Michigan Tops Arkansas to Stay Undefeated

Abstract: All five Michigan starters scored in double figures Saturday as the No. 3 Wolverines pulled away in the second half to beat Arkansas, 80-67. The visiting Razorbacks (4-4) were led by Marshawn Powell, who scored 18 points. Michigan (9-0) is off to its best start since the 1988-89 team won its first 11 games. That team went on to win the program’s only national title. Michigan led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but Arkansas opened the second half with an 11-2 run and with 8:58 left trailed by only one point, 56-55. The Wolverines responded with a 10-2 run and coasted to the win, John Beilein’s 100th in six seasons at Michigan. Glenn Robinson III scored 17 for Michigan; Trey Burke had 16 points and 7 assists; Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14; and Nik Stauskas added 12. LOUISVILLE 99, MO.-K.C. 47 Russ Smith scored a career-high 31 points and No. 5 Louisville (8-1) shot 56 percent from the field and forced 24 turnovers against visiting Missouri-Kansas City (4-5). Smith shot 12 of 18 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range in surpassing his previous high of 30 last year against Kentucky. OHIO ST. 89, LONG BEACH ST. 55 Deshaun Thomas had 18 points, including a 3-pointer in an 11-point run in the first half, to lead No. 7 Ohio State (6-1) past Long Beach State (3-6). LaQuinton Ross had 16 points in a reserve role, Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 14, and Sam Thompson had 13 for host Ohio State, which led by as many as 42 points. Coach Dan Monson of Long Beach State said of his team: “It is a bad basketball team, but it doesn’t have to be. We have better players than what we played today.” KANSAS 90, COLORADO 54 Ben McLemore, a freshman guard, scored 24 points as ninth-ranked Kansas defeated Colorado. The host Jayhawks (7-1) won their seventh in a row since losing to Michigan State. Josh Scott led Colorado (7-2) with 19 points. The Buffaloes’ loss was their 19th in a row in Allen Fieldhouse. CINCINNATI 92, MD.-E. SHORE 60 Winless and short-handed, Maryland-Eastern Shore could not keep up with No. 11 Cincinnati (9-0). Point guard Cashmere Wright led the way with 20 points and 9 assists, and Sean Kilpatrick scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half Cincinnati had 55 rebounds to the visitors’ 31. Kyree Jones led the Hawks (0-9) with 25 points. The team shot 30 percent from the field. MISSOURI 68, TENNESSEE ST. 38 Stefan Jankovic scored all 14 of his points in the second half, helping No. 12 Missouri overcome a sloppy first half against visiting Tennessee State. Laurence Bowers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Alex Oriakhi added 15 points and 10 rebounds for host Missouri (8-1). Robert Covington scored 12 points and Jordan Cyphers had 11 for Tennessee State (4-6). GEORGETOWN 46, TOWSON 40 After going 1-31 last season, Towson scheduled its first 10 games on the road. Game No. 9 was nearly a major upset. Towson stayed close the entire way before falling to No. 15 Georgetown. A Georgetown transfer, Jerrelle Benimon, had 11 points and 16 rebounds to lead Towson (4-5). Georgetown shot only 29 percent, but Towson was undone by its own poor shooting, 33 percent, and its 22 turnovers. Towson’s final points came with 4:35 to play. Georgetown won despite its second bad shooting performance in eight days. The Hoyas set the school record for scoring futility in the shot clock era with a 37-36 win over Tennessee. MICH ST. 73, LOYOLA (CHICAGO) 61 Gary Harris scored 20 points and No. 19 Michigan State broke away in the second half to beat Loyola of Chicago. Adreian Payne added 14 points and 10 rebounds for host Michigan State (8-2). Ben Averkamp had 25 points and 8 rebounds for the Ramblers (6-3). OKLA. ST. 62, MISSOURI ST. 42 No. 23 Oklahoma State (7-1) scored 14 of the game’s first 16 points. Although Missouri State (2-7) managed a 10-0 run in the second half, the outcome was not in doubt. Host Oklahoma State had 46 rebounds to Missouri State’s 22. N.C. ST. 80, CLEVELAND ST. 63 Richard Howell and C. J. Leslie combined to shoot 14 for 18 and score 36 points for No. 25 North Carolina State (6-2). Charlie Lee scored 15 to lead visiting Cleveland State (6-3). WOMEN NOTRE DAME 109, UTAH STATE 70 Natalie Achonwa had 23 points and 12 rebounds as No. 5 Notre Dame (6-1) cruised to a 109-70 win over Utah State. Markisha Wright had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Skylar Diggins added 12 points and 10 assists for host Notre Dame. Devyn Christiansen led Utah State (2-7) with 21 points. U.C.L.A. 62, TEXAS 42 Alyssia Brewer had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 17 U.C.L.A. held No. 12 Texas to 24 percent shooting. Jasmine Dixon added 10 points for the Bruins (5-1). Nneka Enemkpali had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Texas (5-1). The game was played at Reliant Stadium, home to the N.F.L.’s Houston Texans, as part of a Texas-U.C.L.A. men’s and women’s doubleheader. The U.C.L.A. men won, 65-63.

Basketball (College)
University of Arkansas
University of Michigan
University of Kansas
University of Cincinnati


Lugers Grimmette and Martin Retire

Abstract: Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, the United States’ most decorated doubles luge sliders, announced their retirement after placing second at USA Luge’s national championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Grimmette and Martin, who competed together in four Olympics and won a silver medal in 2002 and a bronze in 1998, finished 0.633 of a second behind Christian Niccum and Dan Joye at the national championships. ¶The Czech Republic edged Switzerland to win the nations team event that wrapped up the World Cup Alpine season in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. ¶Michael Ligocki of Poland won the first halfpipe contest of his World Cup snowboarding career in Almalenco, Italy, and Holly Crawford of Australia claimed her second victory. ¶Anders Gloersen of Norway won the men’s 1.5-kilometer cross-country sprint in Oslo in 2:53.9, and Marit Bjoergen of Norway won the 1.3K women’s sprint, passing Kikkan Randall of Alaska in the final 100 meters to finish in 3:01.8.


Cutting Edge Group Buys Varése Sarabande

Abstract: LOS ANGELES — Some significant players in the usually quiet movie soundtrack business are about to turn up the volume. Over the holidays, the Cutting Edge Group , a company in London that provides and invests in music for the screen, and its partner Wood Creek Capital Management acquired a well-known purveyor of soundtracks: the Varèse Sarabande record label. The acquisition was disclosed in interviews last week with executives involved in the transaction. They declined to discuss the terms of the deal, but described it as an initial step in using about $100 million in funds that will extend the reach of Cutting Edge, beginning with the purchase and expansion of Varése Sarabande, which will quickly increase its output by half to at least 60 soundtracks a year. The financing will come from Wood Creek, which is based in Connecticut, and from two additional backers, Octopus Investments and Aberdeen Asset Management, which are based in Britain and are otherwise involved with Cutting Edge. “When you deploy $100 million in this space, that’s an awful lot of money,” said Philip Moross, the chief executive of Cutting Edge. Mr. Moross, who spoke by telephone on Thursday, referred to a movie music business in which the budgets for film scores have dwindled, as inexpensive or stolen downloads knocked the bottom out of soundtrack sales. The music for “The Bodyguard” from 1992, which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, sold about 12 million albums in the United States, for instance; but more recent hits, like the “Twilight” soundtrack, have sold a fraction of that number. Cutting Edge has grown by spreading its portfolio to include the management of music rights, the representation of composers, and upfront investment in the music for many films. By spending a relatively modest sum for rights to the music of films like “The King’s Speech” while they are still in production, for example, Cutting Edge helps to underwrite a stronger soundtrack. It can then recoup its money through aggressive sales of the music to advertisers and others. Varése Sarabande, which released its first album in 1978, was founded in Los Angeles by the entrepreneur Chris Kuchler and others, and did well by specializing in what larger competitors had left behind. (The label’s unusual name, born of a merger between the predecessor Varése International with Sarabande Records, combines the name of the composer Edgard Varése with the term for a Spanish dance.) Image Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum in “Side Effects,” a Cutting Edge project coming next month. Credit Barry Wetcher/Open Road Films Its recent soundtracks include music from “The Bourne Legacy,” “The Help,” and the second season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” The company has focused largely on scores, rather than on song compilations that require the acquisition of expensive rights. Varése Sarabande releases about 40 soundtracks a year. But that number will quickly grow to 60 or more, said Darren Blumenthal, a Los Angeles investment adviser who introduced Mr. Moross to Mr. Kuchler, and will now become chief executive of Varése Sarabande. Mr. Kuchler, who was the principal owner of Varése Sarabande, will stay with the label at least through a transition period of several months, and Robert Townson, its managing director, is expected to remain in place. “Being together is better for both of us,” Mr. Kuchler said in an e-mail on Saturday. “They needed us to round out our operation, and we needed them because things have been getting difficult in our niche area of the music industry.” Mr. Blumenthal, who spoke jointly with Mr. Moross on Thursday, said the decision to sell came slowly for Mr. Kuchler, who turned down a parade of potential buyers over the last five years. Mr. Moross, said Mr. Blumenthal, began negotiating with Mr. Kuchler about two years ago. And the deal finally closed in late December, as entrepreneurs across the United States were busy selling assets in advance of an anticipated increase in federal taxes. Mr. Kuchler turned away most potential buyers, Mr. Blumenthal said, because they were “financial, versus strategic.” The strategic advantage in joining with Cutting Edge, he said, includes an expectation that all or most of the five dozen films with which Cutting Edge is involved annually will now release a score via Varése Sarabande. Thus, “Side Effects,” which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and is set for release on Feb. 8 by Open Road Films, was made with input from Cutting Edge, which invested in the music, helped find the music supervisor, and will now release its score, by Thomas Newman, on Varése Sarabande. Mr. Moross and Mr. Blumenthal also talk of expanding Varése Sarabande’s existing events business, which has regularly staged concerts at festivals and elsewhere in recent years. That could mean having film scores conducted by their composers at the Hollywood Bowl, for instance, then selling recordings of the performance, Mr. Moross said. It is just one way, he added, of getting more value from scores. “These are highly undervalued properties,” he said.

