Here’s the amusing story of how one South American nation invaded its neighbor, then blamed a Google Maps error after the fact.
Source: Nicaragua Mistakenly Invades Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps [UPDATED] | GOOD
Lesson: Just because the numbers came in a CSV format from an officious source doesn’t mean they’re any good.
For years, poor performance by students in America relative to those in other countries has been explained away as a consequence of our nationwide diversity. But what if you looked more closely, breaking down our results by state and searching not for an average, but for excellence?
Source: Your Child Left Behind – The Atlantic
Perhaps this is why we have 9.8% unemployment and 1.28 million discouraged unemployed? Do we have minimum wages that are higher than what these people can produce?
Also, even if the USA sucks at math, how does it compare in say art or music? Do we have better singers, more talented fashionistas, or more original artists?
Full-body scanners and enhanced pat-downs — the government has already invested billions in the wrong solutions
the TSA is in a bind. Regardless of whatever lobbying came before, or whatever former DHS officials had a financial interest in these scanners, the TSA has spent billions on those scanners, claiming they’re essential. But because people can opt out, the alternate manual method must be equally effective; otherwise, the terrorists could just opt out. If they make the pat-downs less invasive, it would be the same as admitting the scanners aren’t essential. Senior officials would get fired over that.
There is a public interest in understanding how the world works and what is done in our name. There is a public interest in the confidential conduct of foreign policy. The two public interests conflict.
Source: US embassy cables: A banquet of secrets | Timothy Garton Ash | Opinion | The Guardian