@15:30, 4/21/15

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1

Business Day

Laid-Off Walmart Workers Head to Labor Board

By HIROKO TABUCHI | Apr 19th 2015

A claim set to be filed Monday says that the Walmart store closings were in retaliation for a history of labor activism at one of the shuttered stores.

Wages and Salaries; Shopping and Retail 

Walmart has behaved badly for decades.

2

Food

Conquering the Fear of Cooking Fish

By JULIA MOSKIN | Apr 20th 2015

Even in an apartment, chefs say, you can prepare fish successfully without lingering odors. (Article plus video.)

Cooking and Cookbooks; Seafood 

I have no fear of cooking fish.

There has been little in the local supermarket.

I have not been by the specialists.

Fishing has been for down time.

I have little.

3 

Food

Video: Recipe Lab: Pan-Roasted Fish Fillets

Andrew Scrivani and Jason Lee | Apr 20th 2015

Julia Moskin pan-roasts fish with fresh herbs and butter.

Seafood; Cooking and Cookbooks 

Video does not play on this machine. I will figure out the codec in my down time.

Here is the text version.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017360-pan-roasted-fish-fillets-with-herb-butter

4

World

Uber Adds a Low-Tech Twist to Its Modern Business Model in India

By NIDA NAJAR | Apr 20th 2015

Uber is adding auto rickshaws to the more modern transportation fleet it already has on the road in New Delhi.

Car Services and Livery Cabs; Mobile Applications 

Credit card payment.

5

Business Day

Kraft to Drop Preservatives From Its Macaroni and Cheese

By REUTERS | Apr 20th 2015

Kraft Foods on Monday said it was revamping its macaroni-and-cheese meal to remove preservatives and synthetic colors.

Cheese 

I have never tried it.

I occasionally make macaroni and cheese from scratch.

6

Travel

Walkabout: The Mystery of Kim Jong-un’s Mountain Climb

By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Apr 20th 2015

A weekly capsule of travel news curated by our writers and editors.

Travel and Vacations 

It could be a helicopter though I suspect  S.U.V.s took him and his guards to the end of the road.

The passenger air experience should pay the passengers.

7

Opinion

Fix the Flaws in Forensic Science

By eric S. LANDER | Apr 21st 2015

The F.B.I.’s acknowledgment of problems in 96 percent of the hair analyses in 256 cases underscores deficiencies with a range of evidence.

Forensic Science; Hair; DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid); False Arrests, Convictions and Imprisonments; Capital Punishment 

"Insistence on high-quality forensics should unite law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys. It’s a matter of both justice and safety: No one wants innocent defendants in jail — or executed — while true perpetrators are still at large."

I wish I could agree.  

Prosecutors often seem to want a conviction more than justice.

8

U.S.

California Court Rules Water Pricing Plan Violates Law

By ADAM NAGOURNEY | Apr 20th 2015

An appeals court ruling dealt a setback to conservation pricing, one of the main tools state regulators want to use to force reductions in urban water use.

Conservation of Resources; Water; Drought; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry 

The water districts will have to think.

Graduated pricing is reasonable and reflects the marginal cost of high usage.

The graduation is probably not high enough. 

High users must pay the cost of reducing the share of the rest of the population in a limited water resource.

9

U.S.

Independent Review of F.B.I. Forensics Work

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 20th 2015

The Justice Department on Monday pledged an independent review of F.B.I. laboratory procedures after the discovery of flawed forensics testimony in hundreds of criminal cases.

Forensic Science

A leader for:
 

Fix the Flaws in Forensic Science

10

Business Day

Millions of Hens in Iowa to Be Destroyed as Bird Flu Spreads

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 20th 2015

The deadly bird flu virus was confirmed at a farm in Osceola County that has about 10 percent of the state’s egg-laying hens.

Avian Influenza; Agriculture and Farming; Chickens

I hope it is a temporary problem.
The flocks can be replaced.

11

Science

Batteries and Renewable Energy Set to Grow Together

By HENRY FOUNTAIN | Apr 20th 2015

As sun and wind become bigger parts of the electricity mix, scientists are pushing to increase the capacity of battery storage.

Solar Energy; Wind Power; Alternative and Renewable Energy; Electric Light and Power; Batteries; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Energy and Power

The energy density is not high enough and the cost per watt stored is too high.
Battery systems are impracticable at large scale.
A single house is not large scale.
The installation is comparable to a few polls marginal cost. 