Cutting Edge Group
Movies
Music
Mergers and Acquisitions
Audio Recordings


G.O.P. Debates Fail to Give Voters Basic Details

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The Republican presidential candidates’ three debates have been sometimes compelling, often contentious and always amusing. We have learned a lot less about how any of the candidates would govern. They have chiefly relied on clichés, buzzwords and attempts to prove who is the most contemptuous of President Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton. There is a similar weakness in the smaller Democratic field, which has had only one debate; subsequent forums may provide more meat. The Republican void was on display in the debate on Wednesday focusing on the party’s favorite issue: taxes. All the candidates would cut extensively, though most would add trillions to the debt. The proposals from the two front-runners, Donald J. Trump and Ben Carson, would create the largest budget shortfalls. They also tried to camouflage their plans’ heavy tilt in favor of the more affluent. Mr. Trump stresses that he would end the carried interest tax loophole benefiting private-equity and hedge fund executives. He would also eliminate the estate tax, which is paid by only 0.2 percent of all families. Killing carried interest would raise $2 billion a year; killing the estate tax would cost $20 billion. The much-maligned moderator at last week’s debate was essentially correct that Senator Marco Rubio’s tax cuts would give almost twice as much to the rich as to the middle class, though the candidate denied it. An analysis by the Tax Foundation of Mr. Rubio’s initial proposal — which has been slightly modified — showed that it would give the biggest benefits to the poorest, but that the top 1 percent would get about twice as much, on a percentage basis, as the middle and working class. To understand why candidates avoid budget specifics, look at the one realistic proposal, that of John Kasich, the governor of Ohio. He would cut taxes and offer a balanced budget in eight years. Some of the entitlement changes he advocates would be tough; but the real problem is that he would freeze nondefense discretionary spending for eight years, bringing it far below levels in the Eisenhower administration as a percentage of the economy. These cutbacks would affect big-ticket items such as veterans’ health care, the Border Patrol and health research, and would be politically impossible. The Affordable Care Act, long the bête noire of Republicans, was mentioned only twice in passing at the debate. Demanding repeal is easy; a replacement is much harder to come up with. Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida has tried. His initiative would lower some costs and lessen regulation, but it would also provide fewer benefits, weaken a ban on discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and limit tax-free insurance offered by employers. The immigration discussion has been dominated by Mr. Trump’s promise of a “beautiful” wall along the southern border that he insists Mexico would pay for. Climate change was barely mentioned, other than condemnations of Mr. Obama’s policies. Similarly, all the candidates attacked what they consider the president’s weakness on foreign policy and national security. With the exception of Senator Lindsey Graham, who does not register sufficiently in polls to get on the main stage, they offered few specifics on how they would fight terrorists, or counter Russian incursions and China’s assertive territorial claims. “The only Republican with a defined national security policy is Lindsey Graham,” says John Nagl, formerly a top adviser to Gen. David H. Petraeus and now the headmaster at the Haverford School. “They certainly aren’t willing to give defense the resources it needs, to impose a gasoline tax to fund national security needs, or to do anything serious.” To be sure, there have been deceptive debates in past campaigns. Mr. Obama presented himself as a protectionist, vowing to renegotiate trade pacts. George W. Bush promised a “humble” foreign policy. Still, campaigns and debates matter. The candidates and the news media have yet to meet that standard this time.

Republicans
Budget
2016 Presidential Election
Political Debates
Inheritance Tax and Estate Tax
Income tax


Shea in ’64: The Planes Above, the Mets Below

Abstract: At Shea Stadium, five dollars sometimes covers the cost of a seat way at the top of the upper deck but not the Sherpa to lug the oxygen tanks. The view is comparable to that from the ubiquitous low-flying planes, whose passengers, if so inclined, could reach out the window and take a bite from your Italian sausage. Buying another one would involve navigating a concourse roughly the width of a coffee table and sidestepping the bathroom line that started forming five innings earlier. By any objective standard, Shea is bleak and outdated. It has not aged, shall we say, gracefully, its imperfections and architectural shortcomings growing more prominent over the years, particularly as glorious baseball-only parks have sprouted around the country. Those flaws are now magnified by Citi Field, the Mets ’ new home in 2009, whose beatific presence beyond Shea’s right-center-field fence prompted Ron Darling, the SportsNet New York analyst and former Met, to make this comparison: “It’s like driving a VW bus with a Maserati in the lot.” Of the municipally owned, multipurpose, symmetrical eyesores that sprung up in the 1960s and early ’70s, Shea was the first to arrive, preceding those concrete monstrosities in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and now, alas, it is one of the last to go; after this season, it will be dismantled to clear parking space for Citi Field. And it will be missed, adored as it is reviled, if not for its aesthetic value but for the fact that, for most Mets fans, Shea is the only stadium they have ever known. “It’s a dump,” said Gary Cohen, the Mets’ play-by-play announcer on SNY, who grew up in Parkway Village, Queens. “But it’s our dump.” That dump has served as a vessel of nostalgia, in its 44 — soon to be 45 — seasons as the backdrop for some of the most iconic moments in the city’s sporting and entertainment history and, by association, people’s lives. It has played host to 39 postseason games, including the still-hard-to-believe Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, and provided comfort in times of distress, rumbling after Mike Piazza’s dramatic home run in the first game in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. John Lennon and the other Beatles sang there. Mick Jagger shimmied. Pope John Paul II blessed. Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, John Smoltz, Billy Wagner, Ron Guidry — all threw their first major league pitches at Shea, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It even holds significance for opposing hitters: the Braves’ Chipper Jones named his newborn son Shea, though that tribute stemmed from his success there, naturally, not for any affection he had for the place. “I remember one day, when I was pitching against the Dodgers late in one game, the crowd was at such a fever pitch that I could literally feel the sound waves hitting my chest,” said the former Met Jack Fisher, who started the inaugural game at Shea on April 17, 1964, in a telephone interview. “I never felt that way anywhere else but at Shea.” Ron Hunt, who started for the Mets at third base that day, said he was particularly fond of Banner Day, now defunct, when fans marched onto the field carrying signs with often-witty slogans. His favorite? One pointing out that the Mets would be in first place if the standings were looked at upside down. Al Jackson, a pitcher on the 1964 team, said he memorized flight schedules in and out of La Guardia Airport and could tell what time it was based on which planes were flying overhead. Darling said: “Those planes just let you know that you’re not in Norfolk or Memphis or New Orleans or wherever. This is New York City, where everyone flies into. Everyone’s flying in and out of the city that you have the privilege of playing in. That’s never been lost on me.” The actual size of Shea is perhaps best appreciated from a distance. Every time, the approach toward the stadium, be it from the Van Wyck, the Grand Central or from aboard a 757, inspires the same impression of its size: gigantic. Even in its heyday, Shea would never win best in show in an architectural competition — Fredric Bell, the executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, said the stadium looked as if it had been designed on an Etch A Sketch. But when it opened a few days before the 1964 World’s Fair next door, it stood tall as a symbol of the future and a monument to progress. Unlike the Polo Grounds in Harlem, where the Mets spent their infancy, and at the remaining older ballparks, there were no steel girders to obstruct sightlines (although that came at the cost of pushing the seats farther back). The steep ramps had disappeared, replaced by escalators. Jackson recalled gazing around in the park’s infancy and thinking: “This isn’t a stadium. This is like going to heaven.” But as the years progressed, few used that word to describe Shea. Consider that Dodger Stadium, which is two years older than Shea, still impresses with its spotless floors and pastel seats and overall beauty. Shea? Well, there is that apple that goes up and down after Mets home runs. “There’s no redeeming architectural value in Shea,” Bell said bluntly. “It looks like it was built in a hurry. It’s a temporary structure that has outlasted its usefulness. It’s an expansion stadium for an expansion team and a replacement stadium for a replacement team. If Yankee Stadium is like visiting the Metropolitan Museum, then Shea is like a visit to the dentist’s chair.” To be fair, Shea played host to an era of Mets baseball that was often overshadowed by what was occurring in the Bronx. And if Yankee Stadium conjures memories of Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, Jackson and Jeter and the 26 World Series titles, then what does Shea evoke? There is 1969 and 1986 for sure, but also many lackluster seasons along with the leaky pipes, the paucity of bleacher seats as a landing spot for home runs and that calf-crushing climb to the upper deck. The flaws have been many, although in some ways they provide Shea with a personality, even if slightly perverse. “It’s dilapidated and obsolete, sure, but I could say the same thing about the apartment where I grew up, in Bayside, Queens,” said Howie Rose, the Mets’ play-by-play broadcaster on WFAN. “That apartment was home. My memories there are happy, warm and indelible, just like they are from Shea. To me, Shea is home.”


