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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 02:42

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Not ready yet for that

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OCD Virgo neat freak discovery

It should only take a couple of months to get my feet back on the ground

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Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:41

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

January 30, 2015

AMERICAN HEART MONTH, 2015

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

In the United States, cardiovascular disease -- including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure -- is responsible for one out of every three deaths. It is the number one killer of American women and men, and it is a leading cause of serious illness and disability. Across our Nation, we have lost devoted mothers and fathers, loved siblings, and cherished friends to this devastating epidemic. During American Heart Month, as we honor their memories, let us recommit to improving our heart health and continuing the fight against this deadly disease, for ourselves and our families.

Americans of all backgrounds can be at risk for heart disease and stroke -- and nearly half of all adults have at least one major risk factor. However, individuals who are at high risk often do not know it, and data suggest that many people who experience sudden cardiac death do not act on early warning signs. That is why it is important to understand the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, inactivity, and diabetes, and to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control. By maintaining a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and not smoking, you can control risk factors and help protect your heart. To learn more about cardiovascular health, talk with your healthcare provider and visit www.CDC.gov/heartdisease.

My Administration is committed to leading a new era of medicine -- one that delivers the right treatment at the right time -- and to ensuring Americans live longer, healthier, more productive lives. That is why earlier this year, I announced the Precision Medicine Initiative. This bold new effort will revolutionize how our Nation fights disease by investing in research that will enable clinicians to tailor treatments to individual patients. Additionally, in 2011 we launched Million Hearts, an unprecedented effort that is bringing together Federal Agencies, non-profit organizations, and private-sector partners to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. We are working to enhance clinical care, bolster disease prevention programs, and empower individuals and communities to make healthy choices, demonstrating that improving the health system can save lives. More information on these important initiatives is available at www.NIH.gov/precisionmedicine and www.millionhearts.HHS.gov.

At the same time, First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative is encouraging young people to develop heart-healthy habits from an early age, and the Affordable Care Act is allowing more families to access quality, affordable health care. New protections under the law require most insurance plans to cover recommended preventive services without copays, and they prevent insurers from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition like heart disease.

On Friday, February 6, Michelle and I invite all Americans to join in marking National Wear Red Day. By wearing red, we help raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and provide an important reminder that it is never too early to take action to protect our health. This month, let us reaffirm our resolve to fight this epidemic and continue our work to build a brighter future for our families.

In acknowledgement of the importance of the ongoing fight against cardiovascular disease, the Congress, by Joint Resolution approved December 30, 1963, as amended (77 Stat. 843; 36 U.S.C. 101), has requested that the President issue an annual proclamation designating February as "American Heart Month."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim February 2015 as American Heart Month, and I invite all Americans to participate in National Wear Red Day on February 6, 2015. I also invite the Governors of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join me in recognizing and reaffirming our commitment to fighting cardiovascular disease.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:16

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

January 30, 2015

NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH, 2015

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

For generations, the story of American progress has been shaped by the inextinguishable beliefs that change is always possible and a brighter future lies ahead. With tremendous strength and abiding resolve, our ancestors -- some of whom were brought to this land in chains -- have woven their resilient dignity into the fabric of our Nation and taught us that we are not trapped by the mistakes of history. It was these truths that found expression as foot soldiers and Freedom Riders sat in and stood up, marched and agitated for justice and equality. This audacious movement gave birth to a new era of civil and voting rights, and slowly, we renewed our commitment to an ideal at the heart of our founding: no matter who you are, what you look like, how modest your beginnings, or the circumstances of your birth, you deserve every opportunity to achieve your God-given potential.

As we mark National African American History Month, we celebrate giants of the civil rights movement and countless other men and women whose names are etched in the hearts of their loved ones and the cornerstones of the country they helped to change. We pause to reflect on our progress and our history -- not only to remember, but also to acknowledge our unfinished work. We reject the false notion that our challenges lie only in the past, and we recommit to advancing what has been left undone.

Brave Americans did not struggle and sacrifice to secure fundamental rights for themselves and others only to see those rights denied to their children and grandchildren. Our Nation is still racked with division and poverty. Too many children live in crumbling neighborhoods, cycling through substandard schools and being affected by daily violence in their communities. And Americans of all races have seen their wages and incomes stagnate while inequality continues to hold back hardworking families and entire communities.

But the trajectory of our history gives us hope. Today, we stand on the shoulders of courageous individuals who endured the thumps of billy clubs, the blasts of fire hoses, and the pain of watching dreams be deferred and denied. We honor them by investing in those around us and doing all we can to ensure every American can reach their full potential. Our country is at its best when everyone is treated fairly and has the chance to build the future they seek for themselves and their family. This means providing the opportunity for every person in America

to access a world-class education, safe and affordable housing, and the job training that will prepare them for the careers of tomorrow.

Like the countless, quiet heroes who worked and bled far from the public eye, we know that with enough effort, empathy, and perseverance, people who love their country can change it. Together, we can help our Nation live up to its immense promise. This month, let us continue that unending journey toward a more just, more equal, and more perfect Union.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2015 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:41

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

January 30, 2015

NATIONAL TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS

AND PREVENTION MONTH, 2015

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

In a Nation invested in the limitless possibility of every child, ending dating violence is an urgent priority. Each year, an estimated 1 in 10 American teenagers is physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. This behavior violates our most basic values and can have profound consequences for survivors. Young people who experience dating violence are at increased risk of substance abuse, depression, poor academic performance, and future victimization. This month, we join with all those who have endured the pain of an unhealthy relationship and acknowledge the responsibility we each have to end this cycle of fear, isolation, and abuse.

Dating violence often involves the use of inappropriate actions to control a partner or resolve conflicts. These behaviors can be physical, emotional, or sexual, and can take place in person or with the use of technology and social media. Unhealthy relationships can affect people of all ages, and many teenagers do not recognize the severity of dating abuse, or they do not report it because they are afraid or ashamed to speak up. That is why it is important to talk with friends and loved ones about dating violence and to learn the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship, including extreme jealousy, constant monitoring, and possessiveness.

If you are in -- or know someone who is in -- an abusive relationship, the National Dating Abuse Helpline can offer immediate and confidential support. To contact the Helpline, call 1-866-331-9474, text "loveis" to 22522, or visit LoveIsRespect.org. For more information on dating violence, visit VetoViolence.CDC.gov.

It is on all of us to reject the quiet tolerance of sexual assault, and the Federal Government is committed to being part of the solution. Last year, I established the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and directed its members to consider how their recommendations could apply to our Nation's elementary and secondary schools. In addition, as part of Vice President Joe Biden's 1is2many initiative, my Administration is working to provide teenagers and their communities with the resources and support they need, so our young people can pursue their dreams free from fear. As we strive to eliminate teen dating violence, we are focused on bolstering prevention efforts and improving our response in order to protect those at risk and ensure survivors can access the help they need.

Healthy relationships are built on respect, trust, and equality. Our commitment to these values demands that we stand up against dating abuse and all forms of intimate partner violence. During National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, we are called to act. Let us recommit to fostering a society where our strength is measured by our resolve to speak out against this outrage, and where there are no barriers that prevent our daughters and sons from achieving their full potential.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2015 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. I call upon all Americans to support efforts in their communities and schools, and in their own families, to empower young people to develop healthy relationships throughout their lives and to engage in activities that prevent and respond to teen dating violence.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.

BARACK OBAMA

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:17

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

February 02, 2015

By the authority vested in me as President by the laws of the United States of America, and in accordance with section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (the "Act"), as amended, 2 U.S.C. 901a, I hereby order that, on October 1, 2015, direct spending budgetary resources for fiscal year 2016 in each non-exempt budget account be reduced by the amount calculated by the Office of Management and Budget in its report to the Congress of February 2, 2015.

All sequestrations shall be made in strict accordance with the requirements of section 251A of the Act and the specifications of the Office of Management and Budget's report of February 2, 2015, prepared pursuant to section 251A(9) of the Act.

BARACK OBAMA

NDAA and Overturning of Smith-Mundt Act

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) allows for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be released within U.S. borders and strikes down a long-time ban on the dissemination of such material in the country.[14][15][16]

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Sun, 21 Sep 2014 15:00

Propaganda in the United States is propaganda spread by government and media entities within the United States. Propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to influence opinions. Propaganda is not only in advertising; it is also in radio, newspaper, posters, books, and anything else that might be sent out to the widespread public.

Domestic[edit]World War I[edit]The first large-scale use of propaganda by the U.S. government came during World War I. The government enlisted the help of citizens and children to help promote war bonds and stamps to help stimulate the economy. To keep the prices of war supplies down, the U.S. government produced posters that encouraged people to reduce waste and grow their own vegetables in "victory gardens." The public skepticism that was generated by the heavy-handed tactics of the Committee on Public Information would lead the postwar government to officially abandon the use of propaganda.[1]

World War II[edit]During World War II the U.S. officially had no propaganda, but the Roosevelt government used means to circumvent this official line. One such propaganda tool was the publicly owned but government funded Writers' War Board (WWB). The activities of the WWB were so extensive that it has been called the "greatest propaganda machine in history".[1]Why We Fight is a famous series of US government propaganda films made to justify US involvement in World War II.

In 1944 (lasting until 1948) prominent US policy makers launched a domestic propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the U.S. public to agree to a harsh peace for the German people, for example by removing the common view of the German people and the Nazi party as separate entities.[2] The core in this campaign was the Writers' War Board which was closely associated with the Roosevelt administration.[2]

Another means was the United States Office of War Information that Roosevelt established in June 1942, whose mandate was to promote understanding of the war policies under the director Elmer Davies. It dealt with posters, press, movies, exhibitions, and produced often slanted material conforming to US wartime purposes. Other large and influential non-governmental organizations during the war and immediate post war period were the Society for the Prevention of World War III and the Council on Books in Wartime.

Cold War[edit]During the Cold War, the U.S. government produced vast amounts of propaganda against communism and the Soviet bloc. Much of this propaganda was directed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, who himself wrote the anti-communist tract Masters of Deceit. The FBI's COINTELPRO arm solicited journalists to produce fake news items discrediting communists and affiliated groups, such as H. Bruce Franklin and the Venceremos Organization.

War on Drugs[edit]The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, originally established by the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988,[3][4] but now conducted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998,[5] is a domestic propaganda campaign designed to "influence the attitudes of the public and the news media with respect to drug abuse" and for "reducing and preventing drug abuse among young people in the United States".[6][7] The Media Campaign cooperates with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other government and non-government organizations.[8]

Iraq War[edit]In early 2002, the U.S. Department of Defense launched an information operation, colloquially referred to as the Pentagon military analyst program.[9] The goal of the operation is "to spread the administrations's talking points on Iraq by briefing ... retired commanders for network and cable television appearances," where they have been presented as independent analysts.[10] On 22 May 2008, after this program was revealed in the New York Times, the House passed an amendment that would make permanent a domestic propaganda ban that until now has been enacted annually in the military authorization bill.[11]

The Shared values initiative was a public relations campaign that was intended to sell a "new" America to Muslims around the world by showing that American Muslims were living happily and freely, without persecution, in post-9/11 America.[12] Funded by the United States Department of State, the campaign created a public relations front group known as Council of American Muslims for Understanding (CAMU). The campaign was divided in phases; the first of which consisted of five mini-documentaries for television, radio, and print with shared values messages for key Muslim countries.[13]

NDAA and Overturning of Smith-Mundt Act[edit]The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA) allows for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be released within U.S. borders and strikes down a long-time ban on the dissemination of such material in the country.[14][15][16]

Ad Council[edit]The Ad Council, an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various private and federal government agency sponsors, has been labeled as "little more than a domestic propaganda arm of the federal government" given the Ad Council's historically close collaboration with the President of the United States and the federal government.[17]

International[edit]Through several international broadcasting operations, the US disseminates American cultural information, official positions on international affairs, and daily summaries of international news. These operations fall under the International Broadcasting Bureau, the successor of the United States Information Agency, established in 1953. IBB's operations include Voice of America, Radio Liberty, Alhurra and other programs. They broadcast mainly to countries where the United States finds that information about international events is limited, either due to poor infrastructure or government censorship. The Smith-Mundt Act prohibits the Voice of America from disseminating information to US citizens that was produced specifically for a foreign audience.

During the Cold War the US ran covert propaganda campaigns in countries that appeared likely to become Soviet satellites, such as Italy, Afghanistan, and Chile.

Recently The Pentagon announced the creation of a new unit aimed at spreading propaganda about supposedly "inaccurate" stories being spread about the Iraq War. These "inaccuracies" have been blamed on the enemy trying to decrease support for the war. Donald Rumsfeld has been quoted as saying these stories are something that keeps him up at night.[18]

Psychological operations[edit]The US military defines psychological operations, or PSYOP, as:

planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.[19]

The Smith-Mundt Act, adopted in 1948, explicitly forbids information and psychological operations aimed at the US public.[20][21][22] Nevertheless, the current easy access to news and information from around the globe, makes it difficult to guarantee PSYOP programs do not reach the US public. Or, in the words of Army Col. James A. Treadwell, who commanded the U.S. military psyops unit in Iraq in 2003, in the Washington Post:

There's always going to be a certain amount of bleed-over with the global information environment.[23]

Agence France Presse reported on U.S. propaganda campaigns that:

The Pentagon acknowledged in a newly declassified document that the US public is increasingly exposed to propaganda disseminated overseas in psychological operations.[24]

Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the document referred to, which is titled "Information Operations Roadmap." [22][24] The document acknowledges the Smith-Mundt Act, but fails to offer any way of limiting the effect PSYOP programs have on domestic audiences.[20][21][25]

Several incidents in 2003 were documented by Sam Gardiner, a retired Air Force colonel, which he saw as information-warfare campaigns that were intended for "foreign populations and the American public." Truth from These Podia,[26] as the treatise was called, reported that the way the Iraq war was fought resembled a political campaign, stressing the message instead of the truth.[22]

See also[edit]References[edit]^ abThomas Howell, The Writers' War Board: U.S. Domestic Propaganda in World War II, Historian, Volume 59 Issue 4, Pages 795 - 813^ abSteven Casey, (2005), The Campaign to sell a harsh peace for Germany to the American public, 1944 - 1948, [online]. London: LSE Research Online. [Available online at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/archive/00000736] Originally published in History, 90 (297). pp. 62-92 (2005) Blackwell Publishing^National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 of the Anti''Drug Abuse Act of 1988, Pub.L. 100''693, 102 Stat. 4181, enacted November 18, 1988^Gamboa, Anthony H. (January 4, 2005), B-303495, Office of National Drug Control Policy '-- Video News Release, Government Accountability Office, footnote 6, page 3 ^Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 (Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999), Pub.L. 105''277, 112 Stat. 268, enacted October 21, 1998^Gamboa, Anthony H. (January 4, 2005), B-303495, Office of National Drug Control Policy '-- Video News Release, Government Accountability Office, pp. 9''10 ^Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub.L. 105''277, 112 Stat. 268, enacted October 21, 1998^Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109''469, 120 Stat. 3501, enacted December 29, 2006, codified at 21 U.S.C. § 1708^Barstow, David (2008-04-20). "Message Machine: Behind Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand". New York Times. ^Sessions, David (2008-04-20). "Onward T.V. Soldiers: The New York Times exposes a multi-armed Pentagon message machine". Slate. ^Barstow, David (2008-05-24). "2 Inquiries Set on Pentagon Publicity Effort". New York Times. ^Rampton, Sheldon (October 17, 2007). "Shared Values Revisited". Center for Media and Democracy. ^"U.S. Reaches Out to Muslim World with Shared Values Initiative". America.gov. January 16, 2003.

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:09

by Scott Creighton

There has been yet another propaganda video released once again by Muslim-hating Israeli propagandist Rita Katz and her SITE Intelligence Group.

This one, released yesterday, purports to show the murder by immolation of Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, 26 of the Jordanian Air Force.

ask yourself ''why is the bulldozer so close to the cage?''

The production quality of this video is much higher than those fake ''beheading'' videos of the past yet there are still some glaring issues with it which I intend to point out one at a time in different articles.

In this one I wish to talk about the very different look of ''ISIS''' Seems they got a makeover and it may be one of the most telling clues in this particular video.

Here is a still image from the video. It is of ''ISIS''' members supposedly. (click on image for larger view)

Have you ever seen ''ISIS''' dressed like this? It's a pink looking camo with tan hoods and gloves. All of the ''terrorists'' were wearing the same uniform in the scenes where Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh seems to walk aimlessly around the demolished building site in very dramatic fashion. The storyline is that he is experiencing the destruction his bombing caused somewhere in Syria or Iraq. He gathers it all in making sure to hit his marks along the way.

He wanders aimlessly around inspecting the carnage. Notice the bulldozer and cage in the background.

Notice he walks right along and stops right on his mark for the dramatic effect?

Right before this shot, he walked, unaccompanied, down that little road toward where these guys were lined up waiting for him. Very dramatic, wasn't it? He was walking away from the cage. Why didn't he run?

Anyway, I thought the new matching costumes for ''ISIS''' seemed a little out of character for them so I wanted to see if any military outfit used uniforms like that. And guess what I found?

Notice the color of the camo and the tan hoods? Also notice the Jordanian flag on the arm. Notice on the guy in front how long the shirt is? It goes down and covers his hips. The image comes from this article which shows how Jordan is one of the most militarized nations on the planet. This article from mid-2014 shows the pinkish camo uniform is still in use.

The matching uniforms struck me as very odd. When I found out the Jordanian army uses these exact same uniforms, let's just say I was a little less than surprised.

Also notice that in the video, which is 22 minutes long, epic for these propaganda pieces, that when they show flashbacks to the destruction caused by the bombing and are digging out purported ISIS members from the rubble'...

'... none of them, rescuers or victims'... are wearing these uniforms. None of them.

Also notice that all the tan gear on these guys, all of it, is in mint condition. Not a smudge, not a scratch, not a smear. Nothing. It's like it all just came out of the box. Also notice, none of the fighters have personalized their gear as soldiers often do. Not a name tag, not a drawing. Nothing. Again, like it all just came out of the box for this shoot.

Fighting a dirty, close combat gorilla war. So how does this ''terrorist'' get out without so much as a smudge on his gear?

Also notice'... the pouches are empty. That's the arrows. See them still gathered? Nothing in them.

And that black thing on his arm. They covered up something. Is that supposed to be the ISIS flag? If it is, it's not. They had to cover something on that arm. I guess they didn't want to tear off the Jordan flag patch, it would be disrespectful, so they simply covered it up.

edit: AnonX makes a good point in the comment section. Thinks the black square is actually Velcro they use to stick the flag patch to the uniform. Points out the shadow cast by the flag on the uniform in the picture above and the fact that it is smaller than the flag itself. It's a good point.

AnonX links to an article about how the new uniforms use Velcro to hold flag patches on the sleeves.

''The addition of Velcro on the sleeves to attach patches was intended to keep a Soldier from spending money modifying uniforms with new patches and skill badges. But this savings has been lost in a couple of ways. ''

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Filed under: Fake Muath Al-Kaseasbeh video, Scott Creighton, The ISIS Crisis

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:49

Reported.ly editor-in-chief Andy Carvin challenges his own assumptions of when it's ethical to publish graphic footage and when it isn't.Contains graphic images.

THE SLIDESHOW BEGINS with a photo of a trail of flame traveling across the dirt from right to left, like a scene from a movie where the bad guy'Š'--'Šor maybe the good guy'Š'--'Šleaves a thin trail of gas and drops a match to blow something up. The next photo pulls back to a wider shot, showing the flame headed directly to a man dressed in an orange jump suit, standing in a cage. The man faces the flame as it speeds toward him, his body erect hands raised in front of his chest. Yet another photo shows the flames dancing around the man's legs, his body and hands unmoving, initially resisting the agony. Then the flames consume him, a waxy human wick, melting then going up in smoke, the image of an unspeakable conflagration seared into the depths of my soul.

There is no way in hell I am going to share this footage with the public.

THERE IS NO CONSENSUS on the role graphic imagery should play in journalism. For some it is an absolute taboo; for others a necessary evil to expose the evil in others. For me, I've usually come down on the latter side of the argument.

Historically'Š'--'Šin the United States at least'Š'--'Šmass media consumption was a family affair. You'd read the morning paper while feeding your kids breakfast; you'd watch the evening news while getting ready for dinner. Newspapers were profitable; broadcast news traced the outlines of our ever-evolving media culture. It's not that journalism was necessarily innocent back then'Š'--'Šthere was no shortage of war, famine and other horrors to cover'Š'--'Šbut editors and producers maintained an unspoken level of discretion, a self-censorship to avoid offending common decency. Yes, cover the war, so the idea went, but don't show the bodies'Š'--'Šespecially if it's gory. Show human suffering, but only to a point. We wouldn't want to make breakfast or dinner uncomfortable for everyone.

Of course, there were exceptions, going all the way back to the advent of photojournalism. During the US Civil War 150 years ago, residents of the north would buy postcards and flock to exhibits of war photography by Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner. Their photos of bloated bodies dotting the fields of Antietam and Gettysburg became symbols of the horrors of war in a culture where death was considered an intensely private matter.

The dead at Antietam. (Alexander Gardner/Getty)

Photographers would continue to go into battle, again and again, from the Spanish-American War to World War II. While the US government had the capacity to censor wartime footage, occasionally editors would win out, as when Life Magazine published George Strock's Three dead Americans on the beach at Buna. While not graphic by today's standards, Strock's photo captured the brutal reality of war in the Pacific like few images others before it.

Three dead Americans on the beach at Buna, 1943. (AP)Perhaps it was Vietnam that raised the stakes the most when it came to challenging editorial standards. Malcolm Browne photographed Buddhist monk Th­ch Quảng Đá>>(C)c sitting peacefully in the middle of a Saigon intersection, burning himself alive as fellow monks formed a cordon around him so no one could extinguish the flames. The photo received the 1963 World Press Photo of the Year award. Or Nick Ut's photo of nine-year-old Phan Thá>>‹ Kim Phºc running naked down a road after stripping off her clothes, burning in napalm. That, too, won the World Press Photo of the Year award for 1972, as well as the Pulitzer Prize. Or Eddie Adams' photo of police chief General Nguyá>>…n Ngá>>c Loan executing a Vietcong prisoner, Nguyá>>…n Văn L(C)m, in the middle of a Saigon Street. It also won both photo awards. It seemed that photojournalists were now being recognized for doing their job, no matter how horrifying the footage might be.

South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. (AP)Yet in retrospect, Vietnam proved the exception, not the rule. Future conflicts such as the 1991 Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were self-censored, too. ''Embedding'' became all the rage during these wars, giving journalists direct access to troops under fire. Yet these wars never really achieved the collective visual impact as had the prior work of a Nick Ut or an Eddie Adams. You rarely saw the true price of war, whether in the form of civilian or military casualties. Even photos of the return of remains via Dover Air Force Base were a rarity'Š'--'Šdignified ceremonies of flag-drapped coffins being removed from planes got censored because of reminding people of the toll of war. Ultimately it took a FOIA request and a lawsuit to get them released by the Pentagon.

Caskets bearing the remains of US servicemen are shown in the cargo hold of a transport plane in this undated handout photo released April 28, 2005 by the Pentagon. The release of more than 700 images showing the return of American casualties to Dover Air Force Base and other US military facilities follows Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit charging the Pentagon with failing to comply with the act. The military digitally concealed faces and other identifying marks. (Photo by US Department of Defense/The National Security Archive via Getty Images)This, of course, is a distinctly American perspective. We tend to like our horrors delivered to us somewhat sanitized. Impactful, but still sanitized. Such discretion'Š'--'Šor censorship, depending on your point of view'Š'--'Šisn't universal. Think of the footage of civilians killed in Gaza that Al Jazeera has shown uncensored for years. That would almost never fly on US television. I also remember seeing a news website in India featuring a slideshow of a school that had burned down. In one photo, a woman cried in sheer despair at the sight of small, burnt corpses stacked on top of each other by the door, left where they fell, children panicking in a futile attempt to escape the flames. Nothing like that would ever be shown to a mainstream US news audience. Never.

But now, thanks to the ubiquity of social media, it matter less what mainstream media chooses to do, as everyone online now has the capacity to view footage selectively, by their own accord. This was the basis of my editorial thinking for much of 2011 and 2012, during the Arab Spring and its aftermath.

As the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt spread elsewhere, so did footage created by members of the public, recorded on their camera phones and distributed across social platforms. Early on I made the difficult decision to share graphic footage, but with very specific rules of engagement. Every post would always include the word graphic in it'Š'--'Šno one should ever be surprised when they open a link and see something horrible. I'd experienced it myself'Š'--'Špeople would often send me links of graphic footage, but most of the time they told me what to expect. When they didn't, the shock of what I was looking at hit me hard, and I didn't want to put my followers through the same experience. Those are often the photos that haunt me the longest.

