Wednesday, February 27, 2013

@10:17, 2/27/13

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1
Health

What Housework Has to Do With Waistlines

American women not employed outside the home were burning about 360 fewer calories every day in 2010 than they had in 1965, according to a new analysis, with working women burning about 132 fewer calories at home each day in 2010 than in 1965.
Calories; Exercise; Labor and Jobs; Television Sets; Weight; Women and Girls; Working Hours; 

Why be gender specific?  
Activity, food type, genetics, they all have a place. 
 
2
Business Day

F.A.A. Is Not Ready to Approve 787 Test Flights

Boeing has proposed several fixes for the troubled batteries on its new jetliner, but federal regulators have rejected a request to test them in the air.
Airlines and Airplanes; Lithium (Metal); Batteries; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; Aviation Accidents and Safety; 

yes
 
3
U.S.

Rivalries Begin to Emerge in a New Seat of Power

Ro Khanna, a Democrat who served in the Commerce Department, is considering a run against Representative Michael M. Honda.
Asian-Americans; Elections, House of Representatives; Endorsements; 

Essentially racist.

Advertisement
4
Your Money

Calling Out the Robocaller

Account Management Assistance offers to reduce credit card interest rates, but satisfied customers are scarce.
Personal Finances; Telemarketing; Consumer Protection; Credit Cards; Interest Rates; 

Good luck on recovering funds.
The best I can do is to get the calls and charges stopped.
 
5
World

Israeli to Press Obama on Spy

Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for passing classified material to Israel and is said to be in poor health.
Classified Information and State Secrets; Espionage and Intelligence Services; Sentences (Criminal); 

They can ask.   We can refuse.
 
6
Business Day

Medicare Needs Fixing, but Not Right Now

New cost-saving methods have kindled hope among some scholars that Medicare could achieve savings just by cleaning out the health care system’s waste.
Medicare; Health Insurance and Managed Care; United States Politics and Government; Federal Budget (US); Baby Boomers; Pensions and Retirement Plans; 

Krugman:

Bernanke of Hippo

In discussing fiscal policy, I’ve been fond of quoting St. Augustine: “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet”. Trying to slash the deficit while the economy is still up against the zero lower bound is a really bad idea, because it will depress the economy further and hurt both growth and revenue.
What’s more, there really isn’t any huge urgency about deficit reduction. Borrowing costs are low, and current projections show only a modest rise in the debt-GDP ratio over the next decade. Beyond that there are bigger issues — but these issues don’t have to be solved right away, and should not be used to justify growth-killing austerity now.
But hey, I’m a crazy economic hippie, whom nobody agrees with — except, well, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Allowing for the constraints of rhetoric that come with his position, Ben Bernanke’s testimony today was highly Krugmanesque:
Significant progress has been made recently toward reducing the federal budget deficit over the next few years. The projections released earlier this month by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicate that, under current law, the federal deficit will narrow from 7 percent of GDP last year to 2-1/2 percent in fiscal year 2015.8 As a result, the federal debt held by the public (including that held by the Federal Reserve) is projected to remain roughly 75 percent of GDP through much of the current decade.
However, a substantial portion of the recent progress in lowering the deficit has been concentrated in near-term budget changes, which, taken together, could create a significant headwind for the economic recovery … Moreover, besides having adverse effects on jobs and incomes, a slower recovery would lead to less actual deficit reduction in the short run for any given set of fiscal actions.

To address both the near- and longer-term issues, the Congress and the Administration should consider replacing the sharp, frontloaded spending cuts required by the sequestration with policies that reduce the federal deficit more gradually in the near term but more substantially in the longer run.
Of course, credentials aren’t dispositive here; Bernanke could be all wrong, failing to understand that if we don’t slash spending now now now we’ll turn into Greece, Greece I tell you. But these remarks should give pause to all the people who imagine that “nobody” except me and a couple of other crazies think that we’re paying far too much attention to short-term deficits."

7
Opinion

Should Benefits Be Means-Tested?

Readers respond to an Op-Ed article about Social Security and Medicare and a column by David Brooks.
Elderly; Health Insurance and Managed Care; Social Security (US); Medicare; 

Do not "means test" these paid benefits.
To do so would be theft.
 
