@21:15, 2/27/15

|


1

World

Hong Kong Woman Sentenced to 6 Years for Abusing Indonesian Maid

By MICHAEL FORSYTHE | Feb 27th 2015

Law Wan-tung subjected her live-in servant, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, to various forms of abuse for months, according to testimony at her trial.

Assaults; Domestic Service; Minimum Wage 

Slavery is not legal anywhere.

2

U.S.

University of North Carolina Board Closes 3 Centers

By RICHARD FAUSSET | Feb 27th 2015

The closing of the centers, including one run by an outspoken critic of the state’s Republican leadership, set off allegations of partisanship and academic censorship.

Shutdowns (Institutional)

The world will not be as once it seemed to be.
Refusal to see the world does not help.

3

Style

Not the Usual College Party (This One’s Sober)

By JENNIFER CONLIN | Feb 27th 2015

To try to keep students sober, universities is part of what is now 135 Collegiate Recovery communities on campuses across the country.

Colleges and Universities; Alcohol Abuse; Parties (Social); Alcoholic Beverages

I have never liked being drunk.
Doing without alcohol is not a deprivation for me.
I worry.

4

N.Y. / Region

Commodes, if Not Commutes, Have Improved at Port Authority Bus Terminal

By JAMES BARRON | Feb 24th 2015

The terminal in Midtown Manhattan, called “a hall of unfathomable nightmares” on the website Failed Architecture, has modernized the second-floor bathrooms.

Bathrooms and Toilets; Restoration and Renovation; Stations and Terminals (Passenger); Commuting

The bus is a miserable way to travel.

5

World

Hopeful Signs of Recovery for the World’s Rarest Big Cat

By AUSTIN RAMZY | Feb 26th 2015

Thanks to conservation efforts in Russia and China, the Amur leopard population has increased dramatically, though with only a few dozen in the wild, the species still faces threats to its survival.

Endangered and Extinct Species; Environment; Forests and Forestry; Leopards; National Parks, Monuments and Seashores; Parks and Other Recreation Areas; Poaching (Wildlife); Tigers

Yes.

6

Science

According to the Words, the News Is Actually Good

By JOHN TIERNEY | Feb 23rd 2015

An algorithm used to analyze millions of articles and books, and billions of tweets, determined that we are naturally upbeat, at least in how we express ourselves.

Language and Languages; Emotions; Media; News and News Media; Social Media; Research

The reporters are hopeful.
Most of the news is not hopeful.

7

N.Y. / Region

Daniel Donovan, Garner Case Prosecutor, Defends Record as He Runs for Congress

By ALEXANDER BURNS | Feb 24th 2015

Mr. Donovan is the favorite to replace Representative Michael G. Grimm, despite criticism of the way he handled Eric Garner’s chokehold inquiry on Staten Island.

Elections, House of Representatives

Congress is not about suppressing sin.

8

Business Day

Fiat Chrysler Recalls 467,000 S.U.V.s to Fix Fuel Pump

By DANIELLE IVORY | Feb 27th 2015

The faulty part, which could prevent the vehicles from starting or result in stalling, is found in some 2012-13 Dodge Durangos and 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Recalls and Bans of Products; Automobiles

Fiat has taken too many nickles out of the electrical system.

9

Technology

U.S. and British Agencies May Have Tried to Get SIM Encryption Codes, Gemalto Says

By MARK SCOTT and AURELIEN BREEDEN | Feb 25th 2015

We would never know if they did.

10

false

CNN’s Bill Weir Explores the World’s Threatened Wonders

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | Feb 27th 2015

In a CNN series, a seasoned foreign correspondent and noted filmmaker explore the cutting edge of fast-forward environmental and cultural change.

Cruises; Earth; Eco-Tourism; News and News Media; Population; Sustainable Living; Taj Mahal; Travel and Vacations; Water

It is a project to leave space for nature.
"Trantor" is a constant threat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trantor
A city that is a world. Choking on waste heat and dependent on imports.

11

U.S.

