sets Up Fake Facebook Page in Woman's Name;
FBI Director Urges New Encryption Legislation; warns Mobile encryption could lead us to 'very dark place';
Math and science
New Magnetic Cloud Coming From The Sun; 1000-year old Viking treasure hoard found in Scotland;
What's Happening with Fuel Cells? Engine Soot Emissions Cut In Half Using Biofuel; JPL Develops New 3D Printing System;
Web and computing issues
10 Ways to Protect Your Home Network from Hackers; My five favorite free Windows utilities;
Teams Set New Records For Silicon Quantum Computing;
ICANN CEO Confident of Role Post-U.S. Contract;
SC Politics
T-Rav's Senate campaign exposes the ugly truth about elections; Ravenel says he's quitting Southern Charm;
South Carolina's war against 'equal protection under the law'; 3 same-sex couples who tried applying for marriage licenses last week;
Finance and Economics
U.S. Budget Deficit Hits Lowest Since 2007; Krugman on economy: 'This is the looming disaster'; U.S. stocks rally; Dow snaps 6-day losing streak;
Oil prices continue to slide on IEA report; Falling Oil Prices Could Be A 'Catastrophe'; Watch Out for Falling Oil; These 6 Countries To Suffer If Oil Prices Keep Falling;
Why the South is the worst place to live in the U.S. - in 10 charts; Rental America: Why the poor pay $4,150 for a $1,500 sofa;
In the health care business it's all about the networks; Demand For Sand Used In Fracking Rising Sharply; Major supermarket chains changed how they label meat;
Software patent approval rates sink in months following Supreme Court case; Google Asks Supreme Court To Decide Oracle Copyright Suit Involving Java/Android;
Comcast Gets $7.5M Net Phone Patent Verdict Against Sprint;
Obama May Extend H-1B Tech-Visa Program By Executive Order;
Other news
Police officer trying to trick the driver into admitting he has pot;
Education:
Tech jobs: Minorities have degrees, but don't get hired; The Job Market for New Graduates Looks Up; Underemployment Hits Recent Graduates the Hardest;
Graduates With STEM Degrees Expected To Be In High Demand; The New Blue Collar Jobs Of Tomorrow;
Proposed Higher Education Act Reauthorizations Aim To Reduce Student Loan Debt; As Complaints Over Private Student Loans Rise, Repayment Information Remains Scarce;
Why Colleges Don't Want to Be Judged by Their Graduation Rates; High Schools' Average Incomes Predict College Enrollment;
A New Department Marks the Rise of a Discipline: 'Computational Media'; 15 Colleges Revamping Comp Sci Programs To Appeal to Women and Minorities;
Wisconsin Sunk $139 Million Into Private Schools Booted From Voucher Program;
Coursera Expands Its MOOC Certificate Program; Using Games to Promote Evidence-Based Learning;
Education Dept. to Release Final Rules on Colleges' Handling of Crime ; When Guns Come to Campus, Security and Culture Can Get Complicated;
Sports Programs Now Battle for Athletes' Bellies;
Air Force Academy's Review of Athletics Finds Nothing Worth Investigating; Former South Carolina QB claims SEC player made $160,000 off autographs;
10/10/14
TechNews for the week: October 10; October 8; October 6;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
US and Turkey's push-and-shove diplomacy has Kurds in the middle; Islamic State threatens to take Iraqi Anbar province; Where ISIS Weapons come from;
ISIS close to capturing Syrian border town; Air strikes push Islamic State back from Kobani; Islamic State group downs another Iraqi helicopter;
White House jabs Netanyahu over 'American values' critique;
Ukraine's refugees in Russia are there to stay;
Hong Kong protesters call off talks after coming under assault from pro-Beijing crowds; protest becomes stalemate as officials' deadline passes quietly;
North Korean officials pay rare and surprising visit to the South; Kim Jong-un 'no show' increases N Korea speculation;
India and Pakistan trade blame over shelling across disputed Kashmir border;
Guidelines for naming a U.S. military operation;
Supreme Court dodges gay marriage, allowing weddings in five more states;
Supreme Court reinstates controversial North Carolina voting measures; Voter ID laws cut turnout by blacks, young; Court Halts Wisconsin Voter Suppression Law;
