The USA is not Alone in the Issue of Gun Violence

From the Toronto Star Newspaper web site.

Published on Wednesday July 18, 2012

On Monday night, Toronto was rocked by a tragic act of gun violence — two innocent bystanders murdered, many others injured. Importantly, this crime occurred in the wake of similar public incidents, including the recent Eaton Centre shooting.

These crimes have led to a number of seemingly contradictory statements by public officials. Police Chief Bill Blair, for example, called the Scarborough shooting unprecedented and the worst case of gun violence in North America. By contrast, Mayor Rob Ford stated that despite the recent spate of gun violence, Toronto remains the safest city in the world. Neither statement is true.

Read the rest of the article here.

We all remember the killing in Norway where a man is accused of killing 77 people in a bomb-and-gun rampage in Norway last summer said his actions were justified to save the country from multicultural forces. Read the CNN report here.

“The National Rifle Association is America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights. Since its inception in 1871.” Those are the first words you see when Googling the organization’s name. I am impressed with the usual first words out of someone’s mouth in defending their right to bare arms. “It’s my second Amendment rights.” I am not impressed with the concept that everyone has the right to buy all the arms they want.

The killing at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado will be a milestone event. Now crazy people will see that they can do their deeds at theaters and shopping centers without fear of retribution.

It would be a battle to amend their “rights.” Gerry Gray, a Canadian, posted this explanation of their limits to weapon access in his country. His comments can be read at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1057&message=42083981

I shouldn’t get involved because I live in Canada but look at us. Our gun laws are tightening at the whim of government. In Canada……….
You cannot get a carry permit for a handgun for the purpose of self defense.
It is against the law to have tasers or mace for self defense.
Handguns with 4 inch barrels and smaller are prohibited.
Certain calibers are prohibited. ===== .25 for example
Rifles or shotguns barrel length smaller than 18 inches are prohibited.
Automatics of any kind are prohibited.
A citizen cannot carry a handgun on the street. etc etc etc

I think USA is in real danger of going the same route as Australia, UK, Canada…..
Some interesting youtube for USA……..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbx08fbb-L4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfTzPfdzFBY&feature=related

America’s Love of Guns

No one is concerned about the consequences of allowing everyone to own multiple weapons even those who are not fit psychologically, mentally, or physically to handle the responsibility.

It wasn’t too long ago that Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was the target of an attack by a deranged gunman. Everyone remembers the tragedy at Columbine High School in Littlerock, Colorado. Now 71 people are killed or wounded by another madman. Still no one says, “Enough.” The American Bar Association posts on its website “The rate of death from firearms in the United States is eight times higher than that in its economic counterparts in other parts of the world.” Bowing down to the Second Amendment and the NRA is an inexplicable behavior.

The Constitution was written in 1787. What were the weapons of 1776 and still in use in 1787? Artillery and Gun boats??? Wrong!!! The historically correct answer is: Flintlock pistols and Flintlock Muskets.

There were no cars, no telephones and no railroads. The industrial revolution was not even an idea. So today in the 21st century we hold this document, the Constitution, as if it was handed down by Moses. Unless you think the country will be the victim of a new king or a dictator what exactly is the purpose of the Second Amendment? Precisely why would anyone need to own 2 Glock pistols, a semi-automatic rifle, a shot-gun and 6,000 rounds of ammunition? Well, there might be a reason – you want to kill a theater full of people for no particular reason.

Investment Scandal is Standard Operating Procedure

You Can’t Trust Banks or Brokers

The Madoff scandal seems like many years ago but it was December 2008. Then there was the Allen Stanford February 2009 scandal that the SEC called a “massive ongoing fraud” involving $7 billion. We had to wait to December 2011 for the MF Global bankruptcy. Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase announced in May of this year that the bank lost $2 Billion but as things turned out the amount may be closer to $7.5 Billion. A mere $15 Million is missing in the accounts of an Iowa futures brokerage named Peregrine – the 64 year old founder is suspected of falsifying customer accounts for at least two years (sounds like the Madoff affair). He tried to commit suicide – we should have let him – It would have saved the government the cost of his imprisonment.

