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...Governors can be hugely influential in many ways. They can develop policies that affect the real lives of millions of Americans within their states, which then percolate up to the federal level. They play a major role in the redistricting process for Congress and the state legislatures. And, during a presidential contest, they can rally around one of their own party members with the kind of fundraising and machine-politics mobilization that is unmatched by any other individuals or organizations in the country...
Since the Soviet collapse, no major platforms have emerged in Russia for its computer experts to innovate. As a result, many of them have emigrated, while many others have turned to hacking, a field in which Russians seem to excel. In January, police arrested a 40-year-old computer whiz for hacking into a Moscow advertising mainframe and turning a giant billboard display into a clip of hard-core pornography over one of the city's main streets. To avoid detection, the man had routed his attack through a proxy in Chechnya, a sophisticated trick. But for all his skills...
That is in marked contrast to the American experience. Leslie Berlin, project historian for the Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University, says the U.S. government and large corporations did provide funding and even facilities to encourage innovation, which played a major role in the industry's success, but that "there has not been an effort to manage, to pick and choose what works," she said in a phone interview from California. "That is certainly not the way Silicon Valley has done it in the past." (See why President Obama wants a cybersecurity czar...
...fair, Haiti has had far less experience with earthquakes, and therefore earthquake preparedness, than Chile has. (Before Jan. 12, the last major quake to hit Port-au-Prince was in 1751.) There will, of course, be the apologists who insist it's unfair to compare a basket case like Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest country, with a showcase like Chile, which has Latin America's highest per capita GDP and is set to become the first South American member of the exclusive, Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Chile can do things right, Haiti defenders argue...
Several decades have passed since the West stopped considering homosexuality a mental illness. But for transsexuals, that kind of milestone has been elusive - until now. Last month, France became the first country in the world to remove transsexualism from its official list of mental disorders - a major victory when it comes to acceptance of this oft misunderstood condition. "I'm relieved. People might begin to look at us differently," says transsexual blogger Caphi (a blended name she's chosen to represent Philippe, the man she was born as, and Caroline, the woman she's transforming into). "It's a start...