Converting to Judaism in the Wake of October 7th, by Jeannie Suk Gersen in the New Yorker

 I was moved by this New Yorker article by Harvard law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen

Converting to Judaism in the Wake of October 7th
For decades, I maintained a status quo of living like a Jew without being one. When I finally pursued conversion, I discovered that I was part of a larger movement born of crisis.  By Jeannie Suk Gersen

"The Talmud says that a person who comes to a court to convert is to be questioned as to his motivation and asked, “Don’t you know that the Jewish people at the present time are anguished, suppressed, despised, and harassed, and hardships are frequently visited upon them?”

The market for hitmen is thin

 The NYT has the story (but it isn't much of a story, the 'experts' don't know much...)

Was Brian Thompson’s Killer a Hit Man? Unlikely, Experts Say.
The murder of Brian Thompson did not appear to have been committed by a coldly calculating professional, according to people who study criminal behavior.   By Annie Correal

"None of this looks like the work of a professional, the experts said. (Assassinations occur but are usually ordered by governments or criminal groups like drug cartels, and rarely leave behind much evidence, they said.)"

The market for kidneys is strong

 "For 2025, Bickell expects the market for kidneys to be very strong."

Alas, it's a story about kidney beans, from RealAgriculture.com:

Edible Bean School: Genetics and markets drive kidney bean opportunity 

 

Earlier related post: (different market, same joke)

Saturday, August 22, 2020 Organs for sale

 

 

Blood supply in West Africa

 Here are some thoughts on blood shortages in West Africa by Jappah and Tao. (Jappah has just returned from Sierra Leone...)

To meet demand, blood donation should not rely solely on volunteers
A misalignment between supply and demand especially hurts people in low-income nations. by Jlateh Vincent Jappah and Ruoying (Carol) Tao, Harvard Public Health, December 4, 2024

"The World Health Organization advocates for 100 percent voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation—a position that was more defensible in the 1970s, before widespread screening for bloodborne diseases like hepatitis. Today, two-thirds of the world face shortages of blood and blood products, leading to many preventable deaths, especially among women and children. More than 80 percent of the world’s population has access to only 20 percent of the global blood supply. These global inequities in blood and blood product supplies are unacceptable.

"Africa, in particular, faces a disproportionate demand for blood and blood products. The continent relies heavily on family-based donation, which is not sustainable. Policies about blood supply in Africa, meanwhile, are generally based on research generated outside the continent—and in that research field, the idea of addressing blood shortages in Africa by providing adequate incentives and compensation to blood donors is met with skepticism.

"We are conducting research with nonprofit organizations such as Lifeline Nehemiah Projects and with government agencies in West Africa, and shortly we will begin field experiments, to study whether non-cash incentives increase blood donation.

...

"The misalignment between blood supply and demand is especially acute in low-income countries, where the demand for blood is high due to disease burdens, traumatic injuries, and medical conditions that require transfusions. Blood shortages in these regions are also driven by factors such as a higher prevalence of sickle cell anemia and bloodborne pathogens. And yet problems such as poor nutrition limit people’s ability to donate blood voluntarily.

...

"Blood donation should not rely solely on charity but also on empowering individuals and communities to meet their own needs. In Sierra Leone, for instance, humanitarian organizations provide food and transportation to blood banks, to encourage blood donations. These incentives have significantly increased donation rates, though blood banks sometimes struggle with supply shortages, such as blood bags and needles."

Jlateh Vincent Jappah is a physician and a Ph.D. candidate in health policy at Stanford University. He is a fellow at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford.

Ruoying (Carol) Tao
Ruoying (Carol) Tao is a Ph.D. student in health care management and economics at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously worked in health care management consulting.

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Earlier:

Wednesday, August 28, 2024 WHO Says Countries Should Be Self-Sufficient In (Unremunerated) Organs And Blood, by Krawiec and Roth

 

Medical Treatments for Transgender Minors--Oral argument in Supreme Court

 Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about the Tennessee ban on transgender treatment for minors.

Supreme Ct. Hears Case on Medical Treatments for Transgender Minors
"The Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Skrmetti, a case on whether Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical treatments for minors violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Tennessee enacted its law in March of 2023, which stated that there was a “compelling interest” to protect minors from physical and emotional harm by banning health care providers from administering hormone/puberty blockers and surgery to minors for transgender purposes. Transgender minors and their families sued the state, and the Justice Department intervened on their behalf, arguing the law discriminated on the basis of sex. A district court then stopped the ban on hormone and puberty blockers, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The Justice Department then appealed to the Supreme Court. Chase Strangio, who argued on behalf of trans minors and their parents, was the first openly transgender lawyer to argue before the Court. 

Opening statement (text compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning):

