'Pay it forward' pays off

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/uoc--if030510.php

Public release date: 8-Mar-2010
Contact: Inga Kiderra
University of California - San Diego

UC San Diego and Harvard deliver first experimental findings on spread of cooperation in a social network

For all those dismayed by scenes of looting in disaster-struck zones, whether Haiti or Chile or elsewhere, take heart: Good acts – acts of kindness, generosity and cooperation – spread just as easily as bad. And it takes only a handful of individuals to really make a difference.

In a study published in the March 8 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and Harvard provide the first laboratory evidence that cooperative behavior is contagious and that it spreads from person to person to person. When people benefit from kindness they "pay it forward" by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of cooperation that influences dozens more in a social network.

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In the current study, Fowler and Christakis show that when one person gives money to help others in a "public-goods game," where people have the opportunity to cooperate with each other, the recipients are more likely to give their own money away to other people in future games. This creates a domino effect in which one person's generosity spreads first to three people and then to the nine people that those three people interact with in the future, and then to still other individuals in subsequent waves of the experiment.

The effect persists, Fowler said: "You don't go back to being your 'old selfish self.''' As a result, the money a person gives in the first round of the experiment is ultimately tripled by others who are subsequently (directly or indirectly) influenced to give more. "The network functions like a matching grant," Christakis said.

"Though the multiplier in the real world may be higher or lower than what we've found in the lab," Fowler said, "personally it's very exciting to learn that kindness spreads to people I don't know or have never met. We have direct experience of giving and seeing people's immediate reactions, but we don't typically see how our generosity cascades through the social network to affect the lives of dozens or maybe hundreds of other people."

The study participants were strangers to each other and never played twice with the same person, a study design that eliminates direct reciprocity and reputation management as possible causes.

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The contagious effect in the study was symmetric; uncooperative behavior also spread, but there was nothing to suggest that it spread any more or any less robustly than cooperative behavior, Fowler said.

From a scientific perspective, Fowler added, these findings suggest the fascinating possibility that the process of contagion may have contributed to the evolution of cooperation: Groups with altruists in them will be more altruistic as a whole and more likely to survive than selfish groups.

"Our work over the past few years, examining the function of human social networks and their genetic origins, has led us to conclude that there is a deep and fundamental connection between social networks and goodness," said Christakis. "The flow of good and desirable properties like ideas, love and kindness is required for human social networks to endure, and, in turn, networks are required for such properties to spread. Humans form social networks because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs."

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I experience an example of this years ago, when I had been driving for just a few years. I noticed how helpful it was when people whould let me into traffic when I was waiting, so I started doing the same. I expect that this contributed to others doing the same.

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Occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk in men

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/acs-ose030510.php

Public release date: 8-Mar-2010
Contact: David Sampslon

According to a new study, men employed in occupations with potential exposure to high levels of sunlight have a reduced risk of kidney cancer compared with men who were less likely to be exposed to sunlight at work. The study did not find an association between occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk in women. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study is the largest case-control study of kidney cancer to investigate the association with occupational sunlight exposure. The study, however, did not include information on non-occupational sunlight exposure and does not address directly whether sunlight exposure can help prevent kidney cancer.

Do Kinder People Have an Evolutionary Advantage?

http://www.alternet.org/story/145888/do_kinder_people_have_an_evolutionary_advantage

March 4, 2010
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are wired to be selfish. In a wide range of studies, social scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence to show we are evolving to become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive and thrive.

In contrast to "every man for himself" interpretations of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychologist and author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and his fellow social scientists are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits.

They call it "survival of the kindest."

"Because of our very vulnerable offspring, the fundamental task for human survival and gene replication is to take care of others," said Keltner, co-director of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. "Human beings have survived as a species because we have evolved the capacities to care for those in need and to cooperate. As Darwin long ago surmised, sympathy is our strongest instinct."

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"The findings suggest that anyone who acts only in his or her narrow self-interest will be shunned, disrespected, even hated," Willer said. "But those who behave generously with others are held in high esteem by their peers and thus rise in status."

"Given how much is to be gained through generosity, social scientists increasingly wonder less why people are ever generous and more why they are ever selfish," he added.

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Christine Carter, executive director of the Greater Good Science Center, is creator of the "Science for Raising Happy Kids" Web site, whose goal, among other things, is to assist in and promote the rearing of "emotionally literate" children. Carter translates rigorous research into practical parenting advice. She says many parents are turning away from materialistic or competitive activities, and rethinking what will bring their families true happiness and well-being.