Meanwhile, whenever possible, I added blunt details about what the footage would contain. If the footage showed the broken bodies of children killed in a mortar attack, my tweet would say so. If it showed a horrendous head wound, my followers would know about it before they ever clicked the link. This way they were aware of what the footage contained and could make an informed decision as to whether to look at it.

Even though I was deliberate in my approach, my methods weren't without controversy. Some people felt the old way of doing things'Š'--'Šthat discretion should always be the default editorial position'Š'--'Šwas preferable, and criticized me for sharing footage. Some times, the criticism was selective'Š'--'Šfor example, it was okay to show footage of dead Arab civilians in Libya, but when the dead happened to be well-known photographers such as Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington, suddenly it crossed a line. (This always struck me as hypocritical, and according to close friends of theirs that I've talked to about the matter, Chris and Tim would have probably felt the same way, too.) But editorial decisions are ethical decisions as well. There's isn't always a right or wrong'Š'--'Šit's a matter of making a tough call and being able to articulate your reasoning behind it. Achieving 100% consensus on the matter will always prove to be futile.

And so for most of 2011 and 2012, I stuck to my editorial standards. Share graphic footage, but with a warning and enough context for people to decide whether to view it. Share graphic footage not because it's salacious, but because people should have the right to bear witness. Share graphic footage, because we can't let the bastards get away with this.

Over time, though, I found myself posting fewer and fewer pieces of graphic footage. I sensed I was burning out, and feared my readers were, too. How many videos of war and suffering can a person handle in a day? A week? A year? When a conflict like Syria can literally produce hundreds of pieces of graphic footage every single day, is it more effective and/or ethical to become much more selective about what you share? And where do you draw the line? Documenting civilian deaths? Autopsies of tortured children? Rape footage? Executions? In a continuum of suffering, where do you draw the line'Š'--'Šand how do you make a case for why you chose to draw that line?

After a while, I just stopped. Cold turkey. No more footage. My Twitter followers knew what Youtube channels I used, what sources I retweeted. It was easy enough for them to find new footage if they truly wanted to see it.

And then there were the flashbacks. For me, the trigger always seemed to be food. My kids giggling while eating a bowl of spaghetti. A smashed piece of cauliflower I saw outside a salad bar I used to frequent near my old office. Someone using a melon scoop to empty a cantaloupe. Everyday activities that caused me to remember very specific photos and videos'Š'--'Šall of which I chose to share with my social networks. I wonder what triggers they experienced? Sounds? Voices? Colors? Even smells?

And then there was the numbness I'd see around me. Colleagues who spent their working hours vetting war footage for months on end. Twitter followers who'd pass along footage as if they were just sharing a recipe with me. I remember one exchange with a Twitter follower when I said I always made sure my back faced the wall while using a laptop so my kids would never be exposed to graphic footage accidentally. ''What's the big deal?'' he asked me. It seemed self evident'Š'--'Šmy kids were five and three at the time. ''I've been watching footage like this since I was in middle school, and look at me now,'' he'd reply.

Exactly. I thought. Look at you now.

AT SOME POINT IN 2013, I started sharing graphic footage again, but much more selectively. Evidence of civilians targeted in Gaza. Evidence of chemical weapons attacks or barrel bombs in Syria. Evidence. I felt the ethical responsibility to share what I was finding, since I knew most of it would never see the light of day via mainstream media. And my Twitter followers still had a choice'Š'--'Šbear witness themselves, or allow someone else to do it. There was no right or wrong answer. You did what you felt was right, and I'd never second-guessed their decision. Nor did they second-guess my decision to share the footage in the first place. But then two entirely different things came along and triggered the ethical conundrum I find myself in today.

ISIS and algorithms.

AT FIRST, ISIS was a fringe element among a hodge-podge of militant groups operating in Syria. On any given day I'd see scores of video clips from citizen journalists, the Free Syrian Army, and various independent rebel brigades, many of which maintained their own Youtube channels. But ISIS videos were different. Sure, they'd share gloating footage of them setting off IEDs at Syrian army checkpoints, or the aftermath of a firefight. But they also shared execution videos.

Executions by firing squad.

Executions by a bullet to the head after their victim had dug his own grave.

Executions by stoning'Š'--'Šusually women.

Executions by throwing people off buildings.

Executions by sawing a man's head off.

Executions by setting a man on fire.

And with each passing month, the production values got better and better.

With each new video, they seemed to outdo themselves with the sheer horror of what they were depicting. But that was their point'Š'--'Šthese were promotional videos produced to strike fear in the hearts of men, as well as recruit them to their inexplicable cause.

Bearing witness is necessary. It's at the core of what journalism is about. But where do you draw the line between the public interest and the prurient interest? Where do you draw the line between capturing the horror of ISIS and serving their cause by unwittingly crowdsourcing their PR efforts? Where exactly do you put your foot down and say no'Š'--'ŠI will not share this?

THEN THERE ARE the algorithms. At one point in time, when you looked at a tweet or a Facebook post that had a link in it, that's all it was'Š'--'Ša bunch of text invariably beginning with the letters HTTP. If you wanted to see what someone was talking about, you had to click the link first. Otherwise, you'd remain blissfully unexposed to whatever was lurking behind that URL.

But then the Twitters and Facebooks of the world began changing their algorithms, all in the name of generating traffic. As anyone in social media marketing knows, a tweet or a post containing footage gets more clicks than one that doesn't. So the software that ran these networks began to evolve, automatically detecting URLs that contained footage, and embedding them in-line with the tweet or post. On and on they tweaked these algorithms to identify posts with footage and auto-display that footage accordingly. If you use a Twitter client like Tweetdeck, embedded images fly by you unceasingly. If one of the people you follow on Twitter decided to include a screenshot of, let's say, a freshly decapitated journalist, you'd have no time to avoid it. Like it or not, you'd catch it in the corner of your eye, or even worse, front and center. And by then it's too late.

And as horrifying as images can be, videos are often worse. While some ISIS videos take a while to ramp up, others cut to the chase and show their brutality as soon as the video begins to roll. On Twitter, this is less of an issue because you're only likely to see a thumbnail image from the video, which may or may not be graphic. On Facebook, though, it's a whole other matter. Go take a look at your Facebook feed. Scroll down for a while. Count the number of posts by your friends that include videos'Š'--'Švideos that auto-play the moment you reach them. Now imagine that of one of those videos showed an ISIS hostage being burned alive in a cage. Once again, it's too late. It gets in your head, and nothing can ever get it out.

Twitter, Youtube and Facebook have all expanded their efforts to crack down on ISIS footage, removing clips and shutting down accounts as fast as they can. Having said that, supporters of ISIS are even faster. A virtual, disaggregated community of hydras, they sprout new heads as you scramble in vain to cut them off. A particular video may get ''banned'' from a social platform, but that's just window dressing. With a few edits, a new account and a new title, the footage reappears, shared and retweeted until the site catches up with them once again. On and on it goes.

Which brings me back to today'Š'--'Šthe day after ISIS posted the video of one of their captives being burned alive.

I STILL BELIEVE in bearing witness. I still believe in giving my online followers a chance to make an informed decision about what they view and what they don't. I still want to hold war criminals to account. But when am I serving the public's interest? Is it when I share a clip and get accused of promoting ISIS and its ilk? Is it when I don't share a clip and get accused of self-censorship, or attempting to hide the truth from the public?

Where do you draw the line?

Does the line even mean anything any more?

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 00:06

Rita Katz did it again: she grabbed another ''ISIS'' video and, before ISIS' managed to distribute it themselves she beat them to the punch and sold it to ''Fix News.''

Other networks went for the most bang for no buck deal: not paying to buy it yet citing and describing it as yet another proof that the ''War on Terror'' must go on. This latest video, described below by The Ugly Truth is '... incendiary news!Rita Katz is at it again

Rita's claims (which is all over the corporate media) is that Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh, 26, was aerial refueling his F-16 during a bomb run on 24 Dec 2014, when a mechanical problem forced him to eject over the city of Raqqah in northern Syria, by the Euphrates River. Then ''ISIS captured him.''

In Rita's 22-minute video, Mr Al-Kasasbeh wears an orange tee-shirt and pants, and is professionally videotaped from various angles making a confession, just like CIA employee James Foley, Stephen Sotloff, David Haines, Alan Henning, Peter Kassig, and so on. All those videos came from Ritz Katz.

But instead of ''beheading,'' this time Rita had ISIS supposedly burn Al-Kasasbeh alive in a cage on 3 Jan 2015, or maybe it was 3 Feb 2015. (Different media outlets give different dates.)

Anyway, Rita had the ISIS video before ISIS did, as always.

'.....

After Rita's fake James Foley ''beheading,'' CNN interviewed a young woman who claimed to be James Foley's sister, in order to create human interest in the hoax. The ''sister'' was a crisis actress named Alex Israel. (A ''crisis actress'' is paid to do fake interviews for news outlets, claiming to be related to someone who was supposedly killed.) Ms. Israel falsely claimed to be Foley's sister. Earlier she had falsely claimed to the ''elementary school classmate'' of Adam Lanza, the alleged Sandy Hook killer.

Rita's latest fake involved a Jordanian. That's because King Abdullah II is now helping in the war on Syria, and he wants the support of the Jordanian Arabs to slaughter their fellow Arabs next door. News of Rita Katz' latest farce was released as King Abdullah visited Obama at the White House.

Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe wants to start bombing Syria too. Therefore Rita did fake videos for him that supposedly show Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Gotō being ''beheaded'' by ISIS.

[Can you say ''I Am Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh''? Just ''Safi''? Guess this one is a dud for demonstrators in the West. Maybe best of all: I Am Rita Katz.]

You can see Rita's 22-minute video at Fox Jews. It's incredibly fake, but the actual burning is not bad, although it doesn't come until the 18-minute mark.

[As Bilal pointed out, the computer is an awesome tool:

as this young man demonstrates.]

It could be Rita's best work yet. Below is the web link.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4030583977001/warning-extremely-graphic-video-isis-burns-hostage-alive/?#sp=show-clips

[Did she get too close to the computer fire? She looks singed and ashen in the photos at the top.]

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Tracking the phrase of the lobbying group the '' ''Friends of Israel''British Israeli Propaganda

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:51

Details remain sketchy, but it is thought it would involve a limited no-fly zone extending 25 miles into Syria, enforced by US aircraft flown from Jordanian bases.

The ground work for such a buffer zone has been in place since last year, when a detachment of 150 US troops moved into Jordan to help deal with contingencies arising from the massive influx of Syrian refugees, and to help secure Syria's chemical weapons stocks were President Bashar al-Assad's regime to suddenly collapse.

Should that buffer zone now be enacted, it will once again put small, pro-Western Jordan directly into the crossfire of a major Middle Eastern conflict. Jordan's urbane, Sandhurst-educated ruler, King Abdullah II, has already angered President Assad by leading Arab calls for him to step down, warning in late 2011 that an orderly transition was in the country's best interests. If the king were now to host what could be the "game-changing" operation to remove Mr Assad by force, it could invite serious retaliation, possibly in the form of terrorist attacks by Hizbollah militants allied to Mr Assad.

Jordan has already paid that kind of price in the past. Following the US invasion of Iraq, al-Qaeda mounted a series of devastating bomb attacks at three luxury hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, killing 56 people. The 2005 attacks were in retaliation for Jordan hosting training centres for the new Iraqi army and police, and for becoming a de facto transit base for much of the vast civilian operation in support of the US occupation. While the bombs were targeted at hotels favoured by Westerners, most of the victims were locals, who later dubbed it "Jordan's 9-11". Public outrage at the attacks is reported to have led Jordan's intelligence chiefs to help the US hunt down the then leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006.

For King Abdullah, the perils of direct involvement in the Syrian conflict must be weighed against the equal risks of simply letting the conflict drag on. Already, his country is a temporary home for up to half a million Syrian refugees, and a semi-permanent home for between 50,000 and half a million Iraqi refugees (precise figures are disputed). On top of that are nearly nearly two million Palestinian refugees who have fled there since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. The recent arrivals have put a heavy added strain on Jordan, which is already struggling with high unemployment and huge water shortages, not to mention demands for an Arab Spring of its own to end King Abdullah's monarchy.

A series of pre-emptive reforms by the royal household has taken the sting out of those demands - for now at least. But in the capricious world of Middle Eastern politics, playing a military role in bringing about a neighbour's downfall - even that of someone as unpopular as President Assad - is a complication that King Abdullah could do without.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:34

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has openly threatened Jordan. He accused it of allowing hundreds of armed rebels it has allegedly trained to enter Syria.

Perhaps the more alarming thing Assad said was that the fire will not stop at Syria's borders because "the entire world knows Jordan is just as exposed to the crisis as Syria."

This is a direct threat to Jordan and the West.

Though Jordanian officials have been reluctant to respond to Assad's statements, some say Jordan is used to warnings from him.

Assad and King Abdullah II have had their fair share of differences ever since they both came to power around the same time 13 years ago.

Relations between Jordan and Syria have historically been tense well before the conflict began in Syria. But to this day, the two countries have not cut their diplomatic ties.

Since the outbreak of violence in the southern Syrian Daraa province bordering Jordan in March 2011, Assad has accused his southern neighbour of stirring trouble in his country. The truth is the spark that lit the Syrian uprising started after 15 school children wrote anti-government graffiti on a wall in Daraa, demanding the downfall of Assad's regime. They were thrown in jail. And that's when Syria got its first strong taste of rebellion in the Arab Spring.

It wasn't the Jordanians who told these children what to write on Daraa's walls. But Assad has always found a way to blame Jordan for the turmoil in southern Syria and brush aside the fact that he faces real opposition to his rule.Whether they admit it or not, Jordanian officials are relatively shaken by Assad's statements.

There is no doubt that the Pentagon's decision to send a contingent of US troops to Jordan raises the question of whether the Obama administration has now moved one step closer to a possible military intervention in Syria.

Since last year, there have been numerous rumours about the presence of foreign boots on the ground in Jordan. Now their presence, as well as plans to send more troops to boost Jordan's defence capabilities, has been confirmed by both US and Jordanian officials.

Feeling insecure

The latter say they maintain their official position rejecting military intervention in Syria. And the US says its team of army planners in Jordan aims to strengthen the army's capabilities in dealing with the threat of Syrian chemical weapons, should they be smuggled into the country.

But Assad may have directed his warnings at Jordan because he's starting to feel uncertain and insecure about the most strategically important Syrian border: the one it shares with Jordan. Though the Syrian army has lost some of its official border crossings with Iraq and Turkey to rebel control, until now the Syrian army is adamant about manning the two it shares with Jordan: Daraa-Ramtha and Nassib-Jaber.

Should control of these border crossings and consequently Daraa province fall in the hands of rebels, then Assad should expect rebels to make quick and big advances in Damascus. Daraa and Damascus are separated by an unfussy 90-kilometre highway. Maintaining control of the border with Jordan prevents a heavy rebel offensive via that highway in the city of Assad's seat of power. This is why tight control of Syria's southern border is imperative for Assad's survival.

Jordanian officials and analysts say 200 US troops in Jordan won't change much. Depending on who you ask their deployment may or may not pave the way for foreign military intervention in Syria.

Though Assad has explicitly threatened Jordan, observers say there is little he can do at this point in terms of launching an attack on the kingdom. He's struggling for territory control inside Syria. Attacking neighbours would be a waste of his military resources and could invite foreign military intervention sooner.

The more worrying measure Assad could resort to is activating his loyal sleeper cells inside Jordan to launch an attack on Jordanian soil. This is why Jordan needs to beef up security at its border and inside the country. And that it seems to be already doing.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:01

1022 — 1266 - alwaysinfo.co.uk

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1990 — 2483 - lib.utexas.edu

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2007 — 2496 - commons.wikimedia.org

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1088 — 1197 - commons.wikimedia.org

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510 — 564 - alwaysinfo.co.uk

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466 — 350 - lonelyplanet.com

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1200 — 1318 - alwaysinfo.co.uk

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1370 — 1933 - international.visitjordan.com

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1412 — 1618 - alwaysinfo.co.uk

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800 — 866 - mapsofworld.com

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320 — 350 - worldatlas.com

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1000 — 1084 - worldofmaps.net

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1412 — 1558 - ezilon.com

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1022 — 1256 - mapcruzin.com

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640 — 619 - atlastours.net

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1063 — 1149 - zttint.com

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1412 — 1589 - ezilon.com

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1000 — 865 - freeworldmaps.net

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320 — 350 - worldatlas.com

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1042 — 1042 - icrc.org

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The behadings and then these two

Maybe competing production teams, or sides even?

I expect yet more episodes, like the first one with the shots from behind to the head. Maybe 2-3 more episodes

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:43

Flu results in "about 250,000 to 500,000 yearly deaths" worldwide, Wikipedia tells us. "The typical estimate is 36,000 [deaths] a year in the United States," reports NBC, citing the Centers for Disease Control. "Somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians a year die of influenza and its related complications", according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, adding that "Those numbers are controversial because they are estimates."

"Controversial" is an understatement, and not just in Canada, and not just because the numbers are estimates. The numbers differ wildly from the sober tallies recorded on death certificates -- by law every certificate must show a cause -- and reported by the official agencies that collect and keep vital statistics.

According to the National Vital Statistics System in the U.S., for example, annual flu deaths in 2010 amounted to just 500 per year -- fewer than deaths from ulcers (2,977), hernias (1,832) and pregnancy and childbirth (825), and a far cry from the big killers such as heart disease (597,689) and cancers (574,743). The story is similar in Canada, where unlikely killers likewise dwarf Statistics Canada's count of flu deaths.

Even that 500 figure for the U.S. could be too high, according to analyses in authoritative journals such as the American Journal of Public Health and the British Medical Journal. Only about 15-20 per cent of people who come down with flu-like symptoms have the influenza virus -- the other 80-85 per cent actually caught rhinovirus or other germs that are indistinguishable from the true flu without laboratory tests, which are rarely done. In 2001, a year in which death certificates listed 257 Americans as having died of flu, only 18 were positively identified as true flus. The other 239 were simply assumed to be flus and most likely had few true flus among them.

"U.S. data on influenza deaths are a mess," states a 2005 article in the British Medical Journal entitled "Are U.S. flu death figures more PR than science?" This article takes issue with the 36,000 flu-death figure commonly claimed, and with describing "influenza/pneumonia" as the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.

"But why are flu and pneumonia bundled together?" the article asks. "Is the relationship so strong or unique to warrant characterizing them as a single cause of death?"

The article's answer is no. Most pneumonia deaths are unrelated to influenza. For example, "stomach acid suppressing drugs are associated with a higher risk of community-acquired pneumonia, but such drugs and pneumonia are not compiled as a single statistic," explained Dr. David Rosenthal, director of Harvard University Health Services. "People don't necessarily die, per se, of the [flu] virus -- the viraemia. What they die of is a secondary pneumonia."

Pneumonia, according to the American Lung Association, has more than 30 different causes, influenza being but one of them. The CDC itself acknowledges the slim relationship, saying "only a small proportion of deaths... only 8.5 per cent of all pneumonia and influenza deaths [are] influenza-related."

Because death certificates belie claims of numerous flu deaths, CDC enlisted computer models to arrive at its 36,000 flu-death estimate. But even here it needed to bend conventional medical terminology to arrive at compelling death numbers.

"Cause-of-death statistics are based solely on the underlying cause of death [internationally defined] as 'the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death,'" explains the National Center for Health Statistics. Because the flu was rarely an "underlying cause of death," the CDC created the sound-alike term, "influenza-associated death."

Using this new, loose definition, CDC's computer models could tally people who died of a heart ailment or other causes after having the flu. As William Thompson of the CDC's National Immunization Program admitted, influenza-associated mortality is "a statistical association ... I don't know that we would say that it's the underlying cause of death."

The CDC's decision to play up flu deaths dates back a decade, when it realized the public wasn't following its advice on the flu vaccine. During the 2003 flu season "the manufacturers were telling us that they weren't receiving a lot of orders for vaccine,"Dr. Glen Nowak, associate director for communications at CDC's National Immunization Program, told National Public Radio. "It really did look like we needed to do something to encourage people to get a flu shot."

The CDC's response was its "Seven-Step 'Recipe' for Generating Interest in, and Demand for, Flu (or any other) Vaccination," a slide show Nowak presented at the 2004 National Influenza Vaccine Summit.

Here is the "Recipe that fosters influenza vaccine interest and demand," in the truncated language that appears on his slides: "Medical experts and public health authorities [should] publicly (e.g. via media) state concern and alarm (and predict dire outcomes) - and urge influenza vaccination." This recipe, his slide show indicated, would result in "Significant media interest and attention ... in terms that motivate behavior (e.g. as 'very severe,' 'more severe than last or past years,' 'deadly')." Other emotive recommendations included fostering "the perception that many people are susceptible to a bad case of influenza" and "Visible/tangible examples of the seriousness of the illness (e.g., pictures of children, families of those affected coming forward) and people getting vaccinated (the first to motivate, the latter to reinforce)."

The CDC unabashedly decided to create a mass market for the flu vaccine by enlisting the media into panicking the public. An obedient and unquestioning media obliged by hyping the numbers, and 10 years later it is obliging still.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:41

See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.

On Tuesday's CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes covered the political discussion over vaccinations as a measles outbreak continues to spread across the country and continued the liberal spin that the only anti-vaxxers are Republicans.

In between soundbites from numerous figures in the Republican Party stating their support for vaccinations and only Republican Senator Rand Paul (Ky.) offering a slightly different take during an interview on Monday, Cordes ruled that the party has been sending ''mixed messages'' which could, in turn, benefit Hillary Clinton.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:16

NIAM draws attention to immunization in August each year.

Each year in August, National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) provides an opportunity to highlight the value of immunization across the lifespan. Activities focus on encouraging all people to protect their health by being immunized against infectious diseases. In 2014, the National Public Health Information Coalition is coordinating NIAM activities.

Get Toolkits to Help You Raise Awareness About ImmunizationThe National Immunization Awareness Month Communication Toolkit, developed by NPHIC in collaboration with CDC, focuses on four weekly themes:

A key message for our nationPeople of all ages can protect their health with timely vaccination.

The toolkit includes key messages, sample media materials, social media content, and event ideas. You can also get eye-catching NIAM logos and banners for each weekly theme to place on your websites and social media platforms. These branding elements highlight your participation in NIAM.

The National Health Information Center offers a toolkit with NIAM resources through Healthfinder.gov:

August National Health Observances (2014) [11 pages]

Find CDC Resources for National Immunization Awareness MonthFor a complete list of resources, download this sell sheet for NIAM [2 pages].

CDC develops immunization materials our partners can use in local outreach and education efforts during NIAM and year-round. Below are links to materials you can use during NIAM to

Check with your state or local health department to see if they have additional immunization resources you can use during NIAM, or plans to celebrate the month.

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Link to Article

Archived Version

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:05

Some people seem to think the measles is a nuisance disease '-- irritating and briefly unpleasant, but otherwise harmless. For many, it's not so bad. For others, the measles is serious and potentially fatal. Children under 5 are particularly vulnerable to complications, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the worst complications is measles encephalitis.

''Acute encephalitis occurs in approximately 0.1% of reported cases,'' says the CDC. ''Onset generally occurs 6 days after rash onset (range 1''15 days) and is characterized by fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck, meningeal irritation, drowsiness, convulsions, and coma. Cerebrospinal fluid shows pleocytosis and elevated protein. The case-fatality rate is approximately 15%.''

Roald Dahl, the renowned author of ''Boy,'' ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' ''Matilda'' and scores of other books and screenplays, lost his daughter Olivia to measles encephalitis in 1962. In 1988, about seven years before his death, he wrote a poignant plea for the Sandwell Health Authority in Britain urging everyone to get their kids vaccinated. Dahl's recounting of his experience has been rediscovered and recirculated in recent days because of the measles outbreak in California, spread largely by unvaccinated individuals who came in contact with an infected visitor to Disneyland.

Here, in part, is what he wrote:

Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn't do anything.

''Are you feeling all right?'' I asked her.

''I feel all sleepy,'' she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.

On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.''

h/t News Everyday

With the latest measles outbreak spreading fast, you may be surprised by the state with the best child vaccination rate in the country. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

The CDC is urging people to get vaccinated for measles amid an outbreak that began at Disneyland and has now spread to other states, including Utah, Washington, Oregon and Colorado. (Reuters)

Fred Barbash, the editor of Morning Mix, is a former National Editor and London Bureau Chief for the Washington Post.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 23:56

I sense a disturbance in the antivaccine crankosphere.

