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Showing posts from July, 2015

The benefits of Sesame Street

Early childhood education by MOOC: Lessons from Sesame Street - Early childhood education has important effects on the academic readiness and ultimate life chances of children. This column examines how the introduction of the educational television show Sesame Street in the US affected primary school outcomes for disadvantaged children. Those from counties that had better access to the broadcast had superior educational outcomes through their early school years. These effects were particularly pronounced for black, non-Hispanic children, and those living in economically disadvantaged areas. The extremely low cost per child of such interventions make them ideal for addressing educational inequality in childhood. Europe’s dirty little secret is Greece will never pay back its debt - The simple story is that Greece's debt might have been manageable before, but it's not anymore. The surprising decline in US petroleum consumption - Petroleum consumption in the US has, rather u

Kale the silent killer?

Sorry, Foodies: We're About to Ruin Kale | Mother Jones : Today's kale-fixated juice-heads may doing themselves a disservice. That's a possibility raised by an article in Craftsmanship magazine by Todd Oppenheimer. The piece doesn't establish a definitive link between heavy kale consumption and any health problem, but it does raise the question of whether too much of even a highly nutritious food like kale can have unhappy side effects. The article focuses on an alt-medicine researcher and molecular biologist named Ernie Hubbard, who began to notice an odd trend among some of his clinic's clients in California's Marin County, a place known for its organic farms, health-food stores, and yoga studios. Extremely health-conscious people were coming into to complain of "persistent but elusive problems": "Chronic fatigue. Skin and hair issues. Arrhythmias and other neurological disorders. Foggy thinking. Gluten sensitivity and other digestive trouble

Denmark to follow the Australian example on keeping refugees out

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DF wants video to tell refugees to stay away - Drawing inspiration from Australia, the Danish People’s Party wants to launch a video campaign telling asylum seekers that Denmark is not the place for them.  “If you want to seek happiness in Europe, Denmark is not the right place.”  That’s the message that the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party (DF) wants to send loud and clear to asylum seekers. DF spokesman Martin Henriksen is calling on Denmark to replicate Australia by releasing a video in English and Arabic that will discourage asylum seekers from making their way to Danish shores. “Too many people are coming to Denmark to seek asylum and we want them to stay away from Denmark. That is the message we wish to formulate to human smugglers and potential asylum seekers around the world,” Henriksen told Politiko. Henriksen pointed to a video made by the Australian government, in which a stone-faced General Campbell tells asylum seekers “you will not make Australia home”.