Month: January 2015

Picking a fight with Hezbollah carries risks for Netanyahu

ALJAZEERA: Everything about Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli border patrol on Wednesday seemed precisely calibrated to send a message of “deterrence” while signaling a desire to avoid a full-blown war. What’s less clear, however, are the motivations behind the Israeli helicopter strike 10 days ago that provoked Hezbollah’s retaliation. Six anti-tank missiles were fired at […]

Dying to be free

NEWSLANC EDITOR: The below is a tragic account of how well meaning but usually ineffective 12 –step programs and their like are foistured on heroin addicts rather than providing them with a combination of effective medicines and professional counseling. HUFFINGTON POST: …. Anne’s thoughts raced to her days at the methadone clinic. So many of […]

Blizzard 2015: What Went Wrong With the Forecasting?

WALL STREET JOURNAL: National Weather Service experts misjudged the path and impact of the blizzard that struck the Northeast on Monday and Tuesday, in large part because they trusted the wrong forecasting model, several independent meteorologists said. Rather than rely on their own forecasting system—upgraded in recent weeks—the federal experts placed their faith instead on […]

It is time for Viktor Orbán to resign

Whatever the economic merits of Hungary’s opening to the East, by clearly allying himself and Hungary economically with Putin’s Russia (Paks II, Southstream, MET), he has emboldened Russia’s president to up the stakes in the Ukraine in the hope that the EU can be bullied into removing economic sanctions against Russia which, by all account, have brought the latter to its knees.

U.S. and India Share Sense of Unease Over China

He agreed to sign a joint statement with Mr. Obama chiding Beijing for provoking conflict with neighbors over control of the South China Sea. He suggested reviving a loose security network involving the United States, India, Japan and Australia. And he expressed interest in playing a greater role in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, where India could help balance China’s influence…

Russia knocked down to ‘junk’

USATODAY: Russia’s credit rating was slashed to “junk” Monday as the country’s financial system is “weakening,” says ratings agency Standard & Poor’s… Russia is in a world of hurt as falling oil prices crush the nation that relies heavily on energy exports. Sanctions placed on the country by the U.S. following President Vladimir Putin’s military […]

Federal deficit falling to lowest in Obama presidency

USATODAY: The federal government’s 2015 budget deficit will fall slightly this year to $468 billion, the lowest since President Obama took office, according to the annual budget outlook released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office… “In CBO’s estimation, increases in consumer spending, business investment and residential investment will drive the economic expansion this year […]

Study suggests sleeping drugs can increase risk of Alzheimer’s

GUARDIAN: Over-the-counter sleeping aids and hayfever treatments can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a study has found. The sleeping medication Nytol and anti-allergy pills Benadryl and Piriton all belong to a class of drug highlighted in a warning from researchers. Each of these drugs has “anticholinergic” blocking effects on the nervous system that are […]

Kochs to double election spending in 2016

FINANCIAL TIMES: The conservative political network overseen by Charles and David Koch has earmarked nearly $900m to spend on the 2016 election cycle, in one of the starkest signs yet of the influence outside spending groups are wielding on US politics. The vast spending goal revealed to donors on Monday and first reported by the […]