PM Update: A quiet evening, then increasing clouds precede Friday night’s cold rain or mix

Satellite: Latest regional satellite shows movement of clouds over the past two hours. Today was pretty nice! Blue sky started to peek through the fog by mid-morning and the sun warmed the sidewalks in the afternoon, guiding temperatures into the mid to upper 40s. National reached 49 degrees this afternoon, and Dulles maxed out at 44. It will be a much-deserved quiet evening in our string of storms this week. Friday night precipitation type is still uncertain, though accumulating snow for the immediate metro area is unlikely. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Friday): Rain or wintry mix could move into the region from the south as early as sunset Friday evening. It’s still likely that it will be too warm for snow in the immediate D.C. metro on Friday night, and too warm for accumulation east of the higher elevations. In the area, northern Loudoun and northern Montgomery appear to have the highest accumulating snowfall chances on Friday night, but even there it will be borderline at best. For more details on the Friday night storm, see Wes and Jason’s post from this afternoon. We’ll also post another update on the storm during the day on Friday. See David Streit’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter A view of the National Mall from an Arlington rooftop on Jan. 7. (Brian Allen via Flickr)


House of the Week | Beaux Arts-style mansion in Northwest DC for $16.5M

the “cottage” designed by Richard Morris Hunt for William K. Vanderbilt. Hunt’s design was inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. “Mr. Estrin loved the European-style homes and wanted to fit that in to his home in D.C.,” listing agent Nancy Taylor Bubes of Washington Fine Properties wrote in an e-mail. “He wanted it to be traditional; a place that his family could enjoy but also have an embassy feel to it where he could easily entertain.” Although Crowell modified his design to make the house fit the lot, the 2008 result more than hints at Vanderbilt’s Beaux-Arts-style mansion. (Photo by HomeVisit) The dining room An iron fence topped with brass fleur-de-lis surrounds the property. A pair of black stallion statues guard the right side of the 13,898-square-foot home. The exterior was constructed of limestone from Quebec. The 11-foot iron-and-glass double doors open to a marble foyer with a skylight rotunda. Tucked behind the sweeping staircase with its bronzed wrought-iron banisters is a horseshoe-shaped bar for serving drinks. The gold-leaf crown molding is a wink at Marble House. Estrin Oak adds warmth to the library where the crown molding was faux-painted to match the elaborate mantle with its antique Dutch tapestry. A hidden door leads to the media room with stadium-seating recliners and a minibar. (Photo by HomeVisit) The library What appears to be Dutch delft tiles in the breakfast room is an optical illusion. It is paint, not tile, that adorns the room. The two-story family room is warmed by one of the four gas fireplaces in the home. The master suite on the second floor includes a sitting area with a balcony and kitchenette, his-and-her bathrooms and a dressing room. The master bedroom has a fireplace and a skylight with a retractable shade. The temperature-controlled, 500-bottle wine cellar is on the lower level. The terrace has a heated swimming pool and fountain. Up to three cars can be parked in the garage. At $16.5 million, the nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom home is the second-most expensive property for sale in the District. Listing: 2221 30th St. NW, Washington, D.C. | video Listing agent: Nancy Taylor Bubes, Washington Fine Properties Previous House of the Week For more Real Estate news, follow @PostRealEstate and visit our Facebook page. The D.C. region’s most expensive homes sold in 2014 Mortgages rates are in a New Year swoon Five real estate trends to watch in 2015


Grading the 2015 Bill and Melinda Gates letter on poverty alleviation

that were already available, and intensified R&D has led to the development of new vaccines and treatments. … Many poor countries have built strong health care systems in the past 25 years, and in the next 15 years other countries will pick up on their ideas and provide more care — and higher quality care — for newborns and young children. Where is the important advance here? New vaccines? Or delivering them along with basic health care? One (vaccines) happens in labs, and with Western time and money probably turns into new medicines. Probably. Some of the killers that don’t have vaccines, like malaria or HIV, have proven stubborn, but I imagine (and hope) a breakthrough is possible. This would be huge. I’ve always admired the Gates for throwing money into this kind of research. If new vaccines are delivered, my guess is that the countries that have strong health care systems will roll them out quickly. In that case, yes, more money will translate into vaccinated children in China and Indonesia and Brazil. But countries that don’t have functioning health systems? Vaccination campaigns are one of the more simple and straightforward tasks a bureaucracy can do. Polio and guinea worm eradication programs have been around for a long, long while. Universal vaccination is a much simpler government task than, say, a just justice system or a public secondary school system. And yet the last few miles of vaccination have been hard. One barrier is suspicion and resistance in the parts of the world without states. A few holdouts in Nigeria or Sudan or Central Asia, for instance, can prevent the eradication of diseases. And have. Most states for most of history have not been benevolent; they’ve been merciless and coercive. The people in these last corners of statelessness are not stateless by accident. They excel at resisting that coercion and outwitting the best planners. And, at the end of the day, universal vaccination is a benevolent kind of coercion. If I’m right, universal vaccination equals ending statelessness. Possible. But sounds harder now. Another barrier is better bureaucracies. Delivering vaccines, improving maternal health and reducing child mortality means better public health systems. The poorest, most fragile states simply don’t have these. Look at Liberia and Ebola. They can’t get free rubber gloves from the port to the hospitals. Yes, this will get better over time. But the historical data tells


aid agenda redux (if farmers had mobile phones in the 1960s). Breakthrough 3: Mobile banking The reason poor people face these agonizing choices [e.g. foregone medical care] is not just that they don’t have enough assets. They also don’t have access to a bank to help them use their assets effectively. If their savings are in the form of jewelry or livestock, for example, they can’t very well chip off tiny pieces to cover routine daily expenses. Instead, the poor use financial services that are extremely inefficient. They save by hiding cash around the house or buying commodities that lose value over time. I agree: Mobile phones are going to expand bank account access, lower transaction fees for money transfers, payments and loans. And increase the security of people’s savings. This is all terrific and important. The Gates Foundation has been one of the biggest and earliest funders here, and it matters. People love this technology. But is this a transformational technology in terms of poverty alleviation? I don’t see it. People are poor because they don’t have money, they can’t borrow to make the investments that will pay off in the future and because even if they had that money they might not invest because of the risk. Once again, a big barrier is credit and insurance. For more, you can’t read a better book than Poor Economics. Now, mobile banking will probably make credit and insurance a little cheaper and more accessible, if only because financial transaction costs will be lower. But I have a hard time seeing much more than a small change. How do you get systems of cheap credit and insurance? You have fundamental problems to overcome, that economists call moral hazard (you might slack off if you have insurance) and adverse selection (the best farmers won’t buy insurance). To solve these problems, you want things like credit rating systems, small claims courts, identity cards, ways to prosecute fraud and a host of other things. Mobile banking is only a little piece of the puzzle. Transforming access to finance and insurance is much, much harder than bank accounts. You also need the average poor person to have a high return on investment. This seems likely in politically stable places, which are growing anyway. But who invests where wars, coups, extortion or banditry are risks? We’re back to the fragile states that will remain stubbornly poor


Saudi Arabia marks ascension of new king through Internet channels

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, successor to his brother King Abdullah, attends a prayer service at a mosque in Riyadh in this image taken from video on Jan. 23. (Saudi TV via Reuters TV) The passing of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was hardly a surprise. The nonagenarian monarch was known to be in poor health, and rumors of his death had swirled for months. The succession of his brother, Crown Prince Salman, was a foregone conclusion. So much so that, not long after Abdullah was declared dead Thursday, the Saudi state had already marked Salman's ascension through various channels on the Internet. Ahmed Al Omran, the Wall Street Journal's correspondent in Saudi Arabia, observed two rapid changes. First, the new king's Twitter account was adjusted. Twitter handle of Saudi monarch changed from @HRHPSalman to @KingSalman. If you followed the old account you don’t need to do anything. Second, a street in Riyadh named after him as the crown prince now appeared on Google Maps as King Salman Road. Google Maps updated: Prince Salman Road has become King Salman Road https://t.co/4FbLGkOgiq http://t.co/XZ9QVGy2bY The Saudi royal family rules over its oil-rich domain with absolute authority, built on draconian religious laws that curb women's freedoms and restrict free speech. Many critics point to the kingdom's long-standing track record of human rights abuses, which include the recent sentencing of an outspoken blogger to prison time and 1,000 lashes. Yet the United States maintains strong links with the Saudi royal family, as well as a host of U.S. companies. Google CEO Eric Schmidt plans to visit Riyadh next week to deliver the keynote address at the country's Global Competitiveness Forum. It's unlikely he'll speak out in defense of Saudi bloggers. Leaders in China, Japan and the Philippines all spoke positively of the late Saudi Arabian king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who died most likely at age 90.


Recipe Finder: 10 dishes made with beer

Smoked Beer and Cheddar Soup. (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post) If you’re limiting your beer intake to the stuff that’s poured into a glass or served in bottles and cans, you’ve been missing out. Beer makes for a key ingredient in many recipes, from soups to cakes; try these 10 from The Washington Post’s Recipe Finder. Smoked Beer and Cheddar Soup Belgian-Style Crepes Mustard-Glazed Pork Chops With Beer and Caraway Open-Faced Cheddar and Turkey Bacon Sandwich With Beer-Glazed Onions Endive, Apple and Farmhouse Cheddar Salad With Country Ham and Wheat Beer Dressing Jimmy Jester’s Cider Rocks Dogs Jerk Mussels Spicy Beer Mustard Chocolate Coconut Porter Cake Cheese and Best Brown Ale Fondue Recipes compiled by Bonnie S. Benwick.