8
N.Y. / Region

Father Held in Visa Plot Stretching to Pakistan

Mohammad Ajmal Choudhry was arrested in Brooklyn and accused of filing false immigration documents for a man his daughter said she had been forced to marry in Pakistan.
Frauds and Swindling; Immigration and Emigration; Visas; Threats and Threatening Messages; Marriages; Murders and Attempted Murders; 

I celebrate the discovery of this plot and hope for its frustration.
 
9
Technology

Nokia Unveils Low-Priced Phones Amid Intensifying Global Competition

Nokia introduced two low-priced basic cellphones and two lower-priced Lumia Windows smartphones in an effort to regain sales in the low end of the fast-growing phone market.
Telephones and Telecommunications; Wireless Communications; Smartphones; Cellular Telephones; 

Microsoft induced panic is very destructive.
The price of the stock is appropriate.
The company is now in real danger.
 
10
Opinion

Two Key Foreign Policy Openings for Obama

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S. energy revolution create enormous opportunities for America.
Energy and Power; United States International Relations; Natural Gas; 

The opinion pages are the only possible place for this fiction.
11
N.Y. / Region

A Musical Pitch to Albany to Raise Minimum Wage

In a video on YouTube, restaurant workers stacking dishes, shaking drinks, chopping onions and plating burritos take a moment to lip-sync and dance along to the 1959 Motown hit “Money (That’s What I Want).”
Lobbying and Lobbyists; Minimum Wage; 

Just ok.  Put more energy behind the campaign.
 
12
U.S.

Voting Act Challenge Hinges on a Formula

The Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday in a case that challenges whether the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reflects changes in voting patterns and the broader culture.
Voting Rights Act (1965); Law and Legislation; Voter Registration and Requirements; Blacks; Discrimination; 

There was a war one hundred fifty years ago these challengers lost.

13
World

Settlers in West Bank Shoot Two Palestinians

Jewish settlers confronted Palestinian demonstrators in a West Bank village, according to villagers and an Israeli official.
Jews and Judaism; Palestinians; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; 

I have nothing to add.
 
14
Business Day

A Channel Reflects the Reshaping of TV Demographics

Bounce TV is aiming to reach African-American viewers through broadcast television, not cable.
Television; Advertising and Marketing; Blacks; Minorities; 

This reflects the need to sell rather than the facts.

The facts are a much harder story to tell.
 
15
Opinion

Limiting Carbon Dioxide Pollution by Power Plants

President Obama should require existing power plants to reduce their emissions by at least one-quarter by 2020.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Coal; Factories and Manufacturing; Carbon Dioxide; Alternative and Renewable Energy; 

The way to limit carbon dioxide is to limit carbon.
Power engineering exists to minimize costs.  
Most of cost is fuel.

16
Health

Is the Pope Frail?

Paying attention to frailty makes sense for the rest of us and our elders.
Elder Care; Elderly; 

yes
 
17
N.Y. / Region

Cheap Bus Fare Lures Riders Despite Company’s Troubles

Passengers shrugged off concerns about Fung Wah Bus Transportation, a popular Chinatown bus line, though its fleet was ordered off the road because of safety problems.
Buses; Traffic Accidents and Safety; Transportation; 

Operations have ceased.  The fleet has been ordered inspected.
Business has been halted has been reported on WNYC FM
 
18
U.S.

I'm Admitted. Now What?

The college admissions season is wearing down, and for the first time in my (quasi) adult life, I don’t know what happens next.
Admissions Standards; Colleges and Universities; Education; 

Money.  living arrangement.  reading ahead.  thinking.
Life is always full.
19
Business Day

Schwab Promotes Lower Cost of Its Index-Only 401(k)

The reduced cost of the index-only funds are partly offset, though, by a fee for individual investment advice.
401(k), 403(b) and 457 Plans; Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates); Retirement; Savings; 

An index fund follows an index rather than individual stocks.

Opinions vary.  the market is composed of stocks.  Stocks can and do  move markets.  I would buy stocks rather than markets and markets rather than indexes.
 
20
N.Y. / Region

Carrión, Sole Latino Candidate, Announces Third-Party Bid for Mayor

Adolfo Carrión Jr., a former Democrat and former Bronx borough president, won the support of the Independence Party last week.
Elections, Mayors; Third-Party Moves (US); Primaries and Caucuses; 

I do not get to vote in that election.
It looks like an array of bad choices.






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