Friday, September 22, 2017

In the news, Monday, September 4, 2017


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SEP 03      INDEX      SEP 05
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from CityLab
News & Media Website: All things urban, from The Atlantic.

5 Places America Should Have Saved
Architecture professors chime in on the best buildings and parks lost to the wrecking ball.
The Mecca Flats (Chicago), The Original Waldorf Astoria (New York), The Rachel Raymond House (Belmont, MA), Olmsted’s Park and Parkway System (New York), The Chicago Stock Exchange.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization

Even by Its Own Standards, Communism Has Failed Miserably
For all its dreams of abolishing class, communism ended in highly stratified societies.

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from KHQ Local News (NBC Spokane)

Where is the smoke coming from? Map shows 74+ wildfires burning in western states
If you're wondering where all of the smoke in the air is coming from... the answer is probably not one specific fire. Currently there are more than 74 major wildfires burning in 8 western states including Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and California. Dozens of those fires are burning in our immediate region.

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from KIRO 7 Eyewitness News (CBS Seattle)

It's Northwest spider season; what you can do around your home
As we begin to see hopes of an end to this hot and smoky summer, KIRO 7 News advises us that spider season is beginning. The hotter summer will likely mean more of the eight-legged creatures. Right now, they’re looking for mating partners and are more on the roam than usual. The heavy spider invasion should only last a couple of weeks.

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from KPTV (Fox 12) (Portland)

Eagle Creek Fire grows in Gorge; evacuations ordered, I-84 shut down
The Eagle Creek fire was first reported at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Gorge. It grew to 3,000 acres overnight and was at 3,200 acres Monday morning. By Monday night, the fire had exploded to 4,800 acres, according to firefighters. Firefighters said windy conditions and poor visibility posed problems for the firefighting efforts Monday. Crews worked to protect structures near the fire. FOX 12 meteorologists said Monday night the fire was moving into a strong east wind zone that begins around Dodson, with Multnomah Falls only six to eight miles downwind. Investigators believe someone setting off fireworks caused the fire.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

The Broken-Window Fallacy Is Still Alive and Well
As Hurricane Harvey, now tropical storm Harvey, makes its way across the southern US, estimates have already come in as to the cost of the storm. According to AccuWeather, Harvey is expected to cost upwards of $190 billion in damages, one percent of the national GDP. This makes Harvey the costliest storm ever to hit the United States, more than Katrina ($100 billion) and Sandy ($60 billion) combined.

Why Government Cannot Be Run Like a Business
Even with a former CEO in charge, no government agency can be run like a business. Trump's business experience gives him little advantage Washington.

Does Government Spending Create More Economic Growth?
After the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, fears of ballooning public debt and worries about the drag on economic growth pushed authorities in some countries to lower government spending, a tactic that economists now think may have slowed recovery. A cut in government outlays is great news for wealth generators and to the economy.

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from New Statesman
"The leading voice of the British left, since 1913."

In the US, transit deserts are making it hard for people to find jobs and stay healthy
As any commuter who has experienced unreliable service or lives miles away from a bus stop will tell you, sometimes public transit isn’t really a viable option, even in major cities. In our car-loving society, where 85 per cent of Americans use a car to get to work, people who cannot access transportation are excluded from their own communities and trapped inside “transit deserts.” This term, which one of us (Junfeng Jiao) coined, describes areas in a city where demand for transit is high but supply is low. Lack of transit has harmful effects on those who rely on public transit – generally, people who are too young, too old, too poor or have disabilities that don’t allow them to drive. Mapping these deserts will help agencies adjust transit services and better serve their communities.

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from Press TV (Iran)
(Iranian propaganda channel)

‘Terrorist’ Soros petition reaches 100K signatures, compels White House reply
A petition calling on US President Donald Trump to declare Jewish billionaire George Soros a terrorist has garnered more than 100,000 signatures, enough to require a response from the White House.

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from The Spokesman-Review

Air in Spokane hazardous as wildfire smoke fills city
Spokane’s air quality deteriorated to hazardous levels Monday afternoon as smoke from wildfires across the Northwest continued to drift in. The air quality index was at 303 as of noon Monday, according to the Washington Air Monitoring Network. It’s the worst hourly measure Spokane has seen since the index hit 330 in August 2015, during another intense wildfire season. Spokane’s Regional Clean Air Agency, which uses a 24-hour weighted average to measure air quality every hour, reported an index of 245 as of 4:15 p.m., putting air in the “very unhealthy” category. Both categories mean everyone can start to experience negative health effects from being outside. North Idaho is faring worse, with an air quality index of 418 in Sandpoint, putting it well into the hazardous range.

Labor day retrospective: Spokane’s labor roots run deep
Spokane, for much of its history, has been a labor town. In the city’s first half-century, Spokane earned a well-deserved reputation as a center for radical unionism and socialism. The words Spokane and “Wobblies” (the nickname of the radical Industrial Workers of the World), were linked together for decades. Less sensationally, Spokane was also a town mostly friendly and tolerant toward moderate, mainstream unions – in line with the rest of the labor-friendly Northwest. In fact, Spokane was a union town almost from its founding. The first labor unions established a foothold in Spokane in the winter of 1886-87, when the city’s carpenters, plasterers and bricklayers organized.

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from Sputnik
(Russian government-supported propaganda channel)

Spain May Lose $2.9 Bln in Taxes if Catalonia Gains Independence
As the referendum on Catalonia's independence approaches, Spain has already started counting the potential cost of the region's independence. Catalonian tax agencies may take control of 2.5 billion euros (about $2.9 billion) annually, which are currently sent to Madrid, if the region gains independence following a referendum set for October, Spanish media reported on Monday. Catalonia's tax agency may start collecting value added tax, income tax from individuals, as well as from 700 state entities under the Catalan government's jurisdiction and 120 entities, which voluntarily chose to pay their taxes in Catalonia, El Mundo newspaper reported, citing Catalonia's Vice President Oriol Junqueras.

'Flagrant Human Rights Violations': Plight of Refugees in Libya
More than five years after the start of the civil war Libya remains split in two run by rival governments and facing a flurry of problems, including illegal migration. Sputnik looked at the plight of refugees living in temporary shelters scattered across the country. According to official information, there are 34 camps for refugees and illegal migrants, most of them in the southern regions of Tripoli and Misratah, all run by a state committee on illegal migration. There are more such camps in Libya’s central desert regions run by tribal councils and controlled by rival armed factions which international relief organizations are unable to reach out to and properly assess the situation.

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