Tuesday, May 20, 2014

@13:20, 5/19/14

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1
Crosswords/Games

Math for Love's Primo Puzzle

Inspired by the new board game Primo: Multiplication puzzles by the Seattle-based Math for Love.
Color; Creativity; Mathematics; Puzzles 

I would have to think for hours.

2
Opinion

No Slowdown in Unfair Marijuana Arrests

Extreme racial disparities in the arrest statistics for low-level possession make it imperative that the city take a closer look.
Marijuana; Race and Ethnicity; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Discrimination; Blacks; Hispanic-Americans; Editorials 

The statistics damn the the police.

3
The Upshot

There’s a Better Way to Measure Who Has Raised the Most Money

Has Marco Rubio outperformed Rand Paul in fund-raising? It’s not easy to tell, but we should focus on the money available to spend on campaigns, not the amount brought in.
Campaign Finance; Political Action Committees 

There is little point to comparing two of the most miserable of potential candidates.
 
4
Business Day

Euro Zone Economy Grows More Slowly Than Expected

5
N.Y. / Region

Reports of Gas Odors Surge After East Harlem Blast



That got our attention.

6
N.Y. / Region

Possible Deal May Bring Money to Repair Pier 40 in Manhattan

7

The Chinese claim is not good.
Getting them to back off will not be trivial.

8
N.Y. / Region

Rebuke of Charter Schools Is Seen in Newark Election

9
World

Germany: Snowden Approved for Honorary Doctorate


ok

10
The Upshot

Where Are the Gay Chief Executives?

In corporate America, L.G.B.T. employees usually remain closeted.
Homosexuality and Bisexuality; Workplace Environment; Corporations; Transgender and Transsexual 

The chief executive of a public corporation is hired by the board of directors of that corporation.  The board are the fiduciaries of the stockholders.

Change the perception of gay culture to get gay executives.

11
U.S.

Arkansas: Ruling on Voter ID Law Tossed Out

The Arkansas Supreme Court tossed out a judge’s ruling striking down the state’s voter ID law on Wednesday, but it stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of the measure.
Decisions and Verdicts; Identification Devices; Absentee Voting; Voter Registration and Requirements 

The measure is unconstitutional.  
The courts must follow their rules.
 
12
U.S.

Texas Chases New Business but Worries About Water

A recent effort to lure a maker of the hot sauce sriracha from California came despite the challenges farmers face in a state where they have been given low priority for dwindling water supplies.
Agriculture and Farming; Water; Relocation of Business 

Texas is running out of water.
The Urban population outnumbers the rural.  
The law on water in Texas will change.
Sriracha manufacture will not go to Texas.
 
13
Real Estate

What’s Next, a Bouncer?

Buildings are creating amenities for market-rate tenants only, leaving regulated renters out in the cold.
Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Renting and Leasing (Real Estate); Affordable Housing; Income Inequality 

More attempted aristocracy.
I am not shocked.
We have been here before.
That previous situation spawned socialism and the income tax.
More was required to produce the regulation of financial markets.
 
14
Opinion

Rethinking How Antibiotics Are Used and Developed

Readers discuss the overuse of antibiotics in animals and how to promote development of a new generation of antibiotics.
Antibiotics; Drugs (Pharmaceuticals) 

Antibiotics have lost much of their usefulness.  
We need to develop other tools against pathogens.
The development effort will continue and may result in surprises.
Broader thinking is our best hope for species survival.

15
World

Iran: Oil Exports Continue to Decline

Iran’s oil exports declined in April for the second consecutive month, the International Energy Agency reported Thursday, moving much closer to levels permitted under a temporary accord on the Iranian nuclear dispute that is set to expire in July.
Nuclear Weapons; Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; International Trade and World Market 

Uranium reactor fuel breeds to Pu 239 and Pu 240 which are chemically separable from the fuel.  The Pu 239 is bomb fuel.
The inspectors know this. 
The treaty is more of a project than indicated.
  
16
World

Catastrophic Floods Hit Balkans, Raising Fears for Land Mines and Power Plants

Torrential rains have fed flooding that has killed dozens in Serbia and Bosnia, with officials saying the region has not seen damage on the same scale since in the 1992-95 civil war.
Floods; Deaths (Fatalities); Rain; Evacuations and Evacuees 

  1. Balkans flooding threatens Serbia power plants, 37 dead - Video ...

    1 day ago ... Soldiers, police and villagers battle to protect power plants in Serbia from rising flood waters as the death toll from the Balkan region's worst ...
  2. Flood Danger Persists in Serbia, Threatening Power Plant ...

