Links

We have to move house (by the start of March). I am too jetlagged to work. Have some links.

Last year, I posted a quote from a New Scientist interview discussing the morality of the right and less-right wings of US politics. "... I think the Tea Party is driven in large part by concerns about fairness. It's not fairness as equality of outcomes, it's fairness as karma — the idea that good deeds will lead to good outcomes and bad deeds will lead to suffering." Unfortunately, we live in a world of human weakness, in which an individual's poor judgement may affect many others, which is why there are ashtrays on planes, emergency contraception, and the fire brigade should respond even if you didn't pay your annual fee.

Still on the subject of human foibles: most crack users are not addicts, and addicts can skip the drug if offered a better alternative. "If you’re living in a poor neighborhood deprived of options, there's a certain rationality to keep taking a drug that will give you some temporary pleasure."

More to come.

Links

The dire state of indigenous health in Australia has not improved in a decade. One physician suggests a shift to a community-based approach.

Mental illness costs the Australian economy $190 billion annually, but increased treatment is helping to reduce this figure. In the US, half of people shot by the police are mentally ill.

Xavier Toby asks: As a fourth generation white Australian, what's my culture?

Links

The Australian Red Cross defines food security as "a human right and exists when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food to maintain a healthy and active life." They estimate that 5-8% of Australians "commonly" have no food and no money to buy it. Lack of food security contributes to the very poor state of Indigenous health in Australia, particularly in remote areas, where fresh and healthy food can be far more expensive than junk food. Remote areas aside, healthy food adds thousands of dollars to the average family's yearly budget.

In Australia, women, Indigenous people, and people with chronic health problems are most likely to suffer poverty. (The Salvation Army reports that half of women seeking accomodation from them are experiencing family violence.) Catholic Health Australia states that doctors should screen patients for poverty to cut preventable disease. UNICEF and other advocate groups have called on the government to help the 600,000 Australian children who live in poverty.

49 million Americans similarly experience food insecurity. A thought-provoking posting from Cracked.com, of all places, attacks the stereotypes of those receiving welfare. Apple, McDonalds, and Walmart cost taxpayers the most in welfare by underpaying their employees.

A study has found that poverty inflicts a cognitive deficit equal to losing 13 IQ points. A 23-year study of "crack babies" found that "Poverty is a more powerful influence on the outcome of inner-city children than gestational exposure to cocaine."

ETA: 20 things the poor really do every day, including working harder and longer on less food and sleep than the rest of us.

Boox

Despite the jetlag (or is it the jetlag meds?), I've been managing to do a little packing. The extent of Jon and my SF book collection is pleasing. I just filled a tub and labelled it "Bester, Asimov, Niven, Clarke". Could've labelled it "my teenage years" (or "my misspent teenage years" if there was some Heinlein, hee hee hee). Turned out we each had a copy of Alfred Bester's anthology The Dark Side of the Earth. I think we have two copies of David Gerrold's The Trouble With Tribbles and a few other duplicates floating around as well.