Massachusetts: Opening Is Set in Boston Marathon Bombings Trial

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE | Feb 25th 2015

Conviction is certain.

12

U.S.

Senate Panel Approves Loretta Lynch to Be Attorney General

By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN | Feb 26th 2015

The Senate Judiciary Committee sent the nomination of Ms. Lynch to the full Senate for what is likely to be a contentious vote.

Attorneys General; Appointments and Executive Changes

The Republicans are being obdurate.

13

World

Japan: Leak Is Disclosed at Nuclear Plant

By MARTIN FACKLER | Feb 24th 2015 

The leak is not significant.

14

U.S.

U.S. Won’t File Charges in Trayvon Martin Killing

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ | Feb 24th 2015

After George Zimmerman shot Mr. Martin in a gated Florida community, erupting a national furor, federal prosecutors began a civil rights investigation.

Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides; Blacks; Self-Defense

George Zimmerman is a monster.
He may not be a racist monster. 

15

Opinion

How Liberalism and Racism Are Wed

By GEORGE YANCY and FALGUNI A. SHETH | Feb 27th 2015

Racism, racial exclusion and racial violence aren’t antithetical to liberalism. They are an essential part of it.

Asian-Americans; Discrimination; Immigration and Emigration; Liberalism (US Politics); Muslim Americans; Philosophy; Race and Ethnicity

Falguni A. Sheth Is mistaken.
Her idealism has lead her to erroneous conclusions. 
She has confused the ideal with the real.
We are a diverse society.
We include both liberals and reactionaries.
At the individual level people do not live up to our ideals. 
There is a large assemblage that feel they should not strive toward those ideals.
The democratic ideal demands that they be included in society.

"Habit is habit and not to be thrown out the window by any man but rather to be dragged down the stairs one step at a time."    Samuel Clemons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
Liberalism is a set of ideals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_on_Inequality
"Rousseau first exposes in this work his conception of a human state of nature, presented as a philosophical fiction (like by Thomas Hobbes, unlike by John Locke), and of human perfectibility, an early idea of progress. He then explains the way, according to him, people may have established civil society, which leads him to present private property as the original source and basis of all inequality."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_nature
I think the social contract predates humanity.


Liberalism has no consistent theory.

16

Business Day

World Surf League Takes Web-First Approach to Drawing Viewers

By TALYA MINSBERG and NICK CORASANITI | Feb 22nd 2015

As more viewers move online and audiences become more global, professional sports leagues have all adopted streaming as an important way to attract younger fans around the world, and surfing leads the way.

Surfing; Computers and the Internet; Video Recordings, Downloads and Streaming; Mobile Applications; Television

Streaming requires little production.

17

World

Russia Heightens Dispute With Ukraine Over Natural Gas

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN | Feb 24th 2015

Russia is carrying on its attempt at conquest.

18

World

Lawmakers (Just Not Greece’s) Approve a Bailout Extension

By JIM YARDLEY | Feb 27th 2015

Approvals of the bailout extension underscored how the political structure of Europe remains a work in progress.

European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- )

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/paul-krugman-what-greece-won.html

"FEB. 27, 2015

Last week, after much drama, the new Greek government reached a deal with its creditors. Earlier this week, the Greeks filled in some details on how they intend to meet the terms. So how did it go?

Well, if you were to believe many of the news reports and opinion pieces of the past few days, you’d think that it was a disaster — that it was a “surrender” on the part of Syriza, the new ruling coalition in Athens. Some factions within Syriza apparently think so, too. But it wasn’t. On the contrary, Greece came out of the negotiations pretty well, although the big fights are still to come. And by doing O.K., Greece has done the rest of Europe a favor.

To make sense of what happened, you need to understand that the main issue of contention involves just one number: the size of the Greek primary surplus, the difference between government revenues and government expenditures not counting interest on the debt. The primary surplus measures the resources that Greece is actually transferring to its creditors. Everything else, including the notional size of the debt — which is a more or less arbitrary number at this point, with little bearing on the amount anyone expects Greece to pay — matters only to the extent that it affects the primary surplus Greece is forced to run.

