803: Joe Hitler

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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 08:43

242,000 cases (6.5 million boxes) of macaroni & cheese are being pulled off the shelves because they may contain metal contamination.

The boxes in question have ''Best When Used By'' dates of September 18, 2015 through October 11, 2015 and were sold in the United States, Puerto Rico, and some Caribbean and South American countries, but not in Canada. On the boxes, under the expiration date will be printed ''C2,'' designating the factory where the contamination occurred.

According to the company, they received eight complaints. The products in question are 7.25 oz. box, Original flavor, 3-pack box of those 7.25 oz. boxes, Original flavor, 4-pack shrink-wrap of those 7.25 oz. boxes, Original flavor and 5-pack shrink-wrap of those 7.25 oz. boxes, Original flavor.

Another reason to avoid this dangerously legal food is the yellow 5 and yellow 6 food dyes. Both have been found to contain benzidene or other chemicals that cause cancer. Both cause hypersensitivity reactions. Yellow 5 causes genotoxicity, which means it damages the genetic information within a cell causing mutations, can halt cell reproduction and may lead to cancer.

According to a 2012 study on the toxicology of food dyes, ''The inadequacy of much of the testing and the evidence for carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and hypersensitivity, coupled with the fact that dyes do not improve the safety or nutritional quality of foods, indicates that all of the currently used dyes should be removed from the food supply and replaced, if at all, by safer colorings.''

The ''Health & Food'' industry intentionally has very limited studies on the dangers of toxicity and, then, uses the excuse that not enough information is available to conclude if these are actually dangerous. I.E.

They don't do the study, then they use they use the excuse that there's not enough studies. What a world. Yellow 5 and 6 are a slow death, banned in Europe. Please don't eat this stuff. Tell your friends.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 14:22

Image caption Police said Wildern School in Hedge End acted in line with safeguarding procedures School staff called police when a pupil looked at a UKIP website and an English Defence League video in class.

Mick Taylor said his 15-year-old son was asked by police whether he was a UKIP activist, and has described police action as inappropriate.

The procedure left him feeling "like a terrorist", Mr Taylor added.

Police said Wildern School in Hedge End, Hampshire, acted in line with safeguarding procedures. UKIP said: "We're certainly not extremists."

Under the new counter terror act, staff at schools are asked to identify children who may be influenced by extremist material.

Image caption Mick Taylor said his 15-year-old son was asked by police whether he was a UKIP activist The school said it called 101 for advice after a student was viewing a range of different sites and was referred to a specialist team.

"If my son had been accessing these websites on a regular basis - then maybe there would be cause for concern," Mr Taylor said.

"But it's a one-off incident and I don't think it merited such an extreme section of the police coming in."

Head teacher Marie-Louise Litton said: "I wish to make it absolutely clear that the decision to pursue the matter further was not made by the school."

Image caption Wildern School said it was referred to a specialist team A spokesman from Hampshire Constabulary said: "The school contacted us in good faith and in complete accordance with their safeguarding procedures.

"We have a duty to respond to these concerns and we spoke to the pupil and his father informally about comments and internet usage at school."

No further action was taken.

UKIP's deputy leader Paul Nuttall reacted angrily at the suggestion the party's website was flagged in this way.

"I don't know how you can be extremists when you have 22 MEPs, a member of Parliament, three lords and 500 councillors all over the country," he said.

"We're certainly not extremists."

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:27

Mark Zuckerberg conceded Friday that Facebook didn't do enough until recently to police hate speech on the social media site in Germany, but said it has made progress and has heard the message ''loud and clear.''

German authorities, concerned about racist abuse being posted on Facebook and other social networks as the country deals with an influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants, have been pressing social media sites for months to crack down.

The Facebook CEO talked personally about the issue in September with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and met her chief of staff during a visit to Germany this week. The Merkel meeting ''really highlighted how much more we needed to do in this country,'' he said at a town hall event in Berlin.

''Hate speech has no place on Facebook and in our community,'' he said. ''Until recently in Germany, I don't think we were doing a good enough job. And I think we will continue needing to do a better and better job.''

Zuckerberg pointed to efforts, including funding a team to work with police to combat hate speech on Facebook. He said learning more about German law has led the company to expand its view of ''protected groups'' there and ''to now include hate speech against migrants as an important part of what we just now have no tolerance for.''

''There's still work to do,'' he said. ''We want to do that, but I think we hear the message loud and clear and we're committed to doing better.''

Zuckerberg, meanwhile, faced other issues at his own company headquarters in Menlo Park, California. He lashed out in an internal memo this week at employees who crossed out ''black lives matter'' on Facebook's signature walls and replaced the words with ''all lives matter.''

The incidents apparently continued although Zuckerberg told employees they were unacceptable.

''I was already very disappointed by this disrespectful behavior before, but after my communication I now consider this malicious as well,'' Zuckerberg wrote in a letter published by the website Gizmodo and confirmed by a Facebook source who demanded anonymity because the issue was an internal matter.

''There are specific issues affecting the black community in the United States, coming from a history of oppression and racism,'' Zuckerberg wrote. '''Black lives matter' doesn't mean other lives don't '-- it's simply asking that the black community also achieves the justice they deserve.''

In Berlin, Zuckerberg praised Germany's approach to Europe's migrant crisis. Merkel so far has maintained an open-door policy for refugees, seeking an elusive diplomatic solution to reduce an influx that has prompted an increasing number of countries to impose national border restrictions.

''German leadership in the refugee crisis, I think, has been inspiring and is a model for the world,'' Zuckerberg said. ''I hope the U.S. follows Germany's lead on this.''

AP

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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:50

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 23:08

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 05:51

''SIEG HEIL,'' the front-page headline reads in massive font. ''Living Nazi Germany in Trump's America,'' it says in the headline. The actual title of the editorial is hardly less subtle: 'Donald Trump is going to get us all killed.''

In the editorial itself, the Fresno State students accuse Trump '-- and his supporters '-- of seeking mass murder:

Trump's America is the Fourth Reich. '...

The hardcore racist and fascist people supporting Trump don't want to kick out Muslims and undocumented Mexicans '-- they want to murder them.

These people that normally keep their backward racism under the rock in which they live, are voting to be openly racist. Trump gladly brings the racism and xenophobia out of people '-- as any good fascist would. '...

If we let them elect Trump, there will be lynchings. '...

Trump represents the rise of a new Hitler and is capable of the same atrocities. It's like we're in the 1930s on a runaway train barreling toward World War III.

The article ends by urging students: ''Get off your lazy asses and do something about it, you hipsters.''

The editorial is also accompanied by a photoshopped image of Trump in a Nazi uniform, giving the Nazi salute.

(Tim McAtee / The Collegian)

As the controversy around the article mounted '-- even crashing the newspaper's website '-- the editors of the Collegian felt compelled to publish an explanatory note, noting that the editorial was opinion, not news, and arguing that it was necessary to run it on the front page to provoke the public into action.

''Donald Trump wouldn't back down, and neither will we.''

Joseph I Castro, the president of the publicly-funded university, defended the Collegian's right to freedom of the press on Twitter, suggesting that those who objected to the article write to the newspaper to express their concerns.

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Thu, 25 Feb 2016 21:33

The woman claimed Trump began harassing her after becoming a partner in the American Dream Festival, which comprised a beauty pageant and other competitions. Photograph: MediaPunch/Rex/Shutterstock

As he attempts to make his lead in the Republican presidential race unassailable at next week's Super Tuesday primary contests, Donald Trump is being confronted with resurfaced allegations that he sexually assaulted and tried to rape a woman in the early 1990s.

The woman alleged in a federal lawsuit in 1997 that Trump violated her ''physical and mental integrity'' when he touched her intimately without consent after her boyfriend went into business with him, leaving her ''emotionally devastated [and] distraught''.

The woman, who the Guardian is not naming, dropped the $125m lawsuit in Manhattan the following month. It coincided with a separate legal dispute between Trump and the woman's then-boyfriend over an alleged breach of contract relating to their beauty pageant business venture. Trump claimed at the time that the lawsuit alleging assault was aimed at pressuring him to settle the other dispute, which reportedly he did for a six-figure sum later that year.

On Wednesday, Trump's counsel Michael Cohen told a reporter for Mail Online that there was ''no truth'' to the lawsuit's allegations. ''The plaintiff in the matter ... would acknowledge the same,'' Cohen was quoted as saying.

Yet when asked by the Guardian whether she stood by the allegations detailed in the lawsuit, the woman said in a text message: ''Yes.'' The woman, now a successful makeup artist in New York, declined to discuss the allegations in detail.

Cohen and a spokeswoman for Trump's campaign did not respond to several requests from the Guardian for comment.

Potentially confusing matters further, the woman appears to now be a supporter of Trump's campaign for the White House. She told the website Law Newz this week that she would be voting for Trump. ''I saw him [Donald] recently, and he said I looked good,'' the website reported her as saying. ''I have nothing but good things to say about Donald.''

Before her lawsuit was unearthed by the legal news website this week, the woman's public Facebook page displayed photographs of her with Trump and posts favourable to the property developer and reality television personality. These were no longer visible after Wednesday.

She accused Trump of ''outrageous conduct'' in her April 1997 lawsuit, which she filed when she was 34. She alleged that Trump had forced her into a bedroom at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, following a business meeting in January 1993 and ''subjected [her] to [Trump's] unwanted sexual advances, which included touching of [her] private parts in an act constituting attempted 'rape''', the lawsuit stated. Trump then implied she should ''keep her mouth shut'', she alleged. As she tried to leave, Trump again touched her sexually and made ''Svengali-type proclamations of 'love''', she said, prompting her to vomit.

She alleged that the same month, during a telephone call supposed to be about the business venture, Trump told her that if she slept with him she ''would be an awakened woman'' and that he ''was the best lover you'll ever have''. Her lawsuit also named two male business associates of Trump as defendants. They ''condoned and participated'' in Trump's harassment, she alleged.

The alleged assault followed what she said was Trump's first attempt to touch her ''intimate private parts'' during a dinner meeting on 12 December 1992, where he also introduced her to associates as his ''new girlfriend''. She alleged that the following month, during a party at the Palm Beach estate, Trump placed his hand ''up [her] thigh'' in another attempt to touch her intimately, before going further during the forced encounter later in January.

The woman claimed Trump began harassing her after becoming a partner in the American Dream Festival, which comprised a beauty pageant and other competitions. The festival, which the woman worked for, was devised and led by her then-boyfriend, whom she married in 1995, although they are no longer together.

During their first meeting over the business venture, the woman alleged in the lawsuit, Trump asked her boyfriend: ''Are you sleeping with her?'' and ''demanded to know whether it was 'just for the night or what?'' Trump allegedly said to him at one point: ''You know, there's going to be a problem. I'm very attracted to your girlfriend.''

Around the time of the alleged assault and afterwards, Trump repeatedly pestered her with telephone calls demanding sex, she claimed, telling her she was ''the most beautiful girl in the whole world'' and saying that he wanted to have sex with her ''whenever I was ready''.

The woman accused Trump and his associates of using the American Dream Festival as a vehicle for seeking sex from women. At one stage, she alleged, Trump asked that she ''provide [Trump] with access to a 17-year-old Czech contestant whom he described as a 'sex object'''. At another point Trump ''made denigrating, lewd comments about all women in general as 'sex objects''', according to the woman.

The lawsuit claimed that weeks earlier in 1997, during a mediation session for the separate contractual dispute over the American Dream Festival, Trump publicly referred to the woman as a ''great piece of ass''.

In a report that year in the New York Daily News, Trump was quoted as saying that her lawsuit ''was a desperate attempt to get me to settle'' the separate contractual dispute. A later report said a settlement was reached in July and that she and her husband attended a party at Trump's Florida estate to celebrate his separation from his wife Marla Maples.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 14:18

Lands' End apologized Thursday for featuring feminist icon Gloria Steinem in its spring catalog and scrubbed all mentions of her from its website after receiving blowback from some customers.

"We understand that some of our customers were offended by the inclusion of an interview in a recent catalog with Gloria Steinem on her quest for women's equality," the company said in a statement. "We thought it was a good idea and we heard from our customers that, for different reasons, it wasn't. For that, we sincerely apologize."

It was a good idea, actually.

But here's the sort of thing they heard:

"This family will not buy one single thing from Lands End ever again unless this drive highlighted by Gloria Steinem is fully retracted. You've had great customer service for book bags for us in the past ... never again!!! Lauding Gloria Steinem is beyond what I can understand from a company that 'appears' to celebrate family." (Posted to the company's Facebook page.)

"The drive" likely refers to the fact that the catalog also offered the option to have the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition logo monogrammed on various Lands' End items, which would trigger a $3 donation from Lands' End to the ERA Coalition's Fund for Women's Equality.

All mentions of an ERA Coalition logo appear to have been scrubbed from the company website as well.

The apology has drummed up its own storm '-- and not the kind of storm that can be taken care of with a cute pair of Lands' End rain boots.

"Well, now that you've pulled it, I won't be placing my order," another (former?) customer wrote on the company Facebook page, echoing hundreds of other angry comments. "I don't intend to teach my children that anyone should do business with a company that is ashamed to even talk about feminism. You see equal rights as a divisive issue? Thanks for letting me know not to give you my money."

As of midmorning Friday, close to 4,000 people had commented on the company's Facebook post that addresses the flap.

Blagica Bottigliero, a 39-year-old digital marketer from Oak Park, shared news of the apology on the Facebook page for her neighborhood moms group.

"I'm a little ticked off right now," she told me.

Bottigliero is a Lands' End loyalist, ordering the majority of shoes, clothing, accessories and outerwear for her two kids, 6 and 3, from the catalog annually, she said. She received the catalog featuring Gloria Steinem at home and was initially delighted.

"I thought, 'Wow! Not only do I love Lands' End, but they went ahead and put Gloria in here!'" Bottigliero said. "I was stoked."

She is, like many of us, scratching her head over the apology.

"The importance of global women's rights and equality, that's all I got from that piece," she said. "Here's a brand that understands history and understands the importance of advocating for women and girls in our world and is featuring a story of someone who helped make that happen. That's what I got. It's not just about clothes and oh, here's what's cute for spring."

She called Lands' End customer service to voice her displeasure and urged her fellow Oak Park moms to do the same.

"I told a supervisor, 'Please take me off your email list and catalog list,'" she said. "And I asked, 'How are you doing?' They said, 'It's been like this all day: A lot of phone calls, and we are taking phone numbers and an executive will call you back.'"

An executive hadn't yet called back as of Friday morning, but Bottigliero has her questions at the ready.

"The first thing I want to ask them is, 'How was what you did in that spread political? Did you see it as political or religious?' I would love to understand the logic that went into pulling the spread and apologizing. What went into the idea to feature Ms. Steinem in the first place, and how did that so quickly change?"

All good questions.

I reached out to Lands' End on Friday morning via phone and email and was offered the following emailed statement:

"Lands' End is committed to providing our loyal customers and their families with stylish, affordable, well-made clothing. We greatly respect and appreciate the passion people have for our brand. It was never our intention to raise a divisive political or religious issue, so when some of our customers saw a recent promotion that way, we heard them. We sincerely apologize for any offense."

It's a sad day when women's equality is considered divisive and offensive. And an ever sadder one when a corporation that relies so heavily on women's dollars agrees.

hstevens@tribpub.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 07:01

1120 — 698 - barstoolsports.com

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4002 — 2808 - heavy.com

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740 — 538 - ibtimes.com

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636 — 382 - dailymail.co.uk

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511 — 360 - downtrend.com

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746 — 497 - tampabay.com

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410 — 230 - newsbusters.org

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1200 — 800 - nbcnews.com

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4615 — 3000 - libertycitys.com

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900 — 530 - news.yahoo.com

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276 — 299 - onpolitics.usatoday.com

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2056 — 1764 - nypost.com

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1160 — 629 - heartiste.wordpress.com

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Archived Version

Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:04

Update 9:55 p.m. Saturday: The Post's Paul Farhi reports that MSNBC will part ways with Harris-Perry. The original post follows.

Political reporters have spent a lot of time this campaign cycle crafting delicate ways to explain the voting behavior and candidate preferences of an electorate that seems angry, economically frustrated and convinced that the country's changing demographics and social mores are somehow to blame.

Some of the reporters covering these voters share the same anxieties. The sense among some journalists that they too are living and working in an increasingly unstable, topsy-turvy, mystifyingly diverse world is not exactly a secret. Some media companies outperform others in efforts to to diversify their staffs. But, to allow that staff diversity '-- at whatever level it exists '-- to truly shift internal priorities, set agendas and shepherd resources? Well, that would be something else entirely. And, as such, it remains rare.

It could, until this week, generally be found on Melissa Harris-Perry's show, an MSNBC news and public affairs program that has aired on the network since 2012 with its eponymous host. The show has generally brought to the cable network's 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday time slots a diverse array of academics, journalists, activists and others who hail from, write about or live in our rapidly transforming country rarely included or represented on other weekend political shows. They often sit at points up and down the age register and across the race, ethnicity and gender spectrums. But they typically come to discuss a variety of events and developments in the news. Sometimes, this is the news that is everywhere; sometimes, it is the news largely ignored elsewhere.

And as of Friday, it seems there has been a bit of a problem. Harris-Perry, a political scientist at Wake Forest University, asked a former staffer to publish an email she sent to her current show team explaining why she would not be on the air this weekend. Then, she told the the New York Times that, at least for now, she will not appear on the show.

Here are some of the critical bits of Harris-Perry's email. (And a note that ''nerds'' is a term Harris-Perry often uses affectionately on air in reference to her audience and staff.)

As you know by now, my name appears on the weekend schedule for MSNBC programming from South Carolina this Saturday and Sunday. I appreciate that many of you responded to this development with relief and enthusiasm. To know that you have missed working with me even a fraction of how much I've missed working with all of you is deeply moving. However, as of this morning, I do not have any intention of hosting this weekend. Because this is a decision that affects all of you, I wanted to take a moment to explain my reasoning.

