@15:00, 4/7/15

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1

Science

In Hawaii, Chickens Gone Wild

By KENNETH CHANG | Apr 6th 2015

Feral birds on the island of Kauai offer clues to how animals become domesticated.

Chickens; Genetics and Heredity; DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

A nice announcement of  research in progress.
The quick review of present knowledge is interesting.
I do not want to be in the chicken business.
I will help with your animals.

2

The Upshot

If Algorithms Know All, How Much Should Humans Help?

By STEVE LOHR | Apr 6th 2015

Data science offers a lot of promise in many fields, but for now, it seems wise to keep human beings in the loop.

Data-Mining and Database Marketing; Artificial Intelligence

Machines are tools.
They are without understanding.

3

U.S.

O’Hare Noise Complaints Influence Chicago’s Mayoral Race

By MITCH SMITH | Apr 5th 2015

Mounting frustration, and what some perceive as indifference from City Hall, has made plane noise a subplot in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Noise; Elections, Mayors

Closing or moving the airport is not an option.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel won the runoff election. 


4

Business Day

Consumer Price Inflation Reaches 16.9% in Russia

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 6th 2015

Russia’s consumer price inflation hit 16.9 percent in March as the country headed for recession, the state statistics agency Rosstat said.

Inflation (Economics); Embargoes and Sanctions; Gross National Product (GNP)

Sanctions hurt.
Food prices are up.

5

Technology

Diagnosing a Syncing Problem With iTunes

By J. D. BIERSDORFER | Apr 7th 2015

The iTunes software can automatically sync with iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch players, but even if the feature is enabled in iTunes, a few conditions apply.

Computers and the Internet; Windows (Operating System); iOS (Operating System)

I use XP professional for Microsoft.
I do not use Apple products.

6 

The Upshot

Alcoholics Anonymous and the Challenge of Evidence-Based Medicine

By AUSTIN FRAKT | Apr 6th 2015 

I do not drink.

7

Business Day

Conference Centers Offer Companies Meeting Space Without Strings

By AMY ZIPKIN | Apr 6th 2015

Stand-alone spaces run by companies like Convene, Metro Meeting Centers and TKP offer businesses lower-cost alternatives for off-site gatherings.

Hotels and Travel Lodgings; Real Estate (Commercial)

Neutral ground is often recommended.
Sooner is better.  As soon as you can is best.

8

N.Y. / Region

East Village Gas Explosion Reveals Problems in City’s Inspection System

By PATRICK McGEEHAN and MATT FLEGENHEIMER | Apr 3rd 2015

Under the current system, Consolidated Edison is not required to immediately notify the city if its workers find a dangerous gas situation.

East Village Explosion (March 2015); Accidents and Safety

Yes.
Stealing gas is standard practice for squatters.
It is criminal.
There are fewer of them than there were.
When an unlicensed tap is discovered it is a serious matter.
The police and a licensed plumber must be called.
Inspection comes after resolution.

9

World

Ukraine Leader Denounces Federalization as Way to Break Up Country

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN | Apr 6th 2015

President Petro O. Poroshenko said he was so certain Ukrainians would reject the idea, which Russia endorses, that he offered to put it to a referendum.

The shooting seems to have stopped.
The shouting continues.
The next step is obscure.

10

Technology

Jay Edelson’s Class-Action Privacy Suits Could Make Him Tech’s Least Friended Man

By CONOR DOUGHERTY | Apr 4th 2015

The class-action lawyer, who specializes in filing privacy lawsuits against technology companies, has raised the ire of Silicon Valley executives.

Computers and the Internet; Privacy; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

It is a profitable business leading to a splendid result.
"Don't be evil"

11

U.S.

Vietnam Veteran Files Class-Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Appeals on Disability Benefits

By DAVE PHILIPPS | Apr 6th 2015

A class-action lawsuit asks a court to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to reach faster decisions when reconsidering rejected claims.

Vietnam War; Veterans; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Diabetes; Agent Orange (Defoliant)

Parsimony is not the order of the day.

12

Opinion

Yes, We Were Warned About Ebola

By BERNICE DAHN, VERA MUSSAH and CAMERON NUTT | Apr 7th 2015

Copyright law needs modification.

