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Monitoring health in Los Angeles County.
Janis, J M	; Detels, R	; Steele, D	; Walker, A H	;
Janis, J M	; Detels, R	; Steele, D	; Walker, A H	Less ▲
The University of California at Los Angeles School of Public Health, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, compiled data and developed a standardized format that displayed a comparison of mortality and morbidity data between Los Angeles County, the State of California, and the United States in 1960, 1970, and 1980 for 16 health topic areas. Findings noted both favorable and unfavorable health trends, as well as substantial data collection problems. In 1980, compared with the United States, the Los Angeles County rates for tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and hepatitis B were as much as 45 to 128 percent higher, the homicide rate was more than double, and, for the population aged 65 years and over, the cirrhosis of the liver rate was more than 56 percent higher. The myocardial infarction rate was 58 percent lower in the population aged 18 to 64. Problems of inadequate data for many health indicators, lack of comparability in data, and conflicting information from different data sources were noted. These limitations with the data underscore the need to standardize data collection procedures and to extend the parameters on which information is collected. The approach represents a tool that could be used by many health departments to monitor their activities and set future goals.
Liver Cirrhosis
urn:sha256:97d9206c41a008e9c8a1e828a07ddcf03d48161cbb935464a39738e5fc2b51f7
Mandatory seatbelt law support and opposition in New England--a survey.
Morelock, S; Hingson, R W; Smith, R A; Lederman, R I;
Less than one-fifth of the U.S. population consistently wears automobile seatbelts. Automatic seatbelts or air bags will be required in all new cars, unless States whose total population equals two-thirds of the nation's adopt mandatory seatbelt use ...
Public Health Rep ; v. 100, no. 4 : Masthead
Public Health Rep. 100(4)
A survey approach for finding cases of epilepsy.
Anderson, D W; Bryan, F A; Harris, B S; Lessler, J T; Gagnon, J P;
Identify persons with epilepsy by first looking for prescriptions for particular antiseizure drugs. Follow these prescriptions from the pharmacies to the physicians who wrote them for patients. Ask the physicians whether the patients have epilepsy. F...
The accuracy of tuberculin skin tests: self-assessment by adult outpatients.
Risser, N L; Belcher, D W; Bushyhead, J B; Sullivan, B M;
Tuberculin skin testing is an accurate, inexpensive screening procedure for detecting tuberculosis infection. The return visit needed to interpret the reaction is inconvenient, costly, and may contribute to under-utilization of the test. Although som...
Credentialing and job practice in environmental health: an empirical study.
Cline, C S
To investigate the validity of the credentialing examination for entry-level practitioners in environmental health, 15 work measures, simulating or assessing important components of job practice, were developed. These work measures, along with the wr...
Impact of increased physician supply on use of health services: a longitudinal analysis in rural Minnesota.
Krishan, I; Drummond, D C; Naessens, J M; Nobrega, F T; Smoldt, R K;
Prevalence studies of the use of ambulatory health care services have consistently reported relatively lower demand for services in rural areas. Such studies have implied that low use rates may be fixed characteristics of rural populations and may be...
Public Health Rep ; v. 100, no. 4 : table of contents
Placement of health promotion columns in suburban newspapers--an analysis.
Maloney, S K; Petersen, D J;
In the fall of 1982, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Public Health Service, engaged the services of the North American Precis Syndicate, Inc., to distribute two columns on health promotion to suburban newspapers. An analysis of...
Minimizing the risks of swimming.
Stenvig, T E
Public Health Rep. 100(4):355
In the absence of Santa Claus
Tebben, Marian Priest
Declines in nonwhite and white neonatal mortality in Mississippi, 1975-80.
Strobino, D M; Kim, Y J; Crawley, B E; Chase, G A; Salim, J H;
Linked birth and death records provided the population for an investigation of declines in nonwhite and white neonatal mortality rates (NMR) in Mississippi between 1975 and 1980. The effect of changes in the characteristics of women giving birth and ...
PREVENTION BRIEFS
Hospital cost control in Norway: a decade's experience with prospective payment.
Crane, T S
Under Norway's prospective payment system, which was in existence from 1972 to 1980, hospital costs increased 15.8 percent annually, compared with 15.3 percent in the United States. In 1980 the Norwegian national government started paying for all ins...
Teaching medical students epidemiology: utilizing a state health department.
Novick, L F; Greene, C; Vogt, R L;
An epidemiology teaching course for third-year medical students was developed at the University of Vermont's College of Medicine by staff members of the Vermont Department of Health in conjunction with clinical faculty members. The course consists of...
The Public Health Service role in the disposal of chemical munitions.
Brown, Stuart T.; Anderson, Linda W.; Caldwell, Glyn G.;
Within the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has increasingly emphasized environmental public health activities. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH), one of nine major units of the CDC, was established as a focus for assessment...
Public Health Reports ; v. 100 , no. 4 : cover
Public Health Rep 100 (4)
Collaborative studies program on maternal and child health in New York State, 1981-83.
Barber-Madden, R; Randolph, L;
With the passage of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act and the establishment of the block grant system in 1981, responsibility for the direction of many public health programs shifted from Federal to State government. This shift, coupled with funding cut...
5-year followup of the effect on optometrists of continuing education about hypertension.
Kleinstein, R N; Gordon, A; Wayne, J; Charles, E;
All 319 participants of an intensive continuing education course on optometric hypertension screening at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were surveyed 5 years after completion of the course. Almost 85 percent of 211 responding optometrists re...
An enduring memorial for Dr. Luther Terry.
Koop, C. Everett
National Center for Health Statistics: 25 years of service.
Feinleib, Manning
An index of unnecessary deaths.
Guralnick, Lillian; Jackson, Ann;
Dietary intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber of persons ages 2 months and over in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988-91
Alaimo, Katherine; McDowell, Margare A.,; Briefel, Ronette R.; Bischof, Ann M.; Caughman, Clifford R.; Loria, Catherine M.; Johnson, Clifford L.;
National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). Division of Health Examination Statistics.
Advance data from vital and health statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics ; no. 258
DHEW publication ; no. (PHS) 95-1250
Intervention strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of nutrition-related diseases, including designing nutrition policies and nutrition education and assistance programs, require effective monitoring of what Americans are eating. Nutrient refere...
Cardiovascular risk factors among children of men with premature myocardial infarction.
Levine, R S; Hennekens, C H; Rosner, B; Gourley, J; Gelband, H; Jesse, M J;
The possible association between fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, blood pressure, and body weight in children and the early occurrence of paternal myocardial infarction (MI) was explored by examination of 91 children of 38 fathers who had ...
Research needed on socioeconomic differentials in U.S. mortality.
Stockwell, E G; Wicks, J W; Adamchak, D J;
1978 Nov-Dec
Self-inflicted gunshot wounds among Alaska Natives.
Kost-Grant, B L
Deaths by violence (accidents, homicide, suicide) have increased significantly among Alaska Natives who have a suicide rate three times that of the general U.S. population. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds comprised 75 percent of the suicides among Alas...


