"Banks Running Wild--The Subversion of Insurance by "Life Settlements" and Credit Default Swaps"

Oblivious to any lessons that might have been learned from the global financial mess it has created, Wall Street is looking for the next asset bubble. Perhaps in the market for death it has found a replacement for the collapsed markets in subprime mortgage–backed securities and credit default swaps (CDSs). Instead of making bets on the "death" of securities, this new product will allow investors to gamble on the death of human beings by purchasing "life settlements"--life insurance policies that the ill and elderly sell for cash. These policies will then be packaged together as bonds—securitized—and resold to investors, who will receive payouts when the people with the insurance die. In effect, just as the sale of a CDS creates a vested interest in financial calamity, here the act of securitizing life insurance policies creates huge financial incentives in favor of personal calamity. The authors of this Policy Note argue that this is a subversion--or an inversion--of insurance, and it raises important public policy issues: Should we allow the marketing of an instrument in which holders have a financial stake in death? More generally, should we allow the "innovation" of products that condone speculation under the guise of providing insurance?

"Toward True Health Care Reform: More Care, Less Insurance"

The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world, yet its system produces inferior outcomes relative to those in other countries. This brief examines the health care reform debate and argues that the basic structure of the health care system is unlikely to change, because “reform” measures actually promote the status quo. The authors believe that the fundamental problem facing the U.S. health care system is the unhealthy lifestyle of many Americans. They prefer to see a reduced role for private insurers and an increased role for government funding, along with greater public discussion of environmental and lifestyle factors. A Medicare buy-in (“public option”) for people under 65 would provide more cost control (by competing with private insurance), help to solve the problem of treatment denial based on preexisting conditions, expand the risk pool of patients, and enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. corporations—thus bringing the U.S. health care system closer to the “ideal” low-cost, universal (single-payer) insurance plan.

Structured for Mission, by Alan J. Roxburgh

STRUCTURED FOR MISSION. By Alan J. Roxburgh Downers Grove, iL: Intervarsity Press (2015) Paperback, 181 pages Ultimately the author reveals the solution to the problem of our existing structural decline: regain our biblical imagination, allow room for experimentation, and allow the Spirit to lead outside our comfort zone. he relates these factors to leadership by explaining how leaders allow this process to take place when a problem arises

Tactical Opportunities, Risk Attitude and Choice of Farming Strategy: an Application of the Distribution Method

When assessing farming strategies, it is important to account for the opportunities provided for tactically adjusting to outcomes of risk. The hypothesis that accounting for tactical adjustment is more important than accounting for risk attitude was supported in this study with regard to identifying the optimal drainage recirculation strategy for an irrigated dairy farm. Failing to account for tactical adjustment would lead to a sub‐optimal choice, costing the farmer about A$3 100 in present value terms. In contrast, failing to account for risk aversion would not affect the strategy chosen. The distribution method was found to be well suited to modelling tactical adjustment.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Integrating Mental Health Services into Humanitarian Relief Responses to Social Emergencies, Disasters, and Conflicts: A Case Study

Utilizing lessons learned from development and implementation of "Project Liberty” in New York City, created in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, this paper explores the importance of integrating structured mental health services with community-based social service programs offered in large-scale humanitarian relief responses. Relevant international research studies illustrating similar integrated programs are also reviewed. The primary approach is community-based and resilience-enhancement focused, offering structure, stability, support, and community cohesion, with an added integrated screening component to identify persons with severe treatable mental health conditions. Because there is thus far little evidence that resilience-enhancing programs are effective for severe mental health conditions, a secondary program initiated in parallel would be staffed with more specialized providers offering services for those referred from the primary program. The key implication supports the establishment of more effective links between programs and professionals from different disciplines, who then can more effectively implement integrated program responses to large-scale disaster

The Value of Bt Corn in Southwest Kansas: A Monte Carlo Simulation Approach

While most Corn Belt farmers consider planting Bt corn to control European corn borer, southwestern Kansas farmers must also take into account an array of other insect pests, including corn rootworm, spider mites, and southwestern corn borer. This research uses a decision analysis framework to estimate the expected economic value of Bt corn in southwest Kansas. Mean per acre Bt values ranged from $12.49 to$34.60, well above the technology fee assumed to be $14 per unit, or$5.25 per acre at a seeding rate of 30,000 seeds per acre. The minimum value over all scenarios was $8.69 per acre. Using Monte Carlo simulation, it was shown that European and southwestern corn borer infestation probabilities, expected corn price, and expected pest-free yields are important determinants of the value of Bt corn.Bt corn, decision analysis, European corn borer, integrated pest management, Monte Carlo simulation, southwestern corn borer, Crop Production/Industries,

Petion for a Writ of Certiorari. Knight v. Thompson, 136 S.Ct. 2534 (2016) (No. 15-999), 2016 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 542, 2016 WL 447654

QUESTION PRESENTED In Holt v. Hobbs, 135 S.Ct. 853 (2015), this Court held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”), renders unlawful an absolute ban on inmates\u27 wearing a beard for religious reasons. The Eleventh Circuit, subsequent to and despite this Court\u27s decision in Holt, rejected a RLUIPA challenge to Alabama\u27s similarly inflexible policy prohibiting all male inmates from wearing long hair for religious reasons. A vast majority of states, the District of Columbia, and all federal prisons accommodate inmates whose religious practices include wearing beards or long hair. The Question Presented is: Whether Alabama\u27s grooming policy violates RLUIPA, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc, et seq., to the extent that it prohibits Petitioners from wearing unshorn hair in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs

Reply Brief of Petitioners. Knight v. Thompson, 136 S.Ct. 2534 (2016) (No. 15-999), 2016 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 1645, 2016 WL 1555013+A12

QUESTION PRESENTED Section 3 of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ( RLUIPA ) prohibits state and local governments from imposing a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution . . . unless the government demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person : (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest, and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-l(a). The Question Presented is: Whether RLUIPA requires that prison officials actually consider and demonstrate a sufficient basis for rejecting widely accepted accommodations to traditional religious practices as part of their burden of proving that they have chosen the least restrictive means of furthering their asserted governmental interests

Strong and weak lensing united III: Measuring the mass distribution of the merging galaxy cluster 1E0657-56

The galaxy cluster 1E0657-56 (z = 0.296) is remarkably well-suited for addressing outstanding issues in both galaxy evolution and fundamental physics. We present a reconstruction of the mass distribution from both strong and weak gravitational lensing data. Multi-color, high-resolution HST ACS images allow detection of many more arc candidates than were previously known, especially around the subcluster. Using the known redshift of one of the multiply imaged systems, we determine the remaining source redshifts using the predictive power of the strong lens model. Combining this information with shape measurements of "weakly" lensed sources, we derive a high-resolution, absolutely-calibrated mass map, using no assumptions regarding the physical properties of the underlying cluster potential. This map provides the best available quantification of the total mass of the central part of the cluster. We also confirm the result from Clowe et al. (2004,2006a).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; Version with full-resolution figures available at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~marusa/Work/bradac_strong_weak_III.pd