Actually, maybe ''disturbance'' is the wrong word. Unabashed whooping it up is closer to correct. High-fiving is perhaps a better term. Or maybe partying like it's 2005. The question, of course, is what is the inciting event was that sparked such widespread rejoicing in the antivaccine world. I'll give you a hint. It has to do with the hero of the antivaccine movement, the man who arguably more than anyone else is responsible for the MMR scare that drove down MMR vaccine uptake in the UK to the point where measles, once vanquished, came roaring back. Yes, we're talking about Andrew Wakefield, whose incompetent and now retracted research launched a thousand biomedical quacks. (Actually, that's probably an underestimate.) However, we're not talking about Andrew Wakefield directly. Rather, we're talking about Professor John Walker-Smith, one of the co-authors of Andrew Wakefield's now rightly discredited 1998 Lancet paper. The anti-vaccine crank blog is going wild with the news that Professor Walker-Smith has succeeded in his appeal of the General Medical Council's decision that he should be struck off the medical record along with Andy Wakefield:

A High Court judge quashed the finding of professional misconduct against Professor Walker-Smith, who had carried out some of the tests for the controversial paper that suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Mr Justice Mitting also called for the reform of the General Medical Council's disciplinary hearings after the lengthy battle by Professor Walker-Smith to clear his name.

The Wakefield paper prompted a nationwide scare over the safety of the jab after the study of 12 children was published in the medical journal The Lancet.

On AoA, we've been treated to some articles with titles like this:

The full ruling can be found here. Let's dig in, shall we? As usual, what the antivaccine movement is promoting and what is in the ruling are not necessarily the same thing. If there's one thing that's obvious from the outpouring of verbiage from various antivaccine blogs, Twitter feeds, and press releases, it's that the antivaccine movement somehow thinks that this decision exonerates Andrew Wakefield, too. Let's disabuse them of that delusion right now, shall we? According to Mr. Justice Mitting:

At a press conference, which Professor Walker-Smith did not attend, convened to accompany publication, Dr. Wakefield stated publicly the view which he had previously expressed privately to Professor Walker-Smith that he could no longer support the giving of MMR vaccine. The joint view of Professor Walker-Smith and Dr. Murch, stated in a letter to Dr. Wakefield on 21st January 1998, was that it was inappropriate to emphasize the role of MMR vaccine in publicity about the paper and that they supported government policy concerning MMR until more firm evidence was available for them to see for themselves. They published a press release to coincide with publication stating their support for ''present public health policy concerning MMR''. Dr. Wakefield's statement and subsequent publicity had a predictable adverse effect upon the take up of MMR vaccine of great concern to those responsible for public health. There is now no respectable body of opinion which supports his hypothesis, that MMR vaccine and autism/enterocolitis are causally linked.

Correct. There is no respectable body of opinion supporting Wakefield's hypothesis that the MMR is somehow linked to autism or the entity Wakefield made up called ''autistic enterocolitis.'' It's rather annoying that Mitting would refer to it as a ''body of opinion.'' One can only speculate that it's his legal background that leads him to use this particular phraseology. No scientist would. Scientists would (and do) point out that not only is there no good scientific evidence supporting Wakefield's hypothesis, but there is a lot of evidence that falsifies his hypothesis. There's a reason why Wakefield is viewed with such contempt in the scientific world. Actually, there are multiple reasons, not the least of which is that Wakefield is an incompetent scientist willing to commit research fraud to provide evidence for trial lawyers to use in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, a plot that Brian Deer uncovered and described in excruciating detail and with excruciatingly detailed documentation. This ruling says nothing about that; it's primarily about methodology and Mitting's legal ruling that the GMC didn't adequately explain the rationale behind its findings that Walker-Smith committed professional misconduct. Mitting's decision also relies a lot on his clearly poor understanding of medical research issues. (More on that below.)

It's a simple fact, though, that Mitting's decision regarding has nothing to do with whether Wakefield is a fraud or a pseudoscientist or not. Nor does it have anything to do with the question of whether vaccines, specifically the MMR vaccine, cause autism, as much as Wakefield's many apologists would like to convince people otherwise. In fact, as I've pointed out before, Wakefield's being struck off the British medical registry has nothing to do with the validity of the science. Even if Wakefield had prevailed and been allowed to keep his medical license, his claimed findings that vaccines cause autistic enterocolitis and/or autism would have been just as bogus. Legal rulings are not science. They can be based on science, but often they are not. It's nice when they don't go against science and nicer still when they resoundingly agree with science, but such is not always the case. To try to argue that a legal ruling such as the one regarding Professor Walker-Smith exonerates Wakefield is an even worse folly than arguing that his being struck off necessarily proves he is a quack. He's an antivaccine quack based on science; it matters not what the courts say.

Admittedly, I haven't paid much attention to Professor Walker-Smith. Back when I wrote about Andy Wakefield being struck off, I said very little, if anything about Walker-Smith. The reason, of course, is that I viewed the Walker-Smith decision as being at best peripheral. I didn't know enough about him to decide for myself whether the GMC decision was justified or not. Still, it's useful to look at the court's decision to see why it concluded that Walker-Smith didn't deserve to be struck off.

The first thing that needs to be considered is a dichotomy. John Walker-Smith appealed the GMC decision. Andrew Wakefield did not. Why not? It's hard to say. Was it because he was too busy being the medical director of the quack clinic Thoughtful House in Texas? After all, at the time he was already making plenty of cash without a medical license. There was no need for him to appeal, which would cost a lot of money and effort. He had already left England anyway, his reputation trashed long ago. In contrast, Professor Walker-Smith appears to have had more reason to fight. He had stayed behind and, unlike Wakefield, who had never been particularly respected, Walker-Smith had been highly respected in his field. There was a lot more motivation for him to try to salvage his reputation.

In any case, here is the conclusion of the appeal decision:

For the reasons given above, both on general issues and the Lancet paper and in relation to individual children, the panel's overall conclusion that Professor Walker-Smith was guilty of serious professional misconduct was flawed, in two respects: inadequate and superficial reasoning and, in a number of instances, a wrong conclusion. Miss Glynn submits that the materials which I have been invited to consider would support many of the panel's critical findings; and that I can safely infer that, without saying so, it preferred the evidence of the GMC's experts, principally Professor Booth, to that given by Professor Walker-Smith and Dr. Murch and by Dr. Miller and Dr. Thomas. Even if it were permissible to perform such an exercise, which I doubt, it would not permit me to rescue the panel's findings. As I have explained, the medical records provide an equivocal answer to most of the questions which the panel had to decide. The panel had no alternative but to decide whether Professor Walker-Smith had told the truth to it and to his colleagues, contemporaneously. The GMC's approach to the fundamental issues in the case led it to believe that that was not necessary '' an error from which many of the subsequent weaknesses in the panel's determination flowed. It had to decide what Professor Walker-Smith thought he was doing: if he believed he was undertaking research in the guise of clinical investigation and treatment, he deserved the finding that he had been guilty of serious professional misconduct and the sanction of erasure; if not, he did not, unless, perhaps, his actions fell outside the spectrum of that which would have been considered reasonable medical practice by an academic clinician. Its failure to address and decide that question is an error which goes to the root of its determination.

As you can see, the decision all boils down to the question of research and whether Walker-Smith thought he was doing research or actually treating autistic children using interventions that were clinically indicated. If the interventions were clinically indicated, then it could be argued that he did not commit professional misconduct. If the interventions were done with the knowledge that they were being done for research purposes rather than to treat the children, then Walker-Smith is guilty of misconduct. The reasons, of course, are the lack of ethical committee approval yet, as is discussed in the decision:

At the heart of the GMC's case against Professor Walker-Smith were two simple propositions: the investigations undertaken under his authority on eleven of the twelve Lancet children were done as part of a research project '' Project 172-96 '' which required, but did not have, Ethics Committee approval; and they were clinically inappropriate. Professor Walker-Smith's case was that the investigations were clinically appropriate attempts at diagnosis of bowel and behavioural disorders in children with broadly similar symptoms and, where possible, treatment of the bowel disorders or alleviation of their symptoms. The GMC's case was that he was conducting research which required Ethics Committee approval. His case was that he was conducting medical practice which did not. Accordingly, an unavoidable and fundamental question which the panel had to answer was: what is the distinction between medical practice and research?

In light of this introduction, what follows is profoundly contradictory in that the judge acknowledges that what Walker-Smith did could be reasonably viewed as research, but exonerates him because it could also be viewed as therapeutic:

The panel made no express finding on this issue and cannot have appreciated the need to do so. It was not helped by the premise upon which the GMC's case was founded. There was a good deal of evidence, to which I refer in greater detail below, that Professor Walker-Smith and his team were undertaking what any reasonable body of medical practitioners would categorize as research '' but also that he intended and genuinely believed that what he was doing was solely or primarily for the clinical benefit of the children. When such an issue arises, a panel will almost always have to determine the honesty or otherwise of the practitioner.

Justice Mitting then lists facts supporting and negating the proposition that what Walker-Smith was doing was research. I must admit, I find some of the ''facts negating' to be questionable. Particularly bizarre was Mitting's listing of a fact that no parent other than one was required to sign the consent form in the proposals submitted to the Ethics Committee or in the revised form approved by it. Well, duh! That was part of the problem, now, wasn't it? You know? Doing research without having obtained adequate informed consent from the parents?

Also rather odd was Mitting's other reasoning that ''none of the five clinicians involved in the investigation of the Lancet children who gave evidence to the panel considered that they were following Project 172-96.'' So what? The children's information and clinical histories ended up being used in Wakefield's Lancet paper. I suppose one could argue that Walker-Smith was an unwitting dupe of Andy Wakefield an therefore was not guilty of research professional misconduct, but, if that's the case, it's hardly flattering to Walker-Smith. it's also hard to imagine what clinical indications existed to subject these children to lumbar punctures. As a clinician, I always had a hard time figuring out how Wakefield, Walker-Smith, and the rest justified doing lumbar punctures on these children.

The implications of Mitting's ruling are frightening in their potential. Think about it. Basically, if his ruling stands, it's hard not to wonder whether it's open season on human research subjects in the UK. As long as the physician can construct a quasi-legitimate-sounding rationale that he can point to aside from a research protocol for doing research-related tests on human subjects, he apparently doesn't need to get ethical approval anymore. He can cite Mitting's ruling that, as long as he doesn't think he's doing research''even if that is incorrect''then he's not, and the GMC can't do anything about it. So much for the Helsinki declaration! Similarly, his ''any reasonable physician'' test fails spectacularly as well, at least in the way he applied it. ''Any reasonable physician'' would not subject autistic children to a battery of invasive tests including lumbar punctures for dubious clinical reasons. Those tests were quite correctly judged by the GMC to have been ordered for research purposes rather than for routine clinical care. Autism quacks in the UK have good reason to rejoice. As it stands, one has to wonder whether they can now get away with essentially anything.

Of course, none of this stops the antivaccine movement from lapsing into full mental jacket conspiracy mode. For instance, our old friend Ginger Taylor, speaking for the Canary Party, issued a press release:

''It is quite obvious to me that James Murdoch, Brian Deer and GlaxoSmithKline orchestrated the smear attack on Dr. Andrew Wakefield,'' said Ginger Taylor, executive director of the Canary Party. ''A judge has now ruled that the GMC hearings were a farce. Parents are waiting for journalists to find their spine and start some honest reporting on the character assassination of doctors that is blocking medical treatments for vaccine injured children, and the role that GSK and Merck may be playing to protect their profits on the MMR vaccine. The Canary Party honors and stands by doctors of integrity like Prof. Walker-Smith, who continue to fight and defend their hard-won reputations for going the extra mile to investigate and improve the chronic, difficult-to-treat cases that now permeate our society.''

Uh, no.

I do love the conspiracy mongering, though. From my perspective, Judge Mitting's decision strongly implies that, rather than being involved in Wakefield's professional research misconduct, Walker-Smith was an unwitting dupe. Neither conclusion speaks particularly well of Walker-Smith, but I suppose it's better to be an honest dupe than a dishonest research cheat. Personally, I'd rather be neither. No matter how hard the antivaccine movement tries to spin this as some sort of exoneration of its hero Andy Wakefield, it's not.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 23:50

Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born c. 1957) is a British former surgeon and medical researcher, known for his fraudulent 1998 research paper in support of the now-discredited claim that there is a link between the administration of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and the appearance of autism and bowel disease.[1][2][3][4][5]

After the publication of the paper, other researchers were unable to reproduce Wakefield's findings or confirm his hypothesis of an association between the MMR vaccine and autism[6] or autism and gastrointestinal disease.[7] A 2004 investigation by Sunday Times reporter Brian Deer identified undisclosed financial conflicts of interest on Wakefield's part,[8] and most of his co-authors then withdrew their support for the study's interpretations.[9] The British General Medical Council (GMC) conducted an inquiry into allegations of misconduct against Wakefield and two former colleagues.[10] The investigation centred on Deer's numerous findings, including that children with autism were subjected to unnecessary invasive medical procedures,[11] such as colonoscopy and lumbar puncture, and that Wakefield acted without the required ethical approval from an institutional review board.

On 28 January 2010, a five-member statutory tribunal of the GMC found three dozen charges proved, including four counts of dishonesty and 12 counts involving the abuse of developmentally challenged children.[12] The panel ruled that Wakefield had "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant", acted both against the interests of his patients, and "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in his published research.[13][14][15]The Lancet immediately and fully retracted his 1998 publication on the basis of the GMC's findings, noting that elements of the manuscript had been falsified.[16]The Lancet's editor-in-chief Richard Horton said the paper was "utterly false" and that the journal had been "deceived".[17] Three months later, Wakefield was struck off the Medical Register in May 2010, with a statement identifying deliberate falsification in The Lancet research,[18] and is barred from practising medicine in the UK.[19]

In January 2011, an editorial accompanying an article by Brian Deer in BMJ identified Wakefield's work as an "elaborate fraud".[1][20][21] In a follow-up article,[22] Deer said that Wakefield had planned to launch a venture on the back of an MMR vaccination scare that would profit from new medical tests and "litigation driven testing".[23] In November 2011, yet another report in BMJ[24] revealed original raw data indicating that, contrary to Wakefield's claims in The Lancet, children in his research did not have inflammatory bowel disease.[25][26]

Wakefield's study and his claim that the MMR vaccine might cause autism led to a decline in vaccination rates in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland and a corresponding rise in measles and mumps, resulting in serious illness and deaths, and his continued warnings against the vaccine have contributed to a climate of distrust of all vaccines and the reemergence of other previously controlled diseases.[27][28][29] Wakefield has continued to defend his research and conclusions, saying there was no fraud, hoax or profit motive.[30][31]

Early life and educationEditAt the University of Toronto from 1986 to 1989, he was part of a team that studied tissue rejection problems with small intestine transplantation, using animal models.[36][37] He continued his studies of small intestine transplantation under a Wellcome Trust travelling fellowship at University of Toronto in Canada.[33]

Claims of measles virus''Crohn's disease linkEditBack in the UK, he worked on the liver transplant programme at the Royal Free Hospital in London.[33] In 1993, Wakefield attracted professional attention when he published reports in which he concluded that measles virus might cause Crohn's disease;[38] and two years later he published a paper in The Lancet proposing a link between the measles vaccine and Crohn's disease.[39] Subsequent research failed to confirm this hypothesis, with a group of experts in Britain reviewing a number of peer-reviewed studies in 1998 and concluding that the measles virus did not cause Crohn's disease, and that the MMR vaccine did not either.[40]

Later, in 1995, while conducting research into Crohn's disease, he was approached by Rosemary Kessick, the parent of a child with autism, who was seeking help with her son's bowel problems and autism; Kessick ran a group called Allergy Induced Autism.[41] In 1996, Wakefield turned his attention to researching possible connections between the MMR vaccine and autism.[33]

At the time of his MMR research study, Wakefield was senior lecturer and honorary consultant in experimental gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (from 2008, UCL Medical School). He resigned in 2001,[42] by "mutual agreement and was made a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists",[43] and moved to the US in 2001[44] or 2004,[43] both dates according to The Times. One report noted he was asked to leave Royal Free Hospital in 2001 after he did not fulfill a request to duplicate the findings in his controversial The Lancet paper.[45]

Wakefield subsequently helped establish and served as the executive director of Thoughtful House Center for Children, which studies autism in Austin, Texas, where, according to The Times, he "continued to promote the theory of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, despite admitting it was 'not proved'."[43] He resigned from Thoughtful House in February 2010, after the British General Medical Council found that he had been "dishonest and irresponsible" in conducting his earlier autism research in England.[36][46]The Times reported in May 2010 that he was a medical advisor for Visceral, a UK charity that "researches bowel disease and developmental disorders".[43]

Wakefield is barred from practising as a physician in the UK,[19] and is not licensed in the US.[47] He lives in the US where he has a following, including celebrity Jenny McCarthy,[48] who wrote the foreword for Wakefield's autobiography, Callous Disregard. She mistakenly believes her son has autism and that it is due to vaccines.[29] According to Deer, as of 2011, he lives near Austin with his wife, Carmel, and four children.[36][49]

Wakefield has set up the non-profit Strategic Autism Initiative to commission studies into the condition and is currently listed as a director of a company called Medical Interventions for Autism and another called the Autism Media Channel.[49]

MMR controversyEditOn 28 February 1998, a paper written by Wakefield and twelve other authors about twelve autistic children was published in The Lancet.[50] In it, the authors claimed to have identified a new syndrome they called autistic enterocolitis, raising the possibility of a link between a novel form of bowel disease, autism, and the MMR vaccine. The authors noted that the parents of eight of the twelve children linked what were described as "behavioural symptoms" with MMR, and reported that the onset of these symptoms began within two weeks of MMR vaccination.[50] In the published The Lancet summary, known as the "interpretation", the authors wrote:

We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.[50]

These possible triggers were reported as MMR in eight cases, and measles infection in one. The paper was instantly controversial, leading to widespread publicity in the UK and the convening of a special panel of the UK's Medical Research Council the following month.[51] One study done based in Japan found that there was no causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism in groups of children given the triple MMR vaccine and children who received individual measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. The MMR was replaced with individual vaccinations in 1993.[52]

Although the paper said that no causal connection had been proven, before it was published, Wakefield made statements at a press conference and in a video news release issued by the hospital, calling for suspension of the triple MMR vaccine until more research could be done.[53] This was later criticized as 'science by press conference'.[54] According to BBC News, it was this press conference, rather than the paper in The Lancet, that fuelled the MMR vaccination scare.[55] According to the BBC, "He told journalists it was a 'moral issue' and he could no longer support the continued use of the three-in-one jab for measles, mumps and rubella. 'Urgent further research is needed to determine whether MMR may give rise to this complication in a small number of people,' Dr Wakefield said at the time."[55] He said, "If you give three viruses together, three live viruses, then you potentially increase the risk of an adverse event occurring, particularly when one of those viruses influences the immune system in the way that measles does."[53] He suggested parents should opt for single vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, separated by gaps of one year.

In December 2001, Wakefield resigned from the Royal Free Hospital, saying, "I have been asked to go because my research results are unpopular."[42] The medical school said that he had left "by mutual agreement." In February 2002, Wakefield stated, "What precipitated this crisis was the removal of the single vaccine, the removal of choice, and that is what has caused the furore'--because the doctors, the gurus, are treating the public as though they are some kind of moronic mass who cannot make an informed decision for themselves."[56]

Aftermath of initial controversyEditWakefield continued conducting clinical research in the United States after leaving the Royal Free Hospital in December 2001. He joined a controversial American researcher, Jeff Bradstreet, at the International Child Development Resource Center, to conduct further studies on the possible relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.[57]

In 2004, Wakefield started work at the Thoughtful House research center in Austin, Texas.[58] Wakefield served as Executive Director of Thoughtful House until February 2010, when he resigned in the wake of findings against him by the British General Medical Council.[46][59]

In February 2004, controversy resurfaced when Wakefield was accused of a conflict of interest. The Sunday Times reported that some of the parents of the 12 children in the study in The Lancet were recruited via a UK lawyer preparing a lawsuit against MMR manufacturers, and that the Royal Free Hospital had received £55,000 from the UK's Legal Aid Board (now the Legal Services Commission) to pay for the research.[60] Previously, in October 2003, the board had cut off public funding for the litigation against MMR manufacturers.[61] Following an investigation of The Sunday Times allegations by the UK General Medical Council, Wakefield was charged with serious professional misconduct, including dishonesty.[62] In December 2006, the Sunday Times further reported that in addition to the money they gave the Royal Free Hospital, the lawyers responsible for the MMR lawsuit had paid Wakefield personally more than £400,000, which he had not previously disclosed.[63]

Twenty-four hours before the 2004 Sunday Times report, The Lancet responded to the investigation in a public statement, describing Wakefield's research as "fatally flawed". The Lancet's editor said he believed the paper would have been rejected as biased if the peer reviewers had been aware of Wakefield's conflict of interest.[64] Ten of Wakefield's twelve co-authors of the paper in The Lancet later published a retraction of an interpretation:[65] The section of the paper retracted read as follows:

Interpretation. We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.

The retraction stated:[65]

We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between (the) vaccine and autism, as the data were insufficient. However the possibility of such a link was raised, and consequent events have had major implications for public health. In view of this, we consider now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation placed upon these findings in the paper, according to precedent.[66]

Wakefield v Channel 4 and othersEditIn November 2004, Channel 4 broadcast a one-hour Dispatches investigation by reporter Brian Deer; the Toronto Star said Deer had "produced documentary evidence that Wakefield applied for a patent on a single-jab measles vaccine before his campaign against the MMR vaccine, raising questions about his motives".[36][67][68]

In addition to Wakefield's unpublished initial patent submission,[67] Deer released a copy of the published patent application.[69] At page 1, the first paragraph of this stated:

The present invention relates to a new vaccine/immunisation for the prevention and/or prophylaxis against measles virus infection and to a pharmaceutical or therapeutic composition for the treatment of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease); particularly Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and regressive behavioural disease (RBD) (also referred to as "Pervasive Developmental Disorder).

Before describing the research in Wakefield's 1998 paper in The Lancet, at the same page this patent explicitly states that the use of the MMR vaccine causes autism:

It has now also been shown that use of the MMR vaccine (which is taken to include live attenuated measles vaccine virus, measles virus, mumps vaccine virus and rubella vaccine virus, and wild strains of the aforementioned viruses) results in ileal lymphoid nodular hyperplasia, chronic colitis and pervasive developmental disorder including autism (RBD), in some infants.

According to Deer, a letter from Wakefield's lawyers to him dated 31 Jan 2005 said: "Dr Wakefield did not plan a rival vaccine."[67]

In the Dispatches programme, Deer also revealed that Nicholas Chadwick, a researcher working under Wakefield's supervision in the Royal Free medical school, had failed to find measles virus in the children reported on in The Lancet.[70]

In January 2005, Wakefield initiated libel proceedings against Channel 4, the independent production company Twenty Twenty and Brian Deer, The Sunday Times, and against Deer personally along with his website briandeer.com.[71] Within weeks of issuing his claims, however, Wakefield sought to have the action frozen until after the conclusion of General Medical Council proceedings against him. Channel 4 and Deer sought a High Court order compelling Wakefield to continue with his action, or discontinue it. After a hearing on 27 and 28 October 2005, Mr Justice David Eady ruled against a stay of proceedings:

It thus appears that the Claimant wishes to use the existence of the libel proceedings for public relations purposes, and to deter other critics, while at the same time isolating himself from the "downside" of such litigation, in having to answer a substantial defence of justification ... I am quite satisfied, therefore, that the Claimant wished to extract whatever advantage he could from the existence of the proceedings while not wishing to progress them or to give the Defendants an opportunity of meeting the claims.[72]

The judgment identified Channel 4's "very lengthy extracts" summarizing Deer's allegations against Wakefield:[72]

i) [Wakefield] spread fear that the MMR vaccine might lead to autism, even though he knew that his own laboratory had carried out tests whose results dramatically contradicted his claims in that the measles virus had not been found in a single one of the children concerned in his study and he knew or ought to have known that there was absolutely no basis at all for his belief that the MMR should be broken up into single vaccines.(ii) In spreading such fear, acted dishonestly and for mercenary motives in that, although he improperly failed to disclose the fact, he planned a rival vaccine and products (such as a diagnostic kit based on his theory) that could have made his fortune(iii) Gravely abused the children under his care by unethically carrying out extensive invasive procedures (on occasions requiring three people to hold a child down), thereby driving nurses to leave and causing his medical colleagues serious concern and unhappiness(iv) Improperly and/or dishonestly failed to disclose to his colleagues and to the public that his research on autistic children had begun with a contract with solicitors who were trying to sue the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine(v) Improperly or dishonestly lent his reputation to the International Child Development Resource Centre, which promoted to very vulnerable parents expensive products for whose efficacy (as he knew or should have known) there was no scientific evidenceMr. Justice Eady's ruling states that, "The views or conclusions of the GMC disciplinary body would not, so far as I can tell, be relevant or admissible," that Channel 4's allegations "...go to undermine fundamentally the Claimant's professional integrity and honesty," and that, "It cannot seriously be suggested that priority should be given to GMC proceedings for the resolution of issues."