Sony A7R – A Landscape Photographers Digital Back?
I am fortunate enough to be able to visit the US this year to go storm chasing in the mid-west for 2 weeks. Only having one camera body means I have no backup and also would have to swap lenses on location which is not ideal given the likely conditions. I have been thinking for a while about the Sony A7R (ILCE-7R) (OK it's not a storm chasing body given the burst rate, average image buffer and lack of weather sealing but neither is the 6D for that purpose). I thought I would write my own notes on my initial experience with the A7R and my reasons for buying one, using it as a digital back, for the Canon lens system.
I have invested in the Canon system for a while now with several L-series lenses, a 5D Mark II body and more recently a 6D. However the draw of the 36 megapixels and, more importantly to me, the 14.1 e.v. dynamic range (compared with the 12.1 e.v. in the canon 6D) was too great. I was waiting for the Canon announcement for the specs of the 5DSr. For me, apart from the resolution, I can't see how it would give me any improvement in capturing a scene. With the current price tag of £3200 you could get a 6D and most of canon's wide-angle, mid-range and telephoto zoom lenses as one package.
The main reason for putting off getting an A7R were the little niggles. We are very lucky with the A7R in that you can use pretty much any third-partly lens, some of them with auto focus (although reports and personal experience this is pretty limited) with a lens adapter. The thought of using one which would allow me to use my canon lenses appealed a lot and having talked to a lot of fellow photographers using this combo my sights were set.
My friend Andrew Yu had sent me a few of his RAWs (ARW files) and I was amazed at the low noise in the shadows/darks and also the amount of detail retained in the highlights compared with my 6D. This was probably the one most important factor to me as a landscape photographer.
After reviewing many blogs and camera sites and talking to owners I decided to bite the bullet and get one. I already had a Sony A6000 and so was familiar with the slightly less intuitive menu system. I already had the Metabones IV and I had already flocked it as I had experienced some odd flare caused by internal reflections.
Use an external remote or use a IR remote. I have a remote cord and to be honest it's not really a big issue. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and with a free android app (DSLR Remote) I can use the phone as an IR remote too. It's a bit more hassle but not really a deal breaker.
When firmly secured to my tripod and having a solid L-Bracket I have not noticed shutter vibration on any of my shots so far even at >300mm. I guess time will tell though but I have read that using a battery grip to give the body more weight has helped so I am wondering if getting a solid L-Plate has nullified this issue. I do feel that the shutter is quite loud like it is on my A6000 thus for candids and wildlife maybe more of an issue?
I've kind of covered this in a previous article. The Metabones IV (EF-E) is a slightly improved version of the Metabones III but I have found it still needs additional flocking to reduce internal reflections. Recently cheaper lens adapters such as the Viltrox AF EF-NEX have been released which are similar to the Metabones III but still are not perfect. The beauty of the Metabones IV is that you can update the firmware to add newly released lenses. Probably the best idea with non-collared heavy lenses (like the TS-E) is to use the Metabones as a central tripod mount and have the lens fixed to the adapter and have the body hang off the back. Obviously for telephoto lenses and long zoom lenses like my Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6 L is to use the lens collar and have the adapter and body off the back like you would do with a native body. Most of the EXIF data is recorded from the lens but I have found that Adobe Lightroom does not automatically detect the lens profile; the lens data is there but from what I can see not in the location that adobe uses for the lens profiling. There is a little rotational play in both the lens and body attachments but not really a practical issue. The Metabones firmware allows for 2 modes one being using the button as a wide-open button with constant DoF preview the other in regular mode (AF and no DoF preview).
This is true. I have found however the newer the lens the faster the AF like my Canon 16-35 f/4 IS L. It's 'almost' usable if you are not in a rush. The rest of my lenses are variable some just not working at all as all they do is seek but never lock. Not surprising for a third partly adapter that is trying to get the Sony and Canons electronics to communicate with each other and Metabones make no claim that the AF is really usable. So if you are looking for AF forget it really as everyone else has said. I have just got a native Sony Zeiss lens (55mm f/1.8) and can confirm this is a very fast focusing lens with the A6000 and A7R so it's definitely not the A7R even though it doesn't have Hybrid Focus System unlike the A6000.
It does it look it. My 6D fogs up when wet and that is certainly more sealed than the A7R. I would say this body is for fair weather or should be covered when raining looking at the buttons, wheels and rear screen mounts. I have a plastic bag always in my kit bag! There are many rumours that this is weather resistant but there are several blog reviews suggesting that water ingress is an issue e.g. Tobinator's Blog. For me this is also not a big issue. I tend not to do a lot of coastal shots and am usually careful when I do with the 6D. I also tend not to shoot in bad conditions but put my plastic bag on if I get stuck in bad weather but of course storm chasing maybe a good challenge for it!
Edit: I've been told from another photographer, James Grant, That he has put his through fairly adverse conditions without any serious issues at all so that maybe one negative I can strike of this list.
I thought the EVF would be an issue. My A6000's EVF is let down by a low resolution but using the A7R this really is not a problem as the image quality is excellent esp. as you can use the MF assist and zoom function. Where is is an issue is in low light. The noise creeps up like it would on the back screen and the contrast drops. Unlike with a Optical View Finder (OVF) and your eye becoming more sensitive in low light the EVF has to do it thus becomes a bit of an issue in manual focusing. However I would probably use my 6D for night photography anyway given the noise handling at high ISO is better. The other issue with the EVF like the back screen in low light is the frame rate drops, only an issue really with composing an image quickly.
Edit: A trip given to me by James Grant was to up the ISO and up the exposure compensation to focus/compose in very low light then return the settings. I will try this.
One benefit of the Sony A series is the ability to charge (relatively slowly I might add) via USB. This is also an issue as Sony do not supply any mains charger for this reason. I can only think it is to cut costs but for an expensive camera body it does seem like a kick in the teeth. Fortunately there are numerous third-party single and dual chargers on the market and batteries (they seem to last as long in the short term as the Sony batteries and have the battery level chip in them too). I got 2 chargers and 4 spare batteries for about £35. They charge very quickly (maybe not quite as quick as the Canon's though).
Yup – much shorter than my 6D – this is due to 2 reasons I can see. 1. The EVF or the LCD screen is always on given it's a mirrorless camera (although you can switch one off if you want to i.e for long exposures). 2. The capacity is low. My 6D is 1800 mAh, the A7R's NP-FW50 is 1020 mAh. You can get bigger capacity NP-FW50 compatible batteries at an extra cost but unless you are shooting long time-lapses, carrying one or two small batteries around (like I do with the 6D) I don't see this as a problem. I have found a typical sunrise or sunset shoot say 1-1.5 hours of shooting (turning the camera off sometimes or sleep mode) uses from 50% to 70% of the battery. So for me carrying one spare battery would easily be enough.
So that's the issues I have had sorted – OK we shouldn't have to but needs must and with a bit of time and a little bit of extra money you can iron out most of these. Now onto the main reason I love it. THE IMAGE QUALITY; the combination of the 36 megapixels giving extra detail over the 6D and to be quite frank the fantastic dynamic range makes this such a great value for money addition to my kit. OK so it's currently about £1100-£1300 which is slightly more than the 6D but you get the same sensor as used in the Nikon 800E for a fraction of the price (without the moire filter unlike a 5DII or 6D). I've been blown away by the low shadow noise. I've even started to use the -2 e.v. bracket (I have gone from 5 x 1.5 e.v. in the 6D to 3 x 2 e.v. in the A7R) to process especially when shooting into the sun with almost no noise at all!
When not shooting into the sun the correctly exposed shot is ample usually and the +2 e.v. shot usually goes in the bin (I think I will stop doing this now and go to 2 x 2 e.v. with 1 -2 e.v.). The colour rendition is superb and gives a slightly less contrasty image than the 6D in RAW, perhaps due to the better dynamic range and more detail? They do have a slightly cyan bias in the skies I think but easily adjusted in post whereas the Canon's RAWs perhaps a little warmer? I've also spent less time processing and find I don't have to exposure blend anymore which s great (I gave up using grads about a year ago).
For a great set of notes regarding more in-depth findings of the A7R you can visit Graham Clarkes field notes. I didn't want to cover the A7R in this much detail – only really the points I felt affected my move from the 6D to the A7R. I will updates this blog with any additional findings that come to light.
Recently, the Sony partnumber for original but improved E-mount (used in a7S and possibly in a7II as well), has come to public, so I went for the original part.
It cost's approx double of original TOUGH E-mount (but quite close to their latest golden LT version, esp factoring in the shipping and customs costs into EU).
But it is almost indistinguishable from the original part and I am sure Sony does have the exact dimensions firsthand, instead of reverse engineering.
You can see the P/N and short upgrade story on my Flickr page (URL inserted as my website address).
Thanks for the info and link – v interesting.
Pingback: Storm Chasing and Tornadoes in the U.S.A.


