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More than the Sum of Our BMIs | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The BMI is wholly arbitrary, having no scientifically valid relationship with mortality. It's inadequate as a measure of body fat because it cannot account for the composition of a person's body — fat, muscle, organs, water, etc. It's also affected substantially by a person's frame and the relative length of his or her legs and torso. And it does not take into account whether body fat is well-distributed or concentrated around the waist, the latter being more likely to indicate health risks."
"There is scant scientific evidence to support assertions by the federal government and others that being overweight or obese increases one's mortality risks, or that the overweight and moderately obese can improve their health by losing weight. Such claims ignore 40 years of international data suggesting that obesity is not a cause of premature mortality. Many studies have demonstrated that the effects of diet and physical activity are independent of the effects of BMI and other measures of body size or fat."
"Recent empirical analysis of the relationship between BMI and mortality found that death rates were essentially the same given BMIs ranging from 20 to 35. Normal-weight individuals of both genders do not appear to live longer than the mildly obese (those with BMIs of 30 to 35). This suggests that the only scientifically justified obesity interventions pertain to the small fraction of the population with BMIs of more than 40 (3 percent to 4 percent of adults)."
Thursday, August 05, 2010
The Making Up of a President - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily
The Making Up of a President - Clifford F. Thies - Mises Daily: "We found that the values implicit in presidential ratings are just about the opposite of those of the people, as expressed in their voting. The people vote for the nominees of the party of the sitting president who have avoided war, and whose terms of office were characterized by strong economic growth. The people don't really care much about political or personal scandal. By contrast, the intellectuals love war, don't care about economic growth, and are obsessed with scandal.
Another thing Gary and I found is that ratings of presidents, upon their departure from office, tend to start low and then rise over time. Therefore, the very low rating accorded George W. Bush in the recently released Siena poll can be expected to improve in the coming years."
"And how does the intellectual elite explain the turnaround of the economy under Reagan, that we went from the stagflation of the 1970s and the malaise associated with Carter to 'morning in America'? Well, I'm glad you asked that question.
According to the presidential experts, it was Luck. The intellectual elite rank Ronald Reagan low in economic performance, #21, below Barack Obama. But they rank Reagan #3 in Luck."
Another thing Gary and I found is that ratings of presidents, upon their departure from office, tend to start low and then rise over time. Therefore, the very low rating accorded George W. Bush in the recently released Siena poll can be expected to improve in the coming years."
"And how does the intellectual elite explain the turnaround of the economy under Reagan, that we went from the stagflation of the 1970s and the malaise associated with Carter to 'morning in America'? Well, I'm glad you asked that question.
According to the presidential experts, it was Luck. The intellectual elite rank Ronald Reagan low in economic performance, #21, below Barack Obama. But they rank Reagan #3 in Luck."
Man faces jail for YouTube video of traffic stop | Technically Incorrect - CNET News
Man faces jail for YouTube video of traffic stop | Technically Incorrect - CNET News: "The wiretap argument enjoys an interesting logic: that the audio part of a conversation between a police officer and a suspect is private, and therefore, according to laws in certain states, both parties have to agree to any recording.
However, traffic stops don't really seem all that private. Indeed, they often cause traffic congestion as rubberneckers slow their vehicles to take in the action. So one wonders just how sturdy that argument might appear in any eventual court case.
And then there's the police highly technological penchant for dashboard cams. Don't they make TV shows out of the footage? Is the logic really that the police can film anything, but the public can't?"
However, traffic stops don't really seem all that private. Indeed, they often cause traffic congestion as rubberneckers slow their vehicles to take in the action. So one wonders just how sturdy that argument might appear in any eventual court case.
And then there's the police highly technological penchant for dashboard cams. Don't they make TV shows out of the footage? Is the logic really that the police can film anything, but the public can't?"
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Recovery for Wisconsin
Recovery for Wisconsin: "Feingold has been a long-time proponent of investing in rural broadband as a way to erase the digital divide and improve business and employment opportunities in rural areas."
Baldwin Telecom got $9 million but they already offer broadband (at least 1 MB download) to all of there customers.
Baldwin Telecom got $9 million but they already offer broadband (at least 1 MB download) to all of there customers.
How Do Bureaucracies Work? | Jason Kuznicki | Cato Institute: Commentary
How Do Bureaucracies Work? | Jason Kuznicki | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Much of the material is clearly neither sensitive nor embarrassing, and a good deal of it appears to be so abbreviated that it's essentially uninformative, as war veteran and eyewitness Noah Schachtman has observed. Yet it was collected anyway and made classified. Perhaps this happened simply because information collection in the digital age is so ridiculously easy. More, though, does not always mean better, particularly not when what you really need is possibly a single piece of high-value information amid gigabytes of data."
Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images | Privacy Inc. - CNET News
Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images | Privacy Inc. - CNET News: "For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they're viewed. The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that 'scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.'
Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse."
"William Bordley, an associate general counsel with the Marshals Service, acknowledged in the letter that 'approximately 35,314 images...have been stored on the Brijot Gen2 machine' used in the Orlando, Fla. federal courthouse. In addition, Bordley wrote, a Millivision machine was tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse but it was sent back to the manufacturer, which now apparently possesses the image database."
Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse."
"William Bordley, an associate general counsel with the Marshals Service, acknowledged in the letter that 'approximately 35,314 images...have been stored on the Brijot Gen2 machine' used in the Orlando, Fla. federal courthouse. In addition, Bordley wrote, a Millivision machine was tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse but it was sent back to the manufacturer, which now apparently possesses the image database."
