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Author Archives: Jonathan Soroko
Death of Ivankov, Russian mobster, demonstrates difficulty of assessing conspiracies
Michael Schwirtz reported in the The New York Times of 13 October, the death of Vyacheslav K. Ivankov.
Vyacheslav K. Ivankov, a Russian crime boss who survived tangles with the K.G.B., the F.B.I. and other violent criminals in a bloody career that spanned decades, was laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery. Hundreds attended the funeral.
Mr. Ivankov died on Friday in a Moscow hospital from complications stemming from a gunshot wound he received apparently in an assassination attempt in July. He was 69. His death has set off fears of a mob war in Moscow like those that bloodied the streets of major Russian cities in the 1990s.
Photo by Andrei Stenin/Reuters. The coffin of Vyacheslav K. Ivankov carried at Vagankovskoe Cemetery in Moscow.
In Russian Mafia in America: Immigration, Culture, and Crime
, James O. Finckenauer and Elin J. Waring hypothesized that “Yaponchick,” while a serious criminal, was not the leader of a large, sophisticated criminal organization – but rather portrayed as such by United States government officials and the press. (Previous citation to Google Books; excerpt published on PBS/FrontLine website linked here).
Finckenauer and Waring aren’t likely to have been in a position to have known that Ivankov would be extradited to Russia for murder and then been acquitted; one’s general impression of the Russian judicial system is that acquittals don’t generally happen when the government wants a conviction.
If Ivankov was sufficiently well-connected that the Russian government was willing to risk losing face being seen conspiring a weak case in order to extradite and then release him, it seems fair to infer that he was, in fact, fairly high up in Russian criminal-political circles.
Radio
As public radio goes through its intermittent hat-in-hand cycle, we thought it worth remembering that in some places possession of a radio device – even just a receiver – is criminal.
Please consider donating to your local public radio station. Ours is WNYC.
6-in-1 Utilikey from SwissTechTools.com/at Container Store
6-in-1 Utilikey from SwissTechTools.com
Picked up this Utilikey 6-in-1 tool at one of the local outlets of the Container Store. It weighs half an ounce (0.5 oz; 14 mg.) and has six features:
– Flat Screwdriver
– Phillips Screwdriver
– Micro Eyeglass Screwdriver
– Straight Blade Knife
– Serrated Blade Knife
– Bottle Opener
It locks and unlock easily, seems quite sturdy and precisely machined, and there’s enough dull surface area to grab with the blades open that it can be held securely and used with some force.
There’s an 8-in-1 model which includes a wire cutter and wire stripper, but we haven’t seen or tested a sample.
If you’re carrying just house keys, it’s still small and light enough not to be in the way. This one looks like a must-have, and perhaps a good item for bulk purchase by community-based preparedness organization.
Note: we assume that you’re all already carrying portable flashlights.
Available at The Container Store, but not, apparently, on their website.
On Amazon, Swiss Tech UKTBS Utili-Key 6-in-1 Polished Stainless Steel Key Ring Multi-Tool.
Conflict of interest disclosure: we receive, in theory, a small commission on any sales via Amazon.
The reduced risk of tempered glass: Anne Reagan at Apartment Therapy
Anne Reagan, writing at Apartment Therapy SF – an excellent piece on the reduced risk of tempered glass – Making Your Home Safe: Tempered Glass
According to Consumer Reports, an estimated 20,000 people, mostly children, are treated for injuries related to glass furniture every year. On average, three children die each year from these injuries. Until safety standards change there is an easy way to prevent injuries happening in your home.
Tempered glass is regular glass that has been treated with high temperatures to increase strength and change the break pattern. When ordinary glass breaks large shards can easily puncture skin and lacerate blood vessels. Tempered glass, on the other hand, breaks into small pieces, reducing the risk of bleeding and death from broken glass. Tempered glass is also stronger and can withstand greater pressure and heat.
