One Nation, Under Sedation: Medicare Paid for Nearly 40 Million Tranquilizer Prescriptions in 2013
June 11th, 2015Via: Propublica:
In 2012, Medicare’s massive prescription drug program didn’t spend a penny on popular tranquilizers such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan.
The following year, it doled out more than $377 million for the drugs.
Surgical Anesthesia in Young Children Linked to Effects on IQ, Brain Structure
June 11th, 2015Via: Science Daily:
Children who received general anesthesia for surgery before age 4 had diminished language comprehension, lower IQ and decreased gray matter density in posterior regions of their brain, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.
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Loepke and his research colleagues have published previous studies showing widespread cell death, permanent deletion of neurons and neurocognitive impairment in laboratory rats and mice after exposure to general anesthesia. Those studies have raised concerns about similar effects in young children during a particularly sensitive neurodevelopmental period in early life, which researchers say could interfere with the refinement of neuronal networks and lead to long-term functional abnormalities.
For their current retrospective study, the authors compared the scores of 53 healthy participants of a language development study (ages 5 to 18 years with no history of surgery) with the scores of 53 children in the same age range who had undergone surgery before the age of 4.
The authors stress that average test scores for all 106 children in the study were within population norms, regardless of surgical history. Still, compared with children who had not undergone surgery, children exposed to anesthesia scored significantly lower in listening comprehension and performance IQ. Researchers also report that decreased language and IQ scores were associated with lower gray matter density in the occipital cortex and cerebellum of the brain.
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Extending their study a step beyond the medical data, the research team also considered the potential societal impact of their findings. Earlier research from 2008 had estimated the loss of 1 IQ point to decrease a person’s lifetime earnings potential by $18,000. Factoring in the potential loss of 5 or 6 IQ points found in their current study, the researchers report that, based on the estimated 6 million children who undergo surgery in the United States each year the lifetime potential earnings loss could total $540 billion.
Obama Lawyers Asked Secret Court to Ignore Public Court’s Decision on Spying
June 11th, 2015Via: Guardian:
The Obama administration has asked a secret surveillance court to ignore a federal court that found bulk surveillance illegal and to once again grant the National Security Agency the power to collect the phone records of millions of Americans for six months.
The legal request, filed nearly four hours after Barack Obama vowed to sign a new law banning precisely the bulk collection he asks the secret court to approve, also suggests that the administration may not necessarily comply with any potential court order demanding that the collection stop.
Manufacturing of Asus Graphics Cards Now 100% Automated
June 11th, 2015Via: Geek:
According to Asus, every single graphics card in use today has been manufactured with the help of one or more human workers. But that is no longer the case. Asus has figured out how to make graphics cards in a completely automated process, with the first human to interact with a card being the person fitting it inside a PC.
Prime Minister of New Zealand on Mobile Phones: “You can use it as a listening device, whether it is on or not”
June 10th, 2015Via: New Zealand Herald:
Prime Minister John Key gets rid of his mobile phone every few months for security reasons.
Mr Key has also revealed that he would never take his phone into sensitive meetings – whether it was turned on or not – for fear that it could be turned into a listening device by those seeking to eavesdrop.
The Prime Minister said his phones have special security on them, however he does not think they are impenetrable to espionage.
“I kind of work on the principle that I will be [listened to] at some point. So I have, without being stupid about it, more security on my phone than most people have, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t break into it,” Mr Key said on More FM today.
“If I was having a conversation with my national security advisers … I would never have a mobile phone in the room I’m in…because you can use it as a listening device, whether it is on or not.”
Mr Key gets rid of his phone every few months incase it has been tampered with or hacked.
“I don’t worry about it a hell of a lot, we have pretty good security…I would never go overseas and not have it [my handset] on me.
“And if I left it in a hotel room by mistake, which I have done on a few occasions, I would just throw it out [after getting it back].”
Tesla Doubles Powerwall Output Specifications Without Raising Prices
June 10th, 2015Disclosures: I sell solar power systems in NZ. I’m long Enphase Energy.
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Panasonic, Mercedes, Enphase and Trina are also jumping in.
Via: Electrek:
Tesla Motors held its 2015 Annual Shareholders Meeting today at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. During his presentation, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, announced that Tesla will be doubling the power output of the Powerwall, Tesla’s residential energy storage system, to 7KW at peak usage and 5KW for steady usage.
Musk confirmed that the price will remain the same, $3,000 for the 7KWh daily cycle version and $3,500 for the 10KWh weekly cycle version.
The Upcoming ISIS Dirty Bomb…
June 10th, 2015In other news: Israel Built, Exploded ‘Dirty Bombs’
Via: Independent:
The Isis militant group has seized enough radioactive material from government facilities to suggest it has the capacity to build a large and devastating “dirty” bomb, according to Australian intelligence reports.
Isis declared its ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction in the most recent edition of its propaganda magazine Dabiq, and Indian defence officials have previously warned of the possibility the militants could acquire a nuclear weapon from Pakistan.
According to the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, Nato has expressed deep concerns about the materials seized by Isis from research centres and hospitals that would normally only be available to governments.
Mass Snooping Fake Mobile Towers Uncovered in UK
June 10th, 2015Via: BBC:
Fake mobile towers that scoop up data from passing phones are routinely being used in London, an investigation by Sky News suggests.
Working with German security company GMSK Cryptophone, it claims to have uncovered direct evidence, the first in the UK, of at least 20 instances of the use of these cell site simulators.
These portable Stingray boxes could be used to track police suspects.
The Metropolitan Police Service refused to confirm or deny it was using them.
All the data captured by the investigation has been put in a Google document.
By mimicking a legitimate mobile tower and tricking every phone in range into connecting to them, the boxes “catch” the international mobile subscriber number (IMSI) and electronic serial number (ESN) of each and reveal the exact location of its user.
Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe told Sky News: “We’re not going to talk about it, because the only people who benefit are the other side, and I see no reason in giving away that sort of thing.”
Get Ready for a 4,000-Point Dow Drop [???]
June 10th, 2015Via: MarketWatch:
Are there parallels to this current market environment? Yes — 1987.
Related: A Derivatives Bomb Exploded Within The Last Two Weeks [Thanks Pookie]
U.S. Ousts Russia as World’s Top Oil, Gas Producer
June 10th, 2015Via: Bloomberg:
The U.S. has taken Russia’s crown as the world’s biggest oil and natural-gas producer, illustrating the seismic shifts in the global energy landscape caused by America’s shale fields.
U.S. oil production rose to an all-time high last year, gaining 1.6 million barrels a day, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review of World Energy released on Wednesday. Gas output also rose, putting America ahead of Russia as a producer of the hydrocarbons combined.
The data showing the U.S.’s emergence as the world’s top driller confirms a trend that’s helped the world’s largest economy slash imports, caused a slump in global energy prices and shifted the country’s foreign policy priorities.
“We are truly witnessing a changing of the guard of global energy suppliers,” BP’s Chief Economist Spencer Dale said in a presentation. “The implications of the shale revolution for the U.S. are profound.”