Monday, August 02, 2010
Few Batting Eyes at Obama's Deadly Drone Policy | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary
Few Batting Eyes at Obama's Deadly Drone Policy | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "He reports that, contrary to the administration's claim that only high-level terrorists researched are targeted, 'the CIA has killed around 12 times more low-level fighters than mid-to-high-level al-Qaida and Taliban leaders since the drone strikes intensified in the summer of 2008.'
Another of his sources, who was involved in our robotic warfare and has since left the service, told him that the CIA's targeting of low-level foot soldiers worries him because 'it degrades the notion we're going after serious threats to the United States.'"
"other American intelligence officers 'proudly tout the drone campaign as the most precise and possibly humane targeted killing program in the history of warfare.'"
Another of his sources, who was involved in our robotic warfare and has since left the service, told him that the CIA's targeting of low-level foot soldiers worries him because 'it degrades the notion we're going after serious threats to the United States.'"
"other American intelligence officers 'proudly tout the drone campaign as the most precise and possibly humane targeted killing program in the history of warfare.'"
What Happens If U.S. Troops Leave Afghanistan? Not the End of the World As We Know It | Leon T. Hadar | Cato Institute: Commentary
What Happens If U.S. Troops Leave Afghanistan? Not the End of the World As We Know It | Leon T. Hadar | Cato Institute: Commentary: "[If we need to say in Afghanistan] 'To prevent Afghanistan becoming a failed state and a haven for terrorists,' by asking, 'If we are in Afghanistan, why are we not also in Somalia, Yemen or Pakistan?' Rachman point out that these countries (one could add Kashmir and some of our beloved Central Asia's 'Stans' to the list) have become centers of operations for mishmash of radical Islamist terrorist groups"
Friday, July 30, 2010
Raising Retirement Age Won't Work | William Shipman | Cato Institute: Commentary
Raising Retirement Age Won't Work | William Shipman | Cato Institute: Commentary: "He retired at the end of 2008, when he suffered a significant loss because stock markets around the globe collapsed, down 37 percent in the United States alone. Yet even after the loss, his accumulated wealth still would provide more than Social Security's $18,324 benefit, namely $30,000 in the first year, and indexed for inflation for 19 more years."
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Defending the Blackmailer - Walter Block - Mises Daily
Defending the Blackmailer - Walter Block - Mises Daily: "With the gossip, all is lost; with the blackmailer, one can only gain, or at least be no worse off. If the price requested by the blackmailer is lower than the secret is worth, the secret-keeper will pay the blackmailer — this being the lesser of the two evils. He thus gains the difference to him between the value of the secret and the price of the blackmail. When the blackmailer demands more than the secret is worth, his demand will not be met and the information will become public."
"Many actions in the public arena qualify as acts of blackmail, but, instead of being vilified, they have often attained a status of respectability! For example, the recent lettuce boycott is a form of blackmail. Through the lettuce boycott (or any boycott), threats are made to retailers and wholesalers of fruits and vegetables. If they handle nonunion lettuce, the boycotters assert, people will be asked not to patronize their establishments. This conforms perfectly to the definition: a threat that something, not in itself illegal, will take place unless certain demands are met."
"In addition to being a legitimate activity, blackmail has some good effects, litanies to the contrary notwithstanding. Apart from some innocent victims who are caught in the net, who does the blackmailer usually prey upon?
In the main, there are two groups. One group is composed of criminals: murderers, thieves, swindlers, embezzlers, cheaters, rapists, etc. The other group consists of people who engage in activities, not illegitimate in themselves, that are contrary to the mores and habits of the majority: homosexuals, sadomasochists, sexual perverts, communists, adulterers, etc. The institution of blackmail has beneficial, but different, effects upon each of these groups.
In the case of criminals, blackmail and the threat of blackmail serve as deterrents."
"Legalizing blackmail would thus allow anticrime units to take advantage of two basic crime fighting adages at the same time: "divide and conquer," and "lack of honor among thieves." It is quite clear that one important effect of legalizing blackmail would be to diminish crime — real crime, that is."
"In reflecting on the old aphorism, 'the truth shall make you free,' the only 'weapon' at the disposal of the blackmailer is the truth. In using the truth to back up his threats (as on occasion he must), he sets the truth free, very often without intent, to do whatever good or bad it is capable of doing."
"Many actions in the public arena qualify as acts of blackmail, but, instead of being vilified, they have often attained a status of respectability! For example, the recent lettuce boycott is a form of blackmail. Through the lettuce boycott (or any boycott), threats are made to retailers and wholesalers of fruits and vegetables. If they handle nonunion lettuce, the boycotters assert, people will be asked not to patronize their establishments. This conforms perfectly to the definition: a threat that something, not in itself illegal, will take place unless certain demands are met."
"In addition to being a legitimate activity, blackmail has some good effects, litanies to the contrary notwithstanding. Apart from some innocent victims who are caught in the net, who does the blackmailer usually prey upon?
In the main, there are two groups. One group is composed of criminals: murderers, thieves, swindlers, embezzlers, cheaters, rapists, etc. The other group consists of people who engage in activities, not illegitimate in themselves, that are contrary to the mores and habits of the majority: homosexuals, sadomasochists, sexual perverts, communists, adulterers, etc. The institution of blackmail has beneficial, but different, effects upon each of these groups.
In the case of criminals, blackmail and the threat of blackmail serve as deterrents."
"Legalizing blackmail would thus allow anticrime units to take advantage of two basic crime fighting adages at the same time: "divide and conquer," and "lack of honor among thieves." It is quite clear that one important effect of legalizing blackmail would be to diminish crime — real crime, that is."
"In reflecting on the old aphorism, 'the truth shall make you free,' the only 'weapon' at the disposal of the blackmailer is the truth. In using the truth to back up his threats (as on occasion he must), he sets the truth free, very often without intent, to do whatever good or bad it is capable of doing."
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