Eye-Catchers of the
Day
- Washington Post
http://is.gd/YC7hCd: “During a single day last year, the NSA’s Special Source Operations branch collected 444,743 e-mail address
books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook, 33,697 from Gmail
and 22,881 from unspecified other providers, according to an internal NSA
PowerPoint presentation.’’
- AP INTERACTIVE: The clock is ticking: U.S. debt ceiling primer:
Without a hike in the
legal limit by Oct. 17, the Treasury Department will have to choose who gets paid on time and
who gets paid late, which could trigger
a default on U.S. obligations —
something many experts describe as catastrophic.
- The New York Times: http://is.gd/erMX5J
Turning the Page (Historic Graphic)
On Tuesday, The
International Herald Tribune will become The International New York Times.
****
STATS OF THE DAY:
- ESPN
STATS: “The 9 points by the Colts [in their 19-9 loss to the Chargers Monday night] matches their fewest in a
game with Andrew Luck as starting QB.’’ - Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Andrew Luck top
3 ranked quarterbacks in the NFL this season: ESPN http://is.gd/CVI16G
- According to Focus
(a German weekly news magazine published in Munich) 68% of Germans believe their country's mission in Afghanistan was a
failure; only 23% say it was a success. - Tech
Crunch http://is.gd/HwAQ3i “In September, Yahoo reported 350 million monthly active mobile users, up from 300
million reported for February 2013 in its 2012 annual report. ‘’ - According to The Federal Bureau of Investigation
preliminary findings of its annual Uniform Crime Report for 2012, The South has been responsible for 82% of
executions; the Midwest 12%; and the West 6%. The number of people on death
row in the U.S. dropped to 3,082, marking the eleventh consecutive year in
which the size of death row decreased. Florida,
California, Texas, and Arizona accounted for half of all inmates sentenced to death.
The report noted that in 2011 Illinois became the latest state to abolish the
death penalty. - The
percentage of insured workers with a deductible of $1,000 or more for single
coverage jumped to 34 percent in 2012 from 12 percent in 2007, according to
a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation
and the Health Research and Educational Trust. http://is.gd/NeMbLK
- According to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, if the debt limit is not raised, preventing
the Treasury Department from borrowing, the
government will only be able to pay bills with the cash it has on hand, which
is about $30 billion per day. - A statistical analysis by Moody’s Analytics, Inc. shows that increased political
uncertainty since the recession hit in 2008 has lowered real GDP by close to $150 billion, reduced employment by 1.1 million jobs, and increased unemployment by 0.7 percentage point. - Most recent data shows the U.S. GDP growing at an annual rate of 1.3 %
Findings from the Ultra High Net Worth
(UHNW) Wealth Report: 2013 http://is.gd/gwFyC6
- Wealth-X
has identified 2,170 billionaires
globally, with a total net worth of $6.5 trillion (U.S. dollars), equal
to 23 percent of the world’s UHNW total wealth. - Although the United States and Europe grew
faster than Asia in the past 12 months, Wealth-X forecasts that Asia will
generate more UHNW individuals and wealth than both regions in the next five
years. - At the current growth rates, Asia’s
UHNW population and wealth will eclipse that of Europe in 2021 and 2017 respectively. - The
global UHNW population continues to be dominated by men, who form 88 percent of
the total population, as well as
self-made individuals, who form 65 percent of the world’s wealthiest individuals. - Latin America was the only region to suffer a
decline, with both its UHNW population and total wealth falling by 600
individuals and $75 billion respectively. - As Europe’s growth weakens, Asia’s economies will continue to strengthen. The region’s wealth is expected to overtake Europe by 2017.
- 32
percent of US UHNW individuals’ net worth is held in liquid assets, the
highest percentage out of all focus countries. - UHNW
women hold $1.2 trillion (U.S. dollars) in wealth in the US, more in dollar terms than
any other country. - Massachusetts
was the fastest growing state in the past 12 months, increasing by over 35
percent to become the 10th most populous state in the country, up from a
ranking of 17 last year. - Pennsylvania
was the state with the biggest absolute loss of UHNW individuals, with 50
fewer than the year before.
Blessed are the peacemakers; so why
was Vladimir Putin overlooked?
Interfax
October 11, 2013
Russian commentators have largely
criticized the Nobel Committee's decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Prominent pro-Putin commentator
Sergey Markov said that the Nobel Committee was unable to give Russian
President Vladimir Putin the award because of "Russophobia" and
"anti-Russian hysteria". Others called the award "unfair",
a "stupid action" and a "politically clever choice".
He noted, however, that, “despite the fact that the Nobel Committee did not decide to award the
peace prize to Putin, it is precisely Putin who is the real winner "in the
eyes of public opinion.’’
"The prize for the OPCW is a politically clever choice but
looks like a cunning move and a way not to give the prize to those who averted
a war in Syria.’’
Explaining his critical
stance towards the Nobel Committee's decision, [United Russia
MP Iosif] Kobzon said: "Precisely Putin launched the mechanism for chemical
disarmament in Syria, precisely the Russian leader convinced Syrian President
Bashar al-Asad to join the convention on banning this type of weapon."
"Putin launched this mechanism, the mechanism was
awarded the peace prize but the author of the idea was not," Kobzon said.
Head of the Russian
State Duma's International Affairs Committee Aleksey Pushkov said that the prize is being given in advance. tweeted: "They have started giving
the Nobel Prize in advance: first to Obama for fine speeches but not for
actions, and now the OPCW which has just started working in Syria.’’
***
Today in History
October 15, 2005, The Iraqi constitution was approved by voters in a
referendum. It was drafted by members of the Iraqi Constitutional Committee to
replace the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), the law of administration
for Iraq prepared by the Coalition Provisional Authority during the transitional
period. More than 78 percent of 9.8 million voters approved the document. 63
percent of eligible voters turned out to vote.
Word Origin
Crocodile Tears: The word crocodile
comes from ancient Greek and Egyptian folklore. Specifically, it comes from the
Greek krokodeilos. According to legend, a giant lizard attracted its victims by
loud moaning, including the shedding of tears while it devoured them.
Looking For a Good
Quote?
“Politics is the study of who gets what, when, and how.’’
–Harold D. Lasswell, U.S. political scientist
-Bill Lucey
October 15, 2013
Leave a Reply