Virginia Congressional map thrown out by judges for racial bias; Tribal courts' role in US justice grows murky after Montana ruling;
Arkansas GOP congressman claims ISIS terrorists swarming across the Mexican border;
NJ Senate Candidate: Women Only Vote Democrat Because They Are Dependent On Government Benefits;
Scott Walker's Idea Of A Living Wage;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Twitter sues US government over limits on ability to disclose surveillance orders;
The ethics of Hacking 101; Online Activism and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act;
Hundreds of Thousands of Internet Bank Accounts Exposed;
Math and science
How Israel Beat a Record-Breaking Drought, With Water to Spare;
35,000 year-old Indonesian cave paintings suggest art came out of Africa;
How leaky galaxies brought the universe out of cosmic dark ages;
The Forgotten Female Programmers Who Created Modern Tech;
How The FiveThirtyEight Senate Forecast Model Works;
Web and computing issues
Tips to Guard your privacy online; Microsoft Wants to Kill Email Attachments; Apple Pay vs. Google Wallet: A Brief Competitive Comparison;
SC Politics
South Carolina Supreme Court Halts Same-Sex Marriage Licenses;
Finance and Economics
U.S. job openings highest since 2001, but hiring fell; Gasoline Taxes: State By State; The 10 states with the worst quality of life;
What's making the stock market act so crazy? Florida Pension Fund to Cut Pimco Exposure;
Changing a Rule on Derivatives; Blackstone to axe 'termination' fees; Blackstone partners with Taubman in advisory unit spinoff;
Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg Presses On With Lawsuit Against Feds Over AIG Bailout;
Washington State Policymakers Feel "Burned" By Boeing's Plan To Move Jobs;
Oil-Carrying Freight Trains Delay Other Goods, Passengers; Canada Finds a Surprise Pipeline Route Bypassing Keystone;
HP Plans Split Into Two Separate Businesses; 10 Big Problems That Brought HP to a Decision to Split Up;
U.S. startups challenge agribusiness giants; NSA surveillance hurting tech firms' business;
U.S. Air Force probed for scrapping costly planes bought for Afghans;
Marriott Pays FCC Fine for Blocking Wi-Fi Hotspots;
Other news
John Oliver explains civil forfeiture; the WP report;
Education:
5 States With the Worst Public Schools; 'U.S. News' Says 2 Colleges Misreported Rankings Data; Carnegie Classification Will Get a New Home and Influence From Lumina;
Student Loan Borrowing Increases Sharply Among Affluent;
Skepticism of history course triggers a culture clash;
50 Faculty Positions Will Be Eliminated at U. of Southern Maine; Iowa Regents Pull the Reins on Expenses of Firm Hired to Cut Costs;
Princeton Faculty Scuttles Policy That Sought to Check Grade Inflation; For Adjuncts, a Lot Is Riding on Student Evaluations;
Party-Promotion Company Leaves Colleges 'Shmacked'; Confederate Flag Raises Controversy at Bryn Mawr College;
The 5 Least-Flattering Details in Report on San Jose State's Tech Spending;
Big Ten Conference Guarantees 4-Year Scholarships to All Its Athletes;
Former Athletes File Antitrust Suit Against TV Networks; Judge Rules Lawsuits Challenging NCAA's Caps on Scholarships Will Proceed;
Colleges Walk a Fine Line When Athletes Are Accused of Sexual Assault; Notre Dame Concludes Academic-Fraud Inquiry Involving 5 Football Players;
10/3/14
TechNews for the week: October 3; October 1; September 29;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Why China stays out of Islamic State fight, for now; Britain, Denmark and Belgium join air campaign against Islamic State in Iraq; 3,000 European jihadists join fight;
How an ancient tomb is a fault line in Syria's brutal civil war; ISIS steps up attack on Syrian town of Kobane; Kurdish leader: Hit IS tanks, not bases;
Kurds seize Iraq/Syria border post; Sunni tribe joins fight against Islamic State; Turkey, with Islamic State on its doorstep, is expected to authorize troops in Syria, Iraq;
U.S. Struggling to Respond to ISIS Via Social Media;
Sweden to recognise Palestinian state; EU says New settlements plan threatens ties with Israel; East Jerusalem settler takeover ignites outrage;
