No Agenda Episode 585 - "Dhimmi or Dead"

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No Agenda Episode 585 - "Dhimmi or Dead"
  No Agenda Episode 585 - "Dhimmi or Dead"
    Dhimmi or Dead
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  Cover Art
    Art By: fesitval wibrowski
    See All The Art in the Generator
  Credits
    Dhimmi or Dead
    Executive Producers: Sir Fred Lust, Gregory Wilson
    Associate Executive Producers: Sir Atomic Rod Adams, Awesome Johnson, Andrew Wyatt
    Become a member of the 586 Club, support the show here
    Art By: fesitval wibrowski
    ShowNotes Archive of links and Assets (clips etc) 585.noagendanotes.com
    Sign Up for the newsletter
    New: Directory Archive of Shownotes (includes all audio and video assets used) nashownotes.com
    The No Agenda News Network- noagendanewsnetwork.com
    RSS Podcast Feed
    Get the No Agenda News App for your iPhone and iPad
    Torrents of each episode via BitLove
    New! BitTorrent Sync the No Agenda Show
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    TODAY
      Who knew the show has so many accountants and auditors listening!
      Thanks for all the EMail #hashtags
      Justin Bieber ARRESTED FOR DUI In Miami; All The Details Here!
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Radar Online Radar Online
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:27
        Justin Bieber was arrested in Miami Beach early Thursday in connection with DUI and drag racing, and RadarOnline.com has all the details for you on the story.
        The 'Baby' singer, according to NBC6, was departing from a club behind the wheel of a rented yellow Lamborghini, when police apprehended him at Pine Tree Drive and 26th Street on suspicion of drag racing.
        Police said that the singer's hangers-on had blocked off the intersection to set up a drag strip for the fast-living showman. Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martineztold the Miami Herald that officers had a tough time of apprehending the group, as ''when the cars are going that fast, it takes awhile to catch up.'' (The NY Daily News reported that a second car was pulled over directly in front of the Canadian pop star.)
        PHOTOS: Bieber Gets Stopped By The LAPD
        When he was taken into custody at 4:30 a.m., Bieber, 19, flunked a field sobriety test. After further testing, Martinez told the paper that singer '-- who didn't have a valid driver's license on his person '-- was determined to be under the influence of drugs.
        Bieber was in South Florida following a quick excursion to Cuba Wednesday, where he retreated to in the wake of mounting problems after his Calabasas, Calif. mansion was examined by police following an incident with a neighbor, and drugs were apprehended at the scene. He's spent the rest of his time in South Florida at the beach, or at King of Diamonds, a gentleman's club where he reportedly treated pal Lil Scrappy to a $75,000 birthday bash. (New reports emanating from the area indicated officials in Opa-Locka, Fla. are looking into claims he had a police detail squiring him around town.)
        The incident looks to be another footnote in a celebrity meltdown reminiscent of Robert Downey Jr. in 1996, Britney Spears in 2007-2008, and Charlie Sheen in 2011.
        PHOTOS: Lil Za Arrested For Cocaine Possession At The Home Of Pop Star Justin Bieber
        In 2014 alone, Bieber has already been implicated of: presiding over a drug-laden party pad to the chagrin of his neighbors; attacking one of those neighbor's homes with eggs, leading to a police investigation that turned up drugs, and could have consequences for the singer at the felony level; taunting, and sending unwanted pics of his genitals to ex Selena Gomez; and being linked to the frequent consumption of illegal drugs such as marijuana and ''sizzurp'', a potent codeine-based liquid.
        The parade of unsightly headlines have crippled the once-wholesome singer's commercial appeal, as his film Believetanked at the box office, while concert ticket sales have lagged as his target demographic has found new heartthrobs to fawn over.
        The singer's mother Pattie Mallette Wednesday encouraged his fans to pray for her son, saying, ''I ask that people keep me and Justin in their minds. I pray for him every day '... I think so many people go into the entertainment industry with amazing Christian roots and they get influenced somehow.''
        Stay with Radar for more updates on this story.
      Healthy News Diet Email
        Hi Adam,
        First, I’m testing your request to email with subject lines containing
        hashtags (yes, I’m a little behind).
        Second, I wanted to perpetuate the idea of the No Agenda Diet. Listening to
        No Agenda DOES make you healthier and skinnier. I listen to NA on 20+ mile
        bike rides and I “took you ice skating” today on my lunch break! I'm down
        nearly 40 pounds!
        Thank you and JCD for all that you do - including slimming me down! For
        which there WILL be pics at some point...I'm planning a boudoir photo shoot
        for the hubby. I'll include one with a "make it rain" donation once they're
        done. :)
        Beth Clark
        Stormstown, PA
      Notice -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:35
        The White House
        Office of the Press Secretary
        For Immediate Release
        January 21, 2014
        On January 23, 1995, by Executive Order 12947, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process. On August 20, 1998, by Executive Order 13099, the President modified the Annex to Executive Order 12947 to identify four additional persons who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process. On February 16, 2005, by Executive Order 13372, the President clarified the steps taken in Executive Order 12947.
        Because these terrorist activities continue to threaten the Middle East peace process and to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, the national emergency declared on January 23, 1995, and the measures adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect beyond January 23, 2014. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process.
        This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
        BARACK OBAMA
        THE WHITE HOUSE, January 21, 2014.
      Letter -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:35
        The White House
        Office of the Press Secretary
        For Immediate Release
        January 21, 2014
        TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTTO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
        January 21, 2014
        Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
        Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process is to continue in effect beyond January 23, 2014.
        The crisis with respect to grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process that led to the declaration of a national emergency on January 23, 1995, has not been resolved. Terrorist groups continue to engage in activities that have the purpose or effect of threatening the Middle East peace process and that are hostile to United States interests in the region. Such actions continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process and to maintain in force the economic sanctions against them to respond to this threat.
