International Space Station gets a reprieve.

The Obama administration had been planning to "deorbit", aka destroy, the ISS as soon as 2020.  They just announced intention to keep it going until 2024.  This is just intention, they don't have funding passed thru Congress yet.   But they probably will be able to get the funding. 
   Seeing as how they only got the ISS fully functional last year, it makes sense to operate it for a while.  It cost $100 billion to put it up there.  Planning was of the "if you build it they will come" type.  Result, nobody is using it much.  But the kind of things you can do in the ISS  takes time to set up and do, time being years.  Lot of things will get  started now that it looks like the ISS will be aloft long enough to do them. 
  Cost to keep it running is $3 billion a year.  It needs a steady launch of supply vehicles bringing up food, water, air, science experiments.  It also needs the occasional push.  It flies so low that there is still some air drag to slow it down.  The shuttle missions used to burn some fuel to push the ISS up to compensate for the drag.  Now that the shuttle is retired, they will have to do it some other way. 

The Economist likes securitisation.

Securitisation, the banking scam that brought us great depression 2.0.  The Economist thinks we should bring it back.   Used to be, when banks or companies needed to borrow money, they issued bonds.  Pieces of paper that promised to pay back with interest, money in the future.  Investors pay cash to receive a paper promise.  If the promiser is creditable (for example Boeing, or US Treasury, or Apple)  investors line up happily to exchange cash for promises of more money in the future.  If the promiser is not credible (for example Greece)  no one will buy them. Banks, are something of a special case.  There are limits to the number of bonds a bank can issue.
   So, in the early 2000's the banks invented a new deal.  They issued "bonds" that were "backed" by something, home mortgages, or accounts receivable, or other intangible paper assets.  The banks said "the asset backing this bond makes it like a car loan or a home mortgage.  If the borrower doesn't pay on time we can repossess the car or the house."   Investors were gullible enough to buy these "backed" band bonds.   Things blew up in 2007 when investors found that the "assets" "backing" these bonds were sub prime home mortgages in default.  And they found that they didn't have the right to repossess the houses.  Losses from "mortgage backed securities" were bad enough to kill GM, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and some Euro banks whose names escape me now.  This kicked off Great Depression 2.0 from which we have still not recovered.
   The mortgage backed securities are way for banks to borrow money from gullible investors.  Actually, banks should not borrow money.  They are supposed to lend it.  Banks should acquire funds to lend by attracting depositors, and selling bank stock.  Depositors are insured so they will park their money anywhere with the  FDIC sign.  Investors who buy bank stock know their investment is only as safe as the bank itself.  So stockholders insist that the bank be careful with their money and not make loans that may not be paid back, no matter how lush the returns are.  In short, bank stock holders are conservative and will keep their bank from doing stupid things.  Like lending money to Greece.  The way we create a stable financial system is to make the big players into careful players.
   If the big players borrow money, they pretty much do what they please.  If they have to raise money by selling stock, they give up a certain amount of control  to the investors, which keeps 'em careful. 
  

David Gregory trashes Robert Gates on Meet the Press

Every one on the panel of newsies said it was dastardly of Gates to publish his memoirs, which said some VERY hard things about the Obama administration, while Obama was still in office.  Hmm. I never heard of this ethics rule before.
   This is America.  We have freedom of speech and of the press.  That means you can publish anything you like.  Anytime you like.  Gates had some harsh things to say about Obama, and he said them, in public.  Good for him.  What's wrong with that?   Other than it hurts Obama, but Obama needs to be trashed now and then.  The newsies never say anything bad about Obama.  We need some balance here.
  Apparently Meet the Press doesn't agree.  At least they didn't call Gates a racist for criticizing their favorite boy. 

The Geo Washington Bridge is an Interstate Bridge.

One end is in New Jersey, the other end is in New York.  The usual arrangement in such a case, is a bi state commission to run the bridge.  Equal numbers of commissioners from each state.  Equal numbers of patronage appointments to each state. Equal amounts of money spent in each state for supplies, maintenance, painting, etc. 
   In such a case, how does New Jersey, acting on its own, get to close down bridge lanes?  Does not New York have to go along?  And why would New York go along?  Cause massive inconvenience to New York commuters just to settle some political hash in New Jersey?
   There must be a way, but I have no idea what it was. 
   Inquiring minds want to know. 

Obama's Promise Zones

There was Obama, on TV, out in some really hard hit location, Appalachia or Brooklyn, can't remember for sure which.  He was talking about "promise zones", which would bring all sorts of government handouts to depressed areas. 
   I'm watching this, thinking to myself,  What those places need is real jobs.  Like say an automobile plant, or a Boeing plant.  I didn't hear a word from Obama about getting some industry to move into the area, which is what is truly needed. 

Cannon Mt Ski Weather

In a word bad.  It's 42F and raining. 

Nobody knows WHAT spilled into the water in West VA.

The newsies have been reporting a chemical spill in West VA that has contaminated the water supply.  Residents are being told not to drink the water, not to use it even for washing clothes.  Sounds pretty bad.
   However, nobody seems to know what was spilled.  At least no newsie has mentioned a name for the "chemical"  that is causing so much alarm.  Could it be that no newsie ever took high school chemistry?  Perhaps they cannot pronounce any chemical name more complicated than "water" ?