News from around the web: 2009-09-23

The boy became the youngest, and 18th, fatal victim of the epidemic in Japan

This says Obama created a sop for business at the expense of the middle class.

A provocative ‘shrink the financial sector’ take on the FDIC’s dilemma.

"Unfortunately the system is Microsoft Exchange-based, and iPhone OS devices can only support on Exchange configuration, so if you’re already hooked up to an Exchange server at work you won’t be able to use Google Sync’s push services for a personal Google account."

He’s talking wars, government bankruptcy, poverty

She sees the star treatment Clijsters is getting and says I want a piece of that.

"The Irish government said net out-migration returned for the first time since 1995, as the recession deepened and work opportunities dried up."

"The pound slid closer to parity with the euro on Monday, as one of London’s leading hedge fund managers warned stock markets are in a Government-fuelled bubble."

"Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible."

This right triangle thing is what really turned me on to math in middle school.

More on how humans are hard-wired to perceive noises and react viscerally

Here’s an interesting post on the psychology of music and how it elicits an emotional response.

"Scientists have ample evidence that individuals use a variety of cues to identify their own kin. People can also detect resemblances in families other than their own. A new study shows that their success in doing so is the same, whether or not those families are the same race as themselves."

"Watch the "Top Ten Reasons President Obama Agreed To Appear On The Late Show," edited from the September 21, 2009 broadcast."

"Profound discoveries and insights on the frontiers of science do not burst out of thin air but often arise from incremental processes of weaving together analogies, images, and simulations in a constrained fashion."

"By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale – and the findings look promising."

Distraction of the Day: Wii is addictive, even when making a drug raid