text:
Run Everybody! Avik Roy is Coming!
Avik Roy is a conservative blogger on healthcare who is also an adviser to the Romney campaign and who by sheerest coincidence also wants to scare the bejeesus out of everyone about Obamacare, especially if they live in a swing state. In two articles (so far) covering Ohio and Wisconsin, Roy leads off with a dire prediction: that Obamacare is going to cause premiums to go up 55 percent to 85 percent (Ohio) and 35 percent (Wisconsin) for individual insurance policies. Is this true? Are premiums going to go up like this?The individual market, where individuals (rather than businesses) purchase insurance policies is not like the group market and the way that the individual market operates now underlines a great deal of what is wrong with American healthcare today. Individual insurance is what is called in the business "heavily underwritten", which means that each policy sold is heavily scrutinized by underwriters. This means, of course, that no pre-existing conditions need apply, which in turn means that one has to be in almost perfect health to get such a policy. People who buy these policies also do not get the same level of benefits (as a rule) that people get with company policies. (For example, maternity care is usually not covered). So individual policies are relatively uncommon (only about ten million Americans have them -- out of about 200 million people with insurance) and relatively cheap.Under Obamacare, the individual insurance market will have to offer the same benefits that everyone else gets and will have to offer individual policies to everyone, even those with pre-existing conditions. People who have individual policies and want to keep their current rate levels and benefit levels can be grandfathered. People who before could not purchase insurance at any price will now be able to buy individual policies regardless of their pre-existing condition status and with the same benefit levels that people with group policies have. These new policies will cost about 55 percent to 85 percent (in Ohio) more than the cut-rate policies that can only now be purchased by the very healthy.
In the case of Ohio, Roy has appended a chart from an actuarial consulting company called Milliman that outlines the sources of the new rates. By way of comparison for small commercial groups (employers with 100 or fewer employees), the same things that will be increasing individual rates will be increasing small group rates by 1 percent to 3 percent. In the case of groups larger than 100 employees, rates won't go up at all.Roy uses a similar sleight of hand when he talks about Medicare. Obamacare will "cut" $716 billion from Medicare over the course of a decade. Ohio's share of this is $21.2 billion. Roy says:
This year, Ohio has 1,971,260 Medicare enrollees, which means that these cuts amount to $10,763 for every senior in Ohio.
He does not say that he is not talking about benefit cuts and that he is not talking about one year, but it sure looks like seniors are going to be hit for almost $11 grand a piece. In fact, these cuts are costs that will be cut over ten years whether or not Obamacare is repealed. The fact is, medical care becomes more efficient each year and these efficiencies (not benefit reductions) are going to fuel the savings. Fraud elimination will also contribute to these savings; Roy himself points out in another shrill article that Medicare fraud now amounts to four times the total profits of all commercial insurance companies.Roy also (in the Ohio article) has a headline that says Survey: 24 percent of Ohio doctors will stop accepting Medicare patients. Read further and one finds that the 24 percent said they would stop taking Medicare patients if fees decrease ten percent. While Obamacare mandates that fees will be reduced this much over a decade, Medicare mandates the same thing. Again these are not some kind of lump-sum reduction but cost cuts over a decade. If you think that they are utterly unreasonable, think about how many things that were once done with lengthy hospital stays that are now done on a outpatient basis.Avik Roy has made himself a bit of a career trying to scare people about Obamacare with articles like How Obamacare's $716 Billion in Cuts will Drive Doctors Out of Medicare and Obama's MLR 'Bomb' Will Create Private Insurance Monopolies and Drive Premiums Skyward Hallelujah! where he predicts declining insurance profits (didn't happen), soaring individual and small group premiums (also didn't happen), and further monopolization of private insurance markets (been happening for decades). I think he knows better. But his main job isn't to inform; it's to alarm. What he wants to do is to scare enough people to tip the balance towards Romney and the other GOP candidates. Don't be scared, even if it is Halloween.
69 comments
- All
- Editor Featured
Thanks, unagidon. Doesn't lying count as a sin anymore with Americans? Seems not.
Ann, there is no such thing as pure truth in politics - or in marketing, of which politics is a subset. That's one of the big flaws of representative democracy. Both U and AR have their truths, and you'd need to be a certified policy wonk to have a prayer of understanding who's right - or, probably putting it much better, whose chosen positions most closely match the ones you think you'd take if you were in his place.But you know that :O)
David- Actually, even without being a wonk, you can sometimes figure out who to believe or disbelieve. Avik Roy has been untruthful (or mistaken, if you prefer) in the past, and that can be factchecked. It means you need to be more skepticall of what he says thanyou would be of someone who is credible
@David Smith (10/30, 12:03 am) Heck, let's go all the way and stipulate that (excepting the Immaculate Conception and Jesus) there's no such thing as pure truth in any human endeavor.Having done that, it's actually one of the political virtues of a political commonwealth like ours that it takes humanity as it is and attempts to build a political culture and infrastructure that takes into account our human failings, frailties and weaknesses. (James Madison is particularly good on this.)Now to your third sentence. It may be true that both unagidon and Avik Roy "have their truths". However, what unagidon has done above is---using the data Roy himself provides---point out the ways in which Roy's articles are intentionally misleading. If Roy were comparing apples to oranges, and claiming that Obamacare would make the price of oranges 55-85% higher than the price of apples, unagidon would be perfectly within his rights to point out that Roy has proven exactly nothing about what Obamacare would do to the price of apples.In this case, as in many others in our political lives, it's *not* necessary to be a "certified policy wonk to have a prayer of understanding who's right". It is, in fact, one of the central insights of democratic political theory that "the masses" are capable of self-governance or, at the least, as capable of self-governance as any given monarch or collection of oligarchs.
The NY times had an article a couple of days ago on the new government health care exchanges. "Premiums and benefits for the multistate insurance plans will be negotiated by the United States Office of Personnel Management, the agency that arranges health benefits for federal employees.Walton J. Francis, the author of a consumer guide to health plans for federal employees, said the personnel agency had been extraordinarily successful in managing that program, which has more than 200 health plans, including about 20 offered nationwide. The personnel agency has earned high marks for its ability to secure good terms for federal workers through negotiation rather than heavy-handed regulation of insurers."A possible non-profit insurer to be included in the exchange is "the Government Employees Health Association, a nonprofit group that covers more than 900,000 federal employees, retirees and dependents, making it the second-largest plan for federal workers, after the Blue Cross and Blue Shield program.The association, with headquarters near Kansas City, Mo., was founded in 1937 to help railway mail clerks with their medical expenses, and it generally receives high scores in surveys of consumer satisfaction."http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/health/us-to-sponsor-health-insurance-... can bitch about Obamacare as government takeover of health insurance, but if everyone comes out of this with insurance as good as the federal employees, I'm all for it.
In this case, as in many others in our political lives, its *not* necessary to be a certified policy wonk to have a prayer of understanding whos right. It is, in fact, one of the central insights of democratic political theory that the masses are capable of self-governance or, at the least, as capable of self-governance as any given monarch or collection of oligarchs.
Maybe you're up to it, Luke, but I'm not, and my best guess is that most of us aren't. We sway back and forth eternally in the winds of data and rhetoric.I agree that it's probably a coin toss as to what sort of government would be most likely to make the trains run on time. The single greatest advantage, perhaps, of the sort of representative democracy we're saddled with is that it's continually correctible from the base. Terribly inefficient, but open all the way down. The masses, incapable as I'm sure they are of understanding the relative merits of policy issues, are generally good at telling snake-oil salesmen apart. Unfortunately, as the trains turn into space ships, that may not be enough.
Irene, I have GEHA. It's OK, but nothing to write home about. Twenty years ago, I was a federal employee and my wife was employed employed by the state of Ohio. She had much better insurance. What you get through the intercession and moderation of the federal government is average and adequate. There's little to no hope of ever reaching excellence.
"What you get through the intercession and moderation of the federal government is average and adequate. "Hey David, the article I linked to cited relatively high consumer satisfaction for your insurance (so your experience may not be typical). But (unfortunately) even "average and adequate" is a huge step forward for many of us. You need to compare your insurance to what everyone else has before you call it average. I use my husband's transit worker coverage, which several years ago would be "adequate", it hasn't changed much over the years, and today it is much better than anything I could buy myself or anything offered by the various small businesses where I've worked.So I think a lot of people might be just delighted to have "adequate" government-sponsored insurance since it beats our current inadequate private-market insurance.
The notion that government cannot do anything well is sheer hooey. The enormous popularity of politically untouchable Social Security, for instance, is based on broad-based, long-time experience.
By the way, what is Romney saying today about government's role in disasters? Bet he changed his tune. Again.
Individual insurance is what is called in the business heavily underwritten, which means that each policy sold is heavily scrutinized by underwriters. I would imagine that car insurance, homeowners insurance, and life insurance are also heavily underwritten, yet the market seems to function just fine. If you get in an accident every year, you pay more for car insurance. If youre accident free, you pay less. If your house is made of wood, you pay more for homeowners insurance, if its made of stone, you pay less. If you smoke, you pay more for life insurance. If you dont, you pay less. What could be fairer than that?Why dont we give it a chance when it comes to health insurance?
With health insurance, if you get in an accident every year or have a smoking related illness you can't get insurance at all in the individual market.The parallel to your example would be more like getting homeowner's insurance with your house built on the levee; getting car insurance when you have a dozen reckless driving citations; and getting life insurance when you have full blown AIDS.We already did give it a chance when it comes to health insurance. That's why there are tens of millions uninsured.
@Mark Proska (10/30, 3:13 pm) "Why don't we give it a chance when it comes to health insurance?"1 - We did. It didn't work. (That's why elderly people tended to be poor before Medicare.)2 - It doesn't work because the factors that affect health care costs are beyond an individual's control. If you're a non-smoking, non-drinking, physically active and fit middle-aged adult in the United States who lost the genetic lottery (e.g., you have a hereditary heart condition or a predisposition to certain cancers) then, depending on where you live, you'll have between few and no options for buying health insurance.
Even professionals are being fooled by some of these lies: A year ago I was assured by a nurse that it was going to be "next to impossible" to find specialists who take Medicare thanks to the effects of Obamacare. She said specialists "simply can't afford it anymore." After checking with a number of clinics in the Portland, Oregon area (where, indeed, the impact of Obamacare's cutbacks in payments to providers -- really, overpayments or double payments to providers billing Medicare Advantage plans -- apparently affects more providers than in most other states), I couldn't find even ONE specialist who no longer accepts Medicare. Yet that nurse was so sure of "the facts" she was passing the misinformation on to patients.
The parallel to your example would be more like getting homeowners insurance with your house built on the levee; getting car insurance when you have a dozen reckless driving citations; and getting life insurance when you have full blown AIDS.UnagidonBut, we dont want to encourage people to build their houses on levees, do we? Wouldnt cheap insurance for a home built on a levee be, not only unprofitable for an insurance company, but also bad for the country (though, admittedly, good for the levee dweller, but that hardly seems fair).I think a better parallel would be life insurance. We cant expect an insurance company to offer life insurance t someone near death, except at a rate that compensates for the risk taken. However, the market addresses the need by offering, for example, guaranteed policiesyour rate cant go up regardless of what disease you may get, but you pay a little more upfront to compensate the underwriter for the risk you will die young. I see no reason why the same cant happen with health insurance, do you?The problem is, weve never given the market a chance to work, because of the tax-subsidies granted to employers to purchase healthcare insurance for their employees. When the consumer of the service (the sick employee) is not the buyer of the service (the employer), the market cant function properly.Maybe thats why you so rarely hear people complain that their life insurance premiums are too high.
@Mark Proska (10/30, 4:52 pm) On the other hand you do hear about lots of people who don't buy life insurance because the premiums would be too high.Health insurers---quite wisely if they want to stay in business and make a profit---refuse to sell insurance to people with "pre-existing conditions", conditions over which the individual often has no choice (e.g., congenital heart disease, genetic predisposition to certain cancers).One difference between life insurance policies and health insurance policies is that the insurer has far greater certainty about their cost if/when they have to pay off a life insurance policy. Health care costs are notoriously unpredictable...unless the insurer caps their liability and now we're back to the problem of folks being unable to get insurance.(Of course, it's not a problem if a society places a higher value on markets and corporate profits than it does on the health and well-being of its citizenry.)