If you have a glass topped table that is not tempered you do not have to get rid of it. There are many manufacturing companies that will temper the piece for you. If you aren’t sure if your glass table is tempered, you can use a polarized lens to see the stress marks left behind from the tempering process. You can also check with the manufacturer about the type of glass used for your particular piece of furniture. Another quick test is to check your glass for scratches and marks. Un-tempered glass scratches easily.
For additional information please check the following websites:
Solar flashlights on sale at Sierra Trading Post
Sierra Trading Post has solar-powered LED flashlights on sale for $7.96.I believe this is identical to a flashlight I’ve been testing and using and it’s pretty impressive – if kept on a windowsill – or exposed to artificial interior light – all day, it runs for at least a couple of hours.
And it’s got a clever design feature, which reduces the risk of accidentally turning on the light: the button needs to be depressed twiceto be turned on. That is, the switch is set to OFF, OFF, ON. If you didn’t know this, you’d likely find that it worked on your second try to turn it on.
solar flashlight from Sierra Trading Post.
Link to product page. We can think of two ways this light might be improved – (1) by adding photoluminescent (“glow in the dark”) material to the exterior, (2) adding reflective material, ideally Reflexite, to the exterior. A combination of both – and a bright color – would make it easily findable in the dark – when you’re likely to want it.
I’ve been keeping mine on the windowsill; be advised that these are seconds – because of minor cosmetic blemishes.
This seems a useful household emergency tool; possibly a good addition to a go-bag – but one wouldn’t want to store it in a go-bag, because of the charge. And it’s too big for a purse/keychain flashlight. However, they might be ideally placed one to a windowsill – or across from mirrors which get a steady exposure to light, or under a skylight.
Der Zauberkünstler – Hieronymus Bosch
Der Zauberkünstler (The Conjurer)
Hieronymus Bosch: The Conjurer, 1475-1480 Note that the man in the back row is stealing another man’s purse. He is also applying misdirection by looking up at the sky to misdirect the audience from his actions. The artist has even misdirected us from the thief, because we are drawn to the magician. The original is currently at the unicipal museum of, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a western suburb of Paris, France. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Puzzling Veterans Administration regulation limits use of safer, cheaper, effective treatment
For some background, see our earlier post, Mindgrowth – affordable, effective biofeedback devices.
The United States military and veterans hospital systems are making effective and widespread use of biofeedback ((Biofeedback, as defined by the United States National Institutes of Health.)) in treating PTSD ((Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; see, inter alia, “Traumatic Stress,” by the Harvard Physician Bess van der Kolk. For other examples see Tackling fears, virtually (Times Colonist, October 8, 2009;Stress management program helps soldiers with PTSD Florida Times-Union, 28 Sep 2009))
That biofeedback (sometimes referred to as “neurofeedback”) can be of medical use seems uncontroversial. The desired end-state, of course, is for the patient to beable to reproduce the same effect (e.g., not panicking when exposed to loud noises) under normal circumstances and without the use of the equipment.It’s a process of learning and unlearning, and like any such process, some repetition is in order.
Why, then, would the government use this equipment widely, but have a rule which prohibits prescribing or dispensing the equipment so that patients can take the devices home and practice with them between office visits. Link to VA Regulation (excerpted in footnote) ((http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/policymanual/champva/chapter2/1c2s30-5.htm, or http://tinyurl.com/yfyywhd
VI. EXCLUSIONS
A. Biofeedback for hypertension.
B. Biofeedback for the treatment of migraine headaches.
C. Biofeedback therapy provided for the treatment of ordinary muscle tension or for psychosomatic (i.e., psychophysiological or psychological factors affecting a medical condition) conditions (CPT codes 90901, 90875, and 90876). [38 CFR 17.272(a)(71)]
D. Rental or purchase of biofeedback equipment. [38 CFR 17.272 (a)(70)]
E. Treatment of psychosomatic conditions (i.e., psychophysiological or psychological factors affecting medical condition) and for CPT codes 90875 and 90876. This exclusion includes individual psychophysiological therapy incorporating biofeedback training.))
