Alec Baldwin reads at tribute to Philip Roth

NEW YORK (AP) — As he prepared to read from the Philip Roth novel "The Plot Against America" on Tuesday, Alec Baldwin looked to the table on his left and checked out the author's photos on the Roth books arranged in a semicircle.

"Look how handsome he is," Baldwin said of the dark-eyed novelist, famous for such ribald fiction as "Portnoy's Complaint" and "Sabbath's Theater."

"If I looked like that, I would have written books with a lot of sex in them, too," Baldwin said.

Baldwin and fellow actors John Rothman and Paul Carlin were featured at a free midday event in Manhattan, reading from three Roth novels: "The Plot Against America," ''Portnoy's Complaint" and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Plot Against America." Hundreds gathered at Temple Emanu-El for a tribute co-sponsored by the Library of America, which publishes hardcover editions of classic literature, and by the cultural advocacy project Toward International Peace Through the Arts (TIPA).

While the 80-year-old Roth is the only living novelist to have all his work released by the Library of America and has received more than a table's worth of prizes, a temple seemed an unlikely setting for praise. Roth is a longtime non-believer whose books were often criticized by Jews for reinforcing Jewish stereotypes.

But the day's first speaker, Rabbi Joshua Davidson, spoke warmly of Roth and the author himself had planned to attend before falling ill last week. Still recovering from an infection, Roth sent a note of apology, lamenting that a "microbe made a deal with my intestine and knocked me down."

Roth added, "Down, but not out."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alec-baldwin-reads-tribute-philip-roth-194109758.html
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A Day to Remember the First Computer Programmer Was a Woman ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Almost two centuries after Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer program, women remain in the minority in technology and engineering, though people are trying to change that. ... Technology · Personal Tech · Business Day.Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/a-day-to-remember-the-first-computer-programmer-was-a-woman/
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Fitch Places U.S. Under Review For A Credit Downgrade

Fitch Ratings, one of the big three credit ratings agencies, issued a warning shot today, saying that while it affirmed the United States' AAA credit rating, it was placing it on "rating watch negative."

In other words, it was placing the country's long-term credit rating under review for a potential downgrade.

The main reason? The debacle in Washington. Remember, the last time a debt ceiling debate got this hot and heavy, S&P downgraded the U.S.'s long-term credit rating to AA-plus.

"The prolonged negotiations over raising the debt ceiling (following the episode in August 2011) risks undermining confidence in the role of the U.S. dollar as the preeminent global reserve currency, by casting doubt over the full faith and credit of the U.S.," Fitch said in a statement. "This 'faith' is a key reason why the U.S. 'AAA' rating can tolerate a substantially higher level of public debt than other 'AAA' sovereigns."

Reuters reports the U.S. Treasury said the threat from Fitch is a reminder of just how close the country is from defaulting for the first time in history.

"The announcement reflects the urgency with which Congress should act to remove the threat of default hanging over the economy," a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/15/234929451/fitch-places-u-s-under-review-for-a-credit-downgrade?ft=1&f=
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Malaysia feeds fiscal elephant in the room: its civil service

By Siva Sithraputhran and Niluksi Koswanage

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - From unwinding subsidies for food and fuel to imposing a new sales tax, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has plenty to do to rescue the country from a possible credit rating downgrade when he presents his government's annual budget this month.

One thing Najib won't dare risk is upsetting the country's majority ethnic Malays by downsizing a bloated civil service, despite its heavy impact on a fiscal deficit that is the biggest in emerging Asia after India.

Though the next election is only due by 2018, the ruling National Front coalition is already looking nervously to the future after a contentious victory last May, and Najib cannot take for granted that his own party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), won't jettison him before his term is up.

"If the National Front institutes policies that make the Malays or the government servants unhappy, a 2-3 percent swing next time to the opposition will spell defeat," said Ibrahim Suffian, director at the respected pollster Merdeka Centre.

Dominated by Malays, the civil service, with its jobs for life and access to cheap loans, serves as part of a decades-old affirmative action policy. At 60 billion ringgit ($18.78 billion) its wage bill is the single largest budget item, accounting for a third of total spending.

The fiscal burden, along with a shrinking current account surplus, renders Malaysia vulnerable to foreign capital outflows at a time when investors are eyeing emerging markets with growing caution due to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve call time on years of easy money in the coming months.

But, mindful of preserving stability, policymakers often make ethnic considerations a priority in this nation of 29 million people, made up mostly of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

It was the Malay vote that helped the National Front, which comprises parties from each ethnic group, scrape back into power, despite losing the popular vote for the first time in 56 years since independence from British colonial rule.