    17 hours ago ... Recent rains caused the worst flooding in Serbia and Bosnia since ... Catastrophic Floods Hit Balkans, Raising Fears for Land Mines and ...
  3. "Where can we go now? "- Bosnian flood victim - Video

    22 hours ago ... Homes in Bosnia are damaged by landslides following days of torrential rain as the death toll from severe flooding in the Balkan region reaches ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27477593
 

Balkan floods: 'Quarter of Bosnia' without clean water

Mechanical diggers clean streets in village of Topcic Polje, damaged in a landslide, near Bosnian town of Zenica. 19 May 2014 Heavy machinery is clearing streets in Topcic, near the Bosnian town of Zenica, after a landslide

Related Stories

About a quarter of Bosnia-Hercegovina's four million people are without clean water after the worst flooding since modern records began, the foreign minister has said.
Zlatko Lagumdzija said the destruction was "terrifying" and compared it to Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
At least 35 people have died in Serbia and Bosnia in flooding caused by unprecedented torrential rain.
More victims are expected to be found as the waters recede.
"The consequences of the floods are terrifying," Mr Lagumdzija told a news conference.
"The physical destruction is not less than the destruction caused by the war."
He said more than 100,000 houses and other buildings were no longer usable and the road infrastructure was badly damaged.
He also said there had been about 2,000 landslides, some of which were on minefields left over from the war. Nearly 120,000 unexploded landmines remain in more than 9,400 carefully marked minefields.
Military amphibious vehicle in Obrenovac, south-west of Belgrade, Serbia. 19 May 2014 This military amphibious vehicle was patrolling the streets in Obrenovac, south-west of Belgrade, Serbia
But the weather has dislodged warning signs and in many cases loosened the mines themselves.
"During the war many people lost everything. Today, again they have nothing," Mr Lagumdzija said.
Bosnian civil defence officials said as many as 500,000 people had been evacuated or left their homes.
Rescue helicopters from the European Union, the US and Russia have helped evacuate people from affected areas.
North-eastern Bosnia is reported to be especially badly affected, with houses, roads and rail lines submerged.
Emergency water for residents in Obrenovac, south-west of Belgrade, Serbia. 19 May 2014 Meanwhile, volunteers in Obrenovac, were delivering emergency water supplies for residents
In the town of Orasje, frantic efforts were being made to stop the swollen River Sava further surging through broken barriers.
The emergency commander in the town, Fahrudin Solak, said the decaying corpses of drowned farm animals now represented a major health risk.
Although the waters were receding in some areas, a new flood wave from the River Sava on Monday threatened Serbia's largest power plant, the Nikola Tesla complex, 30km (18 miles) south-west of the capital, Belgrade.
The coal-fired plant in the town of Obrenovac produces about half of Serbia's electricity, and soldiers and energy workers worked through the night to build barriers of sandbags to keep the water back.
Serbian emergency official Predrag Maric said the situation in Obrenovac was critical and on Monday the entire town was ordered to be evacuated.
Evacuation orders were also made for 11 villages along the River Sava ahead of the flood wave.
Officials say that three months' worth of rain has fallen on the Balkans in recent days, producing the worst floods since rainfall measurements began 120 years ago.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said further international aid was needed, particularly deliveries of food, clothing and bottled water.
Ahdin Orahovac, director of Bosnia's Mine Action Centre, told the BBC that their work had been put back years.
"We are faced with the biggest problem and disaster after the war," he said.
"All of our mine warning signs have been moved. We have to warn our local population that they shouldn't hurry back to their homes because there are many locations where landmines are now in new places."
Map showing areas affected by Balkans flooding

17
Business Day

The Age Premium: Retaining Older Workers

Valuing knowledge and experience, some employers are making extra efforts to encourage longtime workers to stay.
Part-Time Employment; Labor and Jobs; Elderly; Hiring and Promotion 

yes.
If you can do it you should.
I did not expect to feel so isolated.
 
