There are few places in the world where the opportunity for solar power is more blindingly obvious than India. There are also few industries where the possibility of collaboration between India and the United States is more tantalizing. Read full article > >

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U.S., India glimpse a bright future together in solar power

Last night, the Arab American Insitute hosted its thirteenth annual Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity awards ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. The awards are aimed at recognizing individuals, corporations, organizations and communities whose work, commitment and support make a difference in promoting co-existence and inclusion in all walks of life. Palestine Note had the opportunity this year to catch up with Ambassador Theodore Kattouf, the Arab Thought Foundation, and the Southern Poverty Law Center learn more about why these incredible individuals and organizations had been chosen for the honor.

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2012 Kahlil Gibran Awards: Profiles in Humanity

President Ahmadinejad was forced into an impromptu meeting with a woman in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas after she took the opportunity for a brief chat while sitting on the roof of his car.

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VIDEO: Woman leaps on Ahmadinejad’s car

Millions of American taxpayers may have erroneously claimed an education tax credit last year that was designed to provide relief as part of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus program, according to a new federal watchdog report disputed by the Internal Revenue Service . As many as 2.1 million taxpayers may have erroneously claimed a total of $3.2 billion by taking advantage of the American Opportunity Tax Credit , which provides up to $2,500 in relief for a college student paying tuition and related expenses. The tax credit, once known as the Hope Scholarship Credit, was expanded as part of the 2009 economic stimulus program. Read full article > >

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Report: Millions mistakenly claim education tax credit

To the surprise of no one inside or outside the Washington Redskins’ training facility, Mike Shanahan declined the opportunity Monday to name his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game at Carolina. That decision, the Redskins’ head coach said, will come Wednesday, when he will select either Rex Grossman, who was booed and benched in Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia , or John Beck, who hasn’t started a regular-season game since 2007. Read full article > >

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Rex Grossman or John Beck? Mike Shanahan will announce Redskins starting quarterback on Wednesday

Iowa native Justin Bruch marveled at the opportunity when Morgan Stanley called in late 2007 to recruit him for an unusual assignment. The New York bank — flush with $7.5 billion in fiscal 2006 profit, the biggest in its history — was going to be farming 11 parcels on the steppes of Ukraine. The commodities team wanted Bruch, who had been farming all his life, to manage one of them. Read full article > >

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On the farm, Morgan Stanley was at sea

William Hague warns Tory Eurosceptics hoping to get powers back from the EU that the opportunity for doing so could be “many years” away.

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EU changes ‘years away’ – Hague

William Hague warns Tory Eurosceptics hoping to get powers back from the EU that the opportunity for doing so could be “many years” away.

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EU changes ‘years away’ – Hague

John Beck was again early to the practice field. Then, when rain interrupted the Washington Redskins’ practice Wednesday afternoon, Beck stood outside the team facility beneath an overhang, waiting for the weather to clear. Waiting is something to which he’s become accustomed. He’s 30 years old and hasn’t taken an NFL snap since 2007. After losing the preseason quarterback competition to Rex Grossman , he’ll have to wait a bit longer for his opportunity. Read full article > >

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John Beck is still waiting for his chance to start at QB for Redskins

As the curtain rises on a new football season, Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman will get the opportunity to resume a starting role in the NFL and rewrite a legacy that has been dominated by criticism. Four years have passed since he was last tabbed to start an NFL season, and Grossman is convinced he’s a better quarterback. But analysts have the same concerns now as they did then. “He turns the ball over too much,” said ESPN’s Tom Jackson. “It’s weird because Rex obviously has the skills when it comes to throwing the football. I think he’s a smart kid. He seems to really understand what he wants to do when he’s out there taking snaps. But when you watch a guy over a period of seven, eight, nine years do the exact same thing, it becomes hard to take.” Read full article > >

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Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman faces the Giants and his critics

Beautifully illustrated books continue to be among the best ways to keep up with the latest trends in landscape design. Several new favorites of mine cover a wide range of landscape-related topics — and offer the opportunity to view the world from the comfort of your armchair. •“ Hamptons Gardens ,” by Jack deLashmet (Assouline, 2011, $150), is about the communities of farmers and fishermen that were founded more than 350 years ago on the easternmost reaches of Long Island, N.Y. The Hamptons include about 12 individual hamlets and villages with some of the most expensive real estate in the country. The author, a landscape designer, discusses residents’ desire to maintain gardens on their estates. Well-known landscape architects and designers have practiced their art in this pocket of wealth; the book features the work of Russell Page; Edwina von Gal; Oehme, van Sweden; and Miranda Brooks. Styles range from sustainable native gardens to minimalist, manicured landscapes and meandering meadows. Read full article > >

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Beautiful photography transports readers to garden spots nearby and far away

Across the country, state legislatures are debating redistricting right now. It’s a once-a-decade proposition: the opportunity and obligation to redraw political district lines to reflect the latest census.

