Foreign Affairs: The Dollar and the Deficits

Foreign Affairs
November/December 2009
Volume 88, Number 6

The Dollar and the Deficits: How Washington Can Prevent the Next Crisis
by C. Fred Bergsten, Peterson Institute for International Economics

iie.com - Peterson Institute of International Ecomomics

Tufts.edu (pdf)

Frontline: The Credit Card Game

The Credit Card Game
Tuesday, November 24, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

As credit card companies face rising public anger, new regulation from Washington and staggering new rates of default and bankruptcy, FRONTLINE correspondent Lowell Bergman investigates the future of the massive consumer loan industry and its impact on a fragile national economy.

In The Card Game, a follow-up to the Secret History of the Credit Card and a joint project with The New York Times airing Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), Bergman and the Times talk to industry insiders, lobbyists, politicians and consumer advocates as they square off over attempts to reform the way the industry has done business for decades.

"The card issuers could do anything they want," Robert McKinley, CEO of CardWeb.com, tells FRONTLINE of the industry's unchecked power over consumers. "They could change your interest rate. They could impose an annual fee. They could close your account." High interest rates along with more and more penalty fees drove up profits for the industry, Bergman finds, as the banks followed the lead of an aggressive upstart: Providian Bank. In an exclusive interview with FRONTLINE, former Providian CEO Shailesh Mehta tells Bergman how his company successfully targeted vulnerable low-income customers whom Providian called "the unbanked."

"They're lower-income people-bad credits, bankrupts, young credits, no credits," Mehta says. Providian also innovated by offering "free" credit cards that carried heavy hidden fees. "I used to use the word 'penalty pricing' or 'stealth pricing,'" Mehta tells FRONTLINE. "When people make the buying decision, they don't look at the penalty fees because they never believe they'll be late. They never believe they'll be over limit, right? ... Our business took off. ... We were making a billion dollars a year."

Harvest for the World

All babies together, everyone a seed
Half of us are satisfied, half of us in need
Love's bountiful in us, tarnished by our greed
Oh, When will there be a harvest for the world

A nation planted, so concerned with gain
As the seasons come and go, greater grows the pain
And far too many, feelin' the strain
Oh, When will there be a harvest for the world

Gather every man, gather every woman
Celebrate your lives, give thanks for your children
Gather everyone, gather all together
Overlooking none, hopin' life gets better for the world

Dress me up for battle, when all I want is peace
Those of us who pay the price, come home with the least
And nation after nation, turning into beast
Oh, When will there be a harvest for the world

Yeah, yeah
When will there be
I wanna know now now
When will there be a harvest for the world
A harvest for the world

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The Isley Brothers

Frontline: Obama's War

Obama's War
Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

Frontline examines U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan



Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of empires"? And can the U.S. stop the Taliban in neighboring Pakistan, where U.S. troops are not allowed and the government is weak?

In FRONTLINE's season premiere, Obama's War, airing Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS, veteran correspondent Martin Smith travels across Afghanistan and Pakistan to see firsthand how the president's new strategy is taking shape, delivering vivid, on-the-ground reporting from this war's many fronts. Through interviews with top generals, diplomats and government officials, Smith also reports the internal debates over President Obama's grand attempt to combat terrorism at its roots.

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a six-episode series directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska.

Full Episodes Online September 28th - October 9th, 2009

NPR: How Tiny Nanoparticles Are Transforming Technology

How Tiny Nanoparticles Are Transforming Technology
NPR Talk of the Nation Science Friday, September 4, 2009

From cancer treatments to self-cleaning windows and clear solar panels, nanotechnology is revolutionizing medicine, renewable energy and computing. Chemists Mark Ratner and James Gimzewski discuss what's special about nanoscale particles, and how they may shape the future.

