Essays on the trap of US student debt

debt DSC03359

A growing problem.

Reclamations, a journal published by University of California students, has published a special, timely pamphlet called “Generation of Debt,” on the trap of student debt in America. Young people in America are bombarded with the message that they won’t find meaningful employment without a degree (and sometimes a graduate degree).

Meanwhile, universities have increased their fees to astronomical levels, far ahead of inflation, and lenders (including the universities themselves) offer easy credit to students as a means of paying these sums (for all the money they’re charging, universities are also slashing wages for their staff, mostly by sticking grad students and desperate “adjuncts” into positions that used to pay professorial wages; naturally, the austerity doesn’t extend to the CEO-class administrators, who draw CEO-grade pay).

Continue reading… “Essays on the trap of US student debt”

Food ads have more clout than parents: study

fries

Kids who saw an ad for fries picked the fries, even when their parents tried to get them to pick a healthier alternative.

Food ads are more persuasive than an involved parent when it comes to children’s food selection, a new study in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests.  Researchers were surprised at the findings when they were trying to determine the impact of commercials in childrens’ diets.

 

 

Continue reading… “Food ads have more clout than parents: study”

Alzheimer’s might be transmissible in similar way as infectious prion diseases, research suggests

akl11004113757-large

Could Alzheimer’s be transmissible?

The brain damage that characterizes Alzheimer’s disease may originate in a form similar to that of infectious prion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob, according to newly published research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Continue reading… “Alzheimer’s might be transmissible in similar way as infectious prion diseases, research suggests”

Stealing identities of elderly parents a hidden but common crime

elderly parent

Stealing identities from elderly parents may be more prevalent that previously thought.

Theft of a childs’ identity is the  scourge of the digital age. It is a terrible crime that often sees parents ruining their own kids’ futures by taking out mortgages, car loans and other financial obligations in their names. But a new study shows that another kind of family-based ID theft, which rarely grabs headlines, might be much more prevalent: Stealing the identities of elderly parents.

 

Continue reading… “Stealing identities of elderly parents a hidden but common crime”

Two-faced baby born in Pakistan

Two-faced baby 2

Two faces are not better than one.

Doctors at Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi have been trying to save a baby born with two faces, as he has been having breathing problems. They have been unable to feed the baby through the mouth, sources have said. The baby is the third child of a couple from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Paediatric Ward Senior Registrar Dr Qaisar Aziz said that the new born baby has been shifted to the intensive care unit of the children’s ward and was being take good care of…

Continue reading… “Two-faced baby born in Pakistan”

Meltdown – The men who crashed the world

“The first of a four-part investigation into a world of greed and recklessness that brought down the financial world.”

From Open Culture:

Doc Zone, a documentary series produced by CBC Television, is now airing a four part investigation into the great financial meltdown of 2008…

Continue reading… “Meltdown – The men who crashed the world”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.