Calpers has shown rare signs of recovery, and other public employee pension plans may be getting some pain relief, as well. Recent statements by both Fitch and S&P confirm that average funding levels for public pensions fell by 1 percent in 2011 (the most recent year for which data is available). That is a continuation of a […]

Christians are increasingly unlikely to think their clergy contribute to the well-being of society. That data point comes form a new Gallup poll on attitudes towards professions. The results contain some stark numbers for men and women of the cloth: Just 37% of Americans surveyed think the clergy make a big contribution to society, about […]

It’s not just the left that’s keen on promoting nascent green technologies; Republicans in farm states apparently love renewables, as long as they come with jobs for their constituents. The WSJ reports: There is no federal requirement to use renewable energy, so the wind and solar industries rely on states to help them take market share from […]

After a weeks-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the rarefied atmosphere of the Himalayas, policymakers in Delhi must have realized that they need to do a better job protecting the mountainous border region against Beijing’s encroachment.According to official sources quoted by the Press Trust of India, Delhi will create a border protection force […]

It’s getting harder and harder to find financing for new coal plants. In his much-talked-about climate change speech last month, President Obama outlined, among other things, a plan to phase out US government financing of new coal plants abroad in cases where there are “economically feasible alternatives.” The World Bank has followed suit, announcing similar […]

Researchers at Imperial College in London have created a smart surgical “iKnife” that knows when tissue being cut is cancerous or not with effectively perfect accuracy. The AP has the story: Surgeons often find it impossible to tell by sight where tumors end and healthy tissue begins, so some cancer cells are often left behind. A […]

Edward Snowden’s elaborately staged press conference at Sheremetyevo Airport on Friday culminated in his renewed request for political asylum in Russia, if only to enable his eventual flight to Latin America. So far, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador have all offered him asylum (in Venezuela’s case, the offer was legally certified), but it nonetheless must have […]

The one state to continue its rebellion against President Obama’s education reform is that liberal stronghold and king of the Blues: California. The LA Times reports: California has defiantly refused to follow the administration’s lead in grading the performance of teachers and using those measurements to reward the best teachers and punish the worst. The state […]

Many men are lingering on the threshold of the new economy, either unable or unwilling to cross it. So argues David Brooks in a riff on the decline of men narrative: But, surely, there has been some ineffable shift in the definition of dignity. Many men were raised with a certain image of male dignity, which […]

The IMF released a study of China’s economy today that carried a dire warning: reform soon or risk a crash.“Since the global crisis, a mix of investment, credit and fiscal stimulus has underpinned activity,” the assessment reads. “This pattern of growth is not sustainable and is raising vulnerabilities. While China still has significant buffers to weather shocks, the […]