@8:30, 3/24/15

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Science

World’s Protected Areas Draw Estimated 8 Billion Visitors Annually

By RACHEL NUWER | Mar 23rd 2015

A team of British and American researchers has provided what they say is the first global estimate of annual visits to nature areas.

Travel and Vacations 

"“When asked why protected areas aren’t succeeding in safeguarding their contents, managers will consistently tell you about lack of money and resources,” Dr. Balmford said. “There’s a strong economic argument that it would probably make good sense to invest more in these places.”"

The investments must not show. 

That is difficult for elected officials to comprehend and support.

The elected must be seen to produce benefits for those who elect them.

2

Science

Video: Solar Eclipse Videos Across the Globe

Reuters | Mar 20th 2015

Time-lapse videos from space, above Svalbard, Norway, and over the Faroe Islands captured a solar eclipse early Friday morning.

Eclipses; Video Recordings, Downloads and Streaming 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/science/space/solar-eclipse-europe.html

Understanding does not reduce the wonder.

3

Business Day

Longer Flights From La Guardia Might Be Mixed Blessing for Passengers

By JOE SHARKEY | Mar 23rd 2015

A proposal to end the airport’s 1,500-mile limit on flights could make it more appealing to long-haul travelers who find it convenient to Manhattan, but regional flights could be cut.

Business Travel; Airlines and Airplanes 

"The rule has a long history, starting in the 1950s with a 2,000-mile limit to encourage long-haul and international growth at Idlewild (later Kennedy), then a fledgling airport. In the 1980s, the limit was changed to 1,500 miles as a way to also manage mounting congestion. (There is one exemption — for flights to and from Denver, which is about 1,600 miles away.)"

The change will not happen.

4

Science

Seeking the Facts on Medical Marijuana

By CLAUDIA DREIFUS | Mar 23rd 2015

Scientific research into the appropriate uses of medical marijuana has lagged. Dr. Mark Ware would like to change that.

Marijuana; Medical Marijuana; Law and Legislation; Medicine and Health 

"I think the time has come for us as a global community to agree on what we want to know and then go get it. 

And our patients need to move away from self-experimenting with substances and derivatives we don’t know about, and move to a situation where we know what they are using and where we can better help them. 

This isn’t going away."

5

World

In Greece, Syriza Struggles to Deliver Promises as Money Runs Out

By JIM YARDLEY | Mar 22nd 2015

Having promised an anti-austerity revolution, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing questions about whether he has a viable plan to restart growth.

European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- ); Credit and Debt 

It is well known how to initiate growth in a depressed economy.

The last time it was the run up to the Second World War.

Greece can escape austerity.

They cannot do it with the Euro as it is now constructed.

Reconstructing the euro will require reconstructing the European Union.

Germany will not allow that.

Congress should pay off the Greek debt and end the crisis.

Congress will not do that. 

Greece will shortly leave the euro and probably the E.U.

6

Science

With New Nonstick Coating, the Wait, and Waste, Is Over

By KENNETH CHANG | Mar 23rd 2015

LiquiGlide has found a way to make the interiors of some bottles permanently wet and slippery. That keeps substances like ketchup from sticking inside.

Mayonnaise; Toothbrushes and Toothpaste; Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline 

Cute.

I want to see it work over time.

I suspect there are stability problems.

Lithography requires a supply of water and ink.

Water based inks do not work.

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

7

Opinion

Britain’s Surveillance State

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | Mar 23rd 2015

There will be no effective result.

8

Science

Measurements and Menopause

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY | Mar 23rd 2015

Do breasts grow as women grow older, especially after menopause?

Menopause; Estrogen 

I was surprised at how little I cared about measurements.

Love is all that matters.

9

Science

When Science Is Lost in a Legal Maze

By GEORGE JOHNSON | Mar 23rd 2015

A New Mexico case highlighted how unsubstantiated notions like the health dangers of electromagnetic signals can continue to get a serious hearing.

Wireless Communications; Cellular Telephones; Suits and Litigation (Civil); Microwaves (Electromagnetic Waves) 

Education is expensive

10

U.S.