Visa and MasterCard Settle Lawsuit, but Merchants Aren’t Happy

Abstract: It has been called the largest private antitrust settlement in history, but the tentative $7.3 billion deal made last month between credit card companies and merchants may do little for Andy Charles, the owner of Haven’s Candies , which accepts credit cards at its three stores in the Portland, Me., area. Mr. Charles said he did not expect much of the payment, which includes more than $6 billion in cash and an eight-month reduction in credit card transaction fees worth $1.25 billion, to reach him. And while the settlement is noteworthy because it allows merchants for the first time to charge more when customers pay with a credit card, Mr. Charles said he had no plans to do so. (In the past, credit card companies have not objected to retailers, like gas stations, that give a discount to customers who pay cash.) “When somebody’s in my store, I want them to be impressed by both the quality of my products and the service they receive,” he said. “And if I suddenly have to get into a conversation where I’m penalizing them if they use a credit card, it doesn’t make for very good customer service.” But even if he wanted to impose a surcharge, Mr. Charles is one of many merchants who would not be able to, because of a sort of Catch-22 provision in the settlement that makes it effectively impossible for establishments that accept American Express to take advantage of the new rules. Although the settlement was announced with fanfare in July by the lawyers who negotiated it, the celebration may have been premature. Some merchants and retail advocates, including four organizations that are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, oppose the deal because, they say, it offers too little and will make it harder to take legal action against credit card companies in the future. The settlement is still subject to court approval and is unlikely to become official before the middle of next year. “There’s nothing there,” said Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation , a trade association that was not involved in the lawsuit. He called the cash and fee reductions a “drop in the bucket” compared with the amount banks had overcharged merchants to process credit cards. The lawsuit was filed in 2005 on behalf of some seven million merchants who claimed that MasterCard and Visa had colluded, separately, with banks to eliminate competition and increase the price of their credit card transactions. Since then, the interchange fees, or so-called swipe fees, small merchants pay card networks have risen as the networks have plied cardholders with rewards, said David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report , which tracks the card industry. In 2011, Visa and MasterCard accounted for 68 percent of credit card spending at merchants, according to the report, and the two companies’ grip on the market is likely to make retailers think twice before applying a surcharge. “Customers are very temperamental now,” said Nancy Alinovi, who owns two consignment shops called Adore Designer Resale Boutique in the Raleigh, N.C., area. “It’s much harder to get them to spend their money.” Ms. Alinovi said she would never apply a surcharge. “However,” she added, “I love that we have the ability to do that, the freedom to do that.” That freedom, however, is limited. Under the agreement, a merchant that added a surcharge to Visa or MasterCard transactions would also be required to add the surcharge to American Express transactions, if the merchant took American Express. (Half of those who accept Visa and MasterCard also take American Express, said David Darst, an analyst who covers the industry for Guggenheim Securities.) But American Express has its own rule that says merchants must treat every form of electronic payment equally — and that means that to add the surcharge to American Express transactions, the merchant would have to add it to every other card it accepted, including debit cards. But both Visa and MasterCard prohibit surcharges on debit cards — Catch-22! — which effectively means merchants cannot add a surcharge to any transaction. In reality, few merchants would impose a debit surcharge even if Visa and MasterCard permitted it. “Debit is the product that merchants want to encourage customers to use, so if you have a rule that says if you’re going to surcharge American Express you’re going to have to surcharge debit, you might as well have a rule that says no surcharge,” said Gary B. Friedman, a lawyer in New York who represents merchants in a separate class-action lawsuit against American Express. Noah J. Hanft, MasterCard’s general counsel, said the company was not trying to use the rules set by other networks as a shield against competition. “We can’t fix the problems that other brands have with their rules,” he said. “We can only fix issues with our rules, but we have to ensure that there’s a competitive marketplace. We’re not going to enter into an agreement that’s not fair to our cardholders.” Visa officials declined to speak on the record. The settlement’s impact will also be limited by state law. Ten states that together constitute 40 percent of the United States population have banned surcharges on credit card purchases, “and I don’t think anything would restrict the banks and networks from lobbying other states to do the same,” said Henry M. Polmer, a Washington lawyer who specializes in electronic payment networks. One element of the settlement that intrigued Mr. Charles, the confectioner, was a provision requiring Visa and MasterCard to negotiate transaction rates with merchants that banded together as a group. “It would theoretically allow merchants to negotiate a lower cost of interchange, which right now is out of control and growing,” he said. “But how do you negotiate when there’s only one game in town?” The settlement’s detractors echoed that sentiment. “Merchants are allowed under the law to form buying groups right now, even without a settlement,” said Douglas Kantor, a Washington lawyer who represents NACS , the convenience store trade association, which was a party to the lawsuit but rejected the settlement. “The problem has always been, Visa and MasterCard don’t bargain with those groups in a fair way.” If the settlement received court approval, Visa and MasterCard could obtain unusual freedom from future lawsuits over transaction pricing. Not only would existing merchants lose their right to sue, but claims from merchants created in the future would be barred from court as well. The card companies would be protected not just from claims made in this suit, but also from claims that could have been made but were not. “The release is remarkably overbroad,” Mr. Kantor said. “There are all kinds of rules that aren’t touched by the settlement at all, and it releases them to abuse merchants with those rules in perpetuity.” But a lawyer for other plaintiffs, H. Laddie Montague Jr., said the provision was a reasonable protection for the credit card companies. “They don’t want to settle today,” he said, “and have a merchant tomorrow who accepts their credit cards refile and start the whole thing over.” Albert A. Foer, a longtime observer of the case and founder of the American Antitrust Institute , based in Washington, said the settlement was too complicated to say yet whether merchants, and ultimately consumers, would benefit. The judge overseeing the case, Mr. Foer said, “is going to have to seek greater clarity before he or anybody else can say with any certainty what all the practical implications of the settlement will be.”

Credit Cards
Small Business
Entrepreneurship
Prices (Fares Fees and Rates)
MasterCard Inc
Visa Inc


Libya Asks Arab League Countries to Help Battle Islamic State

Abstract: CAIRO — The Islamic State militants who control the Libyan city of Surt are resorting to mass beheadings, public crucifixions and other stark displays of brutality as they seek to crush an insurrection, the foreign minister of Libya’s internationally recognized government said Tuesday at a meeting of Arab diplomats here. The foreign minister, Mohamed el-Dayri, cited the violence in an appeal to the member states of the Arab League for military intervention against the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. “Can Libyans now stop this flood in Surt represented by the Islamic State? I say the answer is no,” Mr. Dayri told the assembled Arab delegates in Cairo, arguing that a weapons embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council at the start of the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi five years ago was now depriving the recognized government of “the most basic needs” in weaponry. “There is a siege on the Libyan Army and its children and its capabilities,” Mr. Dayri said, “by not equipping it to achieve the necessary triumph over this black darkness.” Others, though, argued that the struggle by the Islamic State to maintain its control of Surt also underscored the natural limits on the group’s expansion amid the Libyan chaos. The group was forced out of the eastern Libyan city of Derna this spring by a feud with a rival Islamist militia, and now one of the largest tribes in Surt, its remaining stronghold, has also risen against it. “Everything in Libya is hyperlocalized, and that holds true for ISIS as well,” said Frederic Wehrey, a researcher on Libya at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “There is only so far it can expand because it bumps up against these same forces.” Mr. Dayri’s appeal on Tuesday for military intervention now risks new regional entanglements in what is already at least a three-way conflict among the Islamic State and two rival Libyan factions, each seeking sway over Libya’s vast oil reserves and long Mediterranean coast. Over the last two years, both Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have initiated limited interventions inside Libya, both treating the fighting there as part of broader regional conflict with the forces of political Islam. A rebel provisional government in exile made a similar request to the Arab League five years ago for help to oust Colonel Qaddafi, and the league’s statement of support set the stage for the NATO airstrikes that ended his rule. The collapse of the Qaddafi government and the looting of its armories, however, left Libyans at the mercy of fractious local militias that emerged in the aftermath. By 2013, many of those militias had split into two camps in a broad civil conflict. On one side, some Islamist and other local militias were aligned behind a faction based in Misurata with its own provisional government in Tripoli, the capital. Other forces opposed to the Islamists lined up with an anti-Islamist military leader, Gen. Khalifa Hiftir, who presented himself as a national savior. Most of the elected Parliament and, thus, the internationally recognized government moved to the eastern towns of Tobruk and Bayda under his protection. With each side focused on battling the other, militants pledging allegiance to the Islamic State took full control of Surt, a coastal city, established a base at Derna, and became a third force in the bloody conflict. The Islamic State fighters feuded with other Islamists, carried out mass beheadings of Christian migrants, and threatened attacks across the Mediterranean as well. But no Libyan government or faction has yet focused its full capabilities on eradicating the group. In Derna, the backlash against the Islamic State began after the group’s fighters killed a revered leader of a powerful local Islamist militia, the Martyrs of Abu Salim Brigade. In Surt, the rebellion appears to have been set off by the group’s killing of a popular preacher. Yet one of the largest tribes in the area, the Ferghani, is said to have led the fighting against the Islamic State there. Reports emerging from Surt say the militants have tried to break the uprising with artillery fire, summary executions and by hanging dead bodies from lampposts. “The sons of Surt are being dangled from light poles and from the city’s bridges for no reason other than they refused to pledge allegiance to that group,” Mohamed Hadya al-Ferghani, a member of the tribe, said this week in an interview with a Libyan satellite network. “The knife was put on the neck of a whole tribe that refused to pledge allegiance to that group, and it is the beginning of the knife of the Islamic State being up against the neck of the world as well.” Mr. Dayri, the foreign minister, accused the Islamic State militants of beheading at least 12 people last Friday, exhuming and incinerating the body of an imam, and publicly crucifying three other preachers. Because of the Islamic State’s dominance over the city, none of the reports could be confirmed independently. In response to Mr. Dayri, the Arab League said in a statement on Tuesday that it would “ask member countries to help support Libya in its war against terrorism” and “help it with all means necessary to maintain security.” The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain recently issued their own statement expressing deep concern about “the deplorable developments” in Surt, citing reports of the Islamic State’s “indiscriminate acts of violence to terrorize the Libyan population.” In contrast to Mr. Dayri’s appeal, the statement from the Western powers urged Libyans to support United Nations-brokered talks among the factions to form a unity government so it could provide security against violent extremists. “We reiterate that there is no military solution to the political conflict in Libya,” the statement said, “and remain concerned that the economic and humanitarian situation is worsening every day.”