Not to be outdone, the banks that set the Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) has been rigging the rates and Barclays has been fined $450 Million. Some American banks may be involved. Many American consumer and home mortgage loans are based upon this rate.

Mere mortals, such as myself, are at the mercy of the wheeler dealers.

If there was another failure of any of our large banks the United States would come to their rescue even though politicians say they won’t. Why? Because just four of the conglomerates have assets totaling 51% of our annual national economy.

The list:

Bank of America
JP Morgan Chase
Citi Group
Wells Fargo

Their assets total $7.7 Trillion. The national GDP $15.1 Trillion.

This Machine Saves Lives

My health care plan is provided by Kaiser Permanente. It is an HMO. It also happens to be the top rated health plan of all kinds in the state of California. That includes PPO plans. This result based upon studies sponsored by Consumer’s Reports and another reported in Newsweek a few years back.

When I joined, it was thanks to an employer provided health care plan. I had no choice. At the time I thought this is care for the masses. The employer provides the least expensive plan but can say “we provide health care to our employees and their families.”

Over the years other employers offered other plans but honestly they really were not any better than Kaiser. So when it came to Medicare I re-joined Kaiser as it was the least expensive.

A few years ago Kaiser implemented their electronic records and communications system. That received my immediate attention. Why? You will ask.

1. Exchange secure e-mail with your doctor’s office in my message center. You also can go there to contact our Member Services and Web manager.

2. Wondering if you should book a visit? Consult our interactive symptom checker, or go straight to scheduling in the appointment center.

3. View your past visit information, plus get your latest test results, immunizations, health care reminders, and more in my medical record. The record shows the results of every test. It is a complete history of my health care.

4. Get the facts about your plan and benefits, download forms, and more in my plan and coverage.

5. You can manage your prescriptions here, or learn about specific medications in our drug encyclopedia.

6. Doctors send their prescriptions via the connected system directly to their pharmacy. No more hand written prescriptions unless you choose to fill the order at a non Kaiser pharmacy. Kaiser’s medications are as cheap as any place including Costco and Wal-Mart.

7. Orders for tests and x-rays are communicated to their labs. There are no paper documents.

In the June 25-July1 issue of BusinessWeek there is a five page spread in the subject of improved care and lower costs that can be achieved using computerized records.

The article opens with the care at the Kaiser hospital in San Jose, California. While in the outpatient area a man appeared to be having an epileptic seizure. Should the doctor send the man to neurology, as he would an epileptic patient, or to emergency? The doctor looked up the patient’s records on the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) system. In an instant he saw that the man had a history of twitching episodes from which he recovered quickly. The patient was put on a cardiac monitor and confirmed that the man’s brain was not the source of his medical issues. The patient was outfitted with a pacemaker in a matter of hours. The doctor says that the man might have died if he had gone to a neurology clinic. The doctors there don’t have cardiac monitors and might not have diagnosed his condition in time. This situation was a perfect example of the benefit of EHR.

Despite the obvious benefits independent doctors and smaller practices are resisting the use of EHR. Researching the subject on the internet brought these negative comments from medical informatics , a New York Times blog titled The Doctor vs. the Computer, and Physicians’ Use Of Electronic Medical Records: Barriers And Solutions.

Then there is Mike Koriwchak an otolaryngologist who blogs at The Wired Practice. He posted this commentary on Kevinmd.com.

After 5 successful years with electronic medical records (EMR), I am convinced that the promise of EMR to improve physician practices and to improve the health care system is real.

Presidential Campaign is Down and Dirty

This week has been a big win for Obama. What can we conclude? The Obama re-election team has managed to distract the news media.

Rather than talking about the state of the economy talk shows and others are talking about Romney’s management of Bain Capital and the fact that Romney has released only two years of his income taxes. If we aren’t talking about those things we are talking about Romney’s bank accounts in other countries. Vanity Fair ran an article on the Romney off shore accounts that was replicated in the Huffington Post and the NY Daily News.

