asteroid image close call

Attack of the Killer Asteroid

While most of us on the West Coast of the United States were getting ready for work, a significant astronomical event occurred without many of us knowing. A bus-sized asteroid passed within 37,000 miles of us– almost one-fifth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Scientists say the object, named 2012 BX34, had no chance of …

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syrian-revolution

Can the U.N. Effectively Back the Syrian Protestors?

Ten months of continued violence in Syria deteriorated into further bloodshed this week with human rights activists claiming Bashar al-Assad’s security forces have killed at least 30 people since Thursday. Arab League monitors have expressed frustration with al-Assad’s forces, and the United Nations Security Council is due to discuss a resolution condemning the regime. However, …

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Greenspan

Capitalism on the Judgment Block: Davos and Greenspan

This week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Western-style capitalism has been put on the judgment block. According to the Economic Times, delegates “admitted that state capitalism on the Chinese model is in the ascendant” thanks to a financial crisis that continues to cause havoc in Europe and the United States. The sovereign …

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carl levin monitor breakfast

Carl Levin: Budgeting for a Smaller, Leaner Military

Just hours before President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, a small group of U.S. Navy SEALs entered Somalia and successfully rescued an American and a Danish aid worker who were captured by pirates last October. The SEALs that carried out this latest rescue were from the same unit that killed Osama …

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Obesity

America’s Obesity Problem May Be Worse Than First Thought

In two weeks, FORA.tv and Intelligence Squared U.S. are presenting a debate about obesity, Is it the Government’s Responsibility to Fix America’s Obesity Epidemic? On one side, libertarian John Stossel and writer Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth, will argue that Uncle Sam should not insert itself into what is a personal-responsibility and health issue. …

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Attack of the Killer Asteroid Can the U.N. Effectively Back the Syrian Protestors? Capitalism on the Judgment Block: Davos and Greenspan Carl Levin: Budgeting for a Smaller, Leaner Military America’s Obesity Problem May Be Worse Than First Thought

Jan
27

Attack of the Killer Asteroid

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While most of us on the West Coast of the United States were getting ready for work, a significant astronomical event occurred without many of us knowing. A bus-sized asteroid passed within 37,000 miles of us– almost one-fifth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Scientists say the object, named 2012 BX34, had no chance of hitting the Earth. Still, 2012 BX34 made news considering it was among the top 20 of closest recent approaches by an asteroid.

Even if a bus-sized asteroid were on a collision course with the Earth, it would unlikely pose a threat and instead burn-up in the atmosphere. Still, such events remind us that astronomers are always scanning the skies for bigger chunks of rock.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, described what would happen if a stadium-sized asteroid were strike the Earth in a highly entertaining (and eye-opening) talk at the Commonwealth Club:

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Attack of the Killer Asteroid from Commonwealth Club on FORA.tv

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Jan
27

Can the U.N. Effectively Back the Syrian Protestors?

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Ten months of continued violence in Syria deteriorated into further bloodshed this week with human rights activists claiming Bashar al-Assad’s security forces have killed at least 30 people since Thursday. Arab League monitors have expressed frustration with al-Assad’s forces, and the United Nations Security Council is due to discuss a resolution condemning the regime. However, with Russia indirectly backing the Syrian government, many believe a Security Council resolution will lack teeth to quell the violence.

Namik Tan, the Turkish Ambassador to the United States, discussed this issue in a recent chat with Monitor Breakfast journalists. While he stressed that any strong resolution on Syria should have the support of the entire Security Council, he believes defending human rights should be a top priority for political leaders in the region:

On Syria, Turkey Amb. Says Human Rights Trump Business from The Christian Science Monitor on FORA.tv

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Jan
27

Capitalism on the Judgment Block: Davos and Greenspan

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This week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Western-style capitalism has been put on the judgment block. According to the Economic Times, delegates “admitted that state capitalism on the Chinese model is in the ascendant” thanks to a financial crisis that continues to cause havoc in Europe and the United States. The sovereign debt crisis, wide income disparity and crippling unemployment have caused policy makers to rethink government’s role in regulating and directing the free-market system.