Libya
Arab League
Terrorism
ISIS,ISIL,Islamic State
UN Security Council
Muammar Kaddafi


Coach’s Return Is Fraught With Complications

Abstract: MANKATO, Minn. — Todd Hoffner did no coaching at the Minnesota State football practice on Friday, three days after he was reinstated as the team’s coach. Dressed in a purple Mavericks top and black pants, he stood on the periphery, talking to friends and boosters while assistants ran the 1-hour-40-minute session on a windswept afternoon. With the team three weeks into spring drills, Hoffner did not want to disrupt the routine. When it was over, Aaron Keen, his associate head coach, who had filled in while Hoffner fought to regain his job, spoke to the team at midfield and sent the players to the locker room. Hoffner stood silently several steps behind Keen, hands in his pockets, head down. He hardly looked as happy as he said he was. “It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m elated to be out here, be a part of it. It’s a great feeling, no doubt about it.” Hoffner, 47, last ran a practice at N.C.A.A. Division II Minnesota State on Aug. 17, 2012. Called off the field to a meeting, Hoffner was stunned to learn that the university had put him on administrative leave. He had just signed a four-year contract extension after leading the Mavericks to the 2011 Northern Sun Conference championship and compiling a 34-13 record over four seasons. But a technician repairing Hoffner’s university-issued smartphone had discovered a video of Hoffner’s three young children dancing naked; the oldest child was 9. The university turned the video over to the police, and Hoffner was charged with two felony counts of child pornography. The charges were dismissed three months later when a judge determined that the video depicted innocent play. Still, the university suspended Hoffner for 20 days, reassigned him and ultimately fired him last May. The case went to an arbitrator. The 72-page decision by the arbitrator, Gerald E. Wallin, obtained by The Free Press, a Mankato newspaper, said the university had no grounds to fire Hoffner and ordered him reinstated immediately with back pay. Although Hoffner had taken another job, at Minot State in North Dakota, he returned here. “We appreciate everything that Minot State did for my family and I,” Hoffner said. “We were very, very grateful. There are a lot of great people up there. But when you set your mind to something, you want to follow through and finish what you started. It was important.” But several dozen Mavericks players refused to practice Wednesday, demanding the return of the more player-friendly Keen, who directed them to 13-1 and 11-1 seasons with back-to-back N.C.A.A. playoff bids. At a Thursday meeting with university officials and players, Hoffner promised to change his approach, and practice resumed the next day. Richard Davenport, the university president, apologized to Hoffner but did not offer a public explanation for why he had been fired. Clues come from the arbitration ruling, which The Free Press said it obtained when it was briefly posted online by the state’s Bureau of Mediation Services. According to the newspaper, Davenport fired Hoffner in part for viewing pornography on his work computer, which Hoffner denied, Wallin said. Wallin ruled that the university could not prove the accusation because others had access to the computer. Davenport declined interview requests last week. In an email to Minnesota State students, faculty members and staffers, Davenport welcomed Hoffner and pledged his support. Jim Fleming, Hoffner’s lawyer, said his client and Mavericks followers deserved more. “The Mankato community, I don’t know if they’ll ever look at M.S.U. the same,” Fleming said in a telephone interview. “A lot of people were scratching their heads over what happened here. That hasn’t changed.” Supporters of Hoffner say Minnesota State overreacted when the video surfaced, two months after Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach, was convicted on 45 counts of sexually abusing young boys. “I would venture to say I’ve heard it from hundreds of people: Somebody had it in for this poor man,” said Casey Lloyd, the Mavericks’ longtime radio play-by-play voice, who watched much of Friday’s practice with Hoffner. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the word vendetta.” In describing his ordeal, Hoffner said: “It’s basically been a 12-round boxing match with Mike Tyson. It’s been quite a battle, quite a challenge. But if you persevere and you have goals, and you put your mind to your goals and you want to accomplish something, you can do great things. “Two of my goals when that whole process started was to be exonerated of criminal charges and be vindicated of any wrongdoing, and both of those goals were accomplished.” Even so, Hoffner’s return has been awkward. He said he accepted the Minot State offer in January in part because he and his wife, Melodee, had nearly exhausted their savings on legal fees. But the family never moved because Hoffner could not sell his house. Minot State Athletic Director Rick Hedberg said that its search committee asked Hoffner about the pending arbitration decision, and that Hoffner said he would not return to Minnesota State. Hedberg recalled Hoffner saying: “That bridge has been burned. I’m not going back there.” So when Hoffner resigned by email last Tuesday, shortly before a news conference announcing his return to Minnesota State, Hedberg said, “It was a little bit of a shock.” But the university decided not to contest the decision. “His family has been through an unbelievable last two years,” Hedberg said. On Friday, Minnesota State Athletic Director Kevin Buisman said Hoffner’s unexpected return posed multiple challenges. Among them: easing him into a program that functioned well without him and soothing hurt feelings caused by his absence. Buisman said he planned to meet with a small group of dissatisfied boosters this week. “There’s no page in the playbook for this,” Buisman said. “We just try to do the best we can managing the situation.” Hoffner, who hired Keen as the defensive coordinator in 2011, said he expected them to resume their former roles without rancor. “Time will tell, but so far, we’ve had a short return to our professional relationship,” Hoffner said. “I see nothing there.” And the players? “I’m not going to worry about that,” the junior defensive tackle Barry Ballinger said. “I’m just going to worry about playing football with the rest of these guys out here. Hopefully, it’s going to run smoothly. “We’ve just got to stick together through all this stuff, and if it works, it works.”

Coaches
Todd Hoffner
Child pornography
Arbitration
College football
Minnesota State University
Video Recordings
Downloads and Streaming


