Feb
21
The Volcker Rule, a key provision of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act–the resulting regulation after the financial crisis and downturn of 2007–is scheduled to take effect in July. Proposed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as a means to prevent banks from making speculative investments that do not benefit their …
Feb
17
President Obama unveiled his 4th budget to Congress earlier this week, resulting in fairly typical reactions from both sides of the aisle. Policy analysts also got in on the action, with some saying the budget is a useful bid to open negotiations on larger debt-related issues, and others say it represents the decline and fall of …
Feb
15
Back in 2006 when Katie Couric made significant waves as the first female anchor of the CBS Evening News, there were a share of opinion articles that questioned whether her move was even relevant in a society that practically lived within the 24-hour news cycle. Couric touched on this topic in a TimesTalks discussion from 2011 on the …
Feb
15
Compromise. It’s a word that’s commonly thrown around these days inside the Beltway– but unfortunately with mixed results. Most news out of Capitol Hill over the last year has concerned deadlock, especially when it comes to federal budget legislation. Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been a central figure in talks between Democratic and GOP leadership …
Feb
02
As the U.S. unemployment rate slowly drops and with incomes on the rise, 2012 offers a few hopeful signs for the nation’s economic outlook– except for one: consumer spending remains flat. Many Americans are taking time to save their extra income rather than spend it, but this could end up having an adverse effect on …
Jan
27
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, …
Jan
26
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 …
Jan
12
Irish actor Liam Neeson is no stranger to playing dramatic lead roles. His critically acclaimed performance in the 1993 film Schindler’s List garnered him nominations from the Oscars and the Golden Globes, and he has since played several other historical figures, including outlaw Robert Roy MacGregor in Rob Roy and the revolutionary Michael Collins in …
Jan
07
In late September, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, appeared before the General Assembly at the United Nations to request full membership for the State of Palestine. After 20 years of failed talks with Israel, can this plea to the international community be the only path to a two-state solution, or will this …
Jan
04
If you’ve ever watched Lewis Black perform stand-up on stage, you’d think he was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. But when you consider his subject matter—turmoil in Washington, ridiculous trends and cultural phenomena, or simply the absurdities of everyday life—his trademark shouting and finger pointing makes sense. Black once compared his attitude …