Rotundus.com

The Great Oasis: Can a wall of trees stop the Sahara from spreading?

"Since the mid-nineteen-sixties, Israel has forested tens of thousands of acres of the Negev Desert" - I wonder how much responsibility this holds for the decline of water sources like the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan "River"

They Call It the Reverse Gender Gap

I'd say that article seems to be a little confused about who's averse to a status gap in marriage. On one hand you've got "Some of these women had learned the hard way that when they went to bars, they were better off lying about what they did — saying that they were a cosmetologist or music teacher rather than a software consultant or lawyer," suggesting that men have a problem with high-status women. On the other hand, the article seems also to suggest that women aren't particularly happy with the idea either: "What is to come out of this new world? 'I think women are going to have to abandon the traditional 50-50 everything-must-be-equal feminist mind-set ... and learn to value husbands and partners who are becoming more domesticated and supportive.'" Does one gender have a problem with it? Do both? What's the future of feminism? It certainly doesn't seem to making women happy.

‘Store Bought’ Spoils the Potluck Spirit

"But among all debacles, nothing is quite as depressing as the modern bake sale, where amid the veritable celebration of poundcakes and misshapen cookies are the inevitable Ziploc bags filled with Oreos or perfectly formed bakery-bought treats." I tend to agree where bake sales are concerned - you might as well just grab something else. Potlucks I'm not as particular about. The article does note that "income does seem to be the underpinning of the problem. ... Lower-income parents, especially first-generation immigrants, often turn up at school parties with the best-tasting homemade treats" - perhaps this is partially masking dual-income-families vs. single-income-families-with-a-stay-at-home-moms?

The Book of Jobs

"Because the rich have always been able to save a significant percentage of their income, putting them in the positive column, an average rate of close to zero means that everyone else must be in negative numbers. (Here’s the reality: in the years leading up to the recession, according to research done by my Columbia University colleague Bruce Greenwald, the bottom 80 percent of the American population had been spending around 110 percent of its income.)" Is he correct in his analysis? "Forget monetary policy. Re-examining the cause of the Great Depression—the revolution in agriculture that threw millions out of work—the author argues that the U.S. is now facing and must manage a similar shift in the “real” economy, from industry to service, or risk a tragic replay of 80 years ago." Is a service economy sustainable?

I've heard enough about it from various sources that I decided to try actually reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged this month. So far I'm about 20% in and not understanding the appeal. Not really much subtlety to it, not (yet) a particularly compelling plot, nor the most appealing view of life...

"What are you after?"
"Money."
"Don't you have enough?"
"In his lifetime, every one of my ancestors raised the production of d'Anconia Copper by about ten per cent. I intend to raise it by one hundred."
"What for?" Jim asked, in sarcastic imitation of Francisco's voice.
"When I die. I hope to go to heaven - whatever the hell that is - and I want to be able to afford the price of admission."
"Virtue is the price of admission," Jim said haughtily.
"That's what I mean, James. So I want to be prepared to claim the greatest virtue of all - that I was a man who made money."

Not exactly the most compelling philosophy to build your life around it seems to me - and neither it (nor Jim's opposing view above) seem quite in line with a Christian view so I also don't understand the appeal amongst those who mark themselves by that label. (Perhaps it fits with the prosperity gospel better though - although I'd argue that that's something other than Christian). Seems more consistent with the label that an TIME article awarded it - The GOP’s Godless Philosopher.

Courts applied ‘troublingly broad’ definition of the law to anti-abortion activist’s case, lawyer argues

" Gibbons, then 60, was arrested again, this time for holding a sign within 18 metres of the Scott Clinic in Toronto. The soft-spoken Gibbons said Wednesday she believes the Crown should not have an absolute right to slap injunctions on behaviours and actions it doesn’t like. Doing so is an injury to democracy, where differing views are and should be allowed, she argued." - more than 700 consecutive days in jail (in just one instance) for the simple act of holding a sign seems ridiculous. I wonder how many of the people commenting on the protests in the Middle East are aware of the sorts of laws that Canada has.

School Plays Bieber's 'Baby' As Fundraiser: Students Pay To Make It Stop

Seems like an effective approach

Offshoring, inequality, and the value of college degrees

"With stagnating wages and lingering unemployment, income inequality is back in the headlines. Is globalisation to blame for this inequality? Is more education a solution? This column argues that focusing on university education misses important effects. It presents evidence that wage effects vary markedly among those with degrees depending on their specific skill sets, and that globalisation can often benefit workers without degrees"

Airlines must advertise full cost of flights by next Christmas

Finally. The foreign competition thing would seem to be easy to deal with, given that foreign airlines are subject to government approval for access to the country (Via my sister)

(What to think of the related subject of Attenborough's use of footage filmed in zoos and other controlled environments in his Frozen Planet episode - e.g. that "shots of a polar bear and her newborn cubs were staged in a zoo using fake snow"? Seems at least more reasonable than Michael Moore's movies. Doesn't seem to really distort things, although it does cast a little doubt on how much of the footage was actually real).