NEW THINGS: @11:20, 3/6/13

Real Estate

Construction That Focuses on Health of Residents

By JOE GOSE | Mar 6, 2013

Some projects are now including health impact assessments, which include environmentally friendly materials and ways to promote physical activity.

Area Planning and Renewal; Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Affordable Housing; Geothermal Power; Building (Construction);

Mostly a sales brochure.

World

India's Record on Terror Attacks Holds Lessons for Hyderabad

By MALAVIKA VYAWAHARE | Mar 5, 2013

Lack of political consensus on terror laws and poor conviction rates have resulted in fewer breakthroughs in terror-related crimes.

Espionage and Intelligence Services; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations; Law and Legislation; Police; Terrorism;

More religious war.

U.S.

Anger and Kudos as Florida Governor Tacks Left

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ | Mar 6, 2013

Gov. Rick Scott said he did not change so much as Florida’s economy and deficit changed, freeing him to spend money.

Budgets and Budgeting; Medicaid; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010); Tea Party Movement;

Reality gets through to Gov. Scott. Florida has no place for reality.

World

Prime Minister Promises to End Thailand’s Ivory Trade

By DAN LEVIN | Mar 4, 2013

The announcement adds pressure on China to halt its legal ivory trade, which experts say has helped fuel the highest rate of African elephant poaching in decades.

Ivory; Poaching (Wildlife); Elephants; Endangered and Extinct Species;

Announced intent. Health care in the US is taking 90+years.

Business Day

Futures Agency's Leader Is Expected to Remain

By BEN PROTESS | Mar 5, 2013

Gary Gensler, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is assuring officials that he plans to remain in the Obama administration through at least December even as he weighs other options, according to people briefed on the matter.

Appointments and Executive Changes; Banking and Financial Institutions; Commodities; Derivatives (Financial Instruments); Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010); Regulation and Deregulation of Industry;

Gary Gensler would have a very difficult time with senate confirmation.

Education

Financing for Colleges Declines as Costs Rise

By TAMAR LEWIN | Mar 6, 2013

Experts say there is a long-term trend of shifting the cost of higher education from the public onto students and their families.

Colleges and Universities; Tuition; Financial Aid (Education); Recession and Depression;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_tuition_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_tuition_in_the_United_States#Historical_trends

File:InflationTuitionMedicalGeneral1978to2008.png

InflationTuitionMedicalGeneral1978to2008.png ‎(663 × 531 pixels, file size: 23 KB, MIME type: image/png)

This looks like college is only for the five percent.
To limit demand, raise the price.

Opinion

Protecting Voting Rights

Mar 6, 2013

An Alabama man involved in a case before the Supreme Court says his county needs federal oversight.

Blacks; Voter Registration and Requirements; Voting Rights Act (1965);

Section five is needed and working.
The supervised area should be larger.
The states rights group lost the war in 1865.
They won the peace in 1877.
Recently they think they deserve reparations.

Business Day

Economic Reports for the Week Ahead

Mar 4, 2013

Data to be released will include employment figures for February and the trade deficit for January, and Staples and Kroger are among the companies scheduled to report earnings.

Banking and Financial Institutions; United States Economy; Unemployment; Company Reports;

All these numbers speak to how things were.
Things are different. They may not be improving.

Opinion

Repent, Dick Cheney

By MAUREEN DOWD | Mar 6, 2013

This just in from the former vice president: Everyone else is wrong. Yes, Condi, he’s talking to you.

September 11 (2001); Iraq War (2003-11); United States Politics and Government;

Maureen Dowd knows a monster when it wears a label.

World

Bangalore Drivers Plead Cases in 'Court of Instant Traffic Justice'

By SARITHA RAI | Mar 6, 2013

Citizens turn arbitrators in minor road accidents, thanks to their dwindling faith in the system.

Police; Roads and Traffic;

This might be a case for license plate readers driving registration traps.
Insurance can be required to maintain registration. Registration can be checked from the plate. The process can be automated and the result fed to pursuit teams with a digital picture of the offending vehicle and the plate identifier.
The software exists.