Events in Westchester for March 2-8

Abstract: A guide to cultural and recreational events in the Hudson Valley. Items for the calendar should be sent at least three weeks in advance to westweek@nytimes.com. Comedy PELHAM Rockwells Joe DeVito, Joe List and Joe Pontillo. March 8 at 9 p.m. $10. Rockwells, 105 Wolfs Lane. (888) 983-2785; rockwellsusa.net. WEST NYACK Levity Live “Family Friendly Comedy Show,” featuring various performers. March 2 at 2 and 7 p.m. $12. Bill Bellamy. March 6 through 8. $22. Vanessa Hollingshead. March 9 at 7 p.m. $15. Levity Live, 4210 Palisades Center Drive. levitylive.com; (845) 353-5400. Film KINGSTON Ulster Performing Arts Center “Animal House,” directed by John Landis. March 7 at 7:30 p.m. $6. Ulster Performing Arts Center, 601 Broadway. upac.org; (845) 339-6088. PEEKSKILL Paramount Hudson Valley “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. March 7 at 7 p.m. “Gone With the Wind,” starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. March 9 at 3 p.m. $5 to $10. Paramount Hudson Valley, 1008 Brown Street. (914) 739-0039; paramounthudsonvalley.com. PLEASANTVILLE Jacob Burns Film Center “Lost and Sound,” screening and discussion with Lindsey Dryden. March 3 at 7:30 p.m. $7 and $12. “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War,” screening and discussion with Mark Harris and Sam Tanenhaus. March 5 at 7:30 p.m. $10 and $15. “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” directed by Werner Herzog. March 5 at 7:45 p.m. $7.50 to $12. Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Road. (914) 747-5555; burnsfilmcenter.org. ROSENDALE Rosendale Theater “August: Osage County,” directed by John Wells. March 7 through 12. $5 and $7. “Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun,” documentary by Nancy Buirski. March 9 at 2 p.m. $6 and $10. Rosendale Theater, 408 Main Street. (845) 658-8989; rosendaletheatre.org. For Children BRONX Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel Sunday Afternoon Family Program, classical music. March 9 at 2 p.m. Free. Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel, 475 West 250th Street. (718) 543-8400; intimatevoices.org. BRONX Lehman Center for the Performing Arts “The Three Little Pigs,” Bronx Arts Ensemble. March 2 at 2 p.m. $6. Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West. bronxartsensemble.org; (718) 601-7399. BRONX Riverdale Repertory Company, at Riverdale YM-YWHA “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” musical comedy by Rupert Holmes. Through March 2. $12 to $22. Riverdale Repertory Company, at Riverdale YM-YWHA, 5625 Arlington Avenue. riverdalerisingstars.com; (800) 838-3006. PEEKSKILL The Field Library Children’s Room Mardi Gras party, crafts, music and more. March 5 at 4 p.m. Free. The Field Library Children’s Room, 4 Nelson Avenue. (914) 737-0847; fieldkids.wordpress.com. TARRYTOWN Tarrytown Music Hall “Family Fun Day,” music, puppetry and more. March 2, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main Street. (877) 840-0457; tarrytownmusichall.org. WHITE PLAINS ArtsWestchester “Crazy Hat Day and Headband Decorating,” craft-making activities. March 8 at 1 p.m. Free. ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue. artswestchester.org; (914) 428-4220. Music and Dance BEACON Towne Crier Cafe John McEuen and David Amram, folk and bluegrass. March 2 at 7:30 p.m. $20. Warren Bernhardt and Marc Black, folk and blues. March 7 at 8:30 p.m. $25. Leo Kottke, guitar. March 8 at 8:30 p.m. $50. Maia Sharp and Kim Richey, pop and country. March 9 at 7:30 p.m. $20. Towne Crier Cafe, 379 Main Street. (845) 855-1300; townecrier.com. BEDFORD Bedford Presbyterian Church “The Intimate Mozart,” Rebel Ensemble. March 9 at 4 p.m. $5 to $35. Bedford Presbyterian Church, Village Green. (914) 734-9537; rebelbaroque.com. BRONX Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel “Music for Flute and Strings,” Intimate Voices. March 8 at 8 p.m. $15 to $25. Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel, 475 West 250th Street. intimatevoices.org; (718) 543-8400. BRONX Wave Hill Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank, piano. March 9 at 2 p.m. $12 to $32. Wave Hill, 675 West 252nd Street. (718) 549-3200; wavehill.org. KATONAH Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Sarah Jarosz, folk. March 8 at 8 p.m. $15 to $60. Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road. caramoor.org; (914) 232-1252. MAMARONECK Emelin Theater “Real to Reel: Broadway Goes to Hollywood,” featuring Shelly Burch, Christian Duhamel and John Treacy Egan. March 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. $42. Emelin Theater, 153 Library Lane. (914) 698-0098; emelin.org. MARLBORO The Falcon Willa McCarthy Band, folk. March 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Banda Magda, jazz. March 7 at 7 p.m. The Chris Bergson Band, jazz and blues. March 8 at 8 p.m. Bernstein Bard Quartet, fusion. March 9 at 10 a.m. Meg Hutchinson, folk. March 9 at 7 p.m. Donations accepted. The Falcon, 1348 Route 9W. liveatthefalcon.com; (845) 236-7970. MOUNT VERNON St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site Songs of America, singalong. March 5 at 1 p.m. Free. St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site, 897 South Columbus Avenue. (914) 667-4116; nps.gov/sapa. PEEKSKILL 12 Grapes Music and Wine Bar Drew Bordeaux, rock and blues. March 5 at 8 p.m. No cover. JP Patrick and Friends, jazz. March 6 at 8:30 p.m. No cover. Chain of Fools, R&B and soul; a fund-raiser for the Justin Veatch Fund. March 8 at 9 p.m. $5 and $10 suggested donation. Greg Westhoff’s Westchester Swing Band, jazz. March 9 at 6 p.m. $5 suggested donation. 12 Grapes Music and Wine Bar, 12 North Division Street. (914) 737-6624; 12grapes.com. PEEKSKILL Bean Runner Cafe Sami Grisafe, pop and rock. March 2 at 4 p.m. $5. Tony Leon and his Groupo Son Latino, Latin-jazz. March 7 at 8 p.m. $10. The Mala Waldron Trio, jazz. March 8 at 8 p.m. $10. Bean Runner Cafe, 201 South Division Street. beanrunnercafe.com; (914) 737-1701. PIERMONT The Turning Point Vox Lumina, folk. March 2 at 4 p.m. $12.50. Doc Richmond’s Jazz Jam. March 3 at 8 p.m. $5. John Primer Band, blues. March 7 at 9 p.m. $20. Rita Harvey, cabaret. March 9 at 4 p.m. $20. The Turning Point, 468 Piermont Avenue. (845) 359-1089; turningpointcafe.com. PLEASANTVILLE Presbyterian Church of Pleasantville The Cassatt String Quartet, classical. March 9 at 3 p.m. Free. Presbyterian Church of Pleasantville, 400 Bedford Road. (914) 564-9583; pvillechambermusic.org. PORT CHESTER Garcia’s at the Capitol Theater Blue Roadhouse Orchestra, tribute to the Grateful Dead. March 4 at 8 p.m. $7. Stella Blue’s Band, blues. March 5 at 8 p.m. $7. Garcia’s at the Capitol Theater, 149 Westchester Avenue. (914) 937-4126; thecapitoltheatre.com. Image PORT CHESTER The Grammy Award-winning musician Elvis Costello will perform with the Roots on March 12 at 8 p.m. at the Capitol Theater, 149 Westchester Avenue. Tickets are $69.50 to $139.50. For more information: (877) 987-6487 or thecapitoltheatre.com . Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times PORT CHESTER The Capitol Theater Melvin Seals and JGB, rock. March 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. $20 to $35. Elvis Costello and the Roots, rock. March 12 at 8 p.m. $69.50 to $139.50. The Capitol Theater, 149 Westchester Avenue. (877) 987-6487; thecapitoltheatre.com. POUGHKEEPSIE Bardavon Opera House The Vassar Repertory Dance Theater. Through March 2. $9 and $11. The Hudson Valley Philharmonic will perform Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. March 8 at 8 p.m. $20 to $55. Bardavon Opera House, 35 Market Street. bardavon.org; (845) 473-2072. POUND RIDGE Pound Ridge Public Library Sloan Wainwright, folk and jazz. March 9 at 4 p.m. Free. Pound Ridge Public Library, 271 Westchester Avenue. (914) 764-5085; poundridgelibrary.org. PURCHASE The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College Decoda, classical and contemporary. March 2 at 3 p.m. $12.50 to $25. Dervish, Irish folk. March 7 at 8 p.m. $10 to $35. The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road. (914) 251-6200; artscenter.org. TARRYTOWN Tarrytown Music Hall “Cirque Ziva,” featuring the Golden Dragon Acrobats. March 7 at 8 p.m. $35 and $45. Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter, rock. March 9 at 7 p.m. $39 to $85. Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main Street. tarrytownmusichall.org; (877) 840-0457. TIVOLI Kaatsbaan International Dance Center “The Soul of Flamenco,” Flamenco Vivo/Carlota Santana. March 8 at 7:30 p.m. $30 and $45. Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, 120 Broadway. kaatsbaan.org; (845) 757-5106. WEST POINT Eisenhower Hall Theater “Celtic Crossroads,” Irish dance. March 8 at 8 p.m. $38. Eisenhower Hall Theater, 655 Pitcher Road. (845) 938-4159; ikehall.com. WHITE PLAINS White Plains Performing Arts Center Well-Strung, pop and classical. Mar. 8 at 8 p.m. $25 to $40. White Plains Performing Arts Center, 11 City Place. wppac.com; (914) 328-1600. WOODSTOCK Bearsville Theater Mardi Gras Party with Brother Joscephus and the Love Revolution, funk and soul. March 2 at 4 p.m. $10 and $15. Los Lobos, folk and rock. March 4 at 8 p.m. $40 to $75. Cover to Cover will perform the album “Rejuvenation” by the Meters. March 7 at 9 p.m. $20 suggested donation. “Dave Leonard’s 19th Annual Pisces Party.” March 8 at 9 p.m. $10. Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street. bearsvilletheater.com; (845) 679-4406. YORKTOWN HEIGHTS Yorktown Stage “Italian Girl in Algiers,” Taconic Opera. March 8 at 8 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m. $15 to $57. Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce Street. taconicopera.org; (855) 886-7372. Outdoors BEDFORD CORNERS Westmoreland Sanctuary Sugarfest, demonstrations, pancake breakfast and more. March 8 and 9, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $6 to $12; children under 3, free. Westmoreland Sanctuary, 260 Chestnut Ridge Road. (914) 666-8448; westmorelandsanctuary.org. KATONAH Muscoot Farm Sugaring on the Farm, program on turning sap into sugar. March 9 and 16, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Free. Muscoot Farm, 51 Route 100. (914) 864-7282; muscootfarm.org. OSSINING Teatown Lake Reservation Sugaring Sunday, educational program on tapping and collecting sugar. March 9 at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. $5; members, free. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Road. (914) 762-2912; teatown.org. SCARSDALE Greenburgh Nature Center Maple sugaring party, with demonstrations of sap collecting, food, crafts and more. March 9, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. $5 to $12. Greenburgh Nature Center, 99 Dromore Road. greenburghnaturecenter.org; (914) 723-3470. Spoken Word HYDE PARK The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Farah Jasmine Griffin discusses her book “Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II.” March 8 at 2 p.m. $25. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Road. (845) 486-7770; fdrlibrary.marist.edu. MOUNT VERNON St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site “Hessian Prisoners of the Revolutionary War,” lecture. March 6 at 7 p.m. Free. A presentation on the Puritan rebel Anne Hutchinson, with a performance by Ajkun Ballet Theater. March 8 at 1 p.m. Free. St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site, 897 South Columbus Avenue. (914) 667-4116; nps.gov/sapa. PURCHASE The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College Ben Cameron, the program director for the arts at Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, discusses the state of the arts. March 3 at 6:30 p.m. Free. The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road. (914) 251-4455; purchase.edu. RYE Jay Heritage Center “Speed, Style and the English Country House,” lecture by Curt DiCamillo. March 9 at 3 p.m. $10 and $15. Jay Heritage Center, 210 Boston Post Road. jaycenter.org; (914) 698-9275. TUCKAHOE Westchester Italian Cultural Center “Women of Wine,” lecture and wine tasting. March 7 at 6:30 p.m. $50 and $60. Westchester Italian Cultural Center, 1 Generoso Pope Place. wiccny.org; (914) 771-8700. WHITE PLAINS ArtsWestchester “Studio Artists — Popular Culture — Vogue — Couture Artists: Who Were They and How They Got Their Hats Out There,” lecture by Ellen Christine Colon-Lugo, Ph.D. March 6 at 7 p.m. Free. ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue. artswestchester.org; (914) 428-4220. WHITE PLAINS Purdy House “The Civil War Lover’s Guide to New York City,” lecture by Bill Morgan. March 5 at 7:30 p.m. Free. Purdy House, 60 Park Avenue. (914) 949-4679; civilwarny150.org. YONKERS Slonim Living Room, Sarah Lawrence College Readings by the novelist Charles Baxter. March 5 at 6:30 p.m. Free. Slonim Living Room, Sarah Lawrence College, 915 Kimball Avenue. (914) 395-2371; slc.edu/events. Theater ELMSFORD Westchester Broadway Theater “Ragtime,” musical by Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, presented by Standing Ovation Studios. Through May 4. $54 to $67 for meal and show. Westchester Broadway Theater, 1 Broadway Plaza. (914) 592-2222; broadwaytheatre.com. GARRISON The Philipstown Depot Theater “1776,” the musical performed in concert style. March 7 through 23. $18 and $22. The Philipstown Depot Theater, 10 Garrison Landing. philipstowndepottheatre.org; (845) 424-3900. IRVINGTON Irvington Town Hall Theater “In the Heights,” musical presented by the Clocktower Players Adult Troupe. March 8 through 16. $20 and $30. Irvington Town Hall Theater, 85 Main Street. (914) 591-6602; irvingtontheater.com. MAMARONECK Emelin Theater “The Official Blues Brothers Revue,” based on the 1980 film. March 2 at 8 p.m. $52. Emelin Theater, 153 Library Lane. (914) 698-0098; emelin.org. OSSINING Ossining Public Library “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years,” M&M Productions. March 6 at 7 p.m. Free. Ossining Public Library, 53 Croton Avenue. mmpaci.com; (914) 941-2416. PURCHASE The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College “Comedy of Errors,” by Shakespeare. Through March 8. $12.50 and $17.50. The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road. (914) 251-6200; artscenter.org. Image PEEKSKILL The film “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” starring Lea Seydoux, left, and Adele Exarchopoulos, will screen on March 7 at 7 p.m. at the Paramount Hudson Valley, 1008 Brown Street. Tickets are $5 to $10. For more information: (914) 739-0039 or paramounthudsonvalley.com . Credit Sundance Selects, via Associated Press TIVOLI Tangent Theater Company, at the Carpenter Shop Theater “The Vandal,” drama by Hamish Linklater. March 6 through 30. $20. Tangent Theater Company, at the Carpenter Shop Theater, 60 Broadway. tangent-arts.org; (845) 230-7020. WEST POINT Eisenhower Hall Theater “Beauty and the Beast,” musical. March 2 at 3 p.m. $41 and $43. Eisenhower Hall Theater, 655 Pitcher Road. ikehall.com; (845) 938-4159. Museums and Galleries BEACON Fovea Exhibitions “Conservation Journal,” photographs by Jason Houston. Through April 6. Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; and by appointment. Fovea Exhibitions, 143 Main Street. foveaexhibitions.org; (845) 202-3443. BEACON RiverWinds Gallery “Ripe Figs and Rich Pomegranates: The Garzoni Series,” works by Beth Haber. Through March 2. Wednesdays through Mondays, noon to 6 p.m.; second Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. RiverWinds Gallery, 172 Main Street. (845) 838-2880; riverwindsgallery.com. BEACON The Lofts at Beacon Gallery “Multimedia: Paintings, Collages, Pastels,” works by Robert Paschal. Through March 8. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Lofts at Beacon Gallery, 18 Front Street. (845) 202-7211; loftsatbeacon.com. BEACON Theo Ganz Studio “Walking the Changes,” two installations of projected digital paintings by Carl Van Brunt. March 8 through April 6. Fridays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; and by appointment. Theo Ganz Studio, 149 Main Street. theoganzstudio.com; (917) 318-2239. BRONX An Beal Bocht Cafe Paintings by Eduardo Anievas. Through March 31. Daily, 10 a.m. to midnight. An Beal Bocht Cafe, 445 West 238th Street. (718) 884-7127; anbealbochtcafe.com. BRONX Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos The Bronx Culture Trolley. Tour of cultural institutions along the Bronx Cultural Corridor. The trolley departs at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. on March 5. “Gay,” group show. Through May 7. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays, 2 to 6 p.m. Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, 450 Grand Concourse. bronxarts.org; (718) 518-6728. BRONX The New York Botanical Garden “Close: The Photography of Allan Pollok-Morris.” Through March 16. “The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary,” exhibition in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Through April 21. $8 to $25; children under 2, free. Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The New York Botanical Garden, Southern Boulevard. (718) 817-8700; nybg.org. COLD SPRING Gallery 66NY “All Fired Up,” group show. Through March 2. Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; and by appointment. Gallery 66NY, 66 Main Street. gallery66ny.com; (845) 809-5838. HUDSON Carrie Haddad Gallery “Modern Artists,” group show. Through March 2. “In the Black,” group show. March 5 through April 13. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Carrie Haddad Gallery, 622 Warren Street. (518) 828-1915; carriehaddadgallery.com MIDDLETOWN Orange Hall, Orange County Community College The Northeast Watercolor Society 2014 Exhibition. Through March 21. Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Orange Hall, Orange County Community College, Waywanda and Grandview Avenues. (845) 985-2814; northeastws.com. NEW PALTZ Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, at the State University of New York at New Paltz “Mary Reid Kelley: Working Objects and Videos.” Through April 13. “1980s Style: Image and Design in the Dorsky Museum Collection.” “Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher.” Through July 13. Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, at the State University of New York at New Paltz, 1 Hawk Drive. newpaltz.edu/museum; (845) 257-3844. NEW ROCHELLE Mahlstedt Gallery “Surface Tension,” works by Ellie Winberg and Mauricio Morillas. Through March 21. Mondays through Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, by appointment. Mahlstedt Gallery, 415 Huguenot Street. (914) 246-0526; jam415.com. NYACK Edward Hopper House Art Center “Edward Hopper’s Caricatures: At Home With Ed and Jo.” Through April 6. “Painters and Paintings of Rockland County, NY: The Hopper Years,” group show. “Bill Batson: Hopper Country.” Through April 13. $2 to $6; members, children and students, free. Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; and by appointment. Edward Hopper House Art Center, 82 North Broadway. hopperhouse.org; (845) 358-0774. PEEKSKILL Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art “Based On, If Any,” multimedia performance by Jordan Rathus. Through March 9. “Art at the Core: The Intersection of Visual Art, Performance and Technology,” group show. Through July 27. $2 to $5; members and children under 8, free. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; and by appointment. Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, 1701 Main Street. (914) 788-0100; hvcca.org. PELHAM Pelham Art Center “Migration Narratives,” group show. Through March 29. Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pelham Art Center, 155 Fifth Avenue. (914) 738-2525; pelhamartcenter.org. PORT CHESTER Clay Art Center “Tea Time,” group show. Through April 1. Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and by appointment. Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street. (914) 937-2047; clayartcenter.org. POUGHKEEPSIE Vassar College, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center “Malick Sidibé: Chemises.” Through March 30. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Vassar College, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, 124 Raymond Avenue. (845) 437-5632; fllac.vassar.edu. POUND RIDGE Pound Ridge Public Library Works by Lester C. Haeckel. Through March 22. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pound Ridge Public Library, 271 Westchester Avenue. poundridgelibrary.org; (914) 764-5085. PURCHASE Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College “Dear Diary: Update All,” group show. Through March 16. “Cleve Gray’s Threnody: Forty Years.” Through April 6. “Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible,” retrospective. Through May. 18. $3 to $5. Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road. neuberger.org; (914) 251-6100. SCARSDALE Madelyn Jordon Fine Art “Stanford Kay: Collected Works,” paintings. Through March 15. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, 37 Popham Road. madelynjordonfineart.com; (914) 723-8738. TARRYTOWN Canfin Gallery New works by Lee Kui Dae. March 8 through 30. Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; and by appointment. Canfin Gallery, 39 Main Street. (914) 332-4554; canfingallery.com. TIVOLI Tivoli Artists Gallery “Erotica Arts Show,” group exhibition. Through March 2. “Awakening: Image + Word,” group show. March 7 through 30. Fridays, 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 to 9 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Tivoli Artists Gallery, 60 Broadway. tivoliartistsgallery.com; (845) 757-2667. WEST NYACK Rockland Center for the Arts “Tinkers, Artists, Innovators: Bricolage,” group show. Through March 20. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. Rockland Center for the Arts, 27 South Greenbush Road. rocklandartcenter.org; (845) 358-0877. WOODSTOCK Byrdcliffe Kleinert/James Center for the Arts “Bolton Brown: Strength and Solitude.” Through March 2. Fridays through Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; and by appointment. Byrdcliffe Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, 36 Tinker Street. (845) 679-2079; byrdcliffe.org. YONKERS Blue Door Gallery “New Weaves: Sculptural Basketry,” group show. Through March 22. Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Blue Door Gallery, 13 Riverdale Avenue. bluedoorartcenter.org; (914) 375-5100. YONKERS Hudson River Museum “The Art of Video Games,” exhibition on the medium’s graphics, storytelling and player interactivity. Through May. 18. $3 to $5; members, free. Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Avenue. (914) 963-4550; hrm.org.


