1
Real Estate
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Where Stoop Life Still Thrives
Crown Heights was dogged by a reputation for intolerance and violence after the 1991 riots involving blacks and Hasidic Jews. But residents say it has shed those associations.It is a residential suburb enclosed in a residential city.
It is more densely built than I will find livable.
2
Opinion
Testing Scientific Theories
A philosophy professor argues that theories do not need to be empirically confirmed but simply testable to be validated.The difference between validity and confirmation does need consideration.
No, science is not in crisis.
Peer review at the journals is troubled.
The journals must pay attention to their business model.
3
Science
Those Bugs Stink
What are stink bugs, where did they come from, and how can I get rid of them?Last winter seems to have done for the local population.
I have not seen them this year.
4
World
Tunisia: Train Strikes Truck, Killing 18
A Tunisian passenger train smashed into a semitrailer truck racing to cross the tracks early Tuesday, killing 18 people as two cars derailed.https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3752002,9.9120712,14z
The accident might indicate refugee flow.
It is more likely that it is just an accident.
Refugees would be more likely to ride the rails.
5
N.Y. / Region
Wedding Guest Who Discharged Gun at Waldorf Astoria Faces Charges, Police Say
Vladimir Gotlibovsky, 42, of Brooklyn was charged with reckless endangerment, assault and evidence tampering after four people were injured when a handgun went off accidentally.The Mill Basin neighborhood is Russian and Orthodox Jewish.
Both groups tend to be clannish. The black car business does not help.
6
Science
Review: ‘The Last Beach’ and ‘The Narrow Edge’ Share Tales of Harm and Hope Along Our Coasts
Two recent books take a grim look at what may happen to coastlines and their animal inhabitants in a warming world.These authors have no historical perspective.
Sea level is up and down with every ice age.
7
Health
Study Supports Antibiotic Use to Treat Appendicitis
A Finnish study found that three out of four patients who took antibiotics to treat appendicitis, instead of having surgery, recovered easily.It is early days. The research should continue.
8
The Upshot
Jeb Bush Wants 4 Percent Growth. That Will Be Hard to Reach.
Simple math suggests the next president is unlikely to see sustained 4 percent G.D.P. growth absent a remarkable, rapid upward shift in the economy.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/little-big-men/
Little Big Men
The big question about the supposed Republican frontrunner is “Jeb! Why???” What does he have to offer? What does he stand for?
Well, yesterday we got
a sort of answer: he’s going to run as the candidate of economic
growth, which he claims to know something about because as governor of
Florida he had the honor of presiding over a huge housing bubble. But it’s an even odder choice of themes than this fact implies.
First of all, isn’t it
weird how conservatives have convinced themselves that they have the
secrets of growth? It’s as if a bunch of guys who are only 5’7″ (my
height, btw) were running around in the firm belief that they’re all
6’2″. Nothing at all in the historical record supports this belief.
Here’s the growth in real GDP under several presidents:
In case you’re
wondering, Obama is below Bush at this point, but since Bush ended with a
severe recession that continued into Obama’s first year, it’s almost
certain that the full 8-year growth will be higher under the current
president.
But Jeb! isn’t just
drawing on the general conservative growth delusion. He’s piggybacking
completely on his brother’s institute, which has a much-derided 4-percent growth project. FYI, the institute’s founding executive director was James K. Glassman, described by the Bush Center’s site as having “written three books on investing.” Indeed, and one of those books was “Dow 36,000.”
So Jeb! insists that
he’s not his brother — he’s even replaced his last name with a
punctuation mark — and is portrayed by sympathetic reporters as the
serious, wonky member of the family that must not be named. But the best
he can come up with in his campaign launch is some lukewarm leftovers
from his brother’s already pretty sad excuse for a research institute.
Update: According to Politico, the 4 percent project was Jeb!’s idea. OK, but still pretty sad.
This has to be one of the laziest campaigns ever."
More Florida Fun
Others are picking up on the sheer amazingness — make that amazingness! — of Jeb! citing the record of bubble-era Florida as proof of his skill in economic management. Jim Tankersley adds some data to the picture. But I think there are a couple of additional important points to make here.
