Monday, November 17, 2014

@17:30, 11/16/14

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1
Opinion

An #AskDrH Question on Energy Science for Obama's Science Team

By ANDREW C. REVKIN | Nov 14th 2014
I ask President Obama’s science adviser how the president plans to work with Republicans to renew American energy research.
Conservatism (US Politics); Energy and Power; Federal Budget (US); Fusion (Nuclear Reaction); Inventions and Patents; Politics and Government; Science and Technology; United States Politics and Government 

I don't care what pocket the money comes out of.
I want the information published.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2014/nov/13/juncker-axes-europes-chief-scientific-adviser

2
World

Indian State Recalls Pills Linked to Sterilization Deaths

By SUHASINI RAJ and ELLEN BARRY | Nov 14th 2014

Crime

3
World

U.N. Commission Presses U.S. on Torture

By CHARLIE SAVAGE | Nov 13th 2014
A United Nations panel that monitors compliance with an antitorture treaty expressed skepticism Thursday about American law enforcement and national security practices.
Interrogations; Torture; September 11 (2001); Terrorism; United States International Relations; Detainees; Extraordinary Rendition 

They are doing their job.  We should help.

4
U.S.

Federally Contracted Food Workers Strike Over Wages

By ELENA SCHNEIDER | Nov 13th 2014

The workers should get paid a living wage.

5
U.S.

South Carolina: Ex-lawmaker Robert Ford Faces Charges

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nov 14th 2014
Former State Senator Robert Ford has been indicted on eight charges that include misconduct in office, forgery and ethics violations, state prosecutors said Friday.
Ethics and Official Misconduct; Campaign Finance; Elections, State Legislature 

The rule is never plead guilty without a deal.

6
Opinion

The Fed and Full Employment

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Nov 13th 2014
The job market is improving. But absent a surge in the pace of improvement, it will still be too weak to withstand raising interest rates.
Unemployment; Interest Rates; Editorials; Wages and Salaries 

True.

7
Opinion

The Comfort Women and Japan’s War on Truth

By MINDY KOTLER | Nov 14th 2014
The Abe government is determined to rewrite the imperial military's history of wartime sexual slavery.
Sexual Harassment; Defense and Military Forces; World War II (1939-45) 

Keep the "comfort women" in the text books.
If the reactionaries of Japan suppress the record in that country it will bite them later.

The activists could be trying to suppress sex tourism.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/japan-through-the-looking-glass/

8
World

Dutch Investigators Collect Debris From Malaysian Plane Downed Over Ukraine

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR | Nov 16th 2014
The wreckage from the Malaysia Airlines jet that was shot down will be sent to the Netherlands, where officials will study it as part of the investigation.
Aviation Accidents, Safety and Disasters; Malaysia Airlines Flight 17; Deaths (Fatalities); Defense and Military Forces 

The investigators will discover what can be known.
I will wait for the report.
The missiles in the area belonged to the Russians.
There may have been a bomb in the plane.

9
N.Y. / Region

Plan for a Desalination Plant Is Halted by New York State Officials

By JOSEPH BERGER | Nov 13th 2014
Opponents, including environmental groups, applauded the decision to put an end to the $150 million project, which would have been built on Haverstraw Bay.
Water; Desalination; Conservation of Resources

Development may be limited.
Rockland county (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockland_County,_New_York)
could negotiate with the City for water from the reservoir system. 

10
N.Y. / Region

Shift on Marijuana Policy Was a Long Time Coming, and Too Late for One Man

By JIM DWYER | Nov 13th 2014
Police will no longer file charges against people who display small amounts of marijuana in public, though that has not helped Anthony Welfare, who lost his job in August over a misdemeanor.
Marijuana; Search and Seizure

Always.

11
Opinion

A Fighter for Religious Tolerance

Nov 14th 2014
Far from being a 19th-century religious revivalist, Swami Vivekananda spoke of the commonality of all faiths.
Hinduism

Much of India is less than literate.
Authority is believed.

12
Sports

Expert in X’s and O’s Was Inspired by His Father, a Man of Letters

By HARVEY ARATON | Nov 14th 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/ncaabasketball/index.html

U.S.

Report Offers Mixed View of Ex-Watchdog at Department of Homeland Security

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT | Nov 14th 2014
An investigator appointed to look into Charles K. Edwards’s time as inspector general says there was no evidence he had awarded contracts to unqualified companies or destroyed telephone records.
United States Politics and Government; Frauds and Swindling; Inspectors General

The G.O.P. is hostile to the Democrats.
Charles K. Edwards appears to have abused his position.

14
Automobiles

Cadillac Signs Lease for Headquarters in Hudson Square

By BENJAMIN PRESTON | Nov 14th 2014
Johan de Nysschen, president of Cadillac, says the move to the 16-story Manhattan office building is part of the brand’s expansion.
Automobiles; Real Estate (Commercial)

The City of New York does not drive.
It will be interesting to see the results of the move.