Sarkozy Strengthens Moves Against French Protesters

Abstract: PARIS — Scattered clashes continued around the country on Wednesday, particularly in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre and in the eastern city of Lyon, and gas stations across France were still starved of fuel despite police operations at three fuel depots that ended blockades. President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the police to reopen all the blocked fuel depots and warned of economic dislocations from the continued protests against his determined effort to change France’s retirement plan. “If this disorder is not ended quickly, the attempt to paralyze the country could have consequences for jobs by disrupting the normal functioning of the economy,” Mr. Sarkozy told his cabinet in remarks released by his office. With a final vote on the pension overhaul now not likely until the middle of next week, unions announced that they were considering another day of demonstrations on Tuesday. But some union leaders acknowledged that time was running against them, and some quietly acknowledged concern that the largest and most radical French union might be pushing the protests too far. That union, the C.G.T., was once allied with the Communist Party. It is the largest union among refinery, port, gas and power workers, some of whom are more radical than the union’s leadership. François Chérèque, head of the second largest French union, the C.F.D.T., called on demonstrators to remain calm and not to give in to provocations, while the white-collar union, the C.F.E.-C.G.C., announced that Tuesday’s demonstration would be its last. Its president, Bernard Van Craeynest, said that in the face of excesses, “it will be necessary without doubt to pause to reorient the actions” of the unions. He added, “We find ourselves in a situation where the movement is going in all directions.” But with the more radical union members deployed at choke points for fuel and gasoline supplies, and with more young people protesting, the tone of the demonstrations on Wednesday became more aggressive, making it easier for Mr. Sarkozy to try to shift the public’s focus to the restoration of order. In Nanterre, youths with hoods and scarves to hide their faces clashed with riot police officers near a high school that was the site of earlier violence, and in Lyon protesters looted stores and fought with the police, sometimes setting fire to cars. Tear gas was used. The interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, warned rioters, “The right to protest is not the right to break things, the right to set things on fire, the right to assault, the right to pillage.” He added: “We will use all means necessary to get these delinquents.” The Interior Ministry said that 21 fuel depots had been unblocked since Friday, and that about 1,500 people had been apprehended for violations of social order, 428 of them on Tuesday. There were also work stoppages at two of France’s three terminals for liquefied natural gas, but no immediate risk of shortages. Drivers hunted for gasoline, some of them calling the police to ask what stations still had supplies. Often refills were limited to about eight gallons. France’s 11 active refineries remain on strike, though officials ordered employees at one to return to work. France has been importing large amounts of electricity, and prices have been rising. Protesters intermittently blocked the highway to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, forcing some passengers to walk along the roadside with their luggage. Intercity rail services were running at two-thirds their normal schedule and regional rail at about half, officials said. In Marseille, officials said they would use 150 city employees to help clear away mounds of garbage, while some protesters used trucks to block tunnels in the early morning and shut down bus and tram services. The port remained closed, with some 50 oil tankers waiting offshore to unload. Demonstrators also tried to block airports in Nantes, Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand. The political scientist Jacques Capdevielle noted with surprise that while only 4 percent of French workers were unionized, credible polls showed that a majority of the French supported the strike. Jean-François Copé, parliamentary leader of Mr. Sarkozy’s party, said Wednesday that this was “the week of truth” on the pension overhaul and emphasized “the cohesion of the majority and the government” on the change, saying, “There is no other solution to save our pension system.” He then criticized the opposition Socialist Party for promoting the demonstrations without a viable legislative alternative and for calling students, whose weeklong school holiday starts on Friday, into the streets. He said he was appalled that “a handful of people have taken the economy of our country hostage by blocking the fuel depots.” Prime Minister François Fillon said in the National Assembly that the protests would fade once the law was in place. He cited other pension changes, in 1993, 2003 and 2007, that had also prompted protests, but “progressively became the law of the republic, accepted by a very large majority.” He added that “social confrontation is part of our democracy, but social consensus is, as well.” He did not mention 1995, when widespread protests caused the government to drop an earlier pension change.