To finish off the week CNN State of the Union, CBS Face the Nation, and NBC Meet the Press all started their programs with interviews focused on Mitt Romney. Even Fox News Sunday found itself discussing the attacks on Romney.

Adding insult to injury BusinessWeek’s latest edition offered this derogatory cover.

If Obama’s re-election team can keep up the distractions you just might not vote for Romney. Surveys seem to bear out the success of the Democrats. That leads to the conclusion that we will see more of the same.

Essentially the Obama campaign has made Romney’s life the issue rather than the Obama presidency. It’s what George W. Bush did to John Kerry.

This is a very sad situation for Americans. With no stated economic plan from either Romney or Obama, Americans will not be focused on the real issues that face the nation. It probably won’t matter because there is no evidence that either one has a plan. That may be because neither of the candidates wants to address the issues.

Lifestyle

Congratulations to Weight Watchers for convincing millions of overweight people that their solution is a change of Lifestyle. Weight Loss Boss by David Kirchhoff, the CEO of Weight Watchers International, is all about Lifestyle. My lovely wife, who needs to lose at least another 18 pounds, contends that her revised eating habits are all about Lifestyle. Losing weight and keeping it off is not my idea of a Lifestyle.

I like the Wikipedia definition. Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives to one’s own ability. Individual identity. A lifestyle typically reflects an individual’s attitudes, values or world view. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity.

The Free Dictionary offers a concise easy to understand definition. A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.

Microsoft Word provides a definition by reading its Thesaurus. Way of life, Existence, Standard of living, Routine, Life, Daily life, Everyday life, Means.

What is the Lifestyle of the rich and famous? Robin Leach spotlighted the eccentricities and excesses of a different member of the “rich and famous” each week from 1984 to 1995.

My Lifestyle is doing the things I like to do without having a boss. It’s writing in this blog and walking or riding around taking pictures of unusual things.

I AM TRULY VERY FORTUNATE.

What’s your Lifestyle?

Insurance Company Death Panels

I received an e-mail plea from a member of change.org. I underlined the critical words.

Danielle Gilbert is my friend and a former student, and she is fighting for her life. Danni has stage four colon cancer — but her insurance company is refusing to cover treatment that could buy her at least three more precious months with her two daughters and husband.

The email asks the recipients to petition Blue Cross to pay for the needed Avastin treatment. The treatment will cost about $8,300 per month.

“Tell Blue Cross Idaho to cover cancer treatment that could buy Danni more precious time with her daughters and husband.”

Five years ago 17 year old Nataline Sarkisyan was denied a liver transplant by her family’s health insurer, CIGNA. A community up roar resulted in a change in their decision but it was too late and she died.

The two decisions were made by insurance companies. No one called the people at the insurance companies that made those decisions death panels. There is a group, wanting to kill national health care plans, calling government bureaucrats (who are most likely doctors) using the words “death panels” to describe those decision makers.

My own mother was approaching 96 and had advanced dementia. The care facility called my sister and me to advise she was suffering with shallow breathing and might not survive the night. My sister wanted her transferred to a hospital for intensive care. I asked what the benefit would be. She won’t be able to talk and she will still be unaware of her surroundings. It was a condition that had existed for two years. My sister relented and Mom passed away at 5 a.m. the next day.

All of the facts in these cases are never totally revealed. Unrevealed in the news stories about Nataline Sarkisyan is that she had recurrent leukemia, first diagnosed at age 14, had received a bone marrow transplant from her brother Bedros, November 27, 2007. She subsequently developed complications leading to multiple organ failure, including liver and kidney failure. This information was revealed in a Wikipedia entry. An article in the N.Y. Times does an excellent job of evoking your sympathy.

What is the real condition of the people involved?
What are the real costs?
What is the outlook for their recovery?

I do not understand why insurance company panels are better equipped to make the decisions. After all they represent “for profit” insurance companies.