Some unknown decision-maker, presumably Andy Lack or Phil Griffin, has added my name to this spreadsheet, but nothing has changed in the posture of the MSNBC leadership team toward me or toward our show. Putting me on air seems to be a decision being made solely to save face because there is a growing chorus of questions from our viewers about my notable absence from MSNBC coverage. Social media has noted the dramatic change in editorial tone and racial composition of MSNBC's on-air coverage. In addition, Dylan Byers of CNN has made repeated inquiries with MSNBC's leadership and with me about the show and what appears to be its cancellation. I have not responded to reporters or social media inquiries. However, I am not willing to appear on air in order to quell concerns about the disappearance of our show and our voice.

Here is the reality: our show was taken 'Š'-- 'Šwithout comment or discussion or notice 'Š'-- 'Šin the midst of an election season. After four years of building an audience, developing a brand, and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced. Now, MSNBC would like me to appear for four inconsequential hours to read news that they deem relevant without returning to our team any of the editorial control and authority that makes MHP Show distinctive.

The purpose of this decision seems to be to provide cover for MSNBC, not to provide voice for MHP Show. I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin, or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back. I have wept more tears than I can count and I find this deeply painful, but I don't want back on air at any cost. I am only willing to return when that return happens under certain terms.

You can read her entire email here.

Perry told the New York Times that she is unsure about the network's future plans for her show. The show has been preempted for at least two weeks and Harris-Perry says she was told to dedicate the bulk of a Super Bowl Sunday show to the election. MSNBC has struggled with its ratings, and company officials have talked openly about making changes to move the network away from its reputation as a home for liberal commentary rather than straight or breaking news. So, whatever is going on might be related.

When The Fix reached out to MSNBC, the network's answers amounted to the polar opposite of Harris-Perry's claims.

The show was not and is not slated for cancellation, Mark Kornblau, an MSNBC senior vice president of media relations, told The Fix. And then he clarified a few other things. There has been no awkward or cultivated silence between Harris-Perry and the network's leaders. Harris-Perry has a full-time job in academia, and he was not personally aware that Harris-Perry was available or discussed with the network her availability to participate in caucus and primary coverage. And Harris-Perry's show is one of several that, since early presidential voting began, have been preempted by breaking political news coverage. Harris-Perry's show has not been taken over or singled out. Close coverage of politics is consistent with MSNBC's ''brand'' and what ''viewers expect,'' Kornblau said.

There are a lot of details still developing here. Harris-Perry did not, indeed, appear on MSNBC during her show's time slot Saturday. Fans of the show and, no doubt, the staff would very much like to know more about its future.

This much is clear: A program that has broken the staid mold for weekend political shows is not on the air with its intended host and architect. That the status of a show on which guests and content have provided context and rare insight into a changing nation passes strange. Finally, that the show has been relegated to the realm of the non-essential during a presidential election in which who and what matters in the United States seem to be central questions, well, that just seems fundamentally unwise.

South Carolina voters are heading to the polls '-- even as this blog post went up '-- in a Democratic primary in which issues that matter to black Americans have been front and center in a way that hasn't been seen in recent history. The fact that the MSNBC show most devoted to such issues effectively went on hiatus the same day is really a sad coincidence.

Janell Ross is a reporter for The Fix who writes about race, gender, immigration and inequality.

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Archived Version

Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:00

Melissa Harris-Perry's Email to Her #nerdland Staff

Jamil Smith

998158

Well this explains a lot. Every time I turned on the tv, MHP was not on. So I turned the tv off. Those who will miss the show, if it is pulled, are those who felt that their concerns and interests were finally addressed. Women, POC, marginalized groups, and stories under the radar. The show gave people with different points of view from the traditional mainstream a chance to be heard. Disappointing, to be sure. Perhaps not totally surprising in a year that has given rise to the likes of Donald Trump.

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 00:01

Kansas: Shooter Kills 3 at Manufacturing Plant in Shooting SpreeFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

In Kansas, a man killed three people at a manufacturing plant Thursday in a shooting spree that also left 14 people wounded. Authorities say suspected shooter Cedric Ford drove around firing on people on his way to his worksite, Excel Industries. The shooter was killed by police. Excel Industries employee Dylan spoke out.

Dylan "We heard a pop-pop, and we thought it was just metal falling on the ground. And then the doors opened, people started screaming, coming out, saying, 'Go to the front! Go to the front!' And then everybody turned around, you know, said, 'No, he's out front.' So everybody started going to the back right over here. And then, but yeah, me and my boss and the other employee that we work with, we was just standing back there, you know? We really didn't know what was going on."

This comes less than a week after six people were killed and two injured in Michigan when an Uber driver went on a four-hour-long shooting rampage, opening fire on people seemingly at random.

Fmr. Mexican President: "I'm Not Going to Pay for That F***ing Wall"February 26, 2016

Headlines

The five remaining Republican presidential candidates debated in Houston, Texas, Thursday night in their final showdown before Super Tuesday. Candidates Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kaisch and Ben Carson all attacked front-runner Donald Trump, who has won three out of the four primaries and caucuses to date. This comes as former Mexican President Vicente Fox spoke out in an interview with Univision and Fusion host Jorge Ramos about Trump's repeated calls to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which Trump says he would make Mexico pay for.

Vicente Fox: "I declare, I'm not going to pay for that [blee] wall. He should pay for it. He's got the money."

Jorge Ramos: "Are you afraid that he's going to be the next president of the United States? What would that mean?"

Vicente Fox: "Not at all. Not at all."

Jorge Ramos: "What would that mean for Mexicans?"

Vicente Fox: "Not at all. Democracy cannot take us to crazy people that doesn't know what's going on in the world today."

Ted Cruz Says He'd Pardon Anti-Choice Activist David DaleidenFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has said he would pardon David Daleiden, an anti-choice activist who was indicted by a Texas grand jury last month on charges stemming from the highly edited videos he shot undercover at Planned Parenthood. Cruz made the remarks in response to an audience member's question during a special edition of Fox News' "The Kelly File" Wednesday night.

Lauren: "If David Daleiden's case became a federal one, would you pardon him?"

Sen. Ted Cruz: "Lauren, thank you for asking that question. The answer is yes. ... And I'll tell you this. I pledge that if I'm elected president, on very first day in office I intend to instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood and to prosecute any and all criminal conduct by that organization."

Louisiana: Anti-Choice Law Threatens to Leave Only 1 Clinic in StateFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed an anti-choice law to take effect, which could shutter nearly all abortion clinics in the state. Louisiana is one of multiple states that have passed laws requiring abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Such privileges are often impossible for abortion providers to obtain, due to anti-choice sentiment or because they don't admit enough patients to meet hospital minimums. Speaking on a conference call with reporters Thursday, attorney David Brown of the Center for Reproductive Rights said the ruling will likely shut down all but one clinic.

David Brown: "When the law was passed, there were five abortion clinics throughout the state offering services to women. Three of those clinics have now closed because they cannot meet the admitting privileges requirement that the Fifth Circuit allowed to take effect last night. The fourth clinic is hanging on by a thread with one physician, who will have to cease providing services unless we can get immediate relief from the Supreme Court. So, the Fifth Circuit has'--the decision yesterday has poised us to go from five clinics down to one."

The Center for Reproductive Rights said it would seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court. The decision came a week before the Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday concerning another ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld anti-choice restrictions in Texas, including a similar admitting privileges rule that has shuttered about half of Texas' roughly 40 clinics.

More U.S. Special Ops to Advise Nigeria in Fight Against Boko HaramFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

The Pentagon says it's planning to send dozens of U.S. special operations troops to the front lines of Nigeria's fight against the extremist group Boko Haram. The Pentagon says the U.S. soldiers would serve only in noncombat advisory roles helping the Nigerian military. Human Rights Watch and other groups have accused the Nigerian military of burning hundreds of homes and committing other abuses in the fight against Boko Haram.

Syria: Heavy Airstrikes Hours Before Ceasefire Slated to Take EffectFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 10 rounds of airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Douma to the east of Damascus Friday morning, only hours before a U.S.- and Russian-brokered plan to stop the fighting is slated to take effect. The two-week "cessation of hostilities" is set to begin at midnight. The Assad regime, a coalition of opposition groups and the U.S. and Russia have all agreed to the two-week halt to the fighting. Groups like ISIL and al-Nusra are not included in the brokered agreement, and strikes against these groups are expected to continue. On Thursday, President Obama said the U.S. is committed to the plan to ease fighting, but that there are "plenty of reasons for skepticism."

France: Judge Says Evictions at Calais Refugee Camp Can Move ForwardFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

In Calais, France, in the largest refugee camp in the country, refugees say officials began telling people to move out this morning, after a judge ruled Thursday that French authorities can move forward in evicting as many as 3,000 refugees. French authorities want the refugees to move into shipping containers or to be dispersed to refugee centers across France. To see our coverage of the refugee camp when Democracy Now! visited there, go to democracynow.org.

Medical Care Violations Played Role in 8 Deaths in ICE Detention CentersFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

Meanwhile, in the United States, a new report by the ACLU and other groups says violations of medical care standards played a role in at least eight deaths inside U.S. immigrant detention facilities between 2010 and 2012. The report includes cases in which one man died of a heart attack after officials waited more than an hour to call 911, while another died of a preventable heart disease after his pleas for medical care were ignored for four months. In another case, a woman died after authorities gave her the incorrect dose of her medicine, even though she submitted multiple health services requests before her death, including one in which she wrote, "I am not being given the full dosage of my medications."

SeaWorld Admits Sending Employee to Spy on PETAFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

The animal theme park SeaWorld has acknowledged that it sent an employee to pose as an animal rights activist'--nearly six months after the group PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, accused the SeaWorld employee of spying. Writing in a blog post on Thursday, SeaWorld's chief executive Joel Manby said that the board has "directed that the company's management team end a practice in which certain employees posed as animal rights activists." SeaWorld also acknowledged that the employee, Paul McComb, has returned to work. According to PETA, McComb took part in numerous PETA protests against SeaWorld while undercover and repeatedly used social media in an effort to incite other activists, stating that it's time to "grab pitchforks and torches" and time to "burn SeaWorld to the ground."

Cancer Patients Who Protested TPP Arraigned in D.C. CourtFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

In Washington, D.C., cancer patients Zahara Heckscher and Hannah Lyon were arraigned Thursday on charges stemming from their February protest against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as the TPP, and its so-called death sentence clause, which would extend drug company monopolies on medicines. Zahara Heckscher spoke after their arraignment.

Zahara Heckscher: "We're going to keep fighting against the TPP, keep fighting to get the word out about the danger of the TPP for people with cancer and people who need access to medicines in the U.S. and around the world. So we're going to keep fighting, even though we have to deal with the criminal justice system. That's OK. We're going to keep the struggle going."

InsideClimate News, Jamie Kalven & Brandon Smith Win Izzy AwardFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

And the nonprofit news organization InsideClimate News and independent journalists Jamie Kalven and Brandon Smith have won this year's Izzy Award, presented by the Park Center for Independent Media and named for legendary dissident journalist I.F. Stone. InsideClimate News won for its investigative series, "Exxon: The Road Not Taken," which chronicles how Exxon knew about climate change as early as the 1970s. Jamie Kalven of the Chicago-based news outlet the Invisible Institute and freelance journalist Brandon Smith won for their reporting on the Chicago Police Department's killing of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald.

Amy Goodman to Be Inducted into I.F. Stone Hall of FameFebruary 26, 2016

Headlines

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman will be inducted into the I.F. Stone Hall of Fame. Amy Goodman joins prior I.F. Stone Hall of Fame inductees Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill.

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:40

WASHINGTON '-- The fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is mostly finished.

Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling says that 601 miles of the project had been completed as of a week ago.

Easterling says 69 miles of the fence still must be built to meet the goal set during the Bush administration.

In December, then President-elect Barack Obama said he wanted to evaluate border security operations before he considers whether to finish building the fence under his administration.

Easterling said the Obama White House has not told Homeland Security to stop building the fence.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said a fence alone will not stop illegal immigration along the 2,000-mile border. About half of the fence has been built in Arizona, where Napolitano was governor.

The overall plan for security on the Southwest border '-- set by the Bush administration '-- includes additional Border Patrol agents, more enforcement of immigration laws, the fence and a high-tech "virtual fence" using surveillance technology.

At her Senate confirmation hearing, Napolitano said there is a role for fencing around urban areas. "It helps prevent those who are crossing illegally from blending immediately into a town population," Napolitano told senators.

Officials have said the border security improvements '-- like the fence '-- are working, and fewer people are trying to illegally cross from Mexico into the United States. Some of that can be attributed to economic woes and fewer jobs in the U.S.

The fence has been controversial since its inception and has faced several lawsuits, none successful so far.

Congress authorized the fence in 2005 to help secure the border and slow illegal immigration. Lawmakers also gave the Homeland Security secretary the power to waive federal laws, such as environmental protections, when erecting the fence. Obama, as a senator, voted for the project.

Congress has set aside $2.7 billion for the fence since 2006. There's no estimate how much the entire system '-- the physical fence and the technology '-- will cost to build, let alone maintain.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks revived the immigration debate and advanced the idea of a border fence. Intelligence officials have said gaps along the Southwestern border could provide opportunities for terrorists to enter the country.

Boeing Co. has the contract for the technology portion of the fence, as well as for some construction work. The company's contract for the technology expires this year.

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 18:59

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson told supporters Saturday in Irving that he has heard plenty of calls to drop out of the Republican presidential primary.

Related

Some ''special interests'' have even made personal appeals to him, he said.

''I've got unanswered calls on my phone right now, 'Oh, if you did this or did this, and did this, or if you drop out and support this guy, we'll give you all this money and we'll make sure you're a senator here,''' Carson said. ''What a bunch of crap. This is about saving our nation. This is not about horse-trading and making deals.''

Carson told a reporter afterward that he wasn't going to say who called him, but said his reaction is those people can ''go jump in a lake.''

The one-time Iowa frontrunner vowed to fight on days before the Texas primary, where polls show him in a battle with Ohio Gov. John Kasich for a distant fourth place in a field of five contenders. And in his speech at the Northeast Tarrant County Tea Party event, Carson continued to zig as his Republican rivals zag.

While Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and business mogul Donald Trump have traded insults, Carson said he didn't think it was a good idea to criticize of his fellow Republicans and invoked his faith at every turn. While his opponents talked of Israel and Planned Parenthood and Trump's business acumen and Israel and endorsements, Carson talked about the national debt and his flat tax plan.

Carson said he doesn't think the other candidates talk enough about the $19 trillion national debt. He said that he was ''very disappointed in the so-called debate'' Thursday night in Houston.

A Ben Carson supporter holds a sign while Carson speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

''We're just trying to entertain people,'' Carson said. ''It reminds me so much of ancient Rome '-- everyone wants to go to the Coliseum and somebody stabs someone with a sword and they go, 'Yeah, this is great.' And a tiger tears somebody's head off, and they go, 'Ah, this is wonderful.' And nobody is paying attention to the crumbling society around them.''

The analogy was the closest Carson came Saturday to a criticism of his fellow Republicans. He said such attacks are not ''useful'' to him.

More than 300 supporters turned out to listen to Carson, although only about 200 were able to fit inside a ballroom at The Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport. (Carson addressed the overflow crowd before his speech). The showing was dwarfed by Trump and Rubio's crowds at events Friday in Fort Worth and Dallas, respectively.

Still, Carson said he believes he will exceed expectations in Texas, one of 12 states to cast ballots for a nominee Tuesday. He said his plan to make a comeback and win the nomination is ''waking people up so they actually understand what's going on in this country.''

Carson also said he will support the eventual nominee '-- even though he still hopes that will be him.

But even some staunch supporters at the rally, who want Carson to fight on, don't see much hope.

CC Wafford of the small Collin County town of Nevada, said she will likely vote for Carson.

Wafford learned about him 20 years ago when she was researching brain surgeons for her daughter, then a toddler. She went with a local surgeon '-- the procedure was successful '-- but said she has long been a fan Carson, who she described as ''the only candidate I can trust on either side.''

''When he opens his mouth, it's believable,'' said Wafford, a special education teacher. ''When he opens his mouth, it's not to attack someone else.''

Wafford, a special education teacher, said the other political outsider in the race, Trump, is ''a clown.''

A woman stands up to applaud Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson as he speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

But her husband, Steven, switched from Carson to Cruz because he didn't think Carson could win.

Rick Munroe, 63, of Haltom City, has similar reservations as Steven. Munroe said he wanted to hear Carson speak and wanted his 11-year-old grandson to get Carson's book for teens, ''You Have A Brain,'' signed.

Munroe has made a few small contributions to Carson. But he likes Rubio and Cruz '-- and may consider an anti-Trump vote for Rubio on Tuesday.

He said he likes Kasich, too. But Munroe just doesn't think the governor or Carson have much of a shot.

''It's the wrong year for a lot of them because of Donald Trump,'' Munroe said.

Twitter: @TristanHallman

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:47

An ENQUIRER reporter revealed in September 2009 that Clinton was fighting Parkinson's disease, a brain illness highlighted by worsening tremors of the arms, legs, jaws and face. Bill has denied he suffers from Parkinson's, and blames the tremors on old age. But insiders also said that current events are taking a toll on the struggling campaigner '-- with Bill (seen here in Las Vegas on Feb. 19) now terrified that an outspoken opponent like Donald Trump will shred his credibility over multiple sex scandals!

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:24

HH: Now, I'm joined by Congressman Duncan Hunter of the Armed Services Committee. Congressman Hunter, what do you make of the Senate deal?

DH: Well, from what we've seen of the deal, it's a bad thing. I would, if I was president, I would veto it. And specifically, I wrote the law that mandates the 854 mile border fence, It's been advertised as 700 plus miles, but if you add up the actual mileages that were mandated, these smugglers' routes, it's 854 miles.

HH: Is that double fencing, Congressman Hunter?

DH: That's double fencing. 854 miles of double fencing, and you know it works in San Diego, it's knocked back smuggling by more than 90%.

HH: Of course it works. When people tell me, you know, a ten foot fence, bring an eleven foot ladder, they're idiots.

DH: Yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting, the Governor of Arizona says that, and then she says in the same press conference, doggone those Californians, they fenced their areas, and now everybody's coming through Arizona. So in one breath, she's saying that the fence doesn't work, and the second breath is it's working too well.

