Technology: January 2018 Archives
This report from Australia illustrates what Real ID is all about. Worries about your ability to get on an airplane was just leverage to get you to scream at your state legislators until they agreed to surrender your personal data to the Feds. (It worked!)
"Driver's licences will be added to the Commonwealth Government's already vast biometric databases after it struck an agreement with the states and territories, handing authorities access to an unprecedented level of information about citizens.
"A system known as "the interoperability Hub" is already in place in Australia, allowing agencies to take an image from CCTV and other media and run it against a national database of passport pictures of Australian citizens -- a process known as "The Capability".
"But soon driver's licences will be added to the system, allowing both government and private entities to access your photo, age and address.
"It is a $21 million system being sold as a way to tackle terrorism and make commercial services more secure.
"But experts warn people now risk losing control of their biometric identity entirely as commercial interests, governments and organised crime gangs all move to capture more personal metadata for their own gain."
Genetic Study Supports Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity
Dr. David Ludwig writes:
"According to the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity (CIM), the processed carbohydrates that flooded our diet during the low-fat diet craze undermine our metabolism and drive weight gain. Put simply:
"Processed carbohydrates -- think white bread, white rice, potato products, low -fat snacks -- raise insulin more than any other food, calorie for calorie. This is just Nutrition, 101.
"Insulin is the Miracle-Gro for your fat cells. A child with new onset type 1 diabetes -- unable to make enough insulin -- will invariable lose weight until receiving treatment, no matter how many calories she consumes. Give that child the right amount of insulin, and weight trajectory returns to normal. Give that child (or an adult with type 2 diabetes) too much insulin and excessive weight gain will predictably result. This is just Endocrinology 101.
"When too many of the calories we eat get locked away in fat cells, there aren't enough calories to supply the needs of the brain and other organs. So we get hungry and "overeat." And to make matters worse, metabolism slows down, further fueling weight gain. This is just Obesity 101....
"This difference is of much more than just theoretical interest, with direct implications for how best to prevent and treat obesity. If the Conventional View is right, we need to focus even more intensively on cutting back calories, for example with a 1600 calorie diet. If the CIM is right, the emphasis should instead be placed on lowering insulin secretion with a lower-carbohydrate/higher-fat diet and other supportive dietary and lifestyle measures. Calorie balance will then adjust naturally due to reduced hunger, greater satiety and faster metabolism."