I see no reason why the same cant happen with health insurance, do you?
I think that Luke has answered this one pretty well.
The problem is, weve never given the market a chance to work, because of the tax-subsidies granted to employers to purchase healthcare insurance for their employees. When the consumer of the service (the sick employee) is not the buyer of the service (the employer), the market cant function properly.
This is part of an interesting meme that is also being used by Paul Ryan when he talks about Medicare vouchers. The logic goes that if the consumer was directly making the buying decisions (that is, companies get out of the insurance business and the elderly have vouchers) this will somehow stimulate providers to lower their costs and compete for the (reduced number of) dollars that would be out there. The "tax-subsidy" (strange to hear a conservative call a tax break a "subsidy") had nothing to do with the creation of the main free market problem, which is that there is no price or quality transparency in American healthcare. No transparency, no market.Insurance companies have some knowledge of price and quality. But even so, there is still the "problem" of utilization of services. It is in the interest of the insurance company to make sure that services are of high quality efficiently used (because this is most cost effective for the insurance company). But if you took businesses from the equation, you would be removing the one thing that allows some people with pre-existing conditions to get insurance; the fact that they work for a company. Change this to a market where all insurance is individual, then an insurance company can decide to sell or not to sell on the individual health status of each person. Who do you think they will sell to?Right now there are millions of uninsured people who have money they would pay for insurance. Why hasn't an insurance market grown up for this demand? The answer is that these people are not profitable, so they are cut loose.
This is sort of off topic, but speaking of Halloween scariness and Romney :) .... http://youtu.be/6TiXUF9xbTo
I dreamt up a scene in which Obama and Romney would together go and visit the worst hit areas. Because, when the country gets hit, adversaries set aside their differences. But that's just a fantasy.
This is part of an interesting memeI do not think this type of rhetoric is conducive to a fruitful exchange.No transparency, no market. Agreed, more transparency is needed. Do you think Obamacare will increase transparency? I do not.Who do you think they will sell to?I think, greedy SOBs that they are, they will sell to anyone and everyone who can afford to pay the freight for their insurance. If they cant pay the freight, its not a healthcare problem, its a welfare problem. But Obamacare supporters know welfare doesnt sell, so they look the other way.
LukeThanks, but I have no idea what your point is in your 5:19 response. For example, you say:the insurer has far greater certainty about their cost if/when they have to pay off a life insurance policy.Really? What makes you say that? Unless its the Mafia Insurance Company, Ltd., the insurer does not know when you will die, just like the health insurer does not know when you will get sick.
Really? What makes you say that? Unless its the Mafia Insurance Company, Ltd., the insurer does not know when you will die, just like the health insurer does not know when you will get sick.
But you can just die once, whereas you can get sick often and for extended periods of time.
"Irene, I have GEHA. Its OK, but nothing to write home about"I suspect that the millions of people in this country without any insurance would think that they had died and gone to heaven with insurance that you consider "nothing to write home about." Sure as heck beats emergency room medicine when you are absolutely desperate.
Agreed, more transparency is needed. Do you think Obamacare will increase transparency? I do not.
Yes, I do think that the exchanges, since they require each participating payer to offer a completely similar product, will force the insurers to force the providers to become transparent.
I think, greedy SOBs that they are, they will sell to anyone and everyone who can afford to pay the freight for their insurance. If they cant pay the freight, its not a healthcare problem, its a welfare problem. But Obamacare supporters know welfare doesnt sell, so they look the other way.
You talk about insurance like it's buying a car. It's a different animal. Eventually everyone becomes unable to pay their personal freight. Are you saying "welfare for everyone?"
UnagidonBut eventually everyone is unable to pay their own freight for life insurance too, if they buy 1-year term policies. But do you notice people dont complain about their life insurance premium becoming prohibitive as they age? Thats because insurers offer, and people purchase, longer term life insurance, or whole life policies. You have not shown why the same would not be true for health insurance.
But you can just die once, whereas you can get sick often and for extended periods of time."Yes, but what relevance does this have to the conversation?
Yes, but what relevance does this have to the conversation?
Life insurance is one payout per customer. Health insurance isn't. And that makes all the difference.
Holy crap, guys, are you really arguing about insurance with somebody who only has to buy it for the bridge he lives under?
But eventually everyone is unable to pay their own freight for life insurance too, if they buy 1-year term policies. But do you notice people dont complain about their life insurance premium becoming prohibitive as they age? Thats because insurers offer, and people purchase, longer term life insurance, or whole life policies. You have not shown why the same would not be true for health insurance.
For one thing, the payout on a life insurance policy doesn't keep going up year after year. And as I mentioned before, it's one payout.
Why is it always the liberals who resort to such comments?
Mark, what would life insurance look like if you could die multiple times and get paid different amounts each time?
Why is it always the liberals who resort to such comments?
What have I supposedly said now?
For one thing, the payout on a life insurance policy doesnt keep going up year after year. And as I mentioned before, its one payout.UnagidonI dont understand the point of this comment, please explain.
Sorry, that was in reference to Mr. Rosenzweig.
Life insurance is a single fixed payout. The likelihood of when the payout occurs can be measured pretty accurately in a normal population. It's very straightforward.Health insurance is a payment for services whose price fluctuates. Even if actuaries can predict with some accuracy when an illness or event will occur in a population, they can't predict what the economy is going to do nor what innovation is going to do. So they can't predict what the future payout is going to have to be.
A liberal? Never. Orange Crush!!!!
"Mark, what would life insurance look like if you could die multiple times and get paid different amounts each time?"unagidongives a whole new meaning to double indemnity, doesn't it?I wonder if Lazarus had life insurance.
Unagidon, Avik Roy aside, oughtn't we be concerned about the fact that those of us who cannot now afford individual policies (and who won't qualify for them anyway b/c of pre-existings) can expected to pay 55 to 85 percent more than the market charges now?Obamacare is supposed to help us folks pay for basic coverage if we can't afford it. But how long will the government be willing or able to provide these subsidies if there are no regulations on insurance company premiums? As long as insurance companies are getting paid, there's no incentive for them to reduce premium costs, is there? So won't the government have to raise the bar on who gets the subsidies or start diddling with what's included in "basic coverage" (which is what has happened to Medicare over the years)? The counter-argument to my perpetually gloomy view on this issue is that once everyone has insurance, the insurance companies will start pressuring health care providers to reduce costs (which they do for the insured through group policies now), and that will hold the line on premium costs for everyone.Which do you think is more likely to happen?
No one gripes about life insurance premiums? One reason for that might be because people typically reduce life insurance to burial-only costs once the dependents are out of the house, the mortgage is paid up, and debt is paid down. As you age, you can do with less life insurance; as you age, you need more health care insurance.(I would also note that if you were stupid like us and had children after age 40, you'll find your premiums will jump when the kid is 10 or 15 years old. We opted to cut the amount of coverage to keep the premiums affordable.)
"People who before could not purchase insurance at any price will now be able to buy individual policies regardless of their pre-existing condition status and with the same benefit levels that people with group policies have. These new policies will cost about 55 percent to 85 percent (in Ohio) more than the cut-rate policies that can only now be purchased by the very healthy ... By way of comparison for small commercial groups (employers with 100 or fewer employees), the same things that will be increasing individual rates will be increasing small group rates by 1 percent to 3 percent. In the case of groups larger than 100 employees, rates wont go up at all."I suppose this is just hypothetical, because I don't think Obamacare will be repealed regardless of Tuesday's outcome, but ... why hasn't the industry figured out a way to create groups out of individuals? I say this only partially tongue-in-cheek: the financial industry figured out how to spread the risk of an individual default by making securities out of individual mortgages. Seems to me the same could work for people.
"why hasnt the industry figured out a way to create groups out of individuals"It seems to me, the industry works very hard to prevent that. I led a coalition of small group employers that, together, we were able to get a large group rate. Because it was a young workforce, our claims were very low and the premiums were actually going down from year to year. Then someone at the insurance company figured out we weren't really a large group, so instead of being claims rated, they broke us up and stuck us all with more expensive community rating. I'm told the insurers worry about "adverse section". I think it's just that they have us over a barrel; less covered lives, less leverage.
Which do you think is more likely to happen?
People tend to forget that Obamacare is about private insurers in the market. Whether it works or not depends on whether it creates a workable business environment. The environment Obamacare is creating is vastly different from the market today (which is the point). And there is no shortage of people who, used to the old ways, are predicting disaster.But I think it will succeed. The insurance exchanges are heavily regulated in that they are quite specific about what the products sold need to look like. Each payer playing on the exchange will produce a product that looks like all the other ones on the exchange. We know that transparency about what the consumer gets is going to be a big selling point. But we expect that the biggest selling point of all will be price.The exchanges have mechanisms (which I won't go into here) for creating a level playing field for risk. Should one insurance company inadvertantly pick up sicker people than the rest, it will be compensated by the rest. The big difference between insurance companies, I believe, will be in the kind of contracts they have with the providers. So the pressure that you point out for insurance companies to push their prices down is definitely going to be there.But will there be room to reduce prices? I think so. One thing that will go away (not, perhaps, quickly) is the subsidy that providers make commercial insured pay because of the uncompensated care they give out to the uninsured. More of the uninsured will be covered, so this need goes away. One might argue that the providers will simply want to keep the present system going, but they won't be able to do so in the face of the clout and competition between insurance companies.Costs will also come down because the exchanges are (finally) going to force more rationality in insurance administration. Claims will have to be submitted on standard forms. Medical information will have to be made so that it can be shared. And when this happens, there will be advances in studying qualities and quantities of treatments and outcomes. We will get a more transparent picture of what works with treatment and who is most efficient and successful.These are not cost cutting mandates that are in Obamacare (for those who like to claim that Obamacare does not address costs). But they are part of the logic of Obamacare and they will channel the energies of insurance companies towards cutting costs in these directions. And I believe that this will work and we will end up with a more efficient and cost effective medical system in the United States.Will the government continue to provide premium support? I think we are at a watershed point in our national discussion about what we as a country want to support with a public infrastructure. We have to decide whether we need a massive military any more. We have to do something about the scandal of education, which is in as bad a shape as the health care system and for much of the same reasons (market failure). I am an optimist about this conversation, because we are actually moving towards having it and away from the culture wars. The conversation will be intense. The Right tries to manipulate it by disaggregating social programs in the public mind; by in effect commmoditizing them so that they cause people to think they are being ripped off if their personal tax dollars do not benefit them in every way personally dollar for dollar. But I think that overall we are moving in a direction where people will better understand social responsibility (and citizenship). In any case, as a businessman I am optimistic because from a business point of view we will become less able to compete with countries that have better developed more efficient systems of education and health.
Jim, Irene is basically right. Also, the "free market" has thoroughly segregated out higher risk people and has more or less cherry picked the healthier ones. To put everyone in the same basket will cause all of these cheap individual insurance premiums to move to the average (i.e. go up). Much more profitable to have two classes of people.
Irene and unagidon, thanks for the replies."Also, the free market has thoroughly segregated out higher risk people and has more or less cherry picked the healthier ones. To put everyone in the same basket will cause all of these cheap individual insurance premiums to move to the average (i.e. go up). Much more profitable to have two classes of people."So, in a sense, the price that the insurance industry charges society to provide insurance coverage to high risk individuals is that the risks associated with that coverage be transferred to the federal government, which presumably will be subsidizing the premium payments of a large percentage of these high risk individuals (I'm guessing here that the serious and chronic health conditions that make these individuals unattractive to insurers also interfere with the individuals' ability to work - it makes sense, they're uninsured because they're not working for an employer that offers group coverage - and so on the whole they also earn less).If a doctor refuses to treat anyone who can't pay, we call him a sonuvabitch.If an employer hires only the young and cheap workers, they're charged with age discrimination.I don't know where I'm going with this. But it does seem that there is some special treatment in this for the insurance industry.To extend the logic of Obamacare to the labor market: an employer would agree to hire over-50 people who are unemployed, have a mortgage and have kids in college ... but only if the government will subsidize their wages.I'm not saying anything is more right or less right here. But the parallel seems apt.
