@15:15, 4/25/14

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1

Opinion

No Time to Waste: Students Pursue Environmental Progress Instead of Exam Grades

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | Apr 22nd 2014

College students get out of the classroom and pursue environmental initiatives with partners in surrounding communities.

Alternative and Renewable Energy; Animal Abuse, Rights and Welfare; Animals; Circuses; Colleges and Universities; Elephants; Factory Farming; Invasive Species; Solar Energy; Wind Power

Unfortunately I do know most of it.
Some of it I invented.
Other parts were invented in my presence.
I thought the first Earth Day silly.
I bought both editions of  Stewart Brand's catalog.

http://www.amazon.com/s/187-5783339-8968811?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=thermodynamics&index=blended&link_code=qs&sourceid=Mozilla-search&tag=mozilla-20
The text for the course I took was Lee&Sears

2

Books

Taken for a Ride

By WILLIAM SALETAN | Apr 18th 2014

Lance Armstrong and the win-at-all-costs world of pro cycling.

Books and Literature; Tour de France (Bicycle Race); Bicycles and Bicycling; Doping (Sports)

I own no Spandex and do not wear a helmet.
I consider a bicycle an impedance matching device.
 

3

N.Y. / Region

Effort to Remove Landlord Who Made Units Unlivable

By MIREYA NAVARRO | Apr 24th 2014

Officials said families were forced to move into a homeless shelter after a Brooklyn landlord wrecked apartments to drive out tenants.

Renting and Leasing (Real Estate); Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Landlords; Restoration and Renovation; Bathrooms and Toilets; Kitchens; Rent Control and Stabilization

There are monsters.
In this there is enough uncertainty that I will not lead the Lynch mob.

4

World

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa Kills Over 140, U.N. Agency Says

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 22nd 2014

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that at least 230 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola had been recorded in Guinea and Liberia.

Ebola Virus; Deaths (Fatalities)

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/
"

Outbreak Update

April 23, 2014

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Guinea’s reported 208 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), including 136 deaths, on April 20, 2014 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of these suspect cases, 112 have been laboratory confirmed positive cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF). One additional health care worker has been reported among the suspect and confirmed cases bringing the total to 25, including 16 deaths. Other districts reporting suspect and confirmed cases remain Guekedou, Macenta, Kissidougou, Dabola, and Djingaraye.
WHO reports that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) of Liberia announced the cumulative total of suspect and confirmed cases of EHF is 34, including 11 deaths, on April 21, 2014. Six (6) samples have tested positive for Ebola virus. Samples from Mali and Sierra Leone have, thus far, been negative for Ebola virus though investigations and monitoring of reports of suspect cases is ongoing.
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors without Borders) is helping the Ministry of Health of Guinea in establishing treatment and isolation centers in the epicenter of the outbreak. In Liberia, several international organizations including the International Red Cross (IRC), Pentecostal Mission Unlimited (PMU)-Liberia, and Samaritan’s Purse (SP) Liberia are aiding the MOHSW of Liberia by supporting awareness campaigns and providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. The Institute Pasteur in Lyon, France, the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal, the European Consortium mobile laboratory, and the Metabiota supported laboratory in Kenema (Sierra Leone) and Monrovia (Liberia), and CDC Atlanta are some of the laboratories collaborating to test samples. CDC is in regular communication with its international partners, WHO, and MSF regarding the outbreak. Currently CDC has a 7 person team in Guinea and a 3 person team in Liberia assisting the respective MOHs and the WHO-led international response to this Ebola outbreak.
Based on WHO update 22 April 2014."

5

Automobiles

Media Previews in Beijing Feature Many Debuts From Global Automakers

By JERRY GARRETT | Apr 21st 2014

This year’s edition of China’s show includes many models custom-tailored to the Chinese auto market.

Automobiles

The auto companies are betting against the U.S.

6

World

Women Go Topless for Equal Rights

By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW | Apr 24th 2014

A group of young Chinese feminists staged a protest calling for an end to gender discrimination in employment. They highlighted the issue by going topless and holding up banners.

Nudism and Nudity; Women and Girls; Women's Rights

I wonder how this could work.
I do not expect a positive result.
Despite Marxist tradition the Chinese central committee does not appear moral.
Suffragette tactics will not work anytime soon.
  

7

Opinion

A Deeper Look at a Study Finding High Leak Rates From Gas Drilling

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | Apr 23rd 2014

A closer look at a hot study on high gas leak rates in Pennsylvania’s fracking zone raises coal questions.

