PowerLinks 11.13.15

Religious liberty key to refugee crisis, leaders say
Tom Strode, Baptist Press

Religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities are essential to resolving the escalating refugee crisis in Syria and other countries, human rights advocates said at a forum in the nation’s capital.

The mysterious creator of bitcoin could be nominated for a Nobel prize in economics
Ian Kar, Quartz

No one knows exactly who Satoshi Nakamoto is (though many have tried to find out). That hasn’t stopped a UCLA finance professor from promising to get the pseudonymous bitcoin creator nominated for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences—or, as it’s more commonly called, the Nobel prize in economics.

A marriage penalty for the poor
Angela Rachidi, AEI Ideas

Few issues in American politics are more hotly debated than the role of marriage in explaining poverty. Some argue that the decline in marriage is one of the main contributors to poverty and low-income in America. Others argue that economic and structural factors are more important. But whatever side you come down on, it is hard to justify financially penalizing couples with children who choose to marry.

Washington raises pressure on India over U.S. human trafficking visas
Jason Szep, Reuters

The U.S. government is stepping up pressure on India to end a controversial policy of placing restrictions on passports of Indian nationals rescued from forced labor or human trafficking in the United States, a U.S. State Department official said.