tagged w/ Teenage
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A Saudi man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a seven year period has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and more than 2,000 lashes, a local newspaper reported on Saturday...A Saudi man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a seven year period has been... more
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About 11% of the students at Frayser High School in Memphis, Tennessee were pregnant this school year.
They’re probably going to battle it out to see who’s the next Teen Mom.About 11% of the students at Frayser High School in Memphis, Tennessee were pregnant... more
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by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
A proposed program to cover counseling sessions for seniors on end-of-life care has risen from the ashes of health care reform and found a new life in Medicare regulations, Jason Hancock of the American Independent reports.
In August, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin started a rumor via her Facebook page that the the Obama administration was backing “death panels” that would vote on whether the elderly and infirm had a right to live. In reality, the goal was to have Medicare reimburse doctors for teaching patients how to set up their own advance directives that reflect their wishes on end-of-life care.
Patients can use their advance directives to stipulate their wishes for treatment in the event that they are too sick to make decisions for themselves. They can also use those directives to demand the most aggressive lifesaving interventions.
Waste not, want not
Though end-of-life counseling was ultimately gutted from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the legislation will eventually ensure health coverage for 32 million more Americans. However, Joanne Kenen in The American Prospect argues it will do comparatively less to curb the high costs of health care. The architects of the ACA had an opportunity to include serious cost-containment measures like a robust public health insurance option to compete with private insurers, but they declined to do so.
Kenen argues that the government should more aggressively target waste within the health care delivery system, especially Medicare and Medicaid. Unchecked and rising health care costs through Medicare and Medicaid are a significantly greater driver of the deficit than Social Security or discretionary spending:
“The waste is enormous,” says Harvard health care economist David Cutler. “You can easily convince yourself that there is 40 to 50 percent to be saved.” Squeezing out every single bit of that inefficient or unnecessary care may not be realistic. But it also isn’t necessary; eliminating even a small fraction of the current waste each year over the next decade would make a huge difference, he added. Health care would finally start acting like “a normal industry.” Productivity would grow, in the one area of the economy where it has not, and with productivity gains, prices could be expected to fall.
The new end-of-life counseling program will help reduce waste in the system, not by pressuring people to forgo treatments they want, but by giving them the tools to refuse treatments they don’t want.
Teen births down, but why?
The teen birth rate has dropped again, according to the latest CDC statistics. Births to women under the age of 20 declined by 6% in 2009 compared to 2008. One hypothesis is that the reduction is an unexpected consequence of the recession, an argument we pointed to in last week’s edition of the Pulse. John Tomasic of the Colorado Independent is skeptical of the recession hypothesis. He writes:
Emily Bridges, director of public information services at Advocates for Youth, agrees with other observers in pointing out that teens aren’t likely to include national economics as a significant factor in pondering whether or not to have unprotected sex. Peer pressure, badly mixed booze, general awkwardness, for example, are much more likely than the jobless recovery to play on the minds of horny high schoolers.
Some states with weak economies actually saw a rise in teen birth rates, Tomasic notes. However, this year’s sharp downturn in teen births parallels a drop in fertility for U.S. women of all ages, which seems best explained by economic uncertainty.
It’s true that prospective teen moms are less likely to have jobs in the first place, and so a bad job market might be less likely to sway their decisions. However, young women who aren’t working are unlikely to have significant resources of their own to draw on, which means that they are heavily dependent upon others for support. If their families and partners are already struggling to make ends meet, then the prospect of another mouth to feed may seem even less appealing than usual.
Abortion is the elephant in the room in this discussion. The CDC numbers only count live births. Logically, fewer live births must be the result of fewer conceptions and/or more terminations. Some skeptics doubt that economic factors have much to do with teens’ decisions about contraception. However, it seems plausible that decisions about abortion would be heavily influenced by the economic health of the whole extended family.
Last year’s decrease was notably sharp, but teen birth rates have been declining steadily for the last 20 years. The Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based non-profit that specializes in research on reproductive choice and health, suggests that successive generations of teens are simply getting savvier about contraception. Births to mothers between the ages of 15 and 17 are down 48% from 1991 levels, and births to mothers ages 18 to 19 are down 30%.
