1
Opinion
How to Fight Homelessness
If we don’t want more people on the streets, let’s stop kicking them out of their homes.The root cause of homelessness is the constant demand for "submarket" rent.
Section 8 vouchers do not work.
2
N.Y. / Region
The American Kestrel Looms Large in New York City, if Only to Its Prey
The smallest falcon in New York City, the American kestrel is a fast and deadly foe to smaller birds, snakes and mice.I have not seen the red tail for some months.
I hear hawk cries but they may be cat birds.
The leaves will go down shortly.
3
U.S.
Unable to Obtain Drugs, Ohio Suspends Executions
Ohio is extending its moratorium on capital punishment until at least 2017 because of difficulties obtaining the lethal drugs needed to carry out executions, the state prisons agency said on Monday.I did not expect the ban to work.
4
World
Video: Protest Groups Face Off in Germany
Counterdemonstrators gathered in Dresden, Germany, before a protest by the anti-immigrant group Pegida, the German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.Germany has a problem.
5
Travel
Want to Visit South Africa? How to Survive a Long Flight
There are ways to make a 16-hour flight a little less painful. We all know to hydrate, but how about a little yoga at 39,000 feet?Whatever works for you.
My habit here is to download the stories as I work through your list.
I you do not have wi-fi down load the stories and references. I try to keep to open source and the Times.
6
Opinion
What a Big Tax on Soft Drinks Can Do
In Mexico, such a tax has driven down consumption of sugary drinks, which could be an important public health measure if adopted in the United States.Such a tax is rational.
7
Magazine
The Soft Evidence Behind the Hard Rhetoric of ‘Deterrence’
Reconsidering the word that was used for decades to justify long prison sentences.I am with Bentham.
I would not deter refugees who are willing to come.
8
World
Rapid Economic Growth in China Is Chipping Away at Coastal Wetlands
Unavoidably wetlands are undesirable neighbors.
9
N.Y. / Region
Tenants Press Record Button in Dispute With the Landlord
Residents of rent-stabilized units in an East Village apartment building used cellphones and camcorders to record talks with their landlord’s agent, who they say tried to scare them into leaving.Lying on the record is dangerous to the lier.
10
Your Money
To Get at the Root of Spending, Pay Attention
A trip to a sandwich shop suggests that awareness of the almost automatic ways we spend money might help rein in overspending."Be here now."
The best advice there is.
Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.
11
Science
Letters to the Editor
Readers respond to articles in Science Times.Yes.
Charge a price for water in a district that cuts use to match supply.
The price rise can be applied and removed progressively.
in addition the first gallon can be much cheaper than water supplied over twenty gallons per day per person.
12
U.S.
As Campus Fears Rise, So Do Efforts to Enact School Gun Laws
While California passed a ban on concealed weapons at schools, other states considered bills to ease restrictions on concealed firearms on campus.Make carrying a gun on campus a serious felony.
Identify students by weight if texts are digital.
13
Sports
Tall Receivers Are in Vogue, and They Cast a Shadow Over Most Defensive Backs
Virtually every team in the N.F.L. relies on at least one receiver who is taller than 6 feet 1 inch.http://www.theguardian.com/football
14
Opinion
Justice Gone Wrong in New Orleans
The district attorney’s office should be held accountable for its culture of negligence.I have no desire to visit New Orleans.
Prosecution in New Orleans should be grounds for a change of venue.
15
Sports
Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers Preview
Beating Ben Roethlisberger would be a sure sign that the Cardinals are real contenders, but beating Michael Vick would carry considerably less cachet.http://www.theguardian.com/football/results
16
Opinion
Asian-Americans and Stereotypes
Readers discuss a column by Nicholas Kristof that asked, “Why are Asian-Americans so successful in America?”Nicholas Kristof is correct.
Small farming is a miserable life.
17
Sports
Rangers Come Close, but the Devils Don’t Miss
The Devils win their first game of the season on Lee Stempniak’s goal in overtime, while the Rangers drop their third in a row.Hockey is Canadian.
Canada had a parliamentary election.
The liberals turned the conservatives out of the ministries.
http://www.ianwelsh.net/consequences-of-the-canadian-liberal-majority
"Consequences of the Canadian Liberal Majority
2015 October 20
Justin Trudeau
The election started with the NDP in the lead primarily due to the Liberal Party having voted for the police state bill c-51. The NDP ran to the center, the Liberals ran (somewhat) to the left That lead narrowed and was neck and neck and until the Conservative party and Bloc Quebecois used the Niqab as a wedge issue. You can read a summary of the campaign here.
So what does this mean going forward?
A great deal will depend on how Trudeau rules. (A majority Canadian PM is essentially an elected dictator).
