 |
 |
 |
 |
World News Once a Week |
|
 |
 |
| Published Thursday, September 18, 2008 |
|
 |
|
| Reuters/John Gress: A trader works in the pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. |
Issue 117
If you planned on broin' down with some banker buddies in the club this Friday night, you may have to swap the bottle of Cristal
with a flask of Mad Dog 20/20. Yes, it's been a historically tough week on Wall Street, ever since Uncertain Sunday begat Mortgage-Meltdown Monday. But
it remains to be seen just how far-reaching the fallout from this week's crisis will be. So don't fret just yet — financial-sector
troubles may not prevent you from plying your trade, whether that's sending out millions of Viagra emails or selling contaminated milk.
In troubled times like these, perhaps it's best not to dwell on such trifling matters as personal wealth, and instead focus
on the Big Picture. This week, Activate spoke with Dan Hooper, a physicist whose work poses a host of fascinating questions about the nature of matter and force. (Unlike banking, uncertainty
in physics isn't just tolerated, it's a principle.) And in our very own nod to the future, we've made the first in a series of forward-looking changes to Activate: Digg replaces
the 1994-centric AOL in Popular Appeal, and the section formerly known as Local has a clearer focus. Keep your eyes peeled and your inboxes open for more changes down the line, and thanks for reading.
- Benjamin Hart |
|
|
 A Note on Our Sources |
|
|
|
| The Activate Q&A |
 |
When particles collide: physics at the brink
|
 |
| Dan Hooper |
|
In the eyes of a particle physicist, the universe's biggest mysteries are hidden within its tiniest parts. By analyzing the collisions of high-energy
photons, these subatomic detectives seek to better understand the building blocks of matter — and to detect the particles
that we can predict, but are not yet able to see. The aim is unimaginably grand: to bridge the chasm between general relativity — Einstein's geometry of space and time — and quantum mechanics, which describes physics at the subatomic level.
As of last week, the world's particle physicists have a new playground: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This 17-mile-long tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border is the most powerful particle accelerator ever constructed,
designed to help answer some of the toughest questions in science. We posed some questions of our own to Dr. Dan Hooper, an
associate scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the author of Nature's Blueprint, who celebrated what an exciting time it is to be a physicist.
AT: What do you expect the LHC to see, and what do you hope it might see?
DH: The one thing that I think is most likely to appear at the LHC is a hypothetical particle called the Higgs boson. The Higgs
holds a very important place in how we think our universe works. In particular, it is because of this particle that other
particles — like electrons, for example — have mass. Without the Higgs, these other particles would be massless and act more
like radiation than matter, always traveling at the speed of light. We think that it is through interactions with Higgs bosons
that these particles become massive and slow down. In this way, the existence of the Higgs transforms our world dramatically.
If this particle does indeed exist, then the LHC should be able to see it.
So that is what I expect to see. What I would like to see is something completely unexpected — something that blows the collective
minds of the physics community. With a machine as energetic and powerful as the LHC, the possibilities for discovery are practically
endless. For example, one of the wilder possibilities that has been considered is that the LHC could discover extra dimensions
of space, beyond the three we experience. If other dimensions do in fact exist, then it is possible that particles created
in the LHC could travel through them, giving us a window into the higher dimensionality of space and time.
Keep reading the Q&A »
|
 BACK TO TOP |
|
|
| Top Stories |
|
Dominoes, anyone? Troubles stagger Wall Street
|
|
Wall Street is reeling from a triple dose of bad news this week, which triggered the worst stock-market decline since 9/11 and left traders anticipating the next falling axe. First, old-guard investment firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after both the US government and a pair of fellow banks refused to bail it out. Then, Merrill Lynch — fearing a similar fate — agreed to a hasty takeover by Bank of America. Now, insurance giant AIG has escaped from the brink of collapse, thanks to an $85 billion government bailout.
Though the specifics are complex, these recent failures stem from the same source: the purchase of high-risk mortgages and the consistent overvaluation of shaky investments.
|
| BACK TO TOP |
Candidates' battle returns to the issues
|
|
Last week's financial meltdown injected some hard realities into the US presidential race, shifting focus from petty squabbles to the country's troubled economy. John McCain and Barack Obama sparred over the Republican candidate's
repeated assurance that the economy's fundamentals remain strong, with Obama seizing the opportunity to portray his opponent as uninformed.
Meanwhile, McCain promised to "clean up Wall Street" while cutting corporate taxes.
The renewed policy debate arrives after a tough week for the Obama campaign. A series of attack ads successfully forced the Democratic nominee to play defense, although political watchdogs have rebuked the McCain camp for distorting the truth. With op/ed pages crying foul, McCain protested that the press — once his booster — has turned on him.
