What We Read Today 23 October 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.

• Government ups air bag warning to 7.8M vehicles (Tom Krisher, Associated Press, MSN Autos) The government has raised the number of autos which might contain the Takata Corp airbags that can discharge shrapnel when deployed. Originally 4.7 million vehicles were identified; the number is now 7.8 million. Safety advocates say more than 20 million autos may be affected. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website has been malfunctioning Tuesday and Wednesday so car owners should go to their manufacturer’s web site to try to find information.

• Water Crisis Seen Worsening as Sao Paulo Nears ‘Collapse’ (Vanessa Dezem, Bloomberg) Brazil’s largest metropolis and largest state, Sao Paulo, is experiencing the most severe drought in eight decades. The region is home to more than 40 million people and produces about 1/3 of Brazil’s GDP. Spokesmen are now using words like “collapse” when discussing the effects of the drought.

• Canada PM Calls Parliament Shooting a ‘Terrorist’ Act (Jon Williams, Jack Date, Lee Ferran and Meghan Keneally, abc News) Hat tip to Rob Carter. This is being investigated as a suspected ISIS act. Experts are saying it represents the first act of what may be a global ISIS campaign.

• Recent articles about Scotland Independence and Similar Movements

Scotland’s main parties to discuss further devolution at Smith commission (The Guardian)

Devo max in Scotland would be disastrous for Northern Ireland and Wales (The Conversation)

Scottish government calls for maximum devolution Post-referendum proposals submitted to Smith commission stop just short of what would have been achieved by independence (The Guardian)

Why does Catalonia want independence from Spain? (The Telegraph)

• Articles about conflicts and disease around the world

Ebola

Ebola quarantining could impinge on US civil liberties (Al Jazeera)

Fears of Islamic State using Ebola in the US are an absurd and cynical distraction (The Conversation)

Doctors: CDC’s New Ebola Tracking Plan Is Political Theater (Foreign Policy)

WHO: Experimental Ebola vaccines could come to West Africa by January (Al Jazeera)

Somalia

Somaliland inspired by Scotland and Catalonia independence campaigns (The Guardian)

Syria

Syria conflict: ‘200 air force strikes’ in 36 hours (BBC News)

Isis claims it has US airdrop of weapons intended for Kurds (The Guardian)

Man arrested on suspicion of attending Syrian terrorist training camp (The Telegraph)

Iraq

US jury convicts Blackwater guards in 2007 killing of Iraqi civilians (The Guardian)

Blackwater Founder Remains Free and Rich While His Former Employees Go Down on Murder Charges (The Intercept) Hat tip to Roger Erickson.

Iraqi Kurds to send forces to Syria’s Kobane Kurdish authorities agree to send Peshmerga fighters to northern Syrian town to fight ISIL after Turkey allows passage. (Al Jazeera)

Ukraine

Ukraine crisis: Separatists plan breakaway elections (BBC News)

Ukraine rebels dream of New Russia (BBC News)

Mud and Loathing on Russia-Ukraine Border (Bloomberg)

Russia

Should America worry about a China-Russia axis? (CNBC)

Russia’s borders: old ties pull Bulgaria in two directions (The Conversation)

Russia calls Europe’s bluff on Ukraine gas deal (Fortune)

North Korea

North Korean detainee reunites with family in Ohio (Associated Press, MSN News)

There are 13 articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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