U.S.

L. Kerpelman, Who Led School Prayer Case, Dies at 88

By JOHN SCHWARTZ | Oct 3, 2013

Mr. Kerpelman successfully argued a landmark Supreme Court case in 1963 that led to a ban on state-supported prayer in public schools.

Prayers and Prayer Books; Education (K-12); Deaths (Obituaries); Religion-State Relations;

There is always more work than there are people to do it.

There is now one less working on the continuing project.

N.Y. / Region

Brooklyn Inquiry Finds Witness Who Says Police Coached Him to Lie

By FRANCES ROBLES | Oct 3, 2013

A crucial witness said he lied nearly 20 years ago in giving evidence for a conviction handled by the former detective Louis Scarcella, whose cases and tactics are now being scrutinized.

Witnesses; False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments; Police Brutality, Misconduct and Shootings; Murders and Attempted Murders;

Louis Scarcella looks to be a lawless man in pursuit of public order.

Methods matter.

I can understand the district attorney's reluctance to open this can of worms.

Duty calls.

Our promise is justice and there is very little of it here.

Magazine

Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?

By EILEEN POLLACK | Oct 6, 2013

Hint: The answer has more to do with “The Big Bang Theory” than with longstanding theories about men’s so-called natural aptitude.

Science and Technology; Discrimination; Physics; Women and Girls; Education (Secondary);

I am glad I read that.

I agree it is culture.

The prescription needs adjustment.

Cultural design is a field I have not attempted.

Technology

A Watch That Sinks Under Its Features

By DAVID POGUE | Oct 3, 2013

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear watch is ambitious and even amazing. But it has too many components for one gadget.

Wearable Computing; Computers and the Internet; Watches and Clocks;

. . . "Going on: You swipe down to open the camera, but only at the Home screen. Swipe down to go back one screen if you’re not at the Home screen. Tap and hold with two fingers to see the list of recent apps. Double tap with one finger to zoom in. Double-tap with two fingers to adjust the brightness. Tap four times with six fingers in the rhythm of Beethoven’s Fifth to call a mental health professional.

Nobody will buy this watch, and nobody should. But there’s something here under all the rubble." . . .

Technology

100 Seconds With Pogue: Galaxy Gear

David Pogue | Oct 2, 2013

The Times’s David Pogue tests out Samsung’s new smartwatch.

Watches and Clocks; Mobile Applications; Wearable Computing;

Ditto.

Sports

Bob Kurland, 88, Pioneer for Basketball’s Big Men, Dies

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN | Oct 1, 2013

Kurland, a three-time all-American who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, was known for his athleticism in an era when tall players were considered oddities.

Basketball (College); Deaths (Obituaries);

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-womens-championship-connecticut-louisville.html

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/04/09/sports/ncaabasketball/NCAA-WOMENS-FINAL.html?ref=ncaabasketball

"The Connecticut pep band for the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball championship game between UConn and Louisville on Tuesday night in New Orleans. UConn won, 93-60, the most lopsided title game ever."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/sports/ncaabasketball/final-four-uconns-caroline-doty-a-symbol-of-perseverance.html

An Appreciation of Perseverance

Style

A Park Slope Mom Raises a Hunter

By LARISSA PHILLIPS | Oct 2, 2013

When I was a mother in Brooklyn, the rule was no gun play. Water guns came in the shape of dolphins. Now, I can’t wait for my 14-year-old son to fill our freezer with venison.

Deer; Gun Control; Hunting and Trapping; Local Food; Parenting; Venison;

I am not ready to take up hunting.

I agree that fewer deer is a very good idea.

It is now probably black powder season.

Rifle season opens about Columbus day.

It is a good time to be out of the edges of the woods.

How far do you want to carry a carcass?

Opinion

Why The Right Fights

By ROSS DOUTHAT | Oct 2, 2013

The historical roots of contemporary conservative intransigence.

Conservatism (US Politics); Liberalism (US Politics); Tea Party Movement;

As long as the conservatives are in control and stick to the "no deficit spending" faith the economy will continue to shrink.

"A foolish romanticism" will starve everyone.

Science

Earth’s Oxygen: A Mystery Easy to Take for Granted

By CARL ZIMMER | Oct 3, 2013

It took billions of years for Earth’s atmosphere to have enough oxygen to keep animals like us alive. Scientists are still making fundamental discoveries about the element’s history.

Oxygen; Earth; Science and Technology;

We are not so much concerned with a few hundred million years but with the short term. he next thousand years are critical to the anthropocene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene

World

France: Court Throws Out Cases Claiming Racial Profiling by Police

By SCOTT SAYARE | Oct 3, 2013

A court in Paris threw out lawsuits that claimed illegal racial profiling by the police engaged in public identity checks and pat-downs.

Racial Profiling; Police; Suits and Litigation (Civil);

" The decisions will be appealed, said Lanna Hollo, a legal officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, an advocacy organization that supported the lawsuits."

Education

In Surprise Move, President of Howard University Resigns as Budget Troubles Loom

By TAMAR LEWIN | Oct 3, 2013

Sidney A. Ribeau recently extended his term through spring 2015, but Howard’s academic deans had charged that the university was plagued by fiscal mismanagement.

Credit Ratings and Credit Rating Agencies;

If a position makes life hell a change of position is in order.

Job Market

Back to the Ballet

By KATHERINE E. BROWN | Sep 29, 2013

The executive director of the New York City Ballet grew up in a musical family — and knew early in life that she wanted to be involved in the arts.