There is not much to worry about. Once Romney is elected president, Obama-care will be shut down thank goodness!
Ken seems excited about throwing 35 million uninsured people to the dogs.
Of course - to the dogs!
This is taking us somewhat off-topic (for which I apologize), but Ken's assertion (10/31, 10:06 am) just scrapes the surface of what's at stake with this election. Jonathan Chait of New York magazine has a detailed article examining what would happen in the first 100 days of 2013 in the event of either of the two most likely electoral scenarios: Romney surges to victory and his coattails help elected a Republican Senate or, Obama wins re-election with a Democratic Senate and Republican House.Chait argues the consequences would be more significant than either campaign is talking about.Chait's article: http://nymag.com/news/politics/elections-2012/obama-romney-economic-plan... (shorter) post based on Chait's article: http://masscommons.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/the-first-100-days-whats-at-...
So, in a sense, the price that the insurance industry charges society to provide insurance coverage to high risk individuals is that the risks associated with that coverage be transferred to the federal government, which presumably will be subsidizing the premium payments of a large percentage of these high risk individuals (Im guessing here that the serious and chronic health conditions that make these individuals unattractive to insurers also interfere with the individuals ability to work it makes sense, theyre uninsured because theyre not working for an employer that offers group coverage and so on the whole they also earn less).
This is partially true. There are a lot of people who can't obtain insurance but who could afford it if they were given the same sort of rates that small groups get. The influx of these people into the system will provide part of the funding. And in fact, while we believe that the morbidity of people coming in in 2014 will be higher (and maybe much higher) than average due to pent up demand for services by sick people, we think that by 2016 the risk levels of the formerly uninsured population will be the same as the currently insured population.The Feds will probably have to pay more at the beginning but less as time goes on for this reason.As far as the equity of sharing risks is concerned, we as a civilization have been doing this for a long time. I think the parallel to the current health care situation is the rural electrification on the South and West in the 1920's and 1930's. These were people who were either too poor to afford the infrastructure themselves or too dispersed to afford it. We would think it ridiculous nowadays to say that Wyoming doesn't get electricity because their long distances and low population requires the rest of us to subsidize it. Nor would we say that southern Mississippi should go without because of its relative poverty. The parallel holds, I think, for electricity, sewerage, roads, railroads, internet, cell phones, postage and other things. We are now starting to look at health care as this kind of thing. Perhaps some day we will look at higher education the same way.
unagidon, why has healthcare been reframed as an insurance debate? and why is healthcare treated as a commodity? I don't buy education insurance to send my kid to public school. I expect the schools to be there.I don't buy fire and rescue service insurance. I expect the Fire department to be there.(maybe I do buy that insurance, but I call it property taxes)
Andy Kowalczyk: Education, fire service and rescue service are all government-provided; but none of them are federal government-provided. Governor Romney might like your observation!
Healthcare is treated as a commodity because for most people it is part of their pay. To give it to some people who can't afford it is like paying them for not working. This seems, at least, to be the way that many people talk about it.There is a good business reason for having universal insurance. It will create a healthier and therefore more productive population. Also, the spreading of risk for the purely catastrophic events makes the same sense as any other kind of insurance. And making it universal is as logical as requiring everyone who drives to have car insurance.
Andy Kowalczyk: Education, fire service and rescue service are all government-provided; but none of them are federal government-provided.
They probably would be federally provided if it happened that they were not provided at all in certain parts of the country or to certain kinds of people.
About disaster services -- the big lesson Katrina taught us is that there has to be coordination of local, state, and federal services in major disasters affecting more than one state. You simply can't wait till the last minute, or later, to ask a neighboring state to lend some ambulances or send some food packages. The planning has to be regional and flexible. (Romney, of course, would get rid of FEMA entirely, the idiot.)
"Insurance" is a cover-all word for some very different things. "Health insurance" is more a complicated, Rube-Goldberg device for paying most of most people's everyday medical bills than a Lloyds of London device for preventing bankruptcy in the event of rare catastrophies.And health insurance is rapidly becoming a government-controlled pass-through system like Social Security, paid for by taxes, debt, and, where politically possible, reduction of service. Private insurance companies seem to be stll in the mix because Washington's not yet found a way to get rid of them.
I wrote: "Education, fire service and rescue service are all government-provided; but none of them are federal government-provided."unagidon replied: "They probably would be federally provided if it happened that they were not provided at all in certain parts of the country or to certain kinds of people."It might. The federal government might try to supplement what local governments do in order to fill the gaps, or it might nationalize the entire service. Or it might regulate, e.g. set minimal standards of service, as has been done in education for everything from academic achievement to how Americans with disabilities are to be educated. Isn't this really what the insurance exchanges are going to be: set up state by state?Certainly, in the case of education and fire service, there are huge disparities in how they are provided by local bodies, and arguably they are inadequately provided in certain parts of the country or to certain kinds of people. The same is true of police service.On the other hand, the federal government spends tens of billions of dollars, year after year after year, to subsidize education, and outcomes don't seem to be appreciably better - apparently, they are worse - than they were before the Education Department was created.
@Jim Pauwels (10/31, 4:10 pm) On what basis do you make the claim that education "outocmes don't seem to be appreciably better---apparently, they are worse---than they were before the Education Department was created".The evidence I'm aware of demonstrates, if anything, the opposite. First, that there was never a "Golden Age" of American public education. Second, based on NAEP scores, education outcomes are improving. As education reformer Diane Ravitch states, "NAEP scores show steady and very impressive improvement over the past twenty years. Our problems are tough, but they are not intractable. The next time someone tells you that U.S. education is failing, or declining, tell them they are wrong." http://dianeravitch.net/2012/05/14/what-do-naep-scores-mean/
I really don't understand why conservatives don't love Obamacare. As far as I can see, it's a great big wet soul kiss to the insurance industry: You make sure you provide policies for the middle-aged and those with pre-existings, and we'll promise to subsidize whatever premiums you want to pay.It's federal money going where conservatives think it should go--back into private coffers.And, while I hope Unagidon's read on this situation is correct, I feel pretty pessimistic about America's willingness to help those who are priced out of health care insurance. The most frustrating part about health care is that there is no free market at work. If I'm short of cash, I can go shop at a cheaper supermarket and buy store brand oatmeal instead of name-brand cereal. But if I need gall bladder surgery or a CT scan, I have to go to the hospital where my doctor has privileges, and the costs at any of the five hospitals in a 30-mile radius of my house charge pretty much the same.
Luke, there is evidence that progress among American adults is flat at best over the years on basic literacy and numeracy; that the gains you cite for 8th and 3rd graders pretty much evaporate sometime during high school; that the US is in the second ten worldwide, and possibly slipping farther down the list, when it comes to education attainment among its young adults.If you're interested, look at p 12 of this link. It graphs long-term NAEP trends for elementary, middle school and high school students. A fair-to-optimistic reading of these charts is that we've been flat. http://www.nagb.org/content/nagb/assets/documents/who-we-are/20-annivers... I admit I base my view as much, or more, on anecdotes I've heard from veteran college and high school teachers who tell me that, on the whole, students aren't as good as they were thirty or forty years ago. Perhaps they are remembering a golden age that never was.Regarding the federal government's role: how many hundreds of billions of government dollars have been funneled through the Department of Education over the years covered by the graphs on p. 12, to achieve those flat results? Are those results acceptable? Those seem to be reasonable questions.
@Jim Pauwels (10/31, 10:59 pm) Thanks for your reply. Here's a link to a .pdf file from the Dept. of Education that summarizes the history of its funding since 1980. http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/index.htmlYou'll notice that DOE includes all education funding---colleges and universities as well as elementary and secondary, although the chart helpfully provides subtotals for each category.The figures aren't adjusted for inflation, or compared to GDP growth. They also cover a time in which the number of children coming from homes in which English is not the primary language has grown dramatically. Also during this past generation, more children are poor---which is strongly linked to standardized test scores.I agree we're not currently in a "Golden Age" of public education. But by all sorts of measures (e.g., dropout rates, NAEP scores) we live in an age that's doing as well as or better than previous generations.
Excellence in federal services: This might be a controversial thing to say, because it's losing money right now, but I think the US Postal Service is an example of excellence. I think it's a miracle that for forty five cents I can drop a letter in the mail and fully expect it to arrive at its intended destination in a reasonable amount of time. Monday, as the NY City was shutting down for the hurricane, I saw mail carriers on the street. And yesterday, though the City is a shambles, my mail was delivered and my neighborhood post office was open.The US Post Office is one of my favorite institutions.
Irene --The super-conservative view that big government can't do anything well is pure myth.
Give me that good old time socialized medicine that I had while I was in the military and now have with the VA. I have been amazed at the very good quality of service and coverage that I have under the VA. I also have Kaiser coverage (us Californians are still reaping one of the true benefits of WWII!) and if Obamacare can be as encompassing and efficient as is Kaiser, this country will realize how much it has been bamboozled under the current rash of for-profit insurance plans that have been ripping off them and their employers for decades.
The US Postal Service is losing money because the House has forced it to prepay 75 years of anticipated retiree healthcare costs at the rate of $5 billion per year. No other federal agency has to do that, even the military or the VA which will and have incurred ginormous future costs. http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/10/07/8191425-twisted-government-a... the fact that a significant portion of the USPS employee group is non-white have anything to do with that? Only asking dontcha know.
Jim McC. --I read just this week that the cost of administration per person on Medicaid is 1/3 less than the cost of administration per persons with private insurance. The notion that private businesspersons are automatically smarter, more efficient, more honest than government employees is a big conservative myth.
Ann and Irene, yes, I agree wholeheartedly! I am able to get some health screenings through the local health department, and the staff there are incredibly efficient. There is a "window" every year when you can apply for these screenings. You give your name and household income, and if you qualify you get an appointment within a week (compare to my family doc with whom I have to sked routine check-ups two months out). All I needed was photo I.D. and W2 form to verify income need. I waited just 15 minutes for my exam with the nurse practioner. She was as attentive and thorough as my own family doctor. The health department even scheduled the follow-up tests for me with the local hospital and gave me a "coupon" for them. My own family physician leaves it up to patients to schedule their own appointments with the hospital.So I would say that the service was actually superior to my private doctor's office. The problem is that it's a crapshoot each year whether I can get the screenings. If Raber's business has been good, we make too much money (but can't afford the $7K it costs for the screenings). Depending on funding levels, the state may also raise and lower the income eligibility bar. But being able to get the screenings every three or four years is better than nothing!
Roy "who by sheerest coincidence also wants to scare the bejeesus out of everyone about Obamacare, especially if they live in a swing state." Make that swing states ... and a whole bunch of them. It's a pretty brilliant / devious approach to campaigning. http://www.healthinsurance.org/blog/2012/11/01/blogger-launches-11th-hou... not just run one article? Because a whole bunch of headlines repeating the same data can go to a whole bunch of targeted states. And why place just one article, when you can release essentially the same article multiple times over several days from an oft-quoted mainstream publication? Think these individual Forbes headlines might show up in TV or newspaper ads in each of the states? Wouldn't surprise me a bit. And do you think viewers/readers would see them as opinion? or as Forbes news reporting?Yes, Roy admits he's a Romney campaign advisor. But that's just a helpful heads-up to readers that he's going to put his full weight ... and apparently Forbes' ... into repeating GOP talking points (which surely, as an advisor, he helped craft).It's a brilliant, dare I say, Rove-ian strategy.
Unagidon. My computer crashed and lost your email. Please email me I'd like to continue our conversation. TS


