Thursday, March 2, 2017

@10:40, 3/2/17

|


1
U.S.

A Night of Tornadoes: 3 Are Dead as Storms Sweep the Midwest

At least three people were killed during severe weather that extended into Wednesday. Forecasters said the Mid-Atlantic and Deep South were also at risk for dangerous conditions.

These are dramatic pictures.
March is in like a lion.
The local authorities can deal with the mess.

2
Business Day

47 Million Viewers Watched Trump’s First Address to Congress

The president’s address had about five million fewer viewers than President Barack Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress in 2009.

That is about the number that elected him.

3
World

Video: Funeral in India for Kansas Shooting Victim

Relatives and friends said goodbye to Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the engineer who was killed last week in a shooting that is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Properly so.

4
U.S.

F.B.I. Investigating Kansas Shooting of Indian Men as Hate Crime

The move was not unexpected given the nature of the shooting, in which a white man leveled ethnic slurs at two immigrants and questioned their status before opening fire.

Prosecute Adam W. Purinton for felony murder and two counts of attempted murder under Kansas law.
The hate crime can come later.

5
Travel

At Home in Bangkok

An insider’s guide to eating and drinking in the Thai capital.

Be in Bangkok and never leave New York.

6
U.S.

What to Watch: Trump to Speak to a Joint Session of Congress


I did not do that.

7
Food

Ice Creams Spiked With Whiskey for St. Patrick’s Day

OddFellows Ice Cream Company in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, celebrates the holiday with three new flavors.

They could be good.
Why not j
Just buy a bottle and enjoy if you  can stop.

8
U.S.

Democrats Call for Sessions to Recuse Himself From Russia Inquiry

Some Democrats went further, suggesting that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had perjured himself and demanding that he resign.

I would like to see Jeff Sessions out of government.

9
N.Y. / Region

Bill de Blasio’s ‘Vision’ Shrinks as His Re-election Campaign Begins

How the mayor’s ambition has grown more modest was evident as he vowed to reduce New York City’s homeless population of about 60,000 by a mere 2,500 over five years.

The homeless are limitless.
Bill de Blasio is showing good sense.

10
World

Homeless Find a Champion in Canada’s Medicine Hat

A small town leads the charge on a strategy embraced across Canada allowing homeless people begin to address their other challenges only after they have secured shelter.

The program will work well enough.
A person who takes in other homeless is doing the work of the program.
The problem will be to grab the guests before they get the host evicted.

|

@2:30, 3/2/17

|


1
Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 5

Benjamin finds a home in the country. But then disaster strikes, and he and Allen must hit the road to evade the authorities.

yes
They were filming from the beginning.
Much of the footage is selfies.

2
Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 6

In the series finale of this six-part documentary, Allen Hirsch and his monkey alter ego face a heart-rending farewell.

An end.

3
Business Day

Treasury Auctions Set for the Week of Feb. 27

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

Still no inflation.

4
U.S.

Trump’s Conciliatory Speech Was an Attempt to Smooth Hard Edges

The president’s speech was a recognition that a softer sales tactic was needed to sell the hard-edge populist agenda he campaigned on.

No sale.

5
Health

More Than 80 Percent of Patient Groups Accept Drug Industry Funds, Study Shows

About 80 percent of the top advocacy organizations received funds from industry sources, and sometimes failed to disclose their ties publicly.

The drug industry tries not to be fair.

6
Travel

How to Have a Green Vacation

Find a hotel that is environmentally friendly, try to bike or walk, eat local — and don’t buy plastic water bottles.

Baby steps.

7
U.S.

Trump Moves to Become Master of His Own Messages

The president has privately expressed frustration with a White House press office distracted by small grievances and under siege amid leaks and infighting.

His failure to prepare reflects on him.

Team Trump does not include his press office.

8
U.S.

Democrats Elect Thomas Perez, Establishment Favorite, as Party Chairman

Mr. Perez, a former labor secretary, defeated Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota liberal, in a race reflecting the divisions in the party before President Trump’s victory.

I am looking for a win.

9
Magazine

Evan McMullin Would Vote for a Democrat if He Had To

The former C.I.A. operative on his presidential run and why there are so many leaks from within the Trump administration.

I can work with conservatives who live with the facts I live with.

10
World

Attacks on 2 Syrian Security Offices Kill Dozens

It was a coordinated operation against two heavily secured government buildings using a combination of armed assaults and suicide bombings.

A war of all against all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes#Leviathan

Putin fears the condition in Russia.


|

@12:00, 3/1/17

|


1
Business Day

How to Get Better Customer Service, and Skip the Rage


yes

2
U.S.

What to Watch: Trump to Speak to a Joint Session of Congress


Threats.
N.Y. / Region

Upstate Village Tables Pollution Deal With Saint-Gobain and Honeywell


Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 2


Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 1


Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 4


N.Y. / Region

Nuclear Plant’s Closing Raises New Worries: How and When


Opinion

An English Sheep Farmer’s View of Rural America


|

@19:00, 3/1/17

|


1
Opinion

Trump vs. the Press

“FAKE NEWS media knowingly doesn’t tell the truth,” the president wrote on Twitter.

Trump has earned every bit of bad press he receives.

Technology

Uber Executive, Linked to an Old Harassment Claim, Resigns

Amit Singhal, the head of Uber’s engineering efforts, did not disclose the circumstances of his departure from Google last year, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Paper does not forget.

3
U.S.

Kellyanne Conway Casually Sits, and Etiquette Arbiters Take a Stand

Photos of the counselor to the president sitting casually on a couch in the Oval Office were all the kindling needed to ignite into a battle over decorum.

She should have known better.
Her behavior is not unexpected.

