What is our crime? Saudi princesses denied food for over 60 days

Published on Russia Today RT, May 31, 2014.

Deprived of their basic needs, the four Saudi royal princesses kept in 13-year isolation by their father, King Abdullah, have surpassed 60 days without food.

The monarch’s daughters fell out of their father’s favor for speaking out against the ill treatment of women in the Gulf kingdom. It is also believed that the king was angry at the girls’ mother for not giving him a son.   Continuer la lecture de « What is our crime? Saudi princesses denied food for over 60 days »

Poverty in Europe

Poverty in the European Union on the increase, on Real-World Economcs Review Blog, by merijknibbe. May 29, 2014 … people at risk of poverty or social exclusion … According to Deirdre McCloskey, poverty (and growth) is a much more important problem than inequality …;

680,000 Greek Children at Risk of Living in Poverty, on Greek Reporter, by Nikoleta Kalmouki, May 29, 2014;   Continuer la lecture de « Poverty in Europe »

Europe and Ukraine: A tale of two elections

Published on Russia Today RT, May 27, 2014.

Circumstances surrounding the European and Ukrainian elections were far from being a mere coincidence.

The regime changers in Kiev decided to hold a presidential election on May 25, the same day as European Parliament elections, in order to demonstrate their desire to follow a European-centric foreign policy.   Continuer la lecture de « Europe and Ukraine: A tale of two elections »

Interview with Alex Pentland: Can We Use Big Data to Make Society Better? – part 1

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Spiegel staff, May 26, 2014.

In a SPIEGEL interview, American data scientist Alex Pentland discusses how data streams can be used to determine the laws of human interaction. He argues the information can be used to help forge better societies.

Alex Pentland, 62, heads the Human Dynamics Lab at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is considered one of the world’s leading data scientists. In his new book, Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread — The Lessons from a New Science, he argues that human communication behaviors follow the rules of mathematics. Continuer la lecture de « Interview with Alex Pentland: Can We Use Big Data to Make Society Better? – part 1 »