        Sincerely,
        BARACK OBAMA
      JCD Books
        Nazis had A-Bombs
        First Nagasaki bomb was a dud
        Uranium and a Plutonium Bomb
        We robbed the uranium from a German Transport
        Took out the Berlin electric grid
    Syria
      SANCTIONS-Carter-Ruck: International Law
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:35
        Carter-Ruck's International Law team has extensive experience in litigation, dispute resolution and regulatory matters involving an international or diplomatic context.
        Its clients include a significant number of governments, heads of state and leading political figures from across the world, as well as commercial entities and individuals requiring specialist advice on international issues.
        The firm's international lawyers have worked on matters involving a wide array of legal issues, including:
        Public international law, including territorial disputesPrivate international lawMulti-jurisdictional disputesUnited Nations sanctions and 'smart sanctions'EC and national sanctionsTerrorist designation and terrorism legislationAsset freezing and travel restrictionsExtraditionInterpol Red NoticesWhile much of this work is conducted before the courts in the UK and by way of arbitration, the firm also has cases proceeding in the European Court of Justice and in the courts of a host of overseas jurisdictions. The International Law team also undertakes a great deal of work outside the conventional legal context, for example arguing its clients' cases in negotiations with various institutions of the United Nations or with government departments and law enforcement agencies in the UK, the USA and many other countries. Carter-Ruck has developed a particular expertise in cases arising out of the events of 9/11 and the subsequent 'war on terror'. It is currently representing clients in relation to such matters in litigation in the European Court of Justice, the New York District Court and the High Court in London and has been involved in negotiations on behalf of its clients with the United Nations and with representatives of many national governments. In the autumn of 2008 the firm's International Law team won a major victory before the European Court of Justice on behalf of its client Yassin Kadi by which EC regulations freezing Mr Kadi's assets were struck down. Leading academics have described the Kadi judgment as 'the most important judgment ever delivered by the ECJ on the relationship between EC and international law and one of its most important judgments on fundamental rights'. Carter-Ruck's extensive experience of dealing with the UK and international media means that it is particularly well placed to deal with the media coverage of sensitive international disputes.
        Contact Partners:Cameron DoleyGuy Martin
      Carter-Ruck: International Law - Recent Work
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:33
        Sheikh Yassin Abdullah Kadi and Guy Martin of Carter-Ruck address distinguished audience about effect of targeted sanctions
        Carter-Ruck supported a workshop on EU sanctions held at University College, London on 8 November 2013.
        Guy Martin, the firm's Head of International Law, with his client Sheikh Yassin Abdullah Kadi, gave introductory addresses to the distinguished audience outlining the impact of EU Sanctions from the perspective of a formerly designated person.
        The workshop brought together judges, EU and national officials, decision and policy makers, practising lawyers as well as leading academics, and other stakeholders. It was organised by Professor Piet Eeckhout of UCL, and Maya Lester of Brick Court Chambers.
        The workshop addressed issues arising from the EU's sanctions policies, notably the extensive and often successful litigation which has resulted (such as the Kadi I and II cases), and questions as to the protection of fundamental rights. Speakers and attendees at the conference included several representatives of sanctioned individuals and entities as well as leading academics, and senior representatives from the UN, the European Commission, and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
        The Keynote speech, on the Kadi II case and the review of sanctions cases by the Court of Justice of the European Union was given by Judge Koen Lenaerts, Vice President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The speech was chaired by Alan Dashwood of City University, and the commentator was Judge Kimberly Prost (UN Ombudsperson for the 1267 Sanctions Committee).
      Syria 'Peace Summit' turns into 'regime change' ambush, staged by US and its allies
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: the tap
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:31
        JANUARY 22, 2014 BY 21WIRE LEAVE A COMMENTJust in time for the 'Syrian Peace Conference' in Montreux, Switzerland this week'...'Foreign Secretary said the images are 'compelling and horrific!'It gets better. This latest 'breathtaking' report of 'Assad's systematic torture operation', hand-delivered by the new Curveball,named 'Caesar', was prepared and put on lay-away in order to influence opinions in favour of regime change in Syria. Even if it were true, blowing the international whistle on institutional torture is just a bit rich '' coming from the United States and Great Britain. Indeed, after 12 years Guantanamo Bay is still open for business.But it gets worse '' we discover that the 'report' was commissioned by the Qataris and authored by Carter Ruck law firm in London, solicitors who just happen to also represent Saudi clients accused of, wait for it'... funneling money to al Qaida terrorists. Yes, like those same terrorists who happen to have flooded into Syria over the last two and a half years.Here's where the super-spin cycle begins. In order to try and conceal the fact that the Saudis and Qataris have been bank-rolling some of the most savage Jihadi mercenary fighters the world has ever seen in Syria, spin doctors have come up with this latest bit of counter-propaganda:''Rebels and defectors said the regime also deliberately released militant prisoners to strengthen jihadist ranks at the expense of moderate rebel forces. The aim was to persuade the West that the uprising was sponsored by Islamist militants including al-Qaeda as a way of stopping Western support for it, the intelligence report claims.''Tidying up loose ends? You might laugh, but this bit of spin is making the rounds in the western media and political circles.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37434.htmJust in time for the 'Syrian Peace Conference' in Montreux, Switzerland this week'...'Foreign Secretary said the images are 'compelling and horrific!'It gets better. This latest 'breathtaking' report of 'Assad's systematic torture operation', hand-delivered by the new Curveball,named 'Caesar', was prepared and put on lay-away in order to influence opinions in favour of regime change in Syria. Even if it were true, blowing the international whistle on institutional torture is just a bit rich '' coming from the United States and Great Britain. Indeed, after 12 years Guantanamo Bay is still open for business.But it gets worse '' we discover that the 'report' was commissioned by the Qataris and authored by Carter Ruck law firm in London, solicitors who just happen to also represent Saudi clients accused of, wait for it'... funneling money to al Qaida terrorists. Yes, like those same terrorists who happen to have flooded into Syria over the last two and a half years.Here's where the super-spin cycle begins. In order to try and conceal the fact that the Saudis and Qataris have been bank-rolling some of the most savage Jihadi mercenary fighters the world has ever seen in Syria, spin doctors have come up with this latest bit of counter-propaganda:''Rebels and defectors said the regime also deliberately released militant prisoners to strengthen jihadist ranks at the expense of moderate rebel forces. The aim was to persuade the West that the uprising was sponsored by Islamist militants including al-Qaeda as a way of stopping Western support for it, the intelligence report claims.''Tidying up loose ends? You might laugh, but this bit of spin is making the rounds in the western media and political circles.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37434.htm
    Turkey
      How do the Kurds [and thus oil to Turkey] and the Syrian Kurds fit into the story?
