Friday, March 15, 2013

@9:30, 3/14/13

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1
Opinion

The Facts on Fracking

By SUSAN L. BRANTLEY and ANNA MEYENDORFF | Mar 14, 2013
Environmentalists should consider the pros and cons of fracking in comparison with other technologies.
Hydraulic Fracturing; Coal; Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Shale; Natural Gas; Water Pollution; Global Warming; 

They don't matter.

We are continuing to produce and burn fossil carbon.  
The rate we are doing so is rising.
As a result the sea is rising.
Well supported opinion has the seas twenty feet deeper at the end of this century.
Twenty feet is more than enough to destroy our civilization.

2
Style

After a Divorce, Creeping Around Happiness

By AMY LAWTON | Mar 13, 2013
After a divorce, a mother looks for an honest conversation about what really makes us happy — and it’s hard to find.
Divorce, Separations and Annulments; Emotions; Families and Family Life; Happiness; Marriages; Parenting; 

Google just paid a fine for doing this in Europe.  
The Europeans seem to think they should have a monopoly on creeping.

"The joy is in the chase."

3
U.S.

Wrongfully Convicted and Seeking Restitution

By JACK HEALY | Mar 14, 2013
States are grappling with how to compensate the growing number of ex-prisoners for the years they spent locked up after being exonerated by DNA tests.
False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments; DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid); Prisons and Prisoners; Forensic Science; 

We are looking at two problems here.
The state has destroyed a "life" in error.  
What is owed to the person who's "life" was destroyed?
The state is limited to civil rights and money as restitution.
I think a lump sum is not the way to go if property was not seized or destroyed.
The jury system exists to minimize errors of fact.
Errors of fact are found to occur.  There is no appeal of jury findings.
Such an appeal process must be developed.
 
4
Opinion

Inadequate Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Mar 14, 2013
A study that shows widespread failure in ovarian-cancer treatment suggests a need for new ways to help patients and doctors find specialists who can help them.
Doctors; Ovarian Cancer; Cancer; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010); 

As described, the system has an initial conditions problem.
A newly certified oncologist would have a zero for zero record.
an undefined success rate. 
How does a new or unlucky doctor establish?
The failure rate is high in all instances.
Perhaps we should measure instances of failure to follow protocol or better
instances of failure to follow protocol resulting in accelerated death?
Failure to get informed consent would be the best measure under the very uncertain circumstances.  Almost half of those treated die within five years.
The deaths are randomly distributed.  Separating bad treatment from bad luck looks to be impossible.
 
5
Style

Portland, Ore., Approves Earned Sick Leave Policy

By KJ DELL'ANTONIA | Mar 13, 2013
The City Council in Portland, Ore., has passed a law that will enable many employees there to earn up to five paid sick days a year.
Family Leaves; Paid Time Off; Parenting; Women and Girls; Women's Rights; 

Better than nothing but it looks ungenerous to me.
 
6
U.S.

Clamor to Be Spared the Pain as Budget Cuts Descend

By ROBERT PEAR | Mar 14, 2013
The $85 billion in cuts, known as sequestration, have created new alliances and strange bedfellows among lobbyists who are seeking for their projects to be spared.
Lobbying and Lobbyists; Budgets and Budgeting; Reform and Reorganization; Health Insurance and Managed Care; Drugs (Pharmaceuticals); Research; United States Politics and Government; United States Defense and Military Forces; 

This is what smaller government looks like.  Tell the Republican party.
 
7
Opinion

Who Is Poor?

By THOMAS B. EDSALL | Mar 13, 2013
Three ways of defining poverty suggest three different approaches to relief.
Elderly; Poverty; United States Economy; Welfare (US); 

The discussion is inappropriate.  
All those with low disposable income and age appropriate investments are poor.
No money in the pocket that is not committed defines poor.

8
Health

Radiation Raises Women’s Risk of Heart Disease Only Slightly, Study Finds

By DENISE GRADY | Mar 14, 2013
Researchers have found that the benefits to women of treating breast cancer with radiation outweigh the risks of heart disease.
Radiation; Breast Cancer; Heart; Women and Girls; Research; 

Interesting but very late.   
The damage here was done in the last radiation treatment in a series that ran for six months.  
My memory of the events is not complete.   
A check of the records could be made.

