Clueless

New police advice to schools: Confront shooter (unarmed)

"Law enforcement authorities are increasingly advising school officials - and even young students - to physically confront suspects in future campus attacks as a final line of defense. The advisories, now included in training videos and documents prepared by police, represent a major shift in tactics for law enforcement officials who have traditionally counseled potential victims to flee and hide while waiting for authorities to answer calls for help." Continue reading →

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Welcome to the Future: Congress Takes on 3-D Printing

"This may be the first time 3-D printing is the subject of legislation, but it certainly won’t be the last. The technology allows for the production of objects by depositing thin layers of materials. The process is called additive manufacturing, which stands in opposition to subtractive manufacturing, the traditional process in which objects are produced at factories by making small parts out of larger pieces of material, like sheets of metal. By allowing for the on-demand production of single, customized items, the technology promises to end the system of large factories and long supply chains in the markets for many goods—and to transform the global economy." Continue reading →

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Jack Lew: The Rookie

"New York Democrat Chuck Schumer said the Treasury nominee has an 'uncanny ability to delve into a subject' and 'master it.' Americans can only hope, because you wouldn't know it based on the little that Mr. Lew claims to have known about what happened during his tenure at Citigroup from 2006-2008. He was a senior executive at the giant failing bank before and during the financial crisis, but he gave the impression he was there mostly to cash a paycheck. When Orrin Hatch ticked off the problems that afflicted the two Citi divisions that Mr. Lew oversaw as chief operating officer, the nominee seemed to know less about them than Mr. Hatch." Continue reading →

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The Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

"Shortly after 9/11, [renowned Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman’s Steinway] was confiscated at JFK Airport when he landed in New York to give a recital at Carnegie Hall. Thinking the glue smelled funny, the TSA decided to take no chances and destroyed the instrument.' Yes. A Steinway. Which Mr. Zimerman had modified himself. It has now broken 'a rare Heinrich Knopf bow belonging to [cellist] Alban Gerhardt … In what the cellist called ‘an act of brutal and careless behaviour’, the bow stick … was snapped in two, over the bridge of the cello, by air security staff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, as they examined the case’s contents.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

The Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

"Shortly after 9/11, [renowned Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman’s Steinway] was confiscated at JFK Airport when he landed in New York to give a recital at Carnegie Hall. Thinking the glue smelled funny, the TSA decided to take no chances and destroyed the instrument.' Yes. A Steinway. Which Mr. Zimerman had modified himself. It has now broken 'a rare Heinrich Knopf bow belonging to [cellist] Alban Gerhardt … In what the cellist called ‘an act of brutal and careless behaviour’, the bow stick … was snapped in two, over the bridge of the cello, by air security staff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, as they examined the case’s contents.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

Vietnam attempts to address ‘long illness’ of public sector

"State-owned enterprises have racked up some $61 billion of debt which represents more than half of total public debt in Vietnam. Several of the SOEs have already collapsed in spectacular fashion, including shipping giants Vinashin — which ran up $4.4 billion of losses — and Vinalines, which has defaulted on payments of some $1.1 billion. Experts say the SOEs have become expert at hiding their debts, have incomprehensible strategies, hazardous investments in non-core sectors which are cunningly designed to circumvent government regulations. The top officials running the companies frequently flaunt lifestyles incompatible with their official remuneration." Continue reading →

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Ohio governor wants to tax funerals, concerts, parking garages

"Under Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposed sales-tax expansion plan, Ohioans may soon be paying sales tax on music downloads, parking garages and even funerals. 'Essentially, the tax would be assessed on all but about 40 of types of economic activity,' the Dispatch reported. The scope of the new sales tax proposal, however, is broad. It will include charges on bank services, bowling allies, hunting and fishing guilds, and amusement parks, concerts and sporting events that are not deemed educational." Continue reading →

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LAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

"Something is happening in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nearby, a string of so-called 'maternity hotels,' where Asian women — often Chinese and Taiwanese — come to give birth to babies who will automatically acquire a US passport — has recently drawn the attention of authorities. There is nothing illegal about foreign women giving birth in the United States. But federal officials are investigating possible related crimes, while local officials say planning regulations may have been violated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

LAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

"Something is happening in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nearby, a string of so-called 'maternity hotels,' where Asian women — often Chinese and Taiwanese — come to give birth to babies who will automatically acquire a US passport — has recently drawn the attention of authorities. There is nothing illegal about foreign women giving birth in the United States. But federal officials are investigating possible related crimes, while local officials say planning regulations may have been violated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’