What We Read Today 19 November 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.

Comet team detects organic molecules, basis of life on Earth (Victoria Bryan, Reuters) In the limited data received from the comet 67P lander Philae before its batteries ran down were measurements indicating the presence of organic (carbon containing) molecules), essential precursors for the creation of life as we know it on earth. It is not clear yet if the data will be able to determine how complex the carbon material is, whether it could contain proteins, for example.

Calling Early Elections in Japan, Abe Rolls the Dice on the Economy (Martin Fackler, The New York Times) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called a snap election for the lower house of parliament in December, calling it a referendum on his decision to postpone another increase in the nation’s consumption tax scheduled for a year from now. The schedule was established by legislation passed before Abe came into office two years ago. Japanese stocks initially surged on the news but by the end of Wednesday’s session had slipped into the red with the Nikkei 225 down 0.32%. See report at Investing.com.

Regulators demand massive recall of potentially dangerous air bags (Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post) An estimated 30 million vehicles may be involved in the U.S. See also: Defective air bags raise questions about automakers’ ability to handle gigantic recall (Drew Harwell and Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post)

Landrieu’s Keystone XL Hail Mary Falls Short (Kate Sheppard, Huffington Post) The vote for approval was 59-41 and in the arcane arithmetic of the U.S. Senate that is defeat.

On Media Outlets that Continue to Describe Unknowable Drone Victims as “Militants” (Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept) Hat tip to Rob Carter. It has been more than two years since The New York Times revealed that “Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties” of his drone strikes which “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants…unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”