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Nintendo Insider
Nintendo news, reviews and trailers, covering Nintendo Switch, Wii U, 3DS and amiibo.
Castlevania movie receives greenlight
Alex Seedhouse
Konami have granted rights for a Castlevania film to begin production, according to a well-known actor who is set to star in it.
Michael Dorn, most recognised as playing Lt. Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation, mentioned his involvement with the project during an interview with StarTrek.com.
Star Trek co-star Marina Sirtis, who played Commander Deanna Troi, was responsible for introducing him to the game-to-film adaptation.
"Castlevania is a movie that Marina got me involved with. It's based on a video game," Dorn explained.
"People have been trying to get this thing done for a long time and they finally got the producers together that want to do it. They finally got the OK from the owners, and so they're doing it.
"It's a fun little part. It's four days, and I'm playing a werewolf that's been around for a gajillion years who works for this vampire.
"It's not too far from Worf because there's a lot of killing and jumping and sword fights and everything. So that's what I'm doing now, and I just got offered another movie that would start at the end of September."
After starting out with a Yellow Game Boy and a copy of Donkey Kong Land, Alex once hid in his room to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time one Christmas. Now he shares his thoughts on Nintendo Insider, keeping track of everything to do with Nintendo.
Ranking The BIT.TRIP Games
Satirical Medieval Fantasy Balancelot Coming To Nintendo Switch
Copyright © 2020 Nintendo Insider. As featured on Metacritic, OpenCritic, Google News and NewsNow.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Is Microsoft SMBv1 still a threat to your data?
By CybelAngel Sun Aug 23, 2020
Yes I know, this looks like another blog about Microsoft SMBv1, WannaCry, ransomware, etc.
But with any discussion of vulnerable servers using SMBv1, it's hard to avoid. Not to mention, our research shows it's not the only risk. So please bear with me – it's a blog, it's short!
Over late 2016 and early 2017, threat actors known as The ShadowBrokers leaked offensive hacking tools obtained from the Equation Group, a group which multiple independent assessments link to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
A few of these tools were subsequently integrated into various malware, with the pinnacle reached in May and June 2017, when the WannaCry ransomware and NotPetya/Nyetya wiper attacks infected or destroyed hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide. Which you know, unless you've been living under a rock for the past three years…
The attacks exploited a vulnerability in SMBv1 to spread their malware rapidly across networks with vulnerable hosts — both also used Mimikatz, a password-grabbing tool, to proliferate. The adapted version of the ETERNALBLUE exploit used in the attacks combined with a second NSA tool, DOUBLEPULSAR, to allow remote arbitrary code execution and deliver the WannaCry payload. The end result: encrypted computers for hundreds of thousands of victims, companies, and governments, in close to 150 countries, and international headlines (there's that rock again…).
If you're thinking, "Yes, I know a lot of servers still run SMBv1. Yes, it should be patched. Yes, the remaining vulnerable owners are playing with fire, but I'm not one of them." Well, you may be right — Microsoft SMBv1 is still a threat.
Popular tool Shodan, which is accessible to everyone, and a Rapid7 report show that in March 2020, between 500,000 and 1.3 million devices ran SMB services, with only around 343k devices using SMBv1 with authentication disabled (Shodan query), Of those, the vast majority ran Unix OSs, not Windows, though Unix/Linux has its own vulnerability similar to the one used in WannaCry. This is a net improvement on Rapid7 and Shodan statistics from 2017, when between 2.3 and 5.5 million devices were running SMB services, and, when that number dropped to between 700,000 and 1.7 million.
Not quite eradication, nor does it eliminate the risk of variants or new malware families using the same exploits. It is however an improvement, especially when WannaCry has been effectively put out of action (beyond just Hutchin's sinkhole):
Well done sys admins (and some rather good-hearted individual/s)!
But ransomware is not the only SMB threat
While WannaCry and NotPetya legitimately garnered the vast majority of attention, another risk continues to go somewhat under the radar:
Unauthenticated access to documents shared via the SMB protocol can be equally damaging to organizations.
Another attack using the same method as WannaCry is highly unlikely, but back in 2017, 42% of servers with open SMB ports also allowed guest access to their data. However, Microsoft SMBv1 is still a threat. Today, CybelAngel regularly detects and alerts its clients to SMB servers publicly hosting thousands of sensitive documents. (2.7M SMB services with authentication disabled, between August 1, 2019 and August 10, 2020. CybelAngel tools.)
The crackdown on SMB ports following WannaCry and NotPetya was strong on internal company networks. But the servers we identify often belong to third-parties and suppliers, outside the perimeter and control of the company, as well as individual persons using Windows devices.
Cybersecurity risks posed by third-parties and company supply chains continue to rank high in executives' minds. The Risk in Focus 2019 report by the European Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors showed "cybersecurity is considered the biggest risk to their organizations," including that of their third parties.
This is not new or news, but the growing awareness that monitoring can and should extend beyond their internal infrastructure is. To paraphrase a section of the report, as organizations have sorted their internal security, concerns about their external footprint has increased.
Whether through direct attack on suppliers, weaker security measures from these same suppliers, or moves to integrate cloud infrastructure to reduce costs, the number of exposure points of sensitive data has increased. Conjointly, a supply chain and third parties are necessary functions in today's interconnected world — this ensures the risk will not disappear. Saying it one more time, "Microsoft SMBv1 is still a threat."
Yeah, Great. "So What?" I Hear You Say. The Suggested Actions
"US-CERT cautions users and administrators that disabling or blocking SMB may create problems by obstructing access to shared files, data, or devices. The benefits of mitigation should be weighed against potential disruptions to users."
There are numerous excellent (and more technical) blogs detailing monitoring and remediation steps for securing SMB ports. This is a quick recap:
In general, patch the damn software. Regularly, while making sure you can rollback any issues.
Disable unauthenticated/guest/anonymous SMB access allowing us (and others) to find your sensitive documents.
If you do not need SMB, don't keep it open… Block ports 139 and 445 on your network perimeter.
If you need it, prioritize the upgrade to v2 or v3. It is standard on Windows 10, and SMBv1 is no longer supported by Windows. Also, you would finally put @NerdPyle out of his misery.
Backup your data – securely, on a server with correctly configured authentication and solid encryption
Invest in a security solution that will scan that pesky external perimeter for data leaks. And, ensure your suppliers match your level (cheeky pitch here, we know).
And on that, good luck with your SMB infrastructure!


