What We Read Today 14 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.

• Unexpected drop in euro zone output clouds recovery hopes (Martin Santa, Reuters) Hat tip To Ian R. Campbell, GEI Discussion Group, LinkedIn. Industrial production for the Eurozone fell by o.3% in June from May. May had fallen 0.6% from April. That’s almost a one percent decline in two months. Output in June was unchanged year-over-year. The prospects for GDP growth in the second quarter now appear bleak. Watch for the preliminary figures later today.
  

• The most wanted man in the world (James Bamford, Wired) Edward Snowden says he grew up believing the government didn’t lie. So when he read of National Intelligence Director James Clapper telling a Senate committee that the NSA “does not wittingly collect information” on millions of Americans, the clash with his ethics caused him to start acting on what he knew. See also next article. A brief recorded statement by Edward Snowden:

• Snowden: I Left the NSA Clues, But They Couldn’t Find Them (Andy Greenberg, Wired) Whistleblower Edward Snowden says that he left pointers to the documents he smuggled out of the NSA data bases so the agency could minimize national security risks. He says it is now clear that the NSA has either “purposely inflated the size of his leaks” or is “incapable” of finding the clues he left for auditors.

• 4 new benefits of coffee (MSN Healthy Living) Studies have shown coffee can lower your risk of diabetes, liver cancer, Alzheimer’s and skin cancer. But there are four new reasons to drink your coffee and feel good about it: Slide show.

• A Fascinating Look Inside Those 1.1 Million Open-Internet Comments (Elsie Hu, NPR) In addition to a large number of f-words, there were several “emergent themes with a few interrelationships, shown in the following diagram:

There are 11 articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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