In December 2006, Deer released records obtained from the Legal Services Commission, showing that it had paid £435,643 in undisclosed fees to Wakefield for the purpose of building a case against the MMR vaccine.[73] Those payments, The Sunday Times reported, had begun two years before publication of Wakefield's paper in The Lancet.[63] Within days of Deer's report, Wakefield dropped all his libel actions[74] and was ordered to pay all defendants' legal costs.[75][76]

Other concernsEditOther concerns regarding Wakefield were that an extension of his project caused life-threatening complications in one child, who received substantial compensation in an out-of-court settlement.[77] Wakefield's data were also questioned;[28] a former graduate student, who appeared in Deer's programme, later testified that Wakefield ignored laboratory data that conflicted with his hypothesis. An independent investigation of a collaborating laboratory questioned the accuracy of the data underpinning Wakefield's claims.[78]

In June 2005, the BBC programme Horizon reported on an unnamed and unpublished study of blood samples from a group of 100 autistic children and 200 children without autism. They reported finding 99% of the samples contained no trace of the measles virus, and the samples that did contain the virus were just as likely to be from non-autistic children, i.e., only three samples contained the measles virus, one from an autistic child and two from a normal child. The study's authors found no evidence of any link between MMR and autism.[79]

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the United States National Academy of Sciences,[80] along with the CDC[81] and the UK National Health Service,[82] have found no link between vaccines and autism. Reviews in the medical literature have also found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism or with bowel disease, which Wakefield called "autistic enterocolitis."[83][84][85]

General Medical Council hearingsEditBetween July 2007 and May 2010, a 217-day "fitness to practise" hearing of the UK General Medical Council examined charges of professional misconduct against Wakefield and two colleagues involved in the paper in The Lancet.[86][87] The charges included that he:

"Was being paid to conduct the study by solicitors representing parents who believed their children had been harmed by MMR".[86]Ordered investigations "without the requisite paediatric qualifications" including colonoscopies, colon biopsies and lumbar punctures ("spinal taps") on his research subjects without the approval of his department's ethics board and contrary to the children's clinical interests,[86] when these diagnostic tests were not indicated by the children's symptoms or medical history."Act[ed] 'dishonestly and irresponsibly' in failing to disclose ... how patients were recruited for the study".[86]"Conduct[ed] the study on a basis not approved by the hospital's ethics committee."[86]Purchased blood samples'--for £5 each'--from children present at his son's birthday party, which Wakefield joked about in a later presentation.[86]Wakefield denied the charges;[88] on 28 January 2010, the GMC ruled against Wakefield on all issues, stating that he had "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant",[13] acted against the interests of his patients,[13] and "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in his controversial research.[14] On 24 May 2010 he was struck off the United Kingdom medical register. It was the harshest sanction that the GMC could impose, and effectively ended his career as a doctor. In announcing the ruling, the GMC said that Wakefield had "brought the medical profession into disrepute," and no sanction short of erasing his name from the register was appropriate for the "serious and wide-ranging findings" of misconduct.[19][89] On the same day, Wakefield's autobiography, Callous Disregard was published. It argued that he had been unfairly treated by the medical and scientific establishment.[90]

Fraud and conflict of interest allegationsEditIn February 2009, The Sunday Times reported that a further investigation by the newspaper had revealed that Wakefield "changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism",[91] citing evidence obtained by the newspaper from medical records and interviews with witnesses, and supported by evidence presented to the GMC.

In April 2010, Deer expanded on laboratory aspects of his findings in a report in the BMJ, recounting how normal clinical histopathology results (obtained from the Royal Free hospital) had been subjected to wholesale changes, from normal to abnormal, in the medical school and published in The Lancet.[92] On 2 January 2011, Deer provided two tables comparing the data on the twelve children, showing the original hospital data and the data with the wholesale changes as used in the 1998 The Lancet article.[93]

On 5 January 2011, BMJ published an article by Brian Deer entitled "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed".[94] Deer, funded by The Sunday Times of London and Channel 4 television network, said that, based on examination of the medical records of the 12 children in the original study, his research had found:[94]

The paper in The Lancet was a case series of 12 child patients; it reported a proposed "new syndrome" of enterocolitis and regressive autism and associated this with MMR as an "apparent precipitating event." But in fact:

Three of nine children reported with regressive autism did not have autism diagnosed at all. Only one child clearly had regressive autism;Despite the paper claiming that all 12 children were "previously normal", five had documented pre-existing developmental concerns;Some children were reported to have experienced first behavioural symptoms within days of MMR, but the records documented these as starting some months after vaccination;In nine cases, unremarkable colonic histopathology results'--noting no or minimal fluctuations in inflammatory cell populations'--were changed after a medical school "research review" to "non-specific colitis";The parents of eight children were reported as blaming MMR, but 11 families made this allegation at the hospital. The exclusion of three allegations'--all giving times to onset of problems in months'--helped to create the appearance of a 14 day temporal link;Patients were recruited through anti-MMR campaigners, and the study was commissioned and funded for planned litigation.[94]In an accompanying editorial, BMJ editors said:

Clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare ... Who perpetrated this fraud? There is no doubt that it was Wakefield. Is it possible that he was wrong, but not dishonest: that he was so incompetent that he was unable to fairly describe the project, or to report even one of the 12 children's cases accurately? No. A great deal of thought and effort must have gone into drafting the paper to achieve the results he wanted: the discrepancies all led in one direction; misreporting was gross. Moreover, although the scale of the GMC's 217 day hearing precluded additional charges focused directly on the fraud, the panel found him guilty of dishonesty concerning the study's admissions criteria, its funding by the Legal Aid Board, and his statements about it afterwards.[1]

In a BMJ follow-up article on 11 January 2011,[22] Deer said that based upon documents he obtained under Freedom of information legislation,[95] Wakefield'--in partnership with the father of one of the boys in the study'--had planned to launch a venture on the back of an MMR vaccination scare that would profit from new medical tests and "litigation driven testing".[23][67]The Washington Post reported that Deer said that Wakefield predicted he "could make more than $43 million a year from diagnostic kits" for the new condition, autistic enterocolitis.[95] According to Deer's report in BMJ, the ventures, Immunospecifics Biotechnologies Ltd and Carmel Healthcare Ltd'--named after Wakefield's wife'--failed after Wakefield's superiors at University College London's medical school gave him a two-page letter that said:

We remain concerned about a possible serious conflict of interest between your academic employment by UCL, and your involvement with Carmel ... This concern arose originally because the company's business plan appears to depend on premature, scientifically unjustified publication of results, which do not conform to the rigorous academic and scientific standards that are generally expected.[22]

WebMD reported on Deer's BMJ report, saying that the $43 million predicted yearly profits would come from marketing kits for "diagnosing patients with autism" and that "the initial market for the diagnostic will be litigation-driven testing of patients with AE [autistic enterocolitis, an unproven condition concocted by Wakefield] from both the UK and the US".[96] According to WebMD, the BMJ article also claimed that Carmel Healthcare Ltd would succeed in marketing products and developing a replacement vaccine if "public confidence in the MMR vaccine was damaged".[96]

In October 2012, research published in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identified Wakefield's 1998 paper as the most cited retracted scientific paper, with 758 citations, and gave the "reason for retraction" as "fraud".[2]

Journal retractionsEditOn 2 February 2010, The Lancet formally retracted Wakefield's 1998 paper.[97][98] The retraction states that, "The claims in the original paper that children were 'consecutively referred' and that investigations were 'approved' by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false."[16]

The following day the editor of a specialist journal, Neurotoxicology, withdrew another Wakefield paper that was in press. The article, which concerned research on monkeys, had already been published online and sought to implicate vaccines in autism.[99]

In May 2010, The American Journal of Gastroenterology retracted a paper of Wakefield's that used data from the 12 patients of the article in The Lancet.[100]

On 5 January 2011, BMJ editors recommended that Wakefield's other publications should be scrutinized and retracted if need be.[48]

Wakefield responseEditAs of January 2011, Wakefield continued to maintain his innocence. In a press release, he stated,

I want to make one thing crystal clear for the record'--my research and the serious medical problems found in those children were not a hoax and there was no fraud whatsoever. Nor did I seek to profit from our findings ... despite media reports to the contrary, the results of my research have been duplicated in five other countries ... I continue to fully support more independent research to determine if environmental triggers, including vaccines, are causing autism and other developmental problems ... Since the Lancet [sic] paper, I have lost my job, my career and my country. To claim that my motivation was profit is patently untrue. I will not be deterred'--this issue is far too important.[30]

In an internet radio interview, Wakefield said the BMJ series "was utter nonsense" and denied "that he used the cases of the 12 children in his study to promote his business venture".[23] Although Deer is funded by The Sunday Times and Channel 4, he has filed financial disclosure forms and denies receiving any funding from the pharmaceutical industry, which Wakefield says is paying him.[23] According to CNN, Wakefield said the patent he held was for "an 'over-the-counter nutritional supplement' that boosts the immune system".[23] WebMD reported that Wakefield said he was the victim of "a ruthless, pragmatic attempt to crush any attempt to investigate valid vaccine safety concerns".[96]

Wakefield claims that Deer is a "hit man who was brought in to take [him] down" and that other scientists have simply taken Deer at his word. While on Anderson Cooper 360°, claiming he had not read the BMJ articles yet, he denied their validity and denied that Deer had interviewed the families of the children in the study. He also urged viewers to read his book, Callous Disregard, which he claimed would explain why he was being targeted, to which Anderson Cooper replied: "But, sir, if you're lying, then your book is also a lie. If your study is a lie, your book is a lie."[45][101]

Wakefield later implied that there is a conspiracy by public health officials and pharmaceutical companies to discredit him, including suggesting they pay bloggers to post rumours about him on websites or that they artificially inflated reports of deaths from measles.[45]

Deer counter-responseEditDeer responded to Wakefield's charge by challenging Wakefield to sue him:

If it is true that Andrew Wakefield is not guilty as charged, he has the remedy of bringing a libel action against myself, the Sunday Times of London, against the medical journal here, and he would be the richest man in America.[102]

Deer noted that all of Wakefield's previous libel actions had been dismissed or withdrawn.[72][102]

In January 2012 Wakefield filed a defamation lawsuit in Texas state court against Deer, Fiona Godlee, and the BMJ for false accusations of fraud, seeking a jury trial in Travis County. The filing identified Wakefield as a resident of Austin,[103][104] and cited the "Texas Long-Arm Statute" as justification for initiating the proceeding in Texas. The journal responded that it stood by its reports and would "defend the claim vigorously".[105][106] In August 2012 District Court Judge Amy Meachum dismissed Wakefield's suit.[107][108][109] Her ruling was upheld on appeal in September 2014 and Wakefield was ordered to pay all parties' costs.[110][111]

On 5 April 2011, Deer was named the UK's specialist journalist of the year in the British Press Awards, organised by the Society of Editors. The judges said that his investigation of Wakefield was a "tremendous righting of a wrong".[112]

Epidemics, effects and receptionEditPhysicians, medical journals, and editors[113][114][115][116][117] have made statements tying Wakefield's fraudulent actions to various epidemics and deaths.[118] Michael J. Smith, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville, an "infectious diseases expert who has studied the autism controversy's effect on immunization rates", said, "Clearly, the results of this [Wakefield] study have had repercussions."[119][120]

The Associated Press said:

Immunization rates in Britain dropped from 92 percent to 73 percent, and were as low as 50 percent in some parts of London. The effect was not nearly as dramatic in the United States, but researchers have estimated that as many as 125,000 US children born in the late 1990s did not get the MMR vaccine because of the Wakefield splash.[119]

ABC News Channel WWAY3 said:

Since Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study was released in 1998, many parents have been convinced the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine could lead to autism. But that study may have done more harm than good. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, more cases of measles were reported in 2008 than any year since 1997. More than 90 percent of those infected had not been vaccinated, or their vaccination status was not known.[118]

Paul H(C)bert, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) said:

There has been a huge impact from the Wakefield fiasco ... This spawned a whole anti-vaccine movement. Great Britain has seen measles outbreaks. It probably resulted in a lot of deaths.[36]

A profile in a New York Times Magazine article noted:

Andrew Wakefield has become one of the most reviled doctors of his generation, blamed directly and indirectly, depending on the accuser, for irresponsibly starting a panic with tragic repercussions: vaccination rates so low that childhood diseases once all but eradicated here'--whooping cough and measles, among them'--have re-emerged, endangering young lives.[45]

Journalist Brian Deer called for criminal charges against Wakefield.[102]

J. B. Handley of the autism and anti-vaccine advocacy group Generation Rescue noted, "To our community, Andrew Wakefield is Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ rolled up into one."[45] Wakefield has a fundraising group dedicated to supporting his litigation.[121][122]

On 1 April 2011, the James Randi Educational Foundation awarded Wakefield the Pigasus Award for "refusal to face reality".[123]

A 2011 journal article described the vaccine-autism connection as "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years".[124]

In 2011, Wakefield was at the top of the list of the worst doctors of 2011 in Medscape's list of "Physicians of the Year: Best and Worst".[125] In January 2012, Time Magazine named Wakefield in a list of "Great Science Frauds".[3] In 2012 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Quackery award by the Good Thinking Society.[126]

Criticism of Wakefield can be risky. A writer from The New York Times, who was covering a 2011 event in Tomball, Texas where Wakefield spoke, was threatened by its organizer, Michelle Guppy: "Be nice to him, or we will hurt you." She is the coordinator of the Houston Autism Disability Network.[45]

Selected publicationsEditBooksEditWakefield, Andrew J; McCarthy, Jenny, foreword (24 May 2010). Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines: The Truth Behind a Tragedy. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1-61608-169-4. Journal articlesEditWithdrawn: Hewitson L, Houser LA, Stott C, Sackett G, Tomko JL, Atwood D, Blue L, White ER, Wakefield AJ (October 2009). "WITHDRAWN: Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine: Influence of gestational age and birth weight". Neurotoxicology. doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.09.008. PMID 19800915. Retracted:Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH, Thomson M, Montgomery SM, Davies S, O'Leary JJ, Berelowitz M, Walker-Smith JA (September 2000). "Enterocolitis in children with developmental disorders". Am. J. Gastroenterol.95 (9): 2285''95. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2000.03248.x. PMID 11007230. (Retracted)Retracted:Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M, Berelowitz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE, Walker-Smith JA (1998). "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children". The Lancet351 (9103): 637''41. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0. PMID 9500320. (Retracted)Wakefield AJ, Ekbom A, Dhillon AP, Pittilo RM, Pounder RE (March 1995). "Crohn's disease: pathogenesis and persistent measles virus infection". Gastroenterology108 (3): 911''6. doi:10.1016/0016-5085(95)90467-0. PMID 7875495. Wakefield AJ, Pittilo RM, Sim R, Cosby SL, Stephenson JR, Dhillon AP, Pounder RE (April 1993). "Evidence of persistent measles virus infection in Crohn's disease". J. Med. Virol.39 (4): 345''53. doi:10.1002/jmv.1890390415. PMID 8492105. Wakefield AJ, Sankey EA, Dhillon AP et al. (May 1991). "Granulomatous vasculitis in Crohn's disease". Gastroenterology100 (5 Pt 1): 1279''87. PMID 2013373. Wakefield AJ, Sawyerr AM, Dhillon AP, Pittilo RM, Rowles PM, Lewis AA, Pounder RE (November 1989). "Pathogenesis of Crohn's disease: multifocal gastrointestinal infarction". The Lancet2 (8671): 1057''62. PMID 2572794. ReferencesEdit^ abcGodlee F, Smith J, Marcovitch H (2011). "Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent". BMJ342: c7452. doi:10.1136/bmj.c7452. PMID 21209060. ^ abFang FC, Steen RG, Casadevall A (October 2012). "Misconduct accounts for the majority of retracted scientific publications". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1212247109. ^ ab"Great Science Frauds". Time Magazine, 13 January 2012^"GMC LRMP". Retrieved 2014-05-31. ^"briandeer.com" (pdf). Retrieved 2014-05-31. ^Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, et al. (November 2002). "A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism". N. Engl. J. Med.347 (19): 1477''82. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa021134. 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"£500,000 for boy left fighting for life after being used as MMR guinea pig". Daily Mail (London). Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009. ^Begley, Sharon (21 February 2009). "Anatomy of a Scare". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010. ^"Does the MMR Jab Cause Autism? The latest scientific evidence". BBC Horizon. Retrieved 10 August 2007. ^Immunization Safety Review Committee (2004). Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. Institute of Medicine. ISBN 0-309-53275-2. Retrieved 10 August 2007. ^"Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^"MMR '' FAQs". National Health Service. 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Jefferson T, Price D, Demicheli V, Bianco E (2003). "Unintended events following immunization with MMR: a systematic review". Vaccine21 (25''26): 3954''60. doi:10.1016/S0264-410X(03)00271-8. PMID 12922131. ^Gerber JS, Offit PA (2009). "Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses". Clin Infect Dis48 (4): 456''61. doi:10.1086/596476. PMC 2908388. PMID 19128068. Lay summary '' Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (2009-01-30). [dead link]^Demicheli V, Rivetti A, Debalini MG, Di Pietrantonj C (2012). "Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children". Cochrane Database Syst Rev2: CD004407. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub3. PMID 22336803. ^ abcdef"MMR scare doctor 'paid children'". BBC News. 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007. ^General Medical Council Press Office (8 October 2007). "Dr Andrew Wakefield, Professor John Walker-Smith, Professor Simon Murch: Fitness to Practise Hearings" (Press release). General Medical Council press office. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. ^"MMR doctor to begin his defence". BBC News. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2011. ^Triggle, Nick (24 May 2010). "MMR doctor struck off register". BBC News (BBC Online). Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010. ^Wakefield, Andrew J (24 May 2010). Callous Disregard. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1-61608-169-4. ^Deer Brian (8 February 2009). "MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism". The Sunday Times (London). Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009. ^Deer B (15 April 2010). "Wakefield's "autistic enterocolitis" under the microscope". BMJ340: c1127. doi:10.1136/bmj.c1127. PMID 20395277. ^"MMR & Autism: Fixing a Link", Tables prepared by Brian Deer as a supplement to his peer reviewed report "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed", published in the BMJ in January 2011 (BMJ 2011;342:c5347). alt source (archive (at anchor #T1))^ abcDeer B (5 January 2011). "How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed". BMJ (BMJ) 342: c5347. doi:10.1136/bmj.c5347. PMID 21209059. ^ abStein, Rob (11 January 2011). "Wakefield tried to capitalize on autism-vaccine link, report says". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 January 2011. ^ abcRussell, Peter (11 January 2011). "MMR Doctor 'Planned to Make Millions,' Journal Claims". WebMD Health News. Retrieved 12 January 2011. ^Harris, Gardiner (2 February 2010). "Journal Retracts 1998 Paper Linking Autism to Vaccines". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2011. ^"Medical journal retracts study linking autism to vaccine". CNN. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010. ^Hewitson L, Houser LA, Stott C et al. (October 2009). "WITHDRAWN: Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine: Influence of gestational age and birth weight". Neurotoxicology. doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.09.008. PMID 19800915. ^Wakefield AJ, Anthony A, Murch SH et al. (2010). "Retraction: Enterocolitis in Children With Developmental Disorders". The American Journal of Gastroenterology105 (5): 1214. doi:10.1038/ajg.2010.149. ^Anderson Cooper (interviewer), Andrew Wakefield (interviewee) (6 January 2011). Autism-vaccine study author defends work. CNN. ^ abc"Medical journal: Study linking autism, vaccines is 'elaborate fraud'". CNN. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^"Doctor who did autism research in Austin sues medical journal, writers (Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 6, 2012)". Statesman.com. Retrieved 26 April 2013. ^"Wakefield v. British Medical Journal, Deer, Godlee (Travis County, Texas, 3 Jan 2012)" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2013. ^By JOHN GEVERMedPage Today Senior Editor (6 January 2012). "Doctor Who Claimed Vaccine-Autism Link Sues Critics (ABC News, Jan. 6, 2012)". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 26 April 2013. ^Ian Sample, science correspondent (5 January 2012). "Andrew Wakefield sues BMJ for claiming MMR study was fraudulent (The Guardian, 5 January 2012)". London: Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2013. ^"201st District Court of Travis County, Texas, Order". 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012. ^"Wakefield, former autism researcher, can't sue for defamation in Texas, judge says". 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012. ^"Andrew Wakefield's libel suit against Brian Deer: Dismissed!". 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012. ^"Court: Andrew Wakefield, autism researcher, cannot sue in Texas". 19 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014. ^"Texas Court of Appeals, 3rd district, at Austin". 19 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014. ^"The Press Awards, Specialist Journalist of the Year". 5 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011. ^Gever, John (5 January 2011). "BMJ Lifts Curtain on MMR-Autism Fraud". MedPage Today. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Godlee F (January 2011). "The fraud behind the MMR scare". BMJ342: d22. doi:10.1136/bmj.d22. ^Deer, Brian (6 January 2011). "Brian Deer: Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism". BMJ Group Blogs. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^"Link between MMR Vaccines and Autism conclusively broken". IB Times. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Broyd, Nicky (6 January 2011). "BMJ Declares Vaccine-Autism Study 'an Elaborate Fraud', 1998 Lancet Study Not Bad Science but Deliberate Fraud, Claims Journal". WebMD Health News. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^ abJasek, Marissa (6 January 2011). "Healthwatch: Disputed autism study sparks debate about vaccines". WWAY Newschannel 3. Retrieved 7 January 2011. ^ abStobbe, Mike (7 January 2011). "Will autism fraud report be a vaccine booster?". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 January 2011. ^Smith MJ, Ellenberg SS, Bell LM, Rubin DM (April 2008). "Media coverage of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism controversy and its relationship to MMR immunization rates in the United States". Pediatrics121 (4): e836''43. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1760. PMID 18381512. ^"Dr. Wakefield Justice Fund". Retrieved 24 December 2012. ^"You're Invited: Long Beach California Fundraising Event for Dr. Andrew Wakefield Legal Defense Fund '' AGE OF AUTISM". Retrieved 24 December 2012. ^Crabtree, Sadie (1 April 2011). "The 5 Worst Promoters of Nonsense" (Press release). James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved 6 April 2011. ^Flaherty DK (October 2011). "The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science". Ann Pharmacother45 (10): 1302''4. doi:10.1345/aph.1Q318. PMID 21917556. ^"Physicians of the Year: Best and Worst".Medscape 2011^Jha, Alok (23 December 2012), Struck off MMR doctor handed award for 'lifetime achievement in quackery'. Andrew Wakefield, discredited over autism-MMR vaccine link claims, is named Good Thinking Society's Golden Duck winner, The Guardian, retrieved 14 October 2014 External linksEditPersondataNameWakefield, AndrewAlternative namesShort descriptionsurgeon and medical researcherDate of birth1957Place of birthDate of deathPlace of death

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Sat, 31 Jan 2015 14:49

Posted October 20, 2011, 12:46 pmRemember when the best-selling book Listening to Prozac came out almost 20 years ago?

Now Americans aren't just reading about Prozac. They are taking it and other antidepressants (Celexa, Effexor, Paxil, Zoloft, to name just a few) in astounding numbers.

According to a report released yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the rate of antidepressant use in this country among teens and adults (people ages 12 and older) increased by almost 400% between 1988''1994 and 2005''2008.

The federal government's health statisticians figure that about one in every 10 Americans takes an antidepressant. And by their reckoning, antidepressants were the third most common prescription medication taken by Americans in 2005''2008, the latest period during which the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected data on prescription drug use.

Here are a few other stand-out statistics from the report on antidepressants:

23% of women in their 40s and 50s take antidepressants, a higher percentage than any other group (by age or sex)Women are 2½ times more likely to be taking an antidepressant than men (click here to read a May 2011 article in the Harvard Mental Health Letter about women and depression)14% of non-Hispanic white people take antidepressants compared with just 4% of non-Hispanic blacks and 3% of Mexican AmericansLess than a third of Americans who are taking a single antidepressants (as opposed to two or more) have seen a mental health professional in the past yearAntidepressant use does not vary by income status.So is it a good thing that so many more Americans are taking antidepressants? Many (perhaps most) mental health professionals would say, yes, because depression has been undertreated and because antidepressants are effective.

