Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 25 December 2016
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
Merry Christmas!
Air pollution expert: why Christmas may be the most toxic day of the year (The Conversation) Christmas day may be the most dangerous air pollution day in your home. Contamination from cooking, burning wood and candles, and from festive devices, such as “poppers”, create a hazardous environment far exceeding most other days of the year.
The figure below shows the result of 10 party poppers in a typical dining room. Particle concentrations are more than 100 times higher than those at the roadside and these levels can persist for some time.
Global
Norad Is Tracking Santa Again This Year (GEI) Click title link to check on his progress.
U.S.
The U.S. Government Is Collecting Student Loans It Promised to Forgive (Bloomberg) Here is an example of the problem with bureaucracy: The Obama administration has been actively seeking loan payments from thousands of former students eligible for a debt-forgiveness program. Students scammed by for-profit colleges are supposed to have debts incurred in that regard. Instead the government is garnishing their wages.
Stein pushes Justice Dept. for investigation of electoral system (The Hill) Jill Stein is continuing her push to investigate the integrity of the U.S. electoral system, with lawyers for the former Green Party presidential candidate asking Attorney General Loretta Lynch to probe the issue. From the letter from Stein’s counsel dated Friday:
“We write to urge the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the integrity of our nation’s election system generally, and our nation’s voting machines specifically, based on the information we discovered in the course of this representation.”
“The attempted recount process has uncovered that voting machines relied on in these states and across the country are prone to human and machine error, especially in under-resourced black and brown communities, and vulnerable to tampering and hacking.
“The recount also found that the states’ efforts to protect their systems may be insufficient, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. Each of these grave concerns warrants federal intervention,”
Trump team seeks names of officials working to counter violent extremism (CNBC) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has asked two Cabinet departments for the names of government officials working on programs to counter violent extremism, according to a document seen by Reuters and U.S. officials. The requests to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security involve a set of programs that seek to prevent violence by extremists of any stripe, including recruitment by militant Islamist groups within the United States and abroad. Reuters could not determine why the Trump team asked for these names. The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alaska lawmakers mull legislation to block Obama drilling ban (The Hill) Congressional Republicans and their oil industry allies are gearing up to fight President Obama’s new bans on oil drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Two Alaska lawmakers are exploring whether they should propose legislation to overturn Obama’s actions. Spokesmen for Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, both Alaska Republicans, said the lawmakers would consider proposing legislation to help President-elect Donald Trump overturn the bans if necessary. The legislation could either authorize the president to undo any prior offshore protections, or simply overturn the specific bans from Obama.
UK
Food security and why Christmas dinner is in peril (The Conversation) From turkeys to salmon and brussels sprouts, modern living is putting mounting pressure on the festive feast. While there may be worries about the purity of the food eaten in the UK, those concerns are relatively minor. Most of the food has no exposure in this regard. The bigger concern is that in the future availability may become a problem because of the major threats to food from climate change and population growth. In a civilised world, it’s vital that everyone can have access to decent food – and a feast at Christmas if they want one.
Tens of thousands of dead fish just washed up on a Cornish beach – here’s why (The Conversation) It must have been an incredibly morbid sight. Walkers on Marazion beach in Cornwall, at the south-western tip of mainland Britain, recently discovered tens of thousands of dead fish had been washed ashore overnight. One eyewitness told the Plymouth Herald the fish stretched “as far as the eye could see“. This was most likely the result of a fishing boat filling a net with fish in excess of the vessel’s capacity and being forced to dump the fish, already incapacitated by pressure in the net, to avoid capsizing. The fish then died and washed up on the nearest shore.
Germany
Germany Gets Free Power for Christmas as Wind Power Set to Surge (Bloomberg) The price of power for delivery on Christmas Day in Germany will turn negative as a surge in wind generation is forecast to boost supply just as unseasonbly mild temperatures and business shut downs for the holidays cut electricity demand. The forecast going in to January is for several days of negative cost to customers for electricity in an effort to boost demand to match production.
Israel
Obama Staged ‘Shameful Ambush’ of Israel, Netanyahu Says (Bloomberg) President Barack Obama’s administration staged a “shameful ambush” by allowing the UN Security Council to pass a resolution declaring Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his first public comments since Friday’s vote. Netanyahu said Obama broke a long-standing U.S. commitment not to allow the UN to impose conditions on Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians. The new measure demands that Israel cease construction in all areas it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. While the immediate practical impact is unclear, the resolution could strengthen the movement to boycott Israel and open the door for lawsuits against Israel in international bodies.
Turkey
Erdogan Seeks to Join Forces With Trump Against IS in Syria (Bloomberg​) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to seek the support of the incoming Donald Trump administration for joint action against Islamic State in the Syrian city of Raqqa. Turkish troops are close to capturing the Islamic State-stronghold of al-Bab in northwest Syria and could move via the town of Manbij toward the group’s de facto capital in Raqqa, Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul on Saturday. Erdogan will also seek to haly U.S. cooperation with the Kurds. Kurds have established control over much of Syria’s north during five years of civil war, and in doing so, emerged as a favored U.S. fighting force in the ground war against Islamic State. Turkey fears that an autonomous Kurdish area in Syria could lead to greater agitation for a similar territory within Turkey.