      AFP: Turkish lira plunges to new lows as rates held steady
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:14
        Turkish lira plunges to new lows as rates held steady
        By Fulya Ozerkan (AFP) '' 12 hours ago
        Ankara '-- Turkey's currency plunged to new lows on Tuesday after the central bank held key interest rates unchanged, bowing to what analysts said was pressure from the government as it battles a deepening political crisis.
        The bank's move had been widely expected after the government ruled out any hike in rates despite the lira's rapid decline since a corruption scandal broke last year.
        And embattled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a two-day visit to Brussels to try to advance Turkey's EU membership talks, hailed it as the "right decision".
        The bank said after its monthly policy meeting that it was holding its key overnight rate at 7.75 percent, its one-week repurchasing or repo rate at 4.5 percent and its borrowing rate at 3.5 percent.
        However, it gave itself room for manoeuvre, saying it would raise interbank rates to nine percent on "additional monetary tightening days".
        The lira swiftly tumbled to a new record low of 2.2659 against the dollar but recovered slightly to close at 2.2575, but remained at a low of 3.0583 to the euro.
        The Istanbul stock exchange closed 0.84 percent higher on the news at 66,318.69 points.
        The lira has sunk to new lows almost daily this year as Erdogan grapples with the most serious crisis of his 11-year rule and has lost well over 20 percent since May.
        'Bank caved in to pressure'
        The central bank has been under pressure from Erdogan's Islamic-leaning government not to raise interest rates in order to boost growth and keep inflation in check ahead of key local elections on March 30.
        Instead, it has been using its foreign currency reserves to shore up the currency, selling about $17.6 billion last year.
        But Erdogan insisted: "The central bank is an independent institution. It is tied neither to me, nor any of my ministers."
        The lira has been on a sharp downward spiral since mid-December when police launched an anti-corruption probe that has embroiled members of Erdogan's inner circle.
        Most analysts had expected the bank to hold fire on any rate increases despite market pressures.
        Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci on Monday dismissed any likelihood of a hike "because it would be an inconclusive step and put a permanent burden on our economy".
        Observers said the bank had caved in to government pressure and some speculated that it may nevertheless be forced to hike rates after the local elections.
        "Today's move adds to what is already a muddled monetary policy framework and will raise further questions about the credibility of the central bank," London-based Capital Economics said, warning that the lira was likely to come under further pressure.
        Inan Demir, chief economist at Istanbul-based Finansbank, said Tuesday's decision would not provide any respite for the lira.
        "On the contrary, we continue to see further depreciation until we see (the central bank) forcefully defending the currency," he said.
        The currency is being pummelled not only from the political crisis but also Turkey's need for cheap funding to cover its external liabilities, making it vulnerable to US monetary policy tightening.
        Economists have highlighted Turkey's yawning current account deficit, currently at over 7.0 percent of gross domestic product, as a key concern.
        While the government has insisted its growth target of four percent for 2014 remains intact, many are more pessimistic.
        The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development cut its projection for Turkey to 3.3 percent for this year from a previous estimate of 3.6 percent.
        "Growth in Turkey is likely to moderate somewhat... reflecting monetary tightening and an increase in financing costs linked to higher political risks which are pulling growth back," the EBRD said.
        "Nevertheless, domestic demand is still expected to grow, albeit at a slower pace, and net exports may benefit from a recent depreciation of the currency."
        Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan warned last week that inflation might be higher than the 5.3 percent forecast for 2014, compared with 7.4 percent last year.
        Copyright (C) 2014 AFP. All rights reserved. More >>
      Meeting with PM of Turkey
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Uploads by Herman Van Rompuy
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:13
      A visit to the Pennsylvania fortress of ''The World's most Dangerous Islamist''
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:25
        Inside the Gulen CompoundFethullah Gulen, allegedly ''the most dangerous Islamist on planet earth,'' is alive, well, and living in Pennsylvania with over $25 billion in financial assets.
        From Pennsylvania, he has toppled the secular government of Turkey, established over 3,000 schools throughout Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, created a new country called East Turkistan, and formed a movement that seeks to create a New Islamic World Order.
        This reporter made a recent visit to Gulen's 28-acre mountain complex at 1857 Mt. Eaton Road in Saylorsburg, PA - - the very heart of the Pocono Mountains.
        The complex consists of a massive chalet that is surrounded by numerous out buildings, including recreational centers, dormitories, and cabins for visiting foreign dignitaries. The property also contains a large pond, a helicopter pad, and, reportedly, firing ranges.
        The first floor of the chalet contains a dining hall capable of serving a small army. The second floor is an open area with a library, computer station, and open areas with divans where disciples pour over Turkish newspapers, Islamic texts, and the collected wisdom of their Hocaefendi (''religious master''). Gulen himself resides on the third floor and rarely emerges to meet with his followers, let alone inquisitive reporters.
        The road leading into the complex is blocked by a metal gate and a sentry hut.