"I've found that parents who start consciously cultivating gratitude and generosity in their children quickly see how much happier and more resilient their children become," said Carter, author of "Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents" which will be in bookstores in February 2010. "What is often surprising to parents is how much happier they themselves also become."

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Anti-depressants bring higher risk of developing cataracts

http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/03/08/3569/

Some anti-depressant drugs are associated with an increased chance of developing cataracts, according to a new statistical study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and McGill University.

The study, based on a database of more than 200,000 Quebec residents aged 65 and older, showed statistical relationships between a diagnosis of cataracts or cataract surgery and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as between cataracts and specific drugs within that class.

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“When you look at the trade-offs of these drugs, the benefits of treating depression – which can be life-threatening – still outweigh the risk of
developing cataracts, which are treatable and relatively benign,” says Dr. Mahyar Etminan, lead author of the article, a scientist and clinical pharmacist at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and an assistant professor in the Dept. of Medicine at UBC.

Two-faced testosterone can make you nasty or nice

Public release date: 8-Mar-2010
Contact: Steve Pogonowski
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine

Is aggression always the best response to a challenge? Testosterone may not necessarily cause aggression but behavior can drive testosterone secretion.

In an evaluation for Faculty of 1000, Robert Sapolsky highlights a study published in Nature which assessed how testosterone affects human behavior in a 'pro-social' situation – an environment where it is beneficial for a person to help someone else.

In an 'Ultimatum Game', a 'proposer' is given power to decide how a sum of money is divided between him/herself and another player, 'the decider'. The decider can either accept the offer, and possibly receive less than a fair share, or reject it,in which case both players get nothing. The participants in the game were all women.

Women who were given testosterone unknowingly made fairer offers (a pro-social decision) than women who received a placebo. Interestingly, women who believed that testosterone has anti-social, aggression-causing effects and who thought they'd received testosterone made offers that were less fair, even when they had received a placebo.

When given to the subject in a blind trial, testosterone can encourage pro-social as well as anti-social behaviour. However, as the authors note, "biology seems to exert less control over human behavior [than in other animals]," since awareness of having received testosterone drastically altered behavior.

So, not only can our own behavior be confounded by our prejudices but the effects of testosterone may be far more complex than previously thought. As Sapolsky says, "Despite the seeming power of the proposer, the decider ultimately has the most power, and the proposer seriously loses status if the decider rejects their offer."

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Low Levels of Vitamin D Linked to Muscle Fat, Decreased Strength in Young People

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100305112157.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2010) — A ground-breaking study published in the March 2010 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found an astonishing 59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies (less than 20 ng/ml) of this important vitamin. Since Vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue.

"Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases," explains principal investigator, Dr. Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC. "Because it is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders."

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Geraniums could help control devastating Japanese beetle

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/usdo-gch030810.php

Public release date: 8-Mar-2010
Contact: Alfredo Flores
United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics

Geraniums could help control devastating Japanese beetle
This release is available in Spanish.

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, can feast on a wide variety of plants, including ornamentals, soybean, maize, fruits and vegetables. But within 30 minutes of consuming geranium petals, the beetle rolls over on its back, its legs and antennae slowly twitch, and it remains paralyzed for several hours. The beetles typically recover within 24 hours when paralyzed under laboratory conditions, but they often succumb to death under field conditions after predators spot and devour the beetles while they are helpless.

Exposure to BPA may cause permanent fertility defects

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/yu-etb030810.php

Public release date: 8-Mar-2010
[ Print | E-mail | Share ] [ Close Window ]

Contact: Karen N. Peart
karen.peart@yale.edu
203-432-1326
Yale University

Exposure to BPA may cause permanent fertility defects, Yale researchers find
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered that exposure during pregnancy to Bisphenol A (BPA), a common component of plastics, causes permanent abnormalities in the uterus of offspring, including alteration in their DNA. The findings were reported in the March issue of Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB J.).

Led by Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, the study is the first to show that BPA exposure permanently affects sensitivity to estrogen.

Interstate health insurance

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/opinion/19krugman.html?ref=opinion

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 18, 2010

Health insurance premiums are surging — and conservatives fear that the spectacle will reinvigorate the push for reform. On the Fox Business Network, a host chided a vice president of WellPoint, which has told California customers to expect huge rate increases: “You handed the politicians red meat at a time when health care is being discussed. You gave it to them!”

Indeed. Sky-high rate increases make a powerful case for action. And they show, in particular, that we need comprehensive, guaranteed coverage — which is exactly what Democrats are trying to accomplish.