text:
Draw the complete graph $K_n$ on a plane in general position with every edge a straight line and randomly label the edges $0$ or $1$. Does this graph always have a spanning tree with no edges crossing and edge-labels either all $0$ or all $1$?
This is a theorem of Gyula Károlyi, János Pach and Géza Tóth: Ramsey-type results for geometric graphs. I. ACM Symposium on Computational Geometry (Philadelphia, PA, 1996). Discrete Comput. Geom. 18 (1997), no. 3, 247–255. Link to preprint
In this paper they indeed give an induction proof, but IMHO not an easy one.
Here is a proof under the assumption that the vertices $V$ are the vertices of a convex polygon. Label these as $p_1, \dots, p_n$ in cyclic order (the subscripts should be read modulo $n$). If all the edges $p_ip_{i+1}$ are red, then we are done. Otherwise, we may assume that $p_1p_2$ is red, and $p_n p_1$ is blue. By induction, we have that $V-p_1$ has a spanning red or blue plane tree $T$. In either case, we can extend $T$ to a spanning monochromatic plane tree of $V$.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Blank Gauge Cover, Black, 4" - Faria
This item is found in the following Product Families
Blank Gauge Covers
Empty gauge holes look so odd and out of place on your stylish boat console/dashboard. Cover them up with Faria Blank Gauge Hole Covers. These …
Gauge hole covers for 2" and 4" cut-outs.
What holds it in place?
Faria confirms that there is a plastic back clamp that holds it in place.
This product ships in 1 business day.
Add to Cart and enter your Postal Code to determine the shipping charges and estimated delivery date.
Most products and orders leave our warehouse in 1 business day. However, select items may take more processing time. Alaska and Hawaii orders please add 1 additional warehouse processing day.
Standard Shipping Policies


