US Attorney General questioned on Swartz
U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder was questioned by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) last week over the prosecution of Aaron Swartz. At a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Cornyn asserted that the penalties Swartz faced for mass downloading JSTOR articles via MIT’s network were disproportionate to the magnitude of the crime.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Chief Google economist talks on data, statistics, and Google tools
Yesterday afternoon, the Undergraduate Economics Association hosted a lecture by Google’s Chief Economist, Hal R. Varian ’69, on “Predicting the Present with Search Engine Data.”
Harvard comments on search of email accounts
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University and its president on Monday made their first public comments on the university’s searching of staff members’ email accounts, and offered a qualified apology for keeping the searches secret from most of the employees involved.
UA elections coming up next week!
Undergraduate Association election week begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 18, and students can vote online at vote.mit.edu until 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 23.
Drone strike reported in Pakistan tribal region
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Two people suspected of being militants were killed Sunday morning in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region by what Pakistani and Taliban officials said was a drone strike.
Iran blocks way to bypass Internet filtering system
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s powerful Ministry of Information and Communications Technology has blocked the most popular software used by millions of Iranians to bypass an elaborate official Internet filtering system, stepping up a campaign to gain more control over the way Iranians use the Internet.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration demanded Monday that China take steps to stop the widespread hacking of U.S. government and corporate computer networks and that it engage in a dialogue to set standards for security in cyberspace.
North Korea says it has nullified 1953 armistice
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea declared the 1953 Korean War armistice nullified on Monday, following through on a longstanding threat that it renewed last week amid rising tensions with South Korea.
Family believes India rape suspect was killed
NEW DELHI — The family of a suspect in a fatal gang rape here last December who was found dead Monday morning in his jail cell said they believed he was killed. The case had set off an uproar across India.
Shorts (left)
FRANKFURT, Germany — Florian Homm, a flamboyant former hedge fund manager who spent the last five years in hiding, was arrested Friday in Italy and faced extradition to the United States on securities fraud charges, the FBI said.
Rain today and chilly end of week
The highly variable weather over the last week as we moved into meteorological spring is very characteristics of this transitional season; a pattern that will continue. Warm temperatures the last few days have melted most of the snow we received on Friday. Today should be even warmer, with highs reaching the mid 50°Fs, due to southerly winds and warm air advection ahead of an approaching cold front. Unfortunately, this approaching cold front also means rain today and tonight. The cold front will move across our region tonight, with the rain tapering off by daybreak tomorrow. Tomorrow, temperatures will continue to be mild before the colder air behind the front moves in to make for a chilly end to the week.
Hungary tests the European Union’s norms
For Hungary, still seeking national accord on what constitutes democracy, and for Europe, still uncertain how to treat governments deemed to have strayed from European Union norms, Monday produced a symbolic moment in the annals of protecting civil rights.
Encouraging students to pursue STEM
Did you know that only six percent of high school seniors will get a bachelors degree in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field? At the same time, while many economic sectors are stagnant, STEM job openings will likely skyrocket over the next several decades. While so many are still looking for work, the U.S. is not going to be able to fill these openings. While only six percent of U.S. graduates have a degree in a STEM field, 47 percent of Chinese graduates do. There is no question that the United States is falling behind when it comes to STEM education. So why are our students so reluctant to pursue these types of degrees, and what can we do to fix the problem?
Engineers win again
A few hours before another snowstorm was set to hit New England on Wednesday afternoon, MIT men’s tennis faced Bates College in the J.B. Carr Tennis Bubble, walking away with a 6–3 win. The undefeated Engineers increased their streak to 7–0, the longest they have remained unbeaten in the past few seasons. The Bearcats’ record fell to 2–3.
Track gets 13th at NCAAs
To conclude the indoor season, seven members of the No. 8 nationally-ranked MIT women’s track and field team traveled to North Central College for the NCAA Division III Championship that will take place on Friday and Saturday. The Engineers, who finished in 26th place at last year’s NCAA championship, wrapped up the meet tied for 13th place with Keene State College with 15 points. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, who led from the very beginning, finished in first place with 56 points.
The emotional rollercoaster of literature review
Imagine this: you have a brilliant idea, a question that no one has ever dared asked, a new way to study the cosmos, a ground-breaking theory.
Why are humans so special?
Ask A-theist is a new column by Aaron Scheinberg, an atheist, and Stephanie Lam, a Christian, which uses contrasting worldviews to explore questions and misconceptions about philosophy and religion. This week, Stephanie chose a question from your lovely submissions. Send us the burning questions you have always wanted answered by an atheist or Christian (or both), and we’ll tackle them!
Events Mar 12- Mar 18
Events Mar. 12 – Mar. 18 Tuesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Artists Beyond the Desk presents Amanda Casale — 14W-111 (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) From memory to inspiration: A remembrance of Aaron Swartz — E14-674 Wednesday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Irish Fest — Student Center Lobby (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Innovation Series Event: Big Ideas, Big Solutions — How can we solve more big problems? — 32-123 Thursday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The Soul of Anime book launch with author Ian Condry — E51-149 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Beyond the 3/11 Touhoku disaster — talks and reception (RSVP at http://goo.gl/DeTUJ) — W20-407 Friday (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Johnny Cupcakes@MIT: Retail Entrepreneurship & Building a Cult Brand — E62-262 (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows Beasts of the Southern Wild — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Roadkill Buffet Presents: The Sequester Cut The Pope’s Budget By One Pope — 6-120 Saturday (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Edgerton Ides of March Party, Roman themed — NW-10 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT WInd Ensemble Concert with Don Byron — Kresge Auditorium Sunday (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Pianist Yukiko Sekino in recital — 14W-111 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) MIT Muslim Student’s Association goodwill baking — McCormick Country Kitchen Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