Large asteroid zips past Earth on Monday night — how to see it

asteroid, which was discovered in 2004, will be the closest rock this large to zoom by Earth until the year 2027. At its closest approach it will be just 745,000 miles away — only three times farther away than the Moon. Sunlight reflecting off the surface of the asteroid will make it appear as bright as a 9th magnitude star. Despite its relatively closeness, 2004 BL86 won’t be visible to the naked eye, but you should be able to spot it with a pair of strong binoculars or a small telescope. Sky & Telescope Magazine explains when and where to look: Observers in the Americas, Europe, and Africa have the best seats for when this interloper should be brightest, from 1h to 6h Universal Time [8 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET] on January 27th, most of which occurs on the evening of the 26th for North Americans. It will be crawling northward across Cancer, skimming the eastern edge of Beehive Cluster from about 5:00 to 5:30 UT [12 to 12:30 a.m. ET]. Its closest approach to Earth actually occurs earlier, around 16h UT on the 26th while the asteroid climbing northward through Hydra. But at that time it’s somewhat dimmer, about magnitude 10, because we’ll see only a portion of its illuminated side. Its brightest time comes later, when we’re looking almost directly into its fully illuminated face with the Sun behind us. After that, 2004 BL86 moves on into Lynx as it recedes. “Asteroids are something special,” says Don Yeomans, retiring manager of NASA’s Near Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Not only did asteroids provide Earth with the building blocks of life and much of its water, but in the future, they will become valuable resources for mineral ores and other vital natural resources. They will also become the fueling stops for humanity as we continue to explore our solar system. There is something about asteroids that makes me want to look up.” Forecasts for cloud cover on Monday night are fairly overcast for the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast coast, though you’ll want to check back on Sunday as forecast models will have a better handle on the Sunday-Monday clipper. If it ends up being cloudy on Monday night, you can watch the asteroid live on Slooh.com. Cloud cover forecast from the ECMWF model for Monday night at 10 p.m. ET. (Weather Underground)


Updates: Mostly rain in D.C. metro overnight, but snow and wintry mix north and west

time, temperatures at this level are forecast to warm, but not much. Hence the bit of extra uncertainty to the forecasts on this one. As temperatures continue to dip through the low-and-mid 30s across elevated area north and west over the next few hours, deteriorating conditions are possible. Further east, light accumulating is also a risk, especially in those heavier bursts. Bridges, sidewalks, and some streets may become slippery in places above freezing as well. 5:35 p.m. update: Regional radar at 5:30 p.m. showed the entire area now in the act. It will last through the night. (NWS) Most of the immediate area is now seeing temperatures in the mid-and-upper 30s. Temperature falls should be slow during the coming period. Some slick spots can’t be ruled out in the short term where heavier sleet occurs, even if it’s above freezing, as it can take some time to melt on contact. Additional slick spots may develop in far western and northern suburbs in the hours ahead as temperatures fall nearer freezing out there. got frozen stuff on my windshield. @capitalweather http://t.co/II1pXwobB8 Sleeting near Potomac Yards but the roads are fine. @capitalweather 4:41 p.m. update: 4:30 p.m. update: @capitalweather soft but steady flurries in Bethesda. Flakes falling in downtown Silver Spring. @capitalweather @capitalweather Flurries in Herndon and 39 degrees 3:55 p.m. update: Temperatures just before 4 p.m. (Wunderground.com) Reports: A mix of snow and sleet has just begun in Annandale @capitalweather #WhetherWeatherRainsOrSnows Seeing a few (emphasis on few) snow flurries here in #Tenleytown @capitalweather And interesting mix of flurries and sprinkles or coming down here in Centreville. @capitalweather snow flurries are flying in Fairfax! @capitalweather Original post, from 3:45 p.m. A mixed bag of precipitation surges into the region this evening and becomes heavy at times overnight. In the immediate metro area and points south and east, roads should remain just west as any frozen precipitation is short-lived. But as you get into Loudoun and northern Montgomery County, some accumulation of snow and sleet and slipperiness are possible. The worst conditions should be from Winchester through Frederick and into Baltimore’s northwest suburbs and to the northwest. Through Tonight: Snow and sleet accumulation potential Friday night into Saturday morning, first and final call, Capital Weather Gang. Tomorrow (Saturday): Saturday night and Sunday: See our update on the potential for snow Sunday night and Monday, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter


Why the Islamic State wants to free forgotten suicide bomber Sajida Rishawi

Iraqi Sajida Mubarek Atrous al-Rishawi shows an explosive belt as she confesses on Jordanian state-run television to her failed bid to attack one of three Amman hotels targeted by al-Qaeda in 2005. (AP Photo/Jordanian TV, File) From the horror of yet another Islamic State decapitation video, which on Saturday claimed to show the beheading of Japanese wanderer Haruna Yakuwa, has risen an all-but-forgotten name: Sajida al-Rishawi. The Islamic State now wants this Iraqi suicide bomber, who in 2005 failed to detonate a bomb in Jordan, to be released from captivity to save the life of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. The demand came as a surprise. Rishawi is neither well-known nor well-remembered. Dozens indeed perished in an attack she and her husband planned, but she herself failed in her assignment. As her husband moved into a Radisson hotel in November of 2005, detonating a device strapped to his body, she pumped a black cylinder of plastic attached to her belt and waited. But there was nothing. No explosion. Then she fled. “He took a corner, and I took a corner,” she later confessed on state television. “There was a wedding in the hotel, children, women and men. My husband carried it out. I tried to carry it out, but it did not explode. I went out. The people started running and I ran away with them.” There are any number of jihadists, many arguably more important than Rishawi, who are locked up. So why now, after 10 years, would this rather forgettable character surface once more? What would the Islamic State possibly want with her? Why trade Goto who, until Saturday, was worth $100 million, for her? Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (AP) The answer may have to do with a very powerful jihadist figure in her past: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Rishawi’s brother was a close aide to the ruthless al-Qaeda leader whose group, known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, battled the United States in Iraq and ultimately morphed into the organization now called the Islamic State. Today, al-Qaeda competes with the Islamic State for recruits. But that hasn’t stopped the Islamic State from revering a man whose history is interwoven with its own. Zarqawi, who was killed in a 2006 airstrike, still figures prominently in Islamic State propaganda. For example, he’s a key player in its magazine, Dabiq. The publication’s first issue even leads with a Zarqawi quote. “The


D.C. area forecast: Snow, rain, and wintry mix today, areas of snow tonight, then gradual drying Tuesday

* Winter weather advisory through Tuesday morning (see map) | Winter storm warning from Winchester to Hagerstown (I-81) and west * 11:15 a.m. NEW FORECAST UPDATE: 9:50 a.m. update: Temperatures and radar at 9:45a (Weather Underground) However, new model information is suggesting chances are decent the second phase of the storm, starting mid-to-late afternoon, will deliver some accumulating snow to the region. This is the last update in this post – please scroll down for the full forecast through the weekend. Follow this link for the latest update on this afternoon’s and evening’s snow potential: Storm’s second wave: Snow accumulation possible through tonight, PM commute could be slick (UPDATES) 8:40 a.m. update: Amazing how no snow sticking downtown, but starts to stick just north of Catholic University on Red Line @capitalweather @capitalweather light flurries in No Potomac. Only sticking to grass. http://t.co/mzNRH2PjWH 7:45 a.m. update: (Weather Underground) 7:20 a.m. update: 7:10 a.m. update: @capitalweather Definitely sleeting/snowing here in Northwest DC. Not sticking at all. Again, we expect the best accumulations prospects from upper Montgomery County to northern Loudoun County and to the northwest, but some slushy accumulation cannot be ruled out to the south and east. 6:30 a.m. update: (WeatherUnderground) In our northern suburbs where it’s snowing, some light accumulation is likely over the next few hours as snow continues, especially on grassy areas and untreated surfaces. 6:00 a.m. update: @capitalweather snowing in Silver Spring, just north of the Beltway, near Kensington. but not sticking to anything. 5:30 a.m. update: Roads should be just wet around metro D.C., but look out for slicks spots from I-70 and to the north and northwest – mostly on untreated areas (side roads, driveways, and sidewalks). We’ll have more specifics on road conditions in our next update. TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 3/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL Radar: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation over past two hours. Refresh page to update. Some snow, rain, and mixed precipitation are with us at times today, but this evening and tonight may hold the best chance for snow accumulation in the immediate metro area as temperatures fall below freezing. Snow showers and flurries could linger into Tuesday morning, before the monster storm off New England is out of our face. The remainder of the week is chilly and we’ll have to watch two more clippers for some light snow potential Thursday and Sunday. Today (Monday):


A panda snub? Bao Bao wins silver in ‘Panda Personality’ contest

Bao Bao is seen in her habitat at the National Zoo on Aug. 23, 2014. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) Bao Bao has a good personality, but as far as pandas go, not the best one. The National Zoo’s celebrity panda cub took home silver from the “Panda Personality of 2014” contest at last week’s Giant Panda Zoo Awards in Belgium — an award ceremony for panda enthusiasts and conservationists put on by Giant Panda Zoo, a Web site dedicated to protecting the endangered species. Yuan Zai, a panda cub residing at the Taipei Zoo, won gold for best personality. (Check out Yuan Zai partying at her first birthday bash here.) This handout photograph released by the Taipei City Zoo on Sept. 26, 2013, shows giant panda Yuan Yuan holding her baby panda, Yuan Zai, at the Taipei City Zoo. The cub, the first panda born in Taiwan, was delivered on July 7. (Taipei City Zoo via AFP) Bao Bao also didn’t win in the category of “Favorite Panda Outside of China.” That distinction went to Hao Hao, a female panda who moved from China to Belgium last year. A fan favorite, Hao Hao won gold for “Favorite Panda in China” in 2013. Panda fans voted online for these awards, and more than 200,000 votes were logged around the world — an 8 percent increase over last year, according to Giant Panda Zoo. The David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat placed third in the “Favorite Panda Enclosure Outside of China” category. Those who closely monitor the National Zoo’s Giant Panda Cam and have grown attached to Bao Bao may feel as if the cub was snubbed — just look at her tackle her mother, Mei Xiang, in the snow earlier this month. You can watch the full award ceremony here and see the full list of winners here.