Back in 2008, during the darkest days of the Great Recession, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, framed this debate as a choice between socialism and capitalism, a battle many thought had been won with the fall of the USSR. To Greenspan, the economic crisis must not derail this central truth: The world’s economic driver is competition. It alone will lead to wealth and prosperity.

Alan Greenspan and the Debate Over Free Market Capitalism from Georgetown University on FORA.tv

Recently, in an op-ed in the Financial Times, Meddle with the Market at Your Peril, Greenspan wrote: “Whatever the imperfections of free-market capitalism, no regime that has been tried as a replacement, from Fabian socialism to Soviet-style communism, has succeeded in meeting the needs of its people.”

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Jan
26

Carl Levin: Budgeting for a Smaller, Leaner Military

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Just hours before President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, a small group of U.S. Navy SEALs entered Somalia and successfully rescued an American and a Danish aid worker who were captured by pirates last October. The SEALs that carried out this latest rescue were from the same unit that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan last May and represent a shift in U.S. military strategy from a conventional large military to one that is smaller, leaner, and fast-moving.

U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) joined the Monitor Breakfast this morning and touched on Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement that unveiled a restructuring of U.S. Armed Forces. Levin, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, defended criticism from Mitt Romney who believes the current plan undermines the ability to project American military strength effectively and weakens national security:

Levin: Sequesters Could Threaten ‘Sound’ Defense Budget from The Christian Science Monitor on FORA.tv

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Jan
26

America’s Obesity Problem May Be Worse Than First Thought

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In two weeks, FORA.tv and Intelligence Squared U.S. are presenting a debate about obesity, Is it the Government’s Responsibility to Fix America’s Obesity Epidemic? On one side, libertarian John Stossel and writer Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth, will argue that Uncle Sam should not insert itself into what is a personal-responsibility and health issue. Presenting the other side will be a former surgeon general and a health expert.

The debate takes on added significance thanks to a recent report out of Louisiana State University. The study  looked at what happens when individuals eat a diet high in protein vs. one packed with fat and carbohydrates. As reported in Atlantic.com, Why the Obesity Epidemic Could Be Much Worse Than We Think, both camps of people gained weight, but the former group (high protein) gained that weight in muscle mass while the latter did not. Like an idling engine, this muscle mass burns calories even when a person is at rest.

Two people can weigh the same weight, but one person can have good muscle mass and the other can have bad body fat. The implications aren’t good. Americans are known for eating a diet high in fat and carbohydrates, which means the obesity problem is worse than we first thought. We are way overweight, not with idling muscle mass, but stalled-out body fat.
Photo courtesy of Spree2010

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Jan
25

Haiti: Putting Waste to Work

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Haiti’s bleak status as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere was compounded in January of 2010 by the devastating earthquake outside the capital Port-Au-Prince, which government officials estimate took the lives of over 300,000 people. For Sasha Kramer, an ecologist and Emerging Explorer with the National Geographic Society, the disaster afforded her the opportunity to put into practice a project so desperately needed by refugees in Port-au-Prince– composting eco toilets.

Kramer had been working in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien on several projects designed to improve sanitation using a unique type of eco-toilet when the earthquake hit.  She hurried to the capital to help with the aid efforts when she was approached by Oxfam Great Britain–the U.K.-based confederation of organizations dedicated to finding solutions to poverty and injustice–and was asked to try and implement her project within several urban camps in the city. At first, Kramer didn’t believe her project was appropriate for a problem of such magnitude; however, she soon discovered how much of an impact toilets made on a people struggling to survive:

Sasha Kramer: Putting Waste to Work from National Geographic Live on FORA.tv

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Jan
24

State of the Union: Fairness in America

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With a second term at stake in the upcoming November election, Beltway insiders, pundits and reporters are questioning what will be the main theme of President Obama’s third State of the Union address. While Obama will certainly outline plans for continued job creation and debt reduction, many believe that he will also take a more populist stance to discuss what could define his reelection strategy: tax inequality and fairness.