We’d welcome learning that we’ve misread the rule, or that there’s a good reason for it – devices powered by two “AA” batteries don’t generally pose much risk.
But if our reading is correct, who benefits from this rule?
Mindgrowth – affordable, effective biofeedback devices
[Note: we’re reprinting this here to accompany a related post which will follow shortly].
, a U.S.-Canadian company – distributes biofeedback equipment – with 
and without tracking software – used for, among other things, pain management/reduction, treating PTSD, panic disorders, and other uses.The GSR2 (pictured below) is designed and manufactured in North America by Thought Technology, the largest manufacturer of biofeedback products in the world. There are more than 550,000 of the GSR2 in use worldwide, including the United States Veterans’ Administration medical system.
Biofeedback is no longer “experimental” – there’s no question that it works, not only for medical uses, but also in enhancing athletic performance and cognitive function. It has a substantial drawback in the context of the United States health system: once purchased, and used/learned, some people have lasting effects and never touch the equipment again – others need to return to the biofeedback equipment to “relearn” the original “lesson.” To keep this example simple – think of someone trying to unlearn a fear response to a particular stimulus – loud noises, for example. Continue reading
Henry Woodbury: critical reading of U.S. oil import infographic
Henry Woodbury explains, in Data in the Round, what’s problematic with the following illustration of United States energy imports:
Data in the Round on the InformationDesign Watch, a blog by the team at Dynamic Diagrams,
Christine Levinson on Greta van Susteren
NB:
For more information – see HelpBobLevinson.com
Thanks to Greta Van Susteren, her producers and Fox News – for keeping the case of Bob Levinson in the public forum. From Missing Former FBI Agent’s Wife Seeks Answers From Ahmadinejad, an interview conducted on 22 September on the Fox show “On the Record.” This is from a draft transcript.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: A former FBI agent travels to Iran and now he is missing. His wife is in New York tonight and she wants a face-to-face meeting with the Iranian president.
This is a case we have followed closely here at “On the Record.” Here is what weigh know. Robert Levinson vanished in March of ’07 during a trip to the Iranian island of Kish. Since then there has been no sign of him. Levinson is simply gone.
Is he being held prisoner in Iran? The missing man’s wife Christine Levinson wants answers. Christine joins us live. Good evening, Christine, and I take it there is no information update since the last time you and I spoke, right?
CHRISTINE LEVINSON, WIFE OF MISSING BOB LEVINSON: No, there isn’t. Thank you for having me on tonight.
VAN SUSTEREN: Christine, I know you want to talk to the president of Iran. Has there been any indication that he is willing to do that since he is now in the United States? I know you have traveled as well to Iran, but is there any indication that he will talk to you within the next 48 hours?
LEVINSON: I have no information that he will talk to me. I am hoping that that will happen. This is the third year in a row that I have come here to New York in hopes of meeting with him.
VAN SUSTEREN:
All right. He is on American soil, but, of course, he is there as part of the U.N., so he is protected by that fact.
But has the United States government said to you, Christine, your husband is an American. He is a former FBI agent as well. We really want to help you out. As long as he is in New York, we are going to ask him — we are going to try to help you out getting to this president to help you get answers.
LEVINSON: I hope so. I have not received any information that a meeting will take place. But I’m hopeful that at any given time anyone who can will bring up my husband’s case.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you feel — and I suspect this just from watching from afar, that basically you just got the giant runaround.
LEVINSON: A runaround — I don’t know. Right now I just don’t have any information about whether this meeting is going to happen. I’m still hopeful, and I have been promised that if it will happen they will let me know.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you believe that someone in authority in Iran knows where your husband is or what’s happened to him?