9
Business Day

Market Edges Up, Lifting Dow to 9th Consecutive Gain

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mar 14, 2013
Stocks slipped at the start of trading, despite an unexpectedly strong increase in consumer spending last month.
Nasdaq Composite Index; Stocks and Bonds; Dow Jones Stock Average; Standard & Poor's 500-Stock Index; 

The market rose because there is money at the top of the income distribution that is seeking a return.
Money does nothing of itself.   Its owners are seeking a return.
 
10
N.Y. / Region

After Art House Eviction, Time for a Block Party in Clinton Hill

By ALAN FEUER | Mar 13, 2013
Hundreds of Arthur Wood’s neighbors and friends in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, are expected to show up on the street outside his house Friday afternoon for a salutatory shindig.
Art; Do It Yourself; Foreclosures; Historic Buildings and Sites; 

I will miss the structure.  It has been fun to see it against the sky.
 
11
Opinion

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, on Tax-Exempt Bonds

Mar 14, 2013
The conference says they are essential for financing public projects.
Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions; Corporate Taxes; Government Bonds; Infrastructure (Public Works); Federal Taxes (US); 

The cash that buys them is taxed.  The interest they yield is not taxed.
 
12
Business Day

Horse Meat Applicant’s Food Safety Is Questioned

By STEPHANIE STROM | Mar 14, 2013
The New Mexico company, Valley Meat, drew complaints over a two-year period from federal inspectors and state regulators over its disposal of remains when it processed cattle for beef.
Slaughterhouses; Meat; Horses; Waste Materials and Disposal; 

This looks like a solved problem in the text.
Let the wolves deal with the wild horses.
The modern horse is a human creation.
 
13
World

Mao's Anti-Pollution Face Mask

By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW | Mar 11, 2013
As anger bubbles up about pollution in China, online posters are altering a sacrosanct image of Chairman Mao to channel their frustration into humor.
Air Pollution; Environment; Masks; 

The air pollution is about burning coal.
The coal fires are about energy.
 
14
Fashion & Style

A Trainer to the Stars Who’s a Star-to-Be

By COURTNEY RUBIN | Mar 14, 2013
Harley Pasternak has made himself into the fitness go-to man to the stars, and gained celebrity himself.
Weight; Diet and Nutrition; Celebrities; Exercise; Cooking and Cookbooks; 

Cooking for two with minimal waste is enough of an art.

My bread is good.  I have not yet got a sour dough worth eating.
 
15
Business Day

Rates on Some Student Loans Again Set to Double

By ANN CARRNS | Mar 13, 2013
A year after Congress extended low interest rates on subsidized federal Stafford student loans, the rates are set to double at the end of June.
Credit and Debt; Interest Rates; Student Loans; 

Under the present conditions I do not expect congressional action.
Get the best deal you can.
 
16
 
World

Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, Anti-Hitler Plotter, Dies at 90

By WILLIAM YARDLEY | Mar 13, 2013
Mr. von Kleist was believed to be the last surviving member of an elaborate German assassination plan led by Col. Claus von Stauffenberg in 1944.
Holocaust and the Nazi Era; Deaths (Obituaries); Assassinations and Attempted Assassinations; World War II (1939-45);

The people are going.  War's distortions do not seem to fade.

17
Business Day

For Modern Retirees, There’s No Place Like Home

By KEITH SCHNEIDER | Mar 13, 2013
Housing plans for active retirees take into account the desire to be near urban centers and the wish to live at home as long as possible.
Retirement; Retirement Communities and Assisted Living; Computers and the Internet; Telephones and Telecommunications; Elderly; Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Infrastructure (Public Works); 

This is a sales effort.  
These schemes do not appear to work well.
Home is the best place to be old.  We will have to build.
 
18
World

Revolution and Its Aftermath Play Out on an Avenue That Defines a City

By KAREEM FAHIM | Mar 13, 2013
The changes along Avenue Habib Bourguiba reflect the tumult in Tunisia two years after a revolution deposed a president and ushered in an era of uncertainty.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Names, Geographical; Coups D'Etat and Attempted Coups D'Etat; Assassinations and Attempted Assassinations; Immolation; 

Let events play out.  
I have no way to convince a believer that faith kills.

19
N.Y. / Region

Kelly Questioned on Stop-and-Frisk Tactic at Council Budget Meeting

By WENDY RUDERMAN | Mar 13, 2013
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly appeared before the council to outline the Police Department’s budget, but council members seized the chance to discuss civil rights topics.
Budgets and Budgeting; Police Brutality and Misconduct; Civil Rights and Liberties; Search and Seizure; 

There is "something going right".  We have no idea what it is.
"Stop and frisk" is an irritant. 
Let us end the policy and watch the statistics.

