A New Jersey Catholic school has banned swearing for female students — but not for the boys.

South Africa’s mining industry has been plastered across international headlines in recent days following the massacre of 34 protesting platinum mine workers in Marikana. This week, thousands of striking workers marched to protest the assault on labor rights and economic security by both the police and corporations.

But while the media’s gaze has fixed on roiling unrest at Lonmin, the more insidious crisis of safety conditions in the mines remains mostly buried below the surface.

A variety of links to articles/interviews on current topics that may be of interest.

Massachusetts issued the New World’s first paper currency in 1690. With poor soldiers returning from a failed campaign against the French in Quebec, the colony found itself short on silver and copper coins to pay the men for their service. To solve the problem, the government printed bills of credit—promises of payment once the colony had collected more taxes. These slips of inked paper, deeds to a future fortune, quickly spread, offering a convenient medium of exchange for all thirteen colonies, whose reserves of precious metals were scanty and often concentrated only in the hands of the rich.