Sunday, October 20, 2013

@20:20 10/19/13

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1
Technology

To Catch Up, Walmart Moves to Amazon Turf

Walmart is beefing up its technology in an effort to compete with Amazon for Internet shoppers and the software engineers needed to attract them.
E-Commerce; Computers and the Internet; Hiring and Promotion 

Sales tax.  Amazon wins.
 
2
Business Day

After Pause, Resupplying Economic Data

Delayed data will trickle out over the month. September’s jobs report will not be released until next Tuesday.
United States Politics and Government; Shutdowns (Institutional); United States Economy; Unemployment 

There is a contingent that fears the data.  

Krugman:
"October 19, 2013, 10:19 am

ZLB Denial

Yes — if back in 2007 you denied the existence of liquidity traps, that is, denied that the zero lower bound on short-term interest rates places limits on monetary policy, you should long since have acknowledged that you were very, very wrong:
Since late 2007 the monetary base has risen more than 300 percent, while GDP and consumer prices have risen less than 20 percent. And no, the disconnect is not all due to the 0.25 percent interest rate the Fed pays on reserves.
You can argue that the Fed could have done more — it could have expanded its balance sheet even further, and/or moved into riskier assets, and/or done more to change expectations. But I don’t see how you can deny that making monetary policy effective has been far harder since we hit the ZLB than it was before, and that this retroactively casts great doubt on Friedman’s claims that the Fed could easily have prevented the Great Depression."

"

Lies, Damned Lies, and Fox News

The other day Sean Hannity featured some Real Americans telling tales of how they have been hurt by Obamacare. So Eric Stern, who used to work for Brian Schweitzer, had a bright idea: he actually called Hannity’s guests, to get the details.
Sure enough, the businessman who claimed that Obamacare was driving up his costs, forcing him to lay off workers, only has four employees — meaning that Obamacare has no effect whatsoever on his business. The two families complaining about soaring premiums haven’t actually checked out what’s on offer, and Stern estimates that they would in fact see major savings.
You have to wonder about the mindset of people who go on national TV to complain about how they’re suffering from a program based on nothing but what they think they heard somewhere. You might also wonder about what kind of alleged news show features such people without any check on their bona fides. But then again, consider the network."


3
Health

The Workout: Rowing With Esther Lofgren, Olympian

Members of the American national rowing team follow an intense training regimen of weight lifting and aerobic training for 40 to 60 hours a week. Olympic gold medalist Esther Lofgren takes us through the rower’s workout.
Rowing 
I am not a competitive rower.  I use a guide boat with a fixed seat and pinned oars.  I don't use it enough to get buff.  
I have a sliding seat wherry if you want to play that game.

4
Sports

Letters to the Editor

Readers respond to recent articles in the Sports section of The Times.
Football; Names, Organizational; Native Americans; Bankruptcies; Swimming 

The Detroit teams are not dependent on the city for funds.
 
5
Movies

Facing a Pitiless Void

Some of this season’s films address adversity in solitude — “All Is Lost” at sea, “Gravity” in space — or under confinement (“Captain Phillips”).
Movies 

A. O. Scott is laboring to make high allegory out of a trio of adventure tales.
Let them be the be the pulp stories the producers made.

6
Opinion

Activism in the Court

Richard L. Ottinger, dean emeritus of Pace Law School, responds to a news analysis, “How Activist Is the Supreme Court?”
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (Supreme Court Decision); Campaign Finance; Voting Rights Act (1965); Voter Registration and Requirements 

Shrill.
 
7
Booming

Advice About Assisted Living for Aging Relatives, Part 1

Debra Drelich, a specialist in geriatric care, answers questions about the types of facilities for assisted living, age guidelines, licensure and “aging gracefully in place.”
Elder Care; Nursing Homes; Retirement Communities and Assisted Living; Baby Boomers; Alzheimer's Disease; Home Health Care; Group Homes; Dementia 

For as long as I am here I can deal with the elder care.
If I pass the responsibility to my siblings they will have to work out another arrangement.
Mother has a horror of the inmates of assisted living.  I share it.
 
8
World

Canada: Shale Protest Ends in Arrests

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday that they had arrested at least 40 people in eastern New Brunswick at a violent protest over shale gas development.
Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Shale; Natural Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing; Water Pollution 

The tar sands must be worse than I thought.
 
9
Business Day

No Deposition of Bernanke in A.I.G. Lawsuit, Court Says

A panel of three federal appeals judges overturned a ruling from July, saying that Ben S. Bernanke did not have to testify in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit while in office.
Suits and Litigation (Civil); Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (2008) 

It is a fishing expedition.
The A.I.G. bailout was a lost bet for the stockholders.
10
U.S.

Kansas: Former Attorney General Loses Law License for Anti-Abortion Actions

The state Supreme Court indefinitely suspended the law license of former Attorney General Phill Kline on Friday after allegations of ethical misconduct during his investigation of abortion providers.
Legal Profession; Abortion 

The court is being very gentle with Phill Kline.

11
World

Between Big Cities, a Road Passes the Russia Left Behind

Along the highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg — a 12-hour trip by car — one sees great neglected stretches of land that seem drawn backward in time.
Roads and Traffic; Infrastructure (Public Works); Rural Areas 

Still traveling.
 
12
Sports

Many Ex-Players May Be Ineligible for Payment in N.F.L. Concussion Settlement

Only players with the most severe brain injuries will be compensated, and the estates of retirees who died before 2006 would be excluded, according to a draft of the proposed settlement.
Football; Concussions; Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy 

The proposed settlement should not "pass muster".
They will have to try again.
 