UMNO holds elections later this month for senior party positions, and with conservatives circling, the more liberal-minded Najib will be keen to shore up support, though he is not facing re-election himself as party chairman.

"Now, he has to really take care of the Malays," said an ethnic Malay clerk, whose civil service unions have asked for a two-and-a-half month bonus to be included in the budget.

Faced with these compulsions, Najib is likely to make cuts elsewhere when he unveils the budget on October 25.

"Food and fuel subsidies will be the easiest expenditure for Najib to cut after the elections, but not the civil service," said Chua Hak Bin, a Singapore-based economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "That is out of the question, for now."

Instead, Najib is expanding the public service, a vital source of support for UMNO. Some 200,000 people have joined the civil service since he became prime minister.

At 1.4 million people, the civil service accounts for 10 percent of the labour force, and by that measure is the largest in Southeast Asia. The hiring isn't over. This year there are plans to add 80,000 employees, double last year's intake.

Unemployment is not particularly high at 3 percent, but young Malays often struggle to find work in the private sector. Nine out of 10 unemployed graduates are Malay, raising a fear in UMNO that first-time voters in youthful Malaysia could turn against the party at the next election, unless they have jobs.

CUT OR BE CUT

In reaction to the unconvincing election victory, Fitch Ratings warned in July that deteriorating public finances or a current account swing into deficit, along with other concerns, could lead to a cut in Malaysia's credit rating, though it is comfortably lodged in investment grade.

Currently, the government receives nearly half its revenues from Petronas , the state oil and gas giant.

"There may be efforts to increase the revenue base with the goods and services tax and other tax increases, but this amounts to little if government efficiency does not improve and the bureaucracy keeps on growing," said Chua.

Deputy human resources minister Ismail Abu Muttalib said the size of the civil service was not a worry as employees would find jobs in the private sector as Malaysia develops more.

"The situation will resolve itself," he told Reuters. "For now these government servants are needed to deliver the government's social programs to the wider public."

(Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Simon Cameron-Moore)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-feeds-fiscal-elephant-room-civil-210339805--business.html
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T-Mobile Is Killing Grandfathered Plans

Following several unconfirmed rumors, Engadget has confirmed that T-Mobile is doing away with old data plans and forcing customers to choose from one of its current Simple Choice plans. According to a statement from the company a "vast majority" of customers will get "similar or better features at a comparable price."

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/t-mobile-is-killing-grandfathered-plans-1445558366
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Farm Families Pick Massive Corn Harvest As Prices Shrink

Curt Friesen is a fourth-generation farmer in central Nebraska.

Grant Gerlock/for NPR

Curt Friesen is a fourth-generation farmer in central Nebraska.

Grant Gerlock/for NPR

Corn prices are down and the farm bill is stalled in Congress. So there's a lot of uncertainly in the air as harvest season gets into full swing across the Midwest. But this is a time of year when farm families like the Friesens in Henderson, Neb., come together to focus on the big task at hand: the corn harvest.

Everyone in the family has a job to do.

"Like my dad — he drives auger wagon," Curt Friesen says. "He drives auger wagon only. That's all he's done since 1976, I think. ... My wife, Nancy, she drives the combine; that's her job."

Curt drives a truck. So does his son-in-law, who's new on the farm. That's how the Friesens are harvesting 1,100 acres of corn this fall, about middle of the pack in terms of its size.

With roughly 97 million acres of corn to pick nationwide, farmers are pulling in family and friends as part-time help to haul in the crop.

Nancy Friesen grasps the orange joystick that controls the Friesens' giant John Deere combine, which is so big, it makes the cornstalks look like matchsticks.

"It is a humongous piece of equipment," she says, "and it is intimidating. It's got all kinds of bells and whistles to let you know what's going wrong."

During corn harvest, it's all hands on deck on the Friesen family farm in Henderson, Neb. Nancy Friesen typically takes the controls of their John Deere combine.

Grant Gerlock/for NPR

During corn harvest, it's all hands on deck on the Friesen family farm in Henderson, Neb. Nancy Friesen typically takes the controls of their John Deere combine.

Grant Gerlock/for NPR

Nancy Friesen isn't totally comfortable in the driver's seat. Even a modestly priced combine costs $350,000, and most of the year she's in the garden, not the field. But she expressed some relief as she mowed down the cornstalks and watched the grain flow in.

"It is a good feeling when the corn is in the bin and we don't have to worry about it out here anymore," she says. "So many weird weather things can happen," like last year's drought, which was the worst since the 1950s.

