@13:00, 1/17/15

|

1

Your Money

Decoding the Paradox of Rising Cable Stocks

By JEFF SOMMER | Jan 17th 2015

Investors predict an unregulated monopoly market in digital carrier use.

2

World

Turkey Threatens to Block Social Media Over Released Documents

By SEBNEM ARSU | Jan 16th 2015

The government wanted Twitter to prevent a left-wing newspaper from circulating accounts of a raid by the military police.

Censorship; Social Media; Computers and the Internet; Espionage and Intelligence Services 

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to be Sultan. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

3

Opinion

Is a Climate Disaster Inevitable?

By ADAM FRANK | Jan 17th 2015

What astrobiology can tell us about the fate of the planet.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Global Warming; Extraterrestrial Life; Space and Astronomy; Stars and Galaxies; Planets 

Our culture can figure out a answer.

If we start to think now we may be able to discover an escape from disaster before that disaster is inevitable.

We can delay disaster if we work on it.  

That work has only begun.

Adam Frank, his blog: 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/ 

4

Opinion

Failures in Screening Rikers Jail Guards

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Jan 16th 2015

A new report underscores that the lawlessness at the jail complex cannot be fixed unless it reforms the selection of the guards who run the place.

Prisons and Prisoners; Corruption (Institutional) 

Yes.  

The change will be difficult to achieve.

The senior people will also be corrupt.

5

Opinion

Preserving the Oceans

Jan 16th 2015

Lisa Speer of the Natural Resources Defense Council writes that “staving off ocean collapse requires urgent international action.”

yes.   We can start here and now.

6

World

Pentagon Will Send Troops to Train Some Syrian Rebels

By HELENE COOPER | Jan 16th 2015

The mission, to take place in Saudi Arabia, will include about 400 soldiers and hundreds of others to provide logistics, communications and other support.

United States Defense and Military Forces 

Let the French do it.

We have tried military advisers.

The results were not good.

7 

World

Caning of Saudi Blogger Is Delayed Amid Protests

By BEN HUBBARD | Jan 16th 2015

Saudi Arabia delayed a second round of caning against a writer jailed for criticizing the religious establishment after a video of the first round appeared online and drew international condemnation.

Human Rights and Human Rights Violations; Sentences (Criminal); Computers and the Internet; Prisons and Prisoners 

Everybody can protest.

Saudi is dodging a growing discontent.

8

U.S.

Jury Selection for Tsarnaev Trial in Boston Sees Emotions Come to Fore

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE | Jan 16th 2015

The judge in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused in the Boston Marathon bombing case, has questioned prospective jurors, looking for bias.

Boston Marathon Bombings (2013); Jury System 

As promised, a long slow process.

9

World

Patriot Act Idea Rises in France, and Is Ridiculed

By MATT APUZZO and STEVEN ERLANGER | Jan 16th 2015

After the shootings in Paris last week, France finds itself grappling with how to fight terrorism while protecting civil liberties — a question the United States has confronted since 9/11.

Terrorism; USA PATRIOT Act; Civil Rights and Liberties; Surveillance of Citizens by Government 

The French are doing a bit better on security than we are.

They know about their "Reign of Terror" and do not want a repeat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilien_de_Robespierre

10

Job Market

Savoring the Sweet Taste of Acceptance

By MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER | Jan 17th 2015

A Soviet Jew bound for the United States finds a way to make the most of a temporary job as a translator in Italy.

Part-Time Employment; Jews and Judaism; Immigration and Emigration 

There is always some slack at the end of the day.

11

U.S.

Chicago No Longer Seems a Lock to Host Obama’s Library, and Many Are Alarmed

By JULIE BOSMAN | Jan 17th 2015

President Obama and his wife, Michelle, are said to have “major concerns” with Chicago’s bids to host the Barack Obama Presidential Library, increasing the likelihood it will be built in New York City or Hawaii.

Libraries and Librarians; Museums 

I feel no need to visit the potential institution.