4
U.S.

What to Watch: Trump to Speak to a Joint Session of Congress


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/takeaways-president-trump-speech-congress.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/opinion/death-and-tax-cuts.html

5
Technology

Uber Chief Apologizes After Video Shows Him Arguing With Driver

Travis Kalanick said in an email that the ride-hailing company publicly posted that “I need leadership help and I intend to get it.”

Uber underpays the drivers.

6
N.Y. / Region

Protesters Gather to Support the Press, From Fox News to The New York Times

A group marched to the offices of The Times, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and NBC News to champion press freedom for all organizations, regardless of political leaning.

A good first step.

7
Opinion

Donald Trump’s Obsession With Applause

In paying tribute to a fallen Navy SEAL, the president assumes everyone loves adulation.

Soldiers die.
It is part of the job.
Good commanders try to minimize the number of dead.

8
Opinion

Mischaracterizations, Misrepresentations and Lies

President Trump continues to exaggerate his accomplishments, especially on the economy.

"At least in the meantime, however, Mr. Trump is busily trying to take credit for positive signs that were in fact nurtured on Barack Obama’s watch."

9
World

Fox News and Swedish Guest Spar Over ‘National Security Adviser’ Title


Fox News is defending a lie.

10
Business Day

In Case of Shkreli and Lawyer, Finger-Pointing Comes First

The challenge for the two defendants in a conspiracy and securities fraud case will be to persuade a judge that separate trials are necessary.

The judge will decide.

I do not know enough.
I suspect both defendants are knowledgeable adults and guilty of fraud.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business Day

How to Get Better Customer Service, and Skip the Rage


2
U.S.

What to Watch: Trump to Speak to a Joint Session of Congress


"Jam every other day; never jam today"

3
N.Y. / Region

Upstate Village Tables Pollution Deal With Saint-Gobain and Honeywell


The value of the lands is gone.
Make the residents whole.

4
World

In Taliban Attacks, a Reminder That Winter Offers Afghans No Mercy

On Tuesday, 11 police officers were killed in an assault in the south, but that was only one in a long and not unusual series of attacks against Afghan security forces.

The fighting in Afghanistan grinds on.

5
Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 2

Safely back in New York, Allen raises his adopted capuchin monkey as a member of the family, and their friendship becomes “the closest relationship I ever had.”
Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 1

What happens when a man’s best friend is a capuchin monkey? In the first episode of this six-part documentary, the artist Allen Hirsch makes a surprising discovery while on honeymoon in Venezuela.

Pet madness.
Opinion

Video: Long Live Benjamin — Episode 4

Allen makes a painful decision, and then must smuggle Benjamin to safety.

8
World

Hunting Boko Haram, Nigeria’s Army Is Accused of Massacring Civilians

Some witnesses say that soldiers, seeking insurgents and finding none, started shooting men who had surrendered and burning villages to the ground.

Civil war is messy.

      "Kill them all.  Let god sort them out."

9
N.Y. / Region

Nuclear Plant’s Closing Raises New Worries: How and When

With the nuclear plant closest to New York City set to shut down, lawmakers sought assurances that the power supply and communities’ finances would not be hurt.

The reasons the plant was built have not gone away.

10
Opinion

An English Sheep Farmer’s View of Rural America

As long as society sees farming only as a business and food as just a commodity, we’re all headed for ruin.

Farming is high risk.
I see well kept fields and abandoned houses and barns.  Scale matters. 

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

@23:01, 2/28/17

|


1
N.Y. / Region

Investigation Into City College President’s Finances: What We Know

A guide to how inquiries into the financial dealings of Lisa S. Coico, the former president of the City College of New York, began and what effect they have had on the college.

Lisa S. Coico has ended her career.

2
Food

A Dozen Recipes for Now

A skillet macaroni and cheese, Trini-Chinese chicken, a mighty tomato soup: There is a lot to look forward to.

OK.

3
Business Day

How to Get Better Customer Service, and Skip the Rage

If you believe the quality of customer care has declined, you’re not alone in feeling frustrated or angry. Here’re tips to get what you want.

Good advice.

4
Opinion

Trump’s Vilification of the Press

Readers decry President Trump’s exclusion of several news organizations from a briefing.

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

Attacking the press has been a bad idea.

5
U.S.

What to Watch: Trump to Speak to a Joint Session of Congress

The address will begin shortly after 9 p.m., and Republicans will be looking for Mr. Trump to steady himself after a turbulent start to his presidency.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/28/us/politics/fact-check-trump-congress-address.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/takeaways-president-trump-speech-congress.html

I ignored Trump's speech.

6
Food

A Children’s Food Delivery Service That Pleases Adults

Nurturie makes dishes created by the chef Katy Sparks for New York City families.

Yes.
I don't want to do that.

7
U.S.

Trump Pinning Hopes on Economic Growth to Avoid Budget Cuts

The president said money for his big increase in military spending would come from a “a revved-up economy.” Economists offer a less rosy forecast.

The money must be borrowed or the result of taxes. 
Enough growth to avoid a tax increase does not look likely.

8
U.S.

Trump to Ask for Sharp Increases in Military Spending, Officials Say

President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget that would also make major cuts to agencies like the E.P.A. but not reduce funding for the largest entitlement programs.

Congress could try to do that.
The money is not there.

9
Business Day

To Court Millennials, Hotels Are Rolling Out the Yoga Mat

Chains are increasingly offering fitness amenities, from group exercise classes to sneaker-lending programs, for a demographic craving “wellness.”

If wellness brings in the customers, do it. 

10
Food

Utica Greens: An Upstate New York Staple With Multiple Identities

Tracing the origins of an Italian-American dish beloved in the central part of the state, but not much beyond.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018594-utica-greens

Utica is not doing well as a city.
It has not done well since the railroads and cotton mills went south in the early fifties.


|