18
U.S.

North Dakota: Appeal Filed in Fetal Heartbeat Ruling

The state on Wednesday appealed a federal judge’s ruling that overturned a law banning abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
Abortion; Heart 

The Republicans in North Dakota are crazy or they think the Supreme Court is "fixed".  
I hope they are crazy.
Another civil war has no appeal.
 
19
The Upshot

Interest Rates Are Falling. Thank Vladimir Putin.

Risk aversion prompted by instability in Ukraine, among other things, has encouraged investors to seek safe havens like U.S. Treasury bonds.
Interest Rates; United States Economy 

Government bond rates are down as predicted.  
It is not a good thing.

20
World

U.N. Finds Rising Human Rights Violations in Ukraine

A new report warned of an increase in killings, abductions, beatings and detentions of journalists, politicians and activists in the country’s east.
Human Rights and Human Rights Violations 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27483719

Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov confronts rebellion

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Mark Lowen reports on noisy demonstrations in eastern Ukraine
Rallies have been held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in protest at pro-Russian separatism, at the instigation of Ukraine's richest man.
Steel magnate Rinat Akhmetov said "people are tired of living in fear and terror" and accused separatists of leading Ukraine towards "genocide".
Hundreds of people attended a rally in Mr Akhmetov's football stadium, while others blared car horns.
Separatist leaders have threatened to "nationalise" Mr Akhmetov's assets.
Meanwhile, Russia has said its troops on Ukraine's border are set to withdraw.
Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version
Anatoly Antonov: "It's better when our ministers for defence are sitting at the same table"
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said troops had been ordered to pull back - but Nato later said there was no sign of any redeployment.
On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov told the BBC the process of withdrawal "had been started already".
Moscow has had tens of thousands of soldiers on the border, raising fears of a takeover of eastern Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Donetsk said Ukrainians who oppose the separatist gunmen made their voices heard on Tuesday.
line break
At the scene, Mark Lowen, BBC News, Donetsk It was a noisy new strategy by those fighting for a united Ukraine. Cars swept through Donetsk, horns blaring, some waving the yellow and blue Ukrainian flag.
It had been planned as a march through the city of Mariupol on Monday but was cancelled at the last minute because of threats from the pro-Russia armed groups.
And so Rinat Akhmetov, whose company Metinvest is based in Donetsk, has now called for a car protest every day at noon. There are reports that some vehicles were attacked by the separatists as they drove past. But that didn't silence them.
This is the other side of eastern Ukraine to the one we've seen in the past few weeks: those angry at the separatism, at the attempted secession and at the masked gunmen roaming the streets. They want to vote in Sunday's presidential election and are determined to have their voices - and their car horns - heard.
line break
Mr Akhmetov, whose fortune is estimated at more than $11bn (£6.5bn), is one of the most influential people in eastern Ukraine.
His enterprises are based in the Donbass - the industrial east of Ukraine - where the insurgency is at its peak and he is said to employ as many as 300,000 people.
His allegiances, however, have been in doubt because of past links with ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych and business links with Russia.
But in an address broadcast by his own Ukrayina TV channel, he issued a stinging criticism of the separatist rebellion.
Rinat Akhmetov addresses Ukrainians in the Donbass stadium Rinat Akhmetov addressed sympathisers with a video message
He said Ukrainians - including his own employees - should stage a "peaceful warning protest" at their workplaces from noon on Tuesday, and that action should continue daily "until peace is established".
Otherwise he said he foresaw the "genocide of Donbass".
In response, Denis Pushilin, who heads the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, said local industry would be "nationalised" if tycoons there refused to pay taxes to the rebel authorities.
"Akhmetov has made his choice. Unfortunately, he chose against the people of Donbass. Paying taxes to Kiev means financing terrorism in Donbass," Mr Pushilin was quoted as saying on the Donetsk People's Republic's Twitter feed.
Pro-Russian rebels have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine including the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine is due to hold a presidential election on Sunday but the election may not take place in rebel-held parts of the east.
The UN refugee agency says at least 10,000 people have been displaced from their homes since the start of the crisis in Ukraine - most of them ethnic Tatars who have left Crimea, but also other ethnicities and those from mixed families."


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@23:55

2
Automobiles

Mille Miglia Celebrates Cars From Motorsports History

The endurance race began in 1927, and while the Mille Miglia is no longer a race, it still brings cheering crowds to roadsides all over Italy.
Automobiles; Antique and Classic Cars; Automobile Racing; Collectors and Collections 

A fashion retrospective.
 
