A new temperature record? Japan’s meteorologists think so
- The Economist explains – Why the oil price is falling
- The new Congress in numbers – How politicians are unlike America
- Yoga, Petting Puppies, Halloween: Banned By Malaysia’s Muslim Clerics – “Malaysia is a bastion of Islam in tropical Southeast Asia. It’s also a nation of mallgoers and Instagram addicts. Many in Malaysia see themselves as both devout and cosmopolitan. Their ethos extols mosques and skyscrapers alike. But as Malaysia modernizes, its state-backed religious authorities are embarking on a spree of fatwas. Each is a decree based on interpretations of the Quran. The fatwasare typically seen as guidelines, but police can potentially enforce them under Malaysia’s Sharia laws. These days, the fatwas keep piling up — currently, there are some 1,500-plus. Malaysia’s conservative Muslims appear panicked by the corrosive influence of Western modernity.”
- The Senate’s 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than its 54 Republicans
- The Pentagon’s newest weapons look like something out of ‘Star Wars’ – “One of the newest weapons in the Pentagon’s vast arsenal is a concentrated beam of light, a laser that zaps and burns, delivering destruction by the kilowatt, as if in “Star Wars.” Under development for years by the military and the defense industry, lasers have moved from science-fiction fantasy, to the laboratory and, just recently, to the Persian Gulf. They sizzle rather than go boom, providing pin-point accuracy that proponents say can prevent the kind of collateral damage that’s unavoidable with missiles or bombs.”
- Europe’s Trap – Paul Krugman writes: “There are many risks in the world economy right now — a possible Chinese hard landing (local governments depend heavily on land sales for revenue? Oh, boy), a financial crisis in Russia and other oil exporters, etc.. But one thing is not a risk, because it has already happened: the euro area has entered a Japan-style deflationary trap. … So don’t think of Europe as having a tough but workable economic strategy, endangered by Greek voters and such. Europe is at a dead end; if anything, Greece is doing the rest of Europe a favor by sounding a wake-up call.”
- End the feud between the spinners and the fourth estate – “The digital revolution will ultimately strengthen journalism, but so far public relations has managed the web far better.”
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