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Why redistricting reform matters to you

Until we first orbited the Earth fifty years ago, our only view of the surface was the view from an airplane window. The first flights of Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard expanded our vision — we saw the curvature of the planet, as well as the lack of man-made boundaries. It was a leap forward, as Civilization author Kenneth Clark would call it. Clark said, “Three or four times in history, man has made a leap forward that normally would have been considered unthinkable.” We demonstrated this spirit of reaching beyond all reasonable bounds when we took the next leap, only a few years later, onto the moon. From the moon, our view of the Blue Planet penetrated our very consciousness as citizens of the Earth. Fifty years later, we have advanced from a single orbit around the Earth to a permanent human presence on orbit, living and working on the International Space Station. Human beings have always been explorers. Adventuring into the unknown challenges us to learn and grow. Having a vision, and the potential to realize that vision, keeps us alive and confident. As one of a small group of people who have had the opportunity to orbit the Earth on the Space Shuttle, I can personally say that going into space takes a little courage, as well as a great deal of trust in the technology and the people who make the technology work. But my experience was built on the history of others who went before me, and a record of successful missions. Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard were the true space explorers. From opposite ends of the Earth, they had the courage to trust their nations’ newly minted launch systems and engineers. They took the leap forward into the untested concept of manned spaceflight, leading the way. I salute their achievements.

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A Leap Forward: Reaching Beyond All Reasonable Bounds

by Brian Glucroft Just over a year ago in January, Google first announced its potential departure from China in a blog post called “A new approach to China” — Google’s reaction to China’s attempts “to further limit free speech on the web” and to cyber attacks Google determined had originated in China.  Of course , there was much discussion here .  Two months later, Google announced it no longer filtered its search results for users in China and it had shifted its search services to be based on Hong Kong servers.  At this blog there was rapid analysis of the new Google search experience in China . During that period there was much debate in the U.S. about the best paths for Google and China to follow, the genuine goals of both, and the impact their actions would have on the Chinese people.  I felt that there was even more that could be explored.  I realized the unique moment in China provided an opportunity to gain novel insights into Chinese Internet users and other issues of interest to me, such as how information flows in China.  I made a plan to do some independent explorations.  I chose to focus my initial efforts on understanding college students (I will use “college” generically to include “university” as well) because their age group is more technologically savvy, they are in the midst of an important period of growth that will impact the rest of their lives, they will soon likely have significantly more purchasing power, they are more likely to be exposed to / be engaged in the international world, and, of course, they’re a key part of China’s future.  Other groups matter, but this was a start that I felt could have maximum value. During several weeks in April and May of that year, I traveled to Guangxi in southwest China.  I did not want to begin my explorations in any of the “Tier 1″ cities of China, such as Shanghai and Beijing, because they can provide impressions that don’t necessarily hold in many other parts of China.  As much as possible, I wanted to try to keep the most well-known of cities from overly biasing my impressions.  While in Guangxi I spoke with numerous college students not just about the situation surrounding Google and the Chinese government (I will henceforth refer to it as “Google-ChinaGov”), but about a broad range of issues to help better understand how Google-ChinaGov fits into their lives.  After leaving Guangxi, when the opportunity arose I spoke with college students in many cities across China such as Harbin, Mudanjiang, Jilin, Quanzhou, etc.  I did speak to students in Shanghai and Beijing as well, but now instead of dominating my view, they were a piece of a larger picture. By approaching this topic slowly over time, I was able to come to a deeper understanding than I may have otherwise.  Sometimes, what would seem to be a completely unrelated topic, such as a discussion about the recent Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, would suddenly and unexpectedly clarify an aspect of college students’ impressions of Google-ChinaGov.     What follows is not the result of a formal research study with compensated participants, a fixed experimental design, etc.  It is the result of me talking to a variety of students while applying my experience in a broad range of research methods to help me maximize what was a creative, adaptive, and yet careful process of discovery. This is what I found… [To be continued] Based in Shanghai for over 4 years, Brian Glucroft has worked as a researcher in the user experience field for online services, electronic devices, and software companies, including Microsoft China, and has a new blog at Isidor’s Fugue .

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Google, China, and Chinese College Students – Part I

The decision by Senator Jim Webb gives Republicans another opportunity to help them reclaim the majority.

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The Caucus: Virginia Democrat Will Not Run for Re-election