First, how does the
overall Florida record look now that the dust from the bursting bubble
has settled? (Yes, that’s a horrible mixed metaphor. So sue me.) It’s
actually kind of startling. Start from 1998, the year Jeb! was elected
governor, and compare it with the US as a whole (the red line):
Florida fell into a
deep slump when the bubble burst, much worse than the nation as a whole —
and it has still not made up all the lost ground, so that Florida’s
growth rate over the past 16 years is just 1.7 percent, slightly below
the national average. This is even more remarkable when you bear in mind
that the economy of a favored retirement destination should be growing
faster than that of the rest of an aging nation.
Second, it could have been much worse. I’ve long argued that it’s useful to compare Florida with Spain
— both warm places that experienced huge housing bubbles and suffered
badly when the bubbles burst. Florida, however, had a much milder slump.
Why? Fiscal integration: major programs, especially Social Security and
Medicare, are paid for by the federal government, so that Florida in
effect received large-scale aid when its economy and hence tax payments
plunged but federal benefits just kept on coming.
But notice why that
happened: it’s because of the big New Deal and Great Society programs,
the ones Jeb!’s party wants to privatize and eventually kill. So not
only did Jeb!’s supposed economic success consist of nothing besides
presiding over a giant bubble; the only thing that kept the bubble from
causing utter catastrophe was his state’s lucky dependence on big
government.
And that, I think, really does warrant an exclamation point."
N.Y. / Region
Corrections Officer Kills Man During Attempted Robbery in Queens
The police said the man, who was armed, had demanded that a group of men give over their motorcycle keys when the off-duty officer shot him in the head.The accused thief should have known better.
10
N.Y. / Region
Beyond the Chokehold: The Path to Eric Garner’s Death
After the fatal confrontation with the police on Staten Island was captured on video, the focus on an officer’s chokehold left many questions unexplored.The police were not justified.
11
World
Venezuela: President Highlights Work to Restore Full Ties With the U.S.
A recent meeting between Venezuelan and American officials had opened an important channel that could lead toward restoration of full diplomatic ties.The residuals of the anti Castro policy are collapsing.
12
World
China to Halt Its Building of Islands, but Not Its Projects on Them
The announcement may have been intended to ease tensions with the United States, which has strongly criticized the construction of the outcroppings.There is an internal fight over the South China Sea in China.
The U.S. should sign the Law of the Sea treaty.
13
N.Y. / Region
Review: Moxie in Madison
Moxie, which opening in November in Madison, brings a chic sensibility to demure surroundings, with regionally influenced American classics.A beach joint with pretentions.
I will happily lunch there.
14
Business Day
Estonian News Site Can Be Held Liable for Defamatory Comments, Court Rules
The decision raised concern among free-speech advocates who feared that newspapers’ ability to publish information would be hampered if they were held responsible for all comments on their sites.This is not a good result.
The comment section is usually edited only for personal attacks.
A company is not a person.
This ferry company offended its users.
15
Opinion
Jeb Bush and Single Mothers
Policies that fight poverty, provide sex education and encourage parental involvement would all help alleviate a crisis that needn’t be so severe.We are not worried about welfare.
Cohabitation is acceptable to me.
I can do most of what I need done with a power of atourny
and a healthcare proxy.
16
N.Y. / Region
Joyce Mitchell, Prison Worker, Appears in Court as Search for Escaped Convicts Continues
The Clinton County district attorney, Andrew Wylie, said that additional charges against Ms. Mitchell, as well as additional arrests, were possible.Another day of no news
17
N.Y. / Region
New York’s Lawmakers Agree on Campus Sexual Assault Laws
The deal was announced on what was thought to be the penultimate day of this year’s legislative session, but a number of other issues remained unresolved.We seem to be trapped by rent control.
It sent many small landlords into bankruptcy.
And trapped many tenants in cheap spaces.
18
Travel
How to Pick a Cellphone Plan for Traveling Abroad
Pay attention to the payment plans for SIM cards, take your chances with Wi-Fi or rely on data. These are just a few of the choices you’ll need to make.I have no universal solution.
I have a Trakphone bought for less than $25 cash with a thirty dollar wad of minutes and connect days. It boasts of international service.