HH: So what do you make of the idea that oh, we're just going to use it as a trigger once the 350 miles are built, that will trigger something? I haven't seen the text of the law. No one has. So I'm very, very skeptical, but what do you think?

DH: Here's what I'm afraid of. It's been six months since the President signed my border fence bill. 854 miles passed the House overwhelmingly, passed the Senate by 80-19 in October. The President signed it October 26th. In fact, I talked to him just about an hour ago, and I told him that the latest data that I've gotten, and this was a couple of weeks ago from Homeland Security, was that only a couple of miles of that 854 miles have been constructed. I'm worried that if they put this 370 miles in, that's going to end up being the ceiling, being the limit to the fence that we've constructed, roughly half, or in fact, less than half, of what was in my original bill. So in theory'...but the other thing is, even if you accept that, that they will do 370 miles with the intent at some point to do more of it later, what they're saying is we're going to fence half of the smuggling corridors, where thousands of people are coming in illegally right now, we're going to accompany that with a whole new set of benefits for people that are here illegally, and we're not going to expect the entire world to stampede for America's borders. And of course, they'll stampede for America's borders. First, they have no respect for the law, because we've proven that we don't really mean the law, if we put another amnesty in place. So they'll be stampeding for America's borders, and we'll have, by the Senate's own admission, only half of the smugglers' corridors actually sealed up at that point.

HH: Well now, Congressman Hunter, I don't know if we've got 41 votes in the Senate to stop this. What's your assessment?

DH: Well, I would hope that we do. I mean, you know, the Senate can't have such a deaf ear with respect to the American public. And it's interesting. We're not talking simply about border states. Everybody in this country now understands that first, from a security standpoint, since 9/11, the importance of having an enforceable border, but secondly, you know, I think if you had an enforceable border right now, every single state in the Union would see its crime rate go down, and I think people understand that. There's 250,000 hard core criminals in federal, state and local penitentiaries and jails. We have a massive burden on the social system right now. And you know, when I was in Iowa, I saw, when they swept out all those folks from the Swift Packing Company, those 800 plus people who were there illegally, immediately you had, I'm told, native Iowans waiting in line to get their jobs back at $18 bucks an hour. So the idea that people that come in illegally don't take American jobs is absolutely not accurate.

HH: Congressman, I want to go back to the fence. Is it your opinion, and you are the author of this bill, that the 854 miles that you got through, would do the job or 90% of the job of stemming the cross-border flow?

DH: Yes, yes, it would do 90% of the job, because it would make the smuggling of people very, very difficult for the smugglers. They'd have all the urban areas fenced, they'd have the flat areas where they can drive people through in high numbers fenced, and we'd be able to concentrate our border patrol at the gaps, and then we could finish the fence.

HH: Now I know you probably don't agree with this. I would support a bill that did whatever. I really don't care about the regularization of the people who are here, if they built the 854 miles first. And I think a vast, vast majority of Americans would as well. Why won't they do that?

DH: You know, I think some folks in the administration have wanted to sit on the fence, literally, not build the fence, but sit on that program, drag their feet, until the Senate came with this bill, so that they could march them along together, because think about this. Six months ago, we passed a mandate to build 854 miles of fence. Why would it then be necessary for the Senate, six months later, to put in a provision saying this time, we really promise to build half the fence, if you couple that with a lot of benefits for folks that are here illegally? In other words, they used the conservative desire to get this border enforced, they held that back so that they could pair it up with what liberals want, which is to have lots of benefits for people that here illegally.

HH: I understand that, but then they didn't give it to us, Congressman. I mean, that's'...

DH: No, they didn't give us that, either.

HH: So why wouldn't they?

DH: But I think they held the construction of the fence back so that that would be an enticement.

HH: I understand that point, but why, having done that in order to make this more palatable, why wouldn't they give us the whole fence?

DH: Well, that's a great point, and I think they don't intend to. I think that they want to have simply 370 miles. I think that, in the end, will end up being not only the ceiling, or the floor of this deal, but the ceiling.

HH: It's not going to get built, Congressman. I found an article in Mother Jones from the environmentalists saying we'll kill all the species if we build this fence. I don't think it's going to get built.

DH: Well, here's what I can tell you. I built the San Diego fence with an adverse Clinton Administration that dragged their feet, that fought it, that didn't want to do it, and I wrote exactly the same words in the bill that mandated the 854 miles, and said it shall be built. Now'...

HH: Notwithstanding any other law?

DH: I think it's going to be tougher for them to take this thing apart. And if the American people will make lots of phone calls, I think we'll be able to continue with the fence. We're going to have to hold their feet to the fire, because this administration, this Department of Homeland Security, has really, really taken the slow roll on the border fence.

HH: Now John McCain made a statement earlier. I want to play it for you, Duncan Hunter. Here is Senator McCain on this terrible, terrible bill.

JM: This is the first step. We can and must complete this legislation sooner rather than later. We all know that this issue can be caught up in extracurricular politics, unless me move forward as quickly as possible. This is a product of a long, hard trail of negotiation, and I'm sure that there are certain provisions that each of us would not agree with. But this is what the legislative process is all about, this is what bipartisanship is about, when there's a requirement for this nation, and its security that transcends party lines. I'm proud to have been a small part of it.

HH: Your reaction, Congressman Duncan Hunter?

DH: Yeah, first, there hasn't been a focus on security, because a focus on security would have mandated the construction of a border fence immediately. We could have put it up in six months. So people did not care in the Senate or in the White House about border security. But secondly, this ignores every part of human nature. Human nature is to get in under the wire, get in before the door closes, and this will cause a stampede for America's borders, because there will be perceived benefits to be had on the other side. And the idea that we are going to create these benefits, and that people around the world will pull up on their websites the fine print that the fine U.S. Senate has put down, saying now this time, we really mean it, we don't want anybody else to come in illegally, that will be ignored, just as people ignored after the 1986 amnesty, all the fine print that said from now on, we're going to enforce the rule of law. What this does is give people around the world a total disrespect for American law, because they feel that we don't care about the law.

HH: Let me read to you Mayor Giuliani's statement. This is from his communications director, by the way. Rudy's top priority and main objective is to ensure our borders are secure, and stop potential terrorists and criminals from coming in. The recent Fort Dix plot is a stark reminder that the threat of terrorism has made immigration an important matter of national security. We need to know who is coming in and who's going out to this country, and we are going to deal with those who are here illegally. That really doesn't tell me anything about what he thinks about this bill, Congressman.

DH: I think that means that the Mayor is still contemplating the bill, and will come up with a definitive statement later.

HH: Will you be offering amendments to make sure that the fence, all 854 miles, be constructed before anything else happens?

DH: Absolutely.

HH: Will those pass a Democratically-controlled House?

DH: Probably not. And that is why what we need to do right now is enforce existing law. We have existing law that mandates the construction of the border fence.

HH: But what we really need to do is get the Senate to stop this.

DH: Absolutely. And what we need to do is have millions of Americans go to their telephones right now and call House members, as well as Senate members, right now, call your Senator, call your Representative, tell them you don't like it, and tell them that you're going to watch this vote, and this vote is going to be very important to your decisions with respect with who you're going to vote for in the next election.

HH: Congressman Hunter, what's your website?

DH: www.gohunter08.com.

HH: www.gohunter08.com. Very quickly, how's your boy doing in Afghanistan?

DH: Well, he leaves on the 23rd to go over, and he's down right now in North Carolina, and I'm going to be driving down as soon as we can get these guys to stop talking, and leave the House of Representatives floor. I'm going to get in my car and head down and see him.

HH: Well, tell him thank you for his service, from everyone listening to the Hugh Hewitt Show. Congressman Hunter, always a pleasure, talk to you again soon.

End of interview.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:24

Editor's Note: This is the fourth in WND's planned series of one-on-one interviews with each candidate for the office of president. Today U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter calls for construction of a border fence, suggesting that crime will drop across the country on its completion.

The fastest way to cut crime in the U.S. is to build a border fence with Mexico, according to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a candidate for the GOP nomination for president.

Hunter told WND in an exclusive question-and-answer session that after a border fence he helped commission was finished near San Diego, crime in that city dropped by half.

He was responding to a WND question about his perspective on the status of illegal aliens in U.S. and what should the nation should do.

''I get to answer the last part of that by talking about that I have committed that I will build the border fence that I wrote into law in six months. Last Oct. 26, the president signed my bill, the bill that I wrote that mandates 854 miles of San Diego-style border fence. That's the fence I built in San Diego, Calif. Double layer fence with a Border Patrol road in between,'' he said.

''The extension of that fence for 854 miles across the smuggling corridors of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California will be a priority, and that, incidentally, will be one of my first initiatives as president,'' said Hunter. ''That, I think, will have a salutary effect on illegal immigration problem, as well as the crime problem in this country.

''When we built that border fence the crime rate in the city of San Diego dropped by 50 percent. I think the crime rate will drop in every state of the union upon completion of the border fence,'' he said.

Hunter served in the 173rd Airborne and 75th Army Rangers in Vietnam and then attended what now is Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He first was elected to Congress in 1980, and after arriving in Washington took on the burden of working on military, border security and economic issues.

Then Sept. 11, 2001, happened. He saw that border security was indeed a national issue, and he responded ''by leading efforts in Congress to seal a porous border susceptible to illegal aliens, drug trafficking and terrorism,'' his website said. So far in San Diego County, 59 miles of border fence and infrastructure have been built.

He also believes it is important for the U.S Border Patrol to know what is being brought into the U.S., because of the threat of terrorism.

''What I think we're going to have to have in this long war against terrorism is the ability to pre-empt the development of weapons of mass destruction, whether it's the continuing progress that the Iranians are making with respect to refinement of weapons grade material that one day could result in a nuclear device or other nations moving toward the development of weapons that could give terrorists enormous leverage against Americans and their interests,'' he told WND.

''That means we're going to have to have a strong intelligence capability with an emphasis on human intelligence. We're going to need a reactive capability manifested in our line forces and our special operations forces and also have the ability to make deep strikes and long distance strikes in very remote parts of the world. Those are some of the things I think the United States will have to acquire during this period that I call terrorists with technology.''

Another issue on his radar is the economy.

He told WND in his first 100 days he would be communicating with the government of communist China and informing them that they no longer would be allowed to ''cheat'' on trade.

He said the Asian nation has manipulated its own currency to attract manufacturing that used to generate millions of jobs in the U.S.

''At some point that's going to affect the national security capability of this country as well as, obviously, the long-term economic health of the United States,'' he said.

Hunter also said he supports a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman and would like to see a judiciary overturn Roe v. Wade.

''But if it doesn't, I would push strongly for the legislative initiative that I've carried for years, which is the life- begins-at-conception bill, which would protect unborn children within the boundaries of Roe v. Wade,'' he said.

Read the full question-and-answer interview with U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter.

Previous stories:

Brownback calls for return to 'family values'

Tancredo: Find deterrent or face another 9/11

Ron Paul warns war with Iran 'inevitable'

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 28 Feb 2016 04:24

Anyone looking for further converts to the Hillary Clinton campaign might do well to look at the Marco Rubio campaign. If Clinton is the leading liberal hawk, Rubio is the foremost neocon candidate. In 2014 National Review published an article about him titled ''The neocons return.''

Whether it's Cuba or Iran or Russia, he stakes out the most intransigent line: ''I disagree with voices in my own party who argue we should not engage at all, who warn we should heed the words of John Quincy Adams not to go 'abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.''' Not surprisingly, he's surrounded himself with neocon advisers, ranging from Max Boot to Jamie Fly to Elliott Abrams.

If Donald Trump, as seems more than likely, prevails in the GOP primary, then a number of neocons may defect to the Clinton campaign. Already Robert Kagan announced in the Washington Post on Thursday that he intends to back Hillary Clinton if Donald Trump receives the GOP nomination. The fact is that the loyalty of the neocons has always been to an ideology of American exceptionalism, not to a particular party.

This is what separates the neocon conversion to Clinton from previous examples of Republicans endorsing Barack Obama. Colin Powell wasn't making an ideological statement. He was making a practical one, based on his distaste for where the GOP was headed. For the neocons this is a much more heartfelt moment. They have invested decades in trying to reshape the GOP into their own image, and were quite successful at it. But now a formidable challenge is taking place as the GOP reverts to its traditional heritage.

The impulse of the neocons to return to the Democratic Party should not be wholly surprising. In 1972, for example, Robert L. Bartley, the editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal, wrote that the fledgling neoconservatives represented ''something of a swing group between the two major parties.'' He was right. The neoconservatives had their home in the Democratic Party in the 1960s. Then they marched rightward, in reaction to the rise of the adversary culture inside the Democratic Party. George McGovern's run for the presidency in 1972, followed by the Jimmy Carter presidency, sent them into the arms of Ronald Reagan and the GOP.

But it wasn't until the George W. Bush presidency that the neocons became the dominant foreign policy force inside the GOP. They promptly proceeded to wreck his presidency by championing the war in Iraq. Today, having wrecked it, they are now threatening to bolt the GOP and support Hillary Clinton rather than Donald Trump for the presidency.

Something like this scenario is what I predicted in the New York Times in July 2014. Trump wasn't around then as a force inside the GOP. But already it seemed clear that some of the leading neocons such as Kagan were receptive to Clinton. Now, in a Washington Post column, Kagan has gone all in.

He decries Republican obstructionism, antipathy to Obama, and the rise of Trump. The tone is apocalyptic. According to Kagan,

''So what to do now? The Republicans' creation will soon be let loose on the land, leaving to others the job the party failed to carry out. For this former Republican, and perhaps for others, the only choice will be to vote for Hillary Clinton. The party cannot be saved, but the country still can be.''

This itself represents a curious case of neocon hyperbole. Kagan is an eloquent writer, but he elides the fact that many of Trump's positions are not all that different from what the GOP has espoused in the past when it comes to domestic issues. It is on foreign affairs where Trump represents a marked shift and it is this that truly troubles the neocon wing.

Trump has made it clear that he's dubious about foreign interventions. He's indicated that he would treat with Russian president Vladimir Putin. His entire foreign policy credo, such as it is, seems to have a Jacksonian pedigree'--don't tread on me.

For its part, neoconservatism has always had a nationalistic streak. But Trump represents everything that the neocons believed that they had purged from the GOP. He represents continuity with the Buchananite wing, the belief that America should tend to its own knitting before launching hopeless wars abroad. When it comes to foreign policy, however, the second generation of neocons such as Kagan does not trace its lineage back to Ohio Senator Robert Taft but to the one that Republicans in the early 1950s reviled: the Truman administration.

Here we come full circle. The origins of the neocons are in the Democratic Party. Should Clinton become the Democratic nominee and Trump the Republican one, a number of neocons may make common cause with Clinton. Watch Rubio's ranks first.

Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of the National Interest.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mariusz Kubik.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:59

Posted onFebruary 19, 2016

The Onion has already begun publishing propaganda after being purchased by top Hillary donor.

Credit: The Onion

The Onion, a satirical news website whose headlines alone garner thousands of shares on social media, was purchased by Univision Communications last month, who is a top donor to Hillary Clinton's campaign. The move made many fans wary, carefully watching to see if anything would be slipped in that seemed too good to be satire and, to the dismay of many, a pro-Hillary, not-very-satirical article did pop up.

The title of the article read, ''Female Presidential Candidate Who Was United States Senator, Secretary Of State Told To Be More Inspiring.'' Instead of the typical Onion jabs at the presidential candidate, the article is mostly about outlining Clinton's basic track record in the U.S. government. According to the article, Jim Margolis, Clinton's media advisor, tells ''the woman '-- who overcame entrenched societal biases to build a successful legal career, became the first female senator elected in the state of New York, oversaw the Department of State during a period of widespread international tumult, and, if elected, would be the first female president in American history '-- to be more uplifting to voters.''

Many have already called out the news outlet for posting the propaganda because it was bought by such a huge donor for Hillary. Univision co-owner Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl have given Clinton's campaign over $2 million, and another $10 million to The Clinton Foundation. Saban has been quoted as saying what his ''three ways to be influential in American politics'' are; the first is through political donations, the second is by establishing think tanks, and the third is by controlling media outlets.

It's no wonder then that he has, through Univision, also purchased The Root and attempted to purchase the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. If he had succeeded, the reach of his pro-Hillary (and pro-Israel) influence without proper context and unbiased reporting would be immeasurable.

Satire has an important place in American politics, in a country where free speech is exercised by taking light, hilarious jabs at candidates, Congress, and the White House. The problem with this newly purchased satirical news outlet is that it takes away the hilarity of political articles and turns it into a place where skeletal versions of corporate candidate's past employment are made to look like huge achievements with no real jokes at all. This article has no substantial backing or a true history of Clinton's ethical accountability or the big money she allows to fund her campaign.

Instead of turning readers into pro-Hillary voters, this new move in ownership and content has shown even more why it's so important not to follow major news outlets who have already been bought out and controlled and instead follow alternative media to form your own opinions.

This article (Hillary's Top Donor Just Bought The Onion And Immediately Started Posting Propaganda) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under aCreative Commonslicense with attribution to the author andTrueActivist.com.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 15:44

Did you see this? Dear Friend, The Cruz Crew Strike Force is adapting,moving from its Camp Cruz base camps to face the challenges of the changing campaign calendar. Please adapt with us. Senator Cruz and thecampaign still need your help. Please join us in one of the many states that will be voting soon. You can still make a difference and share inthe excitement of volunteering with other members of the Cruz Crew and enjoy the fellowship that so inspired over 1300 of you fellow patriots.Go on Facebook to read the shared stories – it has been a truly remarkable story of this campaign. Senator Cruz needs your help, now more than ever. Our opponents areflooding the airways with attacks. The best way to combat that is with a well-organized grassroots effort. The field has winnowed. We arethe only conservative candidate still in the race. We met our goal of winning 1 of the first 4 states. We will perform extremely well onSEC Super Tuesday. Now we are gearing up for the March 15, winner-take-all states. Senator Cruz needs you. If you are able to cover your own travel, the Strike Forcevolunteer team will attempt to place you into a local volunteer’s home. Better yet if you can pay for your own accommodations. Joinpatriots from 46 of the 50 states that have already traveled to help Ted Cruz become the only viable alternative to Donald Trump. Will you deploy for Ted Cruz? Sign up here to join the Cruz Crew Mobile Strike Force!It does not matter if you can only volunteer for two days or two weeks. Say yes!! Say you will deploy. A member of our Strike Force Cruz Crewvolunteer team give you a call to sign you up. We’ll let you know where you are most needed. Remember, you have a role in this fightfor the future of the United States of America. Grab the ring!! Thanks, The Cruz Crew Mobility Strike Force Team P.S. Sign up today for the futureof America! PAID FOR BY CRUZ FORPRESIDENT www.tedcruz.org Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy This message was intended for: adam@curry.com You were added to the system October 8, 2015. For more information click here. Update your preferences Unsubscribe | Unsubscribe via email

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 21:45

Assistant Professor Melissa Click, captured on video calling for ''some muscle'' to remove reporters from a campus protest site, was fired Wednesday by the University of Missouri Board of Curators, Chairwoman Pam Henrickson said in a prepared statement.