Florida Keys: Sunshine, blue skies and genetically-modified mosquitoes?

This photo provided by Oxitec shows a genetically-modified Aedes aegypti mosquito in a U.K. lab. The Food and Drug Administration is deciding whether to approve experiments in Florida using the non-biting male mosquitoes in an effort to kill off other mosquitoes that can carry dengue and chikungunya. (Oxitec via AP) If federal regulators sign off on the idea, millions of genetically-modified mosquitoes could soon be buzzing around the Florida Keys, mingling with the tourists who flock to the southernmost point in the United States. The Associated Press reports that British researchers are awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration — and have been for some time — to begin experiments using lab-engineered mosquitoes to kill their natural counterparts carrying worrisome diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. Here's the outline of how it works, according to the AP: Insecticides are sprayed year-round from helicopters and door-to-door in charming and crowded neighborhoods throughout the Keys. But because Aedes aegypti [mosquitoes] don't travel much and are repeatedly doused with the same chemicals, they have evolved to resist four of the six insecticides used to kill them. Enter Oxitec, a British biotech firm launched by Oxford University researchers. They patented a method of breeding Aedes aegypti with fragments of proteins from the herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria as well as genes from coral and cabbage. This synthetic DNA has been used in thousands of experiments without harming lab animals, but it is fatal to the bugs, killing mosquito larvae before they can fly or bite. Oxitec's lab workers manually remove modified females, aiming to release only males, which feed on nectar and don't bite for blood like females do. The modified males then mate with wild females whose offspring die, reducing the population. Oxitec has built a breeding lab in Marathon and hopes to release its mosquitoes this spring in Key Haven, a neighborhood of 444 homes closely clustered on a relatively isolated peninsula at the north end of Key West." It's not the first time scientists have tried the approach. Oxitec said it has conducted similar experiments in the Cayman Islands and in Brazil in recent years, and that both countries are considering larger-scale projects because the tests were effective in suppressing disease-carrying mosquitoes and reducing the overall mosquito population. But plenty of skepticism remains. Never before have bugs with genetically-modified DNA been released so close to a U.S. neighborhood,


Too big to innovate: Get excited for the coming disruption of banks

Don’t worry, banks. Video stores, newspapers and film cameras can offer a shoulder to cry on. They know how you are about to feel. Welcome to the world of disruption, where businesses get upended. The race is now on to chip away at banks’ businesses with cheaper and superior services that customers love. As the full impact of software and the Internet washes over the global economy, more casualties will fall. A reminder of a teetering domino came Sunday night when London start-up TransferWise announced it raised $58 million from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital firm. TransferWise lets users send money internationally without paying the hefty fees traditional banks have charged for such transfers. Its founders, two Estonian friends, got the idea after wanting to exchange Euros and British pounds. They soon realized the potential of a decentralized, peer-to-peer financial network. Why pay 7.99 percent — the global average for remittance — to some bank when TransferWise will charge only 1 percent for the first $5,000 and 0.7 percent for any additional money? It’s a no-brainer for anyone sending money across borders. TransferWise says it has saved its customers over $200 million in fees since launching four years ago. It plans to use its new funding to continue to grow around the globe. TransferWise says it is growing 15 to 20 percent a month. The truth is, moving money shouldn’t be very expensive given today’s technology. “In the modern day, money is really just data,” Seth Priebatsch, chief executive of a similar type of financial service company, told me last year. “Anything that is data eventually moves to the medium that can move it with the least friction, the most quickly and at the least cost.” Priebatsch leads another company leveraging the latest technology to try to disrupt the traditional financial world. LevelUp processes restaurant payments for 1.95 percent, significantly less than what the Visas and Mastercards of the world offer. For businesses, small transactions such as a cup of coffee can be unprofitable because of fees to process the credit card transactions. (This is why many demand a minimum payment to use a credit card.) The problem for traditional financial players is that their business models rely on expensive fees. “They’re in a pretty difficult situation with their balances sheets and income. In that sense it’s very hard for them to say, ‘Hey we’ve been overcharging


Elon Musk explains the science behind his ‘Simpsons’ appearance

“The Simpsons” welcomed billionaire inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk to Springfield on Sunday night, when Musk was presented as an uninspired visionary in need of new ideas. Naturally, Homer Simpson’s incoherent ramblings proved to be a muse for the man behind Tesla and SpaceX. The episode ended with Musk blasting off into space in his SpaceX Dragon craft. “Hmm, for a man who likes electric cars, he sure burns a lot of rocket fuel,” Lisa Simpson noted after the launch. (“The Simpsons”) Burn. That jab from Lisa prompted a “well, actually…” response from Musk: After the show aired, he fired off a series of tweets explaining why the Dragon spacecraft doesn’t use an electric rocket. If u saw @TheSimpsons and wonder why @SpaceX doesn't use an electric rocket to reach orbit, it is cuz that is impossible Reason is Newton's Third Law. In vacuum, there is nothing to "push" against. You must react against ejected mass. Musk went beyond the SpaceX to explain how far off we are from things such as, say, elevators to space. And pls don't ask me about space elevators until someone at least builds a carbon nanotube structure longer than a footbridge Ion thrusters are great, but have extremely tiny force (photon thruster even less). Must have more thrust than weight or you don't go up. He also left followers with a parting thought regarding the use of electricity in space travel. Final one: anything launched by a railgun (if you could ever reach ~ Mach 27) would explode upon exiting the barrel in our dense atmosphere But real-life Musk didn’t address other inventions seen on the show; what of this self-packing suitcase, for instance? (“The Simpsons”) This isn’t the first time that people have fact-checked the physics behind “The Simpsons.” Earlier this month, the “MythBusters” guys dedicated an episode to testing out some of the most iconic “Simpsons” scenes, including that time Homer attempted to stop a wrecking ball from knocking down his house. MORE READING: ‘MythBusters’ to test scenes from ‘The Simpsons.’ Here are five that should be re-created. Elon Musk: ‘With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon.’ Elon Musk’s SpaceX settles lawsuit against Air Force


The growth of Wal-Mart may have made America’s obesity epidemic worse

Wal-Mart Supercenters give us more junk food, cheaper. (Amy Sancetta/AP) Our collective waistline has been expanding for decades. The adult obesity rate in the United States surged from 13 percent in 1960 to a whopping 35 percent in 2012 — with the most pounds added during the ’80s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the first Wal-Mart store opened in 1962. The first Sam’s Club debuted in 1983. The first Wal-Mart Supercenter came in 1988. And today, thousands of warehouse-style grocery destinations offer bargains in bulk to shoppers across the country. Coincidence? Maybe not. A new paper argues that food distribution methods have contributed to America’s obesity crisis. “We live in an environment with increasingly cheap and readily available junk food,” said Charles Courtemanche, assistant professor of economics at Georgia State University. “We buy in bulk. We tend to have more food around. It takes more and more discipline and self-control to not let that influence your weight.” Courtemanche co-authored a paper with researchers from the University of Iowa, University of Virginia and University of Louisville that was released this week and that examines how different economic factors drive obesity in America. One of the biggest culprits: more cheap goods sold in bulk. “Greater availability of these stores reduces travel time to obtain food, presumably increasing weight,” researchers wrote. The density of an area’s Supercenters can significantly affect the obesity rate, according to the study. Opening an additional store per 100,000 residents increased an area’s average body mass index by 0.24 units, or 10.8 percent of the sample obesity rate, the study found. The overall effect: “These estimates imply that the proliferation of Wal-Mart Supercenters explains 10.5 percent of the rise in obesity since the late 1980s.” Growth of Walmart and Sam's Club (by FlowingData) As the stores became ubiquitous, Americans started swelling at a faster rate — “a slow uptick to this exponential shape,” Courtemanche said. To compound matters, people who never set foot in a superstore could still be affected by the chains’ popularity. Stores like Target, for example, were pressured to offer similar deals — not unlike this five-pound bag of popcorn for $17.99 — to keep up with the competition. “There are market-wide impacts that make junk foods cheaper.” Courtemanche said. Obesity, defined as a body mass index of at least 30, increases one’s chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood


This planet’s rings make Saturn look puny

Artist's conception of the extrasolar ring system circling the young giant planet or brown dwarf J1407b is shown. The rings are shown eclipsing the young sun-like star J1407, as they would have appeared in early 2007. The best fit model is consistent with a system of at least 30 rings, and there are gaps where satellites ("exomoons") may have already formed. (Ron Miller) When J1407 was discovered in 2012, it seemed like a fairly run-of-the-mill star. But the researchers who spotted it saw signs of a strange eclipse -- a period when the star had dimmed and re-brightened. These sudden, drastic brightness changes went on for two months. According to analysis published in Astrophysical Journal, a ringed planet like Saturn is in the star's system. But unlike Saturn, this ringed planet is a real bruiser. Its rings are massive and opaque enough to occasionally block out the star's light. "This planet is much larger than Jupiter or Saturn, and its ring system is roughly 200 times larger than Saturn's rings are today," co-author Eric Mamajek, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, said in a statement. "You could think of it as kind of a super Saturn." This animation shows the large exorings around sun-like star J1407, which are markedly larger and heavier than Saturn's. If the rings around Saturn were replaced with this new "super Saturn's" rings, they'd be easily visible from Earth and much larger than the moon. The dust particles within it probably have as much mass put together as the Earth itself. There are over 30 rings making up the structure. The researchers can tell because the star came in and out of its eclipse quite rapidly -- sometimes going light or dark over the course of just a few minutes -- indicating an intricate network of rings of different sizes with gaps in density in-between. At least one large gap is clearly defined, probably because a satellite formed out of the ring material and is now orbiting the planet along that path. If that's the case, the rings will probably continue to thin out over the next several million years as more moons form. It's exciting to find a ringed planet outside our own solar system for the first time, especially since we're still not exactly sure when or how Saturn's rings, which are made mostly of ice with some traces of


