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U.S. Senator promotes educationequivalent of fuel-efficient car
By Thomas Ferraro (Front Row Washington)
Submitted at 10/21/2009 1:34:52 PM
If cars can be fuel-efficient, whycan't education be time-efficient?That's the premise thatRepublican U.S. Senator LamarAlexander is promoting.Alexander served as U.S.education secretary in theadministration of the firstPresident George Bush and alsoas president of the University of Tennessee.Speaking at the ReutersWashington Summit, Alexandersuggested that more colleges takea look at allowing at least somestudents to obtain anundergraduate degree in threeyears rather than the normal four."It's one way to attract students,"he said.How does he expect colleges torespond? "Skeptically," Alexandersaid. "Colleges don't changeeasily."He said that the idea has beentried and worked on a limitedbasis -- and that the marketplacewill likely determine howwidespread a three-year degreebecomes.The United States has the bestuniversities in the world, and theyhave been key to developingcompetitive advantages that helpAmericans produce 25 percent of all the world's wealth, he said.But Alexander said tuition hassoared, leaving students withunprecedented debt.Writing in the Oct. 17 issue of Newsweek magazine, Alexandernoted that Hartwick College, asmall liberal arts school in upstateNew York, offers three-yeardegrees to "well prepared-students" -- providing them theopportunity to save $43,000, theamount of one-year's tuition andfees.He said a number of other"innovative colleges" are makingthe offer, too."The three-year degree couldbecome the higher-educationequivalent of the fuel-efficientcar," wrote Alexander. "And that'sboth an opportunity and a warningfor the best higher-educationsystem in the world."For more Reuters WashingtonSummit news, click here.Photo credit: Reuters/JonathanErnst (Senator Lamar Alexanderat Reuters Washington Summit)
U.S. Commerce Secretarydoesn’t like ring ofShanghai Silicon Valley
By Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington)
Submitted at 10/21/2009 11:13:19 AM
U.S. Commerce Secretary GaryLocke says one thing he doesn'twant to see is a Shanghai SiliconValley develop from China'sinvestment in clean energy.He warned that if the UnitedStates doesn't move forward onclean energy, it risks fallingbehind China where thegovernment is spending almost$100 billion a year to supportrenewable energy and cleanenergy efficiency.And China is not doing it just toaddress climate change issues, butbecause it sees an economicopportunity. "They're reallyfocusing investing in the cleanenergy field to serve the needs of the world," Locke said at theReuters Washington Summit."And so that's why it's veryimportant that we pass cleanenergy legislation because there'sso many investors, entrepreneurs,venture capitalists who are sittingon the sidelines waiting for thatcertainty," he said. "They justwant to know what the rules of the game are, what the taxincentives are, what the tax rulesand regulations are before theycommit."The longer the U.S. governmenttakes to pass comprehensiveenergy legislation, "the fartherahead the Chinese will be and wecertainly do not want 10 yearsfrom now Shanghai and otherparts of China to be the SiliconValley of the clean energy field,"Locke said.He agreed with PresidentBarack Obama's equation. "Thepresident has said that the countrythat leads in the clean energysector will lead the worldeconomy, I believe that's true,"Locke said.For more news from the ReutersWashington Summit, click here.Photo credit: Reuters/JonathanErnst (Commerce Secretary GaryLocke at Reuters WashingtonSummit)
The Windows 7 Burger King Whooper is gross
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:00:52 AM
Look at that monster burger. It’sfive inches tall and of course ismade with seven beef patties inhonor of Windows 7. What’s themessage here? Eat this burger tofeel as slow and bloated asWindows? I don’t get it. I alsohope that none of our Japanesereaders actually buys the ¥777($8.50) burger. But if someoneout there does, send us a pic. Iwould love to see how disguisingthe burger looks in real life. [viaElectronista]
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