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Hear Our Voices
The Gay Catholic Priests' Blog
Cardinal Keith O'Brien obituary
Former leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland who resigned after revelations about his relationships with young priests
Keith O'Brien in Rome in 2012. He was a vehement opponent of gay marriage, labelling it as 'grotesque', and was accused of breathtaking hypocrisy after his fall from grace.
The charge of hypocrisy, if proved, can destroy the career of any cleric, and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who has died aged 80, was caught out spectacularly failing to practise what he had so vehemently preached. As the leader of the Catholic church in Scotland from 2003, he opposed very publicly, and in often intemperate language, all efforts to end discrimination against those in same sex relationships. Gay marriage, he said, was "grotesque".
But then, with the media spotlight on him in February 2013 as the only British voter at the forthcoming conclave of cardinals to elect a new pope, it was revealed that O'Brien himself had had a homosexual relationship. His subsequent fall from grace was as spectacular as it was unprecedented. The Vatican, usually to be found denying such revelations and standing by senior clerics against all odds, effectively sacked O'Brien overnight and banned him from attending the conclave. (It turned out that they had known of the allegations against him since at least the previous year but, sadly typically, it was only when the charges were made public that action was taken.)
From denial of impropriety between 1965 and 2001 with four priests and seminarians, O'Brien first admitted in general terms to sexual conduct that had "fallen beneath the standards expected of me". He was then revealed to have had an enduring relationship with one of the men in question right up to the time when he was taking to public platforms to denounce others in similar same-sex partnerships.
At first, O'Brien simply retreated to a retirement home in East Lothian, but his continuing presence in Scotland fuelled the row about his past behaviour. Allegations were made of cronyism, financial misconduct and a culture of secrecy. It was revealed by another Scottish bishop that, in 2012, O'Brien had blocked plans by his episcopal colleagues to commission an investigation into claims of child abuse by priests going back 60 years.
The Vatican stepped in and ordered O'Brien to leave the country. It sent in its own investigator, and appointed, Leo Cushley, a Motherwell-born Vatican official as O'Brien's successor in the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. To Cushley fell the task of repairing the damage done by the O'Brien scandal which, he said, had "distressed many demoralised faithful Catholics and made the church less credible to those who are not Catholic". In March 2015, Pope Francis formally accepted O'Brien's resignation, but allowed him to keep the title cardinal, while ordering him not to set foot in Scotland, nor to say mass or appear in public.
It is tempting to dismiss O'Brien as a prime example of the sort of double standards in matters of sexual morality that has for so long plagued and discredited a Catholic leadership fond of promoting a set of near-impossible standards in intimate relationships for the laity that has alienated so many of the faithful. And, indeed, he was. But O'Brien was not an out-and-out reactionary, nor was he always so out of touch with reality. The very day before he was outed, he had spoken up bravely, forcefully and sensibly against his Church's cherished official line that married men could not be priests.
With hindsight, he may even have been making a veiled reference to his own private circumstances when he said: "It is a free world and I realise that many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own."
It was a remark that arguably chimed better with the humane Keith O'Brien that many had come to know and respect in the years before he became leader of the Scottish Catholic church. As the number two figure in the hierarchy north of the border from 1985, he had won a reputation in church circles and beyond as a thoughtful, grounded and occasionally outspokenly liberal figure.
The change in O'Brien's public persona happened overnight. The Vatican's announcement in 2003 that O'Brien, the archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, was to become Scotland's third cardinal since the Reformation, was inevitably followed by a round of interviews. In them, he reiterated what he had said many times before – that there needed to be more discussion within the church on contentious subjects such as clerical celibacy and contraception. He would welcome a fresh look at church teaching on the latter, he told reporters.
Within hours of these remarks being published, however, he was busy backtracking. During a routine service in St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, he surprised worshippers by reading out a personal "profession of faith" that, it was said, had been forced on him by the Vatican. In it he pledged 100% backing to the church's ban on all artificial contraception and its insistence that priests be male and celibate.
O'Brien thereafter never returned to his previous concerns for dialogue and did not depart from the letter of church teaching in his public pronouncements, right up to his remarks on priestly celibacy on the eve of the papal conclave. And while he maintained his former genial ease when speaking in pulpits, on platforms or in TV studios, his message became ever more uncompromising and, some said, political.
In 2007, marking the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Abortion Act, he warned pro-choice Catholic legislators that they could not regard themselves as full members of the church and provocatively (and insensitively, some said) described the termination rate in Scotland as equivalent to "two Dunblane massacres a day".
His greatest political triumph came in 2008, when his strongly worded and high-profile intervention into the rapidly escalating clash between church and state over embryo experimentation forced a climbdown by the prime minister, Gordon Brown.
O'Brien, a former school science teacher, described proposals in the human fertilisation and embryology bill to allow scientists to create part-human, part-animal embryos for use in stem-cell experimentation, as "Nazi-style experiments" and "a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life". Within days, the Labour government had capitulated and conceded what it had previously been refusing – a free vote on the most contentious clauses for MPs.
It caused O'Brien to be held up by traditionalist Catholics south of the border as a rebuke to their own leaders. The English and Welsh Catholic church, a separate entity in the eyes of the Vatican, had by contrast tended to adopt a softly-softly stance in the political arena, working increasingly behind closed doors in Whitehall and Westminster to raise concerns with ministers and anxious not to be seen as out on a limb. O'Brien's success in forcing Brown into a U-turn may even have caused his English and Welsh counterparts to take a more robust stance, notably in opposing gay marriage, albeit to no avail.
The son of Alice (nee Moriarty) and Mark O'Brien, he was born in Ballycastle, County Antrim. His father, who had served with distinction in the Royal Navy during the second world war, was unable to find work on being demobbed, a result of the sectarianism in Northern Ireland workplaces at the time. The family was forced to emigrate to Scotland. The memory lived on with O'Brien who, as cardinal, tackled head-on what he called Scotland's "secret sectarianism", and attended Celtic-Rangers matches with other church leaders to try to calm the religious rivalry that traditionally accompanied such games. He even pushed – unsuccessfully – for the Act of Settlement to be amended to remove the bar on a Catholic monarch because it was a tacit endorsement of anti-Catholic prejudice.
O'Brien completed a degree in chemistry and mathematics at Edinburgh University and was ordained a priest in 1965. He initially combined being a curate with teaching in the local Catholic high school in Cowdenbeath, but from 1972 had his own parishes in first Kilsyth and then Bathgate. In 1978 he was named spiritual director of St Andrew's College at Drygrange, and then in 1980 rector of St Mary's College, the junior seminary (since closed) at Blairs. It was at these institutions that what he later referred to as "drunken fumblings" took place with younger men in his care.
In 1985, he was named to succeed Cardinal Gordon Grey as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. It was not until Grey's death in 1993, however, that Rome had to name a new Scottish cardinal. While O'Brien had a good working relationship with his only other rival for the honour, his Glasgow counterpart, Archbishop Thomas Winning, the two were very different characters. Winning was a spiritual pugilist, a self-conscious prince of the church, a man of firm and traditional opinions, qualities which won him the nod from Rome.
Operating in Winning's shadow had its advantages for O'Brien. In 1996, when Roddy Wright, the bishop of Argyll, was engulfed in scandal on account of his relationships with women, it was technically O'Brien's responsibility to sort out the mess, but Winning took charge – and on this occasion the flak for the Church's hypocrisy.
And in 1999, at a synod of European bishops, while Winning was patiently engaged in lobbying Vatican officials, O'Brien was able to win plaudits for coming clean in public about the degree of Rome's control and interference in local churches. He told reporters, in relation to a joint pastoral plan of the Scottish and English bishops that Vatican officials had vetoed, that "we [bishops] know that we are vicars of Christ in our own dioceses, but the bishops here in Rome don't think that".
However, with Winning's sudden death in 2001, O'Brien's turn as cardinal had come – and with it the behaviour expected of those in this exclusive club of 120 or so international leaders of the Catholic church. He was not entirely orthodox. He celebrated his consecration in Rome as a cardinal, for example, by waving the Scottish flag in St Peter's Square, a typically exuberant and relaxed gesture captured in a picture that graced many newspaper front covers around the world.
But in public, he ceased to express doubt or admit that anything other than the official church line had merit. He became a formidable political operator, helped by the fact that the new Scottish parliament was located in his diocese. He was courted in particular by Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish Nationalists, who was anxious to break the traditional close link between Scotland's Catholics and the Labour party. In 2006, O'Brien appeared to endorse aspirations for Scottish independence, though he later played down the remark.
In private, friends said, O'Brien remained the same man he had always been – laid-back, self-deprecating, funny – but those who had hoped this persuasive prelate might be a force for reform in the upper echelons of the church were disappointed.
He lived out his retirement in exile in Northumberland and then Newcastle, but his name will remain as a rebuke to the church's sometimes overbearing claim to moral authority in all matters.
He is survived by his brother, Terry.
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75 Years Ago: When Szilard Tried to Halt Dropping Atomic Bombs Over Japan [Greg Mitchell – AlterNet, 07.02.2020]
As this troubled summer rolls along, and the world begins to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the creation, and use, of the first atomic bombs, many special, or especially tragic, days will draw special attention. They will include July 16 (first test of the weapon in New Mexico), August 6 (bomb dropped over Hiroshima) and August 9 (over Nagasaki). Surely far fewer in the media and elsewhere will mark another key date: July 3.
On July 3, 1945, the great atomic scientist Leo Szilard finished a letter/petition that would become the strongest (virtually the only) real attempt at halting President Truman's march to using the atomic bomb–still almost two weeks from its first test at Trinity–against Japanese cities.
We rarely hear that as the Truman White House made plans to use the first atomic bombs against Japan in the summer of 1945, a large group of atomic scientists, many of whom had worked on the bomb project, raised their voices, or at least their names, in protest. They were led by the great physicist Szilard who, among things, is the man who convinced Albert Einstein to write his famous yes-it-can-be-done letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, setting the bomb project in motion.
On July 3, he finished a petition to the new president for his fellow scientists to consider. It called atomic bombs "a means for the ruthless annihilation of cities " and asked the president "to rule that the United States shall not, in the present phase of the war, resort to the use of atomic bombs." Dozens of his fellow Manhattan Project scientists signed.
The following day he wrote this cover letter (see below). The same day, Leslie Groves, military chief and overall director of the Manhattan Project, began a campaign to combat Szilard–including strong FBI surveillance–and remove him from the bomb project. Groves also made sure the petition never landed on Truman's desk. No action was ever taken on it, in any event.
The bomb would be dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, with almost no one close to Truman or in a high military position calling for him to delay or reconsider (General Dwight D. Eisenhower a prime exception). For taking part in creating the bomb, and then failing to halt its use against people, Szilard would later proclaim that he might deserve the label, "war criminal."
I have become rather fond of the mouthy, principled, Szilard as he came play a key role in my new book, The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. It's the story of how Truman and Groves sabotaged the first movie on the atomic bomb, from MGM, in 1946, transforming it from a warning against building more and bigger bomb into pro-bomb propaganda. The film-makers managed to secure Szilard's permission to be portrayed in the movie–but failed to mention his petition or opposition to the Truman's use of the bomb.
Indeed, MGM was forced to make numerous key revisions under pressure from Truman and Groves, who had script approval, to endorse using the weapon against Japanese cities.
Here's the letter to his colleagues:
Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,
Enclosed is the text of a petition which will be submitted to the President of the United States. As you will see, this petition is based on purely moral considerations.
It may very well be that the decision of the President whether or not to use atomic bombs in the war against Japan will largely be based on considerations of expediency. On the basis of expediency, many arguments could be put forward both for and against our use of atomic bombs against Japan.
Such arguments could be considered only within the framework of a thorough analysis of the situation which will face the United States after this war and it was felt that no useful purpose would be served by considering arguments of expediency in a short petition.
However small the chance might be that our petition may influence the course of events, I personally feel that it would be a matter of importance if a large number of scientists who have worked in this field went clearly and unmistakably on record as to their opposition on moral grounds to the use of these bombs in the present phase of the war.
Many of us are inclined to say that individual Germans share the guilt for the acts which Germany committed during this war because they did not raise their voices in protest against these acts. Their defense that their protest would have been of no avail hardly seems acceptable even though these Germans could not have protests without running risks to life and liberty. We are in a position to raise our voices without incurring any such risks even though we might incur the displeasure of some of those who are at present in charge of controlling the work on "atomic power".
The fact that the people of the people of the United States are unaware of the choice which faces us increases our responsibility in this matter since those who have worked on "atomic power" represent a sample of the population and they alone are in a position to form an opinion and declare their stand.
Anyone who might wish to go on record by signing the petition ought to have an opportunity to do so and, therefore, it would be appreciated if you could give every member of your group an opportunity for signing.
Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, the latest The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (The New Press).
Source: AlterNet
In Peace, Freedom, Fraternity...