Barry Trotz has a new mission: Save Foley, a tiger at the Columbus Zoo

seen series of photos released by the zoo, before Ohio State played for the national championship, showing some of their animals forming letters as employees spelled out O-H-I-O. O-H-I-O Amur #tiger style wins! That's a fierce “H.” http://t.co/op0ahFYimM #GoBucks http://t.co/WO5PpkHzjn Now let’s pick things up on Monday, with the Twitter feed of Aaron Portzline, who covers the Blue Jackets for the Columbus Dispatch. #Caps coach Barry Trotz spent Saturday with his family at the Columbus Zoo. Had a blast, of course, and left on a mission to save a tiger. Seems one of the zoo's Amur tigers - Foley - is to be moved to Kansas City in spring, and Trotz said many zoo workers are opposed to it. Can't tell you how dug-in Trotz was today - unprompted - to save the tiger. He wanted Urban Meyer's cell number to make a passioned plea. And he's hoping to see "Save Foley!" signs at #Nationwide Arena during Tuesday's #Caps vs. #CBJ game. “We have to keep Foley in Columbus." Told Trotz I'm limited in what I can do, but would be happy to get the word out on his behalf. Good man, known him for years. #savefoley Portzline tweeted that Trotz was “sketchy” on the actual reason for Foley’s planned move, but another Twitter user chimed in, saying that the tiger’s services were needed “to improve breeding stock.” That may be true, but the reporter cast some doubt on whether Foley would be able to accomplish that particular mission. Don't want to embarrass Foley. But word is he's not a young tiger and more, and maybe his, ahem, roar ain't quite what it used to be. In a post for the Dispatch, Portzline noted that Foley has “become attached to a female tiger at the zoo,” so perhaps Trotz is horrified at the thought of the feline heartbreak in store. In any event, now there’s even more reason to keep an eye on Tuesday’s Caps game — will there actually be any “Save Foley!” signs, and will Trotz himself be wearing, like, a tiger-striped tie, or something? One thing we know is that this is at least the second time since he took the Capitals job that Trotz has been associated with a zoo’s big cat. Who could forget his memorable moment with a lion at the National Zoo, during the first episode of “Road to the NHL Winter Classic”?


Bill Nye and The Planetary Society to launch a satellite that will ‘sail on sunbeams’

CubeSat that allow low-cost space missions for schools and researchers. (The Planetary Society) The 2015 test is just a preliminary one. The satellite will go into space on an Atlas 5 rocket, but won't go high enough to truly escape the pull of Earth's atmosphere. Instead the satellite will run through its systems and unfurl the sail, proving that it can be deployed successfully. "With the expected launch of LightSail -- a craft propelled among the stars on the pressure of light itself -- the expanse of space becomes a literal analogue to the open seas. If space is tomorrow's ocean, then Earth's surface is its shoreline," Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hayden Planetarium director and Planetary Society board of directors member, said in a statement. It's all very Sagan-esque: Carl Sagan - The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean part 1 That shouldn't come as a surprise, since deGrasse Tyson and Nye both studied astronomy under the godfather of cosmic wanderlust. That's where Nye first heard about solar sails. "Carl Sagan was talking about using solar sails to catch up with the Halley comet back during the disco era," Nye told The Post. "This mission was going to be very cool -- a huge solar sail was going to just spin out there and catch up with a comet going at incredible speed." But when the shuttle program gained popularity and ate up the budget, the idea languished until The Planetary Society (then led by Louis Friedman) launched Cosmos 1 in 2005. It failed to reach orbit and crashed into the sea, leaving the honor of first solar sail to 2010's Venus-bound IKAROS, a Japanese spacecraft. "It takes years, being privately funded," Nye explained. "We had to go lick our wounds for awhile." But he's not troubled by the long wait. To Nye and the rest of the organization, being funded by private citizens makes all the difference. "The guys and gals who figured out LightSail are really good, and we did it for maybe a third of what a NASA mission would have cost." And NASA is always interested in seeing what engineers on the outside have accomplished with bootstrapped innovation. "NASA has so many different things it's doing, appeasing so many different interests, that things are diffused," Nye said. He and the members of his organization want to see more missions to get to other planets -- an aspect


Affordable housing didn’t cause the financial crisis

middle- and high-income borrowers (not the poor)," the authors write. "In addition, borrowers in the middle and top of the distribution are the ones that contributed most significantly to the increase in mortgages in default after 2007." Rich people tend to take out larger mortgages, of course, but the fact is that the amount of money poor borrowers failed to pay back was just never that significant, as this chart from the paper shows. In case you have a hard time believing that so many larger mortgages could have gone into default, The Washington Post just published a series of stories on subprime, sometimes predatory lending in relatively affluent places such as Prince George's County, Md., outside Washington, D.C. The findings undermine criticism of recent modest efforts by the Obama administration to make housing more affordable for low-income borrowers by loosening federal credit standards. It's important to lend responsibly, even for the federal government, but the risks in this case might be exaggerated. Welcome to Wonkbook. To subscribe by e-mail, click What's in Wonkbook: Chart of the day: 1. Top story: Administration to reform fee-for-service Medicare payments The Obama administration wants doctors to be paid based on whether their treatments work, not how many services they provide. Paying doctors for keeping patients healthy is common sense. This change has been long in coming. ORSZAG: Now the administration has to make it happen. 2. Top opinions ELIZABETH STOKER BRUENIG: Neither party has a serious plan to help families. Virginia lawmakers risk worsening the problem by requiring colleges to notify police of all reports of sexual assaults. GERSON: Immigration has only a small effect on wages for native-born workers. What would New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's agenda be in a presidential campaign? Greece's leftists are right to insist on writing down European countries' debts. 3. In case you missed it The federal government is tracking the movements of Americans' cars. As white homeowners are doing better, the plight of the black middle class is worsening. A study finds that people are less informed and less likely to vote in cities where local newspapers have closed down. G.O.P. governors in several states are proposing tax increases. Obama will ask for another $1.2 billion to control drug-resistant bacteria. The Keystone XL bill has stalled in the Senate. Republicans shift gears on economic inequality. VINIK: Blaming Obama for increasing inequality is a sign of desperation.


NASA’s Dawn spacecraft catches best-ever view of dwarf planet Ceres (again)

This animation of the dwarf planet Ceres was made by combining images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Jan. 25. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA) As NASA's Dawn spacecraft approaches Ceres, a dwarf planet too far away for sharp observations by telescopes like the Hubble, every image beamed back will be the clearest yet. The latest, taken Jan. 25 from a distance of only 147,000 miles from the dwarf, reveals an unprecedented look. It may seem fuzzy, but that resolution is 30 percent higher than anything the Hubble has ever snapped of this distant dwarf, which sits between Mars and Jupiter. Still present in these sharper pictures is Ceres' mysterious white dot, which scientists hope to examine more closely when Dawn enters the planet's orbit in March. That rendezvous will mark the first time a man-made spacecraft has tangoed with a dwarf planet. Later this year, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will have an encounter with Pluto, also classified as a dwarf planet. Ceres is an interesting specimen of a planet A zoomed out view. The new images have a resolution 30% higher than any ever taken of Ceres by The Hubble. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA) It's still sitting in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter where it was formed, and at about 590 miles across, it's far bigger than anything else between the two planets, but its embryonic state of development made its classification controversial: It used to be a planet, then was reclassified as an asteroid, and finally settled into dwarf planet territory. But even though Ceres is little, it may pack quite a scientific punch: Scientists believe it may once have had an ocean below its surface. There may still be liquid water there. For now, NASA scientists are excited to see the beginnings of discernible surface terrain like craters. Even better images are sure to come in the next few weeks. When Dawn arrives in March, we'll have an utterly unprecedented view of Ceres — and hopefully figure out just what that darn spot is. Read More: This planet’s rings make Saturn look puny Bill Nye and The Planetary Society to launch a satellite that will ‘sail on sunbeams’ Happy 11th birthday to the Opportunity rover, which had a life expectancy of three months


Pentagon disputes that a decision has been made in the Bowe Bergdahl case

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is shown here before his 2009 disappearance in Afghanistan. REUTERS/U.S. Army/Handout via Reuters Top Pentagon officials disputed Tuesday that Army commanders have decided to charge a U.S. soldier who went missing in Afghanistan in 2009 with desertion, saying that while an Army investigation is complete, no decisions have been made on what to do. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was recovered by U.S. Special Forces in May 2014 in a swap for five Taliban officials held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bergdahl is believed to have left his platoon’s small outpost in Paktika province on June 30, 2009, after growing disillusioned with the U.S. military’s campaign there, and he was captured shortly afterward by enemy forces. He was held captive in Pakistan by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group allied with the Taliban, until a deal brokered through the government of Qatar was reached last year. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, and Maj. Gen. Ronald F. Lewis, the chief of Army public affairs, both denied that a decision has been reached by the Army. The case is currently under review by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. “Let me just put a fork in this right now, if I can,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday. “No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sergeant Bergdahl. None. And General Milley is not being put under any pressure to make a decision, either way.” The questions came after media reports suggested otherwise. Fox News reported Monday night that Bergdahl would face desertion charges. NBC News did the same Tuesday morning, citing senior military officials. This photo provided by lawyer Eugene R. Fidell shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl preparing to be interviewed by Army investigators in August. The U.S. Army has begun questioning Bergdahl about his disappearance in Afghanistan that led to five years in captivity by the Taliban, his attorney and an Army spokeswoman said Aug. 6. (AP Photo/Eugene R. Fidell) Lewis released a statement directly disputing those reports, saying they were “patently false.” No actions or decisions on the Bergdahl decision have been made, he said. “The investigation is still with the Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces Command who will determine appropriate action which ranges from no further action to convening a court martial,” Lewis said. “We understand the