Technology

Microsoft Faces Fine in Europe After Breaking a Deal

By JAMES KANTER | Mar 6, 2013

The fine for failing to give Windows users the choice of competing Web browsers would be the first levied by the European Union for neglecting to comply with a settlement.

Fines (Penalties); Windows (Operating System); Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Windows (Operating System);

I now understand why my Windows XP has become so unstable.
I will run FireFox and AVG-Free on an unpatched version.
That will allow me to run Flash and other things.
Microsoft has earned their fine.

Opinion

Occupy Rice Paddy

By SWE WIN | Mar 5, 2013

Despite reforms in Myanmar, many grievances remain and the downtrodden are less and less afraid to express them.

Agriculture and Farming; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Economic Conditions and Trends; Foreign Investments; Irrigation; Land Use Policies;

There is extensive law on this topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
You can read all about it.

Opinion

The Competition Drug

By ROGER COHEN | Mar 5, 2013

Adderall has become to college what steroids are to baseball: an illicit performance enhancer for a fiercely competitive environment.

Drugs (Pharmaceuticals); Adderall (Drug); Youth; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Colleges and Universities; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Social Conditions and Trends;

As we learned about 1968, "Speed Kills"

The second world war taught the same lesson.

Then it was amphetamine then methamphetamine and now Adderall.
The name changes, the chemistry does not.

U.S.

Coroner Disputes Family’s Account of Mississippi Mayoral Candidate’s Death

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and ROBBIE BROWN | Mar 6, 2013

Although the cause of death for a mayoral candidate in Clarksdale, Miss., remains unclear, an official says Marco W. McMillian was not killed by being dragged, burned or beaten.

Elections, Mayors; Murders and Attempted Murders; Forensic Science;

Past time to change the coroner.
Line current is cheap and easy. The burns are small.

World

North Korea Threatens to Attack U.S. With ‘Lighter and Smaller Nukes’

By CHOE SANG-HUN | Mar 6, 2013

North Korea said on Tuesday that it would cut off a hot line with the United States military in South Korea, calling the truce that stopped the Korean War in 1953 null and void.

Nuclear Tests; Missiles and Missile Defense Systems; Defense and Military Forces;

It is time the Chinese cleaned house.

Opinion

Timid Use of the Pardon Power

Mar 5, 2013

Seventeen new pardons are a step in the right direction but are still disappointing for a president whose clemency record is woeful.

Amnesties, Commutations and Pardons; Crime and Criminals; Mandatory Sentencing; Editorials;

The house would very happily impeach this president.
They would do it on any grounds that would get them a conviction in the senate.

Technology

Q&A: Checking a Web Site's Security

By J.D. BIERSDORFER | Mar 6, 2013

Google Chrome and other browsers can warn you if something does not seem right with a Web site’s security credentials.

Chrome (Browser); Computer Security; Computers and the Internet; E-Commerce;

That is the way it is supposed to work.
Microsoft has been trying to privatize security certificates.
I do no business over the web. If there is no cash at stake, there is no risk.

Style

What Parental Leave Does Your Employer Offer?

By KJ DELL'ANTONIA | Mar 5, 2013

We’re tracking America’s corporate family leave policies.

Families and Family Life; Family Leaves; Parenting; Women and Girls;

Negotiated.
For you, as much leave as you want.

U.S.

California, on Brink of Recovery, Braces for Setback on Federal Aid

By NORIMITSU ONISHI | Mar 6, 2013

State officials estimate $9 billion of cuts in federal aid and are trying to anticipate where those cuts will hit hardest as they wait for details from Washington.

Federal Budget (US); Federal Aid (US); Labor and Jobs; Defense Contracts; Education (K-12); Colleges and Universities; United States Economy; United States Politics and Government;

As people have said in other circumstances:
"If you don't own it, you don't control it."
There is good reason for a state to tax its population to pay for its programs.
The liberals do not always control the purse strings.

World

Blast Kills at Least 45 Pakistanis in Shiite District of Karachi

By DECLAN WALSH and SALMAN MASOOD | Mar 4, 2013

The attack suggests Sunni militant groups are widening their brutal campaign against the country’s Shiite minority.

