SCIENCE
Gov. Gianforte Bans TikTok in Montana Over China Concerns
Published
6 days agoon
By
Jan Topete
Government Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed a first-of-its-kind bill banning TikTok from operating in the state, raising a potential legal battle with the company amid many questions about whether the state can enforce the law at all. law.
The new rules in Montana will have more far-reaching implications than the TikTok bans already in place on government devices in nearly half of the US states and federal government. There are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana, as well as 6,000 businesses that use the video-sharing platform, according to company spokesman Jamal Brown.
Here’s what you need to know:
Why is Montana banning Tiktok?
Proponents of the law in Montana argue that the Chinese government may be collecting US user data from TikTok and using the platform to spread pro-Beijing misinformation or messages to the public.
This reflects arguments put forward by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US Senate, as well as the heads of the FBI and CIA, all of whom have said TikTok could pose a national security risk because its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance is run by China. law.
Critics have pointed to China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which obliges companies to cooperate with governments in dealing with government intelligence. Another Chinese law, enacted in 2014, has similar mandates.
TikTok says he was never asked to hand over his data and would not have done so if asked.
How does Montana plan to ban Tiktok?
The law bans TikTok downloads in the state and fines any “organization” — app store or TikTok — $10,000 a day for every time someone accesses TikTok, “offers the opportunity” to access it, or downloads it.
This means that Apple and Google, who operate the app stores on Apple and Android devices, will be liable for any breaches. Penalties will not apply to users.
The statewide ban won’t go into effect until January 2024. It will be void if the social media platform is sold to a company that is not based “in any country designated by the federal government as a foreign adversary.”
The governor has indicated he wants to expand the bill to other social media apps to address some of the bill’s “technical and legal issues”. But the legislature delayed the meeting before sending him the bill, which meant he could not propose his amendments.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen pointed to the technology being used to restrict online sports gambling applications as a way to restrict TikTok’s operation in the state. Anyone can report these violations. And once the state confirms that a violation has occurred, it sends a cease and desist letter to the company concerned, said Kyler Nerison, a spokesman for Knudsen’s office. He said different companies use different methods to ensure compliance, and they themselves should “not allow their apps to run in Montana and other states where they’re illegal.”
So, can a TikTok ban work?
Other than avoiding a fine, there is nothing to incentivize the companies involved to comply, cybersecurity experts say, and it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to enforce the law properly.
First, the US has nothing like the type of control that countries like China have over what their citizens access online. To make matters worse, ISPs are out of the loop.
Before Montana’s law was passed, lawmakers rewrote parts of the bill to exempt them from liability after an AT&T lobbyist said during a February hearing that the law was “unfit” to pass.
Can tech companies block it?
Apple and Google did not oppose the law. But a spokesman for TechNet, a trade group that includes the two tech giants, said that app stores don’t have the ability to “geo-fence” apps across states and it would be impossible to prevent Montana from downloading TikTok. . The group also said that it should be the responsibility of the app, not the app store, to determine where it can work.
Telecommunications analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics believes app stores could have the ability to enforce the law, but that would be cumbersome to implement and full of loopholes. Address-based Apple and Google billing can be bypassed with prepaid cards, and IP geolocation is easily masked with a VPN service that can change IP addresses and allows users to bypass content restrictions, said mobile security expert Will Fear, founder Guardian, which makes a privacy app for Apple devices.
Oded Vanunu, head of product vulnerability research at cybersecurity firm Check Point, agreed that it would be difficult for app stores to isolate a single state from an app download. based on geographic location or IP addresses” of users.
Can Tiktok block itself?
When users allow TikTok to collect their location information, it can track a person at least 1.16 square miles away from their actual location. If this feature is disabled, TikTok may still collect approximate location information, such as the region, city, or postal code that a user may be based in, based on device or network information, such as an IP address.
But, as with app stores, cybersecurity experts point out that any enforcement measures a company uses can be easily bypassed with a VPN, and attempts to use IP geolocation can lead to other problems.
David Choffnes, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at Northeastern University, said cell service providers could use the same types of IP addresses for multiple states, which could mean someone who isn’t in Montana could be mistakenly blocked from using TikTok.