The Human Family Tree

The Human Family Tree: Tracing the Human Journey Through Time

Airs on National Geographic Channel Sunday, August 30, 2009, 9pm

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The Genographic Project is creating a picture of when and where ancient humans moved around the world by mapping the genetic markers in modern peoples. These great migrations eventually led the descendants of a small group of Africans to occupy even the farthest reaches of the earth.

200,000 – 150,000 years ago: The genetic journey of everyone alive today began with one woman — “Scientific Eve” — who lived in Africa and passed along her DNA through special cell structures called mitochondria, which only women pass down to further generations.

195,000 years ago: No one knows when modern humans first appeared, but the oldest skulls and bones of anatomically modern humans were found in Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey in 1967. Our ancient homo sapien ancestors remained in Africa for as long as three-quarters of our history as a species.

150,000 years ago: The first branch point on our human family tree is marked by the earliest major movement of humans: One group headed to southern Africa and the other to eastern Africa — and later, to the rest of the world.

Aomori Japan

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in Japan. The city faces the Tsugaru Strait via Mutsu Bay to the North and the Hakkōda Mountains to the South. It has the biggest seaport in the prefecture. Aomori ”青森” literally means blue/green forest. Snow and cold weather characterize the winter climate in Aomori. The city and its surrounding area is renowned for its heavy snowfall, which is said to be the heaviest among all Japanese cities. In 1981 the city recorded a maximum snow cover of 196 cm. Aomori is especially famous for its apple orchards.

The Seikan Tunnel is a 53.85 km (33.46 mi) railway tunnel in Japan, with a 23.3-kilometre (14.5 mi) long portion under the seabed. It is the longest undersea tunnel in the world. It travels beneath the Tsugaru Strait — connecting Aomori Prefecture on the Japanese island of Honshū and the island of Hokkaidō. Before the Seikan Tunnel opened, Aomori's port connected the city via ferry to Hakodate in Hokkaidō, serving as the main entrance to Honshū for passengers and cargo to and from Hokkaidō.

Lake Towada, a beautiful caldera, lies on the boundary between Akita and Aomori Prefectures. The Oirase river drains Lake Towada; in the summer it is refreshing and in the autumn the leaves are breathtaking. It is the largest caldera lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327.0m (1,073 ft) depth,. With a surface area of 62.2 km², Towada is Japan's 12th largest lake, its bright blue color due to its depth.

The Oirase mountain stream is the only stream that has Lake Towada as its source, and the upper reach of the stream runs for 14 km. The area around the stream is famous for its splendid landscape and the beauty of the colorful autumn leaves.

Tsugaru ben is one of the local dialects spoken in Northern Japan. It is not well understood by most Japanese people outside of Aomori.

The Tsugaru clan was a Japanese samurai clan originating in northern Japan, Mutsu Province. A branch of the local Nanbu clan, the Tsugaru rose to power during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. It was on the winning side of the Battle of Sekigahara, and entered the Edo period as a family of lords (daimyo) ruling the Hirosaki Domain. A second branch of the family was later established, which ruled the Kuroishi Domain. The Tsugaru survived as a daimyo family until the Meiji Restoration, when Tsugaru Tsuguakira of Hirosaki and Tsugaru Tsugumichi of Kuroishi were relieved of office. Their extended family then became part of the new nobility in the Meiji era.

Nebuta Festival

The Nebuta Festival is a weeklong Japanese summer festival that takes place in Aomori City, Japan. The festival attracts the most tourists of any of the country's nebuta festivals, and is counted among the three largest festivals in Northern region. The festival was designated an important part of the country's folk culture in 1980. "Nebuta" refers to the float of a brave warrior-figure which is carried through the center of the city, while dancers wearing a unique type of costume called haneto and dance chanting "Rassera".

