@14:00, 2/15/14

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2

Business Day

The Untouchable Profits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Feb 15th 2014

An internal Treasury memo put the earnings of two mortgage giants off limits to their shareholders.

Mortgages; United States Economy 

A company is under no obligation to pay a dividend.

Investors are always speculating.

There was no expectation that housing would recover.

Housing has not recovered despite the sales people's statements.

When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit receivership policy may change.

The suits are groundless. 

AOL has become pushy about my portfolio list.  

They seem to want to know more than I want to tell them.

I will look for another service.

The U.S. economy looks to be doing about what it has been doing.

Obamacare is doing OK, new industry is growing slowly.  

Plungers are buying luxury housing.  Credit is mostly unavailable. 

11

Science

No Evidence of Coffee Break on Mars

By KENNETH CHANG | Feb 14th 2014

Scientists did not find a Dunkin’ Donuts on Mars, but they did figure out where a rock that looks like a small jelly doughnut came from.

Mars (Planet); Space and Astronomy 

The guess has become fact.

 

12

World

Uttar Pradesh Festival Honors Unsung Feminists from Region's Past

By SONIA PAUL | Feb 10th 2014

The organizers of the annual Sanatkada handicrafts festival in Lucknow commemorated 37 women from Awadh, the historical area in the modern-day state’s center.

Books and Literature; Children and Childhood; Colleges and Universities; Festivals; Music; Women and Girls; Women's Rights 

Every movement needs some heroes.

Feminism in India is trying again.

Buddhism  was thoroughly suppressed.

 

13

N.Y. / Region

Ban Sought on Microbeads in Beauty Items

By JOHN SCHWARTZ | Feb 10th 2014

Legislation to be introduced on Tuesday in the New York Assembly would prohibit the sale of personal care products that contain the plastic, which has turned up in lakes and rivers.

Cosmetics and Toiletries; Water Pollution; Conservation of Resources; Law and Legislation; Hazardous and Toxic Substances 

Not a bad idea.

 

14

World

Lawlessness Is Undoing Effort to Save Honduran Forests

By ELISABETH MALKIN | Feb 12th 2014

As Honduras becomes a transfer point for drug shipments, drug money is enabling invaders to deforest the land for businesses like ranching that can launder money.

Forests and Forestry; Logging Industry; Drug Abuse and Traffic; Land Use Policies; Conservation of Resources 

It is very hard to put the forest back.

We should subsidize heir efforts.

 

15

N.Y. / Region

In Terrorism Case, New Path to Testimony From 9/11 Suspect

By BENJAMIN WEISER | Feb 13th 2014

Government and defense lawyers have agreed to allow written questions to be submitted to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Terrorism; September 11 (2001); Detainees 

Bring him to the mainland and try him properly.

 

16

Sports

Doug Mohns, N.H.L. Player for 22 Seasons, Dies at 80

By BRUCE WEBER | Feb 12th 2014

Mr. Mohns was a stalwart of the old six-team league, playing half of his seasons with the Boston Bruins and having his most productive period with the Chicago Black Hawks.

Hockey, Ice; Stanley Cup; Deaths (Obituaries) 

ok.

 

17

Health

Report Says Not Enough Children Get HPV Vaccine

By DENISE GRADY | Feb 10th 2014

The vaccine can protect against cancer-causing strains of the virus, which is transmitted by intimate contact.

Vaccination and Immunization; Human Papillomavirus (HPV); Cancer 

The vaccine is a good thing.  See that people get it.

 

18

U.S.

Executions Are Suspended by Governor in Washington

By IAN LOVETT | Feb 11th 2014

The move makes Washington the latest in a series of states to step away from capital punishment and makes Gov. Jay Inslee the third Democratic governor in recent years to say something similar.

Capital Punishment 

“There are too many flaws in the system,” Mr. Inslee said on Tuesday. He noted that since the state’s current capital punishment laws were enacted in 1981, more than half of the 32 death sentences imposed in Washington had been overturned. “And when the ultimate decision is death, there is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system.”

 

19

Health

Dental Group Advises Fluoride Toothpaste Before Age 2

By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS | Feb 13th 2014

Parents should use a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste to brush baby teeth twice daily as soon as they erupt, instead of waiting until children are older, according to new guidelines by the American Dental Association.

Babies and Infants; Children and Childhood; Fluorides; Medicine and Health; Parenting; Teeth and Dentistry; Toothbrushes and Toothpaste 

Fear of fluoride seems overblown.  Use it. 

20

Health

Prescription Painkillers Seen as a Gateway to Heroin

By BENEDICT CAREY | Feb 10th 2014

The increased use of opiates like Vicodin and OxyContin can create an appetite that eventually leads addicts to cheaper street drugs.

Drug Abuse and Traffic; Pain-Relieving Drugs; Heroin; Drugs (Pharmaceuticals); Pain; OxyContin (Drug) 

I would not know.  

The addicts I have known went direct.

I want to miss that hook.