The economic green shoots are sprouting, the market has rebounded and even the unemployment figure seems to be holding steady—and yet, the ghosts of economic crisis past are still lurking in our midst. A new report by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the independent Congressional committee tasked with monitoring TARP, economic regulation and the overall recovery, says that banks’ bad assets are still rotting away on the books. Will the toxic remnants of this crisis haunt the American economy for the foreseeable future?
Why fix something that isn’t broke? That may be an obvious question for Google, as they embark on a new, updated version of their groundbreaking search engine code-named “Caffeine.” But with competitors from Microsoft, Yahoo and others gunning for Google the iconic search engine is thinking ahead. Is the new <a href="http://www2.sandbox.google.com/">Google Caffeine</a> that much different from Google classic?
Even though Congress tasked NASA with seeking out all of the asteroids that threaten Earth they forgot the minor detail of providing the space agency with the funding needed to target these potential destroyers of the human race. A report by the National Academy of Sciences found that NASA is lacking the money and manpower to identify all of the roughly 20,000 asteroids that pose the most immediate threats to the planet. So are you worried about being wiped out by a killer asteroid?
It’s hard to look at the response to a broad, free health clinic going on all week at the Forum in Inglewood and not draw conclusions about the state of healthcare in America. Remote Area Medical, a charity that has previously staged free clinics in remote areas of the country, brought a range of medical services to the Forum this week and thousands of people have lined up for hours to take advantage of free healthcare. From dental to eye exams, why are so many Los Angelinos desperate for basic health care?
Yesterday President Obama addressed the concerns that many of America’s senior citizens have with health care reform but, it may be too little too late. According to a recent Gallup Poll, only 20% of seniors say that they believe health care reform would improve their own situation. Can the President assuage the fears of the 65 and up set?
At a specific ATM, calling from a certain intersection, new technology is increasingly aware of where we are at any given time. But when does that become a threat to our privacy and how can we get technology to work for us rather than against us? A new report out by the Electronic Frontier Foundation says it’s up to the programmers to start respecting our privacy and stop collecting and storing this information. We hear from a co-author of EFF’s report and a privacy officer from a programming company
Patt Morrison is known for its innovative discussions of local politics and culture, as well as its presentation of the effects of national and world news on Southern California.