15
Business Day

A Fatally Flawed Switch, and a Burdened G.M. Engineer

By BILL VLASIC | Nov 13th 2014
Interviews with employees and documents turned over to Congress reveal a midlevel engineer who tried to satisfy orders for a smoothly functioning switch that would help G.M. improve the image of its cut-rate small cars.
Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Recalls and Bans of Products; Deaths (Fatalities)

Raymond DeGiorgio is not blameless.
GM is responsible for resolving the mess.
Management did not attend to the bad test results.
Management did not attend to the accident reports.
Management did not attend to the internal memos.
DeGiorgio is not a hero. He is not evil.

16
World

Yazidi Girls Seized by ISIS Speak Out After Escape

By KIRK SEMPLE | Nov 14th 2014
A few of the thousands of young women from the minority Yazidi religion who were kidnapped by the Islamic State told of a systemized industry of slavery.
Yazidi (Religious Sect); Human Trafficking; Women and Girls; Child Abuse and Neglect; Muslims and Islam; Terrorism; Kidnapping and Hostages; Sex Crimes; War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_Belgium
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+rape+of+belgium&client=firefox-a&hs=2ed&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=jKlpVMbTJbP-sASA84HIAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=919&bih=616
I feel propagandized.

17
N.Y. / Region

Window Washing Skills Beyond a Robot’s Reach

By PATRICK McGEEHAN | Nov 13th 2014

18
Business Day

Eurozone Eked Out Growth in Third Quarter

By LIZ ALDERMAN | Nov 14th 2014
The euro economy grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter on an annualized basis, raising concern that the Continent’s troubles will ripple out.
Recession and Depression; Inflation (Economics); European Sovereign Debt Crisis
(2010- )

The Euro zone is in depression and deflation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflation

19
Opinion

A Final Dash on an Iran Deal

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Nov 15th 2014
The chances for a comprehensive permanent accord that would limit the country’s nuclear program must be kept alive.
Embargoes and Sanctions; Nuclear Weapons; United States International Relations; Nuclear Energy

It must be tried.

20
Business Day

ABN Amro to Cut Jobs in Shift to Digital

By CHAD BRAY | Nov 14th 2014
ABN Amro said on Friday that it would spend about $187 million on upgrading its digital banking operations and cut up to 1,000 full-time jobs by 2018.
Company Reports; E-Commerce; Layoffs and Job Reductions

It looks to me like ABN Amro is not ready for public ownership.

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

@20:00

1
World

Dutch Investigators Collect Debris From Malaysian Plane Downed Over Ukraine

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR | Nov 16th 2014

2
Business Day

Defying Expectations, Japan’s Economy Shrinks Further

By JONATHAN SOBLE | Nov 16th 2014
The country’s gross domestic product shrank by an annual pace of 1.6 percent in the most recent quarter, threatening a planned tax increase.
Economic Conditions and Trends; Gross Domestic Product; Legislatures and Parliaments; Taxation



Japan Through the Looking Glass


There are indications that Shinzo Abe may indeed do the right thing and postpone the planned rise in Japan’s consumption tax. Let’s hope so. But many people are still treating this as an agonizing choice. For example, Gavyn Davies frames it as a choice between recovery and fiscal sustainability, although he sort of acknowledges that this may be a false dilemma.
Several points here.
First, unless Japan breaks out of deflation, and the artificially high real interest rates this causes, there is no way to achieve fiscal sustainability. Success for Abenomics is as crucial for fiscal matters as everything else.
Second, everyone acknowledges that the impact of a delayed sales tax increase on Japan’s debt would be trivial — less than one percent of GDP. So why is this supposed to be something to worry about? Supposedly, Japan would lose credibility.
Actually, that’s unlikely — I see no prospect that Japan will put off the tax hike forever. But even if it were true, this is credibility Japan wants to lose.
After all, suppose investors conclude that Japan will never raise taxes enough to service its debt. What would they think would happen instead? Not default — Japan doesn’t have to default, because its debts are in its own currency. No, what they might fear is monetization: Japan will print lots of yen to cover deficits. And this will lead to inflation. So a loss of fiscal credibility would lead to expectations of future inflation, which is a problem for Abe’s efforts to, um, get people to expect inflation rather than deflation, because … what?
Long ago I argued that what Japan needed was a credible promise to be irresponsible. And deficits that must be monetized are one way to make that happen (as they were in the 1930s, when Japan had a very successful comeback from the Great Depression, aside from that invading China thing.)
As I and other people like Paul McCulley have tried to explain many times, the liquidity trap puts you on the other side of the looking glass; virtue is vice, prudence is folly, central bank independence is a bad thing and the threat of monetized deficits is to be welcomed, not feared.
As it happens, I don’t think this stuff will come into play in Japan, where the Ministry of Finance’s deficit obsession ensures that tax hikes will at best be delayed, not canceled. But the whole premise of those who fear the consequences of delay misses the point."