        Within the hut are high definition televisions that flash images from the security cameras that have been strategically placed throughout the complex. The post is manned day and night by Turkish guards, who speak little or no English.
        Before the hut is a sign that reads ''Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center.'' No visitor in his or her right mind could believe that the tiny, one room building serves as a house of worship, let alone a place for a weekend retreat. The building contains only a metal desk, two straight chairs, the monitors, and the sentries who, upon the occasion of this reporter's visit, offered no word of welcome but instead called upon other members of the complex to escort this reporter and his photographer sidekick from the premises.
        The neighbors complained to this reporter of gunfire from fully automatic weapons coming from the complex and the presence of a surveillance helicopter that combs the property in search of unwanted intruders.
        They maintain that an army of approximately 100 Turkish guards stand watch over the property in order to protect their reclusive leader.
        Combing the parameters of the property, one can easily spot the guards. They wear suits, white shirts, and ties and do not look like traditional Islamists in cloaks and turbans.
        According to a source within the compound, the guards and other members of the compound follow their Hocaefendi's orders without question and refrain from marrying until age fifty per his instructions. When they do marry, the spouses are expected to dress in the Islamic manner, as dictated by G¼len himself.
        The women do not live within the complex but rather in modest houses along Mt. Eton Road.
        Little about Gulen, as U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan discovered, is known '' - not even his date of birth. Some of his followers maintain that he was born in 1934; others 1938; and still others 1942.
        How dangerous is Gulen?In his public statements, Gulen espouses a liberal version of Sunni/Hanafi Islam and promotes the Muslim notion of hizmet - - altruistic service to the common good.
        Despite the presence of the armed guards at his Pocono fortress, Gulen has condemned terrorism and called for interfaith dialogue. He claims to have met with Pope John Paul II, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.
        Whether these meetings with Christian and Jewish leaders actually occurred is questionable. On his website, Gulen says that he has a UNECO award from Pope John Paul II in October, 2005. John Paul II died on April 2, 2005.
        In private, Gulen has stated that ''in order to reach the ideal Muslim society every method and path is acceptable, [including] lying to people.''
        In a sermon that was aired on Turkish television, Gulen said:
        You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers ... until the conditions are ripe, they [the followers] must continue like this. If they do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads, and Muslims will suffer everywhere, like in the tragedies in Algeria, like in 1982 [in] Syria ... like in the yearly disasters and tragedies in Egypt. The time is not yet right. You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it ... You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey ... Until that time, any step taken would be too early'--like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside. The work to be done is [in] confronting the world. Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all'--in confidence ... trusting your loyalty and secrecy. I know that when you leave here'--[just] as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here.
        Under the AKP, Turkey has become a militant Islamic state, transferring its alliance from Europe and the United States to Russia and IranAnyone doubting the incredible power wielded by Gulen need only take note of the achievements of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma, AKP)- - a party Gulen formed this party as soon as he arrived in Pennsylvania. By 2003, the AKP became the governing party in Turkey and a powerful force throughout the Muslim world. Abdullah Gul, Turkey's first Islamist President, is a Gulen disciple, along with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Yusuf Ziya Ozcan, the head of Turkey's Council of Higher Education.
        Under the AKP, Turkey has become a militant Islamic state, transferring its alliance from Europe and the United States to Russia and Iran. It has moved toward friendship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria and created a pervasive anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-America animus throughout the populace.
        Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of ''TRT al Turkiye'', the new channel of the state run TV station TRT, Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey will always be on the side of Muslims wherever they are.
        Within Turkey, Gulen also formed a vast conglomerate called Kaynak Holding, which today includes some 15 companies involved in the retail, I.T., construction, and food industries. The main division, Kaynak Publishing, maintains 28 publishing labels. It produces hundreds of books per year on and by G¼len, in addition to books on the glories of the Ottoman Empire and the achievements of militant Islam.
        Gulen also owns Feza Media Group, which publishes the Today's Zaman (Turkey's leading daily newspaper) and the magazine Aksiyon. A subsidiary of Feza is Samanyolu Broadcasting, which operates most of Turkey's TV stations. Gulen and his followers also control Bank Asya, now Turkey's largest Islamic bank, with billions of dollars in assets, and TUSKON, a Turkish businessmen's association, with 50,000 companies as members.
        With his vast resources, Gulen established thousands of schools throughout Central Asia - - - Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan - - in order to create a massive pan-Islamic state. Noted whistleblower Sibel Edmonds explains: ''Turkey shares the same heritage/race as the entire population of Central Asia, the same language (Turkic), the same religion (Sunni Islam), and of course, the strategic location and proximity.''According to Bayram Balci, a Turkish scholar, the Gulen schools seek to expand ''the Islamization of Turkish nationality and the Turification of Islam'' in order to bring about a universal caliphate ruled by Islamic law.
        Because of the subversive nature of these institutions, these schools have been outlawed in Russia and Uzbekistan.
        Even the Netherlands, a nation that embraces pluralism and tolerance, has opted to cut funding to the Gulen schools because of their imminent threat to the social order.
        But Gulen's 150-plus charter schools in the United States, which advance Gulen's international agenda have received little national attention.
        All of these charter schools - - which advance the New Islamic World Order - - are fully funded by American taxpayers.