The board voted 4-2 in favor of termination during a closed session in Kansas City, with Henrickson and curator John Phillips opposing the move, UM System spokesman John Fougere wrote in an email Thursday. Curators David Steelman, Donald Cupps, Maurice Graham and Phil Snowden voted in favor of firing Click.

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Click did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday. The board earlier voted to suspend Click with pay on Jan. 27.

''The board respects Dr. Click's right to express her views and does not base this decision on her support for students engaged in protest or their views,'' Henrickson said in the prepared statement. ''However, Dr. Click was not entitled to interfere with the rights of others, to confront members of law enforcement or to encourage potential physical intimidation against a student.''

The statement from Henrickson cited Click's behavior at the Homecoming parade, when she cursed at a police officer who was moving protesters out of the street, and on Nov. 9 at Concerned Student 1950's protest site on the Carnahan Quadrangle. Her actions at the protest site, Henrickson said, ''when she interfered with members of the media and students who were exercising their rights in a public space and called for intimidation against one of our students, we believe demands serious action.''

The investigators hired by the curators reviewed videos, documents and conducted more than 20 interviews, Henrickson said.

''She has the right to appeal her termination,'' Henrickson said. ''The board went to significant lengths to ensure fairness and due process.''

Interim MU Chancellor Hank Foley released a statement Thursday admitting the process the curators used to fire Click was "not typical."

"These have been extraordinary times in our university's history, and I am in complete agreement with the board that the termination of Dr. Click is in the best interest of our university," Foley said. "Her actions in October and November are those that directly violate the core values of our university."

Foley said the process and investigation that led to Click's termination had been fair.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, wrote to members of the Downtown Community Improvement District board that Click is a symbol that is hurting the university.

''Everybody that I talked to said it would be a step in the right direction and would show some leadership,'' Basye said Thursday. ''I firmly believe she should have been terminated after the first video.''

Click ''is a flashpoint that allows us to potentially begin to move away from a backward-looking dialogue to a more forward-facing dialogue,'' state Rep. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said Thursday before the announcement. ''I think it would help'' if she were fired, he said.

The curators' earlier decision to suspend Click has been criticized by the MUFaculty Counciland the American Association of University Professors.

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Archived Version

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:10

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease (encephalopathy) in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 2.5 to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years, all breeds being equally susceptible. BSE is caused by a misfolded protein'--a prion.[1] In the United Kingdom, the country worst affected, more than 180,000 cattle were infected and 4.4 million slaughtered during the eradication program.[2]

The disease may be most easily transmitted to human beings by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or digestive tract of infected carcasses.[3] However, the infectious agent, although most highly concentrated in nervous tissue, can be found in virtually all tissues throughout the body, including blood.[4] In humans, it is known as new variant Creutzfeldt''Jakob disease (vCJD or nvCJD), and by June 2014 it had killed 177 people in the United Kingdom, and 52 elsewhere.[5] Between 460,000 and 482,000 BSE-infected animals had entered the human food chain before controls on high-risk offal were introduced in 1989.[6][7]

A British and Irish inquiry into BSE concluded the epizootic was caused by cattle, which are normally herbivores, being fed the remains of other cattle in the form of meat and bone meal (MBM), which caused the infectious agent to spread.[8][9] The cause of BSE may be from the contamination of MBM from sheep with scrapie that were processed in the same slaughterhouse. The epidemic was probably accelerated by the recycling of infected bovine tissues prior to the recognition of BSE.[10] The origin of the disease itself remains unknown. The infectious agent is distinctive for the high temperatures at which it remains viable, over 600 °C (about 1100 °F).[11] This contributed to the spread of the disease in the United Kingdom, which had reduced the temperatures used during its rendering process.[8] Another contributory factor was the feeding of infected protein supplements to very young calves.[8][12]

Signs and symptoms[edit]Cows affected by BSE are usually apart from the herd and will show progressively deteriorating behavioural and neurological signs. One notable sign is an increase in aggression. Cattle will react excessively to noise or touch and will slowly become ataxic.[13]

Systemic signs of disease, such as a drop in milk production, anorexia and lethargy, are present.[13]

The infectious agent in BSE is believed to be a specific type of misfoldedprotein called a prion. Other theories state that the agent is a Virus,[14]Virino,[15]Spiroplasma,[16] or Acinetobacter.[17] Prions are not destroyed even if the beef or material containing them is cooked or heat-treated. Prion proteins carry the disease between individuals and cause deterioration of the brain. BSE is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE).[18] TSEs can arise in animals that carry an allele which causes previously normal protein molecules to contort by themselves from an alpha helical arrangement to a beta pleated sheet, which is the disease-causing shape for the particular protein. Transmission can occur when healthy animals come in contact with tainted tissues from others with the disease. In the brain, these proteins cause native cellular prion protein to deform into the infectious state, which then goes on to deform further prion protein in an exponential cascade. This results in protein aggregates, which then form dense plaque fibers leading to the microscopic appearance of "holes" in the brain, degeneration of physical and mental abilities, and ultimately death.

Different hypotheses exist for the origin of prion proteins in cattle. Two leading hypotheses suggest it may have jumped species from the disease scrapie in sheep, or that it evolved from a spontaneous form of "mad cow disease" that has been seen occasionally in cattle for many centuries.[19] In the fifth century BCE, Hippocrates described a similar illness in cattle and sheep, which he believed also occurred in man.[20]Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus recorded cases of a disease with similar characteristics in the fourth and fifth centuries CE.[21] The British Government enquiry took the view the cause was not scrapie, as had originally been postulated, but was some event in the 1970s that was not possible to identify.[22]

Research in 2008 suggested that mad cow disease also is caused by a genetic mutation within a gene called the prion protein gene. The research showed, for the first time, that a 10-year-old cow from Alabama with an atypical form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy had the same type of prion protein gene mutation as found in human patients with the genetic form of Creutzfeldt''Jakob disease (genetic CJD). This form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is called variant CJD.[23]

Diagnosis[edit]Diagnosis of BSE continues to be a practical problem. It has an incubation period of months to years, during which there are no symptoms, though the pathway of converting the normal brain prion protein (PrP) into the toxic, disease-related PrPSc form has started. At present, there is virtually no way to detect PrPSc reliably except by examining post mortem brain tissue using neuropathological and immunohistochemical methods. Accumulation of the abnormally folded PrPSc form of PrP is a characteristic of the disease, but it is present at very low levels in easily accessible body fluids such as blood or urine. Researchers have tried to develop methods to measure PrPSc, but no methods for use in materials such as blood have been accepted fully.[by whom?]

The traditional method of diagnosis relies on histopathological examination of the medulla oblongata of the brain, and other tissues, post mortem. Immunohistochemistry can be used to demonstrate prion protein accumulation.[13]

In 2010, a team from New York described detection of PrPSc even when initially present at only one part in a hundred billion (10''11) in brain tissue. The method combines amplification with a novel technology called surround optical fiber immunoassay and some specific antibodies against PrPSc. After amplifying and then concentrating any PrPSc, the samples are labelled with a fluorescent dye using an antibody for specificity and then finally loaded into a microcapillary tube. This tube is placed in a specially constructed apparatus so it is totally surrounded by optical fibres to capture all light emitted once the dye is excited using a laser. The technique allowed detection of PrPSc after many fewer cycles of conversion than others have achieved, substantially reducing the possibility of artefacts, as well as speeding up the assay. The researchers also tested their method on blood samples from apparently healthy sheep that went on to develop scrapie. The animals' brains were analysed once any symptoms became apparent. The researchers could, therefore, compare results from brain tissue and blood taken once the animals exhibited symptoms of the diseases, with blood obtained earlier in the animals' lives, and from uninfected animals. The results showed very clearly that PrPSc could be detected in the blood of animals long before the symptoms appeared. After further development and testing, this method could be of great value in surveillance as a blood- or urine-based screening test for BSE.[24][25]

Prevention[edit]A ban on feeding cattle meat and bone meal has resulted in a reduction in cases in countries where the disease was present. In disease-free countries, control relies on import control, feeding regulations and surveillance measures.[13]

In UK slaughterhouses, the brain, spinal cord, trigeminal ganglia, intestines, eyes and tonsils from cattle are classified as specified risk materials, and must be disposed of appropriately.[13]

Epidemiology[edit]The table to the right summarizes reported cases of BSE and of vCJD by country. (The vCJD column is by country of residence of patient at time of diagnosis and not suspected origin of beef.) BSE is the disease in cattle, while vCJD is the disease in people.

The tests used for detecting BSE vary considerably, as do the regulations in various jurisdictions for when, and which cattle, must be tested. For instance in the EU, the cattle tested are older (30 months or older), while many cattle are slaughtered younger than that. At the opposite end of the scale, Japan tests all cattle at the time of slaughter. Tests are also difficult, as the altered prion protein has very low levels in blood or urine, and no other signal has been found. Newer tests are faster, more sensitive, and cheaper, so future figures possibly may be more comprehensive. Even so, currently the only reliable test is examination of tissues during a necropsy.

As for vCJD in humans, autopsy tests are not always done, so those figures, too, are likely to be too low, but probably by a lesser fraction. In the United Kingdom, anyone with possible vCJD symptoms must be reported to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit. In the United States, the CDC has refused to impose a national requirement that physicians and hospitals report cases of the disease. Instead, the agency relies on other methods, including death certificates and urging physicians to send suspicious cases to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (NPDPSC) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, which is funded by the CDC.

To control potential transmission of vCJD within the United States, the American Red Cross has established strict restrictions on individuals' eligibility to donate blood. Individuals who have spent a cumulative time of 3 months or more in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996, or a cumulative time of 5 years or more from 1980 to present in any combination of countries in Europe, are prohibited from donating blood.[37]

North America[edit]The first reported case in North America was in December 1993 from Alberta, Canada.[38][39] Another Canadian case was reported in May 2003. The first known U.S. occurrence came in December of the same year, though it was later confirmed to be a cow of Canadian origin imported to the U.S.[40] Canada announced two additional cases of BSE from Alberta in early 2005.[41] In June 2005, John R. Clifford, chief veterinary officer for the United States Department of Agriculture animal health inspection service, confirmed a fully domestic case of BSE in Texas.[42]

Practices in the United States relating to BSE[edit]Soybean meal is cheap and plentiful in the United States. Cottonseed meal, 1.5 million tons of which are produced in the U.S. every year, none of which is suitable for humans or any other simple-stomach animals, is even cheaper than soybean meal. Historically, meat and bone meal, blood meal, and meat scraps have almost always commanded a higher price as a feed additive than oilseed meals in the U.S., so not much incentive existed to use animal products to feed ruminants. As a result, the use of animal byproduct feeds was never common, as it was in Europe. However, U.S. regulations only partially prohibited the use of animal byproducts in feed. In 1997, regulations prohibited the feeding of mammalian byproducts to ruminants such as cattle and goats. However, the byproducts of ruminants can still be legally fed to pets or other livestock, including pigs and poultry. In addition, it is legal for ruminants to be fed byproducts from some of these animals.[43] Because of this, some authors have suggested that under certain conditions, it is still possible for BSE incidence to increase in U.S. cattle.[44] A proposal to end the use of cattle blood, restaurant scraps, and poultry litter (fecal matter, feathers, bedding material)[45] in January 2004 has yet to be implemented.[46]

In February 2001, the US Government Accountability Office reported the FDA, which is responsible for regulating feed, had not adequately enforced the various bans.[47] Compliance with the regulations was shown to be extremely poor before the discovery of a cow in Washington infected with BSE in 2003, but industry representatives report that compliance is now total. Even so, critics call the partial prohibitions insufficient. Indeed, US meat producer Creekstone Farms was forcibly prevented from conducting BSE testing by the USDA, which under an obscure 1913 law had the authority to restrict sales of BSE testing kits, allegedly to protect other producers from being forced to conduct the same tests to stay competitive.[48]

The USDA has issued recalls of beef supplies that involved introduction of downer cows into the food supply. Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was found to have used electric shocks to prod downer cows into the slaughtering system in 2007.[49] Possibly due to pressure from large agribusiness, the United States has drastically cut back on the number of cows inspected for BSE.[50]

Effect on the US beef industry[edit]Japan was the top importer of US beef, buying 240,000 tons valued at $1.4 billion in 2003.[citation needed] After the discovery of the first case of BSE in the US on 23 December 2003, Japan halted US beef imports. In December 2005, Japan once again allowed imports of US beef, but reinstated its ban in January 2006 after a violation of the US-Japan beef import agreement: a vertebral column, which should have been removed prior to shipment, was included in a shipment of veal.

Tokyo yielded to US pressure to resume imports, ignoring consumer worries about the safety of US beef, said Japanese consumer groups. Michiko Kamiyama from Food Safety Citizen Watch and Yoko Tomiyama from Consumers Union of Japan[51] said about this: "The government has put priority on the political schedule between the two countries, not on food safety or human health."

Sixty-five nations implemented full or partial restrictions on importing US beef products because of concerns that US testing lacked sufficient rigor. As a result, exports of US beef declined from 1,300,000 metric tons in 2003, (before the first mad cow was detected in the US) to 322,000 metric tons in 2004. This has increased since then to 771,000 metric tons in 2007.[52]

On 31 December 2006, Hematech, Inc, a biotechnology company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced it had used genetic engineering and cloning technology to produce cattle that lacked a necessary gene for prion production '' thus theoretically making them immune to BSE.[53]

In April 2012, some South Korean retailers ceased importing beef from the United States after a case of BSE was reported.[54]Indonesia also suspended imports of beef from the US after a dairy cow with mad cow disease was discovered in California.[55]

Japan[edit]With 36 confirmed cases, Japan experienced one of the largest number of cases of BSE outside Europe.[56] It was the only country outside Europe and the Americas to report non-imported cases.[57] Reformation of food safety in the light of the BSE cases resulted in the establishment of a governmental Food Safety Commission in 2003.[58]

Britain[edit]Cattle are naturally herbivores, eating grasses. In modern industrial cattle-farming, though, various commercial feeds are used, which may contain ingredients including antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, fertilizers, and protein supplements. The use of meat and bone meal, produced from the ground and cooked leftovers of the slaughtering process, as well as from the carcasses of sick and injured animals such as cattle or sheep, as a protein supplement in cattle feed was widespread in Europe prior to about 1987.[3] Worldwide, soybean meal is the primary plant-based protein supplement fed to cattle. However, soybeans do not grow well in Europe, so cattle raisers throughout Europe turned to the cheaper animal byproduct feeds as an alternative. The British Inquiry dismissed suggestions that changes to processing might have increased the infectious agents in cattle feed, saying, "changes in process could not have been solely responsible for the emergence of BSE, and changes in regulation were not a factor at all."[59] (The prion causing BSE is not destroyed by heat treatment.)

The first confirmed instance in which an animal fell ill with the disease occurred in 1986 in the United Kingdom, and lab tests the following year indicated the presence of BSE; by November 1987, the British Ministry of Agriculture accepted it had a new disease on its hands.[60] Subsequently, 177 people (as of June 2014) contracted and died of a disease with similar neurological symptoms subsequently called (new) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).[5][61] This is a separate disease from 'classical' Creutzfeldt''Jakob disease, which is not related to BSE and has been known about since the early 1900s. Three cases of vCJD occurred in people who had lived in or visited the UK '' one each in the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and the United States of America. Also, some concern existed about those who work with (and therefore inhale) cattle meat and bone meal, such as horticulturists, who use it as fertilizer. Up-to-date statistics on all types of CJD are published by the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For many of the vCJD patients, direct evidence exists that they had consumed tainted beef, and this is assumed to be the mechanism by which all affected individuals contracted it.[citation needed] Disease incidence also appears to correlate with slaughtering practices that led to the mixture of nervous system tissue with ground meat (mince) and other beef. An estimated 400,000 cattle infected with BSE entered the human food chain in the 1980s.[citation needed] Although the BSE epizootic was eventually brought under control by culling all suspect cattle populations, people are still being diagnosed with vCJD each year (though the number of new cases currently has dropped to fewer than five per year). This is attributed to the long incubation period for prion diseases, which is typically measured in years or decades. As a result, the full extent of the human vCJD outbreak is still not known.

The scientific consensus is that infectious BSE prion material is not destroyed through cooking procedures, meaning that even contaminated beef foodstuffs prepared "well done" may remain infectious.[62][63] In fact the infectious agent remains viable over 600 °C (about 1100 °F).