13
Your Money

With Giving Season in Full Force, Seeking to Understand Donors

A new report challenges some accepted wisdom about how people give money and why they sometimes don’t.
Philanthropy; Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions; High Net Worth Individuals 

My money enables me to give time.
 
14
Style

Children With Learning Disabilities Don't Need More Opportunity to Fail

Children may benefit from failure, but children with learning disabilities, like dyslexia, need more opportunities to succeed.
Children and Childhood; Dyslexia; Education (K-12); Intelligence and Intelligence Tests (IQ); Parenting; Reading and Writing Skills (Education) 

Yes but.   
The testing program is designed to uncover the inability to deal with the written language.  
In this dyslexia is indistinguishable from stupidity.
It has been horribly frustrating to both students and teachers.

15
Opinion

Here Comes the Neighborhood

An affordable housing development in Mount Laurel, N.J., holds promise for integration.
Affordable Housing; Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Public and Subsidized Housing; Sociology; Suburbs 

Interesting thought:
Slums are caused by abusive landlords.
 
16
Opinion

Color Me Blue

Mayor Bloomberg sold out New York for a small fee to a bank that has now changed the city’s color palette. And, created chaos.
Bicycles and Bicycling; Color 

A good color choice.  
It demands attention for the bicycles.
Perhaps more than the white "Ghost Bikes" that memorialize dead riders.
American drivers check the left much more easily than the right side.

17
Technology

Google Stock Tops $1,000, Highlighting a Tech Divide

The shares closed up by a record 14 percent in another reminder that a handful of companies have taken control of the technology industry.
Stocks and Bonds; Online Advertising 

Fashion.
 
18
U.S.

Texans Stick With Cruz Despite Defeat in Washington

Senator Ted Cruz’s defiance in Washington has only bolstered his standing in his home state, illustrating the growing political divide between Texas and the rest of the nation.
Tea Party Movement; Shutdowns (Institutional); Law and Legislation; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) 

Many Texans have been shot for their political opinions.
 
19
Opinion

The Damage Done

We may have managed to avoid driving off a cliff this week, but we are still on the road to nowhere.
United States Economy; United States Politics and Government; Shutdowns (Institutional); Federal Budget (US); Unemployment 

Understated.
 
20
U.S.

California Sees Gridlock Ease in Governing

New election rules in California, once a symbol of government dysfunction, may be having their desired effect of leaching some of the partisanship out of politics.
State Legislatures; Shutdowns (Institutional) 

Limiting the Gerrymander is a good thing. 

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

@23:58


1
U.S.

Larry Benoit, ‘Babe Ruth for Hunters,’ Is Dead at 89

Mr. Benoit tracked whitetail deer through northern New England and southern Canada for more than seven decades and became one of the nation’s most revered deer hunters.
Deer; Deaths (Obituaries); Hunting and Trapping 

I have no desire to hunt or protect deer.
Mr. Benoit was an admirable man.
 
2
Opinion

Activism in the Court

Richard L. Ottinger,
3
U.S.

No Claytie and the Lady This Time

Anyone hoping that a Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis governor’s race will be a repeat of Clayton Williams and Ann Richards is likely to be disappointed.
Elections, Governors 

Not responsible for Texas.
4
Booming

Advice About Assisted Living for Aging Relatives, Part 1

5
World

Canada: Shale Protest Ends in Arrests

6
Business Day

No Deposition of Bernanke in A.I.G. Lawsuit, Court Says

8
World

Between Big Cities, a Road Passes the Russia Left Behind



10
Your Money

With Giving Season in Full Force, Seeking to Understand Donors

12
Opinion

Here Comes the Neighborhood

13
World

To Form German Coalition, Merkel’s Party May Need to Support a Minimum Wage

Although Chancellor Angela Merkel is against introducing a nationwide minimum wage, it may be the price she has to pay to build the stable government she has promised voters.
Minimum Wage 

Merkel may not form a government.
 
14
Opinion

Color Me Blue

15
Health

Decades Later, Condemnation for a Skid Row Cancer Study

Two papers revisit the work of a Columbia researcher who conducted invasive surgery on skid row residents in vain hopes of curing cancer.
Prostate Cancer; Research; Colleges and Universities; Ethics (Institutional)

Even the derelicts have rights.
 
16
Business Day

Good (and Bad) News for Air Travelers

Speedier security checks are one reason to find cheer, but there are enrollment delays for the programs.
Airlines and Airplanes; Travel and Vacations; Airport Security; Business Travel 

The privilege of credit.
17
World

Aam Aadmi Party Breaking the Rules of Identity Politics

The party that made a foray into politics on an anticorruption agenda, is trying to establish its secular credentials in the upcoming Delhi state elections, by fielding a Muslim candidate in a constituency with a majority Hindu population.
Corruption (Institutional); Elections; Hinduism; Muslims and Islam 

The reform movement is strong to break religious lines.
 
18
Business Day

Philadelphia Newspaper’s Owners at War

The battle at The Philadelphia Inquirer may seem like one more bit of denouement for an industry on the wane, but it spotlights a fight for the soul of both an institution and a city.
Suits and Litigation (Civil); Newspapers 

Looks like breach of contract to me.
 
19
World

Swap Frees Lebanese Held by Syrian Rebels in Exchange for Turks

Lebanese citizens held by Syrian rebels were freed under the deal, as were Turkish pilots kidnapped by Lebanese gunmen.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ) 

Religious war.
 
20
Technology

Google Stock Tops $1,000, Highlighting a Tech Divide

The shares closed up by a record 14 percent in another reminder that a handful of companies have taken control of the technology industry.
Stocks and Bonds; Online Advertising

 
Google is wining.
Good policy matters.
 

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