- What Could Possibly Go Wrong in 2017? (Ozy) "Europe: Thought populism died with Norbert Hoffer’s loss in Austria? Think again. Terror could rear its ugly head in Europe, given the number of ISIS-linked militants who’ve fled the Middle East for the continent. Asia: The scariest bit? Kim Jong-un. Less obvious concerns? Aung San Suu Kyi’s credibility in Burma is being undermined internationally. Middle East: The biggies? Iran and nukes. Less obvious risks could exist in the monarchies that have managed a massive influx of refugees in recent years. Elsewhere: Keep an eye on internal problems in Venezuela. The country may see major anti-government actions and possibly even a leadership change, if President Maduro’s approval ratings fall further."
ART/ENTERTAINMENT:
- Bob Marley, before he was an icon (Economist)
BUSINESS/INVESTING:
- After a Year of Faulty Predictions, 3 Approaches to Investing (NYT) "The Company Approach: Looking at how companies are performing and assessing their fundamentals. The Consumer Approach: If there is one popular barometer of how people feel, it is consumer confidence. The Control Approach: The only thing that any investor can control: having a saving, spending and investing plan and adhering to it just as surely when stock prices fall in value as when they rise quickly."
HEALTH/WELLNESS:
- In 2017, Pursue Meaning Instead of Happiness (NY Magazine) "When people say their lives are meaningful it’s because they feel their lives have purpose, coherence, and worth. But meaning isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It’s an approach to life — a mind-set."
- A Gut Makeover for the New Year (NYT) "Refashioning the community of bacteria and other microbes living in your intestinal tract, collectively known as the gut microbiome, could be a good long-term investment in your health. Changing your diet to one containing a variety of plant-based foods, the new research suggests, may be crucial to achieving a healthier microbiome. Perhaps the best way to cultivate a healthier microbiome is to eat more fiber by consuming more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts or seeds."
NEWS:
- New York takes a stab at debt-free college, covering tuition for families earning less than $125,000 (WaPo) "Cuomo aims to roll out the initiative, dubbed the Excelsior Scholarship, beginning this fall, pending legislative approval. His administration estimates that the scholarship will cost at least $163 million in the first year, a price tag that could rise alongside participation. Nearly 1 million families would qualify for the program."
- Marshall Plans, Not Martial Plans (NYT) "The real question is how to stop societies from descending into civil war in the first place. This is the most important foreign policy question facing the next Congress. The response must start with a recognition that a foreign policy built on brute military strength alone holds few answers for societies caught in a downward spiral. But what the United States is doing — using its military to try to bring about political change — isn’t working. Restraint can feel counterintuitive, even cruel, but the alternative is doomed to failure at a far more cruel cost. The most humane, and effective, policy is to spend money up front to prevent catastrophe."
- Inside Trump Defense Secretary Pick’s Efforts to Halt Torture (NYT)
SPORTS:
- Battle of Wits Starts Long Before Foot Meets Ball (NYT) "Survival in England’s top flight is more than a battle of wits, or even money; it is a war of information. Losing is, often, not simply about playing worse; it is about knowing less."
TECHNOLOGY:
- Here’s What Happens to Tech in 2017 (Unless 2016 Was All a Dream) (Wired) "A Thousand Tech IPOs Will Bloom. The Internet of Things Will Die. Real Internet TV Will Wait in the Wings. ‘Uber For X’ Will Be X-ed Out. Trump’s America Will Bring Blogging Back. Online Headlines Will Get True Again. Tech Will Get In Bed With Trump.
- The Internet of Things Is Not What You Think (Ozy) "In homes everywhere, consumers are making the most of cool gadgets like thermostats or electric lights controlled via smartphones. But when it comes to the true Internet of Things revolution, consumer applications will seem a mere curiosity next to the trillions of dollars that could be saved and earned from the still-fledgling industrial internet — which aims to embed sensors in everything and apply vast computing power to optimize performance. According to McKinsey Global Institute, the industrial Internet of Things has the potential to generate over $11 trillion in value annually by 2025 — that’s 60 percent of the current output from the U.S. economy, or roughly equal to everything produced in China."
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:
- When a beer cooler rolls up to your doorstep, the future has arrived (WaPo) "Starship’s robots work this way: Customers use a mobile app to order an item. A text appears — 'You have a robot waiting for you outside' — when the robot draws near. A person must be present to receive the delivery because only the customer has a unique code to unlock the robot’s box."
- The 7 Most Inspiring, Majestic Infrastructure Projects of 2016 (Wired)
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