text:
What is food scrap diversion?
It it widely accepted that food waste and compostable paper comprised 32% of the industrial, commercial, institutional (ICI) waste stream. Food scrap diversion is a process of turning food scraps and other organic waste into nutrient-rich compost.
Many commercial and institutional facilities such as restaurants, grocery stores, and school and hospital cafeterias are now required to have food waste diversion systems in place. Commercial food waste includes raw and cooked food and other compostable organic material from commercial and institutional premises.
Benefits of Food Scrap Diversion Projects:
- Food scraps are diverted from county landfills, extending the landfill's life.
- The environmental impacts of hauling tons of food scraps to county landfill-air pollution, transportation congestion, depletion of fossil fuels-were avoided. The resulting compost was used to improve local soils.
- As industrial and commercial projects become prevalent, individuals will become more willing to compost their own food scraps at home.
- Selling the resulting compost will allow for payback for project related costs within a few years.


text:
Presentation: Developing Reports and Dashboards with SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
- Posted: Apr 04, 2011 at 6:05AM
- 4,239 views
Right click "Save as…"
This presentation covers how to build a SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint dashboard that includes a report. Peter Myers, Mentor, Solid Quality Mentors.
Oops, something didn't work.
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


text:
A new étoileJérémie Bélingard
Posted 28 March 2007 - 01:27 PM
That's an excellent for him, but I wonder why so many men are promoted, and not some women ?
Posted 28 March 2007 - 02:00 PM
Anyway, congratulations to him.
Posted 28 March 2007 - 02:21 PM
Isn't Bélingard a bit injury-prone like Moreau and Pech?
Posted 28 March 2007 - 04:07 PM
That makes a lot of male étoiles indeed (even though several of them dance less and less now). But I'm not sure his promotion will solve any of the casting problems: being an étoile doesn't protect one from injuries, and so it's not sure that he will actually dance more... I can't say he impressed me much the few times when I saw him on stage, but perhaps I didn't see him in the right roles.
I guess that the fans of Emmanuel Thibault (who danced Basilio a few days ago) probably are quite saddened by that promotion...
volcanohunter, Moreau and Pech seem to be quite fragile too. Actually the present roster of étoiles seems to be in a somewhat worrying shape, with three of them leaving soon (Belarbi, Romoli and Legris- I've heard that the next season might be his last one, even though he's one or two years younger than the other two, what a pity ), Bart dancing less and less big classical roles because of health reasons, Moreau, Pech and now Bélingard who are often injured... That leaves Martinez (who's not that young), Le Riche and Ganio. And there don't seem to be that many potential étoiles among the male premiers danseurs (especially as the last promoted were promoted quite late in their careers).
cygneblanc, did you attend the performance after which Bélingard was promoted ?
Posted 29 March 2007 - 04:30 AM
Welcome to the company that doesn't like dancers who are too good ! (to paraphrase an article about the Mariinsky not liking dancers)
Posted 29 March 2007 - 04:45 AM
A. Very good looking
B. A reasonable dancer
C. Slightly less injury prone than most of his colleagues
At present I'm racking my brains as to what I've seen Jérémie Bélingard dance or even what he looks like!
Thibault: Couldn't get to Paris for his Don Q. this time around but when I saw him first perform the role, ballet fans from across Europe had turned up in droves to see him dance. Seems he's massively admired everywhere except in Madame Lefevre's office.
Out of interest, when is Madame Lefevre coming up for retirement?
Posted 29 March 2007 - 07:03 AM
Thibault actually has its detractors besides Ms Lefèvre (I'd say he probably is one of the most controversial topics in the French forums), but at least his promotion probably would have sounded a bit more logical to most people than Bélingard's.
I don't think anything is known about Ms Lefèvre's retirement... She's "only" 60 and could stay there for several years (even though she's been the director of dance since 1995, probably the longest tenure in decades). And who knows who would be her successor (I'm not especially confident in the choices of politicians...)
Azulynn, please feel free to open a thread about Don Quichotte if you'd like to post your comments about Thibault and Ould-Braham's performance (or any other performance of the series), I'm sure many people here would be interested !
Posted 29 March 2007 - 09:44 AM
Posted 29 March 2007 - 10:00 AM
Posted 29 March 2007 - 10:28 AM
I have difficulty imaging him as a ballet prince, which is why this nomination surprises me. For me, the title of étoile is like a seal of approval that guarantees the highest standard of performance in the great classics. Is Bélingard the sort of dancer who can make a convincing Albrecht, Solor and Romeo?
This is something the POB management seemingly cares less and less about. His classical technique leaves much to be desired, but in a way how could it be otherwise, when he's shown repeatedly over the past few years that he mostly cares for contemporary dance ? He has very few classical leads in his repertoire, and I don't think he'll ever be a great Albrecht or Romeo. It's a shame he's now likely to be given these roles ahead of dancers who are more capable in the classics and who care greatly for them (Emmanuel Thibault, Karl Paquette, etc).
Posted 29 March 2007 - 01:03 PM
I'll try to report on Thibault and Ould-Braham in Don Quixote after seeing their second performance. They are both true, inspired artists - their work inspires the highest respect, and one wants to be as faithful to them as possible when writing.
Thanks, Azulynn ! I'm looking forward to reading your review.
How sad it is that the company direction seems to care less and less about the classical repertory
and the dancers best suited to it... Which classical roles has Bélingard danced, besides Basilio ? I remember he danced in Lacotte's "Paquita", and he danced the Bluebird in "The Sleeping Beauty", but don't remember seeing his name in the cast lists for roles like Siegfried, Solor, Albrecht, etc.
Well, not everybody can dance every role (and for example, it seems to me that Patrice Bart, when he was an étoile, probably wasn't cast that often in "prince" roles), but it is a bit worrying when a dancer who is promoted to principal mostly performed in contemporary roles and doesn't seem to care much about the classical repertory.
(By the way, isn't it a problem with Marie-Agnès Gillot to some extent too ? She seems to be performing fewer and fewer classical roles, that might be linked to partnering problems as not many male dancers are tall enough to partner her, but it seems to me that she used to perform more classical roles a few seasons ago...)
Posted 29 March 2007 - 01:24 PM
So Gillot is too tall for most partners, limiting her classical roles. A portion of female étoiles are also likely to take maternity leave at some point in their careers. There are objective reasons why the POB's ballerina ranks may be thin at times. Yet in the past three years the Opéra has promoted two women and five men. Wouldn't it have made more sense to promote a woman at this point rather than yet another man?
(By the way, isn't it a problem with Marie-Agnès Gillot to some extent too ? She seems to be performing fewer and fewer classical roles, that might be linked to partnering problems as not many male dancers are tall enough to partner her, but it seems to me that she used to perform more classical roles a few seasons ago...)
Posted 29 March 2007 - 01:59 PM
So Gillot is too tall for most partners, limiting her classical roles. A portion of female étoiles are also likely to take maternity leave at some point in their careers.
Actually that already happened several times in recent years (with Laetitia Pujol and Delphine Moussin)...
There are objective reasons why the POB's ballerina ranks may be thin at times. Yet in the past three years the Opéra has promoted two women and five men. Wouldn't it have made more sense to promote a woman at this point rather than yet another man?
Well, it has always been very hard to find some sort of logic in the decisions of the direction about promotions... Also Brigitte Lefèvre said for years that she wanted to reduce the number of étoiles (and indeed it diminished quite a lot compared to before), and there were years without a single promotions, while lately the promotions have been very numerous, including some dancers like Romoli and Moussin who are only a few years away from retirement and who probably would never have been promoted at such an age a few years or decades before (well, part of the problem perhaps was that they'd have deserved to be promoted much earlier in their careers). Also it sometimes is hard to know which part of the decision comes from Ms Lefèvre and which part comes from the directors of the Paris Opera (Gall, then Mortier).
Indeed a female promotion would probably have made more sense- but well, the present premières danseuses already perform many principal roles (it seems to me that the hierarchy rules are far less strict than before) so promoting someone from première danseuse to étoile doesn't necessarily make a big chance in termes of casting... There are 9 premières danseuses now (Eleonora Abbagnato, Isabelle Ciaravola, Emilie Cozette, Nolwenn Daniel, Dorothée Gilbert, Mélanie Hurel, Myriam Ould Braham, Nathalie Riqué, Stéphanie Romberg), and all of them dance quite often (only Nathalie Riqué is close to retirement age). From what I've seen and read, Dorothée Gilbert (who unfortunately didn't perform much this season, probably because of an injury) and Myriam Ould-Braham both look very promising, but both still are quite young and haven't danced that many roles, so perhaps there's no emergency to promote them... And for example I hope that the direction won't have the strange idea to promote Eleonora Abbagnato (often cast as Jérémie Bélingard's stage partner- she's a dancer I never appreciated much and who has some real weaknesses in the classical repertory...) By the way, there's a dancer I really regret not seeing in that list: Fanny Fiat, who is in my opinion at least as talented as several dancers of that list, but has never got all the recognition she deserved...
Posted 30 March 2007 - 06:55 AM
Dorothée Gilbert and Myriam Ould-Braham are indeed the most promising dancers - actually, if Dorothée Gilbert wasn't injured she would probably have beene promoted by now... Myriam Ould-Braham has danced two leads recently (Coppélia and Kitri) and I found her very impressive both times. She is a lyrical dancer, and her grace and intelligence are a delight to watch - a true individual.
Overall I can't see why the POB management is in such a hurry to promote dancers now (there are already rumours about a female promotion soon). Emilie Cozette is not ready (IMO it is doubtful whether she'll ever be, but that's another matter), so why not wait for Dorothée Gilbert to come back, if the company doesn't want to promote Myriam Ould-Braham ?
About Marie-Agnès Gillot : she's pretty much stopped dancing the classics, apart from Swan Lake and an occasional Myrtha in Giselle, and now seems to concentrate on creations/modern works. It has had an influence on her classical dancing, unfortunately. I wonder though if it's a choice she's made on her own ; I remember reading in an interview she would have loved to dance Lady of the Camellias, but it never happened. The lack of tall partners is definitely an issue...
Posted 30 March 2007 - 10:05 AM
I'd say the most likely candidates among the women at this point seem to be Eleonora Abbagnato and Emilie Cozette, both scheduled to dance Cinderella, but they have embarassing weaknesses in the classics. Eleonora Abbagnato is nowhere near the required level technically, although she's liked for her acting skills and does a lot of creations. Emilie Cozette is IMO the least interesting "première danseuse" - she is technically strong (as far as the legs and feet go) but her upper body is stiff. She has always seemed to lack grace and projection on stage when I've seen her, most lately as the Queen of the Dryads.
I share your opinion about those two dancers, and would definitely be disappointed to see one of them promoted... Indeed that's not what I'd expect from a POB étoile
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
Help support Ballet Alert! and Ballet Talk for Dancers year round by using this search box for your amazon.com purchases. (If it doesn't appear below, your computer's or browser's adblockers may have blocked display):