But there are also plenty of critics, as shown by this review in the New York Review of Books, who say the benefits have been overstated and that pharmaceutical company marketing is responsible for the surge in prescriptions.

Of course there's a middle ground that combines'--some might say muddles'--these two points of view: depression was neglected and sometimes antidepressants are the remedy, but there is some overuse and has been a major factor in the 400% increase.

What do you think? Has an antidepressant worked for you? Have the benefits been exaggerated and the side effects downplayed?

Comments:

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:48

The Crown alleges the B.C. couple accused of plotting to bomb the B.C. Legislature on Canada Day in 2013 wanted to kill people, and compared their plan to the Boston Marathon bombings and Sept. 11 attacks.

Amanda Korody and John Nuttall placed two pressure-cooker bombs in two places on the front lawn of the legislature in Victoria, said Crown counsel Peter Eccles in his opening arguments Monday.

They did this "for the benefit of their homegrown two-person terrorist cell," said Eccles.

"Two people can be a terrorist group. We don't say they are members of al-Qaeda. We don't need to prove that to prove they are terrorists," he said.

Nuttall and Korody, on trial before a jury in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, have pleaded not guilty to charges of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity, conspiracy and making or possessing an explosive device.

The pair, in their 30s, were arrested at their Surrey home in July 2013 after police seized the pressure-cooker bombs on the grounds of the legislature on Canada Day.

Same bomb type used at Boston Marathon: CrownA jury heard the Crown describe its case against the couple, which is largely based on surveillance videos and wiretap conversations.

Over months, Nuttall got to know an undercover officer posing as "Mr. Abdul," an Arab businessman who was sympathetic to jihadist movements.

In June 2013, Nuttall gave the man a hand drawn diagram of a pressure cooker bomb downloaded from the same website used by the bombers at the Boston Marathon bombing, according to Eccles.

He told the officer he wanted to build a bigger and better one, because "Boston only killed eight people," according to the Crown.

The Crown alleges the pair bought supplies for the bomb at Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Walmart, and that they believed "Mr. Abdul" was adding C4 explosives.

Accused 'ensnared' by undercover police, defence saysNuttall's lawyer, Marilyn Sanford, didn't dispute that he helped build the bombs at the Sundance Hotel in Delta, B.C., in June 2013.

But Sanford asked jurors not to jump to conclusions when they listen to wiretap conversations of Nuttall and Korody as they worked on the devices. She asked them to consider Nuttall's state of mind and level of sophistication.

She told the jury Nuttall was afraid what "Mr. Abdul" would do to them if they failed to make the bombs, and that they might end up "in cement galoshes at the bottom of the ocean."

Korody's lawyer, Mark Jette, said his client was ensnared by a police undercover operation.

He said she was sick at critical times during the alleged plot. She was vomiting frequently and on methadone for her drug addiction, said Jette.

My son is innocent, mother saysOutside court, Nuttall's mother, Maureen Smith, told reporters her son and his girlfriend were being made an example of by the federal government.

"The Canadian government wants everyone so they can have more control over the people and say, 'Oh look, we're doing our job, look at these terrorists,'" said Smith.

She described Nuttall and Korody as "very genuine" with "serious disabilities."

"They're two of the sweetest people you could ever meet in your life," she said.

The trial is expected to last several weeks.

Many details of the allegations against Korody and Nuttall are covered by a publication ban.

Howdy Adam!

So a few months ago a friend of mine from the army was going to Africa

to help with the Ebolllla outbreak. I laid down the No Agenda

knowledge on him. He argued against it but was open minded about what

I was telling him (probably because im not like Alex Jones and don't

scream ITS REAL in peoples faces, i give disclaimers that I have no

knowledge of what truth is)

...well, he just came back from his tour and is now in a 3 week quarantine.

He sends me this message out of the blue

"Dude, next time im in NY we have to talk off the net. This whole

thing was... interesting. Let's just say almost everywhere else I went

outside of the capital getting ETU facilities had had less than 1 case

of Ebola in their entire county."

If you want me to send you the convo we had a few months ago, let me know!

He said he might be coming around NY in April and wanted to buy me

drinks, haw haw. so I guess i owe you drinks now :D

PS: Sorry about all the shit going on in your life right now. Use this

time to do more work and have more fun!

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 16:20

Eric MalandEngineer, Healthcare.govOne of the first engineers at Amazon and the former Operations Director at Twitter, Eric is helping to support the site reliability of Healthcare.gov.

''The opportunity to create real change in how technology is developed and managed within government was just too good to pass up.''

Ann Mei ChangTechnology Innovation, USAIDAt Google, Ann Mei led global engineering for mobile apps and services used by hundreds of millions of people. After also working at Apple, Intuit and MercyCorps, she's now the Executive Director of the U.S. Global Development Lab at USAID.

''I am driven by a desire to bring tools, technologies, and approaches that have been transformative in Silicon Valley to tackle one of the world's toughest problems - extreme poverty.''

Clarence Wardell III, PhDPresidential Innovation Fellow, Department of EnergyA researcher and entrepreneur, Clarence brings his experiences from CNA Corp., IBM, and philanthropic startups to help businesses and local municipalities use government data to improve security and disaster responsiveness.

''There is something truly unique about this opportunity to use my skills for such great impact.''

Dana ChisnellUX Researcher, U.S. Digital Service HQAmerica's foremost expert on usability and design of ballots and voting systems, Dana is leading user experience research for tools for immigration and visa applications.

''I've long worked on design problems with public impact -- joining the US Digital Service has afforded me the chance to change culture at an extraordinary scale.''

Kathy PhamHealth data expert, U.S. Digital Service HQKathy brings a strong background in health data analytics and product management. An early member of Google's health team and a health data analyst at IBM, Kathy is now a member of the digital service team improving Veterans' access to healthcare.

''Being my mother's patient advocate during her battle with Leukemia and witnessing my brother's heroism as a captain in the Marine Corps is what really drove me to work on the VA health systems.''

Mike BlandPractice Director, 18FAfter working with Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Mike became known as the automated testing evangelist during his time at Google. He is now driving development best practices at 18F.

''After my hiatus from the tech industry, 18F lured me back with promises of challenging work, exceptionally-skilled colleagues, and an important mission. I am humbled by this opportunity to serve my country.''

Ellen RatajakEngineering Director, Digital Service at the VAEllen was the third engineer hired at Amazon, where she led engineering for the distribution centers and other large software projects. She is now the Engineering Director for the Digital Service at the VA.

''I love working with bright, dedicated teams to do big things, and I'm particularly drawn by the ability to be of service to our country's Veterans.''

Rachel Harrison-GordonPresidential Innovation Fellow, Department of Veterans AffairsAfter managing data visualization and analysis for The New York Times, Rachel now serves as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at VA, applying open data and innovation to effectively reach and support America's Veterans.

''I was drawn by the opportunity to offer the VA strategies for seamless service-delivery that we find in the private sector. It's an honor to work with and for those who have fought for our freedom.''

Alan SterembergPresidential Innovation Fellow, NOAAAlan co-founded the Weather Underground '-- one of the country's foremost weather sites, later acquired by The Weather Channel. He brings his expertise in weather and consumer product development to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a Presidential Innovation Fellow.

''I co-founded a company '-- Weather Underground '-- which met success in a large part because of the science and data that the government provides at no cost to industry. I am pleased to return the favor.''

Jesse TaggertLead UX Designer, 18FBuilding on an extensive career in user experience and interaction design with organizations such as Pivotal Labs, the U.S. Navy and the Smithsonian, Jesse now leads research and design at 18F to discover new ways to help the public access federal records.

''I wanted to work on real problems that impact the millions of people who look to the U.S. government to help them accomplish a goal. There are great people inside government'--eager to adopt user-centered methodologies.''

Ryan PanchadsaramDeputy U.S. CTO, Office of Science & Technology PolicyWith a background in product design, Ryan comes to government from Microsoft, Ginger.io, and Salesforce.com. A key member of the Healthcare.gov rescue team and a former Presidential Innovation Fellow, he now serves as the Deputy U.S. CTO working to tackle government-wide issues facing digital service teams.

''When I decided to join, a colleague asked why I would want to work on 'plumbing' problems. The truth is, these are the most important 'plumbing' problems of our generation '-- and guess what '' I can help fix them.''

Mina HsiangHealth Data Expert, U.S. Digital Service HQA system engineer, product manager, and former investor, Mina was a key player in the effort to fix Healthcare.gov, and joins the government to tackle data usability challenges in healthcare. Mina has led projects at Optum, General Catalyst Partners, and Deka R&D corp.

''I have experienced, firsthand, the value of data-driven healthcare. I have seen the challenges and heartbreak created when systems do not talk to one another and people can't access the information they need. We can and must do better.''

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:40

Anthem, the nation's second-largest health insurer, has been hacked, exposing personal information about millions of its employees and customers. It may be one of the largest data breaches yet at a major insurance company, as the company and its affiliates cover one in nine Americans.

Joseph R. Swedish, president and chief executive of the Indianapolis-based company, said in a statement posted on the company's Web site that ''attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem's IT system and have obtained personal information from our current and former members such as their names, birthdays, medical IDs, social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data.''

Swedish said Anthem is working to close the ''security vulnerability'' and has called in the FBI to investigate. And the company has hired Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm, to evaluate the security of its network.

Swedish said the company would individually notify everyone whose information has been accessed and would provide credit monitoring and identity protection free-of-charge. The company referred customers to a dedicated Web site for further information.

Anthem offers insurance plans in 14 states and has some 69 million customers, the company says. Anthem provided no information on how many people might be affected.

Swedish described it as a ''very sophisticated external cyberattack,'' but he said that based on what the company knows now, ''there is no evidence that credit card or medical information'' was compromised.

''Anthem's own associates' personal information '' including my own '' was accessed during this security breach,'' Swedish said. ''We join you in your concern and frustration, and I assure you that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to further secure your data.''

Depending on how widespread Anthem's breach was, it might be among one of the larger cyberattacks in recent months. In 2014, retailers Target and Home Depot experienced data breaches that compromised credit card information for up to 110 million customers and 53 million customers respectively. Major financial institution J.P Morgan also announced that it had been hacked and the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for some 76 million household had been compromised.

Anthem said that the breach impacted its Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink and DeCare brands.

The breach also comes at a critical time '-- just days before the Affordable Care Act's 2015 enrollment deadline for health insurance plans on Feb. 15.

Large companies are increasingly becoming the targets of massive, sophisticated cyberattacks. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, which tracks the ones that are publicized, a record number of attacks affecting U.S. entities occurred in 2014.

The health and medical sectors are also increasingly becoming big targets. According to ITRC's 2014 report, medical and health-care entities accounted for 42.5 percent of reported data breaches.

The effort to defend against them is ongoing and never-ending, but companies must also now devise strategies to quickly identify breaches, notify and reassure customers after a breach occurs.

In a statement, the FBI praised Anthem for moving quickly to identify the breach and notify law enforcement.

''Anthem's initial response in promptly notifying the FBI after observing suspicious network activity is a model for other companies and organizations facing similar circumstances,'' a statement from the FBI said, according to the Los Angeles Times. ''Speed matters when notifying law enforcement of an intrusion, as cyber criminals can quickly destroy critical evidence needed to identify those responsible.''

[This post has been updated.]

Read more stories from Morning Mix

Fred Barbash, the editor of Morning Mix, is a former National Editor and London Bureau Chief for the Washington Post.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:39

An Anthem Inc. sign is seen in this file video image from CNN.

An Anthem Inc. sign is seen in this file video image from CNN.

Hackers have stolen information on tens of millions of Anthem Inc. customers, in a massive data breach that ranks among the largest in corporate history.

The information stolen from the insurance giant includes names, birthdays, medical IDs, social security numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses and employment information, including income data.

Anthem said there is no evidence that credit card or medical information was compromised. While damage is still being assessed, the compromised database contained up to 80 million customer records.

Formerly known as Wellpoint, Anthem is the second-largest health insurer in the United States. The company operates plans including Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Amerigroup and Healthlink.

Anthem pledged to individually notify current and former customers if their data has been stolen, and by late Wednesday evening, some members reported receiving e-mails from the insurer informing them of the breach. Anthem will offer free credit monitoring and identity protection services to affected customers.

''Anthem's own associates' personal information '-- including my own '-- was accessed during this security breach. We join you in your concern and frustration, and I assure you that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to further secure your data,'' CEO Joseph Swedish said in a letter to customers.

Anthem said the breach resulted from a ''very sophisticated external cyber attack,'' and that law enforcement agencies were still working to identify the perpetrator. The company has retained Mandiant, a leading cybersecurity firm, to help in the investigation.

The insurer is the latest in a series of companies to suffer severe data breaches. Last year, hackers obtained credit card data for 40 million Target shoppers, as well as personal information '-- including names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses '-- for 70 million customers.

Records have also been stolen from Neiman Marcus, JPMorgan Chase, Experian, eBay and Home Depot.

The Federal Bureau of investigation said that it was aware of the intrusion, and was investigating the matter. The agency also praised Anthem's decision to quickly address the breach.

''Anthem's initial response in promptly notifying the FBI after observing suspicious network activity is a model for other companies and organizations facing similar circumstances,'' the FBI said. ''Speed matters when notifying law enforcement of an intrusion.''

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:38

Safeguarding your personal, financial and medical information is one of our top priorities, and because of that, we have state-of-the-art information security systems to protect your data. However, despite our efforts, Anthem was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber attack. These attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem's IT system and have obtained personal information from our current and former members such as their names, birthdays, medical IDs/social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data. Based on what we know now, there is no evidence that credit card or medical information, such as claims, test results or diagnostic codes were targeted or compromised.

Once the attack was discovered, Anthem immediately made every effort to close the security vulnerability, contacted the FBI and began fully cooperating with their investigation. Anthem has also retained Mandiant, one of the world's leading cybersecurity firms, to evaluate our systems and identify solutions based on the evolving landscape.

Anthem's own associates' personal information '' including my own '' was accessed during this security breach. We join you in your concern and frustration, and I assure you that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to further secure your data.

Anthem will individually notify current and former members whose information has been accessed. We will provide credit monitoring and identity protection services free of charge so that those who have been affected can have peace of mind. We have created a dedicated website - www.AnthemFacts.com - where members can access information such as frequent questions and answers. We have also established a dedicated toll-free number that both current and former members can call if they have questions related to this incident. That number is: 1-877-263-7995. As we learn more, we will continually update this website and share that information you.

I want to personally apologize to each of you for what has happened, as I know you expect us to protect your information. We will continue to do everything in our power to make our systems and security processes better and more secure, and hope that we can earn back your trust and confidence in Anthem.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. SwedishPresident and CEOAnthem, Inc.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:15

Euro crisis, economic policy and A Modest ProposalEditFrom January 2004 to December 2006, Varoufakis served as economic adviser to George Papandreou, whose government he was to become an ardent critic of a few years later. The author of several books on game theory, Varoufakis is also a recognised speaker and often appears as guest analyst for news media like the BBC, CNN, Sky News, RT and Bloomberg TV among others. In November 2010, he and Stuart Holland, a former Labour Party MP and economics professor at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), published A Modest Proposal, a set of economic policies aimed at overcoming the euro crisis.[5] In 2013, Version 4.0 of A Modest Proposal appeared with the American economist James K. Galbraith as a third co-author. This version was published in late 2013 in French with a supporting foreword by Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France. Since September 2011, Truman Factor features select articles by Varoufakis in English and in Spanish. Varoufakis compares the role of the US economy since the 1970s in relation to the rest of the world with the minotaur.[6]

The Globalizing WallEditIn 2005/6, Varoufakis travelled extensively with artist Danae Stratou along seven dividing lines around the world (in Palestine, Ethiopia-Eritrea, Kosovo, Belfast, Cyprus, Kashmir and the US-Mexico border). Stratou produced the installation CUT: 7 dividing lines, while Varoufakis wrote texts that then became a political-economic account of these divisions, entitled The Globalising Wall. In 2010 Stratou and Varoufakis founded the project Vital Space.[7]

Valve CorporationEditBeginning in March 2012, Varoufakis became Economist-in-Residence at Valve Corporation. He researched the virtual economy on the Steam digital delivery platform, specifically looking at exchange rates and trade deficits. In June 2012, he began a blog about his research at Valve. In February 2013 his function at Valve was to work on a game for predicting trends in gaming.[9][10][11]

Political careerEditVaroufakis was appointed Finance Minister by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the aftermath of the SYRIZA victory in the January 25 parliamentary election. A self-described 'libertarian Marxist'- "In truth, Karl Marx was responsible for framing my perspective of the world we live in, from my childhood to this day. It is not something that I volunteer to talk about in 'polite society' much these days because the very mention of the M-word switches audiences off." [1]

Books in EnglishEditEconomic Indeterminacy: A personal encounter with the economists' most peculiar nemesis. London and New York: Routledge, 2013 (ISBN 0415668492)The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of the Financial Crisis and the Future of the World Economy.Zed Books, 2011 (translations in German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Czech and Finnish); second edition 2013Modern Political Economics: Making sense of the post-2008 world. London and New York: Routledge, 2011 (with Joseph Halevi and Nicholas Theocarakis)Game Theory: A critical text. London and New York: Routledge, 2004 (with Shaun Hargreaves-Heap)(ed.): Game Theory: Critical Perspectives. Volumes 1''5, London and New York: Routledge, 2001Foundations of Economics: A beginner's companion. London and New York: Routledge, 1998Game Theory: A critical introduction. London and New York: Routledge, 1995 (with Shaun Hargreaves-Heap)Rational Conflict. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991(ed.): Conflict in Economics. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf and New York: St Martin's Press, 1990 (with David P. T. Young )His next book currently has the working title Reverse Alchemy: Europe on the Road to Disintegration.

Selected interviews/reviewsEditEurope's Greek Moment, interview by Luis Martin, 29 September 2011The Great Shock, review by Brian Collins in the Los Angeles Review of Books, 17 October 2011"Varoufakis' mini documentary on the Euro Crisis for Channel 4, February 2012" produced and presented by Yanis Varoufakis, February 2012The Global Minotaur: An Interview with Yanis Varoufakis conducted by Philip Pilkington at Naked Capitalism, 13 February 2012The New Priesthood: An Interview with Yanis Varoufakis conducted by Philip Pilkington at Naked Capitalism, 1 March 2012 (Part II, 7 March 2012)[2] Interviewed by Christian Amanpour on CNN International of Europe's continued experiment with Austerity, April 2012Roberts, Russ (25 February 2013). "Varoufakis on Value, Spontaneous Order, and the European Crisis". EconTalk. Library of Economics and Liberty. Interviewed on CBC's Writers by Eleanor Wachtel, April 2013''Greece will neither want to leave the euro nor threaten to do so'', interview by Luis Martin, 12 January 2015Interview on the ABC Channel (Australia) on 11 October 1993 concerning the Greek Elections.ReferencesEditExternal linksEditPersondataNameVaroufakis, YanisAlternative namesÎ'αρÎυφάκης, Î'ιάνηςShort descriptionGreek-Australian economistDate of birth24 March 1961Place of birthAthens, GreeceDate of deathPlace of death

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Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:13

HistoryFounding and IncorporationValve was founded by long-time Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington on August 24, 1996[3][4] as an L.L.C. based in Kirkland, Washington. After incorporation in April 2003,[5] it moved from its original location to Bellevue, Washington, the same city in which their original publisher, Sierra On-Line, Inc., was based.

Half-LifeAfter securing a license to the Quake engine (through the help of friend Michael Abrash of id Software) in late 1996, Newell and Harrington began working on Half-Life. Originally planned for release in late 1997, Half-Life launched on November 19, 1998. Valve acquired TF Software PTY Ltd, the makers of the Team Fortressmod for Quake, in May 1998 with the intent to create a standalone Team Fortress game. The Team Fortress Classicmod, essentially a port of the original Team Fortress mod for Quake, was released for Half-Life in 1999. Gearbox contributed much after the release of Half-Life. Gearbox Software is responsible for the Half-Life expansion packs, Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift, along with the home console versions of Half-Life for the SegaDreamcast and SonyPlayStation 2 which included a third expansion pack called Half-Life: Decay, that enabled two-player split-screen co-op.

Source EngineAfter the success of Half-Life, the team led by Keiran Wright worked on mods, spin-offs, and sequels, including Half-Life 2. All current Valve games are built on its Source engine. The company has developed six game series: Half-Life, Team Fortress, Portal, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead and Day of Defeat. Valve is noted for its support of its games' modding community: most prominently, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Day of Defeat. Valve has branched out with this tradition to continue developing Dota 2 as the stand-alone sequel to the Warcraft III mod.[6] Each of these games began as a third-party mod that Valve purchased and developed into a full game. They also distribute community mods on Steam.[7]

Acquisitions and AwardsSince Valve Corporation's founding, it has expanded both in scope and commercial value. On January 10, 2008, Valve Corporation announced the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios.[8] On April 8, 2010, Valve won The Escapist Magazine's March Mayhem tournament for the best developer of 2010,[9] beating out Zynga in the semi-finals and BioWare in the final.

In 2012, the company acquired Star Filled Studios, a two-man gaming company to open a San Francisco office.[10] In August 2013, however, Valve ended the operation when it was decided that there was little benefit coming from the arrangement.[11]

Network intrusionsValve's internal network has been infiltrated by hackers twice, once in 2003 where content of yet to be released Half-Life 2 was leaked onto the internet,[12] and again in 2011 when the Steam customer databases and official forums were compromised.[14]

Legal disputesValve vs. Vivendi caseBetween 2002 and 2005, Valve was involved in a complex legal showdown with its publisher, Vivendi Universal (under Vivendi's brand Sierra Entertainment). It officially began on August 14, 2002, when Valve sued Sierra for copyright infringement, alleging that the publisher illegally distributed copies of their games to Internet cafes. They later added claims of breach of contract, accusing their publisher of withholding royalties and delaying the release of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero until after the holiday season.

Vivendi fought back, saying that Gabe Newell and marketing director Doug Lombardi had misrepresented Valve's position in meetings with the publisher. Vivendi later countersued, claiming that Valve's Steam content distribution system attempted to circumvent their publishing agreement. Vivendi sought intellectual property rights to Half-Life and a ruling preventing Valve from using Steam to distribute Half-Life 2.

On November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas S. Zilly of U.S. Federal District Court in Seattle, Washington ruled in favor of Valve Corporation. Specifically, the ruling stated that Vivendi Universal and its affiliates (including Sierra) were not authorized to distribute Valve games, either directly or indirectly, through cyber caf(C)s to end users for pay-to-play activities pursuant to the parties' current publishing agreement. In addition, Judge Zilly ruled that Valve could recover copyright damages for infringements without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.[15] Valve posted on the Steam website that the two companies had come to a settlement in court on April 29, 2005.[16]Electronic Arts announced on July 18, 2005 they would be teaming up with Valve in a multi-year deal to distribute their games, replacing Vivendi Universal from then onwards.[17] As a result of the trial, the arbitrator also awarded Valve $2,391,932.

Valve Corporation vs. Activision Blizzard, Inc.In April 2009, Valve sued Activision Blizzard, which acquired Sierra Entertainment after a merger with its parent company, Vivendi Universal Games. Activision had allegedly refused to honor the Valve vs Vivendi arbitration agreement. Activision had only paid Valve $1,967,796 of the $2,391,932 award, refusing to pay the remaining $424,136 claiming it had overpaid that sum in the past years.[18]

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. vs. Valve CorporationShortly after Valve filed its trademark for "Dota" to secure the franchising rights for Dota 2, DotA-Allstars, LLC, run by former contributors to the games's predecessor, Defense of the Ancients, filed an opposing trademark in August 2010.[19] DotA All-Stars, LLC was sold to Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of DotA's platform Warcraft III and its world editor, in 2011. After the opposition was overruled in Valve's favor, Blizzard itself filed an opposition against Valve in November 2011, citing their license agreement with developers, as well as their ownership of DotA-Allstars, LLC.[20] On May 11, 2012, Blizzard and Valve announced that the dispute had been settled. Valve retained the rights to the term "Dota" commercially, while Blizzard reserved the right for fans to use the trademark non-commercially, and changed the name of their StarCraft II map, Blizzard DOTA, to "Blizzard All-Stars".[21]Blizzard All-Stars was adapted into a stand-alone game and renamed "Heroes of the Storm" on October 17, 2013.[22]

GamesOther ongoing projectsSteamValve announced its games platform Steam in 2002. At the time it looked merely to be a method of streamlining the patch process common in online video games, but was later revealed as a replacement for much of the framework of the World Opponent Network service and also as a distribution/digital rights management system for entire games.

