@19:30, 12/9/14

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1

Automobiles

Nissan Recalls 470,000 Vehicles Over Fuel Leaks

By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN | Dec 9th 2014

The company said a fuel sensor was not properly installed; Hyundai, Jaguar and Porsche also issued recalls.

Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Recalls and Bans of Products 

Trivial problems.  Attend to them if they are applicable.

2

Opinion

A Project in Queens

Dec 9th 2014

Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents parts of Queens in the New York City Council, responds to a Sunday Review article.

Infrastructure (Public Works); Affordable Housing; City Councils; Area Planning and Renewal 

When rail freight is again significant in the city Sunnyside will be again vital.  The yard is important as a rail junction.

3

Automobiles

Wheelies: The Jeep Booster Edition

By BENJAMIN PRESTON | Dec 9th 2014

Jeep accounts for 25 percent of the growth in 2014 automobile sales in the United States; Volkswagen announces a concept crossover for the Detroit auto show.

Automobiles; North American International Auto Show

"Building vehicles equipped with continuously variable transmissions has, over the last few years, become a common way for automakers to increase fuel economy. Ford said this week that it was considering using them in small cars with low-torque engines, such as the Ford Fiesta and Focus. (Automobile Magazine)"

Continuously variable transmissions have not been a great success until the Prius hybrid.  Electric motors do continuous.

4

Business Day

Oi of Brazil Agrees to Sell Assets in Portugal to Altice

By CHAD BRAY | Dec 9th 2014

An example of bottom feeding.

5

World

Malaria Scourge Has Declined Globally, but Ebola May Affect Toll, W.H.O. Says

By RICK GLADSTONE | Dec 8th 2014

The World Health Organization reported steep declines in malaria cases and deaths compared with 2000 in a report released early Tuesday, saying the progress was particularly notable in Africa, where the disease is most prevalent.

Malaria; Ebola Virus; Deaths (Fatalities)

A guestimate of 10,858 ebola dead.

6

Business Day

Patients Prescribed Narcotic Painkillers Use More of Them for Longer, Study Finds

By KATIE THOMAS | Dec 9th 2014

Express Scripts says that nearly half the people who took opioids for more than 30 days in the study’s first year were still using them three years later.

Pain-Relieving Drugs; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Drugs (Pharmaceuticals)

Addiction shows in the statistics.

 7

Ebola, the European Union and the Universe: A Cosmology Professor Tells the Future

By ANNA NORTH | Dec 9th 2014

The cosmology professor David Wands predicts an “empty and lonely” universe — and some of the changes we’ll see along the way.

Comets; Dark Energy (Astronomy); Ebola Virus; Milky Way Galaxy; Science and Technology; Solar System; Space and Astronomy; Stars and Galaxies; Sun

Boring speculation from a small mind.

The universe is open.
That means there was a before the big bang.
There will be an after the heat death or the dark sky.
The interesting question is will the human culture survive?
The EU is unstable as structured. 
It will be gone or unrecognizable in a few years.  It might be as few as five.
The tropics will be unlivable in this century.  Events will determine when.
Coastal cities will all be flooded.  Time scale uncertain.
Ebola Virus is either under reported or burning out.
Under reported is my guess.

8

Automobiles

Video: The 2015 GMC Canyon Brings Competition to Midsize Pickups

By TOM VOELK | Dec 9th 2014

The all-new GMC Canyon, and its fraternal twin the Chevrolet Colorado, are the first fresh offerings the segment has seen in a while.

Automobiles; Sports Utility Vehicles and Light Trucks

Short cab, long bed.  Otherwise no.
The design department is getting better.

9

Opinion

European Internet Proposal Under Attack

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Dec 8th 2014

Proposals that would water down rules to benefit big telephone companies by creating a two-tier system should be rejected.

Net Neutrality; Editorials; Telephones and Telecommunications; Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Computers and the Internet

"Tempting as lawmakers might find it to support their national broadband companies, Europe should reject proposals that would undermine the openness of the Internet."

Build the network and stop worrying about the existing phone system.

10

World

Shipwreck Kills Over a Dozen Ethiopian Migrants Trying to Reach Yemen

By KAREEM FAHIM | Dec 8th 2014

Yemen’s Interior Ministry said that the vessel carrying the migrants sank on Sunday in rough seas off the southern coastal city of Al Mukha.

Maritime Accidents and Safety; Illegal Immigration; Refugees and Displaced Persons; Deaths (Fatalities)

Conditions in the horn of Africa are terrible for Yemen to look better.

11

N.Y. / Region

Pizza Orders Reveal Credit Card Scheme, and a Secondhand Market

By MICHAEL WILSON | Dec 5th 2014

12

N.Y. / Region

Brooklyn Man Charged in Phone Fraud That Targeted Elderly People

By BENJAMIN WEISER | Dec 5th 2014

Allah Justice McQueen was arrested in connection with a scheme that the authorities said defrauded elderly victims in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Texas and Washington of more than $170,000.

Frauds and Swindling; Elderly

Take the callers contact information.  Call the police at the purported location.  Get the number from information. Inquire. Report the attempted fraud.    

13

Business Day

Supreme Court Hears Cases on Internet Shopping and Railroads

By ADAM LIPTAK | Dec 8th 2014

The Internet shopping case concerned Colorado’s attempt to collect sales taxes on out-of-state purchases.

E-Commerce; Sales and Excise Taxes; Railroads; Interstate Commerce; Computers and the Internet

I will be interested to see how the court rules on these cases.

14

World

Brazil Prepares Indictments in Oil Company Graft Case

By SIMON ROMERO | Dec 7th 2014

The case involves bribes at the state-controlled oil company, and could open President Dilma Rousseff to claims of lax oversight.

Bribery and Kickbacks; Frauds and Swindling; Corruption (Institutional)

The prosecution is going forward.  Ms. Rousseff should be untouched.

15

U.S.

U.S. to Continue Racial, Ethnic Profiling in Border Policy

By MATT APUZZO and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT | Dec 5th 2014

Under new rules to be issued by the White House, federal agents can still consider race and ethnicity when stopping people at airports and immigration checkpoints, officials said.

Racial Profiling; Illegal Immigration; Airport Security

The border patrol should meet the same standards.

16

Today in Politics

By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Dec 5th 2014

17

N.Y. / Region

Judge Calls Cablevision’s Raises an Anti-Union Act

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE | Dec 5th 2014

18

Business Day

Vale of Brazil Sells Coal Stake to Mitsui & Co. for About $950 Million

By DAN HORCH | Dec 9th 2014

The sale of a stake in Vale’s African coal operations to the Japanese trading company comes after commodity prices, both for coal and for Vale’s metals export, have fallen sharply.

Coal; Mines and Mining; Stocks and Bonds

A world recession.

Science

California Drought Is Said to Have Natural Cause

By HENRY FOUNTAIN | Dec 8th 2014

Climate change attributable to human behavior “may have done a little bit of an add-on,” the study’s lead author said.

Drought; Global Warming

No rain is a natural cause. 
The reason why is more interesting.

Opinion

Women on Submarines, Filmed in the Shower

HealthBy ANDREW ROSENTHAL | Dec 4th 2014

There is an urgent need to radically change the way the military deals with sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment; Submarines and Submersibles

Technically competent twenty year old boys.
Bored and irresponsible.

It should not happen.

Station the responsible parties at McMurdo.


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