Saturday, June 29, 2013

@8:50, 6/27/13

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1
Science

DNA Buried 7,000 Centuries Is Retrieved

The genome is 10 times as old as any retrieved so far, and scientists now say that DNA should be recoverable from animals that lived a million years ago.
Horses; Genetics and Heredity; DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid); Paleontology; Research; 

No Jurassic Park then.
My understanding was that the horse was not a riding animal five thousand years ago.  This time line may need adjustment.
 
2
Your Money

How the Court’s Ruling Will Affect Same-Sex Spouses

Married gay couples in states that recognize their unions will gain access to more than 1,000 federal benefits, but how couples in other states will fare is less clear.
Personal Finances; Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships; Federal Taxes (US); Divorce, Separations and Annulments; Income Tax; Health Insurance and Managed Care; Social Security (US); Defense of Marriage Act (1996); 

The fight is over.
We will have years of litigation getting the GOP to back down.
It takes on the order of a millennium for the Roman Church to admit error.
 
3
World

In China, Losing Sleep Over Choice of Schools

For some Beijing parents, picking a high school for their children is a high-stakes dilemma full of trade-offs and questions about how Western and how Chinese they want their offspring to be.
Education; Education (Secondary); Private and Sectarian Schools; Chinese Language; 

The children must acquire a culture.  
If they are to live in China, it should be Chinese.
China is no longer imperial.  The merchant rather than the mandarin.
Hong Kong knows it better than most.

4
World

Rare Visit Underscores Tangles in Obama’s Ties to Africa

President Obama’s aspirations for changing Africa have been strained by mounting security threats, spotty human rights records and by his notable absence from the continent where his father was born.
United States International Relations; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations; War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity; 

His handlers have not done the job expected of them.  
Mandela is dying.
He must go to South Africa.

5
Business Day

Counterfeit Food More Widespread Than Suspected

Investigators have uncovered thousands of schemes involving counterfeit or adulterated food, some on an industrial scale and in developed countries.
Food; Counterfeit Merchandise; Frauds and Swindling; Labeling and Labels; Food Contamination and Poisoning; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; 

Regulation and inspection.  Serial numbers and enforcement.
Caught and registered is more important than punished.

6
N.Y. / Region

Housekeeper in New Jersey Accuses Peruvian Diplomat of Human Trafficking

A Peruvian woman says she was entrapped in a life of involuntary servitude in the New Jersey suburbs, forced to work as many as 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for little or no compensation.
Human Trafficking; Immigration and Emigration; Forced Labor; Wages and Salaries; Working Hours; Labor and Jobs; Suits and Litigation (Civil); Domestic Service;

Good luck to her.
 
7
Business Day

Mandatory Federal Cuts Hurt Private Sector, Too

Many companies providing support services are cutting employees as work vanishes after federal spending was trimmed by $85 billion on March 1.
Federal Budget (US); Layoffs and Job Reductions; Government Procurement; Defense Contracts; United States Defense and Military Forces; United States Economy; Small Business; 

Vote, vote your interest.
8
Health

How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings

Sugary foods and drinks, white bread and other processed carbohydrates appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving and reward, which may explain why they might drive some people to overeat.
Brain; Carbohydrates; Desserts; Obesity; Weight; 

Sugar is toxic.
Complex carbs are less toxic.
 
9
Business Day

Azerbaijan Gas to Take a Southern Route

Developers of an Azeri natural gas field have decided to build a pipeline to Europe that would end in Italy rather than Austria.
Pipelines; International Trade and World Market; Natural Gas; 

Competition with the Russians.
 
10
Business Day

G.D.P. Estimate Lowered To 1.8% for First Quarter

The revision lowered an initial estimate of a 2.4 percent expansion of the gross domestic product, with most of the change attributed to slower growth in consumer spending.
United States Economy; Gross Domestic Product; Consumer Behavior; Economic Conditions and Trends; 

The Heritage Foundation is wrong.
 
11
N.Y. / Region

Lost? New York Pedestrian Maps Are Coming

The city’s Transportation Department plans to install in the subways and on sidewalks a network of direction-oriented maps to help visitors, and even New Yorkers, find their way.
Maps; Transit Systems; Travel and Vacations; 

Many cannot read a map.  Many cannot read.
It is still a good idea.
 
12
N.Y. / Region

2 Garbagemen Leave Jobs After Taking Tips of $5

The workers were each fined $2,000 and retired from New York City’s Sanitation Department rather than face potential disciplinary action for running afoul of departmental policy.
Waste Materials and Disposal; Bribery and Kickbacks; Conflicts of Interest; 

A sad situation.   Corruption starts small.
13
Opinion

The True Deservers of a Food Prize

The real heroes in the world of food are those who work to improve the kind of low-input agriculture on which most people rely.
Food; Genetic Engineering; World Food Prize; 

Perhaps the problem is that the poor of the world are not part of the money economy.  The "Green Revolution" and Monsanto are part of the moneyed world.  Local "Green" markets bring truck farming back into the moneyed cycle.
 
14
Real Estate

Chinese Investors Pursue U.S. Property Deals

Chinese investors have been buying marquee commercial properties in New York and other American cities, in many cases encouraged and aided by the Chinese government.
Real Estate (Commercial); Foreign Investments; Economic Conditions and Trends; 

Dollars are in surplus in China.  
Marquee realestate provides better returns than treasury bonds.

15
Opinion

The End of Fannie and Freddie?