France
Demonstrations Protests and Riots
Pensions and Retirement Plans
Sarkozy Nicolas


Europe’s Carmakers Look Forward to U.S. Trade Pact

Abstract: GENEVA — As the industry convenes here for the Geneva auto show amid the worst European car market slump in decades, there is at least one ray of hope: the green light President Barack Obama recently gave to negotiations for a U.S.-E.U. free-trade pact. Prospects for a trade pact have brightened the spirits of automakers along with many other types of Continental companies. And not only because it might make it easier for their products to compete in America’s giant consumer market. European auto companies, particularly German ones, want to make it easier to sell cars they now make in the United States in their home markets. “I am a big advocate of a free-trade agreement with the United States,” Norbert Reithofer, the chief executive of Bayerische Motoren Werke, said here on Tuesday. An agreement could add hundreds of millions of euros annually to BMW’s revenue, in part by easing restrictions that now add tariffs to the cars his company makes in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but ships back to sell in Germany and other European countries. Mercedes faces similar issues with the vehicles it makes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Right now, a Mercedes M-Class utility vehicle made there carries a 10 percent European Union import tariff not levied on Mercedes sedans made in Rastatt, Germany. Companies decide where to manufacture based on many factors including labor costs, taxes and currency risk. With a trade pact in place, though, tariffs and regulations might no longer need to be part of that calculation. Whether their business is cars, instant coffee or carbon steel, with corporations that work both sides of the Atlantic, the old-style notions of import-vs.-export and country of origin may no longer obtain. European companies like Siemens, Nestlé and ThyssenKrupp have manufactured products in America for decades. But usually those were products destined for U.S. buyers. Once a free-trade pact is in place, it might make more sense for companies to export those products back to Europe. The United States and the European Union are each other’s biggest trading partners, and a pact is seen as a cheap way for both sides to generate growth. But European automakers in particular could use a lift. Europe’s auto market has all but collapsed since the financial and economic crisis of 2007; last year, the number of vehicles sold in the Union was the lowest since the mid-1990s. German automakers, which now sell more cars in the United States than they do in Germany, are particularly eager for a trade deal, which some optimists hope could be reached by the end of next year. A trade pact would no doubt intensify competition in the U.S. auto market, particularly at the premium end, by making it easier for BMW and Mercedes to export to the United States. But the benefits could also flow the other way. What is more, a free-trade pact could create jobs in the United States, said Joachim Schmidt, a member of the Mercedes-Benz management board who is responsible for sales. Mercedes plans to manufacture the next generation of its C-Class sedan in Tuscaloosa as well as other locations beginning next year, Mr. Schmidt said during an interview here. Momentum toward a pact has been building since Mr. Obama endorsed efforts to begin formal negotiations in his February State of the Union address. Image Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler, said a trans-Atlantic trade deal still had “a long way to go.” Credit Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press While the negotiations will be complex, officials have already agreed informally on the broad outlines of a treaty in preliminary talks that concluded earlier this year. That is why trade representatives on both sides of the Atlantic have said they could reach a formal agreement by the end of 2014. For the first time, said Dieter Zetsche, the chief executive of Daimler, “leadership on both sides have been in favor.” But he quickly added, “There is a still a long way to go.” Tariffs are not the only issue. In the case of automakers, a trade accord ideally would harmonize safety requirements and emissions standards, so that the same car built in Europe could be sold in the United States, and vice versa, without modifying bumpers, headlights and other components. Some industry executives are doubtful that American and European regulators can agree to accept each other’s crash tests and other standards. “It’s very difficult to do,” said Stephen T. Odell, president of Ford of Europe. The company is planning to export the Ford Mustang to Europe, which will also require various adjustments to meet European regulations. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Fiat and Chrysler, said here that he was concerned that efforts to synchronize regulations could lead to more red tape rather than less. But he noted: “I have a lot of hope. President Obama made this an important item on his agenda. We’re certainly willing to work with authorities to make it happen.” A free-trade pact could help Fiat as it seeks to reintroduce its Alfa Romeo brand in the United States. Mr. Marchionne said the long-awaited return of Alfa would come this year when the company began selling its 4C sports car in America. Alfa presented the two-seat coupe in Geneva this week. Noting that Dustin Hoffman drove an Alfa in the classic 1960s movie “The Graduate,” Mr. Marchionne said the brand had a good heritage in America and was “uniquely revivable.” Volkswagen could also benefit from a trade pact, though probably less than BMW or Mercedes. Since 2011, VW has been producing a version of its Passat in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which has helped revived its American sales. But the Passat built in Tennessee is designed for American consumers, and VW is not expected to export it to back to Europe. Volkswagen’s Audi unit, which has been able to improve U.S. sales recently, would also benefit from an accord. Audi builds most of its cars in Europe. The European carmakers least likely to get much benefit from a trade deal the French companies. Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën abandoned the U.S. market decades ago, and as they struggle financially back home, it is unlikely they will return anytime soon. There is also some wariness among the European manufacturers, like Ford, that focus on selling lower-priced models. They still feel burned by a trade pact with South Korea that they complain opened up Europe to Hyundai and Kia, which have been gaining market share, without providing reciprocal benefits to European companies — mainly because the Korean domestic market is so relatively small. Mr. Odell of Ford said that political leaders should not expose European carmakers to more competition from abroad, unless Europe’s national political leaders were also going to stop interfering with their attempts to close unprofitable factories or otherwise cut costs. French carmakers have faced such resistance from Paris, for example, and General Motors’ Opel unit in Germany has struggled with unions backed by state politicians. “You have to allow people to restructure,” Mr. Odell said. “You can’t have it both ways.”

Europe
Cars
International trade
Protectionism
Geneva Motor Show
Economy
EU


Hacking Victims Deserve Empathy, Not Ridicule

Abstract: Every day for nearly two weeks, Troy Hunt, an Australian Internet security expert, has opened up his computer to find a plea for help from someone on the edge. “I have contemplated suicide daily for the past week,” one person recently told Mr. Hunt. “My two beautiful children and my wife are keeping me alive. I am very worried that her family and others will find out, making it extremely difficult for her to stay with me.” Another wrote, “I imagine my grown kids finding out, my neighbors, friends, co-workers, and sometimes I just want to end it all before facing something like that.” Mr. Hunt runs Have I Been Pwned? , a site that lets people determine if their data has been compromised in one of the online security breaches that have made headlines over the last few years. For the victims, most of those breaches resulted in little more than minor frustrations — changing a password, say, or getting a new credit card. But the theft and disclosure of more than 30 million accounts from Ashley Madison, a site that advertises itself as a place for married people to discreetly set up extramarital affairs, is different. After the hacking, many victims have been plunged into the depths of despair . In addition to those contemplating suicide, dozens have told Mr. Hunt that they feared losing their jobs and families, and they expected to be humiliated among friends and co-workers. There has been a tendency in the tech commentariat to minimize the Ashley Madison breach. The site has always seemed like a joke and possibly a scheme , and those who fell for it a testament to the Internet’s endless capacity to separate fools from their money. Image Credit Stuart Goldenberg But the victims of the Ashley Madison hacking deserve our sympathy and aid because, with slightly different luck, you or I could just as easily find ourselves in a similarly sorry situation. This breach stands as a monument to the blind trust many of us have placed in our computers — and how powerless we all are to evade the disasters that may befall us when the trust turns out to be misplaced. “I feel reticent to blame people for ignorance or the consequences of their actions when they’re simply sitting there at home doing something perfectly reasonable in an environment where there was an expectation set for privacy,” Mr. Hunt told me. “I think what this does is demonstrate that everything you put online may become public.” There are several steps to take to minimize future damage from hackings like this one. But first, we could all become a bit more tolerant of online lapses; maybe the way to solve the problem of rampant disclosure of private stuff is to strive to look away from the stuff when it leaks — and to give those who’ve been harmed the benefit of the doubt. Second, we should all learn a little “opsec” — hackers’ jargon for “operational security,” or a guide for conducting yourself online to minimize the possibility of your secrets getting spilled. It wouldn’t hurt the tech industry to help us in that endeavor, building warnings and guidelines into the same machines that are leaking our secrets. Perhaps we should even start teaching opsec in schools. So, Step 1: Even though it may be difficult, try to give people caught up in this breach the benefit of the doubt. Sure, some Ashley Madison users may have been unsavory, but some were not — and who among us doesn’t have something to hide? “It’s easy to be snarky about Ashley Madison, but just because it’s unpopular or even immoral, it doesn’t mean this sort of activity shouldn’t be protected,” said Scott L. Vernick, a lawyer who specializes in digital privacy issues at the firm Fox Rothschild. “This gets at fundamental issues like freedom of speech and freedom of association — today it’s Ashley Madison, tomorrow it could be some other group that deserves protection.” Everyone has some data — probably a lot of it — buried in their vast digital record that they would rather not disclose publicly. That problem will grow; in the last couple of decades, computers have come to function less as office tools than as friends and therapists. The digital world has become a place to offload your deepest fears and desires, to seek discreet counsel and surreptitious amusement under the veil of privacy offered by an LCD screen. Image Credit Minh Uong/The New York Times But much of that privacy is an illusion. If hackers can get at our fetishes on Ashley Madison, they can get at anything else — your nude selfies (don’t deny them), your embarrassing taste in music (Nickelback’s early stuff was great), your health records or whatever else you would prefer remained secret. Given that inevitability, it might be best to approach disclosures like this one by consulting the Golden Rule . When you hear of some new breach, don’t sniff around the pilfered documents for other people’s secrets if you wouldn’t want others to dig into yours. Mr. Hunt’s website, Have I Been Pwned?, abides by this policy; he requires that people verify they own a particular email address before searching his Ashley Madison database. Many other search sites are not as scrupulous, which Mr. Hunt said has inspired an army of busybodies to search for everyone they know. But he pointed out that the snoops might not have considered mitigating factors in this hacking. Ashley Madison did not ask users to verify email addresses, which means anyone could have signed up with someone else’s email address. Others may have logged on just once, because they were curious, joking, intoxicated or being ironic. In other words, a positive hit in the Ashley Madison database doesn’t tell the full story. And, anyway, the full story may be none of your business. “Some people need to get a life,” Mr. Hunt said. Of course, some people won’t get a life; they’ll want to search for you. That brings us to Step 2 in the plan for better privacy: When you’re online, act as if everything you do is public. If you’re engaging in anything that may one day come back to haunt you, take precautions: Create a fake name, fake email address, perhaps use a different device, and try to separate your underground identity from your true identity. This is easier than it sounds. A person who goes by the handle thegrugq , the author of a blog called Hacker OPSEC (and whose real identity is, of course, a secret), has published several practical guides that explain how to protect your information online. If we, collectively, were to begin to take online security more seriously, such guides could be taught in schools — imagine a kind of home ec for computer security. It would be even better if our computers somehow warned us when we were violating these practices — say, a pop-up warning if your machine detected you were typing a work address on an adult site. Still, thegrugq counseled in an email, these precautions are not foolproof. “Security is a trade-off against efficiency, and that can be very painful,” thegrugq said. “Few people will reduce the ease with which they can do something just because it might have a future benefit (just ask economists)!” But maybe the dangers will prompt us all to remain vigilant. “True online security is not just defending against compromise, it’s operating under the assumption that compromise will happen,” SwiftOnSecurity , a security expert who assumes the online persona of a security-minded version of the pop star Taylor Swift as a kind of Twitter-based performance art, told me in a private chat. She added: “Your online life will extend across 60+ years. Imagine the changes. Imagine the disasters. Imagine what the world shouldn’t know about you that someday it will.”

