1 Strong dollar, weak oil hurt US jobs figures (Katie
Allen in The Guardian) US employers created the smallest number of jobs for
more than a year in March, fanning fears that a strong dollar and weak oil
price are taking their toll on the world’s largest economy.
Much weaker than expected employment figures pushed
back traders’ bets on an interest rate rise from the US Federal Reserve from
this summer to later in the year. Some analysts said the central bank could
even wait until 2016 to tighten policy.
The key non-farm payrolls report showed 126,000 jobs
were added in March, almost half the number economists had been predicting and
the slowest job creation since December 2013. The bad news was compounded by
revisions to January and February data suggesting 69,000 fewer jobs were added
than previously thought.
March’s surprise slowdown brought to an end 12
straight months of job gains of more than 200,000, the longest such streak for
two decades. That overshadowed more positive news on wages, a drop in long-term
joblessness and the headline unemployment rate holding steady at 5.5%.
2 India’s Delhiites betrayed (Praful Bidwai in
Khaleej Times) Just weeks after it stopped India prime minister Narendra Modi’s
juggernaut in Delhi with a spectacular election victory, the Aam Aadmi Party
got drawn into an ugly internal conflict, leading to the purge of Yogendra
Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from its national executive. Neither Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal nor they came out smelling of roses.
The confrontation exposes a big democratic deficit
in a party whose very rationale was to democratise Indian politics and free it
of corruption and opacity. Many who invested hope in ‘AAP the experiment’ feel
let down by ‘AAP the party’. The episode weakens secular-democratic forces and
the cause of justice, while strengthening communal authoritarianism and
iniquity.
The Yadav-Bhushan duo requested Kejriwal to step
down as national convenor. Kejriwal saw this as a threat—although it’s
legitimate party politics. He adopted a winner-takes-all approach. Yadav is
also guilty of double-standards. He invoked respect for dissent, but put down
dissidents in Haryana. On balance, Kejriwal is more blameworthy. He made a
unilateral flip-flop on dissolving the Delhi Assembly. Second, he allowed AAP
to accept dubious donations, without getting directly involved. Third, his
decision-making was despotic.
AAP’s first three major moves fall short of
expectations. First, its government is scrapping the Bus Rapid Transit
system—the long-term, equitable solution to Delhi’s horrendous transportation
problem, 15-20 times cheaper than the Metro. AAP didn’t bother to study the BRT
before scrapping it.
Second, it has banned the sale of all kinds of
chewing tobacco. This is illogical when cigarettes and beedi sales aren’t
banned. The ban will only drive the business underground. Third, the government
has decided to supply every family 20,000 litres of Delhi Jal Board water free
every month, corresponding to 140 litres per person per day (lppd). This is
excessive. What’s really needed is reliable supply.
AAP must think its policies through critically, and
with great seriousness. Or there’s a real danger that despite its pro-poor
intentions it will end up pleasing the elite and alienating its own base. That
would be tragic for Indian democracy.
3 Google patents cushioned car bumpers (Julie Balise
in San Francisco Chronicle) While most car makers work to protect passengers in
a collision, Google has another segment of commuters in mind: pedestrians. The company
has been awarded a patent for exterior bumpers that absorb some of the impact
when a car hits a person.
Google just happens to be developing that type of
car, with hopes to see them on the road by 2020, according to a report. The
tech giant began its patent application by explaining how conventional bumpers
work. They protect the vehicle during a collision, but are much too hard to
provide cushioning to a pedestrian. Google also noted that bumper spring-back
can cause objects to rebound off the car and incur a second impact with the
road or another object.
Google described two exterior bumper systems: One
with a bumper made of visco-elastic material that causes deceleration during an
impact with a pedestrian, and reduces spring-back by not returning to its
original shape immediately after impact; and one with a bumper made of air sacs
that stretch and burst during an impact with a pedestrian. The bursting air
sacs would also reduce spring- back.
The systems would provide protection to a pedestrian
in a collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle traveling up to 25 miles per
hour, according to the patent. The bumper could be placed over the conventional
bumper system, extending outwardly one to two feet from the conventional
bumper.
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