20
U.S.

Washington: 3 Dead in Crash of Navy Prowler

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mar 12, 2013
An aircraft from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island crashed in eastern Washington on Monday morning and all three crew members died, the authorities said.
Deaths (Fatalities); Accidents and Safety; Aviation Accidents and Safety; Military Aircraft; United States Defense and Military Forces; 

This is an old and well used design.  
There were no parachutes.  The crew was surprised.
That is very surprising.  The investigation is required.

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@17:17

1
Opinion

Stop Stealing From Our Kids

By STEVEN RATTNER | Mar 14, 2013
Forget the sequester. Washington’s focus should be a short-term growth strategy, coupled with long-term reform of entitlement programs that threaten the nation’s fiscal solvency.
Federal Budget (US); Gross Domestic Product; Health Insurance and Managed Care; Identity Fraud; Income Inequality; Medicare; Social Security (US); Taxation; United States Economy; United States Politics and Government;

Steven Rattner is wrong.
The faithful do not learn.

"36 Comments

Running Government Like A Business or Family

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to knock down the bad analogy between governments and individuals, and the line that the government should act like an individual family or business, and cut back when times are tough. The key point is realizing interdependence: your spending is my income, my spending is your income, and if we all try to slash spending at the same time the result is a depression. Somebody needs to step up and spend when others won’t — and the government can and should be that somebody.
That said, the funny thing is that real individuals and businesses don’t behave the way the balanced-budget scolds claim. Businesses often borrow and spend when borrowing is cheap or they see high payoffs to investing; so do families. So Think Progress is doing good by pointing out how many of those deficit-fearing Congresscritters turn out to have quite large personal debts."

15
World

Bahrain: 2 Officers Are Sentenced for Torturing a Protester to Death

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mar 13, 2013
A defense lawyer in Bahrain said two police officers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for the fatal beating of an antigovernment protester in 2011.
Police Brutality and Misconduct; Sentences (Criminal); Decisions and Verdicts; Murders and Attempted Murders; Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Political Prisoners; 

"I was under orders" did not work at Nuremberg.
The regime that gave the orders was not making the trials.
In Bahrain the regime that gave the orders is making the trials.
I am not satisfied.
Technology

Tip of the Week: Saving Time and Typing With Google Chrome

By J.D. BIERSDORFER | Mar 14, 2013
New versions of the Google Chrome browser for the computer and Android devices let you use saved passwords and autofill information on all your devices.
Android (Operating System); Chrome (Browser); Computers and the Internet; Desktop Computers; Handheld Computers; 

I do not save passwords.  I hate Autofill.
Two features best avoided.     
I will stick with FireFox.

18
World

A Diarist at War

By PETER MAASS | Mar 14, 2013
The wartime writings of a Marine who invaded Iraq make up part of an exhibit at the Bronx Documentary Center.
Documentary Films and Programs; Iraq War (2003-11); September 11 (2001); United States Defense and Military Forces; World Trade Center (NYC); 

I do not feel much need to see the show.
 
19
Business Day

Telemarketer That Aimed at the Elderly Is Shut Down

By ANN CARRNS | Mar 12, 2013
The firm tried to trick elderly people into paying for medical alert services they didn’t order.
Consumer Protection; Elderly; Frauds and Swindling; Telemarketing; Threats and Threatening Messages; 

These persons do keep trying.  My procedure is to get a live person on the line and ask to be removed from their list.  It has worked so far.
 
20
Health

Graphic Novel Tackles H.I.V./AIDS in the South

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. | Mar 12, 2013
With the plotline and dialogue written by imprisoned teenagers, a graphic novel aims to explain the disease in language youths can relate to.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Comic Books and Strips; Prisons and Prisoners; Teenagers and Adolescence; 

I do not expect this to find a market.

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@21:30


2
Booming

Why Do My Knees Hurt?

By ERIC NAGOURNEY | Mar 14, 2013
The first generation to exercise is getting an unwanted message from its knees: slow down. Genetics plays a big role.
Baby Boomers; Knees; Age, Chronological; 

My knees do not hurt.  My feet hurt because shoes are not presently designed for standing or walking.  I must try again on shoes.