Nebuta floats are made of a wood base, carefully covered with this same Japanese paper, beautifully clolred, and lighted from the inner part with hundreds of light bulbs. In early August the colorful floats are pulled through the streets accompanied by people dancing in native Nebuta costumes, playing tunes on flutes and drums. One of the reasons for the popularity of the Nebuta festival is the free participation of the public. The sounds of the Nebuta drums and bamboo flutes inspire people to prepare costumes and begin practice of the Nebuta dances. The festival is held every year from August 2 to August 7, where the float is carried through the city during the evening from August 2-6, and during the daytime on August 7. A fireworks show is held on the evening of the final day while the float is carried into the sea.

Atlas of the Human Journey

The National Geographic Society, IBM, geneticist Spencer Wells, and the Waitt Family Foundation have launched the Genographic Project, a five-year effort to understand the human journey—where we came from and how we got to where we live today. This unprecedented effort will map humanity's genetic journey through the ages.

Frontline: Breaking the Bank

FRONTLINE Breaking The Bank
Originally Broadcast June 16, 2009

Watch Online

In Breaking the Bank, FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Inside the Meltdown, Bush's War) draws on a rare combination of high-profile interviews with key players Ken Lewis and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain to reveal the story of two banks at the heart of the financial crisis, their rocky merger, and the government's new role in taking over -- some call it "nationalizing" -- the American banking system.

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FRONTLINE Home pbs.org/WGBH - Boston

Since January 1983, FRONTLINE has served as American public television's - PBS - flagship public affairs series. Hailed upon its television broadcast debut as "the last best hope for broadcast documentaries," FRONTLINE's stature over 20 seasons is reaffirmed each week through incisive documentaries covering the scope and complexity of the human experience.

Frontline has over 50 reports for online viewing.
Watch Online

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The Incredible Human Journey

The Incredible Human Journey is a five-episode science documentary presented by Alice Roberts first broadcast on BBC television in May and June 2009 in the United Kingdom. It considers the evidence for and against the theory of early human migrations out of Africa and subsequently around the world.

Episode 1 "Out of Africa"
Episode 2 "Asia"
Episode 3 "Europe"
Episode 4 "Australia"
Episode 5 "Americas"

Before The Dawn

Talk of the Nation, Science Friday

Review - Monstersandcritics.com

Amazon.com - From Publishers Weekly
"Scientists are using DNA analysis to understand our prehistory: the evolution of humans; their relation to the Neanderthals, who populated Europe and the Near East; and Homo erectus, who roamed the steppes of Asia. Most importantly, geneticists can trace the movements of a little band of human ancestors, numbering perhaps no more than 150, who crossed the Red Sea from east Africa about 50,000 years ago. Within a few thousand years, their descendents, Homo sapiens, became masters of all they surveyed, the other humanoid species having become extinct.

This I Believe: I am Still The Greatest

All Things Considered: This I believe
Muhammad Ali: "I am still the greatest"
Read by his wife Lonnie Ali
April 6, 2009 

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Poem by Cassius Clay

This is the legend of Cassius Clay, The most beautiful fighter in the world today. 

He talks a great deal and brags indeedy, Of a muscular punch that's incredibly speedy. 

The fistic world was dull and weary, with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary. 

Then someone with colour, someone with dash, brought fight fans a-running with cash. 

Yes, I'm the man this poem is about, I'll be Champ of the World, There isn't a doubt. 

Here I predict Mr Liston's dismemberment, I'll hit him so hard, he'll wonder where October and November went. 

Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

Black and Blue (review)
Time Magazine
April 14, 1953

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Black and Blue
Louis Armstrong

Cold empty bed, springs hurt my head
Feels like ole ned, wished I was dead
What did I do, to be so black and blue?

Even the mouse, ran from my house
They laugh at you, and all that you do
What did I do, to be so black and blue

I'm white, inside, but, that dont help my case
Thats life, cant hide, what is in my face

How would it end, aint got a friend
My only sin, is in my skin
What did I do, to be so black and blue?

How would it end, I ain't got a friend
My only sin, is in my skin
What did I do, to be so black and blue?

Tokyo Metro: Please do it at home

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