Saudi Schmaudi
It seems to me that the politicians, pundits and people in general are largely overlooking the most important implications of the recent attack on Saudi oil processing facilities. I can ' t judge the credibility of recent U.S. and Saudi claims that the attack was launched from Iranian territory, but I will accept that Occam ' s razor supports the conclusion that the perpetrator was some faction allied with Iran, with or without the endorsement of Ayatollah Kahmenei. Let ' s leave that aside for the moment.Here ' s the geography:Notice that if the attack was launched from Iranian territory, the devices flew over the Gulf (c...
Source: Stayin' Alive - September 18, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Striking Iran In Response to Abqaiq Attack Would Be a Mistake
Christopher A. PrebleThe smoke hasn ’t yet cleared from the attack on Saudi Aramco’s facility, but U.S. officials were quick to pin blame on Iran, with some even going so far as to suggest thatmilitary strikes could be – and should be – in the offing.Such a move should upset constitutional purists; Congress hasn ’t authorized military action against Iran for these purposes. The case that the Trump administration might present to Congress in an attempt to build support for strikes is unlikely to be compelling. Indeed, the story of the attack and what U.S. military strikes in retaliation would achieve is a lot more...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 16, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
Israel ’ s War with Iran May Be Going Too Far
Israel has a right to defend itself from Iranian threats to its country. American leaders should consider balancing support for Israel ' s efforts to counter Iran with firm redlines about activities negatively impacting American interests. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - September 15, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Dalia Dassa Kaye Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 2nd 2019
In conclusion, in the absence of obesity, visceral adipose tissue possesses a pronounced anti-inflammatory phenotype during aging which is further enhanced by exercise.
Methods of Inducing Cellular Damage are Rarely Relevant to Aging, and the Details Matter
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/08/methods-of-inducing-cellular-damage-are-rarely-relevant-to-aging-and-the-details-matter/
One of the major challenges in aging research is determining whether or not models of cellular or organismal damage and its consequences are in any way relevant to the natural processes of aging. One can hit a brick wit...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 1, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A Large Polypill Clinical Trial Shows a Third Reduction in Cardiovascular Events
The research and medical communities are slow to undertake work on combination therapies. Regulation makes it exceedingly expensive to assess multiple combinations, and there are numerous other perverse incentives to challenge any effort to build combination therapies with components developed and manufactured by different groups. Short of working around the existing system of regulation, and methods of doing this at scale are lacking at the present time, this is a challenging problem to solve. People follow incentives. Given this, it it is entirely plausible that there are many largely unexplored instances in which existi...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 30, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Trust, but do not verify
We are now heading into an extensive bout of lawgiving. I won ' t start in this chapter, which is just the warmup. Let me take a brief aside to refer you to theAwkward Moments Children ' s Bible. We obviously won ' t get to Samuel for a while so this will give you a taste of what ' s ahead once the Israelites have kings and all that.As I often note here, the parts of the Bible they teach in Sunday school, and the parts that get preached about, are highly selective. In fact Tufts professor Daniel Dennetthas written a whole book about ministers who lost their faith when they went to the theological seminary and actuall...
Source: Stayin' Alive - August 25, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Japan's Hormuz Dilemma
With rising tensions between the United States and Iran, the United States wants to create a coalition to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab, and wants Japan to join. While Japan is one of America ' s staunchest allies in the Indo-Pacific, any decision to support coalition efforts is likely to put Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a difficult position. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - August 15, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Jeffrey W. Hornung Source Type: blogs
Syria Changed the Iranian Way of War
As tensions rise between Washington and Tehran, the United States and its partners will begin to feel the effects of Iran ' s military transformation. To get a sense of the playbook that Tehran might consult in any future conflict with the United States, Washington should pay close attention to what the Iranians have learned in Syria. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - August 15, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Ariane M. Tabatabai Source Type: blogs
Repeal Old AUMFs and Salt the Earth
For months now, the Trump administration has pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign that—by accident orby design—has brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran. The branch of government with the constitutional power to declare war ought to havethe final word here. Lately, however, Trump officials have hinted that Congress hasalready had its say —nearly 18 years ago, when it authorized war with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The 2001Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed three days after the September 11 attacks, targets the perpetrators of 9/11 and those who “harbored” or “aided” ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 13, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Gene Healy Source Type: blogs
Iran's Cooperation with the Taliban Could Affect Talks on U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has acknowledged that his country has some level of cooperation with the Taliban. How did Iran ' s relationship with the Taliban come about, and how might it affect the future of U.S.-Taliban talks? (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - August 8, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Ariane M. Tabatabai Source Type: blogs
Despite Federal Return, Capital Punishment is Dying Out
The U.S. federal government recently ordered the death penalty to be reinstated for the first time in sixteen years and has scheduled the execution of five death row inmates. This policy change goes against the widespread trend toward fewer executions.Twenty-one U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, have totally abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Seven of those states abolished the practice in my lifetime. New Hampshire just officially abolished it in 2019.In many U.S. states where executions are still legal, none have been carried out for years and the law is mainly symbolic. Kansas, for example, has not ex...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 29, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Chelsea Follett Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
July 25, 2019 Edition.-----President Trump continues to destroy all the norms of civilised behaviour with race-baiting while fanning the possibility of a war with Iran – aided by another coalition of its allies – sadly including Australia.In the UK it seems Boris has become the UK Prime Minister. We now await events!Sadly we also see Japan and South Korea starting a trade war. Very sad.In OZ, with Parliament back this week we will see just what agenda will occ upy the Morrison Government for the next three years. Thus far - Thursday - not much!----- Major Issues.-----https://www.afr.com/news/policy/foreign-affairs/defe...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - July 24, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
July 18, 2019 Edition.-----It continues to unwind in the US with Trump working to jail huge numbers of ‘illegal’ immigrants and conducting a verbal campaign to try and have the US Federal Reserve lower interest rates among other idiocies like persisting with a trade-war that seems to be headed for some sort of stalemate and moving closer to a war with Iran.In the UK Boris seems now to be odds on to be the next PM.In OZ we are having a go at trying to finally sort out the constitutional place of our First Peoples. Already it has gone just crazily political and sad – we will have to wait and see what happens but I am n...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - July 17, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
Of Libras and Zebras: What Are the True Financial Risks of the Facebook-Led Digital Currency? (Part III: National Security Risk)
At yesterday ’s Senate Banking Committeehearing on Libra, the digital currency project led by Facebook with 27 other partners, concerns about its potential to undermine U.S. national security featured prominently. Senators from across the political spectrum, including Arkansas ’ Tom Cotton and New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, suggested that Libra might lend itself to the scheming of malicious actors and U.S. strategic foes, a worryexpressed the day before by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin.How vulnerable will Libra be to criminal uses? A careful examination of the digital currency ’s mechanics and its likely employment by fin...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 17, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Diego Zuluaga Source Type: blogs
Trump ’s “Cakewalk” Fantasy about an Iran War
Although President Trump apparently called off a planned airstrike on Iran at the last minute in late June, he subsequently warned Iranian leaders that the military option was still very much on the table. He emphasized that if the United States used force against Iran, Washington would not put boots on the ground but would wage the conflict entirely with America ’s vast air power. Trump exhibited no doubt about the outcome, asserting that such a war “wouldn ’t last very long, ” and that it would mean the “obliteration” of Iran.His boast was eerily reminiscent of the statement that Kenneth Adelman, a former ass...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 3, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