Valve has shown support for some of their games.[vague] For example, Valve has offered considerable updates for Team Fortress 2; including adding new maps, new game modes, additional weapons, new achievements, and additional game play mechanics, as well adding a store which sells in-game items. All such updates, with the exception of the aforementioned in-game items, are mandatory, and provided free of charge.

As of July 2014, there are over 3,400 games available on Steam, and in January 2014 Valve announced that it had surpassed 75 million active user accounts.[30]

On August 1, 2012, Valve Corporation announced revisions to the Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA) to prohibit class actionlawsuits by users against the service provider.

Alongside these changes to the SSA, the company also declared publicly the incorporation of Valve S.a.r.l., a subsidiary based in Luxembourg.[31][32] Valve set up a physical office in Luxembourg Kirchberg, according to Valve's project manager Mike Dunkle, the location was chosen for eCommerce capabilities and infrastructure, talent acquisition, tax advantages and its central geographic locations '' most major partners are accessible with 50% within driving distance.[33]

Valve S.A.R.L is used to sell games to United Kingdom''based users to avoid paying the full 20% VAT.[34] The tax loophole was expected to be closed on January 1, 2015.[35]

Steam MachineNewell has been critical of the direction that Microsoft has taken with the Windows operating system in making it a closed architecture similar to Apple's products, and has stated that he believes that with changes made in Windows 8 are "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space".[36] Newell identified the open-source Linux platform as an ideal platform for Steam, noting that the only thing holding back its adoption is the lack of games.[36]

In 2012, Valve announced that they were working on a console/PC hybrid for the living room which was unofficially dubbed by media as the "Steam Box".[37][38] A precursor to such a unit is SteamOS, a freely available Linux-based operating system that builds upon the Steam client functionality that includes media services, live streaming across home networks, game sharing within families, and parental controls. SteamOS was officially announced in September 2013 as the first of several announcements related to the Steam Machine platform[39] as well as their unique game controller.[3] In early Summer, 2014, Valve announced that the company's own SteamOS-powered Steam Machine would be delayed until 2015 due to problems with the game controller.[40]

PipelineIn July 2013, Valve officially announced Pipeline, an intern project consisting of ten high school students working together to learn how to create video game content.[41] Pipeline serves a dual purpose:

to discuss and answer questions that teenagers often ask about the video game industry[42]to see if it is possible to train a group of teenagers with minimal work experience to work for a company like Valve[42]The latter purpose breaks Valve's tradition of employing experienced developers, as the company is not very good at "teaching people straight out of school".[42][43]

J. J. Abrams collaborationAt the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit, Gabe Newell confirmed that he and director J.J. Abrams were collaborating to produce a Half-Life or Portal film, as well as a possible new game.[44]

Organizational structure"Valve Time" "Valve Time" is an industry term used jokingly with game releases from Valve, used to acknowledge the difference between the promised date for released content stated by Valve and to the actual release date; "Valve Time" includes predominant delays but also includes some content that was released earlier than expected. Valve itself has fully acknowledged the term, including tracking known discrepancies between ideal and actual releases on their public development wiki[51] and using it in announcements about such delays.[52][53] Valve ascribes their delays to their mentality of team-driven initiatives over corporate deadlines to make sure they provide a high-quality product to their customers.[54] Valve's former business development chief Jason Holtman stated that the company sees themselves as an "oddity" in an industry that looks towards punctual delivery of products; instead, Valve "[tries] as hard as we can to make the best thing possible in the right time frame and get people content they want to consume. And if that takes longer, that's fine."[55] For that, Valve takes the concept of "Valve Time" as a compliment, and that "having customers consistently looking at our property or something you've done and saying, can you give me more" is evidence that they are making the right decisions with their game releases, according to Holtman.[55] The company does try to avoid unintentional delays of their projects,[56] and believes that the earlier occurrences of "Valve Time" delays, primarily from Half-Life development, has helped them improve their release schedules.[54]

References^Wingfield, Nick (8 September 2012). "Game Maker Without a Rule Book". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2012. ^Dudley, Brier (2013-11-04). "A glimpse of Valve's Steam Machine, controller design and hardware plans". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-11-04. ^ ab"Steam Message". Steam. Valve Corporation. 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2008-11-08. it was exactly eleven years ago that Valve was born ^Towns, William R. (2005-03-09). "Valve Corporation v. ValveNET, Inc., ValveNET, Inc., Charles Morrin Case No. D2005-0038". WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^"Washington Secretary of State". Retrieved 2010-04-25. ^Biessener, Adam (2010-10-13). "Valve's New Game Announced, Detailed: Dota 2". Game Informer. Retrieved 2012-10-08. ^"Source Filmmaker". Source Filmmaker. Retrieved 31 March 2013. ^"Valve Acquires Turtle Rock Studios" (Press release). Valve Corporation. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10. ^Palumbo, Jeff (2010-04-08). "Valve Becomes the New March Mayhem: Developer's Showdown Champion". escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-04-24. ^Hing, David (2012-12-17). "Valve acquires or hires Star Filled Studios". bit-gamer.net. Bit-tech.net. Retrieved 2013-08-31. ^Reilly, Luke (August 7, 2013). "Valve's San Francisco Remote Office Shut Down". IGN. ^"Playable Version of Half-Life 2 Stolen". CNN Money. 2003-10-07. Retrieved February 14, 2007. ^Leyden, John (2011-11-09). "Steam games forum down amid hack fears". The Register. Retrieved 2011-11-10. ^Feldman, Curt (2004-09-20). "Valve vs. Vivendi Universal dogfight heats up in US District Court". GameSpot. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^Steam "Valve and Vivendi Universal Games Settle Lawsuit" (Press release). Valve Corporation. 2005-04-29. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^"EA and Valve Team Up to Deliver Half Life to Gamers Worldwide". Electronic Arts Inc. 2005-07-18. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^"It's Ugly: Valve Sues Activision, Activision Threatens to Sue Valve". gamepolitics.com. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-05-01. Against that backdrop, Activision cut Valve a check last week for $1,967,796'--the amount handed down by the arbitrator less the disputed $424K. According to Valve's suit, Activision said that it wouldn't pay the rest and if Valve went to court Activision would countersue. Valve has apparently called Activision's bluff and the parties are now once again at odds. ^Augustine, Josh (2010-08-17). "Riot Games' dev counter-files "DotA" trademark". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2011-08-19. ^Plunkett, Luke (2012-02-10). "Blizzard and Valve go to War Over DOTA Name". Kotaku. ^Reilly, Jim (2012-05-11). "Valve, Blizzard Reach DOTA Trademark Agreement". Game Informer. ^Narcisse, Evan (October 17, 2013). "Blizzard's Diablo/Starcraft/WoW Crossover Has a New Name". Kotaku. ^"Valve were making a fairy RPG before Left 4 Dead | Interviews, News". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2013-03-23. ^Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar. Prima Games. 2004. p. 10. ISBN 0-7615-4364-3. ^"Valve SOB Project Was Called 'Stars of Blood'". ValveTime.net. 11 November 2012. ^"Gabe Newell On Valve's "SOB": "'Stars of Blood' Was An Internal Project That Never Saw The Light of Day"". LambdaGeneration. 12 November 2012. ^"Marc Laidlaw On The Cancelled Half-Life Spin-offs: Return To Ravenholm And "Episode Four"". LambdaGeneration. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013. ^Savage, Phil (15 January 2013). "Half-Life 2: Episode 4 was being developed by Arkane; now cancelled". PC Gamer. Retrieved 8 July 2014. ^O'Conner, Alice (15 May 2009). "Arkane and Valve's 'The Crossing' on Hold". Shacknews. Retrieved 11 June 2013. ^"Steam has 75 million active users, Valve announces at Dev Days". Joystiq. 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-07-11. ^"Steam's Sub Agreement Prohibits Class-Action Lawsuits". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2012-08-03. ^"Updated Steam Subscriber Agreement". Valve Corporation. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2012-08-03. ^Valve Software Latest Gaming Company to Set Up in Luxembourg. Chronicle.lu (2012-09-04). Retrieved on 2014-05-23.^Karmali, Luke. (2014-03-25) Steam, Amazon and iTunes Prices Could Rise in UK. IGN. Retrieved on 2014-05-23.^Chapple, Craig. (2014-03-25) UK closing tax loophole on Steam game downloads | Latest news from the game development industry | Develop. Develop-online.net. Retrieved on 2014-05-23.^ abCrabtree, Dan (July 25, 2012). "Gabe Newell: "Windows 8 Is Kind of a Catastrophe"". IGN. Retrieved September 24, 2013. ^Davies, Marsh (9 December 2012). "Valve confirms Steam Box '' a "very controlled" PC for the living room". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 April 2013. ^Newman, Jared (18 March 2013). "Valve's Steam Box: The plot thickens for PC-based game consoles". PC World. Retrieved 21 April 2013. ^Kohler, Chris (2013-09-23). "Valve Continues Its War on Game Consoles With Steam Operating System". Wired. Retrieved 2013-09-23. ^Vaughn-Nichols, Steven J. (2014-05-28). "Valve Steam Machines delayed until 2015". ZDNet. Retrieved 2014-06-03. ^"Pipeline '-- About Us". Valve. Retrieved 13 September 2013. ^ abc"Pipeline '-- Home". pipeline.valvesoftware.com. Valve Corporation. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013. Why is Valve doing this? There are two main reasons that Valve is creating Pipeline. The first is that we are frequently asked questions by teenagers about the videogame industry. "What is it like to work on videogames? What should I study? What colleges are best for preparing me? How do I get a job in videogames?" Pipeline will be a place where those questions can be discussed. The second is that Valve is running an experiment. Traditionally Valve has been a very good place for very experienced videogame developers, and not so good at teaching people straight out of school (the reasons for this and the tradeoffs are covered in the Valve employee handbook). Pipeline is an experiment to see if we can take a group of high school students with minimal work experience and train them in the skills and methods necessary to be successful at a company like Valve.What is the objective of the website itself? We want to establish a connection to the world of teenagers that are asking many questions about getting into the gaming industry. We look to answer many of these questions and are willing to reach out to the community and give them the information they need.Why Pipeline? The name 'Pipeline' was chosen for its industrial connection with names like Valve and Steam, as well as its definition's notion of connection, direction, outreach, and supply. Valve is often asked questions such as "how do I get from where I am now to working at a professional level in a video game company like Valve?" Naturally, like a pipeline, the journey is long, but the goal of this project is to act as a direct feed of knowledge from Valve to the community in order to help equip individuals ith the skills necessary to achieve their goals of getting into the video game industry. We will supply information on a variety of different fields prompted by public demand. Information will come in the form of interviews with professionals and resources on this website, displaying the variety of ways that you can achieve your goals. ^ ab"Valve Handbook for New Employees". Valve Corporation. Retrieved 1 September 2013. ^"LambdaGeneration 2.0 - Coming Soon". Lambdageneration.com. Retrieved 2013-08-31. ^Suddath, Claire (April 25, 2012). "What Makes Valve Software the Best Office Ever?". Business Week. ^Suddath, Claire (April 27, 2012). "Why ThereAre No Bosses At Valve". Business Week. ^Petitte, Omri (13 February 2013). "Valve lays off several employees in hardware, mobile teams [Updated]". PCGamer.com. PCGamer. Retrieved 16 February 2013. ^Varoufakis, Yanis (3 August 2012). "Why Valve? Or, what do we need corporations for and how does Valve's management structure fit into today's corporate world?". Valve Economics. Retrieved 12 August 2012. ^Hern, Alex (August 3, 2012). "Valve Software: free marketeer's dream, or nightmare?". New Statesman. ^Warr, Philippa (2013-07-09). "Former Valve Employee: 'It Felt a Lot Like High School'". Wired. Retrieved 2013-10-08. ^"Valve Time". Valve Corporation. Retrieved 2010-06-09. ^Kohler, Chris (2010-06-09). "Valve Delays Portal 2 to 2011". Wired. Retrieved 2010-06-09. ^de Matos, Xav (18 November 2010). "Portal 2 Delayed to 'The Week of April 18'". Shacknews. Retrieved 18 November 2010. ^ abRemo, Chris (2010-02-24). "Valve's Faliszek: Team Self-Determination Drives Left 4 Dead 2 DLC Strategy". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-09. ^ abYin-Poole, Wesley (2012-07-12). "Valve on Valve Time: "It's charming. It's kind of a compliment."". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2012-07-12. ^Nutt, Christian (2009-11-12). "Q&A: Valve's Swift On Left 4 Dead 2's Production, AI Boost". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-09. External links

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Archived Version

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:55

The new rules would prohibit speeding up, slowing down or blocking broadband Internet traffic, under a rule that dates back to the early days of the telephone business.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is ready to shake up the Internet.

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, will reclassify broadband as a utility to protect the open Internet.CNET/Marguerite Reardon

Wheeler confirmed on Wednesday that the final rules he is proposing for Net neutrality will include regulating wired and wireless broadband services under utility-style rules based on Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

Title II has the potential to radically change how the Internet is governed, giving the FCC unprecedented authority over the Internet. The provision originally gave the FCC the power to set rates and enforce the common carrier principle, or the idea that every customer is treated fairly, on telephone service. Wheeler hopes to apply that principle to Internet traffic, ensuring that the broadband providers can't favor one bit of data over another.

In an op-ed published on Wired.com, Wheeler said that the new rules will ban paid prioritization, plus reinstate rules that had been part of the previous open Internet regulation, such as banning an Internet service provider from blocking traffic and a ban on allowing Internet service providers to slow down access to content on the Internet to favor their own services.

The proposal will face opposition, and likely legal challenges. The broadband industry, which includes telecom, mobile and cable providers, have argued that the more stringent rules will stifle network investment and strangle innovation. Michael Powell, a former Republican chairman of the FCC who is now CEO of lobbyist trade group the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said in 2013 that any attempt to reclassify broadband under Title II amounts to "World War III."

Wheeler tried to allay fears of broadband providers. He said that the agency is proposing exempting broadband from certain provisions of the Title II regulation that he says do not make sense for the Internet.

"All of this can be accomplished while encouraging investment in broadband networks," he said in the op-ed. "To preserve incentives for broadband operators to invest in their networks, my proposal will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks."

He said there would be no rate regulation, tariffs or last-mile unbundling. He pointed to the wireless industry as an example of how this could work effectively.

"Over the last 21 years, the wireless industry has invested almost $300 billion under similar rules, proving that modernized Title II regulation can encourage investment and competition," he said.

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Archived Version

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 19:03

After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments, the time to settle the Net Neutrality question has arrived. This week, I will circulate to the members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new rules to preserve the internet as an open platform for innovation and free expression. This proposal is rooted in long-standing regulatory principles, marketplace experience, and public input received over the last several months.

Broadband network operators have an understandable motivation to manage their network to maximize their business interests. But their actions may not always be optimal for network users. The Congress gave the FCC broad authority to update its rules to reflect changes in technology and marketplace behavior in a way that protects consumers. Over the years, the Commission has used this authority to the public's great benefit.

The internet wouldn't have emerged as it did, for instance, if the FCC hadn't mandated open access for network equipment in the late 1960s. Before then, AT&T prohibited anyone from attaching non-AT&T equipment to the network. The modems that enabled the internet were usable only because the FCC required the network to be open.

Companies such as AOL were able to grow in the early days of home computing because these modems gave them access to the open telephone network.

I personally learned the importance of open networks the hard way. In the mid-1980s I was president of a startup, NABU: The Home Computer Network. My company was using new technology to deliver high-speed data to home computers over cable television lines. Across town Steve Case was starting what became AOL. NABU was delivering service at the then-blazing speed of 1.5 megabits per second'--hundreds of times faster than Case's company. ''We used to worry about you a lot,'' Case told me years later.

But NABU went broke while AOL became very successful. Why that is highlights the fundamental problem with allowing networks to act as gatekeepers.

While delivering better service, NABU had to depend on cable television operators granting access to their systems. Steve Case was not only a brilliant entrepreneur, but he also had access to an unlimited number of customers nationwide who only had to attach a modem to their phone line to receive his service. The phone network was open whereas the cable networks were closed. End of story.

The phone network's openness did not happen by accident, but by FCC rule. How we precisely deliver that kind of openness for America's broadband networks has been the subject of a debate over the last several months.

Originally, I believed that the FCC could assure internet openness through a determination of ''commercial reasonableness'' under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. While a recent court decision seemed to draw a roadmap for using this approach, I became concerned that this relatively new concept might, down the road, be interpreted to mean what is reasonable for commercial interests, not consumers.

That is why I am proposing that the FCC use its Title II authority to implement and enforce open internet protections.

Using this authority, I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC. These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. I propose to fully apply'--for the first time ever'--those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone's permission.

All of this can be accomplished while encouraging investment in broadband networks. To preserve incentives for broadband operators to invest in their networks, my proposal will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks. For example, there will be no rate regulation, no tariffs, no last-mile unbundling. Over the last 21 years, the wireless industry has invested almost $300 billion under similar rules, proving that modernized Title II regulation can encourage investment and competition.

Congress wisely gave the FCC the power to update its rules to keep pace with innovation. Under that authority my proposal includes a general conduct rule that can be used to stop new and novel threats to the internet. This means the action we take will be strong enough and flexible enough not only to deal with the realities of today, but also to establish ground rules for the as yet unimagined.

The internet must be fast, fair and open. That is the message I've heard from consumers and innovators across this nation. That is the principle that has enabled the internet to become an unprecedented platform for innovation and human expression. And that is the lesson I learned heading a tech startup at the dawn of the internet age. The proposal I present to the commission will ensure the internet remains open, now and in the future, for all Americans.

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Archived Version

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 20:12

Today, in a statement given to Wired, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler revealed his plan to reclassify ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Telcommunications Act. It's a striking victory for net neutrality advocates who have been fighting for years to solidify internet protections using Title II authority '-- and it's the first time the FCC has shown enough backbone to draw a line in the sand against companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon, who are sure to fight viciously in courts to reverse this action.

"I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC," Wheeler wrote. "These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services."

"My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want."

The biggest revelation from the proposal is the decision to lump wireless networks in with wired broadband, something the FCC has avoided doing for years thanks to enormous pressure from Verizon and AT&T. "I propose to fully apply '-- for the first time ever '-- those bright-line rules to mobile broadband," Wheeler wrote. "My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone's permission." Including wireless providers in the rules is a hugely important move, since we've seen that the biggest players have been willing and able to abuse internet openness. AT&T once blocked FaceTime for completely arbitrary reasons, and most recently, T-Mobile has disregarded the principles of net neutrality by giving some music companies special exemptions from data caps.

Wheeler specifically calls out AT&T in his statement as justification for the kind of regulation the FCC now seeks, noting that the internet as we know it wouldn't exist if the commission had not established open access rules in the 1960s. "Before then, AT&T prohibited anyone from attaching non-AT&T equipment to the network," Wheeler wrote. "The modems that enabled the internet were usable only because the FCC required the network to be open."

"The modems that enabled the internet were usable only because the FCC required the network to be open."

The FCC has tried to establish rules for net neutrality for more than a decade. In 2002, instead of using the strong authority granted under Title II of the revised Telecommunications Act, the FCC caved to the ISPs and instead classified them as Title I "information service providers." Then, the FCC tried to regulate ISPs like Title II common carriers anyway, forcing federal courts to side with ISPs who accused the FCC of going beyond its authority.

But even though the FCC has been shot down in court for shoehorning open internet rules under Title I, the government has shown sympathy for net neutrality regulation; the judge in the Verizon case noted that "broadband providers represent a threat to internet openness." With the death of net neutrality in that ruling, it also appeared the FCC would be a threat to internet openness. As it began to consider a new plan after its defeat, Wheeler suggested last year that the commission would consider allowing ISPs to sell "fast lanes." But after a huge public outcry that included a total of 3.7 million comments sent to the FCC on net neutrality, the commission is set to seek stronger protections.

The chairman's proposal was expected to be circulated to commissioners tomorrow, but Wheeler got ahead of it today by detailing his plan. "After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments," Wheeler wrote, "the time to settle the net neutrality question has arrived."

Welcome to World War III

The proposal still needs to be voted on by the FCC on February 26th, but with only two Republican opponents on the five member commission it faces no serious threat of failure internally. Congress, on the other hand, may attempt to undermine the FCC's authority with legislation.

There's also still a lot of important information we don't have yet about how Title II will be implemented, though the proposal is still likely to be leaked soon. When it does, we'll find out exactly how the FCC plans to "modernize" use of the authority, including which provisions it will forbear '-- a necessary step to make sure ISPs aren't saddled with rules that make no sense for the internet.

So that's it. After more than a decade of using the wrong words to protect net neutrality, the FCC is using the right ones. And with the telecommunications giants already revealing their legal strategy to fight it, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell's warning that reclassification would result in "World War III" is looking prescient. A new battle begins.

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Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:42

In a blow to the constitutional rights of citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Heien v. State of North Carolina that police officers are permitted to violate American citizens' Fourth Amendment rights if the violation results from a ''reasonable'' mistake about the law on the part of police. Acting contrary to the venerable principle that ''ignorance of the law is no excuse,'' the Court ruled that evidence obtained by police during a traffic stop that was not legally justified can be used to prosecute the person if police were reasonably mistaken that the person had violated the law. The Rutherford Institute had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hold law enforcement officials accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court's lone dissenter, warned that the court's ruling ''means further eroding the Fourth Amendment's protection of civil liberties in a context where that protection has already been worn down.''

''By refusing to hold police accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law, the Supreme Court has given government officials a green light to routinely violate the law,'' said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of the award-winning book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. ''This case may have started out with an improper traffic stop, but where it will end'--given the turbulence of our age, with its police overreach, military training drills on American soil, domestic surveillance, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, wrongful convictions, and corporate corruption'--is not hard to predict. This ruling is what I would call a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to the police state.''

In April 2009, a Surry County (N.C.) law enforcement officer stopped a car traveling on Interstate 77, allegedly because of a brake light which, at first, failed to illuminate and then flickered on. The officer mistakenly believed that state law prohibited driving a car with one broken brake light. In fact, the state traffic law requires only one working brake light. Nevertheless, operating under a mistaken understanding of the law, during the course of the stop, the officer asked for permission to search the car. Nicholas Heien, the owner of the vehicle, granted his consent to a search. Upon the officer finding cocaine in the vehicle, he arrested and charged Heien with trafficking. Prior to his trial, Heien moved to suppress the evidence seized in light of the fact that the officer's pretext for the stop was erroneous and therefore unlawful. Although the trial court denied the motion to suppress evidence, the state court of appeals determined that, since the police officer had based his initial stop of the car on a mistaken understanding of the law, there was no valid reason for the stop in the first place. On appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that even though the officer was wrong in concluding that the inoperable brake light was an offense, because the officer's mistake was a ''reasonable'' one, the stop of the car did not violate the Fourth Amendment and the evidence resulting from the stop did not need to be suppressed. In weighing in on the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Rutherford Institute attorneys warn against allowing government agents to ''benefit'' from their mistakes of law, deliberate or otherwise, lest it become an incentive for abuse.

Affiliate attorney Christopher F. Moriarty assisted The Rutherford Institute in advancing the arguments in the amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Source

Click here to read The Rutherford Institute's amicus brief in Heien v. State of North Carolina

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He is the author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State and The Change Manifesto.

Courtesy of Freedom Outpost.

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Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:47

Copyright 2015 ReutersTechnology ' January 28, 2015 1:32 AMJanuary 28, 2015 1:32 AM

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Sat, 31 Jan 2015 13:45

Canada's very own intel agency has a program designed to track millions of downloads, according to the latest revelations from the Edward Snowden document leaks.

The "Levitation" system gives analysts at the Communications Security Establishment (Canada's NSA) data on between 10-15 million uploads and downloads of files from free websites every day.

Canadian spies can access data from 102 free file upload sites, but only three file-host companies (Sendspace, Rapidshare and the now-defunct Megaupload) are actually named in the leaked PowerPoint document, which was created in 2012.

Sendspace told CBC News that "no organization has the ability/permission to trawl/search Sendspace for data". The firm said it wouldn't disclose user identities unless legally mandated.

The leaked documents said that access to data comes from a "special source", terminology used elsewhere in the Snowden docs to refer to co-operation with telecom carriers and ISPs. This source is codenamed Atomic Banjo.