LEVINSON: I believe someone in Iran knows what happened to him. Who that is, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about where he is today. I know no more than I did when he disappeared on March 9, 2007. And I’m hoping that someone hearing this story tonight will be able to help me find him and bring him home.
VAN SUSTEREN: I take it all you want is information about your husband. You don’t want to cause any problems. You don’t want any trouble between the countries. You just want to know where your husband is, right?
LEVINSON: Right. Bob and I have been married 35 years. I’m just a housewife looking for my husband so that he can come home and bounce his grandchildren on his knee.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you would be delighted if anyone just sort of slipped you some information, you know, and you go quietly off in pursuit of the information to see whether he is still living or whether he might be in trouble, in jeopardy, or something might have happened to him?
LEVINSON: Yes, anything. I would just like information about my husband. And anyone who needs to can get in touch with me on our Web site.
VAN SUSTEREN: What’s the Web site?
LEVINSON: www.helpboblevinson.com.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. When were you last in Iran?
LEVINSON: I was in Iran in December 2007. And at that time they promised that they would give me a report on what they had found when they investigated the case. And I have not heard anything.
I hired an Iranian lawyer while I was over there, Mr. Agazi (ph), and he has tried through the legal system to try to get information and has not.
VAN SUSTEREN: It is deeply distressing, Christine, because we have followed this story and others have as well, because, you know, to the rest of us, you know, sort of watching from the side, all it is a family who just wants information about a loved one.
And why you can’t have it — I don’t know if you are caught up in the two countries or whatever it is, but it is deeply disturbing. I hope this time Christine something good happens for you. Good luck.
LEVINSON: Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Thank you.
Disclosure: Bob Levinson is my dear friend and former colleague. We would think the matter newsworthy in any case, but make no bones about our biases in the case: we want Levinson returned immediately, and are skeptical about the Iranian government’s protestations of ignorance in the matter.
Brilliant public-health graphic – by Matt Daigle
We’re going to take liberties here and tell you that the following graphic could easily have turned into a very problematic assignment. However many ways there might have been to do it right, we suspect that there were many more ways it could have gone wrong. Here’s the graphic, by Matt Daigle – you can also see his cartoon work here.
Here’s the graphic – explanation after the jump.
Of course – if I’m right about this, the answer will come as no surprise.
WTC developer seeks arbitration
In another disturbing sign of our collective inability to rebuild – that, in effect, we’ve maximized the damage of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on New York City – the developer, Larry Silverstein, is seeking arbitration to resolve ongoing financial issues.
We offer no opinion as to the virtues of any argument by any part – only the conclusion that the best proof of our determination and resilience would have been rapid rebuilding, whether or not we returned to the original design, whose weaknesses are, sadly, now more relevant.
From “Eight Years Later,” an editorial in The New York Times
of September 10, 2009:
The horrors of Sept. 11, 2001, are still vivid for many Americans, especially the families of the victims. So it is tragic that on this Sept. 11, when family members, politicians and visitors go to the ceremonies at ground zero, they will be gathering at an unfinished place.
Instead of the two memorial pools designed by the architect Michael Arad, visitors will see their barest outlines. Instead of a circle of skyscrapers, the steel for the tallest tower stretches only five stories high. There are just the first skeletal signs of Santiago Calatrava’s magnificent transportation hub.
Why is it taking so long? That is a question that has been asked every Sept. 11. For the first few years, there were too many feuds — the architects Daniel Libeskind versus David Childs, the families versus the designers and builders, the community versus the demolition squads, the developer Larry Silverstein versus the insurance companies. Even now, Mr. Silverstein is locked in arbitration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the owner of the site, because he wants more of the authority’s money to build more office towers.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who now supports Mr. Silverstein’s excessive demands for public funds, once recognized the hazards of overbuilding office space in the area. In December 2002, a year after the attack, he bluntly acknowledged that “the twin towers’ voracious appetite for tenants weakened the entire downtown real estate market” — a possibility that today’s real estate experts fear if Mr. Silverstein builds too precipitously.