What will happen next?
Most likely a lawsuit.
Mr. Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general, has already said he expects the law to go to trial.
TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said in a prepared statement on Wednesday that the law violates Montanan’s free speech rights and is illegal.
“We want to reassure Montana residents that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, earn money, and find community as we continue to work to protect the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,” Ms. Oberwetter said.
Ms Oberwetter declined to say whether the company would take legal action, but spoke of some legal issues. She argued that Montana was trying to circumvent US foreign policy by arguing that the bill eliminated a national security threat. She said that laws on foreign policy and national security are not passed at the state level.
NetChoice, the trade group that represents TikTok and other tech companies, says the bill would violate the First Amendment and “custodial statute” laws that prevent the government from imposing punishment on a specific organization without a formal legal process.
The story was reported by the Associated Press.
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SCIENCE
Abortion bans scare away doctors and threaten basic health care
Published
50 mins agoon
May 26, 2023By
Jan Topete
Conservative states push to ban abortion after overthrow Row vs Calf leads to an initial consequence that opponents of abortion may not have considered: fewer health services available to all women living in these states.
Physicians show by their words and actions that they do not want to practice in places where making the best decision for the patient can result in huge fines or even jail time. And when abortion clinics close, all other services offered there also close, including regular checkups, breast cancer screening, and contraception.
Concerns about the consequences for women’s health are not limited to abortion rights advocates. The recent warning comes from Jerome Adams, who served as chief surgeon in the Trump administration.
V tweet thread in April, Adams wrote that “the trade-off of limited access (and criminalization of physicians) to a reduction in the number of abortions could result in you actually making pregnancy less safe for everyone and increasing infant and maternal mortality.”
The first signs of an impending medical brain drain appeared in February, when 76% of respondents survey of more than 2000 current and future doctors said they wouldn’t even apply for jobs or training in states with abortion restrictions. In other words, the study authors wrote in accompanying article“Many qualified candidates will no longer even consider working or studying in more than half of the US states.”
Indeed, states with abortion bans saw a larger decline in the number of medical graduates applying for residency in 2023 compared to states without abortion bans, according to the study. Association of American Medical Colleges study. While OB/GYN filings across the country have declined, the number of states with total abortion bans has more than halved compared to states with no restrictions (10.5% vs. 5.2%).
This means that fewer doctors will perform important preventive measures such as Pap smears and screening for sexually transmitted infections that can lead to infertility.
The care of pregnant women is at particular risk as hospitals in rural areas close maternity wards because they cannot find enough specialists to staff them, a problem that predates the abortion order but has only gotten worse since then.
In March, Bonner General Health, the only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, announced the termination of employment and delivery servicesdue in part to “Idaho’s legal and political climate” in which state legislators continue to “introduce and pass bills criminalizing physicians for medical care that is nationally recognized as the standard of care.”
Heartbreaking reports from around the country show that the abortion ban is also endangering the health of some patients who survive a miscarriage another other non-viable pregnancies. Earlier this year, pregnant woman with a non-viable fetus in Oklahoma was told to wait in the parking lot until she got sick after being told the doctors “can’t touch you unless you crash in front of us.”
A study by researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo, published in the journal Women’s Health Issues, found that doctors practicing in states with restrictive abortion policies less likely than those in states with pro-abortion policies are trained to perform the same early abortion procedures that are used for women who have had an early miscarriage.
But more than a shortage of doctors, it can complicate pregnancy and childbirth. The states with the tightest abortion restrictions are also less likely to offer support services for low-income mothers and children. Even before the coup caviarA Commonwealth Fund reportAn unbiased research team found that the maternal mortality rate in states with restrictions or bans on abortion was 62% higher than in states where abortion was more affordable.
Women who know their pregnancy may be high risk will think twice about getting pregnant or getting pregnant in states with abortion restrictions. Carmen Brosder, an Idaho woman who described her difficulties caring for a sick miscarriage. in a series of viral videos on tik tok, told ABC News she doesn’t plan to try to get pregnant again.
“Why would I want my daughter to almost lose her mom again just to have another baby?” She said. “It seems selfish and wrong.”