File-sharing websites are used to share photos, videos and other documents. Cyber-lockers might also be used to share copyrighted-protected content, such as music and movies.

Extremists also use file-sharing sites to exchange propaganda and training materials. So, analysing file uploads and downloads offers a potential mechanism to pinpoint previously unidentified terrorist suspects or plots.

To identify this needle in the haystack, spies are obliged to sift through a vast volume of irrelevant material, including the inevitable episodes of Glee, according to the leaked documents.

Analysts find 350 "interesting download events" each month which are subjected to further scrutiny, including metadata analysis. Data harvested by Levitation is cross-referenced with other databases set up by the "Five Eyes" spying alliance in order to link identities to IP addresses.

Levitation enabled the discovery of a German hostage video through a previously unknown target as well as an uploaded document that gave an insight into the hostage strategy of a terrorist organisation up until 2012, according to two successes cited in the leaked documents.

Megaupload kingpin Kim Dotcom latched onto the leak as something that might help in the ongoing copyright infringement case against his defunct cyber-locker service. "Our lawyers will seek orders from Canadian Courts to get access to CSE 'ª#Megaupload'¬ spy reports. Exculpatory evidence for our criminal case," he said on Twitter.

Canada is generally seen a junior partner in the Five Eyes spying partnership, which includes the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia. The country has been a guest star in the ongoing Snowden files with the NSA and GCHQ being the main players.

CSE has previously featured, with revelations last year that it slurped airport passengers' Wi-Fi data.

According to the leaked docs Canada apparently shares data from its upload surveillance tool with other allies (Spain, Brazil, Germany and Portugal) beyond the usual suspects. CSE is supposed to mask the identities of untargeted Canadians caught up in its file-sharing surveillance dragnet before sharing the data with its foreign intelligence partners and law enforcement agencies.

The leaked documents date from 2012. The move by file-locker services to crypto-by-default https connections would drastically reduce the efficacy of an unmodified Levitation if it was operating today.

The Intercept's take on the Levitation leak can be found here.

Even critics of mass surveillance in general were prepared to give the design of Levitation some credit. "Global surveillance represents a danger to democracy, but if you are going to build it, LEVITATION is a good example of how to use it well," said University of California at Berkeley computer scientist Nicholas Weaver in a Twitter update. ®

Sponsored:10 ways wire data helps conquer IT complexity

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Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:42

The Myanmar-China oil pipeline has been officially inaugurated in a ceremony involving government and business representative from China and Myanmar, according to state news agency Xinhua

Trial operations were launched at a ceremony yesterday in Yangon attended by U Nyan Tun, Myanmar vice president, Yang Houlan, the Chinese ambassador to Myanmar, U Zay Ya Aung, Myanmar energy minister, and Liao Yongyuan, general manager of CNPC.

China, the world's largest oil importer, hopes to use the new pipeline to diversify its sources of crude and to short-cut transmission routes from the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Construction of the pipeline began in June 2010 and was completed in May last year.

CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) holds the majority interest in the project with 50.9 per cent, and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) holding the remaining 49.1 per cent.

The pipeline measures 771 kilometres and has a projected transmission capacity of 22 million tons of oil per year.

A deepwater terminal in the Myanmarese port of Madae Island has received the first large oil tanker of 300,000 tons and will be opened in a separate ceremony tomorrow

The combined China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project comprises a crude oil pipeline and a gas pipeline. The gas pipeline was opened in 2013 and has, as of 25 January 2015, transported 3.92 billion cubic metres of gas from Myanmar to China.

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 07:10

Just a few years ago, it was all a baseless ''conspiracy theory.'' Now, promotion of a European Union-style merger between the United States, Mexico, and Canada is being shouted from the rooftops '-- by U.S. taxpayer-funded globalists writing in the very same media outlet, CNN, that tried to ridicule GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul over the North American Union issue just a few years ago. Indeed, according to the recent opinion piece by two mid-level operatives for the ''New America Foundation,'' the future of the United States does not rest with the U.S. Constitution, ''We the People,'' or even the Supreme Court. Instead, it ''lies in North America,'' claimed New America's Andr(C)s Martinez and Daniel Kurtz-Phelan.

''This is not a geographic truism, but a strategic imperative,'' the duo argued. ''The United States, Canada and Mexico are bound by a shared economic, environmental, demographic and cultural destiny.'' In recognition of what they refer to as North America's ''shared destiny,'' Martinez and Kurtz-Phelan propose the establishment of what they call a ''North American passport.'' The radical passport scheme would eventually facilitate the erasing of U.S. borders in exchange for ''North American'' borders '-- a plot that has been underway for years with the ''Beyond the Border'' initiative and other schemes. ''Much like the EU passport,'' the tax-funded globalists wrote, the new North American passport would ultimately allow citizens to ''travel, work, invest, learn and innovate anywhere in North America.''

Apparently, at least in the minds of globalists paid with Americans' tax dollars, the economies of the United States, Mexico, and Canada are ''far more integrated'' than recognized by the current immigration system '-- or lack thereof, in light of Obama's imperial decrees purporting to nullify U.S. immigration laws. So, phasing out U.S., Mexican, and Canadian passports and replacing them with a single North American one would merely serve to ''align our laws with reality.'' Of course, it is true that, thanks largely to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. sovereignty has already suffered a severe blow. Unelected North American ''tribunals,'' for instance, already purport to overrule state and federal laws enacted by the American people's elected representatives. North American bureaucracies are proliferating, too.

However, Martinez and Kurtz-Phelan claim to view the subversive attack on the independence of the American Republic as a positive development. NAFTA, they explained, ''has created an integrated manufacturing platform and labor market.'' But it must go much further, the ''New America'' duo argued, exploiting any conceivable pretext to eliminate self-government and national sovereignty. ''This potential must be leveraged regionally, with cross-border infrastructure investments and environmental planning,'' they wrote after discussing oil production in the ''North American region.'' Apparently, corruption-riddled and Big Government-plagued Mexico is America's ''lynchpin'' to ''relations with the countries of Central and South America.'' So, they argued, give up your sovereignty and merge with Mexico!

''The inception of NAFTA marked an important step toward leveraging these geographic realities for a shared North American success,'' continued Martinez, who resigned from the Los Angeles Times amid a scandal, and Kurtz-Phelan, a former policy adviser on then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's staff. ''But the promise of NAFTA has fallen short in a critical respect; while trade and investment have grown, the barriers to movement have remained too high for the people who help drive and stand to benefit from that growth.''

Of course, both globalists know full well that the people of all three countries would overwhelmingly reject any such scheming '-- probably laughing them out of the room as kooks, if not seeking prosecutions for trying to surreptitiously subvert the independence of their own nations. So the people must be defied. ''As evidenced by the recent political firestorm over President Obama's executive move to allow more undocumented workers to avoid deportation, it would take farsighted and courageous political leadership in all three countries to press for a North American passport,'' they wrote, as if defying the Constitution, the oath of office to uphold it, and the will of the people somehow represented ''courage'' rather than lawlessness. In fact, they argued that abolishing the borders between the United States and its neighbors would ''help alleviate our contentious domestic immigration battles.''

The fact that the radical anti-sovereignty screed promoting deeper North American integration was published by CNN, though, is especially ironic. During the 2007 GOP presidential debates, CNN selected a question for Ron Paul asking him if he really believed in the ''conspiracy theory'' about ongoing efforts to build a North American Union. The effort to ridicule Paul backfired, big time, after he offered an excellent answer making the questioner look foolish. But the attempt did not go unnoticed. Some years later, official U.S. government documents from the embassy in Canada leaked by WikiLeaks revealed that long before that debate, top federal officials were working hard with their counterparts in Canada on plots to create a regional currency, subvert national constitutions, and eventually create a North American regime.

More recently, after spending years dishonestly dismissing criticism of their machinations as ''conspiracy theories,'' top globalists have been much more open about the potentially treasonous plot. ''After America comes North America,'' disgraced former General and CIA boss David Petraeus said confidently last year in answering a question about what comes ''after'' the United States. ''Are we on the threshold of the North American decade, question mark? I threw that away '-- threw away the question mark '-- and boldly proclaimed the coming North American decade, says the title now.'' He also boasted about how the three economies have been put ''together'' over the last 20 years as part of the ''implementation'' of NAFTA. Globalist mouthpiece Henry Kissinger, meanwhile, recently outlined his vision of a ''New World Order'' that would first have to divide the globe up into regional regimes.

While much of the scheming has come from the global government-promoting Council on Foreign Relations, the taxpayer-funded New America Foundation appears to be playing a growing role in pushing the outlandish plot. Google boss Eric Schmidt, whose search engine stands accused of increasingly working to hide alternative media voices that oppose ''North America'' scheming, serves as chairman of the foundation's board of directors. The outfit's top funding sources included unwitting American taxpayers, forced to contribute more than $1 million '-- potentially much more, the foundation does not say '-- in 2013 alone through the U.S. State Department. Various other federal agencies also contributed taxpayer dollars. Another top source of funding was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, infamous for promoting abortion, population reduction, globalized and federalized education standards, and more. Bailed-out megabanks, globalist tax-exempt foundations (Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie, and more), billionaire extremist George Soros, the World Bank, Big Media, various tax-funded universities, and other sources also finance the outfit.

And as the name suggests, a ''New America'' is indeed what they are pushing for '-- a new America without self-government, individual rights, national sovereignty, or the principles upon which the old America was founded. Just consider the farewell address by America's first president, George Washington. ''It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,'' he told the young nation. Now, globalists are pushing not just for ''permanent alliances,'' but the outright surrender of U.S. independence to merge with ''North America'' and eventually, the world. The scheming has been underway for generations, mostly in the shadows. But, as the final phases approach, much of the agenda is now being touted openly in establishment media organs such as CNN and beyond.

Of course, The New American has been exposing the plot to surrender American independence to a continental regime for almost a decade. The founding father of the bid to impose a North American regime on the United States, Council on Foreign Relations operative Robert Pastor, even credited The John Birch Society, a constitutionalist organization and affiliate of this magazine, with stopping the plot. However, as recent developments show clearly, the extremist movement to subvert self-government and national sovereignty by powerful forces across North America is still alive and well. And unless the people of the United States, Canada, and Mexico get educated and organized to stop it, the threat of an EU-style continental regime to rule ''North America'' will continue to grow.

Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe after growing up in Latin America. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU. He can be reached at

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Related articles:

CFR Globalists Outline Strategy for ''North American Community''

''After America Comes North America,'' Gen. Petraeus Boasts

Globalist Henry Kissinger Outlines ''New World Order''

The EU: Regionalization Trumps Sovereignty

Obama EPA Funding Schemes in Mexico as ''Integration'' Proceeds

WikiLeaks Confirms North American Integration Scheme

North American Union: From NAFTA to the NAU

North American Integration Continues After Robert Pastor

U.S. Government and Top Mexican Drug Cartel Exposed as Partners

North American Union Moves Closer After Trilateral Summit

U.S. & Canada Agree to Common "Perimeter"

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 16:22

Report: Secret 'Talks About Talks' Taking Place Between U.S. and North Korea

Despite raised tensions between the U.S. and North Korea recently, there are secret "talks about talks" taking place behind the scenes between the two countries, according to a new report.

"The United States and North Korea have been actively discussing the possibility of returning to denuclearization talks, raising the prospect of a new round of diplomacy even as Washington takes a tougher line against Pyongyang.

"The countries' nuclear envoys have been discussing the idea of 'talks about talks,' according to multiple people with knowledge of the conversations. But they have not been able to agree on the logistics '-- in no small part because of North Korea's continuing Ebola quarantine," reports the Washington Post.

''We want to test if they have an interest in resuming negotiations,'' a senior U.S. administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. ''I think we've made it very clear that we would like to see them take some steps first.''

Those steps would include suspending work at North Korea's nuclear facilities and pledging not to conduct any further nuclear tests, he said.

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 19:25

A TSA agent convicted of stealing more than $800,000 worth of goods from travelers said this type of theft is ''commonplace'' among airport security. Almost 400 TSA officers have been fired for stealing from passengers since 2003.

Pythias Brown, a former Transportation Security Administration officer at Newark Liberty International Airport, spent four years stealing everything he could from luggage and security checkpoints, including clothing, laptops, cameras, Nintendo Wiis, video games and cash.

Speaking publicly for the first time after being released after three years in prison, Brown told ABC News that he used the X-ray scanners to locate the most valuable items to snatch.

''I could tell whether it was cameras or laptops or portable cameras or whatever kind of electronic was in the bag,'' he said.

Brown often worked alone, screening luggage behind the ticket counters. He was frequently told the overhead surveillance cameras, installed to prevent theft, were not working.

''It was so easy,'' he said. ''I walked right out of the checkpoint with a Nintendo Wii in my hand. Nobody said a word.''

With more electronics than any one individual could need, Brown began to sell the stolen items on eBay. At the time of his arrest, he was selling 80 cameras, video games and computers online. Brown said the theft was comparable to an addiction.

''It was like being on drugs,'' he said. ''I was like, 'What am I doing?' but the next day I was right back at it.''

Brown was finally caught after selling a camera he stole from the luggage of a CNN producer. When he sold the camera on eBay, he forgot to remove the news networks' logo stickers.

''I got complacent,'' he said.

Read more: http://rt.com/usa/tsa-stealing-from-travelers-358/

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:16

PORT ORANGE '-- A Central Florida mother faces child neglect charges after leaving her 6-year-old twin sons home alone.

Police say the eastern European native cited cultural differences after one of the boys was found wandering around a Port Orange apartment complex on Saturday evening.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the woman told officers she had gone to a gym and the boys knew her phone number.

She said that in Moldova, where she's from, a child can be left alone for up to three hours.

Police didn't arrest her.

But almost six hours later, police spotted the woman near the gym again. She told them the boys were sleeping and she had gone to retrieve her bike.

She was booked into jail and bonded out hours later on a $1,000 bond.

Copyright (C) 2015, Orlando Sentinel

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:16

NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The airplane departed on the local night flight in instrument flight rules conditions with 7 miles visibility and overcast clouds at 300 ft above ground level (agl). Radar data showed that the airplane departed the runway, made one flight around the traffic pattern, and landed 6 minutes later. The airplane departed again to the west, did not remain in the traffic pattern, and reached an altitude of 740 ft agl. The airplane made a left turn, which tightened as the airplane descended about 1,900 ft per minute. The airplane impacted a field and bounced one time before it came to rest upright. An onboard recording device (GoPro) was found near the wreckage and the files were recovered. Based on the available information, it is likely that the GoPro files were recorded on May 30 and May 31, 2014, with the final GoPro file recorded during the 6-minute flight in the traffic pattern. The accident flight was not recorded. The GoPro recordings revealed that the pilot and various passengers were taking self-photographs with their cell phones and, during the night flight, using the camera's flash function during the takeoff roll, initial climb, and flight in the traffic pattern. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the wreckage distribution, which was consistent with a high-speed impact, and the degraded visual reference conditions, it is likely that the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and lost control of the airplane. The evidence is consistent with an aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin into terrain. Based on the evidence of cell phone use during low-altitude maneuvering, including the flight immediately before the accident flight, it is likely that cell phone use during the accident flight distracted the pilot and contributed to the development of spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control. A review of the pilot's logbooks did not show that he met the currency requirements for flight in instrument meteorological conditions or night flight with passengers.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:03

ANKARA

Ankara has informed U.S. officials that the Turkish passport of Fethullah G¼len, a Pennsylvania-based Islamic scholar accused of building a ''parallel structure'' within the Turkish state seeking to topple to the government, has been canceled. The move comes as Turkey seeks to ramp up pressure on the U.S. to deport G¼len.

G¼len received his passport upon a ''false statement,'' so it was cancelled on Jan. 28, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 3. The report speculated that this could lead to G¼len's deportation if a similar false statement was used in his application for a U.S. Green Card, quoting Michelle Estlund, an American lawyer specializing on Red Bulletin issues, as well as Turkish lawyers.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly said that he wants the U.S. to deport G¼len, referring to coup and spying allegations against suspected sympathizers of his movement.

''I think his deportation, rather than his return to Turkey, would be appreciate,'' Erdoğan said in an interview broadcast on Jan. 30, calling on Washington to fulfil a task for its ''strategic partner'' Turkey.

The G¼len movement is accused of being behind Turkey's largest ever corruption probe that shook the country in December 2013, including allegations against Erdoğan's family members and a number of former ministers.

The case was subsequently quashed by courts and a parliamentary commission.

February/03/2015

PHOTO GALLERY

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:14

'Œ‚HomeMailSearchNewsSportsFinanceWeatherGamesAnswersScreenFlickrMobileMore'‹CelebrityMoviesMusicTVGroupsHealthStyleBeautyFoodParentingMakersTechShoppingTravelAutosHomesUpgrade to the new Firefox >>👤Sign In''‰Mail'šHelpAccount InfoHelpSuggestions

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:46

The SU Labs portfolio is comprised of companies at various levels of funding and development; all leveraging exponential technologies and targeting some of the most intractable problems in the world.

If you are interested in SU Companies' fundraising activities follow us on Angellist, attend one of our events or send us an email.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 08:19

We're a fiercely passionate community of entrepreneurs'¨ tackling humanity's grand challenges.

At Singularity University's Startup Lab we believe that by leveraging the power of exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, synthetic biology or digital fabrication (to name a few), combined with design thinking and empathy, some of the most intractable problems in this world are solvable.

We dedicate our efforts to the entrepreneurs who are positively impacting the world of tomorrow.

What is Singularity University?Singularity University is a benefit corporation that provides educational programs, innovative partnerships and a startup accelerator to help individuals, businesses, institutions, investors, NGOs and governments understand cutting-edge technologies, and how to utilize these technologies to positively impact billions of people.

Learn more at http://singularityu.org

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 08:16

Welcome to the first accelerator program built specifically for startups tackling humanity's grand challenges leveraging exponential technology.

The Startup Lab Experience

We need to be training people on how to change the world.Larry Page

In an intense hands-on 10-week experience on the Singularity University campus in the heart of Silicon Valley we will take startups from prototype or early proof-of-concept to scale. Starting with a one-week Bootcamp experience, the SU Startup Lab Accelerator team will guide you through four two-week long sprints, each focused on a different area of your business.

At each step along the way you will receive guidance, advice and feedback from some of the most accomplished experts in their respective fields, plug into Singularity University's programs and initiatives and meet with our Impact Partners and Fortune 500 companies. Weekly speaker series, share-outs and review session round up the overall experience.

>> Read more about the program structure on our blog.

We provide investment to give you runway throughout the program, a co-working space at NASA Research Park, a structured program offering and the best Singularity University has to offer '' all with the goal to help you build products positively impacting humanity at scale.

Coming in March 2015 '' Applications are closed.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:03

Greg Harkin

Published 01/02/2015 | 15:30

'Screen time' is apparently removing the very environment needed for children to develop their speech.The basic speech and social skills of thousands of Irish children of all ages are being hampered by increasing use of gadgets, experts have warned.

Social and language skills among some children at one school has been so disrupted by overuse of tablets and computers, it has hired a speech therapist to help.

One expert says he is even receiving queries from the worried parents of teenagers who rely so much on social media for communication that they can barely utter a word in normal day-to-day conversation.

Psychologist Ronan Maher, programme director with Cluas which helps children and adults with speech and language difficulties, says 'screen time' is removing the very environment needed for children to develop their speech.

''It's one of the first questions I would ask of a parent of a child experiencing speech difficulties,'' he said, ''how much time is their child spending on a screen of one sort or another.

''Of course it's not always the issue. It used to be just the television which took away conversation time among families but now it's gadgets as well.

''Some parents increasingly use gadgets as substitute baby-sitters and that's not good for the development of speech and language.

''The family environment is still the perfect environment for developing speech among children but it has changed unfortunately and it is something which needs to be addressed.''

Dublin-based speech and language therapist Dr Caroline Winstanley warned gadgets were affecting development skills of children in all areas.

''I see a lot of children and I do ask parents to limit time on gadgets,'' she said.

''I work closely with occupational therapists and what we are seeing more and more are children who spend so much time swiping on an iPad that they can't even hold a pencil.''

She also warned against seeing tablets as a magic aid for the treatment of autism.

Read more: Thinking of buying an iPad for your child for Christmas? Think again.

''It's almost the first thing people will say when they hear a child has autism - you must go and get an iPad,'' said Dr Winstanley.

''That is not the answer unless its use is restricted otherwise an autistic child will become locked in to the gadget and become more socially excluded.

''Gadget use can be beneficial but it cannot be unrestricted.''

Una McCool, who has been teaching three and four year olds for the past 21 years, said she has seen a decline in the speech and interaction skills of children.

''It is very sad to watch,'' she said.

''I've seen children playing with wooden blocks and they put them on the floor in the shape of a tablet and then swipe them as if they were real tablets.

''When those children play at a sand tray now they don't even speak to each other. Social skills have gone.''

Her school - the Model Primary in Derry City - has brought in a speech therapist to help.

''I know there was an argument a generation ago about children watching too much television, but the wide availability of gadgets now is much more intrusive into normal life,'' said Ms McCool.

''You will see children on gadgets now in supermarkets while their parents shop. the children should be helping with the shop, learning about food and colours, but that's rare now.

''Computers are a brilliant educational tool but it seems they have taken over completely a generation of children who don't speak to each other, don't speak to their family members and who never go outside on a bicycle or to kick a football. It's scary.''

Health authorities in Taiwan have become so frightened of the overuse of gadgets that the Government there this week banned their use by all children under the age of two.

The new criminal law comes with a '‚¬1,300 fine for parents who break the ban.

Guidelines also warned that all children under the age of 18 should have periods of time on gadgets limited to 30 minutes.

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 15:50

Boys are less likely to commit crimes but they are more likely to be placed in a correctional facility than they were three decades ago, according to a new study that shows the justice system for juvenile offenders has become much more punitive. The trends are particularly pronounced among boys from racial minorities, according to the paper by Tia Stevens Andersen of the University of South Carolina and Michigan State University's Merry Morash.

Although there were negligible differences among the racial groups in how frequently boys committed crimes, white boys were less likely to spend time in a facility than black and Hispanic boys who said they'd committed crimes just as frequently, as shown in the chart above. A black boy who told pollsters he had committed just five crimes in the past year was as likely to have been placed in a facility as a white boy who said he'd committed 40.

More recent statistics from the Department of Justice show that the juvenile justice system has continued to treat black boys more harshly. Although the overall number of cases in juvenile court has declined sharply since 2008, blacks still account for a third of cases in juvenile court, far more than their share of the population.

Advocates for children have long protested against what they describe as a "school-to-prison pipeline," in which strict discipline and arrests in classrooms damage children's long-term prospects, making them less likely to succeed in life and more likely to run afoul of the law in the future. A year ago, the Obama administration urged schools to reconsider zero-tolerance policies, which Attorney General Eric Holder said "have significant and lasting negative effects on the long-term well-being of our young people, increasing their likelihood of future contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems."

"Education and our prison system are very much connected, unfortunately," said Thena Robinson-Mock, an attorney who has represented children in juvenile proceedings.

The study provides new detail on how that pipeline evolved, showing that the disparities cannot be explained by different rates of criminality among racial and ethnic groups.

The study compared results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in 1980 and 2000, which is the latest date for which detailed data are available. Surveyors asked youth whether they had stolen, destroyed property, attacked someone or sold drugs in the last year. Of the boys between the ages of 15 and 18 surveyed in 1980, 59 percent said they had, compared to just 28 percent of similarly aged boys surveyed in 2000.

The later generation, however, was just as likely to have been charged with a crime, and if they were charged, they were dealt with more severely. Among those charged with a crime in the earlier cohort, 35 percent were diverted out of court and 49 percent were convicted, and of those boys, just a quarter were placed in a correctional facility. Of those surveyed in 2000, only 13 percent were diverted. Sixty-one percent were convicted, and 38 percent of those were imprisoned.

Robinson-Mock, who now works at The Advancement Project, a civil rights group, said that the increasing presence of police officers in schools meant that offenses that would have previously been dealt with in the principal's office are now handled at the precinct. One of her clients had been arrested after throwing a pencil at a teacher, she recalled.

The causes of the racial disparities are difficult to identify, said Andersen, one of the study's authors. Perhaps individual juvenile officers are making decisions with a level of racial prejudice, or perhaps boys of color lack legal representation that would help to win a more lenient decision in their cases.

Meanwhile, an annual survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health continues to find lower rates of drug use among blacks than whites, with rates for Hispanics in the middle.

"These 'get-tough' policies, they certainly affect all youth, but this shows that youth who are racial minorities bear the brunt," Andersen said.

