1
Science
False Memory Planted in a Mouse Brain, Study Shows
The findings provide detailed clues to how false or mistaken memories may form in human brains and is a reminder of how unreliable memory can be.
2
U.S.
Texas’ Bid to Ease Mandatory Exams for Public School Students
The Legislature passed a bill to reduce the number of tests, currently 17, public school students must take before high school, but a federal waiver is probably needed.
3
Opinion
'Harvesting the Biosphere' - Bill Gates on Vaclav Smil
Bill Gates explores a new book by Vaclav Smil tallying the growing human demands on the biosphere.
4
U.S.
Hopes for a Fish Revival as a Dam Is Demolished
The Penobscot River is expected to begin yielding river herring, Atlantic salmon and other fish in numbers not seen in centuries.
5
World
Ultra-Orthodox Candidates Elected as Israel’s Chief Rabbis
Two candidates backed by ultra-Orthodox parties were elected as Israel’s chief rabbis, defeating a rabbi who had promised, in an aggressive campaign, to transform the troubled rabbinate.
6
Business Day
Business Spending Lifts Orders for Durable Factory Goods
The Commerce Department said that orders for durable goods increased 4.2 percent last month, suggesting American companies are more confident in the economy.
7
Opinion
The Faithful’s Failings
The Catholic Church isn’t the only place where child sexual abuse cases have exposed religious communities as havens for wrongdoing.
8
N.Y. / Region
The Real Beauty Within
Metropolitan Diary: A subway rider was silently noting a woman’s physical appearance, but her kindness showed what was more important.
9
Technology
Under Code, Apps Would Disclose Collection of Data
Some app developers and consumer advocates have agreed to test a voluntary code that would require participating developers to tell consumers whether their apps are collecting personal information.
10
World
Fallen Leader Indicted for Corruption in China
Bo Xilai, who had been expelled from the Communist Party Politburo, was indicted Thursday on bribery and corruption charges. His trial was expected within weeks.
11
Books
A Religious Legacy, With Its Leftward Tilt, Is Reconsidered
After decades of focusing on evangelicals, historians are reassessing the legacy of liberal Protestantism.
12
Business Day
Support for College Students and Banks: Not So Different
Proposals to link the interest rates for federal student loans to the rate at which banks borrow from the Federal Reserve are misguided but provide a useful analogy, an economist writes.
13
Arts
A Restored Louisiana Plantation and Its Lifeblood
A plantation being restored in Wallace, La., will encourage visitors to reflect on the daily lives of slaves rather than focus on the grand 1790s house of the onetime owners.
14
Business Day
Revolution Fund Invests $40 Million in E-Commerce Start-Up
The Revolution growth fund, started by Steve Case and two former AOL colleagues, has invested in Bigcommerce, a start-up whose software helps companies create and manage online stores.
15
Fashion & Style
Manning Up in the Heat
Gaming a heat wave is no walk in the park. Designers share their strategies.
16
Autos
Help for the Child Left Behind
Leaving a child in a hot car can be fatal, so Tomy International has created a child safety seat that sends warnings to a smartphone when a child is left in a parked car.
17
Dining & Wine
Bottarga, an Export That Stays at Home
Cured roe of mullet has the potential to make an impact on restaurant menus around the country.
18
World
Harsh Self-Assessment as Cuba Looks Within
President Raúl Castro and many of his citizens are bemoaning a loss of culture and civility in the nation.
19
Opinion
The Politics of Voter ID
More evidence that Democrats should actually be pleased when Republican push for voter identification.
20
Business Day
Britain’s Recovery Picks Up
Gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the three months that ended in June, an uptick amid signs of improvement elsewhere in Europe.
4
Home & Garden
A Mayoral Candidate Reflects on the Mosaic of His Life
Grand Central Terminal has been a touchstone of sorts throughout George McDonald’s life. Now he has a house that matches it.
7
8
9
11
14
15
16
17
18
Business Day
Halliburton Pleads Guilty to Destroying Evidence After Gulf Spill
The oil services company will pay the maximum allowable fine and be subject to three years of probation, the Justice Department said.
19
Opinion
Invitation to a Dialogue: Why Pay Off the Debt?
A mathematician argues that we are too focused on debt reduction. Readers are invited to respond.Losing the Belt
A number of people have asked me for a
quick, easy explanation of the difference between a government and a
family — basically, what’s wrong with the argument that when times are
tough the government should tighten its belt.
I’m working on it. But maybe we can use Greece as a quick illustration of the point.
After all, you could view Greece as being like a family that overspent, got itself into debt, and whose members now have to do all the things families do when they get in that position: slash spending on inessentials, postpone medical care and other big expenses, quit their jobs and reduce their incomes — oh, wait.
