MONEY: Intergenerational Theft

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

http://tslrf.blogspot.com/2009/12/book-review-generation-debt-why-now-is.html

Friday, December 25, 2009

Book Review: Generation Debt, Why Now Is A Terrible Time To Be Young

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I just finished the book Generation Debt: Why It Is A Terrible Time To Be Young. Honestly I think if you are 18-35 or have a kid in that age range you should read this book. Here are some interesting snippets of the book:

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-The cause is not a temporary recession but structural changes in the economy. In income and occupation prestige, young adults are behind where their parents were at their age.

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At Christmas eve dinner, we had a discussion on this topic.

The kids didn’t understand that we were talking about their economic future.

Unfortunately, they are going to have to live thru this economic disaster.

They will have to be smart with their money. Very smart. Which to date, I have NOT seen evidenced by any young people. Or some old ones either.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Potential microRNAs breast cancer blood test

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-breast-cancer-breakthrough-could-spell-end-to-mammograms-79914347.html

Irish breast cancer breakthrough could end mammograms
Major cancer discovery from team at Galway University
By ANTOINETTE KELLY, IrishCentral.com
Published Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 1:50 PM
Updated Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 4:24 PM

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Irish scientists may have found an alternative to the dreaded mammogram in a bid to reduce the incidence of breast cancer.

Researchers from the National University of Ireland Galway have identified a new blood test that can act as an “early warning” system.

The test, which is being discussed as a potential replacement for mammograms, can alert doctors if the disease is recurring.

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The study found a link between breast cancer and substances called microRNAs which are found in the blood of patients with breast cancer.

Professor Michael Kerin, who led the team, said there was good reason for optimism.

“This early work suggests a combination of mir195 and Let7a (two specific types of microRNA) are sensitive markers for the presence of breast cancers in over 90 percent of cases,” he said. “This raises the possibility of their use in screening for breast cancer.”

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Recent gooferment “pronouncements” about cancer screening was suspect. Suspect that they were looking at the cost as opposed to the benefits. Here may be an opportunity to satisfy both conflicting priorities.

The value of human life can’t be reduced into dollars and sense.

Sorry. Apologies to all the accountants and gooferment bureaucrats, but your wrong. Heartlessly wrong.

When people buy their own health care, they make a very tough “value” judgement.

I’ve seen “old people” and “terminally ill” people make the tough decisions easily. When we insert an insurance company or Medicare welfare into the process, people don’t see the costs as impacting their legacy and their families.

So substituting a potentially cheaper and more accurate chemistry test is a real winner.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Emulate Israel’s security strategy and tactics

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/it_the_incompetence_stupid_Smobhu7UYi3kwiQzGPHnMP#ixzz0b6x74uRB  

It’s the incompetence, stupid
Last Updated: 6:50 AM, December 29, 2009
Posted: 12:42 AM, December 29, 2009
Rich Lowry

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It’s never going to be easy for a free society to defend itself from furtive enemies, but that doesn’t excuse willful obliviousness. We should move to a more Israel-style security system, devoting more energy to the intelligence and on-the-spot assessments necessary to focus on the greatest potential threats. And we should resist the civil libertarians who create pressure to narrow down the most meaningful watch lists and work to forestall adoption of more effective whole-body imaging scanners.

For its part, the Obama administration should frankly acknowledge that the “war on terror” wasn’t a Bush-Cheney construct to scare and manipulate the American public. Speaking from Hawaii, Obama sounded stalwart yesterday, but it took him 72 hours to address the incident. The administration’s body language says it would prefer to keep counterterrorism on a back-burner while it engages in the more important work of nationalizing health care and fighting global warming.

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If we aren’t going to emulate the KGB in handling terrorists, then El Al seems to not have any such problems.

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Posted by reinkefj