Eye-Catchers of the Day
- Best zingers of the night from comedian Stephen Colbert at the Al Smith white-tie charity dinner, the annual gathering of New York’s Roman Catholic brass.
The New York Times:
Addressing the populist bent of Pope Francis, saying that if the new pope had planned the event, “we wouldn’t be in white-tie at the Waldorf — we’d be in sweat pants at the corner booth of the IHOP.”
If Pope Francis had attended on Thursday, “His Humbleness would be out washing the feet of the coat-check guy or something,” Mr. Colbert said, adding, “We get it, you’re modest.”
- There are 29.8 million people living as slaves right now, according to new report issued by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation. http://is.gd/fTYbyZ
- Council on Foreign Relations: ``Student loan debt passed $1 trillion dollars in 2013—quadrupling since 2004—and was the only household debt that rose during the recent recession, surpassing auto loans and credit card debt. Only home mortgage debt was larger, at $8.5 trillion. Moreover, student loans have had the highest ninety-day delinquency rate among all loan types since mid-2012, according to the New York Federal Reserve.''
STATS OF the DAY
- The Seattle Seahawks are 6-1 for the first time in franchise history.
- ESPN STATS: Since start of July, Boston Red Sox flame thrower Koji Uehara has a MLB-best 0.37 ERA and has walked 2 of 161 batters faced, including the postseason.
- 4 of the 5 ALCS games have been decided by one run.
- Youth unemployment in Spain (16 to 24 yr olds) has surged to 55.13%-BBC News
- Cook Political Report: ``House Democrats would need to win between 6 and 7 % more votes than House Republicans nationally in order to win the barest possible majority of 18 seats. ‘’
- NASA had spent $878,000 in the past two years on research into ways to deflect or neutralize asteroids that risk collision with Earth.
- AOL topped Google as the property with the most video ads watched last month, with 3.7 billion views compared to the YouTube parent's 3.2 billion.
- 40% Of YouTube traffic is mobile, up from 25% in 2012: Source: Tech Crunch: http://is.gd/NtkjIK
- The Social Security Administration paid benefits to about 61.9 million people in 2012.
- According to the Global Peace Index (GPI) from the Institute For Economics & Peace, the drug war in Mexico claimed twice as many lives as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Over the last decade, employees' share of health care costs—including employee contributions and out-of-pocket costs—will have increased almost 150 percent from $2,011 in 2004 to $4,969 in 2014. Source: Aon plc, the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage. http://is.gd/hVchZ2
Surveys/Polls
- Poll: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: The Tea Party is less popular than ever, with even many Republicans now viewing the movement negatively. Overall, nearly half of the public (49%) has an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party, while 30% have a favorable opinion.
Top 25 Cities in the World
- Readers' Choice Awards as voted by CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER Readers
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Today in History
October 18, 1954, Texas Instruments announced plans to sell the first transistor radio, which received AM stations for $49.95, the equivalent of more than $400 today. One year after the release of the transistor, sales approached the 100,000 mark. The radio receiver (technically known as n-p-n grown junction germanium triodes) measured 5 x 3 x 1 1/4 inches - the smallest set commercially available - with the semiconductor devices themselves occupying less than 1/10 of a cubic inch. The Regency TR-1 featured four germanium transistors operating on a 22.5-volt battery that provided over 20 hours of life
Word Origin
Politics
Politics comes from two Greek words: polis (city) and polites (citizen). Gradually the word came to be used to describe the art and science of government, as in ``political science’’ including the day to day professional management of political affairs both in local government as well as at the national level.
Looking For a Good Quote?
``If only God would give me a clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.’’
-Woody Allen
-Bill Lucey
October 18, 2013
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