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Rwanda's Women Make Strides 20 Years After the Genocide

Alexandra Topping theguardian.com
A majority parliamentary presence, constitutional support, a drive to tackle gender-based violence – post-genocide Rwanda seems a good place to be a woman. But the reality is more complex.

Greece Not Even Getting By

Panagiotis Grigoriou Le Monde diplomatique
The jobs aren’t there any more. Anyone lucky enough to find work must accept whatever rate of pay they are offered. There’s nowhere, no way, to fight.

`State of Black America': Dismal and Getting Worse

George E. Curry Los Angeles Wave
The dramatic and widening gap in household wealth along racial lines in the United States reflects policies and institutional practices that create different opportunities for whites and African-Americans. Personal ambition and behavioral choices are but a small part of the equation.

Full Employment Requires Job Growth in Manufacturing, Reduction in Trade Deficit

Susan Houseman and Dean Baker Roll Call
Output growth at the nation’s factories has [...] been weak since 2000. And though automation undoubtedly has displaced some workers in manufacturing, research suggests that persistent trade deficits and America’s decline as a location for production have accounted for much of the sector’s job loss. Boosting exports or reducing imports enough to bring trade into balance would generate 4.2 million jobs directly and another 2.1 million jobs indirectly.

Why Inequality Matters and What Can Be Done About It

Joseph Stiglitz Next New Deal
We must be careful of how we measure our progress. If we use the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things. Economic growth as measured by GDP is not enough—there is a growing global consensus that GDP does not provide a good measure of overall economic performance. What matters is whether growth is sustainable, and whether most citizens see their living standards rising year after year.

[Quantum Computing Don't Get No Respect]

Scott Aaronson Shtetl-Optimized
We have failed to make the honest case for quantum computing—the case based on basic science—because we’ve underestimated the public. We’ve falsely believed that people would never support us if we told them the truth: that while the potential applications are wonderful cherries on the sundae, they’re not and have never been the main reason to build a quantum computer. The main reason is that we want to make absolutely manifest what quantum mechanics says about reality