Beware of perfect wording. If the phrasing flows like ad copy, it probably is, warns Jeff Blyskal, a senior editor for Consumer Reports. Review factories are offering $10 for every 5-star review on the e-commerce giant Amazon, the New York Times reported. On that note, Blyskal figures someone waxing poetic about $5 socks should not be taken seriously. “It’s just out of proportion to what it is.

7 Ways to Spot Fake Online Reviews - DailyFinance (via huffingtonpost)

(via huffingtonpost)

During the three weeks I traveled in Australia, I was often asked, with genuine bafflement and considerable sympathy, how the world’s greatest nation had become captive to a band of ideologues and fundamentalists, how the American dream — a beacon to people everywhere — had become so powerless to deliver on its promise of opportunity for all.

Marty Kaplan: What Happened to America? (via huffingtonpost)

(via huffingtonpost)

High-res life:

On Aug. 8, 2011, the American stock market recorded its worst loss —  plunging 635 points — since December 2008, fueling widespread fears of  another economic meltdown. As Wall Street continues to wobble in the  wake of Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the U.S. credit  rating on Aug. 5, LIFE.com takes a look at scenes during the country’s  last great economic calamity, the Great Depression.
see more — Hard Times: Life in the Depression

life:

On Aug. 8, 2011, the American stock market recorded its worst loss — plunging 635 points — since December 2008, fueling widespread fears of another economic meltdown. As Wall Street continues to wobble in the wake of Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on Aug. 5, LIFE.com takes a look at scenes during the country’s last great economic calamity, the Great Depression.

see moreHard Times: Life in the Depression