Check
out some several stories worth reading. The US Air Force is
experimenting with electric brain stimulation on several dozen
volunteers in the hopes it may improve alertness and acuity in personnel
who must spend hours monitoring drone footage and surveillance data.
A
proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, championed by
President Obama, could reduce total employment by 500,000 workers by the
second half of 2016, although it would also lift 900,000 families out
of poverty and increase the incomes of 16.5 million low-wage workers in
an average week.
The British Department for Work and Pensions is
presiding over "a culture of fear" in which jobseekers are set
unrealistic targets to find work or risk their benefits being taken
away, leading charities claim. Controversial plans to trawl patient
records from every GP surgery in England have been put on hold, amid
concerns from doctors and ministers that the public have not been
properly informed about how their private data will be used.
Originally posted on the Voice of Russia’s Global Discussion
Pentagon
considers using electricity to stimulate troops’ brains - The US Air
Force is experimenting with electric brain stimulation on several dozen
volunteers in the hopes it may improve alertness and acuity in personnel
who must spend hours monitoring drone footage and surveillance data,
according to The Boston Globe. Early experiments using “noninvasive”
brain stimulation have been performed on several dozen volunteers at the
Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in
Ohio. The results show the technique improves both alertness and acuity,
researchers say. “We found that people who receive the stimulation are
performing consistently,” R. Andy McKinley, a biomedical engineer who
oversees the research, said in an interview. Project officials want to
study the effects further — especially to determine whether it is safe
to stimulate the brain regularly — but said there have been few side
effects, such as some skin irritation from the electrodes, as well as
mild but brief headaches. They expressed confidence that the work could
ultimately result in a pair of easy-to-apply electrodes becoming
standard issue for some military personnel.
Minimum Wage Increase Would Have Mixed Effects, C.B.O. Report Says
- A proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, championed by President Obama, could reduce total employment by 500,000 workers by the second half of 2016, although it would also lift 900,000 families out of poverty and increase the incomes of 16.5 million low-wage workers in an average week, The New York Times reports. That is the mixed conclusion of an assessment on how raising the minimum wage would affect incomes, employment and the federal budget, released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, whose views often have a powerful influence on the fate of legislation. Republicans contended the policy would be a job-killer, while Democrats asserted it would help alleviate poverty. Economists said both might be right.
- A proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, championed by President Obama, could reduce total employment by 500,000 workers by the second half of 2016, although it would also lift 900,000 families out of poverty and increase the incomes of 16.5 million low-wage workers in an average week, The New York Times reports. That is the mixed conclusion of an assessment on how raising the minimum wage would affect incomes, employment and the federal budget, released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, whose views often have a powerful influence on the fate of legislation. Republicans contended the policy would be a job-killer, while Democrats asserted it would help alleviate poverty. Economists said both might be right.
Welfare state presides over 'culture of fear', charities say
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The British Department for Work and Pensions is presiding over "a culture of fear" in which jobseekers are set unrealistic targets to find work or risk their benefits being taken away, leading charities claim according to The Guardian. In evidence to an official inquiry they say that hostel residents with limited IT facilities are being directed to apply for 50 jobs per week, while single parents are being told they must apply for full-time jobs to continue receiving jobseeker's allowance. The weight of evidence also supports controversial claims by Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the week he is due to be made a cardinal by the pope. "Something is going seriously wrong when, in a country as affluent as ours, people are left in that destitute situation and depend solely on the handouts of the charity of food banks," said Mr. Nichols.
The British Department for Work and Pensions is presiding over "a culture of fear" in which jobseekers are set unrealistic targets to find work or risk their benefits being taken away, leading charities claim according to The Guardian. In evidence to an official inquiry they say that hostel residents with limited IT facilities are being directed to apply for 50 jobs per week, while single parents are being told they must apply for full-time jobs to continue receiving jobseeker's allowance. The weight of evidence also supports controversial claims by Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in the week he is due to be made a cardinal by the pope. "Something is going seriously wrong when, in a country as affluent as ours, people are left in that destitute situation and depend solely on the handouts of the charity of food banks," said Mr. Nichols.
Victory for privacy as NHS database is delayed
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Controversial plans to trawl patient records from every GP surgery in England have been put on hold, amid concerns from doctors and ministers that the public have not been properly informed about how their private data will be used, according to The Independent. The care.data program, which was scheduled to begin collecting the confidential information from GPs in April, will now be delayed until the autumn, NHS England has announced. The pause will allow the NHS more time to inform people about “the benefits of using the information, what safeguards are in place, and how people can opt out if they choose to,” officials said.
Controversial plans to trawl patient records from every GP surgery in England have been put on hold, amid concerns from doctors and ministers that the public have not been properly informed about how their private data will be used, according to The Independent. The care.data program, which was scheduled to begin collecting the confidential information from GPs in April, will now be delayed until the autumn, NHS England has announced. The pause will allow the NHS more time to inform people about “the benefits of using the information, what safeguards are in place, and how people can opt out if they choose to,” officials said.
Climate billionaire aims to set stage for 2016
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California billionaire Tom Steyer turned heads in Washington with the news that he plans to spend $100 million to help make climate change a defining issue in this year’s elections, according to Politico. His strategy also calls for targeting races including Senate or gubernatorial contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and possibly Pennsylvania — all key battlegrounds in presidential politics. Steyer’s operation “is going to be very aggressive” and will set itself apart from the efforts of mainstream environmental groups, said Betsy Taylor, a Takoma Park, Md.-based leader of a network of wealthy climate donors who attended a recent discussion of the strategy at the billionaire’s California ranch. “They’re fearless. They don’t worry about access to Democratic Party leadership.”
California billionaire Tom Steyer turned heads in Washington with the news that he plans to spend $100 million to help make climate change a defining issue in this year’s elections, according to Politico. His strategy also calls for targeting races including Senate or gubernatorial contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and possibly Pennsylvania — all key battlegrounds in presidential politics. Steyer’s operation “is going to be very aggressive” and will set itself apart from the efforts of mainstream environmental groups, said Betsy Taylor, a Takoma Park, Md.-based leader of a network of wealthy climate donors who attended a recent discussion of the strategy at the billionaire’s California ranch. “They’re fearless. They don’t worry about access to Democratic Party leadership.”
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