"Landing a meeting with a prospective agent requires a lot of footwork. Most actors know the basic steps to getting a meeting, but few set themselves up for success in the meeting itself. Here are some simple tips that will help you master your agent meetings from start to finish.
What's In It For Them? The hard part is over. You have the meeting. Be confident knowing that this agent actually wants to meet you, wants to like you, and wants to work with you. They wouldn't take the meeting if they didn't feel that way. Your job isn't to convince them to like you. Rather, it is to confidently share who you are, what you're up to, and what excites you about your career.
Think about your strengths. What qualities do you possess that separate you from the pack? What's your booking ratio? How proactive are you? How will they benefit from working with you? What industry relationships do you have that this agent can utilize to open even more doors.
Know Your Stuff. Knowledge is power, so arm yourself with plenty of it. As soon as you've set the appointment, it's time to do your research. Hit up IMDB PRO to find our more about the person you're about to meet. Know a little about their background. Find out who they often work with and what actors they represent. Ask your trusted friends and colleagues for insight and advice. You just might be surprised by what you'll learn when you simply Google the agent's name along with the word "complaint".
Remember, as important as research is, not every agent will be a fit for every actor out there. So, take complaints and rave reviews with a grain of salt.
Set Your Intention. Before you meet with anyone, it's essential to identify your precise intention. What do you really want to gain from this meeting? If you're meeting with an agent, is your goal to sign a contract? Or, do you just want to find out if this agent might be a good match for you?
With a clear purpose in mind, you can confidently navigate the conversation and accomplish your goal. If you don't know exactly what you want to gain from your meeting, how on earth can you expect to gain anything?
Be Interested. Don't be fooled into believing that you are there to talk about you. The best way to have a great meeting is to actually focus more on the person with whom you're meeting than on yourself. Ask questions. Notice your environment. If you see a photo of a dog on their desk, ask about the dog.
Be Interesting. Engage this person in authentic conversation. Don't apologize or downplay who you are and what you're excited about. Talk about what you love most about acting. Avoid providing yes or no answers.


text:
Jméno a příjmení Aaron Cohen se může vztahovat k následujícím osobnostem:

Aaron Cohen (1981) — americký zápasník - judista
Aaron Cohen (1931-2010) — americký úředník NASA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Mr. Jaanus Kirikmäe, Estonian Consul General, and Mrs. Merle Kirikmäe visited the Estonian Society of Central Florida (Kesk Florida Eesti Selts – KFES) on Sunday, January 30, 2011. KFES hosted a reception for the couple at Jüri and Kersti Linask's lovely home. More than 30 KFES members warmly welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Kirikmäe. Mr. Kirikmäe offered remarks describing the activities of the Office of Consul General together with an overview of recent milestones reflecting Estonia's remarkable progress the past 20 years. On behalf of KFES, Ms. Lisa Mets thanked Consul General Kirikmäe and Mrs. Kirikmäe for honoring the Estonian Society of Central Florida with their visit, and she extended an invitation to the Consul General to consider the Tampa Bay region and its Estonian community — already known for its support for Estonia and Estonian arts and music — as a region where they can find support for Estonia's continuing progress. Mr. Kirikmäe was on an official visit to deliver passports and other documents.


Travel information and Services for Gran Canaria & The Canary Islands. Detailed travel guides so you know what to expect whilst you're here with extensive sections on beaches ann towns & resorts around Gran Canaria. Check out our blog which is updated regularly for articles covering current events and trending topics. Our forums help with any questions you may have, hopefully answered there already but if not ask or share your travel knowledge for others.