Army calls Bergdahl reports by Fox News, NBC News ‘patently false’

Fox News earlier today put out this scoop, which came from “The O’Reilly Factor”: The Army has decided to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released by Taliban-aligned militants last year in exchange for five Guantanamo prisoners, with desertion, according to a former military intelligence officer. NBC News found some sources saying the same thing: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by enemy forces in Afghanistan for five years, will be charged with desertion, senior defense officials tell NBC News. The Pentagon has another story to tell. Its top spokesman earlier today tweeted. Contrary to media reporting, no decision made by Army leadership with respect to Sgt. Bergdahl's case. The process will be respected. And a statement from the Army reads, “The reporting from Fox News and NBC on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is patently false. To be clear there have been no actions or decisions on the Sgt. Bergdahl investigation.” The story’s origins go back to last spring, when President Obama invited Bergdahl’s parents to a White House ceremony to announce his return after being held captive by the Taliban for five years. That presentation backfired when former members of Bergdahl’s Army unit blasted him in a series of interviews alleging that he’d intentionally left his post. NBC News reported that the charges relate to Bergdahl’s abandoning his post in June 2009, though they don’t contend that he “left with the intent never to return,” according to the story. According to Military.com, a six-month investigation into the actions of Bergdahl in 2009 has wrapped up, though the “commanding authority” for the case, Army Gen. Mark Milley, “is not yet prepared to make a decision on whether to charge Bergdahl.” Fox News took an unorthodox approach to presenting the Bergdahl news. In a segment of “The O’Reilly Factor” last night, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly invited Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (Ret.) onto the air and said, “[He] has some new information tonight, and what is that, colonel?” Shaffer proceeded to note that he had confirmed through two “other sources” that Bergdahl’s attorney had received a “charge sheet.” “The key violation is desertion,” said Shaffer, who is with the London Center for Policy Research. Deputizing an outsider to break news on air attests to the power of opinion programming at Fox News. There are several blocks of hard-news programming on the network, including most daytime coverage and Bret Baier’s well-regarded


Chicago’s Old Town Pour House is coming to Gaithersburg

Of all the places where Bottleneck Management could open its first Old Town Pour House outside the greater Chicago area, the company settled on Gaithersburg in Montgomery County, home to the Department of Liquor Control. Or, as some know it, the department that sends restaurateurs fleeing to Virginia. Rendering of the forthcoming Old Town Pour House in Gaithersburg. (Courtesy of Bottleneck Management) "We're learning that," said Mike Jettner, Bottleneck's operations manager who has been embedded in Gaithersburg, working on the March 2 opening of this craft beer wonderland, which will offer 90 different labels on 120 taps. Jettner has been talking with Daniel Gutierrez, future general manager of the new Old Town Pour House, about how to handle the notoriously slow-footed liquor department. "'Don't be a renegade,'" Jettner instructed the GM. "'If they tell you it'll be 10 days, expect 10 days. Don't expect that you're going to get it tomorrow. Like that kid, follow the rules.'" "It's not going to be the easiest project we ever do," Jettner added. "I love the preparations that our GMs do. They have to think two weeks out, which is very difficult, but once you get it done, your business will run better." Old Town Pour House is designed by Dacre & Youngquist out of Chicago. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post) At around 8,000 square feet in the sprawling Downtown Crown development, the Old Town Pour House is an important test for the Chicago-based Bottleneck, which has been scouting locations around the country for new projects. It will prove, Jettner said, how well Bottleneck can build out a restaurant so far from the Windy City. "Here, being 700 miles away from Chicago and our home office, it's really going to put our capacity to the test," the operations manager said. "We believe we're fully ready." Which is all fine and good, but you want to know what's in it for you, right? Those 120 tap handles will feature a wealth of beer styles, from British ales to lambics to double imperial IPAs. They'll also carry a number of local and regional products, which will represent approximately 15 percent of the beers available at Old Town Pour House, Jettner said. Among the promised beers from the region: DC Brau from the District, Port City from Alexandria, DuClaw and Union from Baltimore; Evolution from Salisbury, Md., Jailbreak from Laurel, Denizens from Silver Spring and Flying Dog


5 amazing ways 3-D-printed food will change the way we eat

you might be wearing technology that would be sensing what your body needs at any given time, whether you’re an athlete or whether you have a medical condition or whether you’re elderly,” von Hasseln said. “And that could theoretically link up to your printer at home and when you get home a specialized meal could be waiting for you that provides exactly what your body needs.” “You’ll be able to say when I wake up in the morning I want the printer to print my breakfast and I want it to have the right amount of trans fats, whatever we need,” said Hod Lipson, the director of Cornell University’s Creative Machines Lab. “This is where software meets cooking and the possibilities are really limitless.” 4. Sustainable foods Van Bommel is researching whether alternative protein sources from algae and insects could be transformed into interesting foods with a texture people will like. “If Western consumption levels of meat would apply to the whole world we would have a huge problem,” he said. “We would not be able to have so many cows. Where would you stick all these cows and what grass would they eat?” The sugar melts as the drink is poured. (3D Systems) 5. Cocktail garnishes It’s possible to 3-D print a sugar lattice that a mixologist inserts into the glass. The rest of the cocktail ingredients are chosen with respect to the impact of the sugar, which melts into the drink. “It adds to the kind of performance that mixologists are interested in. That pomp of serving a custom cocktail,” said von Hasseln. She describes her favorite 3-D creations as ones like this, that merge the traditional world of food with 3-D printings capabilities. Her company will begin selling a 3-D printer for food later this year. With a price tag of about $20,000, it’s expected to appeal to culinary professional, not average consumer. 3D Systems is opening a custom bakery in Los Angeles this summer to serve as a showroom and event space to educate visitors about 3-D printed food. She expects one day we’ll be able to 3-D print other edibles such as starches, proteins and spices. No need for cookie cutters with the Foodini, a 3-D printer designed to create edible products. The machine won’t be available to buyers before Christmas, but the company expects to begin selling it in the second half of 2015.


Russia is hinting at a new Cold War over SWIFT. So what’s SWIFT?

An employee stands beside banks of Terdata Corp. Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) server towers inside the 16,500-square-meter Yuzhny Port data center, operated by OAO Sberbank, in Moscow, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015. VTB Group along with Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, is challenging the European Union in court over sanctions imposed to force President Vladimir Putin to curtail any interference in Ukraine. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg) In the last few days, the Russians have been making bellicose threats about what might happen if they are excluded from SWIFT. On Friday, the CEO of Russia’s second largest bank said, If there is no Swift, there is no banking . . . relationship, it means that the countries are on the verge of war, or they are definitely in a cold war. … The next day, the Russian and American ambassadors would have to leave the capitals. On Tuesday, Russia’s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, expanded on this theme, saying We’ll watch developments and if such decisions [to restrict access to SWIFT] are made, I want to note that our economic reaction and generally any other reaction will be without limits. Senior government officials are very careful in their choice of language. When Medvedev says that (a) the reaction will not only be an economic one, and (b) that it will be “without limits” he is suggesting that Russia might treat any blocking of Russian banks’ access to SWIFT as justifying a very serious escalation on Russia’s part. To be clear — Russia would not engage in nuclear hostilities if it were frozen out of SWIFT. More likely, Medvedev is suggesting that Russia would move from its current stance of passive hostility to the West to a combination of specific retaliations (perhaps through manipulating gas supplies to Western Europe) with a far more active hostility of the kind that it displayed before the fall of the Berlin Wall. So what is SWIFT? SWIFT is a cooperative organization based in Belgium that plays a key role in the world financial system. It runs a secure messaging system for the financial industry. While it doesn’t itself clear financial transactions, it sends the messages between banks that make financial transactions possible. It’s one of the core frameworks of international finance. And why does the Russian government care? Because SWIFT plays such a crucial role in international financial transactions. Russia’s own financial system relies on SWIFT and would likely be


Iranian demands in the current negotiations). Russia would be a much bigger target, and cutting it out of the system would have much bigger implications. Still, it is certainly possible. Is a ban likely to happen? That depends. Russia appears to be doubling down on supporting the rebels in Eastern Ukraine, presenting the European Union and the United States with a dilemma. If both the United States and the European Union agree that a SWIFT freeze is an appropriate measure, they can take action, but they do need to agree on this. In the past, the United States and the European Union have disagreed over SWIFT (after Sept. 11, the United States secretly forced SWIFT to break European privacy law by providing it with information on global financial transactions). However, if the United States was to act on its own today, it would likely fail and would probably undermine the existing sanctions regime against Russia. This said, is not clear that either the United States or Europe is prepared to make SWIFT freeze the Russians out. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s statement that the West has “more tools” that it could use against Russia may be intended to suggest United States is thinking about using SWIFT. However, actually implementing a SWIFT ban on Russia would be a big step. There are also internal divisions in Europe. Some European Union member states (such as Britain) have tried to put a SWIFT freeze on the European Union’s policy agenda, while others, such as Germany, have been much more cautious. The new Greek government has signaled that it will fight against new sanctions (although this may also be a bargaining ploy in its battle to reduce Greek debt). A SWIFT freeze would be a very big step. It would likely signal that the Western powers see no short term prospect of Russia changing its approach to Ukraine, and are starting to think explicitly about how best to contain a hostile regional power, barring substantial internal changes in Russia’s government. What would a SWIFT ban mean? The SWIFT threat provides one example of how the international politics of finance has changed. The United States is increasingly willing to use its privileged position in the global economic system to achieve both economic and security goals. The role of the dollar in the international financial system means that it can threaten financial institutions that don’t comply with