For Greece to run any surplus at all — given the depression-level slump that it’s in and the effect of that depression on revenues — is a remarkable achievement, the result of incredible sacrifices. Nonetheless, Syriza has always been clear that it intends to keep running a modest primary surplus. If you are angry that the negotiations didn’t make room for a full reversal of austerity, a turn toward Keynesian fiscal stimulus, you weren’t paying attention.

The question instead was whether Greece would be forced to impose still more austerity. The previous Greek government had agreed to a program under which the primary surplus would triple over the next few years, at immense cost to the nation’s economy and people.

Why would any government agree to such a thing? Fear. Essentially, successive leaders in Greece and other debtor nations haven’t dared to challenge extreme creditor demands, for fear that they would be punished — that the creditors would cut off their cash flow or, worse yet, implode their banking system if they balked at ever-harsher budget cuts.

So did the current Greek government back down and agree to aim for those economy-busting surpluses? No, it didn’t. In fact, Greece won new flexibility for this year, and the language about future surpluses was obscure. It could mean anything or nothing.

And the creditors did not pull the plug. Instead, they made financing available to carry Greece through the next few months. That is, if you like, putting Greece on a short leash, and it means that the big fight over the future is yet to come. But the Greek government didn’t succumb to the bum’s rush, and that in itself is a kind of victory.

Why, then, all the negative reporting? To be fair, fiscal policy isn’t the only issue. There were and are also arguments about things like privatization of public assets, where Syriza has agreed not to reverse deals already made, and labor market regulation, where some of the “structural reform” of the austerity era will apparently stand. Syriza also agreed to crack down on tax evasion, although why collecting taxes is supposed to be a defeat for a leftist government is a mystery to me.

Still, nothing that just happened justifies the pervasive rhetoric of failure. Actually, my sense is that we’re seeing an unholy alliance here between left-leaning writers with unrealistic expectations and the business press, which likes the story of Greek debacle because that’s what is supposed to happen to uppity debtors. But there was no debacle. Provisionally, at least, Greece seems to have ended the cycle of ever-more-savage austerity.

And, as I said, in so doing, Greece has done the rest of Europe a favor. Remember, in the background of the Greek drama is a European economy that, despite some positive numbers lately, still seems to be sliding into a deflationary trap. Europe as a whole desperately needs to end austerity madness, and this week there have been some slightly positive signs. Notably, the European Commission has decided not to fine France and Italy for exceeding their deficit targets.

Levying these fines would have been insane given market realities; France can borrow for five years at an interest rate of 0.002 percent. That’s right, 0.002 percent. But we’ve seen a lot of similar insanity in recent years. And you have to wonder whether the Greek story played a role in this outbreak of reasonableness.

Meanwhile, the first real debtor revolt against austerity is off to a decent start, even if nobody believes it. What’s the Greek for “Keep calm and carry on”?"

19

World

Police Officers in Turkey Held in Wiretaps of Officials

By CEYLAN YEGINSU | Feb 25th 2015

The arrests are part of a feud between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, an influential cleric accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

Wiretapping and Other Eavesdropping Devices and Methods

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatened with a coup and he knows it.

20

World

Pakistani Officials Issue Arrest Warrants Over Refusals of Polio Vaccine

By ISMAIL KHAN | Feb 27th 2015

Police officials in the northwest province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said they had issued hundreds of arrest warrants for parents who have refused to vaccinate their children.

Vaccination and Immunization; Poliomyelitis; Refugees and Displaced Persons

It is a heavy handed action.
It is probably necessary to counter the Taliban propaganda.
Pakistan only looks like a democracy.

|

I suspect Microsoft of abusing its customers.
Microsoft will not remain dominant.
I was sent an abusive copy of FireFox.
I have corrected that situation.

I appear to have been "Hacked".
I do not own an Ipad of any variety.
I maintain only the aol email address.

|