Tuesday, April 29, 2014

@8:23, 4/29/14

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1
Automobiles

Auto China Opens to the Public in Beijing

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

Income is all that matters.
 
2
N.Y. / Region

Effort to Remove Landlord Who Made Units Unlivable

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 

I am not going to worry about this.
 
3
World

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

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) 

"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."

4
Sports

A Double Standard in Doping Punishments

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 record book is what is important to the sport.
5
World

U.S. Couple Denied Permission to Leave Qatar While Appeal is Pending

The couple, Matthew and Grace Huang of Los Angeles, were convicted last month of child endangerment in the death of their adopted daughter from Africa.
Americans Abroad; Adoptions; Sentences (Criminal); Human Trafficking; Prisons and Prisoners; Child Abuse and Neglect 

Qatari legal courts will torture them as long as they can.
 
6
World

Egypt: U.S. to Deliver Helicopters

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 

A bribe.
 
7
Opinion

Piketty and the Petits Rentiers

What “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” Gets Right.
Education (K-12); Gifts; High Net Worth Individuals; Income; Income Inequality; Parenting; Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions 

Douthat misreads a book again.
 
8
World

Iraqi Militants Stage Political Rally, Then Bombs Go Off

Bombs killed over 30 at a political rally in Baghdad by a Shiite militant group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Terrorism; Shiite Muslims; Sunni Muslims; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Bombs and Explosives 

This bomb is not our problem.
 
9
Automobiles

The Horseless eCarriage Is an Option for a Horse-Free Central Park

On display at the New York auto show, the 7,500-pound Horseless eCarriage was conceived as a potential replacement for horse-drawn carriages.
Automobiles; Carriages; New York International Auto Show; Horses 

Enough.  No.
 
10
U.S.

National Advocacy Group Takes Local Political Turn

Americans for Prosperity, a force in this year’s midterm congressional elections, has surprised people in Columbus, Ohio, with a campaign against a tax increase to benefit the local zoo.
Property Taxes; Zoos 

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/the-hunt-for-false-equivalence/

" America, it goes without saying, has a powerful, crazy right wing. There’s nothing equivalent on the left — yes, there are individual crazy leftists, but nothing like the organized, lavishly financed madness on the right.
But centrists have a very hard time acknowledging this asymmetry; they love to assert that both sides are equally wrong — and often seem to feel the need to invent extreme positions when they don’t actually exist.
Which brings me to this critical piece by Chris House. A while back House declared that both Ed Prescott and yours truly say crazy things; when asked for an example of me saying something remotely equivalent to something like Prescott’s declaration that there is no evidence that Fed policy matters, he never did answer.
Now House takes me and Noah Smith to task for preaching to the left-wing echo chamber in what we wrote about the Tom Sargent speech that’s making the rounds. And once again I have to wonder whether he actually read what I wrote, or simply assumed that it must be over the top.
First, House apparently missed the fact that I was explicitly not attacking Sargent; instead, I was questioning the efforts of people at AEI to promote a speech given in 2007, before the financial crisis, as the essence of wisdom in a world suffering a prolonged slump.
Second, House criticizes me for questioning the tradeoff between inequality and growth — but without quoting what I actually said. Here it is:
So, about the not so time-dependent points: Sargent declared as a principle, “There are tradeoffs between equality and efficiency.” Well, every economist would agree that Cuban-type equality is bad for efficiency. But would reducing our current level of inequality reduce efficiency? That’s far from clear: there are a number of reasons to believe that high levels of inequality have adverse effects on economic growth – and evidence to that effect is coming not from fringe leftists but from places like the IMF.
That seems pretty qualified to me — not a general assertion that there is never a tradeoff, but a suggestion that at current levels of inequality the tradeoff isn’t clear, backed by a link to serious research. What should I have said? Must one refuse to mention IMF research because it might reverberate in the echo chamber?
If you ask me, the real echo chamber here is the centrist echo chamber — and yes, it exists. In this chamber everyone knows that people like me are just as bad as the crazies on the right, and they know it because everyone says it. But where is the evidence?"

11
Business Day

Europe’s Antitrust Chief Censures Google’s Motorola Mobility, but Stops Short of a Fine

The case involved a patent dispute with Apple in Germany, in which the European Commission said Motorola used a court order to stifle competition.
Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Inventions and Patents; Wireless Communications 

A nice gesture for us.
Licenses for a modest fee probably satisfy.
 
12
World

Plan to Sell Condoms in Schools Encounters Resistance

Middle schools in Xi’an in Shaanxi Province should sell condoms, education officials have said. Family planning officials say they know the move is controversial, but hope it will help stop the spread of H.I.V.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Birth Control and Family Planning; Condoms; Education (K-12); Sex; Sex Education; Youth 

Instruct the girls and the boys, individually if necessary.  
Separately by sex.  Embarrassment before peers should not enter the problem. 
Condoms should be free at any age.  
Condoms should be free.
Some should be flavored.
Some should be lubricated.
All should be impervious.

13
Automobiles

Not Flared Nostrils, but Nostrils With Flair

Automotive grilles tend to get a lot of attention from designers, but they have lately been shifting their focus to the air intakes in the sides of the front bumpers.
Automobiles; Design; New York International Auto Show 

An auto designer speaks.
This is a fair presentation by a self aware designer.
 
14
Opinion

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

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 

We must prevent the release of fossil carbon.
The rest is noise.
 
15
Technology

Despite Big Ambitions, New York’s Tech Scene Is Still Starting Up

While the city’s new tech firms continue to attract plenty of venture capital, Silicon Alley has a long way to go before it rivals the Valley.
Start-ups; Venture Capital; E-Commerce; Computers and the Internet; New Models, Design and Products 

Realestate has stolen the inhabited ruins stage of urban regeneration.