Here’s the story: About 800,000 people in California who buy insurance on the individual market — as opposed to getting it through their employers — are covered by Anthem Blue Cross, a WellPoint subsidiary. These are the people who were recently told to expect dramatic rate increases, in some cases as high as 39 percent.

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But here’s the thing: suppose that we posit, provisionally, that the insurers aren’t the main villains in this story. Even so, California’s death spiral makes nonsense of all the main arguments against comprehensive health reform.

For example, some claim that health costs would fall dramatically if only insurance companies were allowed to sell policies across state lines. But California is already a huge market, with much more insurance competition than in other states; unfortunately, insurers compete mainly by trying to excel in the art of denying coverage to those who need it most. And competition hasn’t averted a death spiral. So why would creating a national market make things better?

More broadly, conservatives would have you believe that health insurance suffers from too much government interference. In fact, the real point of the push to allow interstate sales is that it would set off a race to the bottom, effectively eliminating state regulation. But California’s individual insurance market is already notable for its lack of regulation, certainly as compared with states like New York — yet the market is collapsing anyway.

White Roofs May Successfully Cool Cities, Computer Model Demonstrates

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100201145445.htm

ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2010) — Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming, a new study indicates. The new NCAR-led research suggests there may be merit to an idea advanced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that white roofs can be an important tool to help society adjust to climate change.

But the study team, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), cautions that there are still many hurdles between the concept and actual use of white roofs to counteract rising temperatures.

"Our research demonstrates that white roofs, at least in theory, can be an effective method for reducing urban heat," says NCAR scientist Keith Oleson, the lead author of the study. "It remains to be seen if it's actually feasible for cities to paint their roofs white, but the idea certainly warrants further investigation."

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After I had my white coating applied to my roof, it kept it notably cooler in the summer. Since I don't have air conditioning, I noticed it.

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Eliminating Junk Foods at Schools May Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302083500.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2010) — New policies that eliminate sugary beverages and junk foods from schools may help slow childhood obesity, according to a San Francisco State University study published in the March issue of the journal Health Affairs.

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Where is Obama's weekly address?

http://radiotime.com/options/p_11074/Presidential_Weekly_Radio_Address.aspx

I have wondered why President Obama didn't do a weekly radio address, like Bush did. I saw a reference to it at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022739.php

It turns out he is doing one, but so far I haven't been able to find out whether it is aired locally.

I couldn't find it on my local public radio station (WABE in Atlant), looking at their schedule or doing a search on their site. I believe they carried Bush's weekly address. I'm going to call them and check on it. Maybe it's just not a time I'm not usually listening.

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Methane Releases from Arctic Shelf May Be Much Larger and Faster Than Anticipated

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304142240.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2010) — A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov.

The research results, published in the March 5 edition of the journal Science, show that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable barrier sealing in methane, is perforated and is leaking large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming.

"The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire world's oceans," said Shakhova, a researcher at UAF's International Arctic Research Center. "Subsea permafrost is losing its ability to be an impermeable cap."

Methane is a greenhouse gas more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It is released from previously frozen soils in two ways. When the organic material -- which contains carbon -- stored in permafrost thaws, it begins to decompose and, under oxygen-free conditions, gradually release methane. Methane can also be stored in the seabed as methane gas or methane hydrates and then released as subsea permafrost thaws. These releases can be larger and more abrupt than those that result from decomposition.

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Shakhova notes that Earth's geological record indicates that atmospheric methane concentrations have varied between about .3 to .4 parts per million during cold periods to .6 to .7 parts per million during warm periods. Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic average about 1.85 parts per million, the highest in 400,000 years, she said. Concentrations above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf are even higher.

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The East Siberian Arctic Shelf, in addition to holding large stores of frozen methane, is more of a concern because it is so shallow. In deep water, methane gas oxidizes into carbon dioxide before it reaches the surface. In the shallows of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, methane simply doesn't have enough time to oxidize, which means more of it escapes into the atmosphere. That, combined with the sheer amount of methane in the region, could add a previously uncalculated variable to climate models.

"The release to the atmosphere of only one percent of the methane assumed to be stored in shallow hydrate deposits might alter the current atmospheric burden of methane up to 3 to 4 times," Shakhova said. "The climatic consequences of this are hard to predict."