On hand for tonight’s address and sitting next to Michelle Obama will be Debbie Bosanek, the secretary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Bosanek is the inspiration behind the “Buffett Rule,” a tax plan proposed by President Obama that calls for the wealthiest Americans to pay more income tax.  The rule is named after the investor, who publicly stated in 2011 that he disagreed with lower taxes for the rich.

The Huffington Post created a video that discusses Obama’s call for fairness in more detail, and reviews the official State of the Union talking points delivered by the White House this morning:

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Jan
24

Paley Center: Dream Team Unveils the Future of Content

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If you wanted to get the inside track on where publishing and content are going, you’d be smart to talk to someone who founded one of the great media success stories of the 21st century, say the Huffington Post. It would also be nice if the same person had some old-world media experience (like being  a senior executive at AOL/Time Warner), and he had proven his social-media acumen by starting  companies such as Bitly.

Even better if this person of experience and gravitas had partnered with a junior guy, a go-getter who understood the tastes of the younger generation and was targeting them with niche content  and e-commerce products, similar to what is happening on the Thrillist.

This dream team is Kenneth Lerer and his son, Ben, who run the angel investment firm Lerer Media Ventures in New York City. Yesterday, in a Paley Center for the Media program, they sat down to discuss their unique relationship (they actually get along), the start of the Huffington Post (a weapon to defeat Matt Drudge), their investment strategies (don’t pay attention to the competition) and the future of content.

On the latter point, they say, a publishing company stands a much greater chance of success if it is super niche, sells something that is closely aligned with that niche and is built on a strong and flexible technology foundation.

Media Council Breakfast with Ken and Ben Lerer from The Paley Center for Media on FORA.tv

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Jan
23

Kenneth and Ben Lerer: Venture Capital and New Media

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One was the chairman and co-founder of The Huffington Post and is the current chairman of Betaworks, Rocketfeed, and Buzzfeed. The other is co-founder and CEO of the popular men’s online lifestyle publication Thrillist. As father and son, however, Kenneth and Ben Lerer co-manager Lerer Ventures– a seed stage venture capital fund that has invested into start-ups such as SeatGeek, an online ticket search engine, and Warby Parker, the rapidly growing online discount eyeglasses retailer.

Both Lerers will be on hand at FORA.tv’s next Paley Center for Media talk to discuss investment in new media and social platforms. Check out the video below for a look into how Ben Lerer built Thrillist into the popular site it is today:

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Jan
23

Commonwealth Club: Can the U.S. Economy Rebound in 2012?

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If the last three years were marked by rampant pessimism due to the U.S. economic recession, and 2011 was defined by continued uncertainty because of the European sovereign debt crisis, is there any hope for 2012? According to a recent editorial by Paul Krugman in the New York Times, there are signs that 2012 could see a continued recovery, even though unemployment remains high and the housing market is still flat.

Still, an accelerated recovery will depend on a number of factors besides just cautious optimism. Last week on FORA.tv, the Commonwealth Club hosted a pair of former top presidential advisors who spoke on what it will take to get the economy back on track.

According to Dr. Michael Boskin, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President George H. W. Bush and current Hoover Institution fellow, the road to economic recovery in the United States is still largely dependent on what happens in Europe. “Because of our trade and banking ties, a catastrophe in Europe would severely affect the American economy, and also the global economy,” Boskin said. Though a worst-case scenario is unlikely, the best-case scenario is that Europe will “muddle through” next year with low economic growth and the potential for catastrophe still looming over the continent.

But the U.S. can’t rely on a wait-and-see approach that is dependent on European fortunes. Christina Romer, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Obama and current economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said that the amount of new jobs the U.S. is currently creating is not making up for the massive losses we incurred in 2007 and 2008:

Christina Romer: Two Hundred Thousand Jobs is Not Enough from Commonwealth Club on FORA.tv

Watch Christina Romer and Michael Boskin: Economic Forecast on demand at FORA.tv.

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