4
World

Legacy of Hamas-Fatah Killings Complicates Unity

A committee is charged with persuading families of hundreds of victims of 2007 fighting to accept compensation rather than vengeance.
Palestinians 

Yes.
 
5
Health

Using a Patient's Own Blood in Heart Surgery

In heart surgery, a patient’s own red blood cells may be a better choice than blood transfusion.
Blood; Heart; Medicine and Health; Surgery and Surgeons 

It looks like good practice.

At two weeks short of 96 death came quickly.   
Hospice did what they could.
Atrial Fibrillation was the mode.

6
Technology

Questions Remain After Chinese Hacking Indictments

After the indictment of five members of a Chinese military hacking unit Monday, a nagging question remained: What about the other 20 hacking groups intelligence officials are tracking in China?
Cyberattacks and Hackers; Cyberwarfare; Espionage and Intelligence Services; International Relations; Mercenaries and Private Military Contractors; Surveillance of Citizens by Government 

Window dressing.
 
7
The Upshot

There’s a Better Way to Measure Who Has Raised the Most Money

Has Marco Rubio outperformed Rand Paul in fund-raising? It’s not easy to tell, but we should focus on the money available to spend on campaigns, not the amount brought in.
Campaign Finance; Political Action Committees 

Politics as product advertising.
 
8
Opinion

Biomedical Research

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Research!America, an advocacy alliancealliance, respond to a front-page article.
Clinical Trials; Gender; Minorities; Animals 

Neither letter is germane.   
The project is to assess gender differences.
Animal models are useful but do not address the distinctions under study.
Racism has no place in most biomedical research.
One might ask the question of research participation of the "White" population to establish a comparison.
 
9
Opinion

Marco Rubio As George W. Bush

Would Rubio’s emerging policy agenda take the G.O.P. back to Bushism?
Federal Taxes (US); Medicare; Payroll Tax; Pensions and Retirement Plans; Retirement; Social Security (US) 

I feel my attention is abused.
 
10
Business Day

AT&T-DirecTV Deal Churns Regulatory Waters

While AT&T’s bid for DirecTV bears similarity to Comcast’s deal for Time Warner Cable, experts say the differences could lead regulators to separate conclusions for each one.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures; Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Cable Television; Telephones and Telecommunications 

We are well on our way to regulated monopolies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_of_1934

"The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law, enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1934, and codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. The Act replaced the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It also transferred regulation of interstate telephone services from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the FCC.
The stated purposes of the Act are "regulating interstate and foreign commerce in communication by wire and radio so as to make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States a rapid, efficient, nationwide, and worldwide wire and radio communication service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges, for the purpose of the national defense, and for the purpose of securing a more effective execution of this policy by centralizing authority theretofore granted by law to several agencies and by granting additional authority with respect to interstate and foreign commerce in wire and radio communication, there is hereby created a commission to be known as the 'Federal Communications Commission', which shall be constituted as hereinafter provided, and which shall execute and enforce the provisions of this Act."[1]
On January 3, 1996, the 104th Congress of the United States amended or repealed sections of the Communications Act of 1934 with the new Telecommunications Act of 1996. It was the first major overhaul of American telecommunications policy in nearly 62 years."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996
An error.

 
11
World

Analysts Have High Hopes for Big Economic Changes Under Modi

What is driving much of the optimism is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ability to pass legislation without the need for coalition partners, who could have potentially blocked policy changes that conflicted with their own interests.
Budgets and Budgeting; Economic Conditions and Trends; Elections; Factories and Manufacturing; Foreign Investments; Gross Domestic Product; Irrigation; Labor and Jobs; Land Use Policies; Law and Legislation; Legislatures and Parliaments; Mines and Mining; Politics and Government; State Legislatures; Voting and Voters 

He is an Hindu nationalist.  
Expect a continuation of religious war.

12
World

Nigeria: U.S. to Bolster Search

The United States has reached an agreement with Nigeria to share some intelligence to bolster the search for more than 200 girls kidnapped by the group Boko Haram.
Kidnapping; Drones (Pilotless Planes) 

Tell the Nigerians what we know and let them do as they see fit.
It is their country and their children.

13
Opinion

Europe’s Migration Emergency

Things are too crazy with this post.

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