Keeping Britain's lights on will come at a price

Keeping Britain's lights on will come at a price - Telegraph
"On Wednesday January 16, due to unplanned outages and cold weather, National Grid had to find power to supply roughly a million homes to keep the lights on.
Fawley, an oil-fired plant in Hampshire, was one of the power stations that responded.
Next winter Fawley will not be there. Indeed, about 10pc of our current generation stock goes next month as coal and oil-fired power stations close earlier than expected to meet environmental targets."

ObamaCare and the '29ers'

Review & Outlook: ObamaCare and the '29ers' - WSJ.com
"Here's a trend you'll be reading more about: part-time "job sharing," not only within firms but across different businesses.
It's already happening across the country at fast-food restaurants, as employers try to avoid being punished by the Affordable Care Act.
In some cases we've heard about, a local McDonalds has hired employees to operate the cash register or flip burgers for 20 hours a week and then the workers head to the nearby Burger King or Wendy's to log another 20 hours.
Other employees take the opposite shifts."

I was Adolf Hitler's food taster

I was Adolf Hitler's food taster | World | News | Daily Express
"THE last survivor of 15 women forced to sample the German dictator’s meals for poisoning, Margot Woelk reveals in an exclusive interview the terror of risking her life every day for the Führer."

Trade protectionism looms next as central banks exhaust QE

Trade protectionism looms next as central banks exhaust QE - Telegraph
"A mere whiff of inflation or more likely stagflation would cause a bond market rout, leaving the Fed nursing escalating losses on its $2.9 trillion holdings.
This portfolio is rising by $85bn each month under QE3.
The longer it goes on, the greater the risk.
Exit will become much harder by 2014."

LOOKING INTO JACK LEW’S TENURE AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Instapundit » Blog Archive »
"FEBRUARY 25, 2013
LOOKING INTO JACK LEW’S TENURE AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, “where he pulled down an enormous salary, including sweetheart loans, while the students were footing enormous tuition bills.
Worse, under his nose NYU negotiated a deal with Citicorp (miraculously, Lew’s next employer!) to provide loans to students, a deal that then-state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found to be illegal.”

Sounds like a perfect fit for the Obama cabinet.  Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 7:37 am"

Many cancer deaths traced to alcohol

Many cancer deaths traced to alcohol | Fox News
"Researchers also found that alcohol is a leading contributor to premature death from any cause, and they estimated that each alcohol-related cancer death resulted in 18 years of potential life lost. 
In other words, a woman who dies from alcohol-related breast cancer at age 60 likely would have lived until age 78 had cancer not cut her life short. "

Marijuana munchies could have crabcakes selling like hotcakes under plan to legalize pot in Maryland

Marijuana munchies could have crabcakes selling like hotcakes under plan to legalize pot in Maryland - Washington Times
"The bill does not allow for marijuana smoking in public or while driving, according to the report.
Some of the marijuana tax money would be used to pay for those who receive alcohol, tobacco and drug treatment, the Gazette said."

Robert Smith-Barry: The man who taught the world to fly

BBC News - Robert Smith-Barry: The man who taught the world to fly

"They've only seven hours flying, sir - and it's bloody murder."

It was the summer of 1916 - the early days of the Battle of the Somme - and squadron leader Major Robert Smith-Barry was venting his frustration at the commander of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), in France. 

"They have barely learned to fly, let alone fight," he told Major General Hugh Trenchard.

At one point during the ensuing battle, he refused point-blank to send replacement pilots over the frontline until they had more experience.

For Smith-Barry, the dream of powered flight pioneered by the Wright Brothers in 1903 had turned into a nightmare of bloodshed.

Continue reading the main story

During the four-and-a-half months of the infamous battle, the corps lost 499 airmen and 782 aeroplanes - a third of its total force.

Bloomberg’s large-soda ban also prohibits 2-liter bottles with pizza orders and some bottle-service mixers at nightclubs

Bloomberg’s large-soda ban also prohibits 2-liter bottles with pizza orders and some bottle-service mixers at nightclubs - NYPOST.com
"Say goodbye to that 2-liter bottle of Coke with your pizza delivery, pitchers of soft drinks at your kid’s birthday party and some bottle-service mixers at your favorite nightclub.
They’d violate Mayor Bloomberg’s new rules, which prohibit eateries from serving or selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.
Bloomberg’s soda smackdown follows his attacks on salt, sugar, trans fat, smoking and even baby formula."

Obama’s Electoral Engine Harnessed by Group Collecting Corporate Donations

Obama’s Electoral Engine Harnessed by Group Collecting Corporate Donations - The Washington Post:
"The first of an expected wave of ads on gun control, for example, has targeted only Republicans. "

The Hollywood Tax Story They Won't Tell at the Oscars

Glenn Reynolds: The Hollywood Tax Story They Won't Tell at the Oscars - WSJ.com

George Mason University's Adam Thierer has called this "a growing cronyism fiasco" and noted that the number of states involved skyrocketed to 45 in 2009 from five in 2002.

In its 2012 study "State Film Studies: Not Much Bang For Too Many Bucks," the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that film-related jobs tend to go to out-of-staters who jet in, then leave. "The revenue generated by economic activity induced by film subsidies," the study notes, "falls far short of the subsidies' direct costs to the state. To balance its budget, the state must therefore cut spending or raise revenues elsewhere, dampening the subsidies' positive economic impact."

Sometimes it is even worse, as demonstrated by Michigan's effort, begun under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, to woo the motion picture industry with an expensive state-of-the-art studio facility built on the site of a former General Motors GM +2.26%factory in Pontiac. State leaders ballyhooed the plan as a way of moving from old-style industry to new.

Michigan has drastically scaled back its subsidies under Gov. Rick Snyder, who said that he would rather spend the money on schools, police or the successful "Pure Michigan" ad campaign aimed at drawing tourists to the state.Despite tens of millions of dollars in state investment, the promised 3,000-plus jobs didn't appear. As the Detroit Free Press reported last year, the studio employed only 15-20 people. That isn't boffo. That's a bust. The studio has defaulted on interest payments on state-issued bonds, and the guarantors—the state's already stressed pension funds—may wind up holding the bag. "In retrospect, it was a mistake," conceded Robert Kleine, the former state treasurer who signed off on the plans in 2010.

Why the Euro Crisis Isn't Over

The Weekend Interview with Bernard Connolly: Why the Euro Crisis Isn't Over - WSJ.com:
"Yet unemployment is close to 27% in Spain and Greece.
The euro-zone economy shrank ever-faster throughout 2012.
And—most important in Mr. Connolly's view—the economic fundamentals in France are getting worse.
This week France announced it would miss its deficit-reduction target for the year because of dimming growth prospects.
It's one thing to bail out Greece or Ireland, Mr. Connolly says, but "if the Germans at some point think, 'We're going to have to bail out France, and on an ongoing, perpetual basis,' will they do it?"