That’s the key point, of course. When a family tightens its belt it doesn’t put itself out of a job. When a government tightens its belt in a depressed economy, it puts lots of people out of jobs; and this is a negative even from the government’s own, narrowly fiscal point of view, since a shrinking economy means less revenue.
Now, you might argue that slashing government spending doesn’t actually cost jobs — that is, you might argue that if you spent the past few years in a cave or a conservative think tank, cut off from any information about how austerity is working in practice. For the results of austerity policies in Europe have been as good a test as you ever get in macroeconomics, and without exception big cuts in government spending have been followed by big declines in GDP.
So lose the belt; it’s a really bad metaphor."
I’m working on it. But maybe we can use Greece as a quick illustration of the point.
After all, you could view Greece as being like a family that overspent, got itself into debt, and whose members now have to do all the things families do when they get in that position: slash spending on inessentials, postpone medical care and other big expenses, quit their jobs and reduce their incomes — oh, wait.
That’s the key point, of course. When a family tightens its belt it doesn’t put itself out of a job. When a government tightens its belt in a depressed economy, it puts lots of people out of jobs; and this is a negative even from the government’s own, narrowly fiscal point of view, since a shrinking economy means less revenue.
Now, you might argue that slashing government spending doesn’t actually cost jobs — that is, you might argue that if you spent the past few years in a cave or a conservative think tank, cut off from any information about how austerity is working in practice. For the results of austerity policies in Europe have been as good a test as you ever get in macroeconomics, and without exception big cuts in government spending have been followed by big declines in GDP.
So lose the belt; it’s a really bad metaphor."
20
Business Day
British Recovery Picks Up, But Still Remains Fragile
Gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the three months that ended on June 30, an uptick amid signs of improvement elsewhere in Europe.
1
Booming
From Roving to Riches, a 44-Year Journey Together
Susan and Steve Schutz have built a greeting-card empire, raised three children (including a congressman) and weathered her depression, all side by side.
2
Opinion
A Universe Full of Planets
We stand on the verge of learning more about the nature of life than ever before.The Fermi paradox (or Fermi's paradox) is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilization and humanity's lack of contact with, or evidence for, such civilizations.[1] The basic points of the argument, made by physicists Enrico Fermi and Michael H. Hart, are:
- The Sun is a young star. There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are billions of years older;
- Some of these stars likely have Earth-like planets[2] which, if the Earth is typical, may develop intelligent life;
- Presumably some of these civilizations will develop interstellar travel, a technology Earth is investigating even now;
- At any practical pace of interstellar travel, the galaxy can be completely colonized in a few tens of millions of years.
4
Opinion
Forbes and Aspinwall Go to War
How two American businessmen came to undertake a secret mission against Confederate ships under construction in Britain.
5
Health
In Terms of Injury, Cities Safer Than Country
If you want to avoid death by injury, live in a large city — a new study has found they are safer than rural areas.
6
Autos
Wheelies: The Next NSX Edition
Acura will run its NSX prototype on the track next month, and a Ferrari used by Michael Jackson is headed to auction.
7
Health
Medical Procedures May Be Useless, or Worse
Many new techniques and medicines are either no more effective than the old ones, or worse, and many doctors persist in using practices that have been shown to be useless or harmful, a new analysis shows.
8
11
12
World
European Court Says Russia Did Not Persecute Ex-Tycoon
The judges said the charges against Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky were sufficient to explain his prosecution, but added that his rights were violated in other ways.
13
N.Y. / Region
M.T.A. Ponders Transit for a New Generation
As part of an overview on transit strategies for the next 20 years, officials built a detailed profile of the travelers of the “millennial” age group — travelers born after 1980.
14
World
Chinese Search for Infant Formula Goes Global
Chinese are buying infant milk powder made everywhere but China, and that has led to shortages in at least a half-dozen countries, and purchase and importation limits.
15
U.S.
Mental Health Cuts in Utah Leave Patients Adrift
Citing budget cuts, a Utah mental health provider told more than 2,000 patients to seek services elsewhere, shaking the mental health community there.
16
Business Day
Manufacturing in China Contracts Further
The results of a preliminary July survey released Wednesday showed China’s manufacturing sector in its worst shape in 11 months.
17
18
U.S.
Willie Louis, Who Named the Killers of Emmett Till at Their Trial, Dies at 76
After walking through the thicket of Klansmen massed outside the courthouse, Mr. Louis testified in the murder of Emmett Till, a watershed moment in the civil rights movement.
19
U.S.
Martin’s Father Addresses Black Caucus in Congress
Tracy Martin opened comments by a panel of experts brought together by the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys to focus more attention on the issues that disproportionately affect them.
20
Umami
No comments:
Post a Comment