Environment; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Hydraulic Fracturing; Natural Gas; Shale

This is mostly distraction.
Methane leaks deserve attention.   
The main show is carbon dioxide.

8

World

Egypt: U.S. to Deliver Helicopters

By STEVE KENNY | Apr 23rd 2014

The United States will deliver to Egypt 10 Apache helicopters that were held up last year after President Mohamed Morsi was deposed.

Helicopters; United States International Relations; Foreign Aid

The Egyptian army are our boys.

9

U.S.

50 Years Into the War on Poverty, Hardship Hits Back

By TRIP GABRIEL | Apr 20th 2014

A half-century after President Lyndon B. Johnson declared “war on poverty,” McDowell County, W.Va., is a sobering reminder of how much remains broken, in drearily familiar ways and utterly unexpected ones.

Poverty; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Labor and Jobs; Series

Hardship has no mind.  "The war on Poverty" did not get there.

10

Travel

My European Ritual

Apr 18th 2014

What compels people to return to the same place or experience repeatedly? Answers from nine writers take you to Athens and Berlin, Paris and Granada — and beyond.

Travel and Vacations

Many designed experiences.
I need not go so far I hope.

11

Opinion

Learning From Korea’s Disaster

By EDWARD TENNER | Apr 18th 2014

Few great catastrophes have one single explanation.

Maritime Accidents and Safety; Accidents and Safety; Sociology; Shipwrecks (Historic)

The authorities must take the time to understand the accident before assigning blame.
The captain is always responsible.
It will not be enough to pillory him if the accident is repeated.

12

Opinion

Why Care About McCutcheon?

By MARK BITTMAN | Apr 22nd 2014

It’s the same argument used to defend the marketing of junk food to children.

United States Politics and Government; Campaign Finance; McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission (Supreme Court Decision); Law and Legislation; Farm Bill (US); Freedom of Speech and Expression; First Amendment (US Constitution)

Agreed.
 

13

Dining & Wine

Video: Brooklyn Bouillon

By LIZA de GUIA | Apr 21st 2014

Inside the small-batch company from Rachael Mamane that produces rich stock from the discarded bones generated by New York State farms.

Agriculture and Farming; Bones; Local Food

I have cooked with bones. 
I will do so again.
 

14

Business Day

Merely Rich and Superrich: The Tax Gap Is Narrowing

By FLOYD NORRIS | Apr 17th 2014

The wealthy face tax increases that are greater for investment income, much of which goes to the superrich.

Income Tax; Capital Gains Tax; Federal Taxes (US); Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions; High Net Worth Individuals

Get some money to the bottom of the income distribution.
Then we can worry about graduated taxation.
 

15

Opinion

Autism and the Agitator

By FRANK BRUNI | Apr 21st 2014

Jenny McCarthy got a crazy amount of traction. She shouldn’t get a whitewash.

Vaccination and Immunization; Autism; Children and Childhood; Parenting

16

Science

Reactions

By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Apr 21st 2014

Letters to the editor and online comments.

Birds; Language and Languages; Space and Astronomy

17

Automobiles

Auto China Opens to the Public in Beijing

By JERRY GARRETT | Apr 22nd 2014

Volkswagen showed off its redesigned Touareg S.U.V., and Japanese automakers made a push into the Chinese market.

Automobiles

This will not bring happiness.
 

18

Science

For These Females, No Such Thing as Penis Envy

By SINDYA N. BHANOO | Apr 21st 2014

The females of a kind of Brazilian cave insect have male organs, the males have female genitalia, and sex lasts 40 to 70 hours, a study has found.

Insects; Penis; Caves and Caverns; Reproduction (Biological)

Another curiosity.
 

19

Sports

A Double Standard in Doping Punishments

By JULIET MACUR | Apr 22nd 2014

Lance Armstrong can never again compete in an Olympic sport, while three of the people who helped facilitate doping in the peloton will be free to return in eight years or less.

Olympic Games; Cycling, Road; Bicycles and Bicycling; Doping (Sports)

The attempt to combine doped racing and undoped racing in one record book is error.
The two are not comparable.

20

World

Somalia: Bomb Kills Lawmaker

By REUTERS | Apr 21st 2014

A Somali lawmaker was killed when a bomb planted by Islamist militants ripped through his car in Mogadishu on Monday, officials said.

Bombs and Explosives; Muslims and Islam

The only sure way to change the minds of the faithful is to end them.
I cannot recommend that course.
I am open to suggestions.

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