``I must give him his due. He has considerably cretinized me.'' Lautréamont

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Monday, April 27, 2009

Computer Program to Take On ‘Jeopardy!’ (NYT)

it's ``who''

The new bid is based on three years of work by a team that has grown to 20 experts in fields like natural language processing, machine learning and information retrieval.

...
Mr. Friedman added that they were also thinking about whom the human contestants should be and were considering inviting Ken Jennings, the “Jeopardy!” contestant who won 74 consecutive times and collected $2.52 million in 2004.

Selling Obesity at School (NYT)

newspaper vending machines recommended

The place to start fighting the childhood obesity epidemic is the schools where junk foods are sold outside the healthy federal meals programs.

Try Some Quid Pro Nil (NYT)

government power not seen as problem

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ethics agenda should include legislation to bar lawmakers from taking contributions from anyone who benefits from their budget earmarks.

60 Miles From Islamabad (NYT)

strongly worded letter

Washington can not waste more time enabling Pakistan’s denial of the mortal threat that the Taliban poses to the country’s fragile democracy.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Elections Have Consequences (WSJ)

literary turn of phrase meets cleft kitchen sink sentence

It's hard to reconcile the man who nearly boarded the Obama express with the tough-minded Republican senator who sat across from The Wall Street Journal's editorial board at our offices earlier this week.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Reclaiming America’s Soul (NYT)

krugman news fantasy channel

by PAUL KRUGMAN
The only way for the nation to regain its moral compass is to investigate how the government’s interrogation abuses happened, and, if necessary, to prosecute those responsible.

Barbershop (NYT)

rural life in the Times office building

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Sitting down in a shop on 43rd Street is as much about grooming as the spontaneous moment of confidentiality with the man in the mirror.

Morning-After Pills (NYT)

16 year olds left in lurch

The Food and Drug Administration has wisely agreed to let 17-year-olds have access to emergency contraceptive pills without a doctor’s prescription.

Horrors! A Handshake! (NYT)

a few games of 3-card monte on the street would be good too.

President Obama has pledged to mend relations with Latin America; the handshake with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela was a good start.

Holding Up the Housing Recovery (NYT)

the new cause and effect: anything goes with anything.

Republican senators need to understand that a vote against bankruptcy reform is a vote against economic recovery.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Building in a Vacuum (NYT)

copy editor at work

By COLIN BRODERICK
Having witnessed the economy floundering from Belfast to the Bronx, the guillotine has yet to drop in New York.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Israel Cries Wolf (NYT)

sand-into-glass solution rejected out of hand

Barack Obama should view Benjamin Netanyahu’s fear-mongering over Iran’s nuclear ambitions with skepticism, rein him in and pursue Washington’s opening toward Tehran.

Medically Assisted Torture (NYT)

grammatical ambiguity nearly suggests investigating terrorists

A full-scale investigation should be conducted into the abusive practices against terrorism suspects and the medical personnel that facilitated the torture.

Hold the Line on School Reform (NYT)

more recesses less homework

Education Secretary Arne Duncan needs to tighten the preliminary eligibility guidelines for schools to receive federal stimulus money.

Columbine Plus 10 (NYT)

government fears citizens

The massacre in Binghamton, N.Y., is yet another reminder of America’s terrible gun problem and a summons to lawmakers to insist on common-sense gun laws.

Listen (NYT)

indifference anticipated

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG

Perhaps there is no recovering those emotions one feels when hearing the Beatles for the first time, but hopefully the release of the revitalized Beatles catalogue will come close.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Bubbles Sparked

Today's WSJ asks the financial question: ``What sparks bubbles?''

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