How Did New York Do It?

Competition, according to Edward Glaeser:

In 1940, Pittsburgh was America’s 10th largest city. It had 672,000 inhabitants. In 2007, the Census Bureau estimated its population at 311,000. Detroit’s decline has been even more dramatic, from a height of 1.85 million in 1950, to 916,000 today.

Only two of the nation’s 10 largest cities in 1950 have more people today: New York and Los Angeles. The growth of Los Angeles is no puzzle. The city practically defines sun and sprawl, which are two of the biggest correlates of population growth in the postwar era. The puzzle is New York City, which — alone among the country’s older, colder cities — has managed to grow.

Read the whole article.

Perils of Teaching in Asia

Well, it's not that dangerous if you use your head. Apparently Edna did:

Edna Waga went abroad to teach in a pre-school in Thailand when former co-teacher who recruited her, instructed her to go to Brazil to meet an anonymous person, who would give her a package to bring back to Thailand.

“I got so afraid that I left my hotel room and went to a police station, where I asked for the address of the Philippine embassy (in Brazil),” Waga told reporters, saying she was promised with hefty amounts of money to do the job. “Do not trust anybody, even your own friends (when you’re traveling abroad). Big amount of money is not worth it,” she added after foreign officials told her she could have been used as a drug mule.

I have to add, though, that when something "might have happened" it's not really much of a news story. File under "could've been bad, and it's a slow news day anyway."

Perils of Teaching in Asia

Well, it's not that dangerous if you use your head. Apparently Edna did:
Edna Waga went abroad to teach in a pre-school in Thailand when former co-teacher who recruited her, instructed her to go to Brazil to meet an anonymous person, who would give her a package to bring back to Thailand.

“I got so afraid that I left my hotel room and went to a police station, where I asked for the address of the Philippine embassy (in Brazil),” Waga told reporters, saying she was promised with hefty amounts of money to do the job.
“Do not trust anybody, even your own friends (when you’re traveling abroad). Big amount of money is not worth it,” she added after foreign officials told her she could have been used as a drug mule.
I have to add, though, that when something "might have happened" it's not really much of a news story. File under "could've been bad, and it's a slow news day anyway."