Trudeau has promised to repeal C51 and reintroduce a bill minus the worst bits of C51. Note that Trudeau has repeatedly stated he voted for C51 as a matter of principle, so some nasty will remain.
Pipelines are a go. TPP is a go (though the NDP was not great on either of those issues, they were better than the Liberals).
National Pharmacare and Daycare will not happen.
Certain regressive tax changes like income splitting are gone. Expect another tax cut for the “middle class”, which isn’t particularly what it needs.
Expect the muzzling of scientists to end, and the long form census form to return. (Conservatives got rid of the longer census form and made the census non mandatory, turning its data to crap.)
Moving away from the First Past the Post electoral system. The NDP and Liberals had both said they intended to do something along these lines. But with a Liberal majority government in power this is very much in question. I will be pleasantly surprised if Trudeau doesn’t bury this in a committee.
The Economy
The brutal truth about the Canadian economy is that it is unlikely to recover significantly, though the recession will end.
I’ve written about the Canadian mixed economy in the past, but the bottom line is that Harper doubled down on resource extraction, and especially oil. Manufacturing was gutted during the period of high oil prices and a high Canadian dollar and will not recover naturally during a low dollar period because those who took advantage last time were burned so badly (and mostly went out of business).
Canada has a housing bubble which is significantly worse than the US housing bubble in 2007. This bubble is government guaranteed.
So, at this point Canada is a resource extraction economy with artificially high asset prices. It is a petro-state.
Trudeau is onside with this. Mulcair repeatedly talked about the mixed economy and how to get back to it, and was a staunch and principled environmentalist. Trudeau has pandered repeatedly to the oil sector.
Given this is the case there are only two questions about the Canadian economy that matter.
- Will the housing bubble endure?
- Will oil prices rise, preferably above about $80 US a barrel, the break even price for much of the oil sands?
If you think the answer to number two is no, then you think that the Canadian economy under Trudeau will not significantly improve.
Trudeau’s economic performance, in other words, is linked almost entirely to how China’s economy performs and the world price of oil, things he has no control over.
The Next Election
Just because the economy won’t get a lot better doesn’t mean it may not bumble along sufficiently well for the Liberals to be re-elected. Contrary to Democratic party talking points, Obama never fixed the US economy, the percentage of people employed in the US never recovered and wages stagnated, but Obama was re-elected (the House did less well for Democrats, but the House in America is jerrymandered).
Still, the NDP and Conservatives will likely have an opening in the next election. Whether they will be able to capitalize on it is unclear and much does depend on Trudeau’s performance. Right now he is a blank slate on whom many hopes have been written. In 4 years he will have a track record.
I don’t know if Mulcair will stay on as NDP leader. He was a strong and effective opposition leader, but he was not a strong and effective campaigner, and must shoulder responsibility for turning a first place start into a third place finish. He has lost all the gains the previous NDP leader, Jack Layton, made. (I believe Layton would have won this election. The cost of his death rises and rises.)
As for the Conservatives, expect one of the Ford brothers to run, among others. It will be a zoo. But the Conservatives held their prairie base and a good chunk of Ontario and BC. They were not wiped out, they just lost. Especially if the electoral system remains the same, they will remain a threat to win.
Justin Trudeau is going to feel good, for a while, compared to Harper. He will be better. He will repeal some of Harper’s worst policies. He will also not be an offensive creep, and that matters.
But he is, at the end of the day, a believer in the neo-liberal consensus. He will run a kinder neoliberalism, but it will still be neoliberalism. He is not particularly committed to civil liberties, he was not principled opposition to Harper’s worst excesses (that was Mulcair), and there is no particular reason to believe he will make any sort of radical break from Conservative policies: he voted for a great many of them.
The bottom line is this: Justin showed his character when he supported C51. Mulcair showed his character when went hard against it with polls showing a majority of Canadians for it (they later changed their mind, but he did what he did when it was unpopular).
I cannot find any great confidence in Trudeau, either as an ethical man, or as an economic leader.
Finally. Despite the spin in the world and domestic press this is not a great repudiation of Harper or a collapse of the Conservative party, which maintained most of its voters. There is no collapse like what happened to the Progressive Conservatives after Mulroney. After 9 years in power, it is normal for a party to lose power, and majority governments are the historical norm in Canada. This is a status quo flip between Canada’s two ruling parties.
Harper changed the nature of Canada’s government and economy and created a unified Conservative Party. Trudeau will not undo most of the fundamental things he did. Harper will go down as an important Prime Minister.
Stay tuned."
18
Opinion
A Minimum Wage of $15: A Look at the Record
Readers, including a union leader, write that a $15 minimum is feasible.A low "market rate" rent is $3,000.