Alan Colchester, a professor of neurology at the University of Kent, and Nancy Colchester, writing in the 3 September 2005 issue of the medical journal The Lancet, proposed a theory that the most likely initial origin of BSE in the United Kingdom was the importation from the Indian Subcontinent of bone meal which contained CJD-infected human remains.[64] The government of India vehemently responded to the research, calling it "misleading, highly mischievous; a figment of imagination; absurd," further adding that India maintained constant surveillance and had not had a single case of either BSE or vCJD.[65][66] The authors responded in the 22 January 2006 issue of The Lancet that their theory is unprovable only in the same sense as all other BSE origin theories are and that the theory warrants further investigation.[67]

During the course of the investigation into the BSE epizootic, an enquiry was also made into the activities of the Department of HealthMedicines Control Agency (MCA). On 7 May 1999, David Osborne Hagger, a retired civil servant who worked in the Medicines Division of the Department of Health between 1984 and 1994, produced a written statement to the BSE Inquiry in which he gave an account of his professional experience of BSE.[68]

In February 1989, the MCA had been asked to "identify relevant manufacturers and obtain information about the bovine material contained in children's vaccines, the stocks of these vaccines and how long it would take to switch to other products." In July, "[the] use of bovine insulin in a small group of mainly elderly patients was noted and it was recognised that alternative products for this group were not considered satisfactory." In September, the BSE Working Party of the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM) recommended that "no licensing action is required at present in regard to products produced from bovine material or using prepared bovine brain in nutrient media and sourced from outside the United Kingdom, the Channel Isles and the Republic of Ireland provided that the country of origin is known to be free of BSE, has competent veterinary advisers and is known to practise good animal husbandry."

In 1990, the British Diabetic Association became concerned regarding the safety of bovine insulin. The CSM assured them "[that] there was no insulin sourced from cattle in the UK or Ireland and that the situation in other countries was being monitored."

In 1991, the European Commission "[expressed] concerns about the possible transmission of the BSE/scrapie agent to man through use of certain cosmetic treatments."

In 1992, sources in France reported to the MCA "that BSE had now been reported in France and there were some licensed surgical sutures derived from French bovine material." Concerns were also raised at a CSM meeting "regarding a possible risk of transmission of the BSE agent in gelatin products."[68]

The ban on British beef[edit]The BSE crisis led to the European Union banning exports of British beef with effect from March 1996; the ban would last for 10 years before it was finally lifted on 1 May 2006[69] despite attempts in May 1996 by British prime minister John Major to get the ban lifted. The ban resulted in trade controversies between the UK and other EU states, dubbed "beef war" by media.[70]

Russia was proceeding to lift the ban sometime after November 2012 after 16 years; the announcement was made during a visit by the UK's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens.[71]

It was successfully negotiated that beef from Wales was allowed to be exported to the Dutch market, which had formerly been an important market for Northern Irish beef. Of two approved export establishments in the United Kingdom in 1999, one was in Scotland '' an establishment to which live beef was supplied from Northern Ireland. As the incidence of BSE was very low in Northern Ireland '' only six cases of BSE by 1999 '' partly due to the early adoption of an advanced herd tagging and computerization system in the region, calls were made to remove the EU ban on exports with regard to Northern Irish beef.[72]

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The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (NCJDSU), University of Edinburgh. October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-14. ; Archived copy from 2012-07^Valleron AJ, Boelle PY, Will R, Cesbron JY (November 2001). "Estimation of epidemic size and incubation time based on age characteristics of vCJD in the United Kingdom". Science294 (5547): 1726''8. doi:10.1126/science.1066838. PMID 11721058. Lay summary '' BBC News (2001-11-23). ^VARIANT CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE CURRENT DATA (JUNE 2014)^ abc"BSE: Disease control & eradication '' Causes of BSE". Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs. March 2007. ^"The BSE Inquiry Website at The UK National Archives". ^Nathanson, N; Wilesmith, J; Griot, C (June 1997). "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): causes and consequences of a common source epidemic". PMID 9169904. ^Brown, P; Rau, EH; Johnson, BK; Bacote, AE; Gibbs Jr., CJ; Gajdusek, DC (2000-03-28). "New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication.". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA97 (7): 3418''21. doi:10.1073/pnas.050566797. PMC 16254. PMID 10716712. ^Harden, Blaine (28 December 2003). "Supplements used in factory farming can spread disease". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-08. ^ abcdeBovine Spongiform Encephalopathy reviewed and published by WikiVet. Retrieved 11 October 2011.^Miyazawa K, Kipkorir T, Tittman S, Manuelidis L. "Continuous production of prions after infectious particles are eliminated: implications for Alzheimer's disease". PLOS ONE7 (4): e35471. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035471. PMID 22509412. ^http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3044709^Bastian FO (2014). "Cross-Roads in Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases"(PDF). Journal of Alzheimers Disease and Parkinsonism4 (2): 1000141. doi:10.4172/2161-0460.1000141. ^Tiwana H, Wilson C, Pirt J, Cartmell W, Ebringer A (1999). "Autoantibodies to brain components and antibodies to Acinetobacter calcoaceticus are present in bovine spongiform encephalopathy". Infect. Immun.67 (12): 6591''5. PMC 97071. PMID 10569779. ^"Bovine Spongiform Encephalopaphy: An Overview"(PDF). Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture. December 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-08. ^MacKenzie, Debora (17 March 2007). "New twist in tale of BSE's beginnings". New Scientist193 (2595): 11. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(07)60642-3. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^McAlister, Vf (June 2005). "Sacred disease of our times: failure of the infectious disease model of spongiform encephalopathy.". Clin Invest Med28 (3): 101''4. PMID 16021982. Retrieved 2011-06-20. ^Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus^Vol.1 '' Executive Summary of the Report of the Inquiry^Richt JA, Hall SM (2008). Westaway, David, ed. "BSE case associated with prion protein gene mutation". PLoS Pathogens4 (9): e1000156. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000156. PMC 2525843. PMID 18787697. Lay summary '' Newswise (2008-09-12). ^"Detecting Prions in Blood"(PDF). Microbiology Today.: 195. August 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-21. ^"SOFIA: An Assay Platform for Ultrasensitive Detection of PrPSc in Brain and Blood"(PDF). SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Retrieved 2011-08-19. ^"BSE in Belgium". 12 November 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^ ab"BSE Cases in North America, by Year and Country of Death, 1993''2008". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^"BSE Positive Findings in the Czech Republic"(pdf). State Veterinary Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Czech Republic. 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^"The Current Status of BSE and scrapie in Denmark"(PDF). Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. May 2007. Archived from the original(pdf) on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^France reports more than 900 BSE cases^"BSE in Greece". Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^"Israel: BSE testing according to source of cattle and age groups, 2002''2008". 5 March 2008. ^"vCJD Cases Worldwide 2011". 2 July 2011. ^"BSE cases '' Italy 2001 '' 2006". 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-10. ^"Overzicht BSE-gevallen" (in Dutch). Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-09. ^http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/documents/figs.pdf; April 2013^Eligibility Criteria for Blood Donation, American Red Cross^"Mad Cow in Canada: The science and the story". CBC News. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 20 Jan 2015. ^"Mad Cow in Canada '' 1993". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 23 August 2011. ^"Investigators Trace Diseased Cow to Canada". ^Becker, Geoffrey S. (11 March 2005). "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Canadian Beef Imports"(PDF). CRS Report for Congress. RL32627. ^reported "Case of Mad Cow in Texas Is First to Originate in U.S.", New York Times^Rampton, Sheldon; Stauber, John (2004). Mad Cow USA (1st ed.). Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press. ISBN 978-1-56751-110-9. ^Barnes, Richard; Lehman, Clarence (June 2013). "Modeling of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a two-species feedback loop". Epidemics (Elsevier) 5 (2): 85''91. doi:10.1016/j.epidem.2013.04.001. ^The term "chicken litter" also includes spilled chicken feed, as well as fecal matter and feathers. It is still legal in the United States to use ruminant protein to feed chickens. Thus, ruminant protein can get into the food chain of cattle in this roundabout way.^Peck, Clint (5 November 2004). "Reader Questions Poultry Litter And "Downer" Bans". Organic Consumers Association. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^Phillips, Kyra; Meserve, Jeanne (26 February 2001). "FDA Not Doing Enough to Prevent Mad Cow Disease?". Organic Consumers Association. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^"Creekstone Farms response to USDA appeal of summary judgement" (Press release). 3buddies. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^Seltzer, Molly (12 July 2008). "Meat Recalls to Name Retailers". The Washington Post. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^"Mad cow watch goes blind". USA Today. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2009. ^http://www.fswatch.org/newsletter/english/issue05.html^"Statistics". Trade Library. U.S. Meat Export Federation. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^Weiss, Rick (1 January 2007). "Scientists Announce Mad Cow Breakthrough". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-01-01. ^"UPDATE 1-S.Korea retailers halt US beef sales, govt may act". Reuters. 25 April 2012. ^citation outdated^Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: BSE Cases in Japan (accessed 7 May 2013)^World Organisation for Animal Health: BSE situation in the world and annual incidence rate (accessed 7 May 2013)^Tatsuhiro Kamisato. (2005) BSE crisis in Japan: A chronological overview. Environ Health Prev Med 10: 295''302 (abstract)^"The BSE Inquiry:Home". Open.gov.uk. October 2000. Retrieved 27 August 2014. ^Brain disease drives cows wild^VARIANT CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASECURRENT DATA (JUNE 2014)^"Mad cow disease: Still a concern". MayoClinic.com (CNN). 10 February 2006. Archived from the original on 25 April 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^"Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy '' "Mad Cow Disease"". Fact Sheets. Food Safety and Inspection Service. March 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-08. ^Colchester AC, Colchester NT (2005). "The origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy: the human prion disease hypothesis". Lancet366 (9488): 856''61. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67218-2. PMID 16139661. ^Mago, Chandrika; Sinha, Kounteya (2 September 2005). "India dismisses Lancet's mad cow". The Times of India. Retrieved 2009-06-20. ^Thompson, Geoff (5 September 2005). "New theory traces mad cow disease to animal feed exported from India". The World Today (ABC). Retrieved 20 June 2009. ^Colchester, A; Colchester, N (28 January 2006). "Origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy '' Authors' reply". The Lancet (Elsevier) 367 (9507): 298''299. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68062-8. ^ ab"BSE Inquiry, Statement No. 476"(PDF). BSE Inquiry. 7 May 1999. Retrieved 2008-10-16. Statement of David Osborne Hagger, Head of Abridged Licensing and Coordinator of the Executive support business of the Medicines Division of the Department of Health at Market Towers in London.^"End to 10-year British beef ban". BBC News. 3 May 2006. ^"EU beef war escalates"^"Russia to lift 16-year ban on British beef and lamb". bbc.co.uk. 22 November 2012. ^UK Parliament website Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Second ReportFurther reading[edit]Altman, Lawrence K. "Four States Watching for Brain Disorder." New York Times, 9 April 1996a.Altman, Lawrence K. "U.S. Officials Confident That Mad Cow Disease of Britain Has Not Occurred Here." New York Times, 27 March 1996d: 12A."Apocalypse Cow: U.S. Denials Deepen Mad Cow Danger." PR Watch, 3.1 (1996): 1''8Berger, Joseph R., et al. "Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: A Ten-Year Experience." Neurology, 44 (1994): A260.Bleifuss, Joel. "Killer Beef." In These Times, 31 May 1993: 12''15.Boller F., Lopez O. L., Moossy J.; Lopez; Moossy (1989). "Diagnosis of Dementia". Neurology38 (7 Suppl 2): 76''79. doi:10.1212/WNL.39.1.76. PMID 3290719. Boule, Margie. "Despite Anecdotal Evidence, Docs Say No Mad Cow Disease Here." The Oregonian, 16 April 1996: C01."Brain Disease May Be Commoner Than Thought '' Expert." Reuters Information Service, 15 May 1996.Brayne, C. "How Common are Cognitive Impairment and Dementia?"Dementia and Normal Aging, Cambridge University Press, 1994.Brown Paul (1989). "Central Nervous System Amyloidoses". Neurology39 (8): 1103''1104. doi:10.1212/WNL.39.8.1103. Davanpour, Zoreth, et al. (1993) "Rate of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in USA" Neurology, 43: A316.Flannery, Mary. "Twelve '' Fifteen 'Mad Cow' Victims a Year in Area." Philadelphia Daily News, 26 March 1996: 03.Folstein, M. "The Cognitive Pattern of Familial Alzheimer's Disease." Biological Aspects of Alzheimer's Disease. Ed. R. Katzman. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1983.Gruzen, Tara. "Sheep Parts Fail to Cause Mad Cow Disease in U.S. Test." Seattle Times, 29 March 1996: A11.Hager, Mary and Mark Hosenball. "'Mad Cow Disease' in the U.S.?" Newsweek, 8 April 1996:58''59.Harrison Paul J., Roberts Gareth W.; Roberts (1991). "'Life, Jim, But Not as We Know It'? Transmissible Dementias and the Prion Protein". British Journal of Psychiatry158 (4): 457''70. doi:10.1192/bjp.158.4.457. PMID 2054560. Holman, RC; Khan, AS; Kent, J; Strine, TW; Schonberger, LB (1995). "Epidemiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United States, 1979-1990: analysis of national mortality data.". Neuroepidemiology14 (4): 174''181. doi:10.1159/000109793. PMID 7643951. Retrieved 13 July 2015. Hoyert, Donna L. "Vital and Health Statistics. Mortality Trends for Alzheimer's Disease, 1979''1991." Washington: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1996.Little Brian W.; et al. (1993). "The Epidemiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Eastern Pennsylvania". Neurology43: A316. doi:10.1212/wnl.43.4_suppl_2.a11. Mahendra, B. Dementia, Lancaster: MTP Press Limited, 1987: 174.Manuelidis Elias E (1985). "Presidential Address". Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology44 (1): 1''17. doi:10.1097/00005072-198501000-00001. PMID 3880808. Manuelidis Elias E., Manuelidis Laura; Manuelidis (1989). "Suggested Links between Different Types of Dementias: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Alzheimer Disease, and Retroviral CNS Infections". Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders2: 100''109. doi:10.1097/00002093-198903010-00009. McKhann Guy; et al. (1984). "Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease". Neurology34 (7): 939. doi:10.1212/WNL.34.7.939. Prusiner S (1984). "Some Speculations about Prions, Amyloid, and Alzheimer's Disease". New England Journal of Medicine310 (10): 661''663. doi:10.1056/NEJM198403083101021. PMID 6363926. Perry R.T.; et al. (1995). "Human Prion Protein Gene: Two Different 24 BP Deletions in an Atypical Alzheimer's Disease Family". American Journal of Medical Genetics60 (1): 12''18. doi:10.1002/ajmg.1320600104. PMID 7485229. Scully R. E.; et al. (1993). "Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital Case 17: 1993". New England Journal of Medicine: 1259''1263. doi:10.1056/NEJM199304293281709. PMID 8464437. Teixeira F.; et al. (1995). "Clinico-Pathological Correlation in Dementias". Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience20: 276''282. United States Department of Commerce. Statistical Abstract of the United States, Washington: Bureau of the Census, 1995.Van Duijn C. M. (1996). "Epidemiology of the Dementia: Recent Developments and New Approaches". Neuroepidemiology60: 478''488. doi:10.1136/jnnp.60.5.478. Wade J. P. H.; et al. (1987). "The Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease". Archives of Neurology44 (1): 24''29. doi:10.1001/archneur.1987.00520130016010. PMID 3800717. Wlazelek, Ann (23 September 1990). "Fatal Brain Disease Mystifies Experts". The Morning Call. Retrieved 9 November 2013. : B01Wlazelek, Ann (27 September 1990). "Scientists Try To Track Fatal Disease International Expert Visits Area To Study Unusual Incidence Rate". The Morning Call. Retrieved 9 November 2013. : B04"World Health Organization Consultation on Public Health Issues Related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and the Emergence of a New Variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.", Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 12 April 1996: 295''303.*/External links[edit]

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 04:17

One officer and local politician, who is a family relative of the brothers convicted yesterday, is alleged to have brokered a deal whereby one brother was given assurance that he ''wouldn't get done'' if he returned one his young victims to a police station.

Another is accused of having sex with an under-age girls, passing drugs to the grooming gang and tipping them off when colleagues were searching for missing children, a court was told.

During the trial, one woman who spent three days describing how she was repeatedly abused and assaulted from the age of 11, told the jury how she told a detective called Kenneth Dawes about what happened but no action was taken.

''He used to have sex with girls and he used to take drugs from people and pass them on to Ash'', the girl said.

Jahangir Akhtar, the former deputy leader of Rotherham council and deputy chairman of South Yorkshire police, is one of several alleged to have taken part in the handover. He is also a relative of Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain.

The three brothers were found guilty yesterday of multiple sexual offences against underage girls over a twenty years period in Rotherham, a town they were said to ''own'' thanks to their criminal and police connections.

As their trial ended yesterday, it was revealed that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had begun 55 investigations into alleged police misconduct linked to Rotherham child sex crimes. It has received complaints against 92 named officers, the Yorkshire Postreports.

Several other horric accounts of abuse were heard during the trail, with some of the women citing a lack of trust in the police as why they went to the media to tell their stories, before the the authorities.

''The only reason the police started this investigation was because The Times printed my story'', said one.

IPCC deputy chair Rachel Cerfontyne said: ''Our investigative work examining allegations about how South Yorkshire Police responded to reported child sexual exploitation in Rotherham continues to expand.

''This is complex work dealing with non-recent allegations and involving vulnerable and traumatised victims. We are committed to ensuring the allegations are investigated sensitively and thoroughly.''

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Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:40

Details of the Savile Compensation SchemeThe total payments made to survivors of Jimmy Savile, as part of the Savile Compensation Scheme, can be found below.

The terms of the Scheme were agreed with lawyers for the survivors of Savile, the NHS and the Savile estate in February 2014.

Forty four claims were received, 36 were settled and eight were rejected.

A total of £907,000 has been paid out.

This includes:

£526,000 for damages£381,000 for legal feesThe window for bringing a claim under the Scheme has now closed.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 21:45

Tech14:57 27.02.2016(updated 15:15 27.02.2016) Get short URL

The German government's new computer virus intended for spying in criminal cases has drawn scrutiny because of its potentially unlimited abilities.

While privacy-invading measures imposed by the United States' National Security Agency have been at the forefront of news coverage, Germany's new "open" approach to secretly spreading malware has also attracted scrutiny among privacy advocates.

"But we don't know whether this program can intercept saved data, photographs we never share and make for ourselves, personal diaries, things that should be as secure as if they were stored at home," Schleswig-Holstein regional lawmaker Patrick Breyer told Sputnik.