Just wondering if anyone else has ever run into the problem of at some point during the game a player will get a handful of cards that are unplayable at that time. For example having two treasure chests, a great dragon, and two fire drakes while all of these places on the map already have cards holding their spot. Since the rules state that a player must always play a card we have decided that the best thing to do is to just put your entire hand on the bottom of your deck and draw 5 more (or 6 if you have the dragon piece), and then play what you can, draw phase, and end turn. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem, and what was their solution.


text:
>RB-A1154-1
Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation
by Stephanie Rennane, Beth J. Asch, Michael G. Mattock, Heather Krull, Douglas C. Ligor, Michael Dworsky, Jonas Kempf
Military Compensation,
Military Health and Health Care,
People with Disabilities,
United States Department of Defense
Download Free Electronic Document
A fitness-for-duty evaluation system (FES) reduces reliance on Department of Defense (DoD) disability ratings for determining DoD disability compensation and relies primarily on a single decision about whether a service member is fit to perform their duties.
With one exception, none of the FES alternatives evaluated guarantees that all service members would see benefits at least as large as the benefits they qualify for under the current system.
Eliminating or delaying the rating step would reduce processing times under a FES by an average of 29 days relative to the current sequential process.
The estimated time savings associated with implementing an alternative system imply that active-duty end strength for the Army enlisted force would fall by at most 0.2 percent relative to the current system.
Any alternative system should be evaluated not only on the basis of direct costs and benefits but also on whether it is consistent with the broader objective of disability compensation.
As service members perform their jobs, occasions arise when they might face injury or illness that makes them unable to perform the duties required of their position. In these circumstances, a service member might be referred for disability evaluation to determine whether their medical condition allows them to return to duty or whether the condition is severe enough that the member is discharged from service and, in turn, paid disability compensation.
Over the years, the disability evaluation process has undergone many reforms to improve process efficiency. Less attention has been paid to the method for calculating disability compensation. Although prior proposals have introduced alternative approaches to compensating service members for disabilities, a rigorous evaluation of what those alternatives might look like, and their potential impact on service member benefits and costs to the Department of Defense (DoD), has never been conducted until now.
The Disability Evaluation System
The current disability evaluation system is a joint program between DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) called the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES). The IDES evaluates a service member's fitness for duty and determines disability benefits for those who are found unfit to continue serving and consequently medically discharged (see Figure 1). The processes for determining fitness for duty and disability compensation are complex and involve numerous stakeholders in DoD and the VA. This complexity results from an effort to ensure that service members are given a complete and thorough evaluation for any potentially unfitting condition.
Yet, at the same time, the complexity can have adverse consequences, leading to a lengthy evaluation process for members and extra time and resource costs to DoD. At any given time, thousands of service members are in the IDES. While these service members are being evaluated, they cannot deploy, which affects DoD's readiness to conduct its mission. Thus, maintaining readiness creates an incentive for the system to work as efficiently as possible.
Through a series of reforms, DoD, the VA, and the services have made considerable progress in reducing the amount of time it takes to process service members through the system, reducing processing times from an average of 400 days in 2012 to 248 days in 2018. Through new initiatives in 2020, DoD, the VA, and the services are close to achieving a goal of 180 days.
It is also a DoD priority to ensure that service members receive adequate and fair disability compensation and that the DoD disability compensation system work efficiently and compatibly with IDES. Consequently, because the characteristics and needs of DoD and service members evolve over time, it is important to occasionally review the current disability compensation system to ensure that it still achieves this goal.
RAND researchers evaluated DoD disability compensation alternatives within a streamlined disability evaluation approach, referred to as a fitness-for-duty evaluation system (FES). A FES reduces the reliance on DoD disability ratings for determining DoD disability compensation. Instead, it focuses primarily on a single decision of whether a service member is fit or not fit to perform his or her duties (see Figure 1). The work described in this brief is based on the IDES process as it operated in 2019. In 2020, DoD introduced a parallel processing track into IDES. These processes are illustrated in the left and center of the figure. A hypothetical evaluation process that would be consistent with a FES is illustrated in the right of the figure.
With fewer steps, such an approach would save some additional time, but the question at hand was how to change the disability compensation system to support a FES. In particular, how can alternative disability compensation approaches be structured without relying on the disability rating?
Figure 1. Disability Evaluation: IDES Versus Fitness for Duty
IDES, 2019
Referral: Service member enters IDES after physician referral
VA medical evaluation: Exam results relevant to whether member meets DoD retention standards
Medical evaluation board (MEB)*: MEB reviews medical conditions; refers members to the physical education board (PEB) who do not meet medical retention standards
PEB*: Informal PEB (IPEB) makes initial decision on fitness; identifies specific conditions that make a member unfit
Rating determination*: VA determines disability rating for every medical condition
Final disposition: PEB combines individual ratings to calculate DoD disability rating; VA calculates combined VA disability rating**
Medical discharge and compensation: Members are discharged with compensation based on the DoD disability rating
IDES with Parallel Ratings, 2020
VA medical evaluation
Rating determination*: Introduced by DoD in 2020, the MEB and PEB (DoD's responsibility) occur in parallel with the VA rating determination
MEB*
PEB*
Final disposition
Medical discharge and compensation
Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation System
Medical evaluation: Medical assessment conducted by VA or DoD, or relying on existing medical records
Fitness evaluation*: In lieu of the MEB and PEB, DoD makes a general evaluation of fitness based on medical assessment
Fitness determination: DoD makes fit/unfit decision
Medical discharge and compensation: Members are discharged with compensation based on fitness determination
Rating determination (optional)
* At each of these stages, service members can accept the findings or appeal the decision and request reconsideration.
** The DoD disability rating is based on unfitting conditions; the VA disability rating is based on all medical conditions.
DoD Disability Compensation Today
DoD disability compensation is currently determined based on a complex set of formulas. The DoD disability rating—determined in the IDES—has a direct connection to the disability compensation that a service member receives from DoD. Depending on the disability rating, a service member receives either DoD disability severance or disability retirement. The main determination is as follows:
If a service member is found to be unfit, receives a DoD disability rating of less than 30 percent, and has fewer than 20 years of service, they will be separated from duty and receive a lump-sum disability severance payment. The severance payment is calculated based on current basic pay and years of service. The service member also receives 180 days of health care benefits.
If a service member is found to be unfit and receives a DoD disability rating of 30 percent or higher or has 20 or more years of service, they are medically retired and receive a disability retirement benefit for the remainder of their lives. The service member also receives lifetime health care benefits.[1]
The DoD disability retirement benefit is calculated in two different ways. The rating-based formula uses the DoD disability rating percentage (up to a maximum of 75 percent) to calculate the benefit. The retirement formula uses a retirement multiplier to calculate the benefit based on longevity of service instead of the disability rating. The member presumably chooses the option that results in the higher benefit payment.
Service members who are medically discharged through IDES could also receive disability compensation from the VA. The DoD disability benefit is reduced by the amount a member receives from the VA.
In practice, the retirement formula tends to benefit more-senior personnel; junior personnel tend to receive a higher benefit using the rating-based formula. Because most personnel in IDES are relatively junior (E-4 to E-6), their disability benefits would be more likely to change (either increase or decrease) if use of DoD ratings were changed or eliminated.
These differences need to be taken into account when considering alternative ways to compensate members under a FES. These differences also make it difficult to develop alternatives that have equal impact for all service members in IDES.
Alternative DoD Disability Compensation Approaches
RAND researchers developed four alternatives for redesigning DoD disability compensation under a FES. To develop these alternative approaches, they reviewed past proposals to reform the DoD disability compensation system, the disability compensation system for U.S. civilians, and how selected U.S. allies compensate military personnel for disabling conditions. The four alternatives have the following objectives:
Compensate based on current objectives. This alternative maintains the objectives of the current system, which compensates for the condition causing disability, the severity of the disability, and the military career accomplished to date, but, in most cases, the disability rating is established after the service member is discharged.
Compensate for military career. This alternative is based on career metrics and considers either the military service accomplished to date or the expected loss of a military career.
Compensate for unfitting conditions. This alternative is based on the condition that is causing disability and was incurred as a result of a service member's work in the line of duty.
Compensate like U.S. allies. This alternative considers both the severity of the disability and the loss of a military career.
Table 1 contains additional details on the compensation formula and when the disability rating is determined for each alternative, including implementation options analyzed for Alternatives 1 and 2.
Table 1. Alternative Disability Compensation Approaches
Compensation objective
Compensation formula
When disability rating is determined
Status quo Rated disability or career metrics During evaluation process
Alternative 1 Compensate based on current objectives
Same formula as status quo, with transition benefit
Rated disability (junior rank) or career metrics (senior rank)
After discharge
During evaluation process (junior rank); senior ranks not rated
Alternative 2 Compensate for military career
Value of lost military career
Retirement pay with floor of 12 years of service
Retirement pay with no floor
No rating needed for DoD compensation
Alternative 3 Compensate for unfitting condition Fixed payment for each condition that results in unfitness for duty No rating needed for DoD compensation
Alternative 4 Compensate like U.S. allies One payment based on disability severity; additional payment based on earnings loss After discharge
These hypothetical alternatives were developed in 2019. None of the alternatives is currently being pursued by DoD, and these alternatives also do not take into account parallel ratings adopted by DoD in 2020. Consequently, Alternatives 1a and 4, which move the assignment of a DoD rating until after a member is discharged, are not entirely compatible with the design of parallel ratings. But they do offer different perspectives on ways to reform the disability compensation system. Analyzing these alternatives involved modeling and simulation techniques, as well as tabulations using multiple data files from DoD and the Veterans Tracking Application. The specific analytic approach varied for each alternative.
Each compensation alternative would be feasible under a FES but would change the value of compensation relative to current benefits for at least some service members. In addition to the changes in compensation, costs to DoD could also change under these alternatives.
For example, Alternative 1a, the only alternative under which benefits do not change relative to the current benefit, would increase the overall cost to DoD because of the addition of a transition benefit and would require coordination with the VA to change the timing of the ratings step in the evaluation process.[2] For all other options, the change in the disability benefit is generally mixed—increasing for some members, decreasing for others—depending on how each option is implemented. Table 2 summarizes changes in service member benefits and DoD costs for each alternative. Although a complete cost assessment was beyond the scope of this research, it was possible to estimate the effect on cost for some alternatives.
Table 2. Summary of Outcomes for DoD Disability Compensation Alternatives
Change in disability benefits relative to status quo
Status quo No change in disability benefits but total cost increases due to transition benefit if end strength is maintained
No change for junior members or senior members whose current benefit is based on retirement
Decline for senior members whose current benefit is based on ratings
Alternative 2 Compensate for military career Benefits increase for some, decrease for others, depending on rating under current system, grade, and years of service
Alternative 3 Compensate for unfitting condition Benefits depend on fixed payment amount: could increase for those with lower payments and fall for those with higher payments under status quo
Alternative 4 Compensate like U.S. allies Hybrid of Alternatives 2 and 3: results vary depending on size of fixed payment
Other Implications of a FES
The value of disability compensation is only one dimension by which a FES should be evaluated. It is also important to understand the implications of removing ratings on the timing of the process itself, end strength, human capital, and policies and legislation.
IDES Processing Time
Eliminating or delaying ratings until after discharge is estimated to reduce the length of the IDES process (prior to the use of a parallel ratings process) by approximately 29 days on average, or about 13 percent of the average IDES duration in 2018. It could also reduce some of the variability in the process. Actual time savings might be greater because eliminating ratings could lead to efficiencies in other steps in the process, such as the medical evaluation or appeals.
Preliminary DoD estimates from fiscal year 2020 suggest that implementation of parallel ratings in the IDES process saved 36 days, similar to the alternatives examined here in a sequential process.
Change in End Strength
The majority of IDES referrals are Army enlisted personnel. Under a FES, active-duty end strength for the Army enlisted force would fall by no more than 0.2 percent (relative to a system without parallel ratings) because of the reduction in processing times from eliminating or delaying ratings. A similar, though slightly smaller, reduction in end strength would occur in the other services. This drop is among people who are not able to deploy, so the services could choose to maintain end strength with deployable members (through accessions or by increasing retention), thereby increasing readiness.
Human Capital Loss
The loss of personnel who are discharged because of disability represents a loss of skills and experience. The process envisioned under the alternatives does not change the number of service members who would be found unfit and separated or retired. But members would be discharged more quickly, accelerating the loss of human capital.
Ninety percent of service members who are discharged through IDES are enlisted, and 78 percent are in grades E-4 to E-6. The most common occupations for these members are general infantry and general medical care, supply, law enforcement, and automotive occupations. On average, the training associated with these occupations is relatively modest, although the training and experience of officers who exit the military because of disability is substantial.
The policies and legislation underpinning the current system are complex and interconnected, and many of them directly rely on or reference disability ratings. For example, the terms disability and rating are referenced numerous times in U.S. Code and the DoD Instruction for IDES.
Nearly all of these references are substantive in nature in that they serve to delineate how determinations of compensation are made, as well as what appellate options are available to those service members who are designated disabled. As a result, many aspects of the applicable U.S. Code would likely require repeal or amendment under a shift to a FES, and associated authorities would then require rescissions, changes, and/or reissuances.
Although these alternative approaches for compensation under a FES are feasible, numerous process, legal, and compensation-related changes would be required to implement any of them. Moreover, any disability compensation approach used as part of a FES should be evaluated not only on the direct costs and benefits but also on what objectives policymakers want the DoD disability compensation system to achieve.
For example, if DoD were to decide that DoD disability compensation should be based solely on career metrics, that would provide justification for pursuing Alternative 2. Similar arguments could be made for other alternatives if broader policy objectives are best met by compensating on the basis of disability severity, unfitting conditions, or the approach undertaken by U.S. allies. The end result could be a simpler and more streamlined disability compensation system.
The analysis summarized here offers a framework that decisionmakers could reference should the department consider moving to a FES in the future.
[1] See DoD Instruction 1332.18, Disability Evaluation System (DES), August 5, 2014, incorporating Change 1, effective May 17, 2018, Appendix 3 to Enclosure 3, paragraph 2.b.
[2] This conclusion assumes that end strength would be held constant, so any savings from having fewer people in IDES would be offset by the cost of replacement personnel.
U.S. Department of Defense Disability Compensation Under a Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation Approach
Stephanie Rennane, Beth J. Asch, et al.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research brief series. RAND research briefs present policy-oriented summaries of individual published, peer-reviewed documents or of a body of published work.
Availability: Web-Only
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RBA1154-1
Document Number: RB-A1154-1
Series: Research Briefs
Military Compensation
Military Health and Health Care
Rennane, Stephanie, Beth J. Asch, Michael G. Mattock, Heather Krull, Douglas C. Ligor, Michael Dworsky, and Jonas Kempf, Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2022. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA1154-1.html.
Rennane, Stephanie, Beth J. Asch, Michael G. Mattock, Heather Krull, Douglas C. Ligor, Michael Dworsky, and Jonas Kempf, Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation, RAND Corporation, RB-A1154-1, 2022. As of January 12, 2023: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA1154-1.html