"Rent should be one quarter of the monthly income"
4*3,000 = 12,000. 12*12,000. = 144,000.
40*52 = 2,080
144,000/2,080 = 69.23 Take home /hour implying
about $100./hour for a 40 hour week in New York City.
19
The Upshot
To Reduce the Cost of Drugs, Look to Europe
Make the marketers sell their drugs.
Remove their monopoly power when their costs are paid.
The information is on Form 10K.
20
World
Uber Driver in India Is Found Guilty of Rape
The case elicited widespread concern over the dangers of ride-hailing services in India, where there have been a number of prominent rape cases in recent years.The law in India is changing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@17:30
Multimedia/Photos
Video: How Not to Help an Injured Player
A stretcher team trying to get an soccer player off the field during a match in Greece over the weekend could have used a little help themselves.Free tickets are worth what you pay.
Germany has a problem.
3
N.Y. / Region
Bans on Assault Weapons in New York and Connecticut Are Upheld
A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the legislation had been directed at preventing mass shootings like that in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.Militias were found to be useless for national defense in 1813.
They were found useless again in 1862.
The recent experience with mercenaries was not encouraging.
4
Sports
Buckeyes Set to Pick Starter
Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer said he was not ready to publicly name a starting quarterback for the top-ranked Buckeyes’ game at Rutgers on Saturday.
American League
National League
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| NYM HR: D. Murphy (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ChC HR: K. Schwarber (2) J. Soler (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Scoreboard
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5
http://www.theguardian.com/football/results
6
Sports
Giants Open Strong but Bumble Game Away to Eagles
The Giants put together a sloppy jumble of penalties, turnovers and blunders and ended their three-game winning streak as the Eagles romped.http://www.theguardian.com/football/results
6
Sports
Djokovic and Tsonga Reach Shanghai Final
Novak Djokovic reached his 13th consecutive ATP Tour final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.MLB Scoreboard
American League
National League
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| W: L. Hochevar (1-0) L: R. Dickey (0-1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| KC HR: B. Zobrist (1) A. Rios (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preview | Box | Gameview | Recap | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Royals lead series 3-1 |
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| W: J. deGrom (1-0) L: T. Cahill (0-1) S: J. Familia (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NYM HR: D. Murphy (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ChC HR: K. Schwarber (2) J. Soler (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mets lead series 3-0 |
7
Opinion
True Love
Dogs should not travel by air.
We will get a dog.
Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.
8
U.S.
Guantánamo Detainee’s Request Delays Progress Toward 9/11 Trial
The detainee, Walid bin Attash, asked that he be allowed to explore firing his defense team and representing himself, and his lawyer said she was unsure how to advise him.Try them in a civilian court or kick them loose.
The shrub is a war criminal.
9
Opinion
Making Pesto? Hold the Pine Nuts
Unsustainable harvesting of this classic ingredient is harming wildlife in Russia’s forests.They are also found in New Mexico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut#Species_and_geographic_spread
"In North America, the main species are three of the pinyon pines: Colorado pinyon (Pinus edulis), single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), and Mexican pinyon (Pinus cembroides). The other eight pinyon species are used to a small extent, as are gray pine (Pinus sabineana), Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) and Parry pinyon (Pinus quadrifolia). "Pinyon" is spelled as piñon in Spanish."
13
Technology
Regulators Propose a Drone Registration System
The transportation secretary wants the system in place by December, but some drone makers are concerned about the details, which will be determined by a task force.Regulation will drag.
14
N.Y. / Region
New York City Prepares to Plant One Millionth Tree, Fulfilling a Promise
The final planting in the Million Trees NYC campaign, begun by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2007, comes on Wednesday, two years ahead of schedule.Bigger root pockets should be installed.
15
Business Day
A Small Indiana Town Scarred by a Trusted Doctor
Nearly 300 patients have filed lawsuits against a local cardiologist and his two partners, claiming that they performed needless operations.The doctor and his practice are bankrupt.
Get multiple opinions before surgery.
17
Science
A Case Study of Climate Change vs. Human Activity
Human activity has had at least as much effect as climate change on the survival of animals on the Bahamian island of Abaco, a new study suggests.Yes.
18
U.S.
More Sparring Over Planned Parenthood Funds
Texas announced Monday that it was cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics after undercover videos that featured discussions about fetal tissue.The state of Texas is insanity.
19
Sunday Review
Gamblers, Scientists and the Mysterious Hot Hand
New research shows how we can be fooled by our instinctive belief in patterns.The perception of patterns is evolutionarily useful.
Predators produce patterns. Breezes do not.
Failure to find a pattern can get one eaten.
Finding a false pattern may cost some sleep.
"If you look around the table and can't spot the patsy, it's you."
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