@22:08, 10/7/14

|


1

World

Libya: Dozens of People Missing at Sea

By REUTERS | Oct 6th 2014

More than 100 people are missing after their vessel sank off Libya’s coast as they tried to cross the Mediterranean, and about 30 bodies have already washed up on the shore.

Maritime Accidents and Safety; Illegal Immigration; Immigration and Emigration; Ships and Shipping 

About 150 in this sinking.

About one quarter survived.

Conditions must be unbearable in Africa.

2

Automobiles

Wheelies: The Future Truck Edition

By BENJAMIN PRESTON | Oct 7th 2014

Mercedes-Benz introduces an autonomous tractor trailer concept; AAA releases a study that finds hands-free devices increase distracted driving.

Traffic Accidents and Safety; Trucks and Trucking; Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Driver Distraction and Fatigue; Roads and Traffic 

"Two new studies conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the University of Utah have found that although hands-free infotainment technologies were intended to reduce distracted driving, they are actually making the problem worse. One study looked at Apple’s voice-activated Siri interface and the other delved into the infotainment systems offered by automakers like Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz. Siri scored the worst overall for distraction. Of the infotainment systems tested, Chevrolet’s MyLink fared the worst. (Detroit Free Press)"

Big trucks make me nervous now.

Automation will not help with that.

Tesla has yet to make a "mass market" car.

3

Business Day

Germany’s Insistence on Austerity Meets With Revolt in the Eurozone

By ALISON SMALE and LIZ ALDERMAN | Oct 7th 2014

With new signs of economic trouble emerging, what has been a guiding European economic principle for several years is facing open revolt.

European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- ); Recession and Depression; Euro (Currency); Appointments and Executive Changes 

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/oct/23/why-werent-alarm-bells-ringing/?insrc=hpma

"Ordoarithmetic  Oct 1 5:25 pm

Francesco Saraceno is furious and dismayed at Hans-Werner Sinn, who says among other things that deflation in southern Europe is necessary to restore competitiveness. Why not inflation in Germany, he asks?

But Saraceno fails to understand German logic here. As they see it, their economy was in the doldrums at the end of the 1990s; they then cut labor costs, gaining a huge competitive advantage, and began running gigantic trade surpluses. So their recipe for global recovery is for everyone to deflate, gaining a huge competitive advantage, and begin running gigantic trade surpluses.

You may think there’s some kind of arithmetic problem here, but in Germany they have their own intellectual tradition."

4

Opinion

Stopping Ebola in America

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Oct 6th 2014

The health care system needs to react with greater vigilance and cannot afford to bungle responses when cases reach the United States.

Ebola Virus; Editorials; Epidemics; Airport Security 

Ebola infected individuals will make it here one way or another.  We must try to deal with them as they show up.  Shutting down air travel would slow the spread of Ebola.  It would not slow it by many days.

Quarantine works when it can be enforced.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/whats-new.html

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/ebola-liberia

"CDC urges all US residents to avoid nonessential travel to Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone because of unprecedented outbreaks of Ebola in those countries. CDC recommends that travelers to these countries protect themselves by avoiding contact with the blood and body fluids of people who are sick with Ebola." 

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html

Countries with Widespread Transmission

Country	Total Cases	Laboratory-Confirmed Cases	Total Deaths
Guinea	1199	977	739
Liberia	3834	931	2069
Sierra Leone	2437	2179	623
Total	7470	4087	3431

5

World

Hezbollah Attack Wounds Two Israeli Soldiers

By ISABEL KERSHNER and ANNE BARNARD | Oct 7th 2014

Israel responded to the attack along the border with artillery fire toward two Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military.

Defense and Military Forces; Terrorism 

I wonder if there is a plan behind these acts.

Israel appears to think there is not.

6

Opinion

‘Moment of Truth’ on Emissions

By JOE NOCERA | Oct 6th 2014

President Obama’s self-imposed deadline for dealing with fracking’s Achilles’ heel is here.

Methane; Natural Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; United States Politics and Government 

No, the fights will continue.

The industry will not welcome any increase in their costs.

7

N.Y. / Region

Unattended Candles Caused Fire That Killed Two Boys in Queens

By BENJAMIN MUELLER | Oct 7th 2014

The home where the blaze broke out lacked smoke detectors on two floors, and detectors in the basement failed to activate, officials said.

Fires and Firefighters; Accidents and Safety 

I have not been burning candles.

Mother liked them on the dinner table.

The power has stayed on this fall.

We bought in a generator after Sandy.

I have not run the fireplace for over a year.

I miss open flames.

A battery check on the smoke detector is in order.

