Thursday, January 17, 2013

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1
Science

Death and Dying, the Animal Way

Bernd Heinrich, an emeritus biology professor at the University of Vermont, has been studying how animals die.
Animals; Forests and Forestry; Death and Dying; Books and Literature;
2
Opinion

Lobbying for the 2 Percent

A reader responds to a front-page article, “Public Goals, Private Interests in Debt Campaign.”
Lobbying and Lobbyists; Medicare; Social Security (US); National Debt (US); 

We must overpower these voices of privilege.  
The Safety net is necessary and should be supported.
Desperate poverty does not improve society.

3
Business Day

German Economy Shrank in Fourth Quarter

The decline was largely the result of sagging investment by German managers worried about the future of the euro zone.
Euro (Currency); Gross Domestic Product; European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- ); Economic Conditions and Trends; European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- ); Economic Conditions and Trends; Gross Domestic Product; 

Austerity is a more likely cause.
 
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4
Health

Some With Autism Diagnosis Can Overcome Symptoms, Study Finds

A new study suggests that some people who have received an autism diagnosis are able to improve significantly and not qualify for the diagnosis later in life.
Autism; Research; Asperger's Syndrome; 

Real progress.  Learn more.
 
5
Booming

Documenting a Generation’s Fall

The new documentary “Set for Life” features interviews with dozens of boomers whose lives and careers have been upended by the Great Recession.
Baby Boomers; Recession and Depression; Unemployment; Labor and Jobs; Documentary Films and Programs; Careers and Professions; Health Insurance and Managed Care; Education (K-12); 

It is at least that bad.
 
6
Business Day

A Moment of Zen, on the Go

As more Americans take up yoga, hotel companies, and even some airports, are beginning to cater to avid practitioners.
Yoga; Business Travel; Hotels and Travel Lodgings; Airports; 

It would be nice if they got their practices right.  
Zen is not Yoga.
I have not taken up the formal practice.
I may need to do that. 
7
Opinion

Care for Suicidal Teenagers

The director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline responds to an article about therapy for suicidal teenagers.
Depression (Mental); Suicides and Suicide Attempts; Teenagers and Adolescence; 

First, step back, seems obvious.
Breaking the concentration on the insoluble allows other thought.
It is hard to do from the inside.

Sleep won.
8
Technology

In Choosing a Tablet, First Try It On for Size

Lighter, thinner devices make up for their smaller screens and limited computing power by being easier to hold for long periods.
Tablet Computers; iPad; 

He has a real point.
 
9
World

Jordan: Fire Kills Family at Camp for Syrian Refugees

The center is a temporary shelter for refugees before they are moved to a camp called Zaatari, which has been battered by a flash flood.
Refugees and Displaced Persons; Fires and Firefighters; Deaths (Fatalities); Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); 

A small story of small interest.  
None are safe.
 
10
World

Concession After Days of Protest in Pakistan

The prime minister announced that the chief minister in Baluchistan Province, Mohammed Aslam Raisani, had been dismissed and the Parliament there had been dissolved.
Suspensions, Dismissals and Resignations; Legislatures and Parliaments; Corruption (Institutional); Hazaras (Ethnic Group); 

I don't want to support any of these parties.
None of them want to solve the larger problems.
 
11
Business Day

A.I.G. Seeks Approval to File More Bank Suits

A.I.G. must win a court fight with an entity run by the New York Fed, which the insurer says is blocking its efforts to go after banks that harmed it financially.
Banking and Financial Institutions; Mortgages; Suits and Litigation; 

AIG must try this.
If they win we are back in the crisis of 2008.
 
12
U.S.

After Years of Discord, California and Nevada Agree on Tahoe Development

A bistate compact made in 1969 clamped down on runaway development, but a new plan should update infrastructure and help restore the lake’s clarity.
Lakes; Area Planning and Renewal; Water Pollution; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; 

Tahoe is a park, not a wilderness.  This plan appears to start there.  
This is a next step.  Most of the journey is ahead of the commission.
 
13
Business Day

Condé Nast Writer Deals Stir Dispute

The publishing company is seeking film and television profits from articles that may become films and television programs, a plan that writers and agents say cuts into their shrinking compensation.
Books and Literature; Writing and Writers; Movies; Magazines; Television; 

This looks to me to be an attempt to take over the agent business.
A solution would be for the agents to take on the relationship with Conde Nast. 
All rites would then be marketed through the agents.
This begins to look like baseball player contracts.

14
Education

Parents’ Financial Support May Not Help College Grades

A new national study found that the more college money provided, the lower the student’s grades.
Education (Secondary); Colleges and Universities; Grading of Students; Parenting; Graduation Rates; 

The response of student grades to parental funding is bell shaped.  No surprise here.
 
15
U.S.

Record Taxpayer Cost Is Seen for Crop Insurance

After a severe drought, the cost of the program has drawn renewed attention as the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans wrangle over ways to cut the deficit.
Crop Controls and Subsidies; Insurance; Federal Budget (US); United States Politics and Government; Drought; 

Congress is objecting to the cost of the programs it wants.
 
16
Business Day

Guns, Maps and Data That Disturb

Journalists create context by using sources who bring insight and provide analysis. Simply pointing out that something is public as the sole reason for publishing it is not a sufficient justification.
News and News Media; Newspapers; Firearms; Maps; Ethics (Institutional); 

David Carr can't find a justification for his whine.  That did not stop him whining.

I keep asking myself what a hand gun is good for. 
Nothing constructive comes to mind.
I would rather be unfriendly at a distance.
  
17
Opinion

A Phased-In Carbon Tax

A reader urges Congress to heed a suggestion by Thomas L. Friedman.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Taxation; 

We need a fossil carbon tax.  
Getting one would be more destructive than health care.
Every time the rate needed to rise the fight would be repeated.
Win the party fight, then go for the program.

18
Business Day

A Different Kind of Soap Maker Seeks a Compatible Partner

Eric Ryan, a founder of the cleaning products maker Method, says that finding a suitor with similar values — in this case, the Belgian company Ecover — was important to the company.
Small Business; Entrepreneurship; 

I have some thinking to do about brand identity.  I think it is different from the design repute I want to establish.  
I will think more on that.
I wish neither to dominate or to be dominated.  
Both of us have more than enough work outside of home. 
At home we should follow the Zen precepts: be here now and pay attention.
 
19
Fashion & Style

The Dalloway

A new establishment, owned by two reality TV stars, is decidedly not your mother’s lesbian bar.
Bars and Nightclubs; Reality Television; Homosexuality; 

I have known the area but never had much interest in the group.
I just do not spend much time in bars.
525 Broom was a doggy daycare when I was in the area.
There was a bar on Thompson near grand where the models and pimps hung between work in the evening.

20
N.Y. / Region

F.B.I. Arrests Nearly 30 With Ties to Waste-Hauling Business

Some of those arrested, on charges including racketeering and extortion, had ties to the Genovese, Gambino and Luchese crime families, an official said.
Waste Materials and Disposal; Organized Crime; Racketeering and Racketeers; 

Cement and trash are traditional mob territory.  
It is interesting that there is no report of Manhattan operations here. 
The Sopranos probably drew a reasonably honest picture of such things.










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