Today’s Links: October 15, 2012

OPINION

DAVID BIELLO: “Can the City that Never Sleeps Forego Nuclear Power?”
“On October 15, a three-judge panel hears evidence on whether the plant should operate for another 20 years. At issue is Indian Point’s ability to handle the challenges of aging, as well as its cost estimates for dealing with a meltdown. But what’s really at stake is whether nuclear power has a future near the Big Apple. The two operating reactors on the site produce roughly 17,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year. A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council argues that this electricity could be replaced nearly for free. […] But analyses by plant owner Entergy suggest the changeover would come with a hefty bill.”

CONOR FRIEDERSDORF: “Small Town Spanish Life in 1943: ‘No Decent Woman Is Ever Seen on a Bicycle‘”
“In Spain, traveling through a cork forest near the Portuguese border, James Michener once stumbled upon a small town in a clearing, where he found posted to the oak door of the church a list of twelve rules. […] Today clothes-related controversy more often turns on whether Muslim women are wearing too much of it. Seven decades hence, one wonders if the hijab will seem as unfathomable as the church door rules of yesteryear, or if those who would outlaw it will be remembered as small tyrants.”

ELIZABETH WEINGARTEN: “How To Stop Apple’s iOS6 From Tracking Your Activity for Advertisers”
” Apple’s new iOS 6 does, indeed, come with a default setting that tracks your activity, gathering a constant stream of personal data. Apple’s advertising arm, iAd, uses that data to create a targeted, personal ad campaign based on your recent Googling of ‘romantic comedies,’ that knitting app you downloaded, and the Thai restaurant you checked into last night.”

NEWS

POST OFFICE – Pricey election bails out Postal Service
“The 2012 election season couldn’t have come at a better time for the U.S. Postal Service. While still low on cash, the postal service has enough to avoid insolvency this month, thanks in large part to the mountains of political junk mail and the influx of Super PACs paying top postage rates.”

IRAN – EU Puts New Sanctions on Iran for Nuclear Program
“The European Union, concerned by what it called Iran’s refusal to come clean on its nuclear program, imposed a new range of sanctions Monday intended to hit the country’s treasury and increase pressure on its Islamic regime.”

TECHNOLOGY – Amazon in talks to buy TI mobile chip arm: paper
“Amazon.Com Inc is in advanced talks to buy the supplier of chips for its Kindle tablet computer, Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported on Monday, in what could mark a step in the company’s ambitions in the smartphone sector.”