text:
Microsoft and Tasktop partnering to contribute code enhancement to Eclipse on Windows 7
- Posted: Mar 23, 2010 at 6:39AM
- 3,860 views
Right click "Save as…"
Shawn Minto from Tasktop Technologies and Vijay Rajagopalan from the Microsoft Interoperability Strategy Team present the first results of efforts to modernize for Eclipse on Windows 7. This project was jointly initiated by Microsoft and Tasktop Technologies and announced last October at the Eclipse Summit in Germany. The goal is to improve Eclipse to take advantage of new features in Windows 7. For this first phase, focus has been on the user interface components to allow Eclipse developers to take advantage of the new user interface features offered by Windows 7, directly from the Eclipse IDE and from any desktop applications built on top of the Eclipse platform.
Additional links:
Oops, something didn't work.
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


text:
Meningococcal disease is a typically severe bacterial infection of the blood or brain. These infections can cause hearing loss, learning problems, brain damage, loss of a limb, or death. About 1 in 10 people with meningococcal disease will die from it even if treated appropriately.
The bacteria that cause meningococcal disease are spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions. This can occur when people live or sleep in close contact or through other close contact such as kissing. Teens and young adults have a higher risk for meningococcal disease. Sometimes Neisseria meningitidis bacteria spread to people who have had close or lengthy contact with a patient with meningococcal disease. People in the same household, roommates, or anyone with direct contact with a patient's oral secretions, meaning saliva or spit, (such as a boyfriend or girlfriend) would be considered at increased risk of getting the infection.
People who qualify as close contacts of a person with meningococcal disease should receive antibiotics to prevent them from getting the disease. This is known as prophylaxis (pro-fuh-lak-sis). The health department investigates each case of meningococcal disease to make sure all close contacts are identified and receive prophylaxis. This does not mean that the contacts have the disease; it is to prevent it.
A vaccine against four types of the meningococcal bacteria is recommended routinely for 11-12 year olds, adolescents entering high school or 15 years of age, college freshman living in dorms, and other high-risk persons. Teens need a booster shot when they are 16 years old to stay protected when they are at highest risk. Older teens who didn't get the shot should talk to their doctor about getting it as soon as possible, especially if they are about to move into a college dorm or go into the military. Other people at high-risk for meningococcal disease, including children and adults with certain medical conditions, may also need to get vaccinated. Talk to your doctor.
View personal stories of people affected by meningococcal disease at ShotbyShot.org.
| Conditions of Use
| Privacy PolicyCopyright ©


text:
What guidelines should be followed if using spiritual gifts in a church setting today?
Sign up
- Anybody can ask a question
- Anybody can answer
- The best answers are voted up and rise to the top
closed as too broad by bruised reed, fredsbend, curiousdannii, El'endia Starman♦ Jan 5 '15 at 20:09
There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
Wowsers! Great question! Also a loaded one. I'll be deconstructing 1 Corinthians 14 since this is the clearest example of guidelines (I'm also assuming that you meant the spiritual gifts in 1 Cor. 12).
I have so much to say about this in terms of non-cessationalism, but because it doesn't directly answer the original question, suffice it to say that Paul tell us that spiritual gifts are to be desired. We were never given a choice between chosing to love God and spiritual gifts. I often hear, "I rather love Jesus and focus on Him", as if that can minimize Jesus in some way to pursue spiritual gifts. So then, in this guideline, we're told first of all to desire spiritual gifts. Paul, as if to argue the possibility that some may doubt, establishes the topic of this snippet (chapter 14).
This is one of the verses that I see that Paul clearly establishes a differentiation between two different kinds of "tongues". Here he is talking about the public use of speaking in tongues. Later in verse 28 he says that if there is no one to interpret, we speak in tongues privately (which is actually to God and for our edification as we see in verses 4, 14 & 28). We're told here that the public use of tongues is useless in terms of the edification of the Church as a whole when there is no interpretation. Thus, we should rather speak from our understanding if there is no interpreter present. Notice here, though, that the word is interpret and not translate. Because there are different kinds of tongues (1 Cor. 13:1), there will not always be someone there who knows that particular language and the Spirit gives an interpretation. It's not a word-for-word translation, but the message is conveyed the same. I've seen this happen many times in a service where one speaks in tongues and interprets what He feels the spirit is saying, then someone has stood up and said, "that was my native tongue and you have said everything exactly as you spoke it!". It an amazing thing to watch and it instills a fear and awe of the Lord.
"With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,"says the Lord.
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
Here is a good guideline. Be careful that you don't "overuse" tongues in a public service because those who are unbelievers will think you are crazy if they come in and you're babbling in languages that they don't know. Although, if there is prophecy and his heart is revealed then he will know there is a God. I've seen this many times. People who don't believe in God will quickly listen when you tell them the secrets of their heart that no one else could know but God alone.
This is probably the "meat" of the guidelines section. Verse 40 basically sums everything up. The thing we need to keep in mind when operating in spiritual gifts in a Church setting is that things need to be done decently and in order. There should not be chaos in the Church of the God of peace. Each has his own part and there is no rush to make yourself heard since everyone can take a turn and be edified.
I hope this helps and makes sense. Sorry if it's too long!
(The following answer is given from the Catholic point of view.)
Spiritual Gifts (also called "Charismatic Graces" in Catholic parlance) are gifts given to members of the Church for the benefit of others in the Church. As such, the guidelines are: those to whom such gifts have been given ought to make use of them for the benefit of others according to the law of Charity (do unto others as you would have them do unto you). The scriptural basis for this guideline would be Christ's exhortation: To whom much is given, much is expected.
My guidelines would be: "due caution"
I will try to combine a biblical, charismatic and scientific perspective.


text:
Where Edmonton Meets, Celebrates and Innovates
Welcome to the Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton's premier conference centre. A world-class facility with the space for your event and your ambition.
Located in the heart of downtown Edmonton, overlooking our city's beautiful and renowned North Saskatchewan River Valley, the Shaw Conference Centre offers close proximity to more than 2,000 hotel rooms, as well as shopping, entertainment and transportation to accommodate events of all sizes.
Connect with the services, amenities and the local expertise you need to make your convention, tradeshow, presentation or celebration a success.