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Sweet tooth in kids tied to alcoholism

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35331812/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

By Jeanna Bryner

updated 12:07 p.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 10, 2010
Most kids won't turn down a sugary treat, but it turns out some children prefer more intense sweetness than others. Those kids drawn to sweeter-than-cola drinks are also more likely to have a family history of alcoholism and depressive symptoms, a new study finds.

"We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good," said lead researcher Julie Mennella, a developmental psychobiologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. "In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to intense sweetness due to their underlying biology."

The results, however, don't mean a child who likes ultra-sweetened foods will become an alcoholic. It's just a link between sweet preference and family members with alcoholism. "At this point, we don't know whether this higher 'bliss point' for sweets is a marker for later alcohol use," Mennella said.

Either way, the link between sweets and alcohol would make sense, as both activate many of the same reward circuits in the brain, the researchers say. And since sugar can be a mood booster, depressed kids may be drawn to it to help them feel better.

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America’s worst traffic

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35591271/ns/business-forbescom/page/2/

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/22/traffic-intersections-congestion-lifestyle-vehicles-traffic-jams_slide_12.html

11. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. MSA 2008 rank: 12
2009 Travel Time Tax: 10.6%
Congestion in 2009 compared to 2008: +5.8%
Worst bottleneck: Interstate 75 Southbound at Interstate 85/Exit 103
Weekly hours of congestion: 17
Average speed when congested: 15.6 mph
Worst peak travel hour: Friday, 5 p.m.

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U.S. enriches firms doing business with Iran

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35739690/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

By Jo Becker and Ron Nixon
updated 1:58 p.m. ET, Sat., March. 6, 2010

The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits over the past decade to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite Washington’s efforts to discourage investment there, records show.

That includes nearly $15 billion paid to companies that defied American sanctions law by making large investments that helped Iran develop its vast oil and gas reserves.

For years, the United States has been pressing other nations to join its efforts to squeeze the Iranian economy, in hopes of reining in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Now, with the nuclear standoff hardening and Iran rebuffing American diplomatic outreach, the Obama administration is trying to win a tough new round of United Nations sanctions.

But a New York Times analysis of federal records, company reports and other documents shows that both the Obama and Bush administrations have sent mixed messages to the corporate world when it comes to doing business in Iran, rewarding companies whose commercial interests conflict with American security goals.

Many of those companies are enmeshed in the most vital elements of Iran’s economy. More than two-thirds of the government money went to companies doing business in Iran’s energy industry — a huge source of revenue for the Iranian government and a stronghold of the increasingly powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a primary focus of the Obama administration’s proposed sanctions because it oversees Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

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In recent months, a number of companies have decided to pull out of Iran, because of a combination of pressure by the United States and other Western governments, “terrorism free” divestment campaigns by shareholders and the difficulty of doing business with Iran’s government. And several oil and gas companies are holding off on new investment, waiting to see what shape new sanctions may assume.

The Obama administration points to that record, saying that it has successfully pressed allied governments and even reached out directly to corporate officials to dissuade investment in Iran, particularly in the energy industry. In addition, an American effort over many years to persuade banks to leave the country has isolated Iran from much of the international financial system, making it more difficult to do deals there.

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Information services jobs continue to decline

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/unemployment-97-february-2010

total information services jobs since 2000



Next time you hear the claim there is a shortage of technical workers, use this graph! That is pure fiction obviously and a major labor arbitrage agenda, most notably by our offshore outsourcing industry. This month the information industry dropped 18,000 more jobs.

Also note the DOL does not differentiate between a foreign guest worker or even an illegal immigrant in their data. So, of the above, one cannot tell if that I.T. worker is on a H-1B, L-1 guest worker Visa or is an U.S. worker. Talk about data distortions, this has to be a major one, completely ignored!

Whirlpool gets $19 million in Taxpayer Stimulus funds, Outsources the Jobs Offshore

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/whirlpool-gets-19-million-taxpayer-stimulus-funds-offshore-outsources-jobs

The preceding link commented on the following link:

http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2010/02/letters-to-the-editor-are-flooding-the-local-papers-highlighting-the-devastating-impact-the-closure-will-have-on-the-entire.html

February 25, 2010
Whirlpool: Taking Tax Dollars, Taking Jobs
It can barely get greedier than this: We're in tough economic times, so Whirlpool receives $19 million in taxpayer funds to create jobs. Then it turns around and announces it will shutter its Evansville, Indiana refrigerator plant and displace the 1,100 workers there. Disgusting.

And where, you might ask, will those jobs go? They'll follow so many other lost family-supporting jobs on the NAFTA train to Mexico.