Policeman of the World – Let China Do It

This cogent commentary in Newsweek June 25, 2012 was written by Niall Ferguson. He is their regular conservative contributor. Here is an abridged version of his column.

It’s not America’s job to intervene in Syria.

THE ARAB SPRING has plunged Syria into a bloody civil war. Now, with allegations flying that the Russians are supplying helicopters to the odious regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria, a familiar debate is underway. Should we intervene?

There can be no morally credible argument against intervention-by someone.

But why should it be the United States that once again attempt to play the part of global cop?

Since the early 1970s, the Middle East has absorbed a disproportionate share of American resources. Particularly since 9/11, it has consumed the time of presidents like no other region of the world. Yet it is far from clear that this state of affairs should continue, for three good reasons.

First, advances in fracking technology and discoveries of bountiful natural gas reserves mean that North America’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil will diminish rapidly in the next two decades.

Second, a new military intervention makes very little sense at a time when theU.S.defense budget is being slashed.

Finally, what is the point of humanitarian intervention in a region where no good deed goes unpunished?

So if not us, then who? Or perhaps that should be: if not us, then Hu? That, after all, is the name of the current Chinese president.

In terms of geopolitics,China today is the world’s supreme free rider.China’s oil consumption has doubled in the past 10 years, while America’s has actually declined.

Moreover, China’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil is set to increase. The International Energy Authority estimates that by 2015 foreign imports will account for between 60 and 70 percent of its total consumption.

Yet China contributes almost nothing to stability in the oil-producing heartland of the Arabian deserts and barely anything to the free movement of goods through the world’s strategic sea lanes.

Finally, the world is ready for the Chinese to participate more fully in international security. According to another Pew survey of 14 nations around the world, 42 percent of people now think China is the world’s leading economic power, compared with 36 percent who think it’s still the United States.

Under President Obama, U.S.grand strategy has been at best incoherent, at worst nonexistent. I can think of no better complement to the president’s recent “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific region than to invite China to play a greater role in the Middle East-one that is commensurate with its newfound wealth and growing military capability. NW

Do You Own an Offshore Bank Account?

I know that few of you do. One person that does is the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney. Just Google the above question and you will obtain quite a few responses. Google, “Romney’s secret offshore bank accounts.” You will see articles posted by Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, and the NY Daily News. I know what you are thinking. Those are all Liberal news companies. You would be wrong. The NY Daily News is owned by one wealthy businessman, Mort Zuckerman. The same Mort Zuckerman who also owns U.S. News & World Report. The same Mort Zuckerman who has been appearing as a guest on many political talk shows and slamming Barack Obama.

This is the New York Daily News report.

Mitt Romney’s massive fortune – estimated to be as high as $250 million – is held in a complex and opaque network of offshore havens that are impossible to penetrate, according to a report in Vanity Fair.

By Kristen A. Lee / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Mitt Romney’s massive fortune – estimated to be as high as $250 million – is held in a complex and opaque network of offshore havens that are impossible to penetrate, according to a report in Vanity Fair.

Romney had a Swiss bank account and has interests in tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The Romney campaign has insisted he does not use the havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes, but Vanity Fair wrote it is impossible to confirm that he is not seeing a savings.

The Republican candidate paid a 14 percent tax rate on $21.7 million in income in 2010 – far lower than the rate paid by many Americans because his earnings comes from investments rather than wages.

Vanity Fair noted that Romney has continued to receive large payments from Bain Capital since leaving the private equity firm in 1999.

Romney has personal interests in at least a dozen of the 138 or more funds organized by Bain in the Cayman Islands. Vanity Fair said the Romney-related funds are worth as much as $30 million and hidden behind confidentiality disclaimers.

The report also raised questions about Romney’s blind trusts, which are used by politicians to remove conflicts of interests by turning investment control over to an independent trustee.

Romney’s financial disclosure form lists 25 such investments in an open-ended category labeled “over $1 million,” Vanity Fair reported. Many of them are set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is distancing itself from the CEO of Barclays, who stepped down from the British bank Tuesday amid an interest-rate fixing scandal.

