Saturday Morning Links (Continued)

Active rigs: 185

WSJ Links

Section D (Off Duty):

Section C (Review): 

• The new unmarried moms; we've reduced teen pregnancy, but no childbearing outside wedlock is exploding among 20-somethings; "carriage before marriage";
• A king's overreaching, traced in black glass; obsidian; King Sargon
• Book review, Farther and Wilder, Blake Bailey, biography of Charles Jackson;
• Book review, The New Mind of the South, Tracy Thompson, "Southerners are the most fervently, often obtusely, patriotic of Americans;
• Book review, Finding Florida, T. D. Allman, "A fearful fraud," Henry James called the place in 1904, 'a ton of dreary jungle and swamp and misery of flat forest monotony to an an ounce or two of little coast perching place -- a few feet wide between the jungle and the sea." Florida. [I happened to see this book later the same day I saw the review: the chapters devoted to Disney World are worth the price of the book. I finally understand Epcot Center, why it had such promotion, and then never seemed to live up to its promise.]
• Book review, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, Michael R. Veach.

Secton B (Business & Finance):

• ATT hints at selling non-assets if necessary to keep paying dividend; 

Section A

• Op-ed: three years after the spill, BP gets bullish;
• Op-ed: new Medicaid's roach motel; the GOP flippers can check in, but it's unlikely they can check out; 
• Sports: why golf and politics don't mix; a piece of trivia I missed; not enough money in the budget for White House tours; plenty of money available for presidential golfing trips; I can't make this stuff up. The placement of this article is pretty compelling. On the previous page, there is an op-ed about the "humbleness" of the new pope. So, one can cut out this page of the WSJ and post it on the refrigerator, with either the "pope story" or the "golf/white house tour story" facing. 

Miscellaneous links

Bill Maher probably won't be moving to France. He surprised Rachel by saying he's about had it with folks saying the rich don't pay enough in taxes. Says he may leave California. Paraphrased, of course.

Detroit's emergency financial manager caught up in "nanny tax." Four liens for tens of thousands of dollars against his million dollar home for "There was apparently an oversight related to a childcare provider unemployment insurance payment," Wurfel wrote in an e-mail. "Immediately upon learning of the potential issue just today, he took action at once to look into and resolve with the state of Maryland." Joins the list of the rich and famous which includes Tim Geithner and Zoe.  I can't make this stuff up. Apologists: as long as he makes good on what he owes, no harm, no foul.

Law of large numbers: Financial Times is reporting:

Chinese doctors have performed more than 330m abortions since the government implemented a controversial family planning policy 40 years ago, according to official data from the health ministry.

Meanwhile, for the US:

In the US, where the population is 315m or about one-quarter the size of China’s, an estimated 50m abortions have been performed since the landmark Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision legalised abortion in 1973.

Multiply the 50 million by 4 to get 200 million. That is significantly less than 330 million but both numbers are pretty much in the same ballpark, "the 200 - 400 million abortion/ 40 years / 1 billion people" ball park.

All numbers are estimates. It is not mandatory to report abortions in the US.