The drought caused corn yields to dry up across the Midwest. The Friesens were lucky — irrigation saved most of their crop. And farmers who irrigate reaped the rewards last year, as drought shrunk supply, pushing corn prices to record highs of over $8 a bushel.

Of course, drought can also be disastrous at harvest time, as Albert Friesen, Curt's 92-year-old dad, knows firsthand.

When Albert Friesen started farming he used horses, not green tractors. In 1938, at age 16, he took over the farm after his dad died. The next year a drought hit and the crop was ruined.

"There was nothing here," he says. "Everything dried up. I went to Minnesota to pick corn by hand."

He brought home $69, just enough to keep the farm. That was a tough year.

"But I think we're in for some tough times yet again," he says.

Tough in comparison to last year, at least — 2013 could be the biggest corn harvest in history: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated 13.8 billion bushels. With so much supply, corn prices have been shrinking since the beginning of the year and are down around a three-year low, though prices remain quite healthy by historical standards.

Still, it's not clear what the crop will be worth by the time it's in the bin. That uncertainty comes just as Jason Lewis, the Friesens' son-in-law, is joining the family farm. A year ago, Lewis was in a college classroom. He wasn't a student — he was the professor.

"This time last year, I was at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, and I was probably teaching turf grass science class," Lewis says.

Now the 35-year-old Ph.D. from Kearney, Neb., is hauling corn and wearing earbuds so he can listen to podcasts while he's in the field.

During a break in the action, Nancy said she is grateful to have extra help on hand.

"I love it when I can hear Curt and Jason talking in the shop and he's got somebody to talk shop to," she says. "I love having the kids back. It takes the pressure off so much."

But Nancy couldn't talk for long. Albert had an empty grain wagon. Jason had a truck to fill. She plunged the combine into the standing corn. The harvest grind will go on for another four to six weeks.

"It's just pretty much harvest," Nancy says. "I try to clear the schedule. I just figure nothing really happens in October."

At least, not until the last load of corn comes in.

Grant Gerlock reports from Nebraska for NET News and Harvest Public Media, a public radio reporting collaboration that focuses on agriculture and food production issues.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/14/232270283/farm-families-pick-massive-corn-harvest-as-prices-shrink?ft=1&f=3
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Statue of Liberty, closed by shutdown, reopens to tourists

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Statue of Liberty, shuttered by the federal government shutdown, reopened to visitors on Sunday morning after New York State agreed to give money to the National Park Service to pay its workers to be there.

It was one of 10 other national parks and monuments to reopen this weekend under similar deals with state governments, the National Park Service said, including the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state will give the federal government $61,600 a day, allowing visitors to take the ferry over to visit the monument on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday near where ferries to the island depart, Cuomo called it an "unusual arrangement", but said that amount it will cost the state "pales in comparison to the amount of money we're losing."

He said the closure of the 305-foot-tall (93-meter-tall) monument, one of New York City's most popular tourist attractions, was costing local businesses money and threatened hundreds of jobs on Liberty Island, nearby Ellis Island and the ferries that run between them and Manhattan.

"When you close down the Statue of Liberty, you close down a good portion of the tourism that comes to New York City and that has been untold millions of dollars in damage," Cuomo said. "So the state of New York said to the federal government, 'If you don't want to open the Statue of Liberty, we will.'"

The statue only recently reopened after damage to the island's infrastructure caused by Superstorm Sandy a year ago forced the National Park Service to close the island for nearly eight months.

Bradford Hill, the president of Evelyn Hill, the company that runs the restaurant and gift shops on the island, said the latest closure had forced him to lay off all of his 110 employees, who would be rehired now the statue was reopened.

"We were heartbroken to do so," he said. "But it's heartening to know that when Washington, D.C., fails to deliver to Americans, and there's no end to the gridlock in sight, we have a state that we can rely on to step up to the plate and take over critical responsibilities."

The state has agreed to fund the next four days, and will then review the arrangement every two days if the shutdown continues, Cuomo said.

In all, 401 National Park Service attractions across the United States were forced to close to visitors on October 1 after the U.S. Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on raising the nation's debt limit.

About 280 million people visit the parks and attractions every year.

More than 7 million Americans were kept out of the parks over the first 10 days of the shutdown and $750 million in visitor spending was lost, according to estimates by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

(Reporting By Jonathan Allen; Editing by Scott Malone and L Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/statue-liberty-closed-shutdown-reopens-tourists-181147715.html
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