A great silence

When a U.S. citizen receives a Nobel Prize in any field there is usually a great hoopla in the press (sort of like our fixation on Olympic medals which only seem to matter if we win them). So why is it that when Paul Krugman wins the Nobel for economics I don't see any mention of it in this evening's Google News?

We've got stuff about Levi and Bristol. Why not some delighted headlines about Krugman?

Is it because he has long been a fierce critic of the Bush administration and usually right about his critiques?

And, my fellow bloggers, Dr. Krugman is a blogger!

A very hearty congratulations, sir. Well done!

Prof Krugman lectures in economics and international affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey, and also writes a regular column for the New York Times.

He has long been a fierce critic of US President George W Bush's administration, arguing that its economic policies have helped spark the current financial crisis.

The Nobel jury said Prof Krugman's work had led to theories that could help explain the effects of free trade and globalisation and the driving force behind worldwide urbanisation.

"He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography," the academy said in its citation.

--the BBC

--the BB

Brain poison

Jane R pointed me to Paul Krugman's article "Poverty is Poison" in the NYT.

“Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain.” That was the opening of an article in Saturday’s Financial Times, summarizing research presented last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that “many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.” The effect is to impair language development and memory — and hence the ability to escape poverty — for the rest of the child’s life.

So now we have another, even more compelling reason to be ashamed about America’s record of failing to fight poverty.

Read it all.

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
(Matthew 25:31-46)
--the BB