Breyer is a member of the Pirate Party, which he said believes that the government should stay out of people's computers and smartphones. The government should work to fix security vulnerabilities instead of intruding in the lives of citizens.

The decision to compromise people's computers without their knowledge was political, according to Breyer, rather than a move by the country's court.A 2008 German top court judgment said that hacking computers is allowed in case of life-threatening danger or suspicion of crimes against the German state, such as terrorism.

"The Constitutional Court did not say that the government should infiltrate operating systems. It simply defined the boundaries. Whether we want to do this at all is a completely political decision," Breyer told Sputnik.

Unlimited Access?

The decisive factor, however, is whether the new virus conforms to the Constitutional Court's allowance for the use of spying technology, Breyer says.

While the German government said that the program can track keystrokes, phone calls, communications and record audio and video from the device. However, an earlier version of the virus released in 2011 also had the ability to receive third-party updates which allowed it virtually unlimited spying abilities.

A hacker and computer security conference called the Chaos Computer Club found many of the vulnerabilities. This included the Trojan's ability to be compromised and receive updates from third parties outside the government.

"In the case of the so-called Bavarian Trojan, Chaos Computer Club examined it and found that it is capable of doing much more than is legally allowed. For example, it had the ability to download another code and program in completely different functions," Breyer told Sputnik.

(C) AP Photo/ Markus Schreiber

The major issue is privacy, says Breyer, as people would lose control of personal data, which the German government itself has promised to protect."Right now it's like this: if an apartment is being searched, [the government] can't conceal that. But if the spyware was installed, it's completely unnoticeable. You may notice it, but only years later, and this is too deep of a meddling in our personal and often even intimate life," Breyer told Sputnik.

While the new virus has already been in Germany's court, as privacy advocates say that it should be examined by the German government's data privacy commisioner for its abilities and potential vulnerabilities. Germany's Federal Criminal Police has so far refused to disclose the virus source code to the privacy commissioner.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:42

Cybersecurity

Air Force Space Command claims cyber testing milestoneBy Sean LyngaasFeb 26, 2016The Air Force Space Command announced that its tool for probing command networks for cyber vulnerabilities is fully operational.

The Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter weapon system detects threats and assesses compliance by combing IT assets such as data and applications. It became fully operational on Feb. 12, the command said in a statement that described the system as the "premier enclave defense platform for prioritized traffic in the Air Force Information Network."

CVA/H consists of a series of platforms, including the Mobile Interceptor Platform and the Deployable Interceptor Platform. The system is at the disposal of the Air Force Cyber Protection Teams that contribute to U.S. Cyber Command. Operators can use CVA/H to hunt on networks for cyberthreats that affect "critical links and nodes in support of theater or functional operations," according to the statement.

The milestone "underscores our commitment to the U.S. Cyber Command Cyber Protection Team mission and to the defense of prioritized cyberspace terrain in the Air Force portion of the Department of Defense Information Network," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the command's director of integrated air, space, cyberspace and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

In this instance, "weapons system" does not refer to a weapon in the traditional sense but rather is a term for identifying large DOD assets backed by programmatic funding.

On Jan. 7, the Air Force Intranet Control Weapon System became the first fully operational Air Force cyber weapons system, according to the command. In addition, the Cyberspace Defense Analysis Weapon System collects and parses insecure telecommunications data for classified information.

Operationalizing CVA/H is part of a broader Air Force effort to secure its weapons systems. The initiative appears to have a long way to go: Of the $3 billion the command spent last fiscal year on cybersecurity, nothing was dedicated to defending software vulnerabilities in weapons systems.

About the Author

Sean Lyngaas is an FCW staff writer covering defense, cybersecurity and intelligence issues. Prior to joining FCW, he was a reporter and editor at Smart Grid Today, where he covered everything from cyber vulnerabilities in the U.S. electric grid to the national energy policies of Britain and Mexico. His reporting on a range of global issues has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Diplomat and The Washington Post.

Lyngaas is an active member of the National Press Club, where he served as chairman of the Young Members Committee. He earned his M.A. in international affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and his B.A. in public policy from Duke University.

Click here for previous articles by Lyngaas, or connect with him on Twitter: @snlyngaas.

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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:23

PhotoLady Olson and her husband, Ted Olson, at home with their dogs in Great Falls, Va.Credit Andrew Councill for The New York TimesWASHINGTON

NO dating Web site worth its salt would have matched the couple: A bespectacled conservative Washington power-lawyer in his 60s and a vivacious, lifelong registered Democrat from Kentucky 20 years his junior.

But that's exactly what happened when two different friends set up Theodore B. Olson, the former United States solicitor general who in 2000 argued the Supreme Court election case that helped put George W. Bush in the White House, with Lady Booth.

''As soon as my friend told me who he was, I went out and got the tapes,'' said the woman who is now Lady Booth Olson, referring to the VHS recordings she'd made of C-SPAN's audio broadcast of Bush v. Gore. ''Like every nerdy lawyer, I'd taped them. I took them out and I remembered, 'Oh my God, he was Bush, not Gore,' so I called her back and said, 'This is not going to work.' ''

But after a first date at L'Auberge Chez Fran§ois just outside Washington, a second date at the Kentucky Derby, and a rainy bike ride in the Wisconsin wilderness where his glasses became all fogged up and she grilled him on affirmative action '-- ''That's where we worked it all out in the woods,'' she said '-- Mrs. Olson realized that, at age 41, she'd found an unlikely partner. The two married four and a half years after that first date.

PhotoMr. Olson, at lectern, during a news conference in San Francisco on the case challenging California's ban on same-sex marriages. His unlikely partner, David Boies, is at right.Credit Kimberly White/ReutersAnd less than three years later, Mrs. Olson found herself in the front row of a San Francisco courtroom for 11 days, watching her husband team up with his former adversary, the lawyer David Boies, to successfully overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage. (On Monday, a federal appeals court extended the stay on same-sex marriages in California until it decides whether a ban on such unions is constitutional.)

Lady Olson was more than just a minor behind-the-scenes player in this potentially pivotal case.

''Lady could not have been more supportive of this,'' Mr. Olson said in an interview shortly before Vaughn R. Walker, chief judge of the United States District Court hearing the case, ruled on Aug. 4 that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. ''And she's certainly influenced my views '-- her ideas, her approach, her feelings.''

When Mr. Olson teamed with Mr. Boise in 2009, much of the politerati was shocked to hear that the conservative stalwart was working alongside his former rival in Bush v. Gore, to defend the right of gays to marry. In fact, supporters of Proposition 8 had themselves tentatively approached Mr. Olson about arguing their side of the case.

But his wife said that anyone who knows him well '-- not to mention anyone who knows her at all '-- understands that for Mr. Olson and his fierce libertarian streak, gay marriage was an issue ''of right and wrong, justice and injustice, and discrimination is something that offends at any time.''

''He would have never been able to take the other side,'' she said, before adding with a laugh, ''He wouldn't have had a wife after that!''

She continued: ''After eight years of knowing Ted, I thought this is something I can jump into with two feet, really sink my teeth into, and we can do this together.''

And jump she did. For the large team, working round-the-clock in their San Francisco office, Mrs. Olson provided a down-home dose of Southern hospitality. She was also a perpetual cheerleader; a front-row presence for nearly every day of the trial; a moot-court spectator and, not least, a Georgetown-educated lawyer with a master's degree in tax law from New York University. And, as she put it, Mr. Olson's ''Girl Friday, Friday through Thursday.''

She offered her legal perspective (''I was delighted that Ted occasionally listened to me, since that is not his normal habit around the house,'' she joked, but would not share any specific details on what they discussed), and went on sushi runs for her husband when the court broke for an hour lunch. (''We found a sushi place that took six minutes to get there, six minutes to order, six minutes to eat the sushi, and six minutes to get back,'' she said.)

And she began responding to the onslaught of letters Mr. Olson received from gay men and lesbians around the country thanking him for taking up their cause. She has tried to read and respond to them all, and she said she might compile them in a book someday.

''They're incredibly moving from people who have experienced discrimination,'' Mrs. Olson said. ''There are so many, it's hard to keep track of them. But I'm trying to document them, hearing their stories and their reasons for wanting to marry.''

Mr. Olson's previous wife, Barbara, was a conservative commentator who was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when she was on the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon. Some friends hypothesize that Lady Olson just might have softened some of her husband's views.

''In my innermost thoughts, I like to think he thought that on some level, but Ted's never said that,'' Mrs. Olson said. ''He's very proud. He owns his own decisions.''

Mary Boies, a friend of the couple who is married to Mr. Boies, said: ''He's just a kinder, gentler Ted, but I think he's more relaxed and more enjoying of a good time, and in that way I think she's been a very big influence on him. He probably is more tolerant of Democrats now. Not that he agrees with them, but there's no point in being the ant at the picnic.''

Mrs. Olson was named after her great aunt, Lady Jane Helm, a self-possessed, self-made businesswoman from rural Tennessee. In her family, she was considered lucky to have inherited the name of her father's aunt, but it was a tough name to have when she moved north for graduate school.

''I got so much grief, it was pretty unbearable,'' she said, before returning to the bright side: ''Being in Washington, people think I'm titled half the time, so it can come in handy.''

Mrs. Olson is a self-described ''over-idealist,'' a would-be runaway bride who friends thought might never settle down. ''I just took a long time to find the right man,'' she said. ''I was trying to make darn sure it was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.''

Mrs. Olson is an enthusiastic nerd, the type of person who sent out a daily e-mail from the courtroom called ''Notes From the Front Row'' full of wonky insights and earnest observations, and the type who giggles when she talks about tax policy. She punctuates her sentences with ''gosh,'' and offers up effusive praise for just about everyone she knows. She can rattle off the legal logistics of the appeals process. Briefs are to be filed in September and the appeal is to be heard in court in December; many expect the case to go to the Supreme Court.

She's also a little press shy, and quick to talk about the ''fantastic'' team '-- including Mr. Olson and Mr. Boies, the lawyers and clerks in their firms, the plaintiffs who shared their stories and even the go-fers who ran around making photocopies '-- and how devoted everyone has been. She agreed to an interview, Mrs. Olson explained, only because she thought that if people could see her and her husband, ''happy heterosexuals who are completely supporting this,'' they might get behind the cause as well.

''During the trial, I kept looking down at my wedding ring and thinking, 'Gosh, I am so lucky to be here,' '' she said, reflecting quietly just days after the trial had ended. ''I waited until 45 to get married, taking it for granted the entire time.''

A version of this article appears in print on August 19, 2010, on page E2 of the New York edition with the headline: When Opposites Influence.

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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:22

Barbara Kay Olson (n(C)e Bracher; December 27, 1955 '' September 11, 2001) was an American lawyer and conservative television commentator who worked for CNN, Fox News Channel, and several other outlets.[1] She was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 en route to a taping of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect when it was flown into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks. Her original plan had been to fly to California on September 10, but delayed until the next morning so that she could wake up with her husband on his birthday, September 11.[2]

Early life[edit]Olson was born Barbara Kay Bracher in Houston, Texas. (Her older sister, Toni Bracher-Lawrence, was a member of the Houston City Council from 2004 to 2010.) She graduated from Waltrip High School[3] and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Yeshiva UniversityBenjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

As a newcomer, she achieved a surprising measure of success, working for HBO and Stacy Keach Productions.[when?] In the early 1990s, she worked as an associate at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering where she did civil litigation for several years before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Olson's support in 1991 of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas led to the formation of the Independent Women's Forum. At that time, Olson and friend Rosalie (Ricky) Gaull Silberman started an informal network of women who supported the Thomas nomination to the Supreme Court despite allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, a former subordinate of Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Olson, who had also worked under Thomas at the EEOC and was a close friend of Thomas, spoke out on his behalf during his contentious Senate confirmation hearings. Olson later helped edit The Real Anita Hill, a book by David Brock that savaged Hill and portrayed the harassment claim as a political dirty trick (Brock later recanted his claims and apologized to Hill). The Independent Women's Forum continued on with a goal of retaining a high profile group of women to advocate for economic and political freedom and personal responsibility.

In 1994, Olson became chief investigative counsel for the U.S. House of RepresentativesCommittee on Oversight and Government Reform. In that position, she led the Travelgate and Filegate investigations into the Clinton administration. She was later a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the Birmingham, Alabama law firm Balch & Bingham.

Personal life[edit]She married Theodore Olson in 1996, becoming his third wife.[4] Theodore went on to successfully represent presidential candidateGeorge W. Bush in the Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore, and subsequently served as U.S. Solicitor General in the Bush administration.

Olson was a frequent critic of the Bill Clinton administration and wrote a book about then First LadyHillary Rodham Clinton, Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton (1999). Olson's second book, The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House was published posthumously.[5]

She was a resident of Great Falls, Virginia.[citation needed]

Death and legacy[edit]Olson was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 on her way to a taping of Politically Incorrect in Los Angeles, when it was flown into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks. Her original plan had been to fly to California on September 10, but waited until the next day so that she could wake up with her husband on his birthday, September 11.[2]Bill Maher, host of Politically Incorrect, left a panel chair empty for a week in her memory. At the National September 11 Memorial, Olson's name is located on Panel S-70 of the South Pool, along with those of other passengers of Flight 77.[6]

Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton (November 1999; ISBN 0-89526-274-6)The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House (October 2001; ISBN 0-89526-167-7)References[edit]^Lewis, Neil A. (September 13, 2001). "Barbara Olson, 45, Advocate And Conservative Commentator". The New York Times.^ abLarry King Live interview, re Barbara Olson (Sept 11, 2001)^"Waltrip Trivia Page," Waltrip High School^Argetsinger, Amy & Roberts, Roxanne (October 22, 2006). "Napa Nuptials for Olson and His Lady". The Reliable Source. The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2009. ^Olson, Barbara (October 25, 2001). The final days: the last, desperate abuses of power by the Clinton White House. Regnery Pub. ^South Pool: Panel S-70: Barbara K. Olson. Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved December 11, 2011.External links[edit]

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 22:16

(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(6) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and

the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State; orthe value of the information obtained exceeds $5,000;(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), if--

(C) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and

(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), or (a)(7) of this section which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and (B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), (a)(5)(C), or (a)(7)of this section which occurs after a conviction for another offense under this section, or an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and [former paragraph (4) stricken effective Oct. 11, 1996].

The United States Secret Service shall, in addition to any other agency having such authority, have the authority to investigate offenses under subsections (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), and (a)(6) of this section. Such authority of the United States Secret Service shall be exercised in accordance with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General."

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Tue, 23 Feb 2016 22:36

Oversight

High-level management failures doomed HealthCare.govBy Adam MazmanianFeb 23, 2016After HealthCare.gov failed to work as advertised at launch, government officials pointed the finger at contractors, and at the lack of a unified management structure to oversee the development of the disparate systems involved in building the public-facing website to sell insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

A new watchdog report, however, suggests that contractor and technical management were only part of the problem. Political mismanagement and a lack of a clear leadership structure on the part of senior non-technical officials set in motion a series of miscues that led to the Oct. 2013 failure, according to a the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The top political appointees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services failed in two key ways, according to the report. They did not "assign clear and dedicated leadership for the marketplace program," and they neglected to "fully assess project needs to determine how to best establish the marketplace program in CMS."

Key responsibilities were split at CMS between the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), the new organization set up to run the insurance marketplace and implement the Affordable Care Act, and the Office of Information Services, which handled the details of contracting and IT.

According to the report, "this lack of unity and dispersion of responsibility had serious consequences, resulting in difficulty tracking progress and enforcing accountability."

While the report doesn't quantify the cost of these management problems, the value of the main contracts to build the HealthCare.gov system exploded from $533 million to over $1 billion as officials worked to repair the malfunctioning website. (A previous IG report dealt with contracting problems on the project.)

The report also found that CMS was repeatedly warned of serious problems well in advance of the launch. Between July 2011 and July 2013, CMS received 18 warnings, "all containing substantial detail about the project's shortcomings and formally submitted to CMS senior leadership or project managers at CMS."

In late 2011, federal CIO Steven VanRoekel urged top leaders at HHS and CMS to name a chief executive to run the entire project, to avoid fragmentation. The Marketplace CEO position was later instituted, and still exists.

The report also noted that contractor CGI Federal, which bore the brunt of the blame for its work on the HealthCare.gov platform, was using agile development to roll out new functionality in two-week sprints. But the report indicates that policymakers took advantage of the quick cycles to introduce new requirements, and make changes in mid-stream. Sometimes those changes resulted in delays, or else resulted in a failure to connect changes to related parts of the project being coded elsewhere. CGI Federal also complained that CMS essentially forced them to adopt the MarkLogic NoSQL database platform, despite CGI's lack of expertise with that system.

CGI's developers had issues as well. They failed to follow "best practices for making late stage coding changes," according to the report, which led to conflicts between systems.

There were red flags raised for top officials, but these came rather close to the planned Oct. 1, 2013, launch date. When CMS requested a demo of the insurance shopping system in September, CGI Federal responded with a slideshow of screenshots.

"[CMS senior officials] would sit in meetings across from me and not know there is an enormous fire burning behind them," one anonymous CCIIO official told the IG.

Nor did the CMS tech team seem unduly alarmed by the potential for system failure. According to the report, the IT team "considered launching the website on time [to be] the priority over testing for and resolving performance problems." The report noted that, "one CMS technical official characterized the launch itself as a test of the system and indicated that CMS planned to resolve problems after launch, as CMS had done with other large programs, such as Medicare Part D."

About the Author

Adam Mazmanian is executive editor of FCW.

Before joining the editing team, Mazmanian was an FCW staff writer covering Congress, government-wide technology policy, health IT and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining FCW, Mr. Mazmanian was technology correspondent for National Journal and served in a variety of editorial at B2B news service SmartBrief. Mazmanian started his career as an arts reporter and critic, and has contributed reviews and articles to the Washington Post, the Washington City Paper, Newsday, Architect magazine, and other publications. He was an editorial assistant and staff writer at the now-defunct New York Press and arts editor at the About.com online network in the 1990s, and was a weekly contributor of music and film reviews to the Washington Times from 2007 to 2014.