Company towns do not regenerate.  They become ghost towns.

The supply houses are not in New York. 
The cheap space is not in New York.
The people go where the work they want is paid.
The salary allows them a family. 

New York will not develop a technological culture attractive to inventors.


16
Health

Data Murky on Fertility Rates

In the multibillion-dollar fertility industry, there is little enforcement of regulations that require clinics to report their success rates.
Babies and Infants; In Vitro Fertilization; Infertility; Medicine and Health; Pregnancy and Childbirth 

I am warned.
If we find a need we will go the "used child" route.
A dog?

17
World

Qaddafi Son Appears on Screen at His Trial


An unhappy resolution.  He will be ceremonially killed.

18
N.Y. / Region

Schumer Weighs In, Seeking Federal Changes for Structure of Port Authority

Senator Charles E. Schumer wants to make permanent changes in Washington, reducing the influence that the governors of two states wield over an empire that spans the Hudson River.
George Washington Bridge 

The Port Authority was built by and for Robert Moses as an independent power base.  
It served him and his city well.  
He is dead without an heir.
Chris Christie has not the mind to use the tool he found.
It has destroyed him.
The governors cannot yield the power of the Port Authority
The federal government cannot destroy it.
An heir acceptable to all sides must be found and allowed to use it as 
Al Smith intended.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Smith

19
Business Day

Vermont Will Require Labeling of Genetically Altered Foods

Vermont’s approval was hailed by food-safety advocates. Meanwhile, the biotech industry has drafted federal legislation to pre-empt any such state initiatives.
Labeling and Labels; Genetic Engineering 

There is money in it for Monsanto. 



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

@14:12,


1
Business Day

Senate Panel Approves Fed Nominees

The two nominees for the Federal Reserve’s board must be confirmed by the full Senate, which has a backlog of candidates awaiting confirmation.
Appointments and Executive Changes
2
N.Y. / Region

Effort to Remove Landlord Who Made Units Unlivable

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
3
World

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

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)
4
World

U.S. Couple Denied Permission to Leave Qatar While Appeal is Pending

The couple, Matthew and Grace Huang of Los Angeles, were convicted last month of child endangerment in the death of their adopted daughter from Africa.
Americans Abroad; Adoptions; Sentences (Criminal); Human Trafficking; Prisons and Prisoners; Child Abuse and Neglect
5
Opinion

Piketty and the Petits Rentiers

What “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” Gets Right.
Education (K-12); Gifts; High Net Worth Individuals; Income; Income Inequality; Parenting; Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions
6
World

Egypt: U.S. to Deliver Helicopters

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
7
Automobiles

Auto China Opens to the Public in Beijing

Volkswagen showed off its redesigned Touareg S.U.V., and Japanese automakers made a push into the Chinese market.
Automobiles
8
World

Iraqi Militants Stage Political Rally, Then Bombs Go Off

Bombs killed over 30 at a political rally in Baghdad by a Shiite militant group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Terrorism; Shiite Muslims; Sunni Muslims; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Bombs and Explosives
9
Automobiles

The Horseless eCarriage Is an Option for a Horse-Free Central Park

The 7,500-pound Horseless eCarriage, which was displayed at the New York auto show, was conceived as a potential replacement for horse-drawn carriages.
Automobiles; Carriages; New York International Auto Show; Horses
10
U.S.

‘Dreamers’ Eligible for In-State Tuition, Virginia’s Attorney General Says

The decision means that Virginia will join at least 17 other states that offer in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals; Immigration and Emigration; United States Politics and Government
11
U.S.

National Advocacy Group Takes Local Political Turn

Americans for Prosperity, a force in this year’s midterm congressional elections, has surprised people in Columbus, Ohio, with a campaign against a tax increase to benefit the local zoo.
Property Taxes; Zoos
12
Business Day

Europe’s Antitrust Chief Censures Google’s Motorola Mobility

The case involved a patent dispute with Apple in Germany, in which the European Commission said Motorola used a court order to stifle competition.
Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Inventions and Patents; Wireless Communications
13
Opinion

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

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
14
Sports

Goalie Ballot Is Announced

Semyon Varlamov of Colorado, Ben Bishop of Tampa Bay and Tuukka Rask of Boston are finalists for the Vezina Trophy, given to the N.H.L.’s top goalie.
Hockey, Ice
15
World

Qaddafi Son Appears on Screen at His Trial

Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi is accused of aiding his father Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in the brutal suppression of Libya’s uprising three years ago.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots
16
Business Day

At Meeting, Fed Likely to Again Cut Bond Buying

The Fed’s policy wing is expected to cut another $10 billion from its monthly bond purchases, to $45 billion, ending the purchases this fall.
United States Economy; Credit and Debt; Interest Rates; Quantitative Easing; Government Bonds
17
Automobiles

Not Flared Nostrils, but Nostrils With Flair

Automotive grilles tend to get a lot of attention from designers, but they have lately been shifting their focus to the air intakes in the sides of the front bumpers.
Automobiles; Design; New York International Auto Show
18
N.Y. / Region

For de Blasio, Carriage Horse Ban Is No Walk in the Park

The New York City mayor has seemingly avoided Central Park and is struggling to turn public attention toward other issues on his agenda: housing and wages.
Horses
19
Sports

A Double Standard in Doping Punishments

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)
20
N.Y. / Region

New York Finds Space for 3 Charter Schools

The schools had been at the heart of a battle between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Eva S. Moskowitz, the leader of a high-performing charter network.
Charter Schools; Education (K-12)



 

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