Robert Diamond will no longer co-host a London fundraiser scheduled for July 27 when Romney will be in town for the Olympics.

“Mr. Diamond decided to step aside as a co-host for the upcoming London reception to focus all his attention on Barclays,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul told The Financial Times. “We respect his decision.” The fundraiser will go on without the former CEO.

Barclays was fined $453 million last week by U.S. and British regulators for submitting false reports on interbank borrowing rates between 2005 and 2009.

Israeli Draft Pits Secular Jews vs. Ultra-Orthodox

A central problem for the State of Israel is that it is a theocratic democracy. People can elect representatives, but religious leaders have a lot of power over what the government can do. How can Israel, a country that holds itself out as the one true democracy in the Middle East, allow a minority religious sect to dictate its rights and the rule of law for the entire nation?

This article was posted by the Associated Press on my home page. It has been abridged due to its length.

ARON HELLER

From Associated Press

July 07, 2012 3:09 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Deep in the heart of Mea Shearim, a Jerusalem bastion of hardline ultra-Orthodox Jews, hundreds of bearded young men in black suits have their noses burrowed into books, immersed in biblical study and oblivious to their surroundings.

They are the creme de la creme of a cloistered community, the Harvard of the ultra-Orthodox world, who are expected neither to work for a living nor serve in the military with other Israelis.

The fight centers on whether ultra-Orthodox males should be drafted into the military along with other Jews, but it really is about a much deeper issue: the place of Judaism in the Jewish state.

The question has come to the fore as the government races to meet a Supreme Court-ordered deadline to revamp the nation’s draft law. In its current form, secular males must perform three years of compulsory service when they turn 18. Ultra-Orthodox men, like the young scholars at the Mir Yeshiva, have special exemptions that allow them to continue studying in their isolated enclaves while collecting government subsidies.

For their supporters, seminary students are preserving a tradition that has served as the very bedrock of Judaism for thousands of years.

“Jews need to study the Bible. That is what makes us unique as a people,” Yerach Tucker, a 30-year-old spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox community, said proudly as he guided a visitor through the Mir Yeshiva. “It is the essence of our lives.”

But polls show the vast majority of Israelis, who risk their lives and put their careers on hold while serving in the military, object strongly to the arrangement, and many see it as the essence of everything that is wrong with their country.

This resentment has fueled a broader high-decibel culture war.

“It is something so ethical, so basic, that we have all grown up upon: service, giving to the state. Everyone here has to give something to society because we are one society,” said Boaz Nol, a reserve officer who was among those planning a massive protest in Tel Aviv against the continued exemptions.

More than 10,000 reservists and their supporters turned out for the rally Saturday night, many of them carrying placards reading “everybody serves.”

The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the draft exemptions illegal and gave the government until Aug. 1 to figure out a new, fairer system. That is proving far more difficult than expected.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s largest governing partner, the centrist Kadima Party, is now threatening to quit the government, just two months after joining the coalition with the goal of reforming the draft. Netanyahu has vowed to find a compromise.

Dan Halutz, a former Israeli military chief turned Kadima politician, visited the reservists’ protest tent in Tel Aviv Saturday and announced that he was leaving the party.

A glimpse into the world of the ultra-Orthodox shows just how intractable the issue has become. The draft exemptions date back to the time of Israel’s independence in 1948, when founding father David Ben-Gurion exempted 400 exemplary seminary students to help rebuild great schools of Jewish learning destroyed in the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were murdered.

As ultra-Orthodox parties became power brokers, the numbers mounted. Ultra-Orthodox officials now estimate there are about 100,000 full-time Torah learners of draft age. The heavy emphasis on religious study, begun early on in a separate system of elementary schools, has pushed many ultra-Orthodox men to shun the work world, relying on welfare as they spend their days immersed in holy texts. The ultra-Orthodox make up about 10 percent of Israel’s 8 million citizens.