Stupid drug dealer tricks
Martha Rosenberg of AlterNet describes 15 classic dirty tricks deployed by Big Pharma to push drugs. These include phony grassroots patient groups organized by the drug companies to lobby for approval of dubious remedies. Another favorite money-making strategy is to overcharge Medicare and Medicaid. Pharmaceutical companies have paid nearly $15 billion in wrongdoing settlements related to Medicare and Medicaid chicanery over the last five years.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Pulse for a complete list of articles on health care reform, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
A proposed program to cover... more
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A massive search with the keyword Justin Bieber 51 is going on over the internet, after news by the Onion News Network hit the media that Justin Bieber is not aA massive search with the keyword Justin Bieber 51 is going on over the internet,... more
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iPods, MP3 players and increased exposure to live music has led to a surge in hearing loss in teens, research suggests. The number of teenagers experiencing hearing problems has gone up by nearly a third in the last 20 years, it is claimed.
link :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7950020/iPods-and-MP3-players-linked-to-teenage-deafness.htmliPods, MP3 players and increased exposure to live music has led to a surge in hearing... more
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Riot sounds produce riots! Digital Hardcore is functional music not pop music. Fuel for the fire... Music produces emotions. When you feel something you understand it. You don't even need to verbalise it...For this fact music has a lot of power. More than most people think! That's why it's used everywhere... Mostly as a tranquilliser and to escape reality! http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/album-rewievs/360-atari-teenage-riotRiot sounds produce riots! Digital Hardcore is functional music not pop music. Fuel... more
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"Crime doesn't take a vacation. But we do."
-Created, directed, edited, and visual effects by Michael Ashton. This is the trailer for the short film I shot for $300.
Lazy Teenage Superheroes follows Ty as he tries to get his new "super" friends, Mitch, Cal, and Rick, to put down the video games, get off the couch, and use their powers to help save the world, instead of themselves.
www.LazyTeenageSuperheroes.com"Crime doesn't take a vacation. But we do."
-Created, directed,... more
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Brett explores the ridiculous trend of shopping "Haul" videos on YouTube.
Viral Video Film School is a recurring segment on the weekly television show infoMania. In each episode of VVFS, Professor Brett Erlich teaches you valuable skills in the discipline of Viral Video making. So sit down, take notes, and try not to piss him off. For more Brett visit http://current.com/viral-video-film-school-im/ and Current TV.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com....Brett explores the ridiculous trend of shopping "Haul" videos on YouTube.... more
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This week on infoMania Spike TV tells you how stupid people die, reality tv stars have trouble with English, Shark Week reminds us that sharks are out to kill all humans, Brett explores the strange phenomenon of YouTube haul videos, Bryan goes cruising for gay characters on television commercials, and Sergio counts down the top R&B jams on iTunes.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.This week on infoMania Spike TV tells you how stupid people die, reality tv stars have... more
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Atlanta, USA — According to the new law anyone under 21 is banned to enter a store or club where alcohol is sold which banned some exotic dancer teenagers to work at Cheetah Lounge dance club who has right to strip otherwise.Atlanta, USA — According to the new law anyone under 21 is banned to enter a... more
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On March 30 in Polk Co., Fla., Lindsay was invited to a former friend's house where she was allegedly ambushed by six other teenage girls and beaten so viciously that at one point she lost consciousness and later had to be treated in a hospital for injuries. The attack reportedly lasted more than 30 minutes.
A video of the attack, which was released by the Polk County Sheriffs Department, shows Lindsay literally backed into a corner and attempting to cover her head while the girls alternate pummeling her and yelling at her.
But Lindsay was unable to avoid the blows and suffered a concussion and injuries to her left eye and left ear. One girl reportedly slammed her head into a wall until she lost conscioussness.
"It's really unreal for me, how my friends could turn on me... and do that to me," she said.
On March 30 in Polk Co., Fla., Lindsay was invited to a former friend's house... more
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