Terrorism; Muslims and Islam; Bombs and Explosives;

The sects of Islam are at war. None of the large sects is liberal or modern.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@12:50

Real Estate

Construction That Focuses on Health of Residents

By JOE GOSE | Mar 6, 2013

World

India's Record on Terror Attacks Holds Lessons for Hyderabad

By MALAVIKA VYAWAHARE | Mar 5, 2013

Business Day

New Card Offers Cash Back for Paying on Time

By ANN CARRNS | Mar 6, 2013

A new card rewards users with cash back for paying on time.

Banking and Financial Institutions; Credit Cards; Interest Rates;

They punish for late or any other thing. This is a mint at the dentist.

U.S.

Anger and Kudos as Florida Governor Tacks Left

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ | Mar 6, 2013

World

Prime Minister Promises to End Thailand’s Ivory Trade

By DAN LEVIN | Mar 4, 2013

Business Day

Futures Agency's Leader Is Expected to Remain

By BEN PROTESS | Mar 5, 2013

Education

Financing for Colleges Declines as Costs Rise

By TAMAR LEWIN | Mar 6, 2013

Opinion

Harpers Ferry, Redux

By ETHAN J. KYTLE | Mar 6, 2013

How John Brown’s 1859 raid inspired a minister-turned-colonel to carry out a similar attack on Jacksonville, Fla. in 1863.

Blacks; Civil War (US) (1861-65); Slavery;

There has been only one successful slave revolt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toussaint_l%27overture
Conservatism is still horrified.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Dessalines

Opinion

Protecting Voting Rights

Mar 6, 2013

Business Day

Economic Reports for the Week Ahead

Mar 4, 2013

Opinion

Repent, Dick Cheney

By MAUREEN DOWD | Mar 6, 2013

World

Bangalore Drivers Plead Cases in 'Court of Instant Traffic Justice'

By SARITHA RAI | Mar 6, 2013

Technology

Microsoft Faces Fine in Europe After Breaking a Deal

By JAMES KANTER | Mar 6, 2013

Opinion

The Competition Drug

By ROGER COHEN | Mar 5, 2013

U.S.

Coroner Disputes Family’s Account of Mississippi Mayoral Candidate’s Death

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and ROBBIE BROWN | Mar 6, 2013

World

North Korea Threatens to Attack U.S. With ‘Lighter and Smaller Nukes’

By CHOE SANG-HUN | Mar 6, 2013

Opinion

Timid Use of the Pardon Power

Mar 5, 2013

Technology

Q&A: Checking a Web Site's Security

By J.D. BIERSDORFER | Mar 6, 2013

Style

What Parental Leave Does Your Employer Offer?

By KJ DELL'ANTONIA | Mar 5, 2013

As much as you need. We will negotiate.

U.S.

California, on Brink of Recovery, Braces for Setback on Federal Aid

By NORIMITSU ONISHI | Mar 6, 2013

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@15:40

Opinion

Schools, and Syllabuses, Designed With the Environment in Mind

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | Mar 6, 2013

A look at schools where design and teaching focus on energy and the environment.

Architecture; Education (K-12); Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); Museums; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Restoration and Renovation; Satellites; Science and Technology; Solar Energy; Space; Television; Wind Power;

Bookmarked.

There may be something here.

Real Estate

Construction That Focuses on Health of Residents

By JOE GOSE | Mar 6, 2013

World

India's Record on Terror Attacks Holds Lessons for Hyderabad

By MALAVIKA VYAWAHARE | Mar 5, 2013

Business Day

Sallie Mae Lowers Top Loan Rates for Graduate Students

By ANN CARRNS | Mar 6, 2013

Sallie Mae said the lower maximum interest rates reflected the educational achievement and greater earnings potential of graduate students.

Credit and Debt; Graduate Schools and Students; Interest Rates; Student Loans;

"But students who are going into the nonprofit or public sector, where salaries may be lower and there may be more of a need for a flexible repayment, may be better off with federal loans and the protections they offer."

Think about Kickstarter.

Guaranteed student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

There is some word of forgivness after ten years.