Every year in New Jersey, there are about 2,500 motorcycle accidents, according to the Federal Highway Authority. The state of New Jersey requires that all motorcyclists purchase motorcycle insurance. If you're a motorcyclist in New Jersey, the following provides information regarding your options for NJ motorcycle insurance.
New Jersey has a minimum amount of insurance coverage that every motorcyclist is required to purchase prior to operating a motorcycle. Each rider must carry liability coverage which covers damages that other parties sustain in an accident caused by that policyholder. If another driver caused your accident, you could file a claim with that party's liability coverage.
In NJ, motorcycle insurance must include the following types of liability coverage.
$30,000 for total bodily injury per accident.
and, $5,000 for property damage.
Usually, these minimum coverage options are colloquially referred to as a 15/30/5 when speaking with an insurance agent. However, some elect higher coverage limits to protect them if they cause more serious accidents that result in significant damages to other parties.
Rather than the minimum, some purchase liability coverage options of 25/50/10, 50/100/25, or, 100/300/50. Speak with an insurance representative about the motorcycle insurance coverage options available.
Liability coverage is a necessary part of your NJ motorcycle insurance policy, but some motorcyclists elect other coverage options as well. You may also purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage protects you in the event that a person does not have any insurance, or does not have enough insurance to cover your injuries and damages to property, respectively.
Other types of coverage may also be available – like safety gear coverage, trip interruption, etc. – so discuss your options with the insurance company from which you are purchasing motorcycle insurance coverage. However, PIP coverage – which covers your injuries if you are involved in an accident, regardless of fault – generally does not apply to motorcycle accidents.
Whose insurance pays damages in a motorcycle accident?
If you caused the motorcycle accident, then the other driver may file a claim with your motorcycle insurance to recover damages from your liability coverage. In some cases, you may have to file a lawsuit to recover your damages.
If the other driver caused the accident, you may pursue damages from his or her insurance policy. You may also recover compensation from your own coverage if you have the right coverage, though most NJ motorcycle insurance policies do not contain no-fault PIP coverage. You may be able to use your health insurance if you were injured and require medical treatment. But this requires co-payments and meeting a deductible.
If you were in an accident that caused serious injuries and believe another party is responsible for it, speak with an attorney about your legal options and the value of your motorcycle claim damages.
At Cordisco & Saile LLC, our attorneys know how important it is that you're fairly compensated for your injuries and property damages following an accident. As such, we'll work to make sure that you get the compensation you deserve from the other party's insurance company, or via a lawsuit against the at-fault party.
To speak with one of our attorneys to ask questions about your accident and the process of filing a claim, call us now for a free case consultation. Call us at 215-642-2335 to set up a consultation, or use our online contact form to schedule your appointment.


