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...this compulsively readable while at the same time being almost entirely devoid of substance of any kind. When you read Michael Crichton or Scott Turow, their books wrestle with actual issues - the dangers of technology, the agonizing ambiguities of legal decision-making, what to do with underwater alien spheres, etc. The Associate is as close to being about nothing as a book can be - it's a masterpiece of almost ghostly narrative minimalism, a book of names without characters, a book with plot points but no plot...
...tougher mortgage regulation. Down payments should be at least 5%, borrowers should be required to provide tangible proof of income, adjustable rate mortgages should only be approved if the borrowers can afford to make the payments after the rates have adjusted upward, home equity loans should be restricted, etc...
Music isn't the only formerly flush - now flagging - industry out there (hello automobiles, journalism, finance, retail, publishing, etc.), but it might be the most stubbornly responsible for its own demise. As Steve Knopper writes in Appetite for Self-Destruction, his chronicle of the music business' downfall, it's not as if record labels hadn't seen this sort of thing before. In the early 80's, the industry. hurting from the collapse of disco, was saved by the advent of compact discs, which prompted fans everywhere to repurchase crisp, digital copies of albums they already owned on tape...
...report left no base uncovered. It noted that there are "scenarios of concern": the use of Iraq-style improvised explosive devices, Mumbai-style armed assault and hostage-taking, and suicide bombing. It said law-enforcement agencies should be watchful for lone offenders, attacks on soft targets (hotels, restaurants, transport, etc.) near the Capitol and explosives placed in "heavily trafficked areas...
...Lowdown: This extensive, yearlong study can be essentially summarized thusly: don't be overly reliant on technology to keep your kids safe from technology. There's no one quick answer - age verification, filtering, etc. - that will keep children from harm. And with few exceptions (exceptions that are usually latched on to and tarted up by the media), the perils children face online are no greater those they face in the real world every day. The song remains the same, moms and dads - it's your responsibility to make sure your kids aren't getting into something they can't handle...