And where, you might ask, will those jobs go? They'll follow so many other lost family-supporting jobs on the NAFTA train to Mexico.

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Mexico certainly could use these jobs, but these tax dollars were designed to help workers in the U.S., where we have almost 6.4 people looking for work for each job opening.

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Cheese Thief Jailed for 7 Years in California

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/cheese-thief-jailed-for-7-years-in-california/?hp

March 3, 2010, 9:57 am
By ROBERT MACKEY

Updated | 11:38 a.m. On Monday, more than a year after a man was arrested outside a market in California with a $3.99 bag of Tillamook shredded cheese in his pants he had not paid for, a judge decided to go relatively easy on him, sentencing him to seven years and eight months in jail.

Prosecutors in Yolo County, Calif., outside Sacramento, had originally asked for a life sentence under the state’s “three strikes” law, arguing that the man, Robert Preston Ferguson, was a menace to society because of prior burglary convictions. As The Sacramento Bee reported last month, the district attorney’s office asked for 11 years instead, after “a new psychological evaluation convinced prosecutors that Robert Preston Ferguson’s most recent convictions for petty theft did not warrant a life sentence.”

At Monday’s sentencing hearing, the Sacramento newspaper noted, a deputy district attorney “said Ferguson was a career criminal who wouldn’t change.” The prosecutor added that Mr. Ferguson, who is in his 50s, had 13 previous convictions and had been in jail for 22 of the past 27 years but still took the cheese. Ten days before the cheese theft, Mr. Ferguson had also stolen a woman’s wallet from a 7-Eleven as she tended to her sick child, who had just thrown up on the floor.
Because of Mr. Ferguson’s prior convictions, he had been charged with felonies for both of those petty thefts.

According to the Sacramento newspaper, Mr. Ferguson’s defense lawyer, Monica Brushia, argued that his six other burglary convictions had taken place three decades ago and noted that his conviction for misdemeanor assault came when he was a teenager and had thrown a can of soda at one of his siblings. She also noted that the psychologist’s report had concluded that Mr. Ferguson was mentally ill. He has biploar syndrome and struggles to control his impulses to steal during manic phases, she said.

She concluded that his most recent thefts were petty. “We’re talking about a pack of cheese,” she said.

Leaving aside concerns about whether the long sentence was just, some observers in California asked if the cash-strapped state should really be spending between $50,000 and $100,000 a year to lock up a cheese thief.

As Sasha Abramsky noted in a commentary on the case for The Guardian last month, “a number of newspapers, including conservative publications such as the Orange County Register, ridiculed the D.A.’s office for its willingness to waste taxpayer dollars.”

The Orange County newspaper compared the case with that of Jerry Dewayne Williams, a man in Los Angeles who was sentenced in 1995 to 25 years to life for stealing a slice of pizza.

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Update: Thanks to a reader for drawing our attention to a report in The Los Angeles Times last month on a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in which he criticized California’s sentencing policies. The report noted:

In an otherwise courtly and humorous address to the Los Angeles legal community, Kennedy expressed obvious dismay over the state of corrections and rehabilitation in the country. He said U.S. sentences are eight times longer than those issued by European courts.

“California now has 185,000 people in prison at $32,500 a year” each, he said. He then urged voters and officials to compare that expense to what taxpayers spend per pupil in elementary schools. “The three-strikes law sponsor is the correctional officers’ union and that is sick!” Kennedy said of the measure mandating life sentences for third-time criminal offenders.

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Privatized Social workers guilty of fraud in starvation case

Besides the importance of this story in its own right, it also shows the importance of regulation on private business, because too often the profit motive is paramount. This is why I am leary of nuclear power at this time. There is no doubt that there will be indequacies in the construction and maintenance. Some people will cut corners to save money. Aside from that, when things go w/o problems for awhile, even decent people get complacent and careless.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35696311/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

updated 6:19 p.m. ET, Wed., March. 3, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Four social workers were convicted Wednesday in a fraud case stemming from the starvation death of a disabled Philadelphia teenager whose emaciated body was found with maggot-infested bedsores.

A federal jury in Philadelphia convicted the employees of now-defunct MultiEthnic Behavioral Health Inc., which was accused of defrauding the city of millions of dollars by not visiting needy families and then covering that up with false paperwork.

Prosecutors say the firm submitted paperwork for visits that were never made after 14-year-old Danieal Kelly's body was found in 2006. Officials said Kelly, who had cerebral palsy, weighed only 42 pounds at the time of her death, less than half the weight of an average girl her age.

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