n2doc
n2doc's JournalFour-hour flight turns into 30-hour nightmare for Delta passengers
The weather forecast was less than ideal for the Delta Airlines flight that left Monday afternoon bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, but no one aboard could have imagined just how bad things would get.
According to multiple news reports and tweets from the passengers themselves — the four-hour flight turned into a 30-hour nightmare with two flight diversions caused by bad weather. At one point, the turbulence was so bad, one passenger told NBC that she thought the plane was going to break in half.
“I’ve never seen an air sick bag used before and many were,” said Lauren Karasek, another passenger aboard the flight.
Delta apologized for the problems.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/02/18/four-hour-flight-turns-into-30-hour-nightmare-for-delta-passengers/?tid=sm_tw
Landmark Survey Shows For-Profit Water is a Risky Rip-Off
'Without shareholders expecting profits, public systems are less likely to cut corners on service,' says Food & Water Watch
by Deirdre Fulton,
With Flint's water supply still tainted and undrinkable, one advocacy group is spotlighting the benefits of publicly owned, locally managed water systems, which it says could help ensure that the Michigan health crisis doesn't repeat itself across the country.
In a new survey (pdf), the largest of its kind, Food & Water Watch (FWW) documents how the dominant trend in the U.S. is toward public ownership of water and sewer systems, while showing that the alternative—large, for-profit, privately owned systems—are often more expensive and less reliable.
Indeed, FWW's analysis finds that nearly nine out of 10 people in the country receive their water service from a publicly owned utility, leading the advocacy organization to propose establishing a steady, dedicated source of federal funding for such water systems that could pay for the replacement of lead pipes in schools and homes and rehabilitate aging water systems across the country.
"From emergency management in Michigan to failed privatization experiments across the country, corporate influence has failed U.S. water systems," said FWW executive director Wenonah Hauter on Tuesday.
more
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/16/landmark-survey-shows-profit-water-risky-rip
I never would have guessed!!!
NYT Invents Left-Leaning Economists to Attack Bernie Sanders
By Dean Baker
A NYT piece headlined “left-leaning economists question cost of Bernie Sanders’ plans” may have misled readers about the extent of skepticism among economists who consider themselves left-leaning. I can say this as a card-carrying left-leaning economist who often talks to other card-carrying left-leaning economists.
While there are undoubtedly many left of center economists who have serious objections to the proposals Sanders has put forward, there are also many who have publicly indicated support for them. Remarkably, none of those economists were referenced in this article. In fact, to make its case on left of center economists’ views, the NYT even presented the comments of Ezra Klein, who is neither an economist nor a liberal, by his own identification.
It also misrepresented the comments of Jared Bernstein (a personal friend), implying that they were criticisms of Sanders’ program. In fact his comments were addressed to the analysis of Sanders’ proposals by Gerald Friedman, an economist at the University of Massachusetts who is not affiliated with the Sanders campaign.
It also presented the comments of Brookings economist Henry Aaron about the views expressed by “other economists in a ‘lefty chat group’ he joins online.” This would seem to violate the NYT’s usual policy on anonymous sources.
more
http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/nyt-invents-left-leaning-economists-to-attack-bernie-sanders
Something to offer as a counterpoint to todays smear pieces by the NYT and Krugman.
‘Single-issue’ candidate Bernie Sanders touches on 20 issues during a Michigan campaign stop
By John Wagner
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- In the Democratic presidential race, it’s become a familiar refrain: Bernie Sanders is a “single-issue candidate,” according to his rival, Hillary Clinton.
No doubt, the Vermont senator has more to say about economic policy than anything else. But as evidenced by a campaign stop here Monday, Sanders’s pitch is far broader than the caricature that’s been offered by the former secretary of state.
During an hour-long speech to a crowd of about 9,400 people at Eastern Michigan University, Sanders touched on issues including health care, immigration, criminal justice, climate change and marijuana policy, among others. All told, we tallied 20 issues -- give or take a few, depending on how one counts.
Here’s a look at the issues Sanders covered:
1. Universal health care. Sanders backs a single-payer, “Medicare-for-all” system, saying that “America must join the rest of the industrialized world and provide health care for all."
2. Federal intervention in Flint, Mich. Sanders condemns the water contamination crisis, saying it is stunting children's development. He calls for the resignation of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and says: “If the local government cannot protect those children, if the state government cannot protect those children, then the federal government better get in.”
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/16/single-issue-candidate-bernie-sanders-touches-on-20-issues-during-a-michigan-campaign-stop/
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