Ashley Madison
Privacy
Computer security
Hacker (computer security)


Quadruple Bombing in Baghdad Kills at Least 25

Abstract: BAGHDAD — Three bombs that targeted public markets and a fourth bomb placed outside a Shiite mosque exploded Monday night in Baghdad, killing 25 people and wounding dozens, the police reported. The quadruple bombings appeared to be the latest in a wave of Sunni radical mayhem that has proliferated in Iraq and is playing an increased role in the war in neighboring Syria. The first was a car bomb in the Ur neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad, a heavily populated Shiite area, that killed 10 civilians and wounded 26 near a public market. Another car bomb killed nine civilians and wounded 30 in a famous public market in the Karrada district. A third bomb exploded in a market in western Baghdad’s Ghazaliya neighborhood, the police said, killing four civilians and wounding 15. A fourth bomb detonated near a Shiite mosque in the al-Amil neighborhood of southwestern Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding nine. In Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb aimed at an army patrol killed two soldiers and wounded two others, police sources reported. In western Iraq’s Anbar Province, an incubator of Sunni radicalism, the police said a suicide bomber killed a police officer and wounded eight others at a checkpoint near the house of an important tribal leader who has allied with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to fight Al Qaeda militants in Anbar. The rise in Sunni radical militance has been tied in part to a series of daring but little noticed breakouts from Iraqi prisons that has freed hundreds of hardened jihadists who are now among the leaders and foot soldiers of the Sunni groups operating in neighboring Syria and in Iraq itself. The prison breakouts partly reflect the breakdown of authority in Iraq since the United States military departed in 2011.

Bombs
Baghdad
Shiite
Sunnis
Iraq
Terrorism
Civilian casualties
Fatalities,casualties
Arab Spring


Why Let the I.R.S. See What the S.E.C. Doesn't?

Abstract: IMAGINE a company that makes a practice of keeping two sets of accounts. One version is revealed to the public through periodic Securities and Exchange Commission filings and public announcements. The other is never made public and conveys a markedly different picture. Does it sound scandalous? Actually, it's common practice. It isn't as if companies are breaking the law. Public companies are required by the S.E.C. to keep their books in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and to announce their results each quarter. At the same time, companies keep a separate and confidential set of books according to rules established by the Internal Revenue Service. These accounts seldom match. After all, companies typically have an incentive to state the highest possible earnings under GAAP and the lowest possible under tax rules. Economists have long understood that profits reported to the I.R.S. may be a more reliable guide than those reported to the S.E.C. and scrutinized on Wall Street. The public presentation of accounts involves the exercise of an accountant's judgment on such topics as the useful life of assets, the probability of uncertain events and the fair value of property. Each exercise of judgment, on which reasonable people may differ, offers a degree of flexibility in the final reporting of results. In general, tax rules are less lenient. That is because allowing companies too much leeway in stating how much tax they owe would make collecting taxes difficult. So when economists analyze corporate profits, they tend to focus on a measure derived from corporate tax returns. Unfortunately, the government publishes only aggregate data, so it is impossible to know what any particular company made, or paid, under I.R.S. rules. It doesn't have to be that way. Companies already have basic tax information at hand that could be released to the public without imposing significant costs. And some experts say they believe that the benefits to investors, regulators and the overall tax system could be substantial. A study published in 2003 concluded that the benefits of disclosing additional tax information would outweigh any costs. It was conducted by David L. Lenter, a lawyer now on the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation; Joel B. Slemrod, an economist at the University of Michigan; and Douglas A. Shackelford, an accountant at the University of North Carolina. In the study, published in the National Tax Journal, they quickly agreed that corporate tax returns, which can run into thousands of pages, should not be exposed in their entirety. That could reveal sensitive information that companies have a legitimate need to keep private, they said. But a simple presentation of summary information -- the bottom-line numbers, for example -- would have many attractions. Even better, companies could release a simplified version of a schedule that they already prepare. The I.R.S. currently requires companies to reconcile the differences between the numbers on their financial reports and the corresponding amounts on their tax return, but so far those reconciliations have not been made public. Greater disclosure of tax information would allow investors and analysts to better appreciate the true economic condition of a company. More transparent tax figures would also give analysts a tool to cut through the sometimes confusing tax disclosures currently provided under S.E.C. rules. Even more significantly, investors could track a company's performance under an accounting system believed to be less susceptible to manipulation than GAAP. Together, these effects would permit investors to value securities with greater confidence. Over all, the researchers say they believe that it would help financial markets function more efficiently. Another significant benefit could be to improve the transparency of the tax system to the voting public. Despite all the information embedded in accounting footnotes, some basic questions go unanswered. Under current S.E.C. rules, a public company does not have to reveal precisely what it paid in taxes for a specific year. "Right now the tax numbers companies release can contain things like taxes on audits 20 years ago," Professor Shackelford said. "What they don't tell us is how much they paid the government in taxes in 2005, for instance. You can't find that anywhere." The study argued that if companies revealed that figure, it would help clarify how much tax a company was paying relative to its income and relative to other companies. And that would yield positive benefits. For instance, the study says, it could put pressure on legislators to improve the tax system. And it could discourage corporations from aggressive tax-reduction strategies if they feared public criticism. THERE is good cause for trying to understand what is really going on with corporate taxes, company by company. The aggregate figures suggest a disturbing trend. While companies have reported rising profits in recent years, corporate tax receipts have been dwindling. In the late 1990's, corporate tax receipts hovered between 2 percent and 2.2 percent of the country's overall gross domestic product. But from 2000 to 2004, the last year for which figures are available, the ratio of corporate tax receipts to G.D.P. has dropped, ranging between 1.2 and 2 percent. Without reliable tax information, we can only guess at what companies are really up to. During the late 1990's, company profits based on tax return information -- the profit figure most watched by economists -- grew at a much slower rate than reported profits. The divergence between the two measures implied that either companies were finding new ways to minimize their tax bills or they were finding new ways to overstate their accounting earnings. We now know that at least some companies were indeed bolstering their earnings, through both legal and illegal maneuvers. After a brief reconciliation in 2001 and 2002, reported earnings and taxed earnings are again diverging. While disclosing some basic tax information won't by itself prevent the kinds of abuses that multiplied in the 1990's, it is a step in the right direction. And that's what good public policy is all about.

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
TAXATION
ACCOUNTING AND ACCOUNTANTS
ETHICS


Looking Ahead to Economic Reports This Week

Abstract: ECONOMIC REPORTS Data this week will include second-quarter productivity (Tuesday); wholesale trade for June (Wednesday); the trade deficit for June and weekly jobless claims (Thursday); and retail sales for July, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for August, and business inventories for June (Friday). CORPORATE EARNINGS Companies reporting their quarterly results will include Take-Two Interactive Software and Tyson Foods (Monday); AOL, Beazer Homes, Cablevision, Dish Network and Walt Disney (Tuesday); Cisco Systems, Macy’s and the News Corporation (Wednesday); Kohl’s, Sara Lee and Wendy’s (Thursday); and J. C. Penney (Friday). IN THE UNITED STATES On Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee will meet in Washington to discuss interest rates.

Company Reports
Economic Conditions and Trends