Once upon a time, the anti-abortion movement seemed more sensitive to arguments that its policies neglected the needs of women and children. Rep. Barney Frank (Democratic Republic of Massachusetts), who once said: “Conservatives believe that from the point of view of the federal government, life begins at conception and ends at birth.”
In fact, an icon of the anti-abortion movement, Rep. Henry Hyde (D-Illinois), who died in 2007, is put an end to the partnership with Liberal Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) on legislation to expand Medicaid coverage and provide additional benefits to address infant mortality in the late 1980s.
Few anti-abortion groups are following suit, promoting policies that make it easier for people to get pregnant, have children, and raise children. Most of these efforts go unnoticed.
This year, Americans United for Life and Democrats for America’s Life released a joint position paper urging politicians to “make birth free”. Among their offerings are automatic insurance coverage without deductibles and copayments for pregnancy and childbirth; removing incentives to pay for caesarean sections and hospital deliveries; and a “monthly maternity stipend” for the first two years of a child’s life.
“Giving free births to American mothers can and should become a national alliance in a particularly divided time,” the document says. Such a policy could not only make it easier for women to start a family, but also solve sad record of maternal mortality.
However, in a year when the same Republican legislators who support the national abortion ban are pushing even more vehemently for massive federal budget cuts, it looks like child ban policy will move very far, or very quickly.
This puts adversaries at a crossroads: will they follow Hyde’s example and champion policies that expand and protect access to health care? Or will women’s health suffer from the victory of the anti-abortion movement?
KN (Kaiser Health News) is a nationwide newsroom dedicated to in-depth health journalism. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operational programs in KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is a charitable non-profit organization providing health information to the nation.

in memoirs, group, the young law student ranked first in her class, but in her personal life she struggled with an eating disorder, suicidal thoughts and problems in her intimate life. An acquaintance introduced her to a psychotherapist who recommended that she sign up for group therapy sessions.
The author had to open up to other group members in her sessions and share parts of herself that she would rather hide. In turn, she listened as the other members of the group told their own stories and asked questions about the parts of their lives that made the least sense. The author has been conducting group therapy sessions for decades and has credited them with saving her life.
Psychotherapy (also known as talking therapy is an approach that some historians believe goes back to ancient times. In recent decades, scientists have learned to measure the benefits of talking therapy. In some cases, researchers believe that talking therapy is the best.
What is Talk Therapy?
Talk therapy it is when a person meets with a licensed mental health professional to address their concerns. There are various reasons a person might seek help with talk therapy, including stress, coping with trauma, or certain symptoms such as irritability.
Psychotherapists use a variety of techniques, including problem-solving strategies, mindfulness, or behavior tracking. A therapist may use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help a person change their behavior patterns. An example of cognitive behavioral therapy would be confronting fear with exposure therapy.
Does psychotherapy work?
Psychotherapy is effective, and two-thirds of people who took part in talking therapy said their mental health improved. They reported less depression, anxiety and neurotic behavior.
Researchers have also found that psychotherapy benefits people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a 2019 study V JAMA Psychiatry, The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 12 randomized clinical trials involving 922 people treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were treated with either psychotherapy, pharmaceuticals, or a combination of both strategies.
The authors did not see any evidence that pharmaceuticals are an effective first-line treatment. At follow-up, psychotherapy showed greater benefit than medication. The study confirmed previous research that talking therapy provides the most lasting relief for people with post-traumatic stress disorder.
2016 study V depression and anxiety, for example, came to the conclusion that talking therapy should be the first approach to PTSD. The authors analyzed 55 studies that included 6,313 people who were undergoing a variety of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, including medication and talking therapy. People who were treated with talking therapy were less likely to drop out of the treatment program.
The authors found that the effects of talk therapy were stronger than those of pharmaceuticals, leading them to conclude: “… for all measures considered in this study, [trauma-focused psychotherapies] outweighed the drugs.
Read more: Do antidepressants change your personality?
Benefits of Talk Therapy
Versatility is an advantage psychotherapy. While one person may benefit from one-on-one talk therapy, another may benefit from support in a group setting. In memoirs groups the author described how she struggled with overeating and admitted to her therapist that she ate seven apples in one sitting. He called her habit of secrecy problematic and encouraged her to call a member of the group every day to report what she ate. She found accountability useful.