All this infighting — and confusion over necessities like a subway line and bus terminals and walls to keep out the Hudson River — has obscured the original promise to make use of this vital and iconic space beyond simply replacing 10 million square feet of commercial space.
The centerpiece of the project properly remains the memorial, its park and, eventually, the underground museum. But around that somber space, there should be more than skyscrapers that grow dark at night. There should be a vibrant, 24-hour community of people who live, work, play and thrive in Lower Manhattan.
For those that can bear the details of the dispute, the Times’ coverage is excellent. One wonders if, in their target selection, the attackers knew that our political system would be incapable of proceeding to rebuild and avoid profiteering. Some of the Times’ coverage:
Developer at Ground Zero Seeks Arbitration
Start there – and – if you can manage – a search of the Times’ website will yield these articles from the paper, so to speak, plus the blogs.
NYC – free crosstown bus plan may reflect understanding of transportation system as network
For those unfamiliar with Manhattan geography, Manhattan is much longer on its roughly North-South axis than it is on its East-West axis, although the island is narrower at its southern edge. (And it turns out to be harder to quickly locate a map showing the entire island than one would think).
Map of Manhattan - via Mappery.com
The current (and possibly next, or mayor-for-life) Michael Bloomberg has proposed that we make the East-West bus routes free, as they don’t function particularly well, the streets get congested, and – people are then tempted to use taxis – which merely exacerbates the entire situation.
Subways? We’ve only got two streets – 42nd and 11rth – which have subway routes which go directly across.
Every major east-west street clogs regularly. So is this a good idea, or not?
It’s a good idea, no question, viewed in isolation. And, in fact, it’s probably one of the best “wedges” we can use to unclog traffic in Manhattan.
Here’s the problem: while there are certainly people who are not affluent who will avail themselves of this free service, many if not most of these routes also run into the most afluent areas not just of the city, but of the nation, and the world.
The median value of owner-occupied homes for the entire county is $1,000,001 (2008 estimate); the median household income (2007) was $63,704. Link to census data for New York County, New York (Manhattan).
The comparable national values are $119,600 ((The latest national number is for 2000, rather than 2008; we concede that this marginally weakens our argument)) as the value of owner-occupied housing, and the median household income (2007) $50,740. Link to Census Data here.
In other words, we’ve got bottlenecks – and service deficits – elsewhere in our transit – and other – systems. Why start with bus routes which pass the Metropolitan Museum, F.A.A. Schwarz, Bergdorf Goodman, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the railway stations which serve our out-of-city commuters who, at present, pay no commuter’s tax (they use municipal services during the day, but pay no municipal income tax)?
At the least, we can say it’s an odd way to build consensus. Here are links to some of the coverage of this issues:
Bloomberg Calls for Free Crosstown Buses – City Room Blog …(New York Times City Room Blog)
Mayor Proposes Free Crosstown Buses – NYTimes.com
Streetsblog New York City » Bloomberg Tests Free-Transit Waters
WNYC – The Brian Lehrer Show: Free Crosstown BusProposal
Free Crosstown Buses Proposed By Bloomberg
More Manhattan Maps from the brilliant site Mappery.com. Plus – they’ve got more here..
Cross-posted in slightly different form on Caton Avenue
Utopian Librarian – great blog – and a reminder of how much we need librarians
The Utopian Library is a peek into the world of modern public librarians; if one had an idea that they’re relatively passive, concerned only with how to find things when asked, think again. Public libraries are – by definition – democratic institutions, levelers of power and privilege. (I’m sure this argument is not original to me, but don’t off-hand know where it comes from. Please help me out in the comments – js.)The Utopian Library‘s author is atypical, perhaps, in that she blogs. But not in that she’s doing her job in a self-aware way, knowing how important it is, and trying to invent, re-invent, locate, and appropriate new information tools. The Utopian Library.