 3
World

Spacecraft on Comet Drills for Data as Its Power Fades

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nov 14th 2014
The Philae lander performed two tricky maneuvers on Friday: drilling into the comet’s rocky surface and rotating itself to try to catch more sunlight to recharge its batteries.
Space and Astronomy; Comets

The scientists are happy.
We must wait for the reports.

4
The Upshot

How the G.O.P. Can Court the Working Class

By DAVID LEONHARDT | Nov 15th 2014
A new Republican economic approach could still revolve around cutting taxes, but the cuts would no longer be focused on the affluent.
Presidential Election of 2016; United States Economy; Midterm Elections (2014); Federal Taxes (US); Income Tax; Income; Payroll Tax

The could.
They won't.

5
World

Yazidi Girls Seized by ISIS Speak Out After Escape

By KIRK SEMPLE | Nov 14th 2014

6
Opinion

Egypt’s New Police State

By SARA KHORSHID | Nov 16th 2014
Suppression of freedom of expression under President Sisi is regressing to levels not seen since the Nasser era.
Police; Freedom of the Press; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations

yes

7
Business Day

Cold Numbers on G.M. Crisis: A Peek Inside

By HILARY STOUT | Nov 15th 2014
Kenneth Feinberg, a compensation expert, leads a team that determines who the victims are and how much money they should receive.
Automobile Safety Features and Defects; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

yes

8

 Business Day

Treasury Auctions for the Week of Nov. 17

Nov 16th 2014
The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.
Stocks and Bonds; Credit and Debt; Government Bonds
 
"At the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.01 percent. The rate on the six-month issue was 0.07 percent, and the rate on the four-week issue was 0.04 percent."

9
U.S.

South Carolina: Ex-lawmaker Robert Ford Faces Charges

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nov 14th 2014

10
World

Rare Vaccine-Derived Polio Discovered in 2 Countries

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. | Nov 14th 2014
Cases of paralysis caused by mutating polio vaccine have been found in South Sudan and Madagascar, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Poliomyelitis; Vaccination and Immunization

It happens.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html
No update.

11
Opinion

A Final Dash on an Iran Deal

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Nov 15th 2014

12
Opinion

The Nigerian Status Quo

By ADEWALE MAJA-PEARCE | Nov 16th 2014
Corruption, terrorism and secular divisions are not as big a problem for Goodluck Jonathan as one might think.
Politics and Government; Kidnapping and Hostages; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations

The things money can do.

13
World

Pakistanis Optimistic on Ties After Afghan Leader’s Visit

By SALMAN MASOOD | Nov 15th 2014
As President Ashraf Ghani met with Pakistan’s prime minister on Saturday, officials were upbeat about a possible reset in the relationship.
Afghanistan War (2001- ); Terrorism

Nice noises.  The relationship may be real.

14
U.S.

Video: Still Logging in Sweet Home

Sean Patrick Farrell | Nov 15th 2014
The timber industry of Southern Oregon has shrunk because of environmental protection, mechanization and consolidation, leaving once-prosperous towns like Sweet Home searching for the next step.
Logging Industry; Forests and Forestry; Poverty; Unemployment

There is not much to do in a logging town that is near out of trees.

15
U.S.

Four Workers Are Killed in Gas Leak at Texas Chemical Plant

By MICHAEL WINES and MANNY FERNANDEZ | Nov 15th 2014
At a DuPont chemical plant in La Porte, Tex., 20 miles east of Houston, four workers were killed early Saturday by the gas methyl mercaptan.
Deaths (Fatalities); Hazardous and Toxic Substances; Accidents and Safety; Chemicals

They don't know.

16
Technology

Privacy Concerns for ClassDojo and Other Tracking Apps for Schoolchildren

By NATASHA SINGER | Nov 16th 2014
Many teachers say the ClassDojo app helps them automate the task of recording classroom conduct, but some critics say such apps are being adopted without sufficiently considering the ramifications for data privacy and fairness.
Education (K-12); Privacy; Teachers and School Employees; Mobile Applications

17
Technology

Google to Quadruple Computer Science Prize Winnings to $1 Million

By STEVE LOHR | Nov 16th 2014
The increase in prize money for the A.M. Turing Award is intended to elevate the prominence and recognition of computer science.
Computers and the Internet; Contests and Prizes; Science and Technology

18
U.S.

Report Offers Mixed View of Ex-Watchdog at Department of Homeland Security

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT | Nov 14th 2014

19
Opinion

Culpability in the Upper Big Branch Disaster

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Nov 14th 2014
The criminal indictment of a former coal mine chief executive is a step toward justice.
Mines and Mining; Explosions (Accidental)
20

U.S.

More Federal Agencies Are Using Undercover Operations

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and WILLIAM M. ARKIN | Nov 15th 2014
Once largely the domain of the F.B.I., undercover work has increased across federal agencies as policies have changed, according to officials, former agents and documents.
Government Employees; Hiring and Promotion

This is new.





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