Contact with the justice system can be devastating for the young. Criminologists have found that young people who are stopped by the police or arrested are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior and to be arrested again in the future, and that youths with a criminal record are less likely to finish high school and college, compared to otherwise similar peers.

Taken together, these findings raise questions about the purpose of the system of juvenile courts.

"The juvenile justice system, as we know, was designed to be a separate system that was more about rehabilitation, and addressing the root causes," Robinson-Mock said. "In practice, it's highly punitive."

Max Ehrenfreund is a blogger on the Financial desk and writes for Know More and Wonkblog.

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 15:49

Thanks to the Washington Post, we have new entry in what is surely the fastest-growing industry in academia: bogus studies that purport to show there is no difference between black and white rates of crime. The only difference comes from the big bad racist police, prosecutors, parole officers, judges, juries, reporters, editors and others who are also in on The Big Fix and relentlessly pick on black people, For No Reason What So Ever.

Even in black cities with black mayors, black police chiefs and black prosecutors -- like Washington.

This latest headline from the Post tells a shocking story: ''Black teens who commit a few crimes go to jail as often as white teens who commit dozens.''

Or it would be shocking if it were true. But it is not.

This headline, of course, flies in the face of numbers that show violent crime for black people is astronomically out of proportion: 5, 10, 50 times greater than crime rates for white people. Throw Asians into the mix, and you can multiply that by 10 times more.

Turns out, they are also in on The Big Fix: ''Although there were negligible differences among the racial groups in how frequently boys committed crimes, white boys were less likely to spend time in a facility than black and Hispanic boys who said they'd committed crimes just as frequently, as shown in the chart above,'' quoth the Post.

''Negligible differences among the racial groups?'' What? Where did that come from?

That gem of disbelief is contained in a study from Tia Stevens Andersen of the University of South Carolina and Michigan State University's Merry Morash.

And where did they get it? ''Surveyors (from the Department of Labor) asked youth whether they had stolen, destroyed property, attacked someone or sold drugs in the last year.''

In for a dime, in for a dollar: In another study quoted in the Post, ''An annual survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health continues to find lower rates of drug use among blacks than whites, with rates for Hispanics in the middle.''

Both studies rely on self-reporting, which itself is the subject of a lot of research. And a lot of scientists have found that asking people whether they broke the law is notoriously unreliable. Especially for one racial group: African Americans.

Yes, they say that.

Some doctors at Johns Hopkins University found out what happens when you test the reliability of self-reporting of marijuana and other drug use among black people.

A study of 290 African American men in Baltimore, Maryland undergoing treatment for hypertension showed that self-reporting of illicit drug use is unreliable. Only 48 of the participants reported drug use but urine drug tests revealed that 131 had used drugs.

With self-reporting, drug use among black people was 16 percent.

With testing, 45 percent.

Ooops -- there's more. Different study, different journal.

According to the medical journal Addictive Behaviors, ''underreporting of cocaine was documented with urine testing validation as well where African Americans in comparison to Caucasians who were urine positive were about 6 times less likely to report cocaine use when other factors are controlled for.''

Translation: When you ask, white people and black people report using cocaine in about the same amount. But when you test, black people are six times more likely to use cocaine. And lie about it.

More from the same journal for you science junkies:

The present study also identified predictors of discrepancies between self-report and hair testing. Race was the most salient predictor of cocaine disagreement.

Even when other factors were controlled for, the self-report and hair test results for African Americans were more discrepant than for non-African Americans, a finding consistent with past studies (Fendrich, et al., 1999; Feucht, Stephens, & Walker, 1994).

In a large study of youth (9''20), underreporting of cocaine was documented with urine testing validation as well (Fendrich & Yanchun, 1994) where African Americans in comparison to Caucasians who were urine positive were about 6 times less likely to report cocaine use when other factors are controlled for.

Our study extends this finding to a middle-aged sample of male African American Vietnam veterans and non-veteran community controls.

Race was the most salient factor? And these findings were consistent with past studies? The Washington Post is not going to like that because the people who did these reports actually tested.

Not just asked for a confession.

Anyone with one nanosecond of experience in public opinion research knows this: you don't ask. You check. If you want to know if you are talking to a Democrat, don't ask. Look at the registration. A recent study found people even lie about how often they go to church. They actually followed them and found that people said they went to church twice as often as they really did.

The study in the Post has a flip side, which they never get around to talking about: this disparity which the study debunks also means that apparently black kids are being unjustly convicted of crimes they did not commit. Or white kids are getting away with hundreds of thousands of crimes across the country. And of course those darn Asians are worst of all: they never get caught.

If true, it would be easy to show. With so many videos, victims, witnesses, 911 calls and police reports, if this epic level of racial injustice was something more than an academic fairy tale gobbled up the Post editors as if they were the townspeople in The Music Man, there would be lots of people with lots of stories in blogs and YouTube.

Lots and lots of lawsuits, too.

But that is what is missing from this huge conspiracy to ignore white crime and to put black children in reform schools For No Reason What So Ever.

Oh yeah, one last thing missing: the Truth: As bad as black crime rates are, the real numbers are worse. Far worse. Think of stitches for snitches. Witness intimidation. Bronx juries. Fewer arrests.

I get into that in some detail in my next book, Don't Make the Black Kids Angry, coming out March 1.

Even so, the hoax of black victimization grows. So does the number of academic and political and media leaders who are determined to prove it right. Determined there is no amount of evidence too big to ignore, deny or wish away.

Easy to do in the newsroom of the Washington Post. But on the streets of Washington, impossible.

Colin Flaherty is an award-winning reporter and author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller, White Girl Bleed a Lot. You can follow him on YouTube , email and all the usual places.

Thanks to the Washington Post, we have new entry in what is surely the fastest-growing industry in academia: bogus studies that purport to show there is no difference between black and white rates of crime. The only difference comes from the big bad racist police, prosecutors, parole officers, judges, juries, reporters, editors and others who are also in on The Big Fix and relentlessly pick on black people, For No Reason What So Ever.

Even in black cities with black mayors, black police chiefs and black prosecutors -- like Washington.

This latest headline from the Post tells a shocking story: ''Black teens who commit a few crimes go to jail as often as white teens who commit dozens.''

Or it would be shocking if it were true. But it is not.

This headline, of course, flies in the face of numbers that show violent crime for black people is astronomically out of proportion: 5, 10, 50 times greater than crime rates for white people. Throw Asians into the mix, and you can multiply that by 10 times more.

Turns out, they are also in on The Big Fix: ''Although there were negligible differences among the racial groups in how frequently boys committed crimes, white boys were less likely to spend time in a facility than black and Hispanic boys who said they'd committed crimes just as frequently, as shown in the chart above,'' quoth the Post.

''Negligible differences among the racial groups?'' What? Where did that come from?

That gem of disbelief is contained in a study from Tia Stevens Andersen of the University of South Carolina and Michigan State University's Merry Morash.

And where did they get it? ''Surveyors (from the Department of Labor) asked youth whether they had stolen, destroyed property, attacked someone or sold drugs in the last year.''

In for a dime, in for a dollar: In another study quoted in the Post, ''An annual survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health continues to find lower rates of drug use among blacks than whites, with rates for Hispanics in the middle.''

Both studies rely on self-reporting, which itself is the subject of a lot of research. And a lot of scientists have found that asking people whether they broke the law is notoriously unreliable. Especially for one racial group: African Americans.

Yes, they say that.

Some doctors at Johns Hopkins University found out what happens when you test the reliability of self-reporting of marijuana and other drug use among black people.

A study of 290 African American men in Baltimore, Maryland undergoing treatment for hypertension showed that self-reporting of illicit drug use is unreliable. Only 48 of the participants reported drug use but urine drug tests revealed that 131 had used drugs.

With self-reporting, drug use among black people was 16 percent.

With testing, 45 percent.

Ooops -- there's more. Different study, different journal.

According to the medical journal Addictive Behaviors, ''underreporting of cocaine was documented with urine testing validation as well where African Americans in comparison to Caucasians who were urine positive were about 6 times less likely to report cocaine use when other factors are controlled for.''

Translation: When you ask, white people and black people report using cocaine in about the same amount. But when you test, black people are six times more likely to use cocaine. And lie about it.

More from the same journal for you science junkies:

The present study also identified predictors of discrepancies between self-report and hair testing. Race was the most salient predictor of cocaine disagreement.

Even when other factors were controlled for, the self-report and hair test results for African Americans were more discrepant than for non-African Americans, a finding consistent with past studies (Fendrich, et al., 1999; Feucht, Stephens, & Walker, 1994).

In a large study of youth (9''20), underreporting of cocaine was documented with urine testing validation as well (Fendrich & Yanchun, 1994) where African Americans in comparison to Caucasians who were urine positive were about 6 times less likely to report cocaine use when other factors are controlled for.

Our study extends this finding to a middle-aged sample of male African American Vietnam veterans and non-veteran community controls.

Race was the most salient factor? And these findings were consistent with past studies? The Washington Post is not going to like that because the people who did these reports actually tested.

Not just asked for a confession.

Anyone with one nanosecond of experience in public opinion research knows this: you don't ask. You check. If you want to know if you are talking to a Democrat, don't ask. Look at the registration. A recent study found people even lie about how often they go to church. They actually followed them and found that people said they went to church twice as often as they really did.

The study in the Post has a flip side, which they never get around to talking about: this disparity which the study debunks also means that apparently black kids are being unjustly convicted of crimes they did not commit. Or white kids are getting away with hundreds of thousands of crimes across the country. And of course those darn Asians are worst of all: they never get caught.

If true, it would be easy to show. With so many videos, victims, witnesses, 911 calls and police reports, if this epic level of racial injustice was something more than an academic fairy tale gobbled up the Post editors as if they were the townspeople in The Music Man, there would be lots of people with lots of stories in blogs and YouTube.

Lots and lots of lawsuits, too.

But that is what is missing from this huge conspiracy to ignore white crime and to put black children in reform schools For No Reason What So Ever.

Oh yeah, one last thing missing: the Truth: As bad as black crime rates are, the real numbers are worse. Far worse. Think of stitches for snitches. Witness intimidation. Bronx juries. Fewer arrests.

I get into that in some detail in my next book, Don't Make the Black Kids Angry, coming out March 1.

Even so, the hoax of black victimization grows. So does the number of academic and political and media leaders who are determined to prove it right. Determined there is no amount of evidence too big to ignore, deny or wish away.

Easy to do in the newsroom of the Washington Post. But on the streets of Washington, impossible.

Colin Flaherty is an award-winning reporter and author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller, White Girl Bleed a Lot. You can follow him on YouTube , email and all the usual places.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 02:46

With speculation at a fever pitch following a series of tabloid stories and photos, BuzzFeed reports that Bruce Jenner intends to come out as transgender in a sit-down with ABC News' Diane Sawyer. In that planned interview, Jenner will also reportedly reveal the details of a new E! docuseries centered around his transition to a woman.

Jenner and ABC News are apparently hammering out the final details of the interview, to the chagrin of NBC Universal's own news division, BuzzFeed reports (E! and NBC News are corporate siblings.)

The Olympic track star and Keeping Up With the Kardashians regular has been photographed with longer hair and manicured hands, and over the weekend more firmly sourced (and trusted) reports cropped up in People and TMZ that the transition has been more than a year in the making.

Esther Jenner, Bruce's mother, confirmed to Radar last night that her son is indeed transitioning, telling the tabloid, "Right now I am more proud of him for what he's allowing himself to do. I am more proud of him now than when he stood on that podium and put the gold medal around his neck. He deserves all the respect."

E! and the extended Kardashian brood have been quiet about the reports, though Kim did recently offer a vague comment to Entertainment Tonight, telling the show, "I think that Bruce should tell his story his way... That story and what Bruce is going through I think he'll share whenever the time is right."

[Image via AP]

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:04

When he's not busy calling anti-war peace activists ''low-life scum,'' ex-POW Sen. John McCain uses his time to stand by warmongers like Henry Kissinger and self-serving, gun-toting opportunists like former Gov. Sarah Palin.

McCain made clear on CNN Sunday that should the governor ''with a servant's heart'' decide to formally run for the presidency in the 2016 election, that he would stand by her as she stood by him in his prior, failed bid for the office in 2008. McCain bolstered his support by stating Palin ''still has a strong base of support.''

Shamefully, that's true, but certainly not enough to win the office of President of the United States (thank God.)

Stating outright that his formal support would be behind South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, should he decide to run, McCain offered this:''I think that she ought to do whatever she feels that she would like to do. And I'm very supportive of anything that she does.''

As most know, Palin's teleprompter fiasco at GOP Rep. Steve King'sIowa Freedom Summit has led the ex-governor-turned-reality-television-star into a heated ring of criticism and laughter, even by those in her own party.

McCain dubiously claims he has yet to see the infamous speech that Jon Stewart's ''The Daily Show'' humorously compared to Matthew McConaughey's fairly recent Lincoln commercial. But McCain rightfully dismissed Palin's poor performance, stating:

''If she did not give a good speech, she's not the first politician that didn't give a good speech from time to time, including me.''

That's true and fair enough, and certainly no reason that would be the entire downfall of her presidential aspirations. However, having an entire history of nutty, off the wall speeches that tend to leave audiences baffled and riddled with laugher, might. The public has come to distinguish a pattern when it comes to Palin's speaking engagements, and it seems her performance at the Freedom Summit was one for the Palin history books.

McCain remains as unshaken about Palin's capabilities as he is unwilling to retract his statement against Code Pink activists.

''I think they're terrible people'...''

As far as McCain is concerned, Palin will still likely play an essential role in the 2016 presidential election for the GOP. Sen. McCain also stated, by all means, he will ''absolutely'' bring in Palin to help him seek re-election in Arizona.

Birds of a feather, sure do flock together.H/T: cnn.com | Featured image: via Flickr

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Archived Version

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:44

[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

As many on the left rush to pin the anti-vaccine movement on conservatives, liberal New York Times columnist Frank Bruni pointed out on the 2 February 2015 edition of CNN Tonight that the cause is actually more prevalent on the left side of the political spectrum: "I think a lot of the anti-vaccine people probably would hate to hear themselves lumped in with the climate change deniers. But they're doing the same thing from different places on the political spectrum."

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:36

If the player does not load, please check that you are running the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.

Pentagon Spokesman: No 'Tit for Tat' After Barbaric Murder of Jordanian Pilot See More at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/pentagon-spokesman-no-tit-tat-after-barbaric-murder-jordanian-pilot

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 05:09

Video cross-posted here at NewsBusters. On Wednesday, CBS This Morning hosted Peggy Noonan, conservative columnist for the Wall Street Journal, to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding the measles vaccine. Throughout the interview, CBS co-hosts Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King pressed Noonan to admit that the GOP has an anti-vaccine problem while omitting President Obama and Hillary Clinton's previous anti-vaccine statements.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:35

Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter said Wednesday that the U.S. "absolutely" needs to have a strategy to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the "strategy" as Carter understands it to be doesn't sound like a strategy at all.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:24

CNN's Chris Cuomo forwarded the latest liberal attack on conservatives/Republicans on the 4 February 2015 edition of New Day as he interviewed potential GOP presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson. Cuomo hounded the neurosurgeon on the ongoing measles outbreak, and asserted that "this has been politicized now. You see a couple of your potential opponents coming out '' and it seems as though the Republican Party has a problem with science '' that they're always pushing back against science."Dr. Carson pushed back against the anchor's slanted line of questioning:

DR. BEN CARSON, FMR. DIRECTOR OF PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY, JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL: Well, first of all, I have to challenge the '' the premise of your question-

CHRIS CUOMO: Please-

CARSON: Because in California, the majority of the cases are coming from Democratic strongholds. So I'm not sure that I would characterize it as a problem with one party or the other. But I would characterize it as a problem of lack of information about '' you know, modern studies. And I understand that there are some people who are petrified of autism, and things that were thought to be associated with these vaccinations. But it's been proven that it's not. We just need to update their data.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:04

OKLAHOMA CITY '' Concerns over a recent measles outbreak are raising another question. If you don't vaccinate your kids and they end up getting someone else sick '' could you be sued?

The number of measles cases for just the first month of 2015 is already greater than most average years.

Some health officials say it's because of the growing number of unvaccinated children.

The recent measles outbreak linked to Disneyland is sparking debate on the issue of vaccinating children.

''It's ridiculous. When I was a kid, it was a rite of passage. So that's what we need to go back to,'' said Porter Davis, a former state representative who favors parents' rights when it comes to vaccines. ''It is my decision what I put into my body. It's my decision what my kids put into their body and nobody else's.''

''If you choose to do that, as a parent, I guess we're going to respect that, under our law. But if you choose to do that and it affects others, I think that's where other peoples' rights begin to come in as well,'' said local attorney, David Slane.

Slane says it's only a matter of time before we could see this in the court system.

Here's a potential scenario:

A parent chooses not to vaccinate their child and they somehow become infected with measles.

Then they go to day care and infect a child who is maybe too young to be vaccinated and that child becomes very sick or even dies.

''I think it doesn't fall in the realm of criminal conduct. But I think it certainly falls in the realm of negligence,'' said Slane.

''I think it's criminal to stampede people into taking vaccines,'' said Davis.

Oklahoma does have laws requiring children be vaccinated, but the state does allow exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.

Report a typo

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 19:53

February 03, 2015 | 12:30 | Public Domain

On February 3, 2015, President Obama met with letter writers from across the country who wrote him to share how the Affordable Care Act improved their lives.

Download mp4 (460MB) | mp3 (30MB)

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 19:52

February 03, 2015 | 4:54 | Public Domain

On February 3, 2015, President Obama held a Cabinet meeting in the White House to discuss the 2016 budget and the work ahead for this year.

Download mp4 (178MB) | mp3 (12MB)

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:08

Throughout this conflict every once in a while Ukrainian government officials have come clean about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To the chagrin of the Obama Administration and NATO Russia has not invaded. This latest admission came twice today. Once by inference and the other a direct admission from Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Victor Muzhenko.

During a briefing with General Muzenko he announced that ''To date, we have only the involvement of some members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Russian citizens that are part of illegal armed groups involved in the fighting. We are not fighting with the regular Russian Army. We have enough forces and means in order to inflict a final defeat even with illegal armed formation present. ''- he said.

If that wasn't embarrassing enough for the Poroshenko regime which has consistently stated Russia had invaded and that Ukraine is fighting the Russian Army, it was Petro Poroshenko's own TV station Channel 5 news that broke the story!

Earlier in the day Ukrainian Military spokesman Lusenko said he was worried if a provocation happened Russia would justify bringing in the Russian army.

This was perfectly in line with General Muzenko's statements which fully destroy western propaganda and agree the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a hoax.

What about the 37 Russian Invasions Last Year?

November 6th In an interview with Gromadske.TV, Markian Lubkivsky, the adviser to the head of the SBU (the Ukrainian version of the CIA) stated there are NO RUSSIAN TROOPS ON UKRANIAN SOIL! This unexpected announcement came as he fumbled with reporters' questions on the subject. According to his statement, he said the SBU counted about 5000 Russian nationals, but not Russian soldiers in Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics.

He further clarified that there were no organized Russian units in Donbass. The SBU thinks there are representatives of the Russian FSB (Russian CIA) and mentors who provide training and organization that grew the Novorussia army quickly in its fight with Ukraine.He went on further to state that the SBU estimates the armies of Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics are about 20-25 thousand strong.

Markian Lubkivsky's official statement regarding a Russian invasion of Ukraine was made to the strongest nationalist reporter in Ukraine, Natasha Stanko.

Both LifeNews and RT are wondering openly how Petro Poroshenko's Channel 5 News became the most refreshing Putinesque Propaganda outlet on the planet, if only for a few moments.

A few moments later Channel 5's talking heads were suffering once again from Putin envy, and denied it ever happened.

Jen Psaki, aka Baghdad Betty has made no comment to Matt Cutts yet about the developing situation.

Stay tuned.

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:58

By Stacey Ritzen • 02.03.15Share This Video

Things have taken an interesting turn in the saga of Randy Quaid and wife Evi. The couple are currently suing John Kerry over a United States passport issue which actually stems from the fact that they are fugitives from justice. However, the subject of the above video which has surfaced on YouTube under the account ''E Quaid'' is not John Kerry; but rather Village Roadshow Pictures CEO Bruce Berman, Warner Brothers Entertainment, the New York Post, and Rupert Murdoch.

Among the accusations made in Quaid's two-minute video: that Berman ''stole his house,'' that the New York Post has a vendetta out to ''smear [him] to high heaven with a pack of lies,'' and that Warner Brothers had him falsely arrested six times by TMZ '-- which he states ''hashtag'' (while he makes air quotes) actually stands for ''PMC,'' or ''police media corruption.''

Through this rant, Evi sits behind Randy on a bed wearing a bikini with sunglasses and thigh-high stockings '-- motionless without speaking '-- and you're like, ''Huh, that's kind of unsettling.'' But OH NO, IT GETS SO MUCH WORSE. At the end of the minute-and-a-half long rant Randy declares, ''You wanna f*ck me, Rupert? Well, I'm gonna f*ck you.'' He then makes Evi don a Rupert Murdoch mask and proceeds to simulate (?) doggy-style boinking with her on camera. Oh, and a dog barks at them throughout the ''sex.''

The whole thing is a little disturbing, to say the least. And it should go without saying that the video is at least somewhat NSFW, so keep that in mind before viewing.

Share This

(Via Daily Mail)

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Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:21

Shepard Smith wanted viewers to know what happened in the newly released ISIS video, which appears to show Jordanian fighter pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive by the Islamic State group.

He just didn't want them to have to watch the actual video to understand.

The Fox News host took a very interesting approach to reporting on the video Tuesday afternoon. Rather than showing the video or sharing images, Smith said that he took detailed notes and would provide a descriptive breakdown of what happened so that viewers "can get the information" they want.

"I'm going to tell you about [the video], all of it, every bit of it," Smith said. "I watched it over the last hour, not because I wanted to. I absolutely did not. I watched it because I felt like those of you who want to know what's on it, but don't want to watch it or be subjected to some sort of gruesome descriptive adjectives, can get the information.

"If you don't want to know about it, I suggest you mute the TV for about the next five or six minutes," Smith warned viewers.

The anchor then continued to provide a more than 10-minute, thorough account of the video from "start to finish." An emotional Smith appeared visibly distraught while describing the horrific moment the pilot caught fire.

"It was a video of the burning alive of a human being," he concluded. "A ratcheting up of the rhetoric."

WARNING: The video below contains a graphic description of a new clip that appears to show the murder of a Jordanian fighter pilot.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:03

The DCHomePoliticsUSEntertainmentSportsBusinessTechEducationOpinionGuns and GearVideoBlogsSend a TipColumnistsAnn CoulterAsk Matt LabashKausFilesMatt LewisThe MirrorDC TrawlerGinni Thomas

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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:29

The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today's young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities.

The White House Internship Program's mission is to make the ''People's House'' accessible to future leaders from around the nation.

The application for the Fall 2015 White House Internship Program is now open.

To apply for the White House Internship Program, please see Apply Here. For application deadlines and program dates, please see Internship Timeline and FAQs.

"[At] each and every juncture of our history, somebody has been audacious enough to say, 'We could do better.' . . . And more often than not, it's young people who've done it."

'--President Barack Obama, February 2, 2007

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:42

The Foreign Policy Initiative seeks to promote an active U.S. foreign policy committed to robust support for democratic allies, human rights, a strong American military equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and strengthening America's global economic competitiveness.Read More

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Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:01

Just before the Super Bowl kicked off this weekend, NBC's Savannah Guthrie visited the White House kitchen for a few words with President Obama, only to discover that the football fan in chief is a little shaky on American history.

During the discussion with NBC, President Obama said that they are making beer in the White House kitchen.

Dressed in casual shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Obama told Guthrie, ''We make beer. First president since George Washington to make some booze in the White House.''

The only problem is, as Greg Pollowitz noted, George Washington didn't make any ''booze'' in the White House. In fact, not only was George Washington no longer president in the year 1800 when construction on the White House was finished, he had already been dead for a year. The first president to live in the People's House was our second president, John Adams.

George Washington didn't live in the White House, much less make any ''booze'' there.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter: @warnerthuston. Email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:19

See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.

During Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams issued an on-air apology saying that he ''made a mistake'' in what was a ''bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran'' in reference to Army Command Sergeant Tim Terpak for helping to protect the downed aircraft as well as the one that Williams was traveling in.

Williams added that he hopes ''our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere'' know that ''they have my greatest respect and also now my apology.''

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Thu, 05 Feb 2015 03:17