The Alibaba spin-off means Marissa Mayer will lose her safety net

With the Alibaba spin-off, Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer may have less of a cash cushion. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg) Yahoo plans to spin off the company's nearly $40 billion stake in China's Alibaba Group Holding into a separate company, avoiding a big tax burden and distributing shares of the new company to stockholders. The announcement pleased investors, sending the company's stock price up on Wednesday. But it may also signal trying times ahead for Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer. Mayer's job has always been tough: By the time Mayer arrived on the scene in 2012, Yahoo's glory days were already past and it was straggling behind the Googles and Facebooks of the world. But Mayer, the brilliant Stanford grad and early Google employee who helped guide the Web giant's search product to success was a potentially messianic figure for the company. There were even reports of Yahoo employees putting up Shephard Fairey-style Hope posters featuring their new leader. And by all accounts, Mayer hit the ground running -- pursuing an aggressive strategy of acquisitions aimed at infusing talent into the company's mobile advertising projects and investing heavily in big names like David Pogue and Katie Couric for a revamped media strategy. In some cases, her tactics seem to have paid off. Research firm eMarketer expects Yahoo to overtake Twitter for third place in America's mobile ad market. Although it will remain far behind Google and Facebook, that's still a sign that the company's push to compete on mobile is taking root. Mayer's billion-dollar acquisition of Tumblr also appears to be working out. But her first 2½ years on the job have also seen some stumbles -- like the choice of Henrique de Castro as chief operating officer, who stayed for only 15 months, at the cost of at least $88 million. Also, a group of activist investors have been pushing Mayer to change her approach, urging her to cool spending on acquisitions and advocating for nearly the exact proposal for distributing the Alibaba investment profits to shareholders that Yahoo now says it's pursuing. But returning the Alibaba cash to investors leaves Mayer walking the same tightrope as before, only without a safety net to cushion the company from future missteps. Yahoo maintains substantial cash on hand, but the company also posted revenues slightly below Wall Street's expectations during the fourth quarter. Assuming the company's Alibaba spin-off goes as planned, it won't


529 tax proposal dropped: The first win for the middle class

from Americans over the next ten years. (Before Obamacare, the accounts were unlimited under federal law, though employers were allowed to set a cap.) Now, a parent looking to sock away extra money to pay for braces will find themselves quickly hitting this new cap, meaning they would have to pony up some or all of the cost with after-tax dollars. Needless to say, this tax will especially impact middle class families. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. Nationwide there are several million families with special needs children and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at special needs schools can run thousands of dollars per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. This Obamacare tax increase will limit the options available to these families. Before Obamacare, Americans facing high medical expenses were allowed a deduction to the extent that those expenses exceeded 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). Obamacare now imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Therefore, Obamacare not only makes it more difficult to claim this deduction, it widens the net of taxable income. According to the IRS, approximately 10 million families take advantage of this tax deduction each year. Almost all are middle class: The average taxpayer claiming this deduction earned just over $53,000 annually. ATR estimates that the average income tax increase for the average family claiming this tax benefit will be $200 – $400 per year. The lesson here for conservatives (aside from finding issues that raise the ire of the media) is simple: Highlight and monetize the damage Obama’s policies do to non-rich Americans. The damage may be in the form of higher taxes, lost jobs, more expensive education or higher energy costs. The argument is most potent where you can zero in on the cost per family or per person (as opposed to an aggregate figure in the millions or billions that makes one’s eyes glaze over). Where it is not easy to attach a dollar limit (e.g. the pain from disallowing school choice and forcing children to stay in subpar schools) the power of anecdotal evidence can be effective. That means humanizing the face of those adversely affected (the single mom making $50,000 a year,


The biggest mass layoffs of the past two decades

company cut 60,000 jobs: a mass layoff number that has yet to be surpassed since then, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Here's a look at the biggest U.S. layoffs in the past two decades, according to Challenger's data: Date Organization Industry Number of layoffs Job cuts — though common this time of year — have declined to their lowest level since 1997, according to recent numbers from Challenger. Still, the firm's report notes that the trends for large tech companies have been moving in the opposite direction. Job cuts in the tech sector rose 77 percent in 2014, with particularly high numbers of layoffs in the computer industry. IBM's latest "workforce rebalancing," after all, comes not long after a separate $900 million restructuring charge it announced in the first quarter of last year. Between that round and this one, Sacconaghi estimates a total of 20,000 to 22,000 people were cut through the charges taken in 2014. He also expects more cuts in 2015. An IBM spokesman declined to comment on those estimates beyond a company statement, which noted that Big Blue also hired 45,000 people last year. Other tech giants also made big cuts in 2014. In July, Microsoft said it was slashing up to 18,000 jobs; and in May, Hewlett Packard said it was cutting up to 16,000. That was on top of the 27,000 job cuts HP announced in 2012, a number that was revised twice and ultimately reached 34,000. These cuts, especially among the tech sector's giants, reflect an industry in flux, as companies try to shift from old-line hardware and software businesses to higher growth markets like cloud computing. "The large tech companies, particularly, are vulnerable right now because they're in a sector that moves so quickly," says John Challenger, the CEO of Challenger, Grey & Christmas. "Technology becomes outmoded much more quickly, leaving some of the big companies a little bit more susceptible to some of these large layoffs." Challenger said his firm started tracking mass layoffs as the early 1990s recession, when a wave of "reengineering" efforts started producing eye-popping job cut numbers. He remembers the massive 1993 IBM layoff as a milestone moment, one that marked "the end of the era where lifetime tenure was possible." Just two years earlier, before Challenger began tracking mass layoffs, General Motors had said it would eliminate 74,000 jobs. Then, a few years


Via Bergdahl reporting, two Fox Newses emerge

Like many news outlets, Fox News has a bureaucratic wall separating opinion stuff from news stuff. And as they do at many news outlets, the boundaries occasionally get blurred at Fox News. On Monday night, Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (Ret.), a guest on “The O’Reilly Factor,” came on the air and broke the news that the attorney for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl had received a “charge sheet” from the Army for desertion. Shaffer is with the London Center for Policy Research and is not a Fox News employee or contributor. Yet it was clear that “The O’Reilly Factor” had screened his revelation, as host Bill O’Reilly introduced Shaffer by saying this: “[He] has some new information tonight, and what is that, colonel?” The scoop was a big deal. Bergdahl is the sergeant who preoccupied several news cycles last May, when he was released after five years of Taliban captivity. Per the exchange, the United States released five Taliban prisoners from its facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — a move feasted upon by critics of the Obama administration. The outcry intensified when former members of Bergdahl’s Army unit said that he’d abandoned his post. The Army conducted a six-month investigation into the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl’s disappearance from his base in Afghanistan in June 2009. NBC News followed up the news from “The O’Reilly Factor” and came to the same conclusion — that Bergdahl would surely be charged with desertion. Yesterday, however, the Pentagon refuted both the “O’Reilly Factor” segment and NBC News, saying their conclusions were “patently false.” The challenge from the military brass set up an interesting decision for the Fox News program “Special Report With Bret Baier.” The show sits at the center of Fox News’s straight-news operation, which rarely passes up big stories concerning the military and national security. In a short report on the situation, Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin sure did highlight the Pentagon’s pushback — all without explaining precisely where the whole debate had started. “The army is pushing back on reports that it has decided to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion, an offense that could lead to a court martial,” said Griffin. “Top Pentagon officials said Sergeant Bergdahl has not been charged with any crime.” Later in her report, Griffin again went oblique: “The Army’s Major General Ron Lewis took a swipe at the media quote, ‘The reporting is inaccurate. No decision has


REI to open flagship store at Uline Arena

emerging neighborhood behind Union Station — more than 5,400 new residents have moved in over the last three years, according to Robin-Eve Jasper, president of the NoMa Business Improvement District. The average age among newcomers: Just over 30. “If you went back 15 years, or even 10 years ago, NoMa was mostly vacant lots,” Jasper said. A store like REI “would definitely not have worked before.” Executives from REI, which stands for Recreational Equipment, Inc., began scouting locations in the District about 18 months ago. The number of bike lanes in the area, coupled with outdoor parks and a population eager to go hiking, cycling and paddling made it a particularly good fit for the company, Ligtenberg said. “It was time for us to come to the District,” she said. “We felt like we’d already done a respectable job serving the outlying community.” Douglas Development, which owns the historic property, began construction two months ago. REI will occupy the arena’s first floor, while the top three floors will be converted to 170,000 square feet of commercial office space. There is also room for 20,000 square feet of additional retail space, according to Norman Jemal, principal at Douglas Development. In addition to retail, the store will also offer educational programs, classroom spaces and outdoor excursions including sunset kayak tours of the monuments, overnight backpacking in Shenandoah National Park and outdoor rock climbing at Carderock. “Our Washington, D.C. flagship will be an immersive experience – much more than a retail store,” Jerry Stritzke, president and chief executive of REI, said in a statement. REI isn’t the first retailer of its kind to announce an expansion in the area. In November, Cabela’s, the chain of hunting, fishing and camping gear stores, said it would be opening its first area store in Gainesville. The company’s 79,000-square-foot, slated to open in spring 2017, will have an indoor archery range, boat shop, gun library and a fudge shop. REI, the country’s largest co-op, has 5 million members. There are 281,000 members in the Washington area, making it the largest concentration of REI members in the eastern United States. The company hopes to create 150 jobs in the District. Uline Arena, which opened in 1931 as the M.J. Ice Company, has had a rich and varied history. President Eisenhower hosted his inaugural ball there, and the Beatles picked it as the site of their first U.S. concert.