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
|
| Newswire |
|
|
|
| Politics |
|
Zimbabwean leaders agree to share
After months of turmoil, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to a power-sharing plan, dividing government
control between the country's two main parties. According to the deal, Mugabe will remain president, while Tsvangirai will
become prime minister.
| BBC | New York Times |
Bombings spur push for Indian anti-terror law
A militant Indian Islamic group claimed responsibility for detonating a series of bombs across Delhi on Saturday, killing
20 people and injuring more than 90. Some Indian politicians are demanding a national-security overhaul, and the media has
joined the chorus.
| Christian Science Monitor | Guardian |
Bolivian peace talks on the rocks
Faced with mounting domestic unrest, Bolivian president Evo Morales is pursuing formal negotiations with the rebel governors who oppose his attempts to bolster
the country's indigenous majority. An emergency summit faltered after Bolivian authorities arrested one dissident governor on charges of fomenting violence.
| Washington Post | Los Angeles Times |
|
| Science & Technology |
|
Spam king freed; rolaxx, vi@gra for all!
Virginia's supreme court overturned the 2004 conviction of notorious spammer Jeremy Jaynes, who was jailed for sending thousands of unsolicited mass emails a day. The court ruled that the state's anti-spam laws restrict
free speech by not explicitly limiting their scope to commercial email.
| PC Magazine | Christian Science Monitor |
Google to launch 'computer navy'?
Google filed a patent last week for maritime data centers that would allow high-speed transmissions in locations without land-based
infrastructure. The mobile centers, rigged with an array of servers and communications systems, are designed to capture operating
energy from crashing waves.
| Network World | Times, UK |
|
| Blogosphere |
|
Wallace leaves undeniable legacy
The death of intellectual heavyweight David Foster Wallace has shaken the online literary community. Writers far and wide mourned the 46-year-old author's apparent suicide, paying tribute to his uncommon talent and longing for his perspective
on current affairs.
| Books Blog (Guardian) | Trailhead (Slate) |
Russia-Georgia: afterthoughts
Although the recent Russia-Georgia fracas is slowly cooling off, armchair strategists are just beginning to unravel the knotty conflict. Techies noted the effectiveness of Russia's cyber
warfare, while Matthew Yglesias gave kudos to the prognosticating pundit who saw it coming.
| TechNewsWorld | Yglesias (Think Progress) |
|
|
| The Week in Pictures |
|
Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Jorge Silva
 Daniel Aguilar
 Kareem Raheem
 Ajay Verma
 Darren Staples
|
*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
|
|
|
| |
BACK TO TOP |
|
|
| Below the Fold |
|
|
I still don't like Ike: hurricane cleanup begins
|
 |
| Reuters/Carlos Barria |
|
Relief workers descended on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ike swept across the region, leaving nearly 40,000 people homeless.
Experts believe the mammoth storm — which caused an estimated $22 billion in damage — to be the third costliest in US history.
| National Geographic | USA Today |
Israel confronts settler attack
Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian villagers last Saturday in a rampage that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert decried as a "pogrom."
Local police criticized the army for ignoring the incursion and warned that attacks by settlers are up significantly from
last year.
| Haaretz | BBC |
China investigates tainted milk powder
State-owned Chinese dairy company Sanlu recalled all baby formula containing melamine, a chronically toxic chemical, after months of suppressing scandal. The intentionally contaminated milk-powder products have
caused four deaths and led to serious health complications for thousands of Chinese children.
| Times, UK | Washington Post |
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
|
|
|
|
| Masthead |
|
Managing Editor
Benjamin Hart
Deputy Editor
Eli Dvorkin
Contributing Editors
Jennifer Chen
Nick Earhart
Doug Levy
Jessica Loudis
Andrew Phillips
Production
Adda Birnir
Tom Starkweather
Andrew Steinmetz
Publishers
Mark Mangan
Sascha Lewis
Design
Groundwave Design Corp.
Production Design
Jonathan Rahmani
Cultural Partner
|
A Note on Our Sources
A login may be required to view some of the news stories we link to. We try to keep this to a minimum, but it's impossible
to avoid entirely as we strive to link to the most authoritative sources.
It should also be noted that we don't expressly endorse the views of any of the publications or websites that we link to.
We try to provide as many varied and quality sources as we can in order to present you with the full story.
Contact Us
If you'd like to respond to our editors about a story published here, or comment on the magazine's content more generally,
please email feedback.
If you see a smart news story that you think should be included in Activate, email a link to articles, and our editors will consider it.
Every week, Activate presents one exclusive media partner. Click for more information about advertising opportunities on Activate and across all Flavorpill publications.
About Us
Activate is an independent-thinking weekly news round-up produced by Flavorpill, a digital publishing company that filters cultural stimuli of all kinds.
[more » ]
In addition to this weekly roundup of world news, Flavorpill publishes a series of online magazines, covering ART, BOOKS, MUSIC, and cultural events in NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, and LONDON. Coming soon: STYLE/DESIGN and FILM. Subscribe now.
|
|
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
| © 2008 Flavorpill Productions LLC. All rights reserved. |
 |
|
 |
