What We Read Today 12 August 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary “reading list” which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for “reading list” items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.

• US top destination for fugitives, says Beijing (Peter Cai, China Spectator) China’s state-controlled English language newspaper has accuse the U.S. of harboring “more than 150 fugitives at large” from China. Further, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimates there are between 16,000 and 18,000 former officials who have fled overseas with $140 billion. The Beijing government has recently announced that it will pursue corrupt officials who have fled the country as part of its anti-corruption efforts.

• Feds Push for More Text-to-911 Services, but It’s Still Safer to Just Call (Amy Schatz, re/code) The Federal Communications Commission voted last Friday (08 August) to require all wireless carriers to provide text-to-911 SMS services within the next year. They may also expand the texting feature to some internet-based messaging services, such as iMessage.

• Medical Marijuana Research Hits Wall of U.S. Law (Serge V. Kovaleki, The New York Times) Though more than one million people are thought to use the drug to treat ailments ranging from cancer to seizures to hepatitis C and chronic pain, there are few rigorous studies showing whether the drug is a fruitful treatment for those or any other conditions. A major reason is this: The federal government categorizes marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, the most restrictive of five groups established by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Drugs in this category – including heroin, LSD, peyote and Ecstasy – are considered to have no accepted medical use in the United States and a high potential for abuse, and are subject to tight restrictions on scientific study.

• Europe Dreads America’s Chlorinated Chickens (Caroline Winter, Bloomberg Businessweek) In Europe chlorine is considered very bad for people so it is banned in foodstuffs. Many American chickens are decontaminated with a chlorine solution and the EU has banned imports of such chickens. The European concerns may not be unfounded. See At chicken plant, chemicals blamed for health ailments are poised to proliferate (Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post)

• Barriers to rapid containment of the Ebola outbreak (World Health Organization) The WHO is in a panic, but hopes for a vaccine within 1-2 years. See Ebola virus: Vaccine ‘should be ready for 2015’, WHO says, as GSK plays down timing (Natasha Culzac, The Independent).

There are 10 articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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