Word: birthed
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Facebook and MySpace users may want to think twice before posting their birth dates on their online profiles. According to a recent study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, information as basic as this can be used to pinpoint a person's Social Security number in as few as 10 tries...
...being born after 1988 can heighten a person's vulnerability to identity theft: "[Since 1989,] times and locations of individuals' SSN applications over time have become much more correlated with those individuals' times and states of birth ... such correlations may allow a more granular understanding of the SSN assignment scheme...
...living in a less populous state increases the odds of accurately predicting SSNs: "As hypothesized, a strong correlation exists between dates of birth and all 9 SSN digits. That correlation increases for individuals born in ... less populous states (where fewer births take place over a given period, determining slower - and more detectable - transitions through the SSN assignment scheme...
...1930s, Social Security numbers were assigned for income-tracking purposes and determined according to an individual's date and place of birth. Back then, identity theft - not to mention modern technology like the personal computer - were "unthinkable." But the technological boom of recent decades, coupled with the SSN's popularity as an authentication device, has enabled an "architecture of vulnerability" that exposes millions of Americans to fraud and exploitation, the report argues...
Abortion-rights advocacy groups are pushing back. On July 6, the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) released a poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted by the Mellman Group indicating that 71% favor including reproductive services such as birth control and abortion as part of health reform. The poll also found that 75% believe an independent commission should determine what medical services are covered among the basic benefits offered under health reform. (Congress is also considering giving that power to the Health and Human Services Secretary.) Said NWLC vice president Judy Waxman: "Congress should refrain from practicing medicine...