text:
New Protests Hit Egypt
Tens of Thousands March After Islamist President Grants Himself Broad Powers
CAIRO—Divisions in Egypt deepened as tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country in competing demonstrations backing and opposing sweeping new powers President Mohammed Morsi granted himself by decree a day earlier.
The standoff puts in sharp focus a fundamental issue roiling the Arab world's most populous state since the historic changes that elevated Mr. Morsi and his Islamist allies to power last year: the fear among many Egyptians of his government, even if democratically elected, ruling unchecked.
Mr. Morsi spoke to large crowds of supporters outside the presidential palace, pronouncing himself a leader for all Egyptians, including his opponents. He expressed determination to forge ahead with the decrees, which consolidate his power and sideline the judiciary.
See Related Video on #WorldStream
U.S. officials said the decrees were a surprise, coming just a day after American diplomats spent significant time working with Mr. Morsi to defuse a violent row between Israel and the militant group Hamas over the preceding week.
"The decisions and declarations announced on Nov. 22 raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday. "One of the aspirations of the revolution was to ensure that power would not be overly concentrated in the hands of any one person or institution."
Ms. Nuland called on Egypt to adopt "a constitution that includes checks and balances, and respects fundamental freedoms, individual rights, and the rule of law consistent with Egypt's international commitments."
Opponents of Mr. Morsi took to the streets for much of the day Friday, a day when protests have become a regular activity in the region.
"People have lost faith in him. Anyone who takes such immature decisions can do anything to us, like establish a religious state similar to the dark ages in Europe," said one protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Mr. Morsi presented himself as a "faithful guardian" of the revolution and defended his moves as necessary to ensure that the transition to a more open and democratic system isn't derailed by a "clutch" of former regime loyalists who he described as conspiring against the country and wishing for the new regime to fail.
"My love to all the people of Egypt, you and even those that oppose you, I have the utmost respect for everyone," he told his cheering crowds.
"But Egypt, the revolution, the president of Egypt—the institution that we are building now—can isolate the rot that's present and put it aside so that the country functions," he added.
He assured his political opponents that he wouldn't take any measures against them.
"We won't oppress anyone," he said.
The set of decrees that sparked the current uproar were part of a six-point constitutional declaration announced on Thursday.
They exempt the president's decisions from all judicial review and bar courts from dissolving a constitutional-drafting committee that has increasingly come under the sway of Mr. Morsi's allies in the Muslim Brotherhood party.
The courts were expected to consider dissolving the committee in the coming weeks.
Earlier in the week, representatives of Egyptian churches and nearly two dozen liberal figures withdrew from the constitutional panel, complaining the process has been overtaken by Islamists.
Mr. Morsi became Egypt's president in June after landmark elections but had to assume legislative powers as well because the newly elected Parliament dominated by his Islamist coalition was dissolved by the country's Supreme Constitutional Court.
Mr. Morsi and his allies and advisers say the move was necessary to expedite a transitional period that has been shackled by what they call obstructionist opposition political parties and remnants of the former regime. In his speech, Mr. Morsi said that he was determined that a referendum for a new constitution be held by February followed by fresh parliamentary elections.
Maha Azzam, an Egypt expert with the London-based think tank Chatham House, said while Mr. Morsi's move is worrisome to many, others will see it in the context of a fierce anti-Morsi campaign by the secular and liberal forces who lost the elections.
"There are political figures in Egypt that still cannot accept that an Islamist has been elected as president of Egypt," Ms. Azzam said.
Earlier Friday after noon mosque prayers, crowds started converging on Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak, the country's former president, chanting anti-Morsi slogans and comparing his to his predecessor.
"The people want to bring down the regime," some protesters shouted, echoing one of the most memorable chants of the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled several regional leaders in 2011.
Crowds estimated in the thousands massed in the square with some opposition activists pitching tents for the night.
Slogans accused Mr. Morsi of having turned himself into a "demigod" or "pharaoh," demanding that he rescind the latest decrees.
On nearby Kaser al-Aini Street, clashes between young protesters and security forces protecting several government institutions and ministries in the area continued for a fifth day. The protesters lobbed rocks and petrol bombs while security forces responded with a barrage of tear-gas shots.
By nightfall, these skirmishes spilled over into the riverfront avenue known as Corniche al-Neel with police blanketing the area in front of a luxury hotel with tear gas and protesters setting off a fire that was later doused by a firetruck.
The fiercest clashes were in Alexandria, where protesters set on fire the main office of the Salafist-Muslim Brotherhood coalition allied with Mr. Morsi. A statement by the Brotherhood said a nearby mosque was also damaged by the fire accusing liberal and secular forces of committing a "crime" against Islamic sanctities
Ali Abdel-Raouf, a Morsi supporter who ventured to Tahrir Square, said the protesters were being grossly unfair to the president because his decree also fulfilled most of their demands like the appointment of a new prosecutor general and the compensation of victims of the former regime.
"How can President Morsi achieve what all the masses have been yearning for and then be punished, that's the big question," he said.
Most of Mr. Morsi's Islamist allies including the Muslim Brotherhood party, which is the most powerful member of the current governing coalition, gathered outside the Federation presidential palace in Heliopolis on the northeast side of the capital.
A stage was set up on the street, where Mr. Morsi spoke.
Crowds in Heliopolis chanted pro-Morsi slogans such as, "Morsi isn't alone," and the "People want to cleanse the corruption."
Islamist speakers took turns riling the crowds with anti-Israel slogans.
"Morsi, you have made us proud during the events of Gaza after our face was in the mud," said one speaker.
Write to Sam Dagher at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Close MenuGoGoGoGoGoSee All MSG Network TalentSee All MSG Network Talent
Sabres Coverage
Read MoreSabres Sign Okposo
Buffalo inks former Islander Kyle Okposo on first day of free agency.
You May Also Like
Knicks Coverage
Read MoreAmar'e Retires as a Knick
Stoudemire signed a ceremonial contract with the Knicks before retiring.
You May Also Like
Liberty Coverage
Last GameLibs Fall Short Against Fever
Charles had 25 points and 13 rebounds in the final game before the Olympic break.
You May Also Like
Rangers Coverage
Read MoreKreider Re-Signs With Rangers
The 25-year-old agreed to terms on a new contract with the Blueshirts.
You May Also Like
Devils Coverage
Read MorePalmieri Named to Team USA
Kyle Palmieri will replace Ryan Callahan on Team USA's World Cup roster.
You May Also Like
Network Talent
Network Talent


text:
One of the hidden treasures of Kansas is a very scenic county fishing lake called Clark County Lake. It is located 10 miles south of Kingsdown or 20 miles southeast of Dodge City. That 10 mile road goes through basically flat Kansas crop land. Then, like magic, before our eyes is this absolutely amazing multicolored rocky canyon with a deep blue sparkling lake at the bottom. It's hard to believe it is Kansas.
A Rugged Treasure Hidden in Southwestern Kansas
Posted on November 1, 2012 11:25AM by Dick & Margaret Dwyer


text: Childbirth Preparation Classes Taught by a certified childbirth educator nurse, Childbirth Preparation provides total preparation for childbirth. The classes include breathing and relaxation techniques, labor, comfort options, cesarean section, postpartum recovery, and newborn characteristics as they relate to bonding and breastfeeding. Please note: parent tours are scheduled separately. Infant care class is offered during the hospital stay. Audience Mom & coach strongly encouraged Day(s) Saturdays and Sundays Duration 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Location 5520 Park Avenue, Trumbull Registration for all classes is required. For more information, please call 1-888-357-2396.


text:
Ted NugentWed, July 31, 2013 - 8:00 PMEgyptian Room at Old National Centre in Indianapolis , IN
We are sorry, the date for this event has already passed. This event took place on 7/31/2013. Click here to view upcoming events for Ted Nugent.
Still unsure? Check out our user reviews for:
Have a question? Need help? Call us at 800.477.5285


text:
Each tablespoon provides 7,600 mg of omega-3, 1,900 mg of omega-6 and 2,200 mg of omega-9. These essential fatty acids support heart health, joint health, athletic performance, immunity, hormone balance, healthy skin and cell membrane structure.*
From farm to bottle, our Organic Flax Seed Oil is carefully crafted from certified organic flax seeds, then pressed and specially bottled to protect the delicate oil from free-radical damage. The result is a fresh-tasting golden oil that is never bitter. Guaranteed!
Take daily for vibrant health and energy!*
|Amount Per Serving
|% Daily Value
|Calories from Fat
|Total Fat
|14 g
|Saturated Fat
|1.5 g
|Polyunsaturated Fat
|10 g
|Monounsaturated Fat
|2.5 g
|Organic Flax Seed Oil Typically Contains
|Omega-3 (Alpha-Linolenic Acid)
|7.6 g
|Omega-6 (Linoleic Acid)
|1.9 g
|Omega-9 (Oleic Acid)
|2.2 g
Do not heat or use for cooking.
Refrigerate after opening.
Fitness Labs Seal of Quality
Protected from heat, air and light. Freshness-dated and lot-controlled.
|Flax Seed Oil Organic
|16 Fluid Ounces
|Save 52%
|In stock
|1 Tablespoon (15ml) Contains:
Protein0 Carbs0 Fat14g Calories120
|and more
Servings: 31
Serving Price: $0.26
Order by Phone 800-338-7979 24 hours | Customer Service 800-754-8000
Information provided on this site is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements. Only your healthcare provider should diagnose your healthcare problems and prescribe treatment. None of our statements or information, including health claims, articles, advertising or product information have been evaluated or approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The products or ingredients referred to on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider. California Consumers – Proposition 65 requires sellers to notify California consumers of substances that are in many foods, plants, herbs and supplements with the following warning. WARNING: These products contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.©2000-2016 Nutrition Express Corporation. All rights reserved.


text:
Now out from Design studio press... STRUCTURA, a collection of works from Nicolas Bouvier. A.K.A. Sparth.
Special thanks to Mr. Scott Robertson of Design studio press for the advanced copy of STRUCTURA. A super good quality book depicting the works of a fantastic concept artist.
STRUCTURA the art of SPARTH conceptships weekly header #9 May 2nd - May 9th, 2008
Keywords: structura illustrated book a complete collection of fantastic video game sci-fi science fiction concept art the works of sparth nicolas bouvier published by design studio press
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Google+ Pilots
Popular Posts
Scott has been crazy busy on his book BLAST which will drop around March of 2012. It will feature art from Scott as well as Danny Gardner ...
Incredibly detailed illustrations from the French illustrator Manchu. Philippe has a new book from Delcourt/SerieB editions titled "M...
Sadly, We lost a big legend in the Sci-Fi concept art world yesterday. Mr. Ralph McQuarrie has passed away at the age of 82. I've alway...
Check out museum of the improbable. There is a Cinema 4D gallery RIGHT HERE! Keywords: 3D three dimensional concept spaceship modele...
Temporary post here. Can anyone out there help me with my CSS and HTML? I would like to give a little action to my buttons at the bottom of ...
Some huge compositions by Finnian MacManus. 17 years old and busting! Seeing the large images in his portfolio make me realize conceptship...
It is super hard for me to believe that Mobeius is gone. Jean Henri Gaston Giraud passed away at the age of 73 on March 10, 2012. I remembe...
Inspirational and unique Lego ship designs by Jon Hall. Keywords: concept lego spaceships planes by graphic desig...
KaranaK on deviantart. Some more of Alex's ships. Hi definition header. Keywords: digital video game conc...
Our friend KARANAK sent us these renders as high quality .png files with transparent backgrounds. Thanks! Keywords: high definition...
Blog Archive
- ► 2015 (172)
- ► 2014 (167)
- ► 2013 (186)
- ► 2012 (194)
- ► 2011 (136)
- ► 2010 (157)
- ► 2009 (156)
- Katsuhiro Otomo on conceptships
- Concept ships by Martin Sawkins
- Concept spaceship art by Jake Parker
- Conceptships news
- Concept ships from Appleseed EX MACHINA
- concept ship with girl by ukitakumuki
- Commercial airliner fuselage ejector mechanism co...
- Concept ships by Thom Tenery
- concept ship art from l'amie de zoe childrens book...
- Air ship concepts by Krzysiek Kamrowski A.K.A. Ken...
- Concept spaceship sketches from Michal Jelinek
- George Lucas turns 64!
- Concept ships speedpaints by Goro Fujita
- Chris Drysdale concept spaceship art
- Concept ships from Lift Off by Scott Robertson
- Serenity concept ship art by Leinil Yu designs
- Concept spaceship art by Jason Chan
- CONCEPTSHIPS' 100th post!
- STRUCTURA the art of SPARTH
- Maya 3D model concept ship by D.M. Phoenix
- ▼ May (20)


