An interesting study conducted by German researchers found that unborn babies are influenced through the womb by the sound of their parents' language/accent. The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to French- and German-speaking parents and found that babies "cry in [their] mother's tongue". The French babies cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection. The researchers say the babies probably do this to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them. The lead researcher said, "The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life." (Full Story)
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner sure knows how to win voters' hearts. Until this season, Argentinians needed cable and pay-per-view to see premier league soccer games on TV. Then the president helped push the Argentine Football Association to sever its contract with the country's largest media group, and instead broadcast all the games for free on a state-run channel. The state is paying the soccer association $155 million a year to televise the games. Now about 20 million Argentines, or about half the population, watch top matches. This is more than four times the number of viewers since last season.
In addition to increasing the president's popularity, which has been down, some say this is also political pay-back. This deal is a blow to the Clarin Group newspaper and cable TV company, which previously held the broadcasting rights to soccer games. The Clarin Newspaper has reported aggressively on government corruption and is critical of the Fernandez government. Fernandez accuses the newspaper of bias and says its coverage contributed to electoral losses for her ruling coalition (which lost its majority in congressional elections in June) and for her husband, who was running for a seat in the lower house (FYI: her husband was the president of Argentina before her).
Those that are happy about the deal say that it democratizes access to soccer by letting anyone watch it for free and it breaks down corporate greed and control. Also, the money from the deal with the government gives the Argentine Football Association a much-needed infusion of cash. Many soccer teams in Argentina are nearing bankruptcy and they can't afford to keep talented players who instead go to Europe to play. Some say the Clarin Group had too much power and they were underpaying the football association. Under the new government deal, soccer clubs are getting double what they were paid under Clarin.
Those that are against this deal question the government's political motives and feel that this is simply a ploy to get votes and a way to punish a media group that is critical of the government. Other critics see this deal as unnecessary. They feel that with poverty increasing, the money could have gone to something more productive. One journalist who is a critic of the president said, "The royal court says the whole country can see football for free. Why don't we democratize the access to food? Isn't that more important than football?" (Full Story)
In October, more than one in ten members of the American workforce were unable to get a job. The unemployment rate is now 10.2%, up from 9.8% in September. This is the highest unemployment rate since 1983. In response to the growing numbers, Obama is expected to a sign a Congressional bill that would extend unemployment insurance benefits longer. The bill will also extend the first-time home-buyer tax credit, as well as expand that tax credit to those that already own a home (no longer limited to just first-time home-buyers). (Full Story)
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