12

Opinion

Charlie Hebdo and Free Expression

Jan 18th 2015

Questions about free speech and hate speech continue to reverberate in the wake of the Paris tragedy.

Freedom of Speech and Expression; Hate Crimes; Terrorism; Religion and Belief 

I would put cartooning the prophet Mohamed in the same category as flag burning.

The act is not unlawful.  It is also not safe.  

13

Business Day

What’s So Bad About Cheap Oil?

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Jan 17th 2015

The stock market is treating lower prices as bad news even though they will help consumers, many of the nation’s businesses and the economy.

Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Layoffs and Job Reductions; Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates); Stocks and Bonds; Shale; Gross National Product (GNP) 

If one has invested in a price rise or a marginal producer The fall in crude prices is a disaster.

14

U.S.

Minnesota: Catholic Archdiocese Files for Bankruptcy

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Jan 16th 2015

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, saying it is the best way for the church to get as many resources as possible to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Bankruptcies; Sex Crimes 

Chapter 11 is not a fire sale of assets.

It is court supervision.

15

The Upshot

Obama’s Tax Proposal Is Really About Shaping the Democratic Party After Obama

By NEIL IRWIN | Jan 18th 2015

The plan stands little chance of passage, but it signals a different phase of the nation’s debates over how the government taxes and spends.

Federal Budget (US); United States Economy; Federal Taxes (US); Income Tax; Capital Gains Tax; United States Politics and Government; Presidential Election of 2016; Income Inequality 

We do what we can.

16

U.S.

Protesters Out to Reclaim King’s Legacy, but in Era That Defies Comparison

By TANZINA VEGA | Jan 17th 2015

On the eve of Martin Luther King’s Birthday, protesters mobilized by the shooting deaths of young blacks and angry about racial inequality are evoking his work, denouncing what they say is an attempt to sanitize his message.

Demonstrations, Protests and Riots; Civil Rights and Liberties; Race and Ethnicity; Blacks; Civil Rights Movement (1954-68) 

"Jewels Smith, a comic book writer in Brooklyn, said the implication that social changes can come only through legislation is “inherently problematic,” for many black Americans. “We were considered property, then we were considered partially human beings, then we had Jim Crow and now we are in the prison industrial complex.” Ms. Smith said. “The law for black people is really contentious. For the most part it hasn’t really worked for us.”"

All four of these conditions are unlawful.  

It looks like progress to me.

Constant agitation is necessary to keep people politically engaged.

17

Movies

Oscar Films for Every Personality

By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Jan 18th 2015

Forget Academy-approved categories like best picture and best director. Here are worthy nominated films to suit a variety of tastes and worldviews.

Academy Awards (Oscars); Movies; Celebrities; Actors and Actresses 

Soon there will be more time in my life.  

These movies will have to wait.

18

N.Y. / Region

Bicyclist Is Killed in Collision With Private Garbage Truck in Queens

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL | Jan 17th 2015

The man, who was declared dead at the scene in Long Island City, was the first bicyclist killed on a city roadway this year, the police said.

Deaths (Fatalities); Traffic Accidents and Safety; Bicycles and Bicycling 

What I fear is a fall in traffic.  I do not ride in the city at this point.

19

Sports

Top Conferences to Allow Aid for Athletes’ Full Bills

By MARC TRACY | Jan 17th 2015

The five most prominent conferences in college sports voted to increase their scholarships to cover athletes’ full cost of attendance, which is typically several thousand dollars more than they currently provide.

College Athletics; Colleges and Universities; Scholarships and Fellowships 

Another small win.

College athletes are professional.

20

Arts

A Leader in Socially Conscious Architecture Is Closing Amid Financial Woes

By ROBIN POGREBIN | Jan 17th 2015

Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit design group specializing in socially conscious construction, has abruptly closed its San Francisco headquarters and plans to file for bankruptcy protection.

Architecture; Philanthropy; Nonprofit Organizations 

Bankers famously have no social awareness.

When foundation support ended and the founders bailed out the office began to fail.

The poor have no income by definition.