A few short articles from Reuters this morning touch upon the current health of the economy, and it's not great news.

• Buffett sees "long, deep" U.S. recession

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  BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States is already in a recession and it will be longer as well as deeper than many people expect, U.S. investor Warren Buffett said in an interview published in German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.

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  Buffet said that the US may not be in a recession according to the default definition of two consecutive quarters of negative growth, but the people are already feeling the effects.

  Side Note: Given this White House's propensity for changing the facts to fit the policy (and propaganda), it would be interesting to see what the ~actual~ growth and performance indicators are before saying we don't yet meet the formal definition of a recession.

• Tax rebate won't stem U.S. recession: Merrill
  

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  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is in a recession and stimulus from a government tax rebate later this quarter will only temporarily stem a fall in consumer spending, a Merrill Lynch economist said on Wednesday.

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• Tech execs plan for economic troubles
  

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  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Technology executives around the world are preparing for economic troubles to deepen.

  Many hope that their products will prove indispensable for customers and see emerging economies as sure-growth markets.

  But low- and middle-income U.S. consumers are struggling, and the relative strength of U.S. corporations may not last, executives said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo, Paris and New York this week.

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The news isn't as cheery as some would like.

This is an Open Thread.

Eduaction provides people with tools and knowledge they need to understand, perform, and participate in todays world. Education enhances the ability of households to manage health problems, improve nutrition and childcare, and plan for the future. It helps to sustain the human values that contribute to individual and collective well-being. It is the basis for lifelong learning. It inspires confidence and provides the skills needed to participate in public debate. It makes people more self-reliant and are of opportunities and rights.

If I could tell people
one thing about autism
it would be that I don't
want to be this way but
I am. So don't be mad;
be understanding.

Those are the words that appear on the computer screen of a 13 year old autistic girl named Carly. The computer uses text-to-speech functionality to talk for Carly. I came across a video about Carly's use of technology on CNN tonight. It was heartwarming.

In a world where the news is nonstop war, death, controversy, corruption and disaster, this was an excellent change of pace. A little more research turned up a few more variants of the story and some interesting sites.

with standingup and lefty

ePluribus Media 2.0

The technology team has been busy putting together ePluribus Media 2.0 and they are finally ready for "show and tell". The launch page, referenced in the previous link, is the starting point for exploring all things ePluribus Media -- Timelines, Journal, Community and Investigations.