23 Feb. 1945

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS ROSENTHAL

On this day 70 years ago, Joe Rosenthal took this famous photograph during the historic Battle of Iwo Jima. So, is this picture still under copyright?

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“Do not cite or circulate”

That is the title of this 13-page paper by Lee Ann Fennell, a law professor at the University of Chicago. Her short essay questions why law professors often attach formulations such as ‘Do Not Cite or Circulate’ to their drafts or works in progress. After all, what’s the penalty for citing or circulating a draft paper? (Hat tip to the amazing Tyler Cowen of Marginal Revolution.)

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Black History Year

In place of “Black History Month”, we propose declaring all twelve months of the year 2015 “Black History Year“, for the Thirteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution–the historic amendment that abolishes slavery and indentured servitude–was formally ratified 150 years ago on 6 December 1865. In addition, check out the map below (via Kevin Levin of Civil War Memory), which shows that Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. were the last countries in the Americas to abolish slavery.  Continue reading

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Te echamos de menos … (We miss you …)

The artist Chespirito would have been 76 years young today …

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The (Most Dangerous) Streets of San Francisco

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Year of the Goat

 Happy Chinese New Year!

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Why do people still use LinkedIn?

Check out this critique of LinkedIn from an academic’s perspective. (One of the comments at the link sums up our assessment of LinkedIn to a tee:  “The loathing I feel for LinkedIn almost defies words. The amount of spam I get from them — invitation to connect after invitation to connect — is remarkable, and their customer service is nonexistent. Every time I try to complain, they tell me I cannot stop invites from arriving as long as I have an account. Fair enough — but I haven’t had an account for years…“) In a word, LinkedIn is the MySpace of the business world, so why does such a crappy site like LinkedIn still exist?

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Theatre of the absurd (Arizona State edition)

Check out Justin Wolfers’s most recent essay “How Arizona State Reinvented Free-Throw Distraction.” Here is an excerpt (edited by us for clarity): Continue reading

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What should the burden of proof be in college sexual assault cases?

How should colleges and universities (and sports stadiums, for that matter) respond to allegations of sexual violence and harassment on (or off) campus? Check out Emily Bazelon’s excellent essay “The Stanford Undergraduate and the Mentor.” The following excerpt from her report especially caught our attention: Continue reading

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The Super Bowl of Cricket

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