Click here for previous articles by Mazmanian. Connect with him on Twitter at @thisismaz.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 05:22

Roermond - Islamitische Staat heeft een bom gemaakt met behulp van een Nederlands bestanddeel. In Irak is een explosief aangetroffen met waterstofperoxide geproduceerd door chemiebedrijf Solvay uit Roermond.

Dat staat in een rapport van Conflict Armament Research (CAR), een onderzoeksorganisatie die het internationale gebruik van militaire wapens en munitie monitort.

Waterstofperoxide, ook bekend als zuurstofwater, wordt gebruikt als ontsmettingsmiddel in bijvoorbeeld ziekenhuizen en de voedingsindustrie. Het is vaak ook onderdeel van zelfgemaakte explosieven.

'žToen we hoorden dat ons bedrijf genoemd werd, stonden we perplex'', reageert woordvoerster Caroline Jacobs van Solvay. Ze benadrukt dat de firma in Roermond, met het hoofdkantoor in Belgi, absoluut nooit iets met IS te maken heeft gehad. 'žWe houden zorgvuldig toezicht op de verkoop en we leven de nationale en internationale regelgeving na.'' Een 'žbetrouwbare Amerikaanse klant'', gespecialiseerd in reinigingstechnieken, heeft in januari 2014 bijna tweehonderd vaten met waterstofperoxide bij Solvay besteld.

Een maand later werd de bestelling afgeleverd in Turkije. Hoe het spul vervolgens bij IS in Irak terecht is gekomen, weet de zegsvrouw niet. 'žDaar houden wij ons niet mee bezig. Zodra de klant de bestelling ontvangt, houdt onze verantwoordelijkheid op.'' De banden met het Amerikaanse bedrijf zijn niet verbroken.

Volgens het rapport van CAR zijn de vaten met de Roermondse waterstofperoxide vanuit Turkije doorverkocht aan drie verschillende Iraakse bedrijven. Dat gebeurde tussen maart en september 2014. Het product werd door IS gebruikt bij de Tweede Slag om Tikrit. Die vond plaats tussen 2 maart en 17 april 2015. CAR trof het explosief eind april aan.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 23:26

High-ranking members of the elite hunting society, St. Hubertus, were staying at Cibolo Creek Ranch at the same time as Justice Scalia in the days leading up to his death. Here's what you need to know about the group. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 12 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s.

After Scalia's death Feb. 13, the names of the 35 other guests at the remote resort, along with details about Scalia's connection to the hunters, have remained largely unknown. A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend.

Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto ''Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes,'' which means ''Honoring God by honoring His creatures,'' according to the group's website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order's name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen.

[Texas sheriff's report reveals more details on Supreme Court Justice Scalia's death]

Cibolo Creek Ranch owner John Poindexter and C. Allen Foster, a prominent Washington lawyer who traveled to the ranch with Scalia by private plane, hold leadership positions within the Order. It is unclear what, if any, official association Scalia had with the group.

''There is nothing I can add to your observation that among my many guests at Cibolo Creek Ranch over the years some members of the International Order of St. Hubertus have been numbered,'' Poindexter said in an email. ''I am aware of no connection between that organization and Justice Scalia.''

An attorney for the Scalia family did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

Two other private planes that landed at the ranch for the weekend are linked to two men who have held leadership positions with the Texas chapter of the Order, according to a review of state business filings and flight records from the airport.

After Scalia's death, Poindexter told reporters that he met Scalia at a ''sports group'' gathering in Washington. The U.S. chapter of the International Order of St. Hubertus lists a suite on M Street NW in the District as its headquarters, although the address is only a mailbox in a United Parcel Service store.

[How St. Hubert's encounter with a deer inspired the society]

The International Order of St. Hubertus, according to its website, is a ''true knightly order in the historical tradition.'' In 1695, Count Franz Anton von Sporck founded the society in Bohemia, which is in modern-day Czech Republic.

The group's Grand Master is ''His Imperial Highness Istvan von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduke of Austria,'' according to the Order's website. The next gathering for ''Ordensbrothers'' and guests is an ''investiture'' March 10 in Charleston, S.C.

The society's U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco, which is associated with the all-male Bohemian Grove '-- one of the most well-known secret societies in the country.

In 2010, Poindexter hosted a group of 53 members of the Houston chapter of the International Order of St. Hubertus at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, according to a Houston society publication. A number of members from Mexico were also part of the ranch festivities that included ''three days of organized shoots and 'gala' lunches and dinners.''

Poindexter told CultureMap Houston that some of the guests dressed in ''traditional European shooting attire for the boxed bird shoot competition'' and for the shooting of pheasants and chukar, a type of partridge.

For the hunting weekend earlier this month, Poindexter told The Washington Post that Scalia traveled to Houston with his friend and U.S. marshals, who provide security for Supreme Court justices. The Post obtained a Presidio County Sheriff's Office report that named Foster as Scalia's close friend on the trip.

Sheriff Danny Dominguez confirmed that a photograph of Washington lawyer C. Allen Foster is the same man he interviewed at the ranch the day of Scalia's death.

[Did sleep apnea contribute to Scalia's death? A breathing machine was near his bed.]

From Houston, Scalia and Foster chartered a plane without the marshals to the Cibolo Creek Ranch airstrip. In a statement after Scalia died, the U.S. Marshals Service said that Scalia had declined a security detail while at the ranch.

The friend, Louisiana-born Foster, is a lawyer with the Washington firm Whiteford, Taylor & Preston. He is also known for his passion for hunting and is a former spokesman for the hunting group Safari Club.

In 2006, Foster was featured in The Post when he celebrated his 65th birthday with a six-day celebration in the Czech Republic. He flew his family and 40 Washington friends there to stay in Moravia's Zidlochovice, a baroque castle and hunting park. The birthday bash included ''tours of the Czech countryside, wine tasting, wild boar and mouflon (wild sheep) hunts, classic dance instruction and a masked costume ball.''

A secretary at Foster's law firm said he is traveling in Argentina. The firm's director of marketing, Mindee L. Mosher, said Foster was traveling and she would try to contact him. A woman answering a phone associated with Foster hung up when asked for comment.

Planes owned by Wallace ''Happy'' Rogers III and the company of A.J. Lewis III left from San Antonio and arrived at the ranch just after noon Feb. 12. The planes departed the ranch about 30 minutes apart Feb. 14, according to flight records provided to The Post by FlightAware.

Rogers owns the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum in San Antonio. He has donated $65,000 to Republican candidates since 2008. Lewis is the owner of a restaurant supplier company, also based in San Antonio. He has given $3,500 to GOP candidates since 2007.

Rogers and Lewis have both served as prior officers in the Texas chapter of the International Order of St. Hubertus, according to Texas business records. Rogers spoke to a Post reporter briefly on the phone and confirmed that he was at the ranch the weekend of Scalia's death. He declined to comment further.

Lewis did not respond to several attempts for comment.

The Presidio County Sheriff's Office released an incident report to The Post on Tuesday that revealed Foster's name as Scalia's traveling companion and provided details about the discovery of his body.

Poindexter and Foster told the sheriff that Scalia had traveled to Texas the day before to go hunting. Poindexter told the sheriff that they ''had supper and talked for a while'' that evening.

Scalia ''said that he was tired and was going to his room for the night,'' the sheriff wrote in his report.

When Scalia didn't show up for breakfast that morning, Poindexter knocked on his door and eventually went in and found the Justice dead in his bed, Poindexter said.

Law enforcement officials told The Post that they had no knowledge of the International Order of St. Hubertus or its connection to Poindexter and ranch guests. The officials said the FBI had declined to investigate Scalia's death when they were told by the marshals that he died from natural causes.

Alice Crites in Washington and Eva Ruth Moravec in San Antonio contributed to this report.

Amy Brittain is a reporter for The Post's investigative team.

Sari Horwitz covers the Justice Department and criminal justice issues nationwide for The Washington Post, where she has been a reporter for 30 years.

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Mon, 22 Feb 2016 15:04

Volkswagen is reportedly being called to make restitution for the recent diesel emissions cheat scandal, which has severely clouded the car giant's reputation.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has asked VW to produce electric vehicles in its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag (via Google translate). The car maker has also apparently been told to develop a network of charging stations.

However, the EPA and Volkswagen were tight-lipped about any such plans. VW told Reuters that its talks with the regulator were continuing. But the company declined to comment on specific details when quizzed.

The VW emissions test cheating saga broke late last year, when the US government claimed that the German car manufacturer had installed ''defeat devices'' that ''rendered inoperative elements of the vehicle's emission control system.''

Further ReadingThe US Department of Justice subsequently sued the company, which had been forced to recall 500,000 Volkswagens and Audis in the wake of the nitrogen oxide emissions scandal. The DoJ alleged that VW had installed defeat devices in over 600,000 diesel passenger vehicles in the US. On top of that, the German car giant was accused of misleading federal regulators. The DoJ and EPA asked the court to require Volkswagen to pay substantial civil penalties, and halt sales of any car believed to come loaded with a defeat device.

Volkswagen said in response to the DoJ's lawsuit that it was continuing to work cooperatively with the EPA to develop remedies to bring the turbocharged direct injection (TDI) vehicles into full compliance with regulations as soon as possible.

This post originated on Ars Technica UK

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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:15

Last week Secretary of State John Kerry warned graduating students at Boston College of the "crippling consequences" of climate change. "Ninety-seven percent of the world's scientists," he added, "tell us this is urgent."

Where did Mr. Kerry get the 97% figure? Perhaps from his boss, President Obama, who tweeted on May 16 that "Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climate change is real, man-made and dangerous." Or maybe from NASA, which posted (in more measured language) on...

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Thu, 04 Feb 2016 23:39

A team of astrophysicists at the University of Hawaii have created somewhat of a stir within the scientific community after the discovery of trace amounts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a meteorite found in the Nevada desert in 2010.

The team of researchers who analyzed hundreds of meteorite fragments in search of microbacterial data found the presence of Tetrahydrocannabinol in trace amounts, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabinoids, a class of diverse chemical compounds that are found in a variety of plants, but most famously in the cannabis plant.

The study, that is funded in part by a NASA grant for research in astrobiology, is the first documented find of a psychoactive organic compound originating from outside of the Earth's atmosphere, a discovery that could revolutionize our modern view of psychotropic agents and their ''cosmic'' origins, admits astrophysicist James Han, head of the research team.

The discovery was clearly unexpected, admits the astrophysicist specialized in astrobiology.

''These findings will have a profound impact on the science of astrobiology as a whole'' admits the scientist, visibly perplexed by the discovery.

''If psychoactive elements are found outside of this planet's atmosphere, what does it say about the rest of the universe? If these chemical substances, that change brain functions and result in alterations in perception, mood, or consciousness in mammals as well as humans, find their origin in outer space, what role then has cometary impacts played on the human species? Or on life on the planet as whole? This discovery ultimately leaves us with more questions than answers''acknowledges the professor.

''It also gives a whole new meaning to the term getting high'' he told local reporters, with a pinch of humor.

Traces amounts of Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) were also found in a meteorite fragment in 2009 by a research team from the University of Mexico but the findings were dismissed at the time because of the ''controversial nature of the discovery'' and a wave of skepticism from the scientific community. Further analysis of the sample could now shed some light on this latest finding, believe experts.

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Sun, 14 Feb 2016 00:29

National legalization of marijuana may be drawing a smidgeon closer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the federal government sponsored agencies, has just updated the FAQs on its website to include recent studies on marijuana showing that it can and has killed cancer cells.

These are the findings of studies NCI have included:

Cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.Cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and possibly in its treatment.A laboratory study of delta -9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC in models of liver cancer showed that it had anti-tumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells showed that it caused cancer cell death while having little effect on normal breast cells. Studies of metastatic breast cancer showed that cannabinoids may lessen the growth, number, and spread of tumors.A laboratory study of cannabidiol in human glioma cells showed that when given along with chemotherapy, CBD may make chemotherapy more effective and increase cancer cell death without harming normal cells. Studies showed that CBD together with delta-9-THC may make chemotherapy such as temozolomide more effective.These studies are considered by the NCI as preclinical. They were all done using animals. According to them, no clinical trials of cannabis use for the treatment of cancer in humans have been published.

Read: Gov't Admits Marijuana Kills Cancer

The NCI has included findings on peripheral benefits for cancer patients from marijuana:

Delta-9-THC and other cannabinoids stimulate appetite and can increase food intake.Cannabinoid receptors have been studied in the brain, spinal cord, and nerve endings throughout the body to understand their roles in pain relief.Cannabinoids have been studied for anti-inflammatory effects that may play a role in pain relief.The NCI is one of the National Institutes of Health.

Infowars is reporting that the National Institute on Drug Abuse, another of the agencies of the National Institutes of Health, has referred to marijuana studies, including one that showed ''marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others.''

The big news here is not these studies. These and many more are contained on PubMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine that is also part of the National Institutes of Health. They are there for all of the world to see.

The news is that after decades of the demonization of marijuana by a federal government that supports pharmaceuticals and GMOs, there is a breath of change. But if you want to prevent or treat cancer with marijuana, be prepared for arrest and imprisonment in most states of this union.

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Mon, 22 Feb 2016 22:25

Anyone who's ever been given one of their friend's Adderall knows the powerful effects brought on by this tiny unintimidating pink pill. Increased energy, enhanced ability to focus and concentrate, and a euphoric sense of being are the most common effects of this drug.

Coincidentally, increased energy, enhanced ability to focus and concentrate, and a euphoric sense of being '-- are also the most common effects of crystal meth.

So, why are these effects so similar? Because the drugs are nearly identical in their chemical structure.

Dr. Carl Hart is a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Columbia University. Hart is known for his research into drug abuse and drug addiction. Hart was also the first tenured African American professor of sciences at Columbia University. He received a bachelor of science and a master of science from the University of Maryland and he received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Wyoming. By all accounts, he is the expert in the field of drug use.

In a recent article on his website theinfluence.org, Hart explains that the only major difference between crystal meth and Adderall is public perception.

Hart explains that this perception of illicit meth is largely due to misinformation put out by public service messages.

Perhaps it has something to do with public ''educational'' campaigns aimed at discouraging methamphetamine use. These campaigns usually show, in graphically horrifying detail, some poor young person who uses the drug for the first time and then ends up engaging in uncharacteristic acts such as prostitution, stealing from parents, or assaulting strangers for money to buy the drug. At the end of advertisement, emblazoned on the screen, is: ''Meth'--not even once.'' We've also seen those infamous ''meth mouth'' images (extreme tooth decay), wrongly presented as a direct consequence of methamphetamine use.

These types of media campaigns neither prevent nor decrease the use of the drug; nor do they provide any real facts about the effects of meth. They succeed only in perpetuating false assumptions.

Swayed by this messaging, the public remains almost entirely ignorant of the fact that methamphetamine produces nearly identical effects to those produced by the popular ADHD medication d-amphetamine (dextroamphetamine). You probably know it as Adderall®: a combination of amphetamine and d-amphetamine mixed salts.

Hart admitted that he too believed that methamphetamine was far more dangerous than d-amphetamine, despite the fact that the chemical structure of the two drugs is nearly identical. However, after thoroughly researching the evidence, Hart shattered this belief.

To back up his claims, Hart and his team conducted a study of 13 men who regularly use methamphetamine. During the double-blind study, the men were given a hit of methamphetamine, of d-amphetamine, or of placebo. According to the study:

Like d-amphetamine, methamphetamine increased our subjects' energy and enhanced their ability to focus and concentrate; it also reduced subjective feelings of tiredness and the cognitive disruptions typically brought about by fatigue and/or sleep deprivation. Both drugs increased blood pressure and the rate at which the heart beat. No doubt these are the effects that justify the continued use of d-amphetamine by several nations' militaries, including our own.

And when offered an opportunity to choose either the drugs or varying amounts of money, our subjects chose to take d-amphetamine on a similar number of occasions as they chose to take methamphetamine. These regular methamphetamine users could not distinguish between the two. (It is possible that the methyl group enhances methamphetamine's lipid-solubility, but this effect appears to be imperceptible to human consumers.)

It is also true that the effects of smoking methamphetamine are more intense than those of swallowing a pill containing d-amphetamine. But that increased intensity is due to the route of administration, not the drug itself. Smoking d-amphetamine produces nearly identical intense effects as smoking methamphetamine. The same would be true if the drugs were snorted intranasally.

The significance of Hart's study has a paradigm-shattering effect. On one hand, it shows that a drug, which is legally taken by millions of children in the US, is identical to an illegal substance associated with a slew of negative traits. On the other hand, it shows that meth users are not much different from the millions of Americans who take its legal form.

The use of methamphetamine in the United States is actually on the decline according to U.S. National Drug Control Policy Director R. Gil Kerlikowske. However, there are over 3.5 million American children currently take an ADHD drug, a nearly 500% increase since 1990.

It seems that the pharmaceutical industry has figured out a way to market ADHD to the masses in an attempt to sell them their legal version of meth.

As Dr. Hart so eloquently says,

It took me nearly 20 years and dozens of scientific publications in the area of drug use to recognize my own biases around methamphetamine. I can only hope that you don't require as much time and scientific activity in order to understand that the Adderall that you or your loved one takes each day is essentially the same drug as meth.

And I hope that this knowledge engenders less judgment of people who use meth, and greater empathy.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world.

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I have worked for 20 years as contract support for a federal agency. I will not directly name it but will say that it had to do with Flying And Aviation.

This agency, faced with the burden of making its SharePoint sites 508 compliant, dodged the issue by saying that its SharePoint sites were not web sites. Instead, they pronounced that SharePoint was an 'application,' thus dodging the 508 requirement.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 15:40

A controversial black sheep poster urging voters in Switzerland to make it easier to deport non-Swiss criminals.

The right-wing Swiss People's Party is behind today's referendum.

It is notoriously difficult to get Swiss citizenship. Even third-generation immigrants, born in Switzerland are not automatically Swiss, as national councillor Filippo Lombardi explains.

''All foreigners '' and those who have lived here for over 30 years -, foreigners who were born here in the second and third generation '' they are all foreigners, a quarter of our population is submitted to a supplementary punishment which the rest of the population does not have, this is a blatant injustice,'' says Lombardi.