Israel out of step with much of the world: It must become a fully secular state;
Shifting balances of power in Yemen's crisis;
Karzai Calls American Mission In Afghanistan A Betrayal; U.S.-Afghan deal allows American troops past 2014; Northern Afghans threaten to rebel if power-sharing deal fails;
Fighting intensifies in Ukraine as pro-Russian rebels move on Donetsk airport;
Hong Kong erupts in protest against China's rule;
Federal court declines to take on Wisconsin's voter-ID case; Supreme Court rules for GOP plan to restrict early voting in Ohio;
Court Strikes Down GOP-Backed Voting Restrictions In North Carolina; Why early voting is about so much more than convenience;
College Republican Chairwoman Tries To Stop Students From Registering To Vote; Arkansas GOP Outraged About Voter Suppression After Candidate Dropped From Voter Rolls;
The Supreme Court Just Took A Case That Could Make Partisan Gerrymandering Even Worse; Privacy advocates sue Pentagon over Internet voting test results;
GOP cautions that Senate control would have limits;
Tea Party activist and Fox News contributor says Anarchy May Force Cancellation Of 2016 Election;
Secret Service fumbled response after gunman hit White House residence in 2011;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Shellshock Bug: 6 Key Facts; Regulators Urge Banks to Protect Against 'Shellshock' Bug;
The NSA's Private Cloud; Retired NSA Technical Director Uses Snowden Docs To Explain How NSA Bulk Surveillance Works;
EFF Finds Flaws in Software Distributed by Law Enforcement;
Math and science
NASA finds that Earth's 4th largest lake is almost completely dry; Global seafloor map reveals stunning details of Earth's depths;
Archaeologists discover 'Dracula's Dungeon' in Turkish castle;
The People Most Likely To Be Climate-Change Deniers;
Web and computing issues
How to prevent phishing attacks on Android;
How Apple Pay Could Change the Buying Experience;
SC Politics
Dimitri Cherny gives us a choice in November;
Selling the bar ban, Chief Mullen uses crime stats and a late-night video;
Finance and Economics
Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.9% on Strong Job Growth;
EU Calls Apple's Irish Tax Arrangement Illegal; Argentina deposits debt payment in defiance of US ruling; Exxon's Russian Partner Rosneft Finally Hit With Sanctions;
Pimco Picks Ivascyn as Investment Chief as Gross Departs ; New Pimco Chiefs Seek to Calm Investors; Bill Gross exit could cost Pimco $400 billion;
Retirement plan advisers set to flee Pimco; Vanguard, BlackRock may reap billions from Pimco; US regulators monitor Pimco $223bn fund;
Pimco investors withdraw record sum after Gross departure; The Blunder That Led To Bill Gross' Demise; Diekmann to step down as Allianz CEO;
"Dark Side" Of North Dakota's Oil Boom Said To Hit Indian Lands Especially Hard; Officials Continue To Grapple With Oil Train Safety Issues;
Boeing Officials Hits Congress For Lack Of Long-Term Ex-Im Extension; Union Members Upset Boeing Is Shifting Jobs After Obtaining Incentives;
Doctors net billions from drug firms;
Are Your Children Destroying Your Retirement?
Other news
Thieves steal Boy Scouts trailer from Daniel Island church parking lot;
ESPN is the PR arm of the sports-industrial complex;
Rare footage from the 1924 World Series unearthed;
Education:
Fields With Highest Gender Imbalances Among Ph.D.'s; Two years after college, too many grads are still 'adrift';
4 Years and $2-Billion in Community-College Training Grants, State by State; Survey: Young Adults Are Unaware Of Cybersecurity Profession;
U. Nebraska-Lincoln Offers Buyouts to Tenured Professors; Trustee Group Responds Tepidly to Presidential-Hiring 'Tool Kit';
What You Need to Know About Companies That Run Online Programs for Colleges; Optimism About MOOCs Fades in Campus IT Offices;
For-Profit Giant Starts Competency-Based 'Open College' ;
DOJ Investigating Whether Corinthian Defrauded Government; For-Profit College Is Accused of $6.5-Million Fraud Against U.S.;
Siding With For-Profit Colleges, Judge Says Rule on Recruiter Pay Is Flawed;
Top Official in Athletic Fund Raising at Florida State U. Is Charged With Grand Theft;
A Changing View on Concussions? The Jury's Still Out;