        A partial listing of the Gulen schools throughout the U.S.A. is as follows:
        ArizonaSchools Operated by Daisy Education Corporation
        Sonorant Science Academy-Tucson Middle-High School 2325 W Sunset Rd., TucsonSonorant Science Academy-Tucson Elementary School 2325 W Sunset Rd., TucsonSonorant Science Academy-Broadway Kindergarten '' Grade 8, 6880 E Broadway Blvd., TucsonSonoran Science Academy-Phoenix Kindergarten '' Grade 10 4837 E McDowell Rd., PhoenixDaisy Early Learning Academy, 2325 W Sunset Rd., Tucson, AZDavis Monthan Air Force BaseArkansas
        Lisa Academy 21 Corporate Hill Dr., Little RockLisa Academy-North 5410 Landers Rd, SherwoodCalifornia
        Magnolia Science Academy 1, 18238 Sherman Way, ResedaMagnolia Science Academy 2, 18425 Kittridge St., ResedaMagnolia Science Academy 3, 1444 W Rosecrans Ave., GardenaMagnolia Science Academy 4, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CAMagnolia Science Academy 5, 1530 N Wilton Place, HollywoodMagnolia Science Academy 6, San CarlosMomentum Middle School, 6365 Lake Atlin, San DiegoBay Area Technology School (Bay Tech) 4521 Webster St., OaklandPacific Technology School-San JuanPacific Technology School-Santa AnaColorado
        Lotus School for Excellence, AuroraFlorida
        Orlando Science Middle School, 2427 Lynx Lane, OrlandoRiver City Science Academy, 3266 Southside Blvd., JacksonvilleSweet water Branch Academy 1000 NE 16th Ave, Building C, GainesvilleStars Middle School 1234 Blountstown Highway, TallahasseeGeorgia
        Fulton Science Academy Middle School, 1675 Hembree Road, AlpharettaTechnology Enriched Accelerated Charter High School, 4100 Old Milton Pkwy, AlpharettaIllinois
        Science Academy of Chicago, Grade 1-Grade 8, 8350 N. Greenwood Ave, NilesChicago Math and Science Academy Secondary School, 1705 West Lunt Ave, ChicagoIndianaOperated by Concept Schools, Inc.
        Indiana Math and Science Academy, Grade 6-Grade 12, 4575 W 38th Street, IndianapolisLouisiana
        Abramson Science and Technology 5552 Read Blvd., New OrleansMaryland
        Chesapeake Science Point Secondary School 1321 Mercedes Drive, HanoverMassachusetts
        Pioneer Charter School of Science Grade 7- Grade 10, 51-59 Summer Street, EverettMissouri
        Broadside-Frontier Math and Science School Secondary School, 5605 Troost, Kansas CityBroadside Charter and Day School Elementary School, 5220 Troost Ave., Kansas CityNevada
        Coral Academy of Science-Las Vegas, 8185 Tamarus St., Las VegasCoral Academy of Science-Reno Secondary School, 1350 East Ninth Street, RenoCoral Academy of Science- Reno Elementary School, 1701 Valley Road, RenoNew Jersey
        Bergen Arts and Science Charter School, K-8, 200 MacArthur Ave, GarfieldPaterson Charter School for Science and Technology, 276 Wabash Ave., PatersonTuition SchoolsPioneer Academy of Science, K-12, 366 Clifton Avenue, CliftonOhioOperated by Concept Schools, Inc.
        Horizon Science Academy-Cincinnati Middle School-High School, 1055 Laidlaw Avenue, CincinnatiHorizon Science Academy-Cleveland High School, 6000 South Marginal Rd., ClevelandHorizon Science Academy-Cleveland Middle School, 6100 South Marginal Rd. ClevelandHorizon Science Academy-Cleveland Elementary School, 6150 South Marginal Rd. ClevelandHorizon Science Academy-Columbus High School 1070 Morse Rd. ColumbusHorizon Science Academy-Columbus Middle School 1341 Bethele Road, ColumbusHorizon Science Academy-Columbus Elementary School, 2835 Morse Rd., ColumbusHorizon Science Academy-Dayton, 545 Odlin Ave., DaytonHorizon Science Academy '' Denison, K-1, Grades 4 '' 8, 1700 Denison Avenue, ClevelandHorizon Science Academy '' Springfield, Grades 5- 8 630 South Reynolds Road, Toledo, OH 43615-6314Horizon Science Academy '' Toledo, Toledo High School, 425 Jefferson Avenue, ToledoNoble Academy-Columbus, K-Grade 8, 1329 Bethel Road, ColumbusNoble Academy-Cleveland 1200 E. 200th Street, EuclidOklahomaSchools operated under the Cosmos Foundation, TX.
        Dove Science Academy-OKC Secondary School, 919 NW 23rd St., Oklahoma CityDove Science Academy-OKC Elementary School, 4901 N Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma CityDove Science Academy-Tulsa, 280 S Memorial Dr, TulsaTuition school affiliated with Raindrop Turkish House
        Bluebonnet Learning Center of Tulsa Nursery, Pre-School and Pre-Kinder Education, 280 S Memorial Dr., TulsaPennsylvania
        Truebright Science Academy Secondary School, 926 West Sedgley Avenue, PhiladelphiaSnowdrop Science Academy Pre-School '' Grade 7, 233 Seaman Lane, MonroevilleTexasOperated by The Cosmos Foundation
        Harmony Science Academy-Austin Secondary School, 930 East Rundberg Lane, AustinHarmony School of Science-Austin Kindergarten- Grade 8, 11800 Stonehollow Drive, Suite 100, AustinHarmony Science Academy-North Austin, Grades 6- 10, 1421 Wells Branch Parkway, W Suite 200, PflugervilleHarmony Science Academy-Beaumont, Kindergarten- Grade 10, 4055 Calder Ave, BeaumontHarmony Science Academy-BrownsvilleHarmony Science Academy-Bryan/ College StationHarmony Science Academy-Dallas Secondary School, 11995 Forestgate Dr., DallasHarmony Science Academy-Dallas Elementary School, 11995 Forestgate Dr., DallasHarmony Science Academy- El Paso, 9405 Betel Dr., El PasoHarmony Science Academy-Fort WorthHarmony Science Academy-Grand Prairie, 1102 NW 7th St, Grand PrairieHarmony Science Academy-Houston Secondary School, 5435 S. Braeswood, HoustonHarmony School of Excellence-Houston, Elementary and Secondary School, 7340 North Gessner Rd, HoustonHarmony School of Innovation-Houston, 9421 West Sam Houston Parkway, South HoustonHarmony School of Science-Houston, 13415 W Belford Ave., Sugar LandHarmony Science Academy-Northwest, Kindergarten- Grade 10, 16200 Tomball Parkway, HoustonHarmony Science Academy-Laredo, 4401 San Francisco Avenue, LaredoHarmony Science Academy-Lubbock, 1516 53rd Street, LubbockHarmony Science Academy-San Antonio, 8505 Lakeside Parkway, San AntonioHarmony Science Academy-Waco, 1900 N. Valley Mills Dr., WacoTexas Gulf Institute Career Center Adult Education, 9431 W Sam Houston Pkwy., S #203, HoustonOperated by Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc
        School of Science and Technology Discovery, K-12, 5707 Bandera Road, Leon ValleySchool of Science and Technology-San Antonio Secondary School, 1450 NE Loop 410, San AntonioSchool of Science and Technology-Corpus ChristiTuition schools affiliated with Raindrop Turkish House
        Bluebonnet Learning Center of Houston Nursery, Pre-School and Pre-KinderEducation, 9303 W Sam Houston Parkway South, Suite 200, HoustonBluebonnet Learning Center of Dallas Nursery, Pre-School and Pre-Kinder Education, 1416 E Collins Blvd., RichardsonBluebonnet Learning Center of El Paso Nursery, Pre-School and Pre-Kinder Education 9405 Betel Dr., El PasoUtah
        Beehive Science and Technology Academy, Secondary School, 1011 Murray Holiday Rd., Salt Lake CityWisconsin
        Wisconsin Career Academy Middle-High School, 4801 S 2nd Street, MilwaukeePaul L. Williams, Ph.D., is the author of such best-selling books as The Day of Islam, The Al Qaeda Connection, Osama's Revenge: The Next 9/11, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades and The Vatican Exposed. An award-winning journalist, he is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR.
        Older articles by Dr. Paul L. Williams
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      U.S. Charter Schools have ties to Powerful Turkish Imam | Sharia Awareness Action Network
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:22
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        You now that if even 60 minutes questions the intent of these Charter Schools, which are being funded largely by your tax dollars, there is probably more to it than meets the eye. We highly recommend you watch this segment from 60 Minutes about Imam Fethullah Gulen and his Charter Schools, which are popping up all around The United States:
        After watching this segment, please review these three articles, written over a year ago on this subject.
        The Most Dangerous Islamist Lives in Pennsylvania?
        Gulen schools are among the nation's largest users of the H1B visas
        A visit to the Pennsylvania fortress of ''The World's most Dangerous Islamist''
        In closing '' if you are aware of Gulen Charter Schools seeking approval to build a school in your local area, please contact The Sharia Awareness Action Network at blog@shariafreeusa.org.
        If you have not already signed our Petition, American Laws for American Courts '' please click here and sign today! Encourage your friends to do the same!
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      Dhimmitude - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:19
        This article is about a neologism. For the 7th century Islamic legal concept, see Dhimmi.Dhimmitude is a neologism borrowed from the French language. It is derived by adding the productive suffix-tude to the Arabic noun dhimmi, which refers to a non-Muslim subject of an Islamic state.
        The term has several distinct, but related meanings depending on the author; its scope may be historical only, contemporary only, polemical only, or both. It may encompass the whole system of dhimma, look only at its subjects (dhimmis), or even apply it outside of any established system of dhimma. The term has also been called a myth[1] or Islamophobic.[2]
        The term was coined in 1982 by the LebanesePresident and Maronite militia leader Bachir Gemayel, in reference to perceived attempts by the country's Muslim leadership to subordinate the large Lebanese Christian minority. In a speech of September 14, 1982 given at Dayr al-Salib in Lebanon, he said: "Lebanon is our homeland and will remain a homeland for Christians'... We want to continue to christen, to celebrate our rites and traditions, our faith and our creed whenever we wish'... Henceforth, we refuse to live in any dhimmitude!"[3]
        The concept of "dhimmitude" was introduced into Western discourse by the writer Bat Ye'or in a French-language article published in the Italian journal La Rassegna mensile di Israel in 1983.[4] In Bat Ye'or's use, "dhimmitude" refers to allegations of non-Muslims appeasing and surrendering to Muslims, and discrimination against non-Muslims in Muslim majority regions.[5]
        Ye'or further popularized the term in her books The Decline of Eastern Christianity: From Jihad to Dhimmitude[6] and the 2003 followup Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide[7] In a 2011 interview, she claimed to have indirectly inspired Gemayel's use of the term.[8]
        Mark R. Cohen, a leading scholar of the history of Jewish communities of medieval Islam, has criticized the term as misleading and Islamophobic.[2]
        Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, states that,
        "If we look at the considerable literature available about the position of Jews in the Islamic world, we find two well-established myths. One is the story of a golden age of equality, of mutual respect and cooperation, especially but not exclusively in Moorish Spain; the other is of ''dhimmi''-tude, of subservience and persecution and ill treatment. Both are myths. Like many myths, both contain significant elements of truth, and the historic truth is in its usual place, somewhere in the middle between the extremes."[1]
        An expansion of the definition of Dhimmi is found at http://www.archons.org/pdf/issues/DHIMMI.pdf. Mark Cohen is know for receiving benefits from Saudi Arabia for its literary activism.