Researchers are looking at other ways in which talking therapy can be effective in a variety of settings. A 2020 study in Overview of Clinical Psychology A review of the literature on studies of the effectiveness of talking therapy in a natural setting was carried out.
Between 1994 and 2019, they found 38 relevant articles that detailed outdoor psychotherapy. One of the common themes was that nature-based talk therapy worked in situations where both client and clinician felt at peace in a natural space. They also found that outdoor settings work for people who are uncomfortable or embarrassed by the idea of conventional therapy.
Outdoor therapy can allow the client or therapist to apply metaphors from the natural world to life. For example, a person may think about how a gardener can plant a seed and grow a growing plant, but external factors mean that the outcome is out of his control.
New types of talking therapy
Metaphors of the nature of middle age about the personal problems of life are one of the many new twists in the approach to talking therapy. Psychotherapy as a term came into use at the end of the nineteenth century, but in the middle of the twentieth century it was overshadowed psychoanalysis.
In psychoanalysis, clients stretched out on a couch facing the therapist and recounted their memories of once-forgotten events. Over time, the analyst offered to understand what was bothering the person’s thinking, which was to reduce anxiety and bring a sense of peace.
This method was most associated with the famous neurologist Sigmund Freud, who often attributed clients’ problems to one of his unproven theories. A woman’s anxiety, for example, can be diagnosed as a symptom of penis envy.
One historian described how Freud’s approach fell out of favor “… because of his frequent refusal to take the morbid reasoning of patients at face value; instead, he forced them to confess to esoteric sexual fantasies.”
How to find a therapist
In contrast to psychoanalysis, advocates of talk therapy during Freud’s time encouraged clinicians to be empathetic to the client and to acknowledge “their real sources of distress”.
Today, clients are encouraged to find a therapist that best suits their needs. Many psychotherapists specialize in treating specific conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. Others use special therapies like CBT and some offer different settings like virtual or outdoor.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recommends that people conduct preliminary interviews with potential therapists and they offer a list of questions on their website that clients can ask potential therapists during the meet and greet.
If a therapist doesn’t feel like a match, NIMH advises people to keep looking because “mutual understanding and trust are essential” in a client-therapist relationship.
Read more: How effective is Alcoholics Anonymous?
SCIENCE
Plex Lifetime Membership is Cheaper Than Ever
Published
2 hours agoon
May 25, 2023By
Jan Topete
Plex bills itself as a streaming app for everyone, and it’s easy to see why. Unlike services like Netflix, Plex is completely free and the subscription isn’t meant to unlock more content, but to give you real features. Now it’s cheaper than ever to participate in the promotion.
You currently have the option to sign up for Plex Pass, a paid subscription to the service, for as little as $5 a month. That’s a lot of value already, but if you plan on using the pass for a long time, Plex offers a “lifetime pass” which is just one payment for everything, forever unlocked for you. This lifetime membership typically costs $120 – a massive investment, equivalent to 2 years of a regular monthly subscription or 3 years of an annual subscription that costs $39.
Lifetime Plex Pass
You can unlock all the best Plex features without a recurring subscription with a lifetime Plex Pass. Enter code POWERGEEK at checkout to receive a discount. Sale ends after May 26th.
However, right now you can get it for just $95.99, in fact, a reduction of 20%. Plex is running this Geek Pride Day promotion until May 26th. If you’re not familiar with it, the Plex Pass gives you access to many different perks, such as the ability to skip intros, skip credits. , HDR to SDR tone conversion, DVR recording, and hardware accelerated streaming support, among others.
If you’re planning on using Plex for the long term, you might want to take advantage of this offer. Of course, this is still a high price, but it also means that you will keep access to all the extra perks that the Plex Pass offers without paying a dime more.


Abortion bans scare away doctors and threaten basic health care

Why is talking therapy so effective?

Plex Lifetime Membership is Cheaper Than Ever

You can probably beat ChatGPT in these math puzzles. That’s why
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