12

Health

Rabies Deaths Higher Than Previously Thought

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. | Apr 20th 2015

Ninety-nine percent of human deaths are caused by dog bites, with India having the most rabies deaths — almost 21,000 a year.

Rabies; Bats; Dogs; Vaccination and Immunization

The differences in the costs of vaccines are profits.

13 

Health

Blood Test Shows Promise as Alternative to Cancer Biopsy

By GINA KOLATA | Apr 19th 2015

The hope is to give oncologists a tool to let them figure out quickly whether a treatment is working and, if it is, to keep monitoring for resistance.

Cancer; Tumors; Research; Surgery and Surgeons

The method should work.

14

World

Hundreds of Chinese Cities Don’t Meet Air Standards, Report Finds

By EDWARD WONG | Apr 21st 2015

Interior provinces had the most polluted cities during those months, according to a study released by Greenpeace East Asia.

Air Pollution

"Beijing, for example, had a nearly 13 percent drop in PM2.5 concentration levels from the same three-month period in 2014. The average level in Beijing was 92.4 micrograms per cubic meter — still nearly four times the recommended limit set by the World Health Organization. Mr. Zhang said Hebei over all had a 31 percent improvement in average PM2.5 concentration, although, as in Beijing, the level was still in a dismal range.

The government’s air-monitoring methodology was recently called into question in a report released by the Center for Statistical Science at Peking University. That report said the air monitors and the collection of data by the government failed to take into account wind patterns and other weather phenomena when calculating PM2.5 levels.

Windy months might give a false impression that PM2.5 levels have dropped. The report said that average PM2.5 levels in 2013 and 2014 were worse than in the two previous years if weather patterns were taken into account."

15

The Upshot

The Methodology: 1.5 Million Missing Black Men

By JUSTIN WOLFERS, DAVID LEONHARDT and KEVIN QUEALY | Apr 20th 2015

How we analyzed census data to study the gender imbalance among African-Americans who are 25 to 54.

Blacks; Race and Ethnicity; Women and Girls; Census; Population; Gender

I am not surprised.

16

N.Y. / Region

Noramie Jasmin, Ex-Mayor of Spring Valley, N.Y., Is Convicted in Bribery Scheme

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Apr 20th 2015

Prosecutors said Ms. Jasmin accepted cash and other bribes from an undercover agent posing as a developer.

Bribery and Kickbacks; Corruption (Institutional)

,+NY/@41.1166925,-74.042735,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c2dd5570d38f8d:0x8e054a172e87d8de

Kiryas Joel
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kiryas+Joel,+NY/@41.3397695,-74.1657354,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c2d6f99476e463:0x407a8ad683c5de1e

Spring Valley is half an hour south.

17

Magazine

Everything’s Coming Up Daisies

By ROSIE SCHAAP | Apr 17th 2015

Spirits, fruit and a splash of fizz make for a drink as refreshing as its name.

Alcoholic Beverages; Recipes; Cocktails; Gin (Liquor)

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

I did not go there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3BxcGz_4ns

18

Science

Our Ever Green World

By NATALIE ANGIER | Apr 20th 2015

Humans are innately sensitive to a color that pervades nature and prompts a variety of emotional responses.

Sunlight; Color; Oxygen; Eyes and Eyesight

An essay springs to light.
I am glad I read it.

19

The Upshot

Simple Rules for Healthy Eating

By AARON E. CARROLL | Apr 20th 2015

There’s a lot of advice out there about what kinds of food you should be avoiding. Here’s a more positive approach.

Diet and Nutrition; Food; Cooking and Cookbooks; Salt; Restaurants; Carbohydrates

A good view.

Some foodstuffs are not edible without processing.
I insist on roasting and grinding coffee beans.
I will try to minimize fructose.
Canned tomatoes are better when vine ripened are not available.
 
20

U.S.

Justices Hear Second Round of Arguments on Case Hinging on Phrase’s Meaning

By ADAM LIPTAK | Apr 20th 2015

Which crimes qualify as violent felonies has been that subject of much litigation, and is at the center of a Supreme Court case.

Mandatory Sentencing; Sentences (Criminal); Gun Control

Some of congress would like to make "being a frightening person" a crime.
In some cases they have succeeded.
Three Strikes rules appear to be among these frightening persons laws.
Properly the unconstitutionality of these laws should be argued on First Amendment grounds.

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