      Eurabia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:15
        Eurabia is a political neologism.[2]
        The concept was coined by writer Gisele Littman (Bat Ye'Or) in the early 2000s. In Littman's use, it denotes a conspiracy theory, where European and Arab powers aim to Islamise and Arabise Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and undermining previous alignment with the U.S. and Israel.[3][4]
        Several similar conspiracy theories have been developed from Littman's "Mother conspiracy theory".[5] The term is used by far-right activists,[6] by members of the counterjihad movement,[7] and by far-right writers.[8] The premises common to these theories are that Europe's rapid demographic transition is induced by "European politicians and civil servants",[9] and will lead to a Muslim majority who will have an unchanging, hostile attitude toward their host nations.[10] Other premises, such as acquiring the compliance of or control over bureaucracies, intelligentsias and European political leaders are frequent.[11] The conspiracy theories have been compared to antisemitic conspiracy theories such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or the Zionist Occupation Government.[12][13]
        While leading demographers believe that the Muslim population in Europe will increase, the prospect of a Muslim majority in Europe is regarded as extremely unlikely in the foreseeable future.[14] The Pew Research Center notes that "the data that we have isn't pointing in the direction of 'Eurabia' at all",[15] and predicts that percentage of Muslims is estimated to rise to 8% in 2030.
        Several academics have described the Eurabia concept as an Islamophobic conspiracy theory.[16]
        Eurabia was the title of a newsletter published in the 1970s by the Comit(C) europ(C)en de coordination des associations d'amiti(C) avec le monde Arabe, a Euro-Arab friendship committee.[1] According to Bat Ye'or, who has been perhaps the most influential Eurabia theorist in recent years, it was published collaboratively with France-Pays Arabes (journal of the Association de solidarit(C) franco-arabe or ASFA), Middle East International (London), and the Groupe d'Etudes sur le Moyen-Orient (Geneva).[17]
        After the September 11 attacks Muslims and the Arab world emerged as a perceived threat.[13] Muslim minority populations and Muslim immigration gained new political significance. Scholar Jos(C) Pedro Zºquete notes that
        the threat that the Crescent will rise over the continent and the spectre of a Muslim Europe have become basic ideological features and themes of the European extreme right [6]
        Eurabia had then re-entered into the vocabulary through Bat Ye'Or's work, most notably the book published in 2005, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis,[3] although she first used the term in 2002.[17][18] Subsequently, the coining of the term has been attributed to her.[19] In Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, Bat Ye'or claims that Eurabia is the result of the French-led European policy originally intended to increase European power against the United States by aligning its interests with those of the Arab countries. During the 1973 oil crisis, the European Economic Community (predecessor of the European Union), had entered into the Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD) with the Arab League.[20] Ye'or notes it as a primary cause of alleged European hostility to Israel, referring to joint Euro-Arab foreign policies that she characterizes as anti-American and anti-Zionist.[17] Her definition of Eurabia is:
        Eurabia is a geo-political reality envisaged in 1973 through a system of informal alliances between, on the one hand, the nine countries of the European Community (EC) which, enlarged, became the European Union (EU) in 1992 and on the other hand, the Mediterranean Arab countries. The alliances and agreements were elaborated at the top political level of each EC country with the representative of the European Commission, and their Arab homologues with the Arab League's delegate. This system was synchronised under the roof of an association called the Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD) created in July 1974 in Paris.[21]
        Ye'or established the close connection of the Eurabia conspiracy and the term "dhimmitude", denoting alleged "western subjection to Islam".[19]
        AcademicEditThe Eurabia theories are dismissed as islamophobic and extremist[4][6] conspiracy theories in the academic community[16] and in the mainstream media.[22] At first academics showed little interest in the Eurabia theories due to their lack of factual basis.[5][13] The theme was treated in studies of rightist extremism[6] and Middle East Politics.[23] This changed after the 2011 Norway attacks, which resulted in the publication of several works specifically treating the Eurabia conspiracy theories.[19][24] However, professor of political science and member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Janne Haaland Matlary has discouraged such analyses, arguing that "it is poor use of time to analyse something so primitive".[25]
        European politicsEditThe theories have failed to impact most policy makers and academics.[13] They have, however become a basic theme in the European extremist right. Through political competition with far-right parties with parliamentary representation the main anti-Islamic theme has also penetrated into mainstream European politics,[6] for instance in the case of Geert Wilders:
        This government is enthusiastically co-operating with the Islamization of the Netherlands. In all of Europe the elite opens the floodgates wide. In only a little while, one in five people in the European Union will be Muslim. Good news for this multiculti-government that views bowing to the horrors of Allah as its most important task. Good news for the CDA : C-D-A, in the meanwhile stands for Christians Serve Allah.[26]
        This has led to the adaption of political positions that were previously considered extreme, but has also led to significant alterations in the asserted positions of the far right, notably when it comes to the rights of women and homosexuals.[6][27][28]
        2011 Norway attacksEdit2083: A European Declaration of Independence, the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, includes a lengthy discussion of and support for the "Eurabia" theory. It also contains several articles on the Eurabia theme by Bat Ye'Or and Peder Are N¸stvold Jensen (Fjordman). [29] As a result, the theory received widespread mainstream media attention following the attacks.[30] In the verdict against Breivik, the court noted that "many people share Breivik's conspiracy theory, including the Eurabia theory. The court finds that very few people, however, share Breivik's idea that the alleged "Islamization" should be fought with terror."[31]
        U.S. politicsEditIn the United States, the theories have found strong proponents in the counterjihad movement, among them the president of Stop Islamization of America, Robert Spencer[32] and right-wing political commentators Daniel Pipes[33] and Mark Steyn.[34] In his 2011''2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination, Rick Santorum warned that Europe was "creating an opportunity for the creation of Eurabia", and that the continent was "losing, because they are not having children."[35]