Executives and Management (Theory); Careers and Professions;

A relatively simple and very successful art management career.

I have never wanted to manage others.

Opinion

Three Sisters (Not Chekhov’s)

By JOE NOCERA | Sep 28, 2013

From adequate training to innovative reforms, in talking education with a family of teachers, you get a range of perspectives.

Teachers and School Employees; Education (K-12);

The geocentric universe is a theory.
It held up the development of astronomy for about two thousand years.
Platonic perfection is another theory that still haunts us.
A theory not based on observed facts is worse than useless.
It implies that the facts and not the theory are wrong.

Educational theory appears to be wrong.
Let us have it corrected or rewritten.
It is easier to start fresh than to try to fight every wrong conclusion individually.

World

Rise in Deadly Attacks on Shiites in Iraq Stirs Anger at Government

By TIM ARANGO | Sep 28, 2013

The inability of the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to control terrorist violence has drawn complaints of incompetence and corruption.

Shiite Muslims; Terrorism; Iraq War (2003-11); Sunni Muslims;

The sectarian civil war never ended. There was an armistice while the U.S. withdrew.
There will be another dictator. Soon if not now.

Opinion

Fixing Penn Station Without Rebuilding It

By ROBERT W. PREVIDI | Oct 2, 2013

Simple ways to help the unfortunate 440,000 passengers who pass through the station’s claustrophobic maze every weekday.

Pennsylvania Station (NYC); Transit Systems; Railroads; Infrastructure (Public Works);

Penn Station as it exists is the result of 160 years of vigorous competition
and ineffective regulation. It could serve as the model for the G.O.P. ideal government. What we see there is competition between several agencies.
One New Jersey, one three state, two New York state and one federal.
All with different budgets and jealous managers.
The passengers are not the primary concern of these subsidized agencies.
Ancient history is the master of this Gordian knot.
The wonder is that there are not duels in the passages and the trash and rats are controlled.

Business Day

Delaware Judge Rules for Sirius Board in Shareholder Suit

By REUTERS | Sep 28, 2013

The board of Sirius XM Radio did not breach its duty to shareholders by allowing a takeover by Liberty Media without demanding a premium for the stock, the judge ruled.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures; Decisions and Verdicts;

The deal was a good alternative to a "fire sale" after bankruptcy.
The assets of Sirius XM Radio survive mostly.

World

Part II: Lessons From Post-Soviet Afghanistan Haunt Debate on Syria

By KRISTEN ROUSE | Sep 25, 2013

Kristen L. Rouse, a captain in the Army National Guard, says the all-consuming flames of civil war are unforgiving, and the damage can never be undone.

Afghanistan War (2001- ); International Relations; Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Refugees and Displaced Persons; Translation and Interpreters; United States Defense and Military Forces;

Kristen Rouse is correct.
We must recognize that the civil war in Syria is a proxy religious war supported by Iran and Hamas as agents for Shia and the Turkish flavor of Suni.
As far as I can guess the U.N. Security Council is the only agency that can
intervene.
We must allow the diplomats to work.

Books

Tom Clancy, Best-Selling Master of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66

By JULIE BOSMAN | Oct 3, 2013

Mr. Clancy’s books were successfully transformed into blockbuster Hollywood films, including “Patriot Games,” “The Hunt for Red October” and “Clear and Present Danger.”

Books and Literature; Deaths (Obituaries);

I read his early works with visceral pleasure while I bridled at his politics.
I will miss what he might have written next.

U.S.

Obama Sets Conditions for Talks: Pass Funding and Raise Debt Ceiling

By JACKIE CALMES and JONATHAN WEISMAN | Oct 3, 2013

On the second day of the government shutdown, President Obama urged passage of a stopgap spending measure and a debt-ceiling increase, but there were no signs of progress after a meeting.

United States Politics and Government; Law and Legislation;

There is nothing to negotiate.
The pain is not intense enough as yet.
Self immolation has yet to change the mind of the incinerated.
I do not yet want the G.O.P. to escape their pyre.

U.S.

Staunch Group of Republicans Outflanks House Leaders

By JONATHAN WEISMAN and ASHLEY PARKER | Oct 2, 2013

A powerful group of conservative hard-liners is leading party bosses in the House, and increasingly angering a widening group of fellow Republicans.

United States Politics and Government; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010); Federal Budget (US); Shutdowns (Institutional); Tea Party Movement;

John Boehner can bring the required bill to the floor.
We are told it will pass. We know it will pass in the Senate and be signed into law by President Obama.

This is Speaker Boehner's crisis.
The required bill will split the Republican Caucus and cost Boehner his speakership and probably his membership.

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@23:30

N.Y. / Region

A Pioneering AIDS Prevention Group Struggles to Stay Relevant

By MARC SANTORA | Oct 4, 2013

Critics say Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the nation’s first group dedicated to the prevention of H.I.V./AIDS, has lost its sense of urgency in combating the disease.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Nonprofit Organizations;

I have no magic prevention scheme.

Best would be an effective vaccine.

That is not the business G.M.H.C. is in.

Testing and treatment under Obama-care is a possibility

The organization cannot do that directly but can advise and guide.

It can run a crisis clinic at another address.

It can try to develop a set of safe sex manners.

It can support educational street theater.

It could throw awareness parties.

It can try to teach effective action to the panicked.