Study: Victoria's Secret Bags Have Sexy Side Effect - AOL

(Sept. 23) -- Transporting thongs and push-up bras isn't the only purpose for a Victoria's Secret shopping bag. Some women turn theirs into a purse. Others store their lunch in them. And now new research hints at a universal rationale for the bags' second lives as accessories. Women feel sexy simply holding it.
The study, to be published in December, is the work of Deborah Roedder John, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. In one of four experiments, John and a colleague approached 85 women in a mall, asked them to fill out a survey -- embedded in which were questions about their self-perception -- then gave the women one of two shopping bags to walk around with for an hour. One of the bags was from Victoria's Secret. The women in that group reported to the researchers that they felt more sensual and glamorous simply for the carrying.
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/victorias-secret-bags-are-enough-to-make-some-women-feel-sexy-study-says/19642333

General Mills changes palm oil policy - Yahoo

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Environmentalists on Friday praised a decision by U.S. food-maker General Mills to stop buying palm oil from companies accused of rain forest destruction — the latest in a string of multinationals to announce policy reversals.
The Minnesota-based maker of popular brands like Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Hamburger Helper said this week it would try to procure all of its palm oil from "responsible and sustainable sources" by 2015.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100924/ap_on_bi_ge/as_indonesia_general_mills

Sewerage system for Philippine capital delayed by 20 years - Yahoo

MANILA (AFP) – Completion of a planned sewerage system for the Philippine capital, which has one of the world's most polluted waterways, is set to be delayed by over 20 years, the environment ministry said Friday.
Two private companies had been contracted to build sewerage and treatment plants for the 11-million-strong Metro Manila area, but a planned completion date of 2009 was set to be delayed until about 2031, said Jonas Leones, assistant director of the Environmental Management Bureau.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100924/sc_afp/philippinespollutionriver

Genetically altered salmon? It doesn't stop there - Yahoo

WASHINGTON – We've always played with our food — even before we knew about genes or how to change them.
For thousands of years, humans have practiced selective breeding — pairing the beefiest bull with the healthiest heifers to start a new herd. That concept was refined to develop plant hybridization and artificial insemination. Today we've got tastier corn on sturdier stalks, bigger turkeys and meatier cattle.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100922/ap_on_sc/us_sci_food_tinkering

WaPo - China increasing economic leverage by limiting 'rare earths' exports

China increasing economic leverage by limiting 'rare earths' exports
Video: China warns Japan over sea row
China's government cancels high-level talks with Japan, following Japan's announcement that it will hold a Chinese fishing boat captain for another ten days.
, September 23, 2010; 10:36 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092300756.html?hpid=topnews

the Trilateral Commission

Welcome to the web site of the Trilateral Commission. The Commission was originally created in 1973 to bring together experienced leaders within the private sector to discuss issues of global concern at a time when communication and cooperation between Europe, North America, and Asia were lacking. The Commission has grown since its early days to include members from more countries in these regions, and it continues to find that study and dialogue about the pressing problems facing our planet remain as important today as in 1973. Problems and threats have changed, but their importance has only increased due to the more interconnected and interdependent world in which we now live.
http://www.trilateral.org/

Environmental Studies at UCSB

The ES major is designed to provide students with the scholarly background and intellectual skills necessary to understand complex environmental problems and formulate decisions that are environmentally sound. The academic process is multidisciplinary, drawing upon the diversity of environmentally related departments and disciplines throughout UCSB and allows a student to explore a wide variety of environmental issues, including: the social and human environment, the physical environment, and the biological environment.
http://www.es.ucsb.edu/curriculum_info/es_major.php

and see this

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121240453

WSJ - Business as Usual With Burma: U.S. policy ahead of elections isn't working.

The State Department's top official for Asia scored points for honesty and U.S. political leadership last week when he admitted Burma's upcoming elections "will be without international legitimacy." Too bad he ruined the moment by continuing to push for "dialogue" as "among all the difficult options, the best way forward."
Kurt Campbell is an astute diplomat who has pressed for closer engagement with Japan, Australia and other U.S. allies in the region. Yet he's also one of the architects of State's policy of "pragmatic engagement" with Burma that has manifestly failed.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/csis-southeast-asia-program/wsj-business-as-usual-with-burma-us-policy-ahead-of-elections-isnt-working/466833359746

Don't Replace Larry Summers With a CEO - by Derek Thompson, the Atlantic

White House economic adviser Larry Summers will resign from the National Economic Council at the end of the year. Many observers see the opening as an opportunity for the president to bring on one of two underrepresented groups: women and corporate executives.
In fact, the top pick for Summers' replacement is both: Anne Mulcahy, former Xerox (NYSE: XRX - News) chief executive.Those calling for Obama to pick a CEO aren't necessarily wrong, but their reasoning is: CEOs are not uniquely smart about the economy.
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110772/dont-replace-larry-summers-with-a-ceo