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.
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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.’’
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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
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