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3:49 am

Fri September 28, 2012

The Last Word In Business

By editor

Originally published on Fri September 28, 2012 9:34 am

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The convenience store chain is allowing customers to choose: coffee in a blue cup for President Obama, or a red cup for Mitt Romney. And for the undecided, or those just indifferent to politics, they can request a plain cup. The company tabulates the choices at the register and results are posted daily on its 7-Election website.

Books

2:30 am

Fri September 28, 2012

Put Down Your E-Reader: This Book's Better In Print

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Credit Neil Packer / Candlewick Press

"For two days and nights, Odysseus was alone in the wild water. The sea was so rough that he couldn't see beyond the nearest wave. Over and over again, he thought he was going to die."

Credit Neil Packer / Candlewick Press

The author, illustrator and publisher of a richly illustrated retelling of Homer's The Odyssey say that not all books can be e-books. "E-books are fine for the things e-books are good for," says author Gillian Cross, "but they couldn't do this at all."

Credit Neil Packer / Candewick Press

"It was war that forced Odysseus to leave his home ... Odysseus wanted to stay on Ithaca with his own wife, Penelope, and their baby son, Telemachus. But the other kings needed his quick wits and his cunning."

Credit Neil Packer / Candlewick Press

"He and his men traveled on across the uncharted sea, congratulating themselves on their escape. They were still lost, but they let the wind carry them forward, hoping they would soon reach land."

Credit Neil Packer / Candlewick Press

"Athene made her way to King Alcinous's palace and found Nausicaa sleeping ... Disguising herself as one of Nausicaa's friends, she hovered over the princess's bed and whispered into her dreams."

Credit Neil Packer / Candlewick Press

"... Gazing down from high Olympus: Zeus, the father of gods and men; Athene, the godess of wisdom; Hermes, the giant killer and messenger of the gods; and Poseidon, the dark earth-shaker god who controlled the ocean."

By Lynn Neary

Originally published on Fri September 28, 2012 10:28 am

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Most people who read a lot have gotten used to reading on a screen, whether it's a laptop, a tablet or an e-reader. Some say they prefer it to the experience of reading a heavy, awkward print version of the book. But every now and then, a book comes along that just seems to insist on being physical — something about it simply can't be transferred to the screen.

StoryCorps

2:28 am

Fri September 28, 2012

Finding Health After Letting Go Of Hate

Credit StoryCorps

Charlie Morris, 91, says he was at school in 1939 when he found out his brother was dead. For 10 years, his hatred consumed him and plagued his body with mysterious ailments. "When I began to forgive, there was all the answers to my illness," he says.

By editor

Originally published on Fri September 28, 2012 11:49 am

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In 1939, Jessie Lee Bond died. His death certificate says he drowned accidentally, but his family has always maintained that he was lynched after an argument with white shop owners — shot and thrown into the river.

No one has ever been charged with his death.

Decades later, his now-91-year-old brother, Charlie Morris, told StoryCorps in Memphis, Tenn., that he was at school when he was called down to the office and told that his brother had been murdered.

Africa

2:28 am

Fri September 28, 2012

Tunisians Battle Over The Meaning Of Free Expression

Credit Eleanor Beardsley / NPR

Tunisian artist Nadia Jelassi with two of the sculptures from her exhibit that were attacked by a hard-line Muslim group. Secular Tunisians and Islamists have clashed over multiple issues related to freedom of expression.

By Eleanor Beardsley

Originally published on Fri September 28, 2012 9:14 pm

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Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring last year, and many regard it as the most Western-looking nation in the Arab world. Yet it's also waging a roaring debate over how to define freedom of expression in an evolving society.

Tunisian protesters attacked the U.S. Embassy recently in response to the anti-Muslim video Innocence of Muslims. This was just the latest of several episodes in which hard-line Muslims have acted out publicly to what they see as attacks on their religion.

Planet Money

2:25 am

Fri September 28, 2012

They Won't Tell You Their Names, But They'll Help You Hide Your Money

Credit via Global Wealth Protection

Meet Adam Wolf*, your asset protection adviser. (*Not his real name.)

By David Kestenbaum

Originally published on Sat September 29, 2012 6:11 pm

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We set up our shell companies. Then we wondered: What do people actually do with shell companies?

One popular use, it turns out, is what professionals call "asset protection." Ordinary people call this "hiding money."

Maybe you're a surgeon worried a patient might sue you and take everything you have. Or you want to hide money from your ex (or your soon-to-be ex).

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