- Paul Ryan’s Influence on the G.O.P– A political feature about Paul Ryan, his upbringing, and his ability to bring about an ideological shift in the Republican party.
- German Mud Olympics Turns Attention from Lack of Real Medals– Apparently Germans are disappointed with their showing at the Olympics, but running at the same time are the Mud Olympics, a charity event held at the mouth of the Elbe River that includes Mud football, handball, and volleyball. Honestly, this looks like a ton of fun.
- German Media Slams Mitt Romney’s Tour Abroad-German media from across the political spectrum has been critical of Mitt Romney’s trip.
- Romney Comments at Fundraiser Outrage Palestinians-Sometimes I think news headlines deliberately try to obscure the meaning of the article, prompting people to read the article because they are confused rather than interested. In this case, though Romney spoke in Israel, claiming that the gap in per capita GDP between Israelis and Palestinians was (in part) because of “the hand of providence.” This is a standing theme for Romney, since he attributes the same cause to income gaps between The United States and Mexico, and Chile and Ecuador.
- Is Algebra Necessary?-An Op-ed by Andrew Hacker that is a pretty good case study of how not to write an essay. I was led to this article by a blog post by Timothy Burke that outlines the problems with Hacker’s argumentation. He does a really good job of outlining what this essay should look like and what it needs, and by pointing out the multiple ways that Hacker mostly just fumbles about without actually adding anything to the debate about Algebra in high schools. The comments also make pertinent additions about algebra and the piece.
- Israel Prepares Plans to Neutralize Syrian Chemical Weapons-A story in der Spiegel about Syrian chemical weapons, emphasizing that Israel is keeping a close watch on the developments, but also giving a rundown of the Syrian chemical weapons program and other preparations made by foreign countries (including the United States) to attempt to secure any such weapons.
As always, comments encouraged. What else is out there?
Noodlings 