"MR. CHIEF JUSTICE, AND MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT, THIS CASE IS ABOUT ACCESS TO MEDICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SAFELY PRESCRIBED FOR DECADES TO TREAT MANY CONDITIONS INCLUDING GENDER DYSPHORIA. BUT SB-1 SINGLES OUT AND BANS ONE PARTICULAR USE. IN TENNESSEE THESE MEDICATIONS CAN'T BE PRESCRIBED TO ALLOW A MINOR TO IDENTIFY WITH OR LIVE AS A GENDER INCONSISTENT WITH THE MINOR SEX. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT PARENTS DECIDE IS BEST FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT PATIENTS WOULD CHOOSE FOR THEMSELVES, AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF DOCTORS BELIEVE THIS TREATMENT IS ESSENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS. SB 1 CATEGORICALLY BANS TREATMENT WHEN AND ONLY WHEN IT'S INCONSISTENT WITH THE PATIENT'S BIRTH SEX. TENNESSEE SAYS THAT SWEEPING BAN IS JUSTIFIED TO PROTECT ADOLESCENT HEALTH, BUT THE STATE MAINLY ARGUES THAT IT HAD NO OBLIGATION TO JUSTIFY THE LAW AND THAT SB 1 SHOULD BE UPHELD SO LONG AS IT'S NOT WHOLLY IRRATIONAL. THAT'S WRONG. SB 1 REGULATES BY DRAWING SEX-BASED LINES AND DECLARES THAT THOSE LINES ARE DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE MINORS TO APPRECIATE THEIR SEX. THE LAW RESTRICTS MEDICAL CARE ONLY WHEN PROVIDED TO INDUCE PHYSICAL EFFECTS INCONSISTENT WITH BIRTH SEX. SOMEONE ASSIGNED FEMALE AT BIRTH CAN'T RECEIVE MEDICATION TO LIVE AS A MALE, BUT SOMEONE ASSIGNED MALE CAN. IF YOU CHANGE THE INDIVIDUAL SEX, IT CHANGES THE RESULT. THAT'S A SEX CLASSIFICATION FULL STOP, AND A LAW LIKE THAT CAN'T STAND ON BARE RATIONALITY. HERE TENNESSEE MADE NO ATTEMPT TO TAILOR ITS LAW TO ITS STATED HEALTH CONCERNS. RATHER THAN IMPOSE MEASURED GUARDRAILS SB 1 BANS THE CARE OUTRIGHT NO MATTER HOW CRITICAL IT IS FOR AN INDIVIDUAL PATIENT. THAT IS A STARK DEPARTURE OF PEDIATRIC CARE IN ALL OTHER CONTEXT. SB 1 LEAVES THE SAME MEDICATIONS AND MANY OTHERS ENTIRELY UNRESTRICTED WHEN USED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE EVEN WHEN THOSE USES PREVENT SIMILAR RISKS. THE SIXTH CIRCUIT NEVER CONSIDERED WHETHER TENNESSEE COULD JUSTIFY THAT SEX-BASED LINE BECAUSE THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE REQUIRES MORE, THIS COURT SHOULD REMAND SO THAT SB 1 CAN BE UNDER THE CORRECT STANDARD. I WELCOME THE COURT'S QUESTIONS. 

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HT: Kim Krawiec

 

Medpage Today summarized the hearings under this headline:

Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Bans on Transgender Care for Minors
— Justices' decision is not expected for several months

Adultery is no longer a crime in New York State.

 Not only is jaywalking no longer a crime in New York City, the seldom-enforced criminal law against adultery in New York State has now been repealed. 

My sense is that the jaywalking ban was rolled back in part because it was inequitably enforced, while the ban on adultery was so rarely brought to trial that it was simply obsolete.

NPR has the story:

Adultery is no longer illegal in New York, By Ayana Archie 

"Adultery is no longer a crime in New York.

"Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed off on repealing a 1907 law prohibiting the act.

"New York's penal law previously said that "a person is guilty of adultery when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse."

"It was considered a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a jail sentence of up to three months.

"The New York State Senate called the law "outdated."

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Interestingly, surveys indicate  both that most Americans disapprove of adultery, but that the frequency of adultery is quite high. So it's the law that is outdated, not the act.

Also interesting is that adultery is still forbidden under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  This comes up in discussions about President Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense (where he will preside over servicemen and women who are forbidden to follow the examples of their Secretary and their Commander in Chief...)

Here's the NYT on that:

Pete Hegseth’s Mother Accused Her Son of Mistreating Women for Years  by Sharon LaFraniere and Julie Tate

"Reports of his infidelity have focused attention on his character and leadership, particularly for a civilian overseeing the military, where active-duty service members can be subject to prosecution for adultery under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

Dating apps and the marriage market

 Dating apps may have peaked, at least in the UK, where younger users are at least thinking that they would like to find a match through in-person interaction (i.e. more like their grandparents than like many of their parents.)

Dating apps have been a boon not only for people trying to match up, but also for economists who are sometimes asked to explain to non-economists why we think of  "marriage markets."  I've often found that people who don't think marriage is a market nevertheless agree that dating apps are very market-like.

The Guardian has the story:

Gen Z is breaking up with dating apps,,, Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr have all seen dip in use since last year, by Dan Milmo

"The UK’s dating scene is swiping left on popular apps such as such as Tinder and Hinge as younger people turn to real-life ways of connecting with potential partners, according to the UK’s communications watchdog.

"Ofcom said the UK’s top four dating apps had seen a dip in use since 2023, with Tinder losing 600,000 users, Hinge shedding 131,000, Bumble declining by 368,000 and Grindr falling by 11,000.

"Ofcom said the overall number of adults visiting a dating service in May this year – nearly 5 million, or about one in 10 – was broadly in line with the same period in 2023, but the slight decline could be linked to the shifting dating habits of members of gen Z, the demographic cohort born between the mid-90s and 2010. 

...

"Tinder’s owner, Match Group, has admitted issues with attracting a younger audience, saying in January that its leading app would be focusing on “shaping an in-app experience that resonates better with today’s younger users”. It said gen Z users were seeking “a lower-pressure, more authentic way to find connections”.

"Ofcom also found that dating services still had the biggest reach in younger adult age groups, reaching 18% of 18- to 24-year-olds and a similar proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds. It said two gay dating apps, Sniffies and Scruff, had entered the top 10 most popular dating apps."

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I'm  pretty confident that dating apps will be with us for quite some time, some of which will introduce new matchmaking tools to frustrate and entertain and even match these young folks.