GET TO THA PLOTTAAAA...

Shall we take the data from here and here then, on the 65+ year olds? That's 16.81% in Europe vs 12.6% in the US. You're probably joking about the "much less active" bit, so I'll let it slide.

Most importantly: you are of course entitled to the "do everything possible to save me" mentality, that is a cultural difference. Note, though, that with spending at 16% of GDP, that's a dangerous game. The US does not have the ability to raise infinite debt.

That explains nothing in the context of international comparisons, the US has a younger population than most of Europe, and Japan.

Alright - I guess I won't quote you on any relevant statistics then. I am not sure whether you are happy or unhappy with the state of affairs, since you conclude with "we just pay a shitload more". That shitload is more than 16% of your GDP, which is insane.

Expected lifespans are important, even if you put your head in the sand. It is irrelevant how good your health care is for the top 10% of the population, you will never manage to establish this sort of care across the board. And yes, obesity is a health problem, not a "cultural" one, because it is the health care system that pays the price in the end. Persistent failure to tackle the problem as a health issue does not mean you just get to redefine it.

It is true. Here's an article in the economist, which has good coverage of this: article.

Note: The proportion of GDP devoted to health care has grown from 5% in 1962 to 16% today. Rising health-care costs appear to have suppressed wages, as firms seek to make up for the expense. America spends 53% more per head than the next most profligate country and almost two-and-a-half times the rich-country average..

There is a systemic problem in the US that is well document: that of wrong incentives in the system (over-testing by doctors because of bad payment models, lack of litigation protection, etc). Not easy to fix.

This will take science. It will take art. It will take innovation. It will take ambition. And it will take humility. But the fantastic thing is: This is what you get to do...

This is just lovely. Go on, start innovating, spend lots of money. By no means must you look at other countries to find out why your healthcare expenditure is so high, you can look forward to your "not invented here" syndrome to keep costing you a fortune.

Obviously Slashdot submitters and users are foolish enough to fall into the simplest of marketing traps. All Apple has to do is define a new meaningless term like "retina displays", and the self-styled experts come out and give them free airtime as if it mattered.

That is because you forgot to read the further information detailing that the cards would be sold for money, hence the cost is not all unfunded. £800m is the unfunded cost, AFAIK.

Pretty one-dimensional poll, as if there was such a thing as "a . Rib-eye tastes nice medium rare, done on a charcoal grill, because it has more fat in it, and it gets some time for the fat to melt. Fillet mignon, well, just bring it in at room temperature :-)

I hope the parent of this post gets modded up. Why should we give a **** about this story?

So, let's see. The US wiped billions of the share price of Partygaming (registered in Gibraltar), the most successful online poker company, almost overnight when it, effectively, outlawed credit card payments for internet gambling.

What are the chances that the law is now repealed, and "carefully regulated US companies" will be able to provide internet gambling? It's nothing but good old protectionism at work, we shall see..

Why would anybody be interested in seeing Sean Connery act in James Bond the same way he did back then? Why would you not just watch the old movie? Does anybody really give a damn if the explosions look slightly more up to date? If you want to use fancy toys, use them to innovate, and find the icons of the next generation.

And how will they determine if this gets stuck in some local optimum for certain concepts, and thus stops to learn anything relevant at all about any one given concept or topic? The report is low on details and high on hype. There are no current algorithms that don't require heavy parameter tuning and constant monitoring to get right. Switching one on for a few years and hoping does not strike me as an exciting story.

Is there no data protection legislation in the US? In most countries in Europe, businesses are not allowed to retain data unless they can demonstrate a purpose for them. And if you have discontinued business with them, they certainly have no purpose for it (ulterior purposes not to do with the provision of services to you do not count).

"It recharges on the fly"