Main Street Morning: Marijuana industry is on fire

Marijuana plants grow at the a medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle. Welcome to Main Street Morning, The Washington Post’s daily collection of news affecting entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses, with a special focus on policy and government. Here’s what’s affecting my small business, my clients and other entrepreneurs today. Washington • • Here’s how much you would save or lose under Obama’s new tax plan. • Republicans are looking to unseat a congressional budget official. The Economy • Entrepreneurs • • • • Customer Service • Cash Flow • • • • Opportunities • • Social Media • • • Management • • Online • • • • Start-up • • • Super Bowl • • • • • Sales • P Ideas • Technology • • • Around the Country • • • Around the World • How U.K.’s the queen of tech is turning London into Silicon Valley. • A typo causes the collapse of a 124-year-old Welsh family business. • • Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter. News we should know about? Email us here.


Captain Cookie & the Milk Man opens today in Foggy Bottom

Cookies and college students go together almost as well as milk and cookies. Or so Kirk Francis, owner of Captain Cookie & the Milk Man, hopes. His first shop officially opens today in Foggy Bottom, where you'll find his fresh-baked cookies, Trickling Springs Creamery milk and many a George Washington University student, if the constant stream of customers during the soft opening is any indication. The new Captain Cookie & the Milk Man shop in Foggy Bottom. (Becky Krystal/The Washington Post) Francis, 29, launched Captain Cookie with a food truck in 2012. He eventually added a second truck but said a storefront was always in the back of his mind. Captain Cookie takes over the approximately 500-square-foot space formerly occupied by ice cream parlor Cone E. Island in the Shops at 2000 Penn. Francis makes all the cookie dough at a commercial kitchen in Northeast. But because there's nothing like the taste and smell of freshly baked cookies, they'll be coming out of the oven at the shop. During his busy season, Francis said he can go through a ton -- as in 2,000 pounds -- of dough a week. (He also supplies dough for baking to Thomas Foolery in Dupont Circle.) "Now I assume it'll be more," he said. The dough is made off-site, but cookies are baked fresh at the shop. (Becky Krystal/The Washington Post) The regular cookie lineup consists of chocolate chip, Nutella, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, ginger molasses, oatmeal raisin and a vegan chocolate chip, for which Francis makes his own vegan butter. There's a weekly special cookie as well: this week, it's pumpkin walnut. Trickling Springs supplies the milk and ice cream, which can be sandwiched between two cookies. Coffee, milkshakes and house-made sodas are available as well. Even Francis, a cookie baker since the age of 4, was surprised at the way the GW community had turned out in the shop's first few days. He had to make a dough run on Wednesday after running out of a few flavors of cookies. "They evaporate," he said. For his part, Francis eats about six a day. Captain Cookie the Milk Man, 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-556-3396. www.captaincookiedc.com. Open 6 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturdays.


Safety panel accuses NASA of a ‘lack of transparency’ in critical space program

the agency of a “lack of transparency” about its program to hire commercial space companies to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, saying the opacity could create increased safety risks. In its annual report to Congress, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said the lack of communication about critical safety measures “has been a concern for a number of years.” And it made it impossible for the panel “to offer any informed opinion regarding the adequacy of the certification process or the sufficiency of safety” in what is known as the “commercial crew” program. The "failure to engage in open and transparent communication is reminiscent of the problems" surrounding the causes of the fatal Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, according to the report released Wednesday. Last year, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to space in what was considered a major shift for the agency. Instead of owning and operating the spacecraft, NASA is essentially hiring the two companies to transport astronauts in an arrangement some have likened to a rental car agreement. For Boeing, the contract is worth up to $4.2 billion; SpaceX, which said it could perform the work for less, was awarded a contract valued at $2.6 billion. Although NASA has said it will ensure that the companies meet rigorous safety standards to be certified for the missions, the panel said the agency “is operating at relative arm’s length while concurrently fostering the development of a commercial market. The panel strongly believes open communication and transparency are essential to ensuring the safety of the program.” In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that “safety remains our top priority.” Agency officials said they were unable to talk openly about the program while a third competitor for the contract, Sierra Nevada, protested the award. However, once the Government Accountability Office denied that protest earlier this month, NASA officials said they were able to more openly discuss their plans. In a news conference this week, they said that Boeing and SpaceX were making significant progress toward launching the first mission in late 2017 or early 2018. The safety panel noted that after three years of asking for safety and certification information, it started to receive some late last year. But it said NASA was forthcoming only "after the panel made it clear that this failure to share information would be covered in this report."


The climate debate is brutal and dysfunctional, but there’s still a way out

based upon their own merits, but it’s wrong is for government to step in and tip the scales by favoring one individual over another. Thus, individualists, in surveys, are much more likely to agree with statements like “the government interferes far too much in our everyday lives” and “society works best when it lets individuals take responsibility for their own lives without telling them what to do.” Liberals (and environmentalists) are very different. They put a much higher emotional premium on protecting the weak and innocent (including not only humans but also plants and animals) from harm, and upon a communitarian approach in which individual freedoms are not paramount and must often be curtailed in the interest of the broader group and everyone’s safety. Climate change is partisan today because it has become an issue that drives a gigantic wedge between individualists and communitarians. Conservative individualists have come to see dealing with climate change as a fundamental threat to a value system that places a premium on the individual’s ability to thrive, free of government interference, which in this case (they think) would take the form of tamping down on the free operation of markets by curtailing emissions. And thus you actually have a situation where, as shown in Yale professor Dan Kahan’s research, as people get better informed about climate change — in other words, becoming more like our elected leaders, pundits and politically engaged citizens — they become more polarized over the issue: Credit: Dan Kahan Not only are individualism (and communitarianism) powerful predictors of whether individuals actually believe that climate change is real and a threat, but it turns out that if you reframe the climate issue in a way that favors solutions in line with the value systems of an individualist, you depolarize the issue. Thus, solutions like increasing nuclear power – which is seen as more of a business-oriented approach – or unleashing geoengineering schemes, which are perceived to rely on technological ingenuity – make conservatives much more willing to believe that global warming is actually a problem. Conversely, what makes conservatives most unwilling to do something about climate change? A government regulatory solution, such as action by the EPA to force cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. But that’s precisely the approach that we’re now pursuing –not that Obama or the Democrats wanted it this way — because of a long history that centers


U.S. military cited for increasing classification of information on Afghan forces

An Afghan National Army soldier aims his rifle during a training session in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 27. EPA/JAWAD JALALI EPA/JAWAD JALALI The top U.S. general in Afghanistan is increasingly classifying information about the Afghan military and police that had previously been released, an “unprecedented” decision that keeps it from the American public, according to a new watchdog report. The Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released the report Thursday in which it singled out Army Gen. John Campbell in Afghanistan. The decision leaves the watchdog office, led by John Sopko, unable to publicly report “on most of the U.S. taxpayer-funded efforts to build, train, equip and sustain” the Afghan National Security Forces, SIGAR said. In a Jan. 18 memo included in SIGAR’s report, Campbell wrote that he could not speak to why the information was available in the past, but decided to classify “sensitive operational information” that his staff deemed could be used against U.S. or Afghan troops. “With lives literally on the line, I am sure that you can join me in recognizing that we must be careful to avoid providing sensitive information to those that threaten our forces and Afghan forces, particularly information that could be used by such opposing forces to sharpen their attacks,” Campbell wrote. But the information that has been classified doesn’t all appear to threaten security, if released. Among the questions Campbell refused to have his command answer publicly is how $25 million authorized by Congress has been used to assist women in the Afghan army, what the definitions of “present for duty” and “unavailable” are, and what is the total amount of funding the United States has spent on salaries in the Afghan National Police. Steven Aftergood, who directs a project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists, wrote Thursday on his blog that Campbell’s classification of information is “startlingly indiscriminate.” The issue “highlights the inadequacy of existing mechanisms for correcting excessive, abusive or mistaken classification decisions,” he added. Violence in Afghanistan remains high. There were about 60.1 daily “security incidents” — a term that includes firefights, improvised explosive device strikes and other attacks — between November 2013 and last November, SIGAR said. The Taliban and other insurgent groups still pose either a substantial or high threat in nearly all of the southern and eastern parts of the country, as this SIGAR map shows: This map, released


Hershey’s plan to hook Americans onto impulse-buying chocolate again

recharge or “rescue”; they can spoil (“I worked hard today”) or charm (“That’s a great idea”); they can lead shoppers to aspire (as with food or fitness magazines); or they can simply convince buyers they’ve scored on a good deal. With chocolate, “people come to the category as a ‘reward me’ category. They know it’s indulgent. It’s not a food group,” Hershey chief executive John P. Bilbrey said on a call with analysts last summer. “So as we think about the future, we’re thinking about the total snacking continuum.” The key metric for sellers at mass retailers’ “front end” has always been “dwell time”: The longer shoppers wait at the “pay point” surrounded by a colorful hoard of snacks and sweets, the greater the chance they’ll grab one of those little treats to buy. But that pause is getting shorter as technology erases checkout aisles’ lucrative inefficiencies. Supermarkets are rapidly expanding in-store pickup of online orders and even curbside grocery pickup, both of which skip the gossip mags, candy and gum. Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain, has even tested high-speed, barcode-scanning “checkout tunnels” that would allow shoppers to escape largely unindulged. Perhaps the most egregious offender of the impulse buy has been self-checkout aisles, which supermarkets first turned to for lower labor costs and now account for about 40 percent of all mass-retailer sales. The supermarket world, and the providers of its treats, have lost billions of dollars on impulse opportunities since the largely unadorned self-checkouts first beeped in 1992, Jimenez said. Glomming back onto the end of the shopping list will take more than just one-off upgrades, and Jimenez said it would take an industry-wide effort tantamount to “retrofitting America.” Late last year, Hershey began running an experiment at a Winn-Dixie in Baton Rouge, replacing the old candy aisle with a bright, sugar-filled “store within a store” of grab-and-go sweets, placed right next to the checkout aisles. “A majority of shoppers find the candy category the hardest to shop and the least inspiring in the store, resulting in many shoppers walking away without any confection in their basket,” said Rick Price, Hershey’s senior manager of center store evolution. The “re-imagined candy aisle,” he said, “makes candy shopping more convenient and memorable.” There are distractions Hershey might be powerless to dispel, including the industry-wide annoyance of shoppers staring at their cellphones rather than the checkout stands. But the industry’s biggest


