• On Campus – Students protested in the Diag this week in support of the recent Egyptian uprising. The uprising in Egypt is a citizen protest calling for the resignation of Mubarak, the current president of the Arab Republic of Egypt.  In response to protesters, Mubarak’s administration has reportedly set a nationwide curfew and shut down the country’s Internet and cell phone services.
• The U.S. expects that the protests in Egypt will lead to free and fair elections as part of an “orderly” transition to “real democracy,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Sunday.
• DEFICIT…no surprise there – The Congressional Budget Office predicted that the federal budget, in part due to the weak economy, will hit a deficit of nearly $1.5 trillion this year. Back in August, the office thought the deficit would shrink this year to $1.1 trillion. But that was before President Obama cut a deal with Republicans to extend lowered tax rates.
• “Jesus Chicken” – Chick-fil-A is one of the few remaining American companies with conservative religion built into its corporate ethos. For instance, all Chick-fil-A’s are closed on Sundays. Recently, the brand has become notorious among Gay-Rights activist groups and branded as “Jesus chicken” by affronted individuals. A Pennsylvania outlet’s sponsorship of a February marriage seminar by one of that state’s most outspoken groups against homosexuality lit up gay blogs around the country. Students at some universities have also begun trying to get the chain removed from campuses. “If you’re eating Chick-fil-A, you’re eating anti-gay.”
• Happy? – The emotional health of college freshmen, who feel the burden of the recession and who are still stressed by the pressures of high school, has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago.  In the survey, “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010,” involving more than 200,000 incoming full-time students at four-year colleges, the percentage of students rating themselves as “below average” in emotional health rose. Meanwhile, the percentage of students who said their emotional health was above average fell to 52 percent. It was 64 percent in 1985.
• Facebook makes you social? – According to a  University of Texas report, Facebook actually makes us more sociable. Surveying 900 current and recent college graduates nationwide, Craig Watkins and Erin Lee of the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas examined the impact of Facebook on users’ social lives, concluding that “social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community.”
• The Lonely Island has once again blessed us with an all new Digital Short, which aired on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Comedians Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Toccone, and SNL cast member Andy Samberg have teamed up with hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj to admit their habit of creeping.

(Photo by B Mully under a Creative Commons license)

1 Comment

• Parker says:

  February 1, 2011 at 1:04 pm

  Amazing advice! I have been seeking something such as this for some time now. Appreciation!

  Reply