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text:
Q: XMLReader read to next sibling of unknown type I understand how we can use a code sample like the following..
public class Sample
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        using (XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("books.xml"))
        {
            reader.ReadToFollowing("book");
            do
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Name ", reader.GetAttribute("Name"));
            } while (reader.ReadToNextSibling("book"));
        }
    }
}

and this will read every sibling of type "book". So in the xml structure like this one below it would work great..

       <book Name="Titan Quest 1"/>
       <book Name="Titan Quest 2"/>
       <book Name="Adventure Willy"/>
       <book Name="Mr. G and the Sandman"/>
       <book Name="Terry and Me"/>

But lets say your siblings are not always of type book.. Inside section, we can have book, cd, dvd, or vhs so the xml may look something like this

       <cd Name="Titan Quest 1"/>
       <book Name="Titan Quest 2"/>
       <vhs Name="Adventure Willy"/>
       <cd Name="Mr. G and the Sandman"/>
       <dvd Name="Terry and Me"/>

I want to write a method that will give me the Name attribute regardless of what sibling type it is.. Using the above code I would only get [Titan Quest 2]. Can this be done? Thanks!

A: Using this code with XDocument will get all the values from the attributes:
 var document = XDocument.Load("test.xml");

 var bookValues = document.XPathSelectElement("Section")
       .Descendants()
       .Select(x => x.Attribute("Name").Value);

Or using XmlReader to get all the attribute values:
List<String> values = new List<string>();
using (var xmlreader = XmlReader.Create("test.xml"))
{
    xmlreader.ReadToDescendant("Section");
    while (xmlreader.Read())
    {
        if (xmlreader.IsStartElement())
        {
            values.Add(xmlreader.GetAttribute("Name"));
        }
    }
}

A: Try following code.  Will work with both type books.  I used a combination of xmlreader and XElement :
Here is my xml
<test>

       <book Name="Titan Quest 1"/>
       <book Name="Titan Quest 2"/>
       <book Name="Adventure Willy"/>
       <book Name="Mr. G and the Sandman"/>
       <book Name="Terry and Me"/>

       <cd Name="Titan Quest 1"/>
       <book Name="Titan Quest 2"/>
       <vhs Name="Adventure Willy"/>
       <cd Name="Mr. G and the Sandman"/>
       <dvd Name="Terry and Me"/>

</test>

Here is the code
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Linq;

namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
    class Program
    {
        const string FILENAME = @"c:\temp\test.xml";
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            List<List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>> books = new List<List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>>();

            using (XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(FILENAME))
            {
                while (!reader.EOF)
                {
                    if (reader.Name != "Section")
                    {
                        reader.ReadToFollowing("Section");
                    }
                    if (!reader.EOF)
                    {
                        XElement section = (XElement)XElement.ReadFrom(reader);
                        List<KeyValuePair<string, string>> book = new List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>();
                        books.Add(book);
                        foreach (XElement b in section.Elements())
                        {
                            book.Add(new KeyValuePair<string, string>(b.Name.LocalName, (string)b.Attribute("Name")));
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

        }
    }
}

Here is the results

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


1. I started kindergarten when I was four. I knew then I was different. I guess I was smart for my age.
2. I had no friends in grade school. No close friends anyway. I've always thought it was because when I was younger I picked my nose and ate it. But I'm not sure.
3. My childhood friends, for the most part, are all younger than me. That may not seem like a big deal until you realize I spent 14 years of my life with classmates I thought didn't like me.
4. I never dated until college. I lost my virginity when I was 21.
5. I regret not playing basketball in high school. I'm damn good. Even today, I play with people half my age and hold my own. But a classmate told me in 8th grade not to make a fool of myself. And, unfortunately, I listened.
6. My first college roommate threatened to kill me.
7. I love my family, and feel a constant pressure to move closer, even though I don't really want to live in the Midwest ever again.
8. I wish my brothers and I were closer.
9. I'm a horrible sleeper. I spend my nights in constant self-flagellation. I think about anything and everything I've done wrong that day, that week, or in my entire life. Because of this, I never sleep soundly. I wake up when a cricket farts three houses down. Most days, I'm so physically and mentally fatigued it impacts my job, my wife, and the people around me.
10. If I accidentally drop something, there's a good chance I can catch it before it hits the ground. We do not own a fly swatter because I can catch flies with my hands. I then release them back into the wild.
11. If someone tells me I did something wrong, I obsess about it. All the time. I am still haunted by things I did when I was 10.
12. I became a vegetarian recently. If you've ever cleaned out a chicken coup or meat department like I have, you would understand why.
13. I don't have any morals or beliefs. Seriously. I don't judge people. I think this makes it easier for me to understand others who believe differently. But I also thinks it makes it harder for people to understand me.
14. I'm an atheist. I think I became one because so many people told me I should believe. And because Sunday service conflicted with WWF Wrestling.
15. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve. I hand it to you, then stress out preparing myself for that time when you crush it.
16. I hide my emotions so much I purposely watch sad videos. Crying is my only emotional release, and something I can do alone.
17. It's been three years and I constantly think about my father's death.
18. I think I'm pretty damn funny. I also think I use biting wit and sarcasm to make sure people don't get too close.
19. I wish I could open up to more people. I have a wonderful wife, and some really great friends. And it's still hard for me to talk openly and honestly with them.
20. I almost didn't write this because I was afraid I would be made fun of or you wouldn't care.
Now, some of you may be wondering why I'm starting a "Real Political Conversations" blog this way. But as you know, Williams' death once again brings mental health discussion to the forefront. And, like politics, I believe we start the discussion the wrong way. We need to talk about facts, not opinions. We need to talk about HOW to accept everyone's differences before we debate WHAT to accept. We need to stop blaming mental health issues solely on the individual, and start looking at the role society plays in forming those issues. And most of all, we need to connect.
And maybe that connection starts with this. Maybe opening up shows us we are not alone, that our differences make us unique, but are also shared with thousands or millions of others. Some of you can't sleep. Others have trouble making friends. I'd love to learn more about you. I'd love for this to go viral and everyone posts their own list somewhere. Anywhere.
But I completely understand if you don't.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on August 17, 2014 by dewit8.
I have often thought that you could not have a real political conversation without defining terms. We use the same words but they sometimes have different meanings to each of us. I don't have a blog just because I am afraid of what people will think of me. I am really looking forward to some great conversations where we can talk about ideas apart from name calling and back stabbing.
Darrin, I have always enjoyed and admired your wit and your intellect. It is difficult to be this open and sharing of oneself. I look forward to reading your blog. I know how very proud your dad was of you and your brothers. He is still in our hearts and our thoughts, along with your mom.