text:
10 Eco-Friendly Crafts for Earth Dayby Lindsay Hutton
Commemorate Earth Day on April 22 by creating some environmentally-friendly crafts that celebrate Mother Nature. They're all made out of recycled materials you can find at home or in nature, making them the perfect activity to teach your little nature-lover about Planet Earth.
1 of 11
Terrific Twig Vase
Help your child collect some twigs in your backyard, and then get to work creating this cute vase. The best part? It doesn't even require glue, making it an easy and mess-free project.
Get the directions for Terrific Twig Vase.
Next: Fork Flower


text:
I admit I'm not very learned on the subject of evolution, I just started researching it for myself about a week ago. One of the things that I don't understand is why humans and almost every other animal/bug/fish etc. on earth has a symmetrical body. What advantage does this have for the survival of the fittest? It must be quite important, since it re-occurs so frequently and early in the evolutionary family tree.
[If we are talking about animals, there is a number of types of body symmetry: asymmetry, radial, bilateral, spiral, rotational, glide and metameric symmetries. Bilateral and radial are the two basic types, which served as main classificatory character for animal mega-systematics in the past.]
It's assumed that body symmetry is associated with general environmental gradients.
Animals with (elements of) radial symmetry have one dorso-ventral axis which echos only one environmental gradient: substrate/water column, depth etc. Besides this polarity, resources/signals/danger may come from any direction. Imagine a Hydra polyp with its foot attached to a waterweed and its tentacles surrounding the mouth on the opposite end and expecting the victim to come from any side.
Body of bilateral animals possesses the same dorso-ventral axis and yet another polarity, orthogonal to it: the anterior-posterior axis. This axis is conjugated with the gradient created by locomotion: the anterior margin of the body is likely to encounter something new first. This principle lies in the basis of cephalization: most bilaterial animals have more or less shaped "head".
Evolutionary changes in body symmetry are thus thought to be associated with changes in life-style, e.g.:
Symmetry is like data compression, it diminishes amount of information needed to build an organism.


text:
Let's Just Admit We're Empaths
There's been a lot of hubbub about a recent study on the relationship between men's facial expressions and their attractiveness to women. According to the study, when presented with photos of smiling and brooding men, the female test subjects said they were more attracted to the unhappy-looking men than to the happy-looking ones.
Not surprisingly, lots of people writing about the study concluded that, if they want to attract women, men should try to look tough or even ashamed, and avoid smiling.
Am I a Betazoid?
When I read articles that say I should put on some facial expression, or display some kind of body language, to get people to like me, I tend to feel a little alien. I start to wonder: am I the only one who finds it painfully obvious when a person is trying to look a certain way?
In my experience, when someone smiles, I can instantly tell if they're really enjoying themselves, or just trying to look happy for my benefit. By the same token, it's immediately clear to me when someone's trying to look puffed up and tough to hide their fear.
Though I'm a fairly empathic guy, I suspect I'm not the only person who can tell when someone's hiding what they truly feel — what with me being human just like everybody else, and all. But if that's true, why is there so much advice out there about "winning body language"? Don't the people who give that kind of advice see how unhelpful it is?
No Empathy Allowed
What I've come to believe is that, in our culture, there's a sort of unspoken agreement that we won't admit how empathic we are. I'll pretend I don't see that you're unhappy, so long as you act like you don't know I'm angry. You'll smile back at me, although you know my smile is fake, and I'll do the same for you.
I think this unspoken agreement is rooted in our fear and distrust of each other. We're afraid that, if someone saw how we were really feeling, that might put us in danger.
After all, if you saw I was feeling sad or distressed, maybe you'd make fun of me, or attack me in my moment of weakness! So, it seems easier for us all to pretend we can't sense each other's emotions — that way, nobody needs to feel unsafe.
The trouble with this unwritten rule is that it leaves a lot of us starving for real connection. If I have to pretend I don't know how you're feeling, I can't offer you compassion and a chance to talk about what's going on, unless you come out and ask me to. And to many people, asking for another person's compassion sounds about as inviting as sticking their head in a lion's mouth.
Are You Really "Fine, Just Fine"?
So, because I want to feel genuinely connected to people around me, I've taken to letting people know when something seems "off" to me — when I get the sense that their words and expression don't match how they're actually feeling.
I try not to put this in an accusing way, as if they're lying or doing something wrong. I just ask whether something's going on that they'd like to talk about — "are you really 'doing fine,' or is something up?" This isn't always easy, and people don't always want what I'm offering. But much of the time, it creates a far deeper and more satisfying conversation.


text:
I am trying to understand inverse matrixes more in depth.
I took the simplest example: 2 points in a 2d space and put it into a matrix.
Calculating the inverse, we would get another matrix and another 2 points.
Where could this inverse be used / and for what purposes?
Can someone provide me with a trivial example (preferably in 2d)?


text:
An analysis in the January 2013 issue of Consumer Reports magazine revealed 69% of pork chops and ground pork that the organization sampled from around the U.S. tested positive for Yersinia enterocolitica, a bacteria that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can result in fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Consumer Reports also found 3-7% of the samples harbored salmonella, staphylococcus aureus or listeria monocytogenes, other common pathogens for foodborne illness. Twenty-three percent of the samples contained none of the tested bacteria.
Of the 198 samples, the organization found other alleged complications with the "other white meat." The sampling also claims that some of the bacteria were resistant to typical antibiotics that are used to treat foodborne illnesses, such as amoxicillin, penicillin, tetracycline and streptomycin. Of the 132 samples with Yersinia enterocolitica, 121 of those were resistant to one or more antibiotics.
"The frequent use of low-dose antibiotics in pork farming may be accelerating the growth of drug-resistant 'superbugs' that threaten human health," said Consumer Reports.
The National Pork Board responded to the report in National Hog Farmer magazine. "We believe Consumer Reports has not accurately portrayed the safety and quality of pork products," said chief executive officer Chris Novak.
"Farms are a natural environment where bacteria are present, so farmers have invested millions of dollars in research to understand how antibiotics and other tools can help us produce a healthier, safer, product for consumers," added Steve Larsen, director of pork safety.
In a separate Consumer Reports sampling, one-fifth of 240 pork products contained traces of ractopamine, a controversial veterinary drug that promotes both growth and leanness in farm animals. Ractopamine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for hogs, but it is banned in approximately 160 other countries - including China and the European Union.
Tested pork brands in the Consumer Report analysis include:
Angelo Caputo's
Bristol Farms
El Toreo Market
Farmer John
Farmer John California Natural
Food 4 Less
Fred Meyer
Fresh & Easy
The Fresh Market
Hormel Natural Choice
Nature's Promise
Nature's Rancher
Northwest Finest
PCC Natural Markets
Sprouts Farmers Market and Farmers Market Old Tym
Swift Premium
Tender Choice
Ultra Foods
Viet Wah
Whole Foods
Winn Dixie
The CDC estimates that 48 million Americans each year contract a foodborne illness. To prevent Y. enterocolitica infections, the federal agency recommends the following steps:
1. Avoid eating raw or undercooked pork.
2. Consume only pasteurized milk or milk products.
3. Wash hands with soap and water before eating and preparing food, after contact with animals, and after handling raw meat.
4. After handling raw chitterlings, clean hands and fingernails scrupulously with soap and water before touching infants or their toys, bottles, or pacifiers. Someone other than the food handler should care for children while chitterlings are being prepared.
5. Prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen: Use separate cutting boards for meat and other foods. Carefully clean all cutting boards, counter-tops, and utensils with soap and hot water after preparing raw meat.
6. Dispose of animal feces in a sanitary manner.


text:
I am now trying to learn game development in UDK and Unity3d, just trying both out, and try to get an idea how they work, and for now im mostly focusing on the PC games..
I want to know, how hard(technically, not legal/licensing stuff) is it to port a PC game that i made in UDK/Unity to another platform such as PS3/Xbox360? is there some kind of option where we can just select the target platform from a combo box and press deploy? or do we need to modify the game for each platform? just give me a rough idea on how it works..