Congress has a plan to put them out of business once and for all. Then what?
Mortgages; Subprime Mortgage Crisis; United States Politics and Government; 

The Treasury may have done the deed.  Congress made it possible.

Putting them out of business would raise bank rates on home loans.

Moral hazard.

16
Business Day

Same-Sex Marriage and Personal Finances: Further Reading

A roundup of past coverage from the Bucks blog and elsewhere in The Times about the particular financial issues facing same-sex couples.
Marriages; Personal Finances; Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships; 

Let us notice that the states that do not permit gay marriage do not deny
that gays may be married under federal law.  All rights and benefits attached to the married under federal law are theirs.
The commerce clause applies.
 
17
Style

Can Baby-Making Really Wait?

Maybe the real statistics regarding the odds of becoming pregnant after 35 are more optimistic than we realized—but if you’re among those who don’t conceive easily, that’s cold comfort.
Fertility Drugs; Infertility; Parenting; Pregnancy and Childbirth; Women and Girls; 

Not for long.  
I will enjoy the attempt.
 
18
World

A Stakeout Grinds On in Airport Limbo

The airport transit area where Edward J. Snowden is believed to be planning his next move is being patrolled by people hoping to get a glimpse of him.
News and News Media; Surveillance of Citizens by Government; Classified Information and State Secrets; Fugitives; Airports; 

I just don't care.

I would rather know than wonder about the NSA.
19
Autos

Wheelies: The Let's Sit Down and Talk Edition

N.H.T.S.A. will sit down with critics of its handling of the Chrysler recall, and New York legislators table a bill that could affect Tesla’s business in the state.
Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Automobiles; Law and Legislation; State Legislatures; 

Electric cars are viewed as competition by some.
The Ford 150 has become a boat.
 
20
Opinion

Summer Discontents — and More to Come?

What will the world look like if 4 billion people ever turn against the current political systems?
Politics and Government; Poverty; Economic Conditions and Trends; Population; 

Starving populations are not a danger.  Pirates are a danger.
Only the healthiest escaped the potato famine.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@23:30,

2
Technology

Don't Forget the Small Ideas That Make a Difference

Not every useful product has to be a big deal. From a replacement charging cable to suction cups that help prop your gadgets, the little stuff can still be important.
Android (Operating System); Computers and the Internet; iPad; Tablet Computers; 

See a problem, solve a problem.
 
3
Opinion

Kerry Proposes U.S.-India Push on Carbon and Climate

Secretary of State John Kerry keeps the pressure on India to join in efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Air Pollution; Alternative and Renewable Energy; Carbon Dioxide; Economic Conditions and Trends; Floods; Global Warming; Greenhouse Gas Emissions;

A laudable effort.   Success is doubtful.
 
4
World

Rare Visit Underscores Tangles in Obama’s Ties to Africa

5
Business Day

Counterfeit Food More Widespread Than Suspected

6
Booming

A Son of the Holocaust Buys German

For years, a battle between the need to fill the holes in the family narrative during World War II and a duty to keep silent.
World War II (1939-45); Holocaust and the Nazi Era; Families and Family Life; Baby Boomers; 

The motivations are questionable.
 
8
Science

Studying Tumors Differently, in Hopes of Outsmarting Them

To understand why drug resistance often causes targeted cancer therapies to fail, geneticists have teamed up with mathematicians to create detailed models of cancer.
Tumors; Cancer; Evolution (Biology); 

Charge on.  This is real progress.
9
Health

How Carbs Can Trigger Food Cravings

10
Business Day

Mandatory Federal Cuts Hurt Private Sector, Too

11
World

Losing the Global Fight for Women's Health

12
Business Day

G.D.P. Estimate Lowered To 1.8% for First Quarter

13
Technology

Silicon Valley Luminaries Bet on Clinkle, a Payments Start-Up

Clinkle, a new stealthy mobile payments start-up, has raised $25 million, hoping to succeed where so many other efforts have fizzled by inventing a practical way to replace credit cards with smartphones.
Credit Cards; Mobile Commerce; Smartphones; Start-ups; 

It is still debt.
 
14
N.Y. / Region

Lost? New York Pedestrian Maps Are Coming

15
Business Day

Business Venture, and Friendship, Sours After Insider Conviction

A year after being convicted of insider trading, Rajat Gupta is embroiled in a dispute over a private equity fund he helped found.
Friendship; Insider Trading; Private Equity; Suits and Litigation (Civil);

A falling out among thieves.
16
Health

Life, Interrupted: Unkept Resolutions

When I learned I had cancer at the age of 22, my life and my resolution-making were interrupted. There was no time or space to stress over something as small as a three-day juice cleanse or a daily exercise program. Surviving my next cycle of chemotherapy became my singular concern.
Anxiety and Stress; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Exercise; Leukemia; 

One step at a time.  Some of the steps are small.
    As soon as you can is best.
    I will spend 6/29 - 6/30  sailing.
 
17
N.Y. / Region

2 Garbagemen Leave Jobs After Taking Tips of $5

18
Health

The Gulf Between Doctors and Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners believe that they can lead primary care practices and admit patients to a hospital and that they deserve to earn the same amount as doctors for the same work. Physicians disagree.
Doctors; Nursing and Nurses; 

I think the AMA is nuts.
 
19
Opinion

The True Deservers of a Food Prize

20
Opinion

The End of Fannie and Freddie?




 Extended family duty  6/29 - 7/6







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