Inter-faith

Bigotry on the Playing Field – NYTimes.com

Bigotry on the Playing Field – NYTimes.com. Intolerance seems to be part of the message sent to student-athletes on the sporting fields of Texas. Only under legal pressure and public criticism did the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, which organizes competitions for more than 200 schools, recently agree to accommodate an Orthodox Jewish school and reschedule a basketball game that would have violated the Sabbath.

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Politics

Brad Lander: NYPD Surveillance: What We Don’t Know, And Why It Matters

Brad Lander: NYPD Surveillance: What We Don’t Know, And Why It Matters. Every federal agency (including the FBI and CIA) has one, as do many city agencies. In fact, the NYPD — despite its size and operations — stands alone among major American police departments for lacking any meaningful independent oversight (L.A., Chicago, and Philadelphia all have broad independent bodies with subpoena power, for example). IGs help agencies work better. When they are following the law and doing the job right, IGs help provide independent confirmation and legitimacy. When there are ways to do it better, IGs suggest them. The…

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Web/Tech

On Utah’s ‘Silicon Slopes,’ Tech Jobs Get A Lift : NPR

I’m posting this story, because it really is an education story. Look at the quotes. Yes, these companies need engineers, but they also need people who are culturally aware, language savvy, creative and in general, all the things a good humanities/liberal arts education will get you. The future is not an either/or proposition between engineering and literature, but a combination of the two. Unfortunately, as start-ups are looking for these skills, higher education is scaling them back, seeing them as impractical and not profit-making. Too bad the people actually making the money aren’t making the decisions. I actually think higher…

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