executive John P. Bilbrey said on a call with analysts last summer. “So as we think about the future, we’re thinking about the total snacking continuum.” The key metric for sellers at mass retailers’ “front end” has always been “dwell time”: The longer shoppers wait at the “pay point” surrounded by a colorful hoard of snacks and sweets, the greater the chance they’ll grab one of those little treats to buy. But that pause is getting shorter as technology erases checkout aisles’ lucrative inefficiencies. Supermarkets are rapidly expanding in-store pickup of online orders and even curbside grocery pickup, both of which skip the gossip mags, candy and gum. Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain, has even tested high-speed, barcode-scanning “checkout tunnels” that would allow shoppers to escape largely unindulged. Perhaps the most egregious offender of the impulse buy has been self-checkout aisles, which supermarkets first turned to for lower labor costs and now account for about 40 percent of all mass-retailer sales. The supermarket world, and the providers of its treats, have lost billions of dollars on impulse opportunities since the largely unadorned self-checkouts first beeped in 1992, Jimenez said. Glomming back onto the end of the shopping list will take more than just one-off upgrades, and Jimenez said it would take an industry-wide effort tantamount to “retrofitting America.” Late last year, Hershey began running an experiment at a Winn-Dixie in Baton Rouge, replacing the old candy aisle with a bright, sugar-filled “store within a store” of grab-and-go sweets, placed right next to the checkout aisles. “A majority of shoppers find the candy category the hardest to shop and the least inspiring in the store, resulting in many shoppers walking away without any confection in their basket,” said Rick Price, Hershey’s senior manager of center store evolution. The “re-imagined candy aisle,” he said, “makes candy shopping more convenient and memorable.” There are distractions Hershey might be powerless to dispel, including the industry-wide annoyance of shoppers staring at their cellphones rather than the checkout stands. But the industry’s biggest fight is simply over visibility. All candy companies say they need to do is put the sweets within arm’s reach. Amenable shoppers will do the rest. As Tommy Scheiman, the owner of B.A. Sweetie Candy Co., told Candy & Snack Today magazine in 2012, “People start in the produce section and see the colors, the selection and ‘boom,’ it’s in the shopping cart.”


How ex-spies react to watching spies on TV

Peter Earnest, Mark Stout, Alexandra Peters, Oleg Kalugin and Vince Houghton at the International Spy Museum on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of the International Spy Museum) “You know: NBC execs, friends of NBC execs, museum members, oh, and former spies.” That’s how one of the communications guys at the International Spy Museum described the crowd at Wednesday night’s screening of “Allegiance,” NBC’s entry in the flooded spy-drama market. Everything sounded kosher until “former spies.” Immediately we started surveying the crowd. Maybe the blonde in the red leather pants? Or the woman two rows in front of us whose pinot noir-colored hair is very Jennifer Garner in “Alias”? There was no time to figure it all out before the lights went down. “Allegiance,” premiering Feb. 5, is a family drama on ‘roids about the O’Connors, Brooklyn-dwellers with two cars and three stories. Mom, Dad and big sister are SVR — super secret Russian spies. (SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service, is currently making headlines.) Meanwhile, little brother is a rookie CIA analyst without a clue about the family business. Just guess what his first big assignment is? That’s right, investigating the ‘rents. After the screening, some real live ex-spies rated the show on its truthiness. “There’s a lot here that they got right,” said Vince Houghton, the historian and curator at the International Spy Museum, who gave the show an A for its use of terminology. When asked if a double agent would ever have access to reams of classified information (another plot point in the pilot episode), Peter Earnest, a 35-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, nodded. “I mean look at the degree of access Snowden had. It’s amazing how much information someone can glean just being inside the building.” But former KGB general Oleg Kalugin had one bone to pick with the show, which features a gruesome scene in the first five minutes. Spoiler alert: A man gets burned alive. “They would not have burned him. We’re more sophisticated than that,” said Kalugin, “Polonium!” Read more Reliable Source: There’s a pop-up restaurant in Tokyo with a waiting list of 60,000. How two locals got in — and what they ate. Redskins lineman Chris Baker will be married in 45 days Lots of ‘famous for D.C.’ folks signing up for the new luxury-at-home app Veluxe


Transparency goes on holiday in Afghanistan

Gen. John Campbell arrives for a ceremony marking the end of ISAF’s combat mission in Afghanistan in Kabul on Dec. 28. NATO formally ended its war in Afghanistan on Dec. 28. (Shah Marai/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) “U.S. suddenly goes quiet on effort to bolster Afghan forces” was the headline in the New York Times that caught my attention. How, pray tell, does a nation go quiet on a $65 billion endeavor? It stops talking. Score another victory for the forces of overclassification in the name of national security. The Times reports that routine data used in the quarterly reports from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction for the past six years are now classified. Locked behind an appendix to the report that can only be read by those with high-level security clearances. That’s a decidedly small universe. “While I cannot comment upon the precise reason why certain information was considered unclassified in the past,” Gen. John F. Campbell wrote in a letter that can be seen on page 217 of the latest SIGAR report, “I can advise that given the risks that continue to exist for our forces and those of Afghanistan, I have directed that sensitive operational information or related materials, that could be used by those who threaten the force, or Afghan forces, be classified at an appropriate level.” Campbell noted that he was “committed to maximum transparency,” but then added, “I am compelled to also protect the lives of those individuals who could be put at risk by the release of sensitive information.” The finely sifted data detail everything from how much money was spent to what it was spent on to the undulating numbers of Afghan military and police. These numbers have been updated every quarter for six years. That’s why the stated reason for the information lockdown is suspect. No one wants information to get out that could put coalition forces at a (bigger) disadvantage against the Taliban. But I’m hard pressed to see how this information blackout is going to help matters. Sure, the U.S. taxpayer ought to know where his or her money is going and how it is being spent. We should also know if that funding is producing results that will allow that graveyard of empires to defend itself from homegrown instability. But we also ought to know if the Pentagon is flooding the zone with more money and


Even in 2015, the public doesn’t trust scientists

the Center for Food Safety and other similar organizations. Not surprisingly, many scientists — whether they design climate models or genetically engineer crops — feel they are under assault. In just five years, since the latest survey in 2009, the number of AAAS members who feel that “today is a good time for science” has plummeted from 76 percent to 52 percent. There is increasing skepticism about American global leadership in science and the way science is taught in schools. Scientists are also increasingly dismayed that government regulations — particularly on food safety and environmental management — are influenced more by public sentiment that scientific evidence. It now costs tens of millions of dollars to get a new genetically modified crop variety past cautious government bureaucrats, because of the public’s fears of modified food; whereas new seeds developed using chemical or radiation mutagenesis can go straight to market and even be labeled organic. There are serious implications for democratic governance when large minorities — or even, in the case of GMOs, majorities — of the general public ignore or disbelieve the scientific consensus. With vaccines the implications can be immediate: witness the recent measles outbreak in California. On climate change, public support for urgent decarbonization measures is being undercut, while food security and agricultural sustainability is under threat by activists aiming to prohibit technological innovation in seeds. Lobbyists and activists who promote their ideological agendas and financial interests over those of good science and public policy must take much of the blame for this situation. But scientists also have to be better communicators. With social media, everyone has a megaphone, however well- or ill-informed they are. If scientists want the public to understand their research, they have to spend more time sharing and explaining it to the public. This is the goal of the newly launched Cornell Alliance for Science, which aims to bridge the gap between scientists and the rest of society — in particular on genetically modified crops. Effective governance in a democratic society depends on voters being able to make choices based on accurate information. If the voices of scientific experts continue to be drowned out by those of ideologues, whether from left or right, America risks moving even farther away from the Enlightenment values on which the republic was founded. Such a shift would harm everyone — whether or not they believe the Earth is warming.


Positive computing: The tech buzzword you need to know for 2015

and you have the basis for something potentially fundamentally new: a movement that focuses on ways that technology can make lives more fulfilling. There have been attempts already to make technology serve a higher purpose. Arianna Huffington launched an entire movement around Thrive. Moreover, there is a whole cottage industry of apps and related experiences (with names such as Mood Gym or Smiling Mind) promising to make us more compassionate, more empathetic, more mindful and even more peaceful. And most recently, Silicon Valley’s top technologists have been reinventing themselves as techno-philanthropists with breakthrough ideas of how to use technology to make the world a better place. Going forward, the real potential for positive computing to make a difference in our lives is in the next generation of wearable computing devices. Wearables represent the first time that technology companies will be making computing devices that are designed to be worn on our bodies. Technology will become truly part of us, an extension of our physicality. That’s something that Apple recognized very clearly in its launch event for the Apple Watch, describing it as “Apple’s most personal device ever.” One idea for how wearables might lead to increased well-being and mindfulness is in the current generation of fitness trackers and health devices. Designed to measure physical factors such as heart rate and the amount of sleep we get, they could theoretically become positive feedback devices for regulating moods and making us more compassionate. According to Calvo and Peters, these devices would not just be ergonomically well-designed and aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they would also lead to experiences that remove barriers to well-being. Beats by Dre x Pharrell x Beats Pills "Happy" Commercial Of course, positive computing has the potential to be misunderstood and misapplied by technology companies eager to jump on the latest bandwagon. You could imagine a tech company making positive computing part of a marketing campaign, similar to Beats signing up Pharrell Williams to do “Happy” commercials for a new product line. Or designers could misinterpret “positive computing” to mean just vibrant new colors designed to look upbeat and optimistic. Or, given the buzz around big data, tech companies might focus too much on designing powerful new algorithms that claim to know our moods, tastes and preferences. However, there is a fundamental difference between a wiser computer and a computer that makes us wiser. What adherents of positive computing