13

Opinion

U.S. Allies Flock to Join China’s Development Bank

Apr 5th 2015

China announced that it had attracted 46 founding members for its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

United States International Relations

Everybody likes income.

14

U.S.

The Snake That’s Eating Florida

By CLYDE HABERMAN | Apr 5th 2015

Burmese pythons appear to be in the Florida Everglades to stay, just one of a number of unwanted animals that have invaded America.

Invasive Species; Snakes

Something eats the snakes in their native lands.

15

Business Day

University of Virginia Fraternity to Go After Rolling Stone for Rape Article

By RAVI SOMAIYA | Apr 6th 2015

The fraternity at the center of a retracted article by Rolling Stone magazine that alleged a gang rape by its members said it planned “to pursue all available legal action against the magazine.”

Fraternities and Sororities; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

The publishers of histories must try to get the facts and then use all of them.
Testimony has a different burden.
The two should not be confused.

16

U.S.

Video: Pets Gone Wild

RetroReport | Apr 5th 2015

Burmese pythons, often released into the wild by pet owners, have infested the Florida Everglades and created a reptilian nightmare in the ecosystem.

Pets; Snakes; Reptiles; Invasive Species

"There is no accounting for taste".
Responsibility and power go together.
The reptile trade has denied responsibility.
It has lost much of its power.
The problem of rebalancing the ecology remains.

17

U.S.

Georgia: Judge Sets Hearing on Request by Transgender Inmate for Transfer

By DEBORAH SONTAG | Apr 6th 2015

A federal district judge on Monday set a hearing for Thursday on an emergency motion in the case of a transgender woman, Ashley Diamond, who is seeking an immediate transfer to a lower-security prison or “transitional center” so that she can be safer from sexual assault.

Prisons and Prisoners; Transgender and Transsexuals; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

The Georgia prison system has another problem.
A possible solution would be a transgender unit.
The sentence was not solitary confinement. 

18

U.S.

70 Years on, Crowd Gets Close to the Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb

By RICK ROJAS | Apr 5th 2015

Seventy years after the first test of the atomic bomb, tourists flock to the New Mexican desert.

Historic Buildings and Sites; Nuclear Weapons; Travel and Vacations; Radiation

The motivation of the tourists is a mystery to me.

19

The Upshot

It’s Hard to Lift Wages if the Fed Doesn’t Make It a Priority

By JARED BERNSTEIN | Apr 7th 2015

Sluggish wage growth suggests the job market is not as tight as many people think.

Wages and Salaries; Labor and Jobs; United States Economy; Inflation (Economics); Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates); Unemployment; Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve Bank does not have the power to raise wages when employers will not borrow.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/07/economics-of-love/

"Not love as in romance; love as in tennis, meaning zero. Cecchetti & Schoenholtz argue that “zero matters” in macroeconomics; specifically, both the zero almost-lower bound on interest rates and downward wage rigidity make the case that deflation or for that matter very low inflation is a bad thing.

Just to note: This is exactly the point I’ve made a number of times, talking about the two zeroes. Not complaining here — many people have made this point, and we need them to keep making it.

The message instead is for those people — you know who you are — who imagine that the macroeconomics in this blog and in my column is somehow way out there on the left. In reality, I’m almost depressingly mainstream. It’s the other side in these debates that is showing lots of creativity, coming up with novel and innovative arguments about why we should do stupid things."

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/license-to-stagnate/

20

Business Day

Publication of New Net Neutrality Rules to Prompt Cheers and Challenges

By REBECCA R. RUIZ | Apr 5th 2015

The F.C.C. regulations are expected to appear in the Federal Register as early as this week, starting two 60-day countdowns: one until they take effect and the other until a deadline for lawsuits.

Net Neutrality; Telephones and Telecommunications; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; Suits and Litigation (Civil)

Progress.
The next horizon is the prevention of the production and use of  "Big Data".

Soon patent and copyright law must be reconsidered in the public interest.
They exist to encourage the growth and dissemination knowledge.
Presently, they do not do so.

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