The provisions of the so-called Enforcement Initiative conflict with EU association agreements on freedom of movement.

If accepted, it would create a two-tier justice system: one for the Swiss, and one for the so-called foreigners, and would damage Swiss relations with its most important trade partner.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 15:11

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 07:14

City officials in Los Angeles, California are seizing the miniature houses that a local man built and donated to give the homeless people in the city a place to sleep.

Elvis Summers created the parking space-sized houses last year as part of a charitable effort to help out the city's many homeless residents. The plywood shacks were fitted with innovations such as wheels and solar-powered lights, and mostly positioned on overpasses along the freeway, so that the homeless would have somewhere better than tents to sleep in.

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"It hit me one day and I was like, 'why does nobody care?'" He told RT. After that he did some research and figured out that he could build homes himself.

However, the City of Los Angeles considers the compact buildings a blight. A new city ordinance calls the structures ''bulky items'' that are subject to immediate confiscation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

As part of an effort to clean up the streets and stamp out homeless encampments, the LA Bureau of Sanitation seized the houses. Summers himself was required to take away seven of them on Wednesday and Thursday.

"I just had to evict an elderly woman whose veteran husband is missing in the city," Summers told the LA Times. "It's really frustrating that I seem to be the only person actually doing something now to help people, and the city is still claiming that they are helping people when they are really not. They are wiping out camps all across the city."

Summers said he erected 37 tiny homes with $100,000 in donations in an online video campaign.

Councilman Curren Price says that the houses are disruptive to the South Los Angeles neighborhood that he represents.

''They're health and safety hazards. Not only for those who are occupying them but for citizens as well," he told RT.

Authorities found drug paraphernalia and a firearm in at least one of the houses seized during an earlier cleanup.

The miniature homes "can be hazardous to the individuals living in them and to the community at large," Connie Llanos, spokeswoman for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, said in a statement.

READ MORE: 'Desperate situation': Majority of landlords refuse to let properties to homeless, survey reveals

Summers expressed his outrage in a video on the tiny house Facebook page, saying that he plans to take legal action.

"I will not quit and I will not turn my back on these people," he said. "I will still fight this all the way."

Marisol Viera, a member of Summers team, told RT "it's like they're foreclosing on the homeless. How can you foreclose on people who have nothing?"

There were over 12,000 chronically homeless people in Los Angeles city and county as of November 2015, more than anywhere else in the US.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 06:35

When asked whether he can be trusted as much on religious liberty as the rest of the GOP presidential candidates, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Thursday during the debate that he believes those in the business of commerce should "conduct commerce" regardless of whether they agree with someone's lifestyle, but they can "say a prayer for them when they leave."

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 06:31

Despite not openly endorsing or dismissing any presidential candidate, former candidate Jim Gilmore criticized the media for giving free air time to Trump, during an interview on CNBC's Sqauwk Box.

''They're frustrated and their angry, and they're looking for a radical solution,'' Gilmore said. ''And surely Trump is offering them a radical solution. He said 'well, I can just go out and shoot somebody and it won't make any difference.'

''He also by the way said he didn't have to spend any money because he gets all free broadcasting. And that's what we're doing right now. We're giving him free time right now. And that's an issue that has to be addressed in the future, as the FCC needs to address this problem of the free advertising they're giving to selected candidates like Donald Trump.''

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 06:26

[See NewsBusters for more.] Good Morning America on Friday actually noticed a controversy involving the very pro-abortion feminist Gloria Steinem. Clothing company Lands End was forced to apologize for featuring Steinem in its spring issue. Reporter Rebecca Jarvis explained what caused the outrage from pro-life Americans: ''An interview with feminist, journalist and political activist Gloria steinem after customers flooded Facebook with outrage over Steinem's pro-abortion rights stance.'' Jarvis included complaints from conservatives, including,''You are not family friendly. I feel betrayed.'' But the journalist also included a complaint from Mashable business editor Heidi Moore.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 05:43

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 04:35

The former deputy leader of the shamed Labour council that failed to protect generations of children from sexual abuse last night flatly refused to apologise to the victims.

There was growing outrage over the failures by Rotherham council, which turned a blind eye while Pakistani grooming gangs sexually preyed on an estimated 2,000 girls.

As it emerged that a string of those responsible have gone on to lucrative jobs at other councils '' some in charge of safeguarding children '' the Labour former deputy council leader Jahangir Akhtar was asked if he wanted to apologise to the victims of sexual abuse.

Allies: Former Labour councillor Jahangir Akhtar - leader of the shamed Labour council that failed to protect generations of children from sexual abuse - with Ed Miliband

In response, he shouted: 'Absolutely not '' go away.' He refused to open the front door of his £150,000 detached home near the centre of Rotherham.

Mr Akhtar, 54, who has previously been pictured standing shoulder to shoulder with Labour leader Ed Miliband, was forced to 'step aside' from his role as deputy leader following allegations that he had been involved in a deal to help a relative accused of grooming an underage girl. He then lost his seat to Ukip at last year's local elections.

Meanwhile, Shaun Wright '' head of children's services at Rotherham council from 2005 to 2010 who was forced to quit as South Yorkshire police commissioner after fierce criticism of his role '' yelled abuse when questioned about the report by a reporter.

At his luxury five-bedroom house on an exclusive executive estate outside Rotherham, Mr Wright, 46, told the reporter: 'I'm not in the public domain any more '' you have no right. Just get off my property. I'm not talking!'

The council's former leader, Roger Stone, who like Mr Wright refused to co-operate with an inspection into the affair which this week branded the authority 'in denial', was not at his home and failed to respond to telephone messages.

Rotherham councillors are facing criminal charges after a shocking report laid bare how they tried to cover up one of Britain's biggest child abuse scandals.

Up to 2,000 girls were sexually exploited by Pakistani gangs in Rotherham while they ignored '' and in some cases covered up '' the abuse over a 16-year period due to an obsession with political correctness.

Shaun Wright - head of children's services at Rotherham council from 2005 to 2010 who was forced to quit as South Yorkshire police commissioner - yelled abuse when questioned about the report

After the entire council cabinet was forced to resign, the Prime Minister said yesterday that the same phenomenon was occuring across the country.

On a trip to Leeds, David Cameron promised that extra resources would be provided to Rotherham council if needed.

But he added: 'Let's not pretend this is a problem of money. It was mismanagement, political correctness, sexism. This is not a failure of resources, it was a failure of leadership. We need to tackle this across other parts of the country too.'

Mr Akhtar has been connected to numerous aspects of the scandal that led to the council failing to identify and act on the abuse of girls

Incredibly, despite the scandal, many of those responsible for the shocking failures at the Labour-run council have walked into highly paid roles elsewhere.

The council's former chief executive Ged Fitzgerald '' accused of allowing one report warning of child sex grooming to be suppressed and another ignored '' is now earning £199,500 a year as chief executive of Liverpool City Council. Jackie Wilson '' who was responsible for safeguarding children in Rotherham during the years when widespread sex grooming crimes were going unpunished '' now earns £90,000-a-year as assistant director for children and families in the neighbouring town of Doncaster.

Former deputy council leader Mr Akhtar '' described in the report as a 'powerful figure' in the town with 'influence that extended to the police' '' is a former taxi driver with a criminal conviction for his role in a violent brawl.

He came in for sustained criticism in this week's scathing report by government adviser Louise Casey, which recorded how 'members, officers and others spoke about him with a level of fear'.

'Some were concerned when speaking to inspectors that what they said would get back to him,' it said, even though he was no longer on the council.

He has been connected to numerous aspects of the scandal that led to the council failing to identify and act on the abuse of girls.

His cousin, Arshad Hussain, was named as a 'boyfriend' by up to 18 girls who spoke to social workers as part of the Risky Business outreach group, aimed at youngsters who were at risk of being lured into prostitution.

The married father-of-five was accused in a report in The Times last year of helping to arrange a deal where Hussain returned one of his young alleged victims who had gone missing from home to police.

HOW PAID-OFF OFFICIALS WALKED INTO NEW JOBSJoyce Thacker: Mrs Thacker earned £115,000 a year as strategic director of children and young people's services at Rotherham.

She was deputy director from 2006, taking over the top post in 2008 and holding it until last year. In that time hundreds of children are now known to have been targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs. But the scandals on her watch did not prevent her from being handed a £40,000 pay-off when she resigned last year.

Dr Sonia Sharp: Dr Sharp was Mrs Thacker's immediate predecessor as strategic director of children and young people's services from 2005 to 2008, when shocking sexual abuse was rampant and the ethnic dimension of the abuse covered up.

Since leaving, she has advised officials in Malaysia responsible for child protection on 'best practice'. She now works in Australia in education.

Ged Fitzgerald: He was the chief executive from 2001 to 2003 and was accused of allowing one report warning of child sex grooming to be suppressed and another ignored. The 53-year-old is now the £199,500 a year chief executive of Liverpool City Council.

Jackie Wilson: She was a senior manager with responsibility for safeguarding children in Rotherham during the years when widespread sex grooming crimes were going unpunished. But today as the £90,000-a-year assistant director for children and families at the council in nearby Donaster, Mrs Wilson is again entrusted with the safety of young people.

Martin Kimber: The £160,000-a-year chief executive from 2009 to 2014 refused to sack a single senior officer at Rotherham, despite damning evidence of failure and incompetence. Last September he was handed a £26,000 pay-off to go two months early.

Police are investigating claims that a report detailing the child sex abuse in Rotherham was stolen as part of a council cover-up.

The theft is alleged to have been part of a conspiracy orchestrated by council insiders desperate to conceal the scale of the problem of sexual grooming gangs in the town.

The stolen file was reported by a Home Office researcher working with Rotherham Council's youth service in 2002. She claimed senior managers at the authority were 'indifferent' when she told them she believed as many as 270 girls were being groomed for sex.

But after sending a draft version of her report detailing the abuse to the council and Home Office on a Friday, she returned to her office the following Monday to find all the files had gone and computer records wiped.

Significantly, there were no signs of a break-in, and the door had been locked and key-coded '' meaning only a limited number of council workers would have had access.

Professor Alexis Jay revealed details of a possible break-in in her report last year

The extraordinary raid from within the council's offices is likely to form part of a criminal probe into an alleged attempt to cover up the scale of child sexual abuse by members of the town's Pakistani community, which could see councillors and council officers facing the threat of jail.

The Home Office worker behind the report was allegedly later suspended for supposedly including confidential data in her report, then ordered to water it down after being reinstated. She refused to change a word.

Incredibly, the report was never published, and it would be more than a decade later before the truth was finally acknowledged.

It is thought that if it had been published it could have potentially prevented the abuse of hundreds of girls over the years that followed.

Details of the break-in were first raised following last August's report by Professor Alexis Jay, which stated that the researcher's draft report contained 'severe criticisms of the agencies in Rotherham involved with child sexual exploitation' but that she had been subjected to 'personalised hostility at the hands of officials'.

She concluded: 'Had this report been treated with the seriousness it merited at the time, by both the police and the council, the children involved then and later would have been better protected and abusers brought to justice. These events have led to suspicions of collusion and cover-up.'

The unnamed researcher subsequently gave evidence to a private session of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

In their report of the meeting, MPs revealed the researcher had handed police the names of five people who had access to the room where her missing files had been kept, but they failed to act on the information. When asked why not, David Crompton, current chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, told MPs his officers 'could not find' any police reports about the documents being removed.

At the time, committee chairman Keith Vaz said: 'The proliferation of revelations about files which can no longer be located gives rise to public suspicion of a deliberate cover-up.'

The researcher had been based within Risky Business, the council's specialist youth service, which is praised in both the Jay report and this week's damning inspection by Louise Casey for being the only part of the authority to help vulnerable teenage girls, only to be effectively closed down for flagging up 'uncomfortable truths'.

Yesterday the council said it had set up an external review to 'establish the facts of the matter'. Home Secretary Theresa May has said the Home Office was 'looking at the files to ascertain exactly what happened'.

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Sun, 28 Feb 2016 04:17

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There could be up to a million victims of child sexual exploitation in the UK, it is feared.

Rotherham's Labour MP Sarah Champion describes it as a ''national disaster'' and is demanding a taskforce to fight the ''horror.''

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror the shaken MP has told how she 'nearly lost her mind' after victims turned to her for help - unable to trust the police or local council.

She is currently getting an average of 10 victims a week coming to her for help.

Fighting back tears she told how she feared having a nervous breakdown worried about failing the ''amazing women'' and her horror after finding out a manual for grooming existed for paedophiles.

The MP was speaking after the Government announced they were taking over Rotherham Council for a ''fresh start'' and sending five commissioners to run the troubled authority.

Abuse fears: Rotherham MP Sarah Champion

Inspectors were called in after the Jay Report last August revealed the borough had let down 1,400 victims of child sexual exploitation.

''The day after the first report broke the victims started coming to me. They couldn't go to the police, they couldn't go to the council. So who do you go to?

''For the first three weeks I generally thought I was losing my mind. I nearly lost my mind because of the level of depravity and horror.

''Listening to what these, now women, had gone through and how they were just left discarded, to flounder on their own.

''It was utterly mind-blowing and then the problem I had was that I was getting new cases coming to me, ones that hadn't been reported which they wanted me to report. But I didn't know who I could trust in the police to report it.

''There was this parallel universe going on and it is mindblowing.

Rotherham: Let down victims''I generally thought I was getting close to having a nervous breakdown because I couldn't process these two worlds going on and that anybody in a professional capacity would not have acted about what was going on. It's obscene.''

Talking about her concerns of corruption within the police force she pointed out the IPCC started their investigation within a month they had suspended 14 police officers.

And she said one senior police officer told her they didn't know why she was so surprised, telling Sarah: 'Paedophiles become teachers and people that prey on the vulnerable go into the police.''

Talking of the cases she has encountered, she told of one horrific case when a girl from Rotherham was traced to a terraced street in Blackpool by youth worker Jane Senior who she employs.

''She knew where the girl was because of the queue of men down the street and up the stairs,'' The MP said.

She said she turned to the Government five months ago to ask for emergency funding for her town's victims to help the rebuild their lives.

''I went to see David Cameron this week and he said he would look into it.

Let down: Prime Minister David Cameron"It feels like the Government is leaving Rotherham to die. It feels like we're not on their doorstep so it doesn't matter.''

She welcomed experts coming into Rotherham to help them but said the Government should have stepped in after the Jay Report, six months ago.

''We would have been able to move forward as a town much quicker,'' she said.

''There are hundreds of thousands and I think there could be up to a million victims of exploitation nationwide, including right now. Girls in the process of being groomed,'' she said.

''I have met people from all over the country.

''If you just think we know at least four big cases each with a couple of thousand each in smallest towns. It's extraordinary.

''I was talking to sixth formers on Monday and all of the girls there had either personal or direct experience of people trying to manipulate them through sexting. You have online grooming.

Abuse: Children walk in the street in Rotherham''It's seriously a nationwide issue.

This week she met David Cameron to ask for funds to help support Rotherham's victims and plead for a taskforce.

''I want a national taskforce because unless we get that, what's happened in Rochdale, what's happened here, will just go on. The nightmare will go on.

Sarah Champion became Rotherham MP in 2012 after facing a protest walkout by members furious an Asian councillor had not been selected.

She says that attitude was indicative of the problems in the town.

Sending a message to the victims of abuse, she is trying to help, she said: ''I'm here for you and you are amazing for what you have done to help save this town.

''I think we need to remember there are victims across all the different communities.

"It is the most hideous form of abuse because victims generally believe the person loves them - then it's like a double abuse.''

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Source: Washington Free Beacon

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 15:53

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 14:37

Al Sharpton Promises To Leave America If Donald Trump Wins The Presidency

I think Al Sharpton has all but guaranteed a Donald Trump presidency with a tantalizing new offer. The accomplished race-hustler says he's leaving the US if Trump wins the White House. This may be the best endorsement of all time because I honestly can think of a better incentive to bring out the votes than this.

Sharpton was giving a press conference for God knows what at a Center for American Progress event on Thursday. When asked about the GOP frontrunner, Big Al did his best to ensure a Trump victory.

''If Donald Trump is the nominee, I'm open to support anyone, while I'm also reserving my ticket to get outta here if he wins, only because he'd probably have me deported anyway,'' said Sharpton.

Clearly Sharpton understands our nation's immigration laws in the same way the he understands our tax laws, but that's beside the point. The real news is that Sharpton, like so many whiny liberals, is going to exit America if Trump takes it all in November. He said it. It's on video. I consider that to be a legally binding agreement. No backsies.

Admittedly my support for Trump has been lukewarm up until this point, but this really changes my pespective. The thought of a Sharpton-free country is very appealing. I can look past a lot of character flaws and flip-flopping on conservative issues for someone who can rid us of this blowhard jackass. If he can get Lena Dunham, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Moore to go as well, he's got my vote for sure.

Trump has made a lot of promises that even he knows he can't fulfill, but this is something he can honestly campaign on: A Vote For Trump Is A Sharpton Dump!

He'd get all of the conservatives, most independents, a good chunk of liberals, and nearly all of the black voters because they hate Sharpton as much as the rest of us. This is a platform that crosses political, economic, and racial boundaries. This could be the single uniting incident that brings us together as a country after 8 years of Obama tearing us apart.

The Problem is Al Sharpton is completely full of shit. He has a PhD in manure shoveling. What he says and what he does are two entirely different things. He has no intention of leaving if Trump wins; there's no money in to for him. The only way Sharpton is going to abandon the US is if someone pays him to do it.

Hey wait, Trump might still be the man to make this happen. He's a billionaire and can easily afford to pay Sharpton to get the hell out. Either that or, if Trump wins the presidency, he could threaten to prosecute Sharpton for tax evasion and the race-hustling reverend would probably leave on his own to avoid the ''racist'' justice system.

I don't care how it happens as long as it happens.

Follow Brian Anderson on Twitter

2016

February 26, 2016

Brian AndersonBrian Anderson is the author of horror novels Man-Made Monsters and Cryptic Creatures and has written for some major Hollywood studios. He is a family man, musician, muscle car enthusiast, and supporter of the 2nd Amendment.

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Sat, 27 Feb 2016 14:21

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