3
Technology

Reselling E-Books and the One-Penny Problem

By DAVID POGUE | Mar 14, 2013
Among other questions raised by proposals from Apple and Amazon for e-book resales is this one: When a resold digital book is just as good as a new one, what happens to prices?
Book Trade and Publishing; Books and Literature; E-Books and Readers; Shopping and Retail; 

One thing used books do is keep out of print material available.
Why would an eBook ever go out of "print"?

4
Style

Don't Lean In: Do We Want Mothers to Work Part-Time?

By KJ DELL'ANTONIA | Mar 14, 2013
When Pew researchers ask if survey respondents think it’s best for children if mothers work full-time, part-time, or not at all, they’re not asking the right question.
Children and Childhood; Parenting; Part-Time Employment; Polls and Public Opinion; Women and Girls; Work-Life Balance; Working Hours; 

The assumptions are sneaky.

6
Business

Thomson Reuters Editor Indicted on Charges of Aiding Hackers Group

By AMY CHOZICK | Mar 14, 2013
Matthew Keys, a 26-year-old social media editor, was charged with assisting the hacking collective Anonymous in an attack on the Los Angeles Times Web site.
Computer Security; Computers and the Internet; Cyberattacks and Hackers; News and News Media; Newspapers; 

More care is called for.

11
Health

Breast-Feeding May Not Lead to Leaner Children

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR | Mar 14, 2013
Breast-feeding confers benefits, but a lower risk for obesity may not be one of them.
Breastfeeding; Children and Childhood; Obesity; Weight; 

There are limits to the benefit.

I have no input on the matter.  
Should I be asked,  
nursing is good for the child and probably for the mother. 


16
Fashion & Style

The Naked Man Doesn’t Dance

By MARISA MELTZER | Mar 14, 2013
The man at some new bachelorette parties is a model, not a stripper, and guests take to easels to sketch his likeness.
Parties (Social); Strip Clubs and Strippers; Weddings and Engagements; 

Your party.  
I am not ready to star at such an event.


18
Business Day

Cities Weigh Taking Electricity Business From Private Utilities

By DIANE CARDWELL | Mar 14, 2013
Municipalities are showing an interest in creating their own utilities, reflecting concerns about climate change and responses to power disruptions.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Electric Light and Power; Local Government; Alternative and Renewable Energy; Power Outages and Blackouts; 

Public is just a bit cheaper.
19
Autos

Petition by Owner Prompts Recall of 183,000 Honda Vehicles

By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN | Mar 14, 2013
Carrie Carvalho of Arlington, Mass., filed a formal defect petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requiring the agency to review her concern.
Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Automobiles; Brakes; Recalls and Bans of Products; 

This is a fault.  I will avoid  Honda products until it is remedied. 
20
Business Day

After Rough Patch, ‘The Bachelor’ Wins Back Viewers

By AMY CHOZICK and BILL CARTER | Mar 11, 2013
After several seasons in decline, ABC’s “The Bachelor” has had a resurgence rare among network reality shows thanks to social media, casting and a push to attract younger viewers.
Reality Television; Television; Dating and Courtship; Ratings (Audience Measurement);

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@23:20

17
Business Day

Initial Tests of Battery by Boeing Fell Short

By CHRISTOPHER DREW and JAD MOUAWAD | Mar 14, 2013
Evaluations that Boeing conducted while the the 787 jet was in development proved to be far off the mark in predicting what would happen when the plane was in use.
Airlines and Airplanes; Aviation Accidents and Safety; Batteries; Lithium (Metal); 

Just running in circles.
18
Science

Ancient Strait Is Clue in Falklands Wolf’s Origin

By SINDYA N. BHANOO | Mar 12, 2013
Scientists believe the islands’ lone land mammal, now long extinct, got there about 18,000 to 25,000 years ago across a shallow strait that would periodically freeze.
Wolves; Endangered and Extinct Species; Ice Age; Research; 

Ok
 
19
Opinion

Good News on the Shark Front

Mar 13, 2013
Delegates in a world wildlife convention united to protect five shark species from powerful commercial interests.
Endangered and Extinct Species; Sharks; Oceans and Seas; Editorials; 

None too soon.
20
Business Day

Private Equity Squeezes Out Cash Long After Its Exit

By LYNNLEY BROWNING | Mar 13, 2013
An obscure tax strategy is the latest technique that private equity firms are using to extract money from their companies well after completing an initial public offering.
Corporate Taxes; Initial Public Offerings; Private Equity; 

Not clear to me.   Not a game I can play.










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