19
Science
Science, Now Under Scrutiny Itself
A steady increase in study retractions has alarmed journals and scientists, raising difficult questions about how research is conducted.Peer review has become casual.
That will end or the journal will fold.
20
Sports
Is the U.S. Open Ready for the Fox Era?
Traditionalists are holding their breath as Fox brings its bag of innovations to covering the United States Open golf tournament at the Chambers Bay course in Washington State, for good or ill.I do not intend to watch.
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1
Real Estate
$1,200,000 Homes in Nashville, Tucson and Michigan
This week’s homes include contemporaries in Tucson and Nashville and one with views of a lake in Michigan.Do you want to clean?
4
World
Plan for Tourist Attraction at Mogao Caves Worries Chinese Scholars
The effort to restore and protect the statues, figurines and frescoes of Buddha in Dunhuang has come against its toughest threat yet: tourists.Open them by appointment only.
6
World
Hong Kong Election Plan Appears Unlikely to Win Lawmakers’ Approval
Both opponents and supporters of a Beijing-backed proposal for picking the city’s top official said it lacked the necessary votes on the Legislative Council.Hong Kong is not China.
7
Sports
Video: St. Louis Cardinals Manager’s Reaction
Mike Matheny responded to an investigation by the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors into whether the St. Louis baseball team hacked into the computers of the Houston Astros.Sign stealing is a traditional part of the game.
8
The Upshot
Responding to Readers’ Questions on Weight Loss
Many of you argued that exercise worked for you, so how could my arguments be true?Easily.
9
Business Day
Slight Decrease in Foreign Ownership of U.S. Debt
Foreign holdings of United States Treasury securities fell in April for the first time since October.Probably meaningless.
10
Sports
Suspicious Swiss Bank Deals to Be Part of FIFA Investigation
The official leading the inquiry in Switzerland said about nine terabytes of data had been seized during a sweep of the Zurich offices of world soccer’s governing body.Cleaning house.
12
World
Spain: Politician Resigns After Uproar Over His Jokes
A member of Madrid’s new City Council resigned amid a storm over jokes he posted on Twitter about the Holocaust and terrorism.Twitter is public.
13
Real Estate
In Savannah, Where Change Is Slow, an Art District Is Catching On
The Starland District, anchored by a former dairy, is attracting art studios, offices, galleries and cafes to what once was a derelict neighborhood.I did not like the work they were doing.
15
Sports
Argentina Tops Uruguay on Header in Copa América
Argentina is in first place in Group B along with Paraguay, which defeated Jamaica,1-0.
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| W: N. Masset (2-1) L: J. Tazawa (0-3) S: J. Grilli (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bos HR: M. Napoli (10) |
16
Business Day
Video: Beware of Greek Exit, E.U. Official Says
Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said a withdrawal from the eurozone would have drastic consequences for Greece as well as for the European Union.If Greece leaves the Euro they can begin to recover.
17
Business Day
Ex-A.I.G. Chief Wins Bailout Suit, but Gets No Damages
Maurice Greenberg, the former chief of A.I.G., had been seeking nearly $40 billion, contending that the government overstepped its bounds in its 2008 bailout.OK
18
Your Money
Lodging Taxes and Airbnb Hosts: Who Pays, and How
The “sharing” economy has led to more scrutiny from local governments that require hosts to collect and pay occupancy taxes for short-term rentals.yes.
19
U.S.
Twists Outnumber Judges (So Far) in Case Against Arizona Sheriff
Lawyers for Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County want a new judge, who questioned the sheriff’s hiring of a rogue informant to investigate whether the judge was out to get him.Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not "Judge Roy Bean"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bean
20
World
E.U. Agrees to Extend Economic Sanctions Against Russia
The decision to prolong the sanctions for a further six months frustrated a campaign by Moscow to win a blocking vote from one of the countries in the European bloc.The fighting continues.
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@20:20
1
Science
Hawkmoths Slow Brain to Dine in the Night
Research found that the moths slowed their visual processing, as if using a slower shutter speed, to gather light and keep up with the motion of the flowers they feed from.ok
2
Travel
Dorothy Cann Hamilton Talks About the World Expo
Food is this year’s theme at the expo, and the president of the USA Pavilion will show American cuisine in a cultural context.Enthusiasm is a national theme.