8

World

As Egyptians Grasp for Stability, Sisi Fortifies His Presidency

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK | Oct 7th 2014

A speech to the United Nations General Assembly burnished Mr. Sisi’s image at home, where the former general builds power on Egyptians’ desire to avoid the chaos in nearby countries.

Egypt appears to be a dictatorship again.

9

N.Y. / Region

Police Say Identity Thieves Hit Saks’ Shoe Department

By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG | Oct 6th 2014

Store employees are among those charged with stealing about $400,000 worth of luxury shoes and handbags using customers’ information.

Identity Theft; Shoplifting and Employee Theft (Retail); Shoes and Boots; Robberies and Thefts; Frauds and Swindling; Handbags and Purses; Fashion and Apparel 

Stupid. 

10 

Opinion

Will Syria Be Obama’s Vietnam?

By FREDRIK LOGEVALL and GORDON M. GOLDSTEIN | Oct 7th 2014

The president says he won’t send troops. But war has its own logic.

Vietnam War; United States International Relations; United States Defense and Military Forces 

Somebody needs to check the history.

Obama is doing well.

11

Automobiles

G.M. Tech Center Becomes National Historic Landmark

By PHIL PATTON | Oct 7th 2014

The National Park Service awarded the designation to G.M.’s research campus in Warren, Mich., as one of Eero Saarinen’s most significant designs.

Architecture; Historic Buildings and Sites; Automobiles; National Parks, Monuments and Seashores 

I was only vaguely aware of the buildings.

A competing design:

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

12

Business Day

Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections Are Delayed for Home-Care Workers

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE | Oct 7th 2014

The Obama administration said it would not enforce new rules for the first half of 2015, and “exercise its discretion” after that.

Minimum Wage; Home Health Care; Labor and Jobs; Wages and Salaries; Overtime

The workers earn the money.
They should get paid.
The states are worried about Medicade.

13

U.S.

Las Vegas Schools Groan From Growing Pains

By ADAM NAGOURNEY | Oct 6th 2014

Teachers are scrambling to educate students without the classrooms they need and with no prospect of new ones being built anytime soon, as people move back.

Education (K-12); Population; Teachers and School Employees; Economic Conditions and Trends

Tax revenues are up.
These new residents are working somewhere.
The school board was not surprised.
This is a planned crisis.

14

U.S.

Amid Tight Races, Bill Clinton Urges Arkansans to Back Democratic Ticket

By JONATHAN MARTIN | Oct 6th 2014

15

Your Money

Banks in U.S. Moving to Chip-Based Debit and Credit Cards

By ANN CARRNS | Oct 7th 2014

Most lenders are expected to upgrade “magnetic strip” cards with chip technology in an effort to make it harder for criminals to create counterfeit cards.

Banking and Financial Institutions; Personal Finances; Debit Cards; Computer Chips; Consumer Protection; Credit Cards

The change is not a concern.
It will probably prove ineffective. 

16

World

Rebels in Yemen Reject New Premier

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Oct 7th 2014

The Shiite rebels of the Houthi group spurned the choice of Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, putting a September peace deal in jeopardy.

International Relations

Yemen is a sovereign nation.
We will not send a gunboat.

17

U.S.

Court Decisions on Voting Rules Sow Confusion in State Races

By TRIP GABRIEL | Oct 7th 2014

With the midterm elections weeks away, the rulings over laws that Republican-led state governments passed to more tightly regulate voting are changing procedures and could affect outcomes in some states.

Voter Registration and Requirements; Absentee Voting; Midterm Elections (2014)

That is the intention of these laws.
Register and vote.

18

U.S.

The State of the Non-State, Washington, D.C.

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER | Oct 6th 2014

Proponents have sought statehood for the District of Columbia for over half a century, but the political timing never seems to be right.

States (US); United States Politics and Government; Law and Legislation

The District of Columbia is not a state by intention.
The National Capital cannot be claimed by any state.
It is the territory of all the states.

19

World

Life, Death and Careful Routine Fill the Day at a Liberian Clinic

By SHERI FINK | Oct 7th 2014

Health workers tend to people sickened by Ebola and those quarantined while they wait to learn if they have the virus.

Nursing and Nurses; Ebola Virus; Tests (Medical); Protective Clothing

Yes

20

World

Canada: Train Derails and Catches Fire

By REUTERS | Oct 7th 2014

A freight train derailed Tuesday in Saskatchewan, setting two cars of petroleum distillate on fire, the Canadian National Railway Company said.

Railroad Accidents and Safety; Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline

Just an accident.

 

|