Justices Look for Reasoning Behind Texas Ban on Confederate License Plate

By ADAM LIPTAK | Mar 23rd 2015

The question for the Supreme Court Monday was whether the ban violated the First Amendment. Many of the justices were not happy with either possible answer.

Freedom of Speech and Expression; Automobile Registration and License Plates; First Amendment (US Constitution) 

We have separation of church and state.

The Confederacy has become a religion.

The powers of Texas would be unhappy with the thought.

11

Business Day

New Breast Milk Products Are on the Rise, but Commercialization Troubles Many

By ANDREW POLLACK | Mar 20th 2015

Researchers say the milk is brimming with potential therapeutic agents, for babies and also possibly adults.

Breastfeeding; Babies and Infants; Premature Babies; Biotechnology and Bioengineering 

The wet nurse is an ancient practice.

12

Business Day

Facebook May Host News Sites’ Content

By RAVI SOMAIYA, MIKE ISAAC and VINDU GOEL | Mar 23rd 2015

The social media giant is said to be in talks with several news publishers, offering to deliver their content quickly, in exchange for a certain loss of control over their readership.

News and News Media; Social Media; Online Advertising 

Another bad idea.  

I do not trust Facebook.  

I have been refusing to use their site.

13

Sports

With Rout of Rutgers, UConn Reaches 22nd Straight Round of 16

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mar 23rd 2015

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 23 points to lead top-seeded Connecticut to a 91-55 victory in Storrs, Conn.

NCAA Basketball Championships (Women) 

UConn

3/28

vs. Texas*

12:00 PM ET

14

World

One Year Later, Ebola Outbreak Offers Lessons for Next Epidemic

By SHERI FINK and PAM BELLUCK | Mar 22nd 2015

While the disease has not been eliminated, aid groups take stock of what worked and didn’t, and continue to point fingers.

Ebola Virus; Epidemics; Humanitarian Aid

The big pressure is off.
Ebola is reduced but not gone.

15

U.S.

Washington: Suit Over Oil Drilling Fleet Advances

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mar 20th 2015

A state judge said Friday that a lawsuit challenging the Port of Seattle’s decision to lease one of its terminals as a home port for an Arctic oil drilling fleet can go forward.

Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

The environmentalists should lose the suit

The support base is just a cargo terminal for supplies.

Alaska and the federal leasing authority are the proper targets.

16

World

Secularism With a Slightly Militant Edge

By CELESTINE BOHLEN | Mar 23rd 2015

The debate over the separation of church and state has flared up in France over school cafeterias that offer an alternative to pork for Muslims and Jews who do not eat the meat.

Food; Muslims and Islam; Jews and Judaism

It is a picked fight.
If an alternative menu is offensive offer only a vegan meal.

17

Business Day

Treasury Auctions Set for the Week of March 23

Mar 22nd 2015

The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.

Stocks and Bonds; Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions; Credit and Debt

"At the close of the New York cash market Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.01 percent. The six-month rate was 0.10 percent, and the four-week rate was 0.01 percent."

There is no expectation that Federal Reserve interest rates will rise.

The U.S. economy is still depressed.

18

Business Day

A Luxury Liner Docks, and the Countdown’s On

By JAD MOUAWAD | Mar 21st 2015

The profitability of today’s giant cruise ships depends on a tightly choreographed routine that’s part Nascar pit stop, part Noah’s Ark.

Cruises; Ports

Logistics has been a study in ports from the beginning of marine commerce.

19

Business Day

Citigroup Says Court Order Will Let It Pay Argentine Bond Interest

By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON | Mar 22nd 2015

The bank is among those caught in a dispute between Argentina and a group of hedge funds that hold the nation’s bonds.

Government Bonds; Hedge Funds

NML Capital is attempting an act of theft. 
They have found a cooperative federal judge.
Judge Griesa is having second thoughts.

20

Science

The Waves of the Future May Bend Around Metamaterials

By JOHN MARKOFF | Mar 23rd 2015

Scientists have learned how to construct materials that bend waves of light, sound and seismic energy, and are working on applications that may transform industries.

Physics

This article is a promotion of a technology.

It is not time for broad investment in metamaterials .
They are not an industry.
It is a way of thinking about diffraction that has industrial applications. 

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