4
Opinion
Put Lawyers Where They’re Needed
The law profession must do more to make legal services accessible to all.The ministers of a civil society . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clergy
"To each according to his need. From each according to his ability." Marx
5
Food
During Ramadan, Dates Are a Unifying Staple
Out of respect for tradition, Muslim communities of the world break their fasts with the fruit, which is always available.I like them.
I eat too many if they are present.
6
Sports
Ron Clarke, Australian Runner Known for World Records, Dies at 78
A middle- and long-distance runner who broke 17 world records, some by huge margins, in the mid-1960s but never won an Olympic gold medal.A Runner.
7
Opinion
Rachel Dolezal’s Harmful Masquerade
I will accept her as black like me only when society can accept me as white like her.Rachel A. Dolezal is pursued by demons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_%28disambiguation%29
8
U.S.
Minnesota’s Holding of Sex Offenders After Prison Is Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal judge said Minnesota’s program, which holds more than 700 people for indefinite periods, had failed to release some who no longer met the criteria for being confined."“The overwhelming evidence at trial established that Minnesota’s civil commitment scheme is a punitive system that segregates and indefinitely detains a class of potentially dangerous individuals without the safeguards of the criminal justice system,” Judge Frank wrote."
The problem is returned to the legislature.
There is no solution in present criminal law.
9
N.Y. / Region
Tougher Teacher Licensing Exams and a Question of Racial Discrimination
Minority candidates have been lagging whites in passing the tests, jeopardizing a goal of diversifying the teaching force so it more closely resembles the makeup of the country’s student body.The goal of teaching is not yet explicit.
10
Your Money
Lodging Taxes and Airbnb Hosts: Who Pays, and How
The “sharing” economy has led to more scrutiny from local governments that require hosts to collect and pay occupancy taxes for short-term rentals.Decide what must be done and do it.
That is the duty of government at all levels.
The deciding is the purpose of politics.
11
The Upshot
Women’s World Cup: How U.S. Fans Should Root Today
The American women’s soccer team could still face any of seven different opponents in the next round. The worst potential matchup: France.I am not a fan of the process.
I will happily follow the team.
12
Technology
Supreme Court Rejects 2 Antitrust Cases
The cases, one criminal and the other civil, involved an international cartel’s price-fixing of liquid-crystal displays used in computers and cellphones.The Supreme Court probably did the right things with these.
14
Sports
Nadal Gains Mercedes Final
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal will play Viktor Troicki in the final of the grass-court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany.
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| Bos: C. Buchholz (3-6, 4.22 ERA) | ||||||
| Atl: S. Miller (5-2, 2.02 ERA) | ||||||
| Preview | ||||||
15
Technology
California Says Uber Driver Is Employee, Not a Contractor
The ride-hailing company has long positioned itself as a “logistics company” and said its drivers are contractors, not employees.The drivers are doing factored piece work.
Yes, they are employees.
16
Health
F.D.A. Gives Food Industry 3 Years to Eliminate Trans Fats
Health experts said the elimination of artery-clogging, artificial trans fats from the food supply would save thousands of lives a year."The agency ruled on Tuesday that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, were no longer “generally recognized as safe.” That means companies would have to prove that such oils are safe to eat — a high hurdle, given that scientific literature overwhelmingly shows otherwise. The Institute of Medicine had concluded there was no safe level for consumption of them, a stance the F.D.A. cited in its reasoning."
https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-14883.pdf
17
Travel
How to Pick a Cellphone Plan for Traveling Abroad
I can't help.
I do not know the situation.
Buying a "no contract" inexpensive phone locally may be the best solution.
"Free" Wi-Fi is better if it serves the purpose.
18
Business Day
Estonian News Site Can Be Held Liable for Defamatory Comments, Court Rules
This is not a good precedent.
19
World
South African Court Said to Block Sudan Leader’s Departure
A South African court issued an interim order to prevent President Omar Hassan al-Bashir from leaving the country after the International Criminal Court sought his arrest on genocide charges.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/world/africa/omar-hassan-al-bashir-sudan-south-africa.html
Omar al-Bashir, Leaving South Africa, Eludes Arrest Again
Missed him!
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