News

If you are in the habit of telling lies, then your “pants on fire” may not be your only problem. So says researcher Susan Guibert. Research from the University of Notre Dame was presented at the 2012 American Psychological Association’s annual convention, revealing that people who were able to reduce the number of lies they told over a period of ten weeks experienced “significantly improved physical and mental health.” Interesting?

 Miley Cyrus’ vulgar and obscenely sexualized performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards—in front of more than 10 million viewers, in a program marketed to pre-teens, teens and young adults—has been widely criticized as degrading both the performer and the audience that watched it. But, in reality, the real story is that so much of what was celebrated at the awards ceremony generated little commentary at all, let alone outrage.  

Sometimes, seemingly dull details can be very important. Like bond markets—who notices them? In case you haven’t been watching, big movements are occurring in the bond markets that could have big implications for the U.S. economy, the U.S. government and even the world economy.

Earlier this year, thousands of workers crowded into a huge building known as the Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This building housed several clothing factories, where workers endured deplorable working conditions not uncommon in many developing countries. As the workday unfolded, the building suddenly began rumbling and shaking. However, this was no earthquake, but the imminent collapse of the shoddily constructed building itself!

Many historians have written about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. From Edward Gibbon’s epic work to modern books on the subject, numerous reasons are offered for Rome’s decline that offer interesting parallels to America’s declining power and prestige. Could America also fall?

From the barbarian hordes and the over-extension of the military to moral and political decay, the reasons given by historians for the Roman Empire’s decline and fall are wide-ranging.