Steep unemployment, believed to hover around 50 percent, coupled with a high birthrate has fueled deep poverty in the ultra-Orthodox sector. Experts say if these trends continue, Israel’s long-term economic prospects are in danger.

Leaders speak proudly of centuries-old traditions of prayer and learning that they believe has allowed the Jewish people to survive such tragedies as the Spanish Inquisition, European pogroms and the Holocaust.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders insist they will never be forced to serve in the military.

For decades, a string of secular-led Israeli governments have maintained the status quo, either because of their dependence on ultra-Orthodox political kingmakers or out of fear of an angry backlash from a sector that hasn’t hesitated to block roads, clash with police or mobilize tens of thousands of activists into the streets when ordered by their rabbis.

With the clock ticking, Netanyahu now faces a near-impossible task as he tries to satisfy the demands of the secular masses, the Supreme Court and various coalition partners all while preventing sectarian unrest.

Before the parliamentary committee collapse, ultra-Orthodox parties boycotted the panel.

A day after Netanyahu disbanded the committee, its chairman nonetheless released his recommendations. Among the proposals: that no more than 20 percent of ultra-Orthodox males, roughly 1,500 people a year, be granted exemptions, while others be permitted to defer service for no more than five years. A national service option was also introduced for those who didn’t fit into the military.

The details of the debate have dominated political discussion in Israel, handing Netanyahu his biggest challenge yet since he formed a 94-member coalition in early May. His office says he will meet quietly with political leaders in the coming days in order to formulate a fair draft law.

Unlike other Israelis, who mark graduations, military promotions, and professional accomplishments, the ultra-Orthodox only celebrate study. Later this month, for instance, thousands of believers are scheduled to pack a basketball arena to mark the completion of a full study of the Talmud — a seven-year odyssey in which 2,700 pages of rabbinical debates over Jewish law are meticulously dissected at a pace of one page a day.

Many ultra-Orthodox sects aren’t even Zionist and refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state until the coming of the Messiah. Some tiny extreme sects even side with the Palestinians and Israel’s archenemy Iran.

Most object to change on much simpler grounds. In Hebrew, the ultra-Orthodox are known as “Haredim,” or “those who fear” God. But it’s not death they fear in the military — it’s immersion in what they see as a secular and hedonistic society.

“The main reason that we can’t serve is that the military simply doesn’t suit us. The military is a secular melting pot,” said Chaim Walder, a well-known ultra-Orthodox author and activist.

It’s not clear how much the military even wants Haredi conscripts. While it formally calls for everyone to serve, military officials acknowledge it will be extremely difficult to incorporate them into the army.

Many Haredi men lack basic skills, like rudimentary math, because their independent school systems barely teach them. Their aversion to direct contact with women would require segregation and could undercut the military’s record of giving female soldiers equal opportunities.

Insubordination could also grow if ultra-Orthodox men found themselves forced to choose between religious beliefs and commanders’ orders.

The costs would also be high: Drafting this community would require special arrangements, such as kitchens conforming to the strictest interpretation of Jewish dietary law and a large chunk of the day set aside for bible study. And as those who are married and with children are entitled to higher salaries — the military would face another financial burden.

Inclusion has been successful in some areas however. The army has designed a number of roles specifically for the needs of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, including a segregated infantry unit as well as computer, technology and intelligence units.

A military official involved in the effort said 85 percent of discharged ultra-Orthodox soldiers went on to find jobs in civilian life.

But altogether, the numbers remain small. Fewer than 1,300 conscripts participated in these programs over the past year, military figures show.

Some leading rabbis have ruled that those not cut out for intensive seminary life or those who were already married — and perhaps less susceptible to the lure of the secular world — could be eligible to serve or take part in a range of civil service options being considered.

“The only thing that is truly keeping us safe here is bible study,” Chaim Walder said. “We are protecting the country with our prayer. We are making sure that there is something here to protect.”
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Follow Aron Heller at http://www.twitter.com/aronhellerap