        Eurabia theories have also been espoused by less typical conservatives, for example, Bruce Bawer, an American expatriate who has lived in Europe since the 1990s, and supported Ye'Or's allegations that there was a deliberate, coordinated effort to create Eurabia. Bawer argued that many European politicians and policy makers, in efforts to gain approval of Muslim voters or to appeal to multiculturalism, were effectively allowing the creation of Muslim-only enclaves where basic human rights were ignored and events like honor killings had become commonplace.[36][37][38]
        Bernard Lewis suggested that sometime in the future, Islam will take over Europe.[39] He further added that "Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century."[40][41]
        Main worksEditBat Ye'Or's Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis was the first print publication in the Eurabia genre,[19] which has since grown to a number of titles,[10][42] including Melanie Phillips' Londonistan,[43]Walter Laqueur's The Last Days of Europe,[44]Oriana Fallaci's The Force of Reason,[45] and Bruce Bawer's While Europe Slept.[46] The term is often used by the writers (Fallaci,[47][48]Steyn)[49][50][51] and several web sites, many of them affiliated with the counterjihad movement.[52]Peder Are N¸stvold Jensen's Defeating Eurabia[53] earned him a high standing among far-right extremists.[54]
        Laqueur has since nuanced his position and written that "the fears that Europe risks becoming a Muslim-dominated Eurabia, adopting Sharia, are a vast distortion of the views of serious students of Europe's present state and future prospects". He notes that Muslim immigrants to Europe come from many different countries, the majority non-Arab, and that they have "common interests... but also great differences, even in their attitudes to religion".[55]
        EditThe Economist, acknowledging that integration of immigrants was a difficult process, nevertheless rejected the concept of Eurabia as "scaremongering".[56]Simon Kuper in Financial Times described Ye'or's book as "little-read but influential", and akin to "Protocols of the Elders of Zion in reverse", adding that "though ludicrous, Eurabia became the spiritual mother of a genre".[42] In another article, Kuper wrote that most academics who have analysed the demographics dismiss the predictions that the EU will have Muslim majorities.[57]
        According to Marjn and Sapir, the very idea of "Eurabia" is "based on an extremist conspiracy theory, according to which Europe and the Arab states would join forces to make life impossible for Israel and Islamize the old continent."[4]
        Writing in Race & Class in 2006, author and freelance journalist Matt Carr argued that Eurabia had moved from "an outlandish conspiracy theory" to a "dangerous Islamophobic fantasy". Carr states,
        "In order to accept Ye'or's ridiculous thesis, it is necessary to believe not only in the existence of a concerted Islamic plot to subjugate Europe, involving all Arab governments, whether 'Islamic' or not, but also to credit a secret and unelected parliamentary body with the astounding ability to transform all Europe's major political, economic and cultural institutions into subservient instruments of 'jihad' without any of the continent's press or elected institutions being aware of it. Nowhere in this ideologically driven interpretation of European-Arab relations does Ye'or come close to proving the 'secret history' that she professes to reveal."[12]
        Arun Kundnani, writing for the International Centre for Counter-terrorism, notes that "Eurabia" fulfills the Counterjihad-movement's "structural need" for a conspiracy theory, and compares "Eurabia" to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.[9]
        Justin Va¯sse, co-author of Integrating Islam Political and Religious Challenges in Contemporary France, seeks to discredit what he calls, "four myths of the alarmist school", using Muslims in France as an example. Specifically he has written that the Muslim population growth rate was lower than that predicted by Eurabia, partly because the fertility rate of immigrants declines with integration.[58] He further points out that Muslims are not a monolithic or cohesive group,[59] and that many Muslims do seek to integrate politically and socially. Finally, he wrote that despite their numbers, Muslims have had little influence on French foreign policy.[60]
        David Aaronovitch writes that the proponents of Eurabia confuse Islamists with mainstream Muslims. He acknowledges that the threat of "jihadist terror" may be real, but that there was no threat of Eurabia. Aaronovitch concludes that those of study conspiracy theories will recognize Eurabia to be a theory that combines the "Sad Dupes thesis to the Enemy Within idea".[61]
        In his book Wars of Blood and Faith, conservative US military analyst Ralph Peters states that far from being about to take over Europe through demographic change, "Europe's Muslims are living on borrowed time" and that in the event of a major terrorist attack in Europe, thanks to the "ineradicable viciousness" of Europeans and what he perceives as a historical tendency to over-react to real or perceived threats, European Muslims "will be lucky if they're only deported."[62]
        Eric Kaufmann, author of Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2011), argues that a Muslim majority is extremely unlikely in Europe in the near or long-term. He states "Even if higher Muslim fertility rates do not persist, Islam will make a significant imprint on European life'--so saner Eurabian ideas should be publicly discussed. Nonetheless, the overwhelming weight of demographic evidence points towards a decline in Muslim fertility and a more plural Europe."[63]
      Europe, Globalization, and the Coming of the Universal Caliphate:Amazon:Books
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        Europe, Globalization, and the Coming of the Universal Caliphate (Hardcover)
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      SEDAT ERGÄ°N - Why did the Pineapple enter ErdoÄŸan's speech?
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:53
        Speaking Jan. 17 at the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Ä°mam Hatip schools, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan started to target certain circles using some indirect references.''The individuals of this nation did not say, 'Let's run the capital and be a state within a state,''' said the prime minister and continued:
        ''They did not say, 'Let's establish a Pineapple republic.'''
        You might wonder where the issue of the Pineapple made its entry to the Prime Minister's speech. Let's answer it.
        For those who are not informed about Fettullah G¼len's phone conversations that were leaked on the internet, ErdoÄŸan's words may be seen as very abstract and even weird. The concept ''Banana republic'' which refers to third world regimes where lawlessness is the norm has a widespread use in Turkish. Yet, it is probably for the first time that we have witnessed the use of the concept ''Pineapple Republic.''
        Yet for those who have read the telephone conversations of Fettullah G¼len, the prime minister's reference to the pineapple is not an abstract word at all. What is being referred to here is the pineapples that were brought by the G¼len movement (Cemaat) from Africa and sent to a big family from the business world in Istanbul as a gesture. When you read it as such, it becomes apparent the prime minister is making a clear reference to Pennsylvania (where G¼len leaves.)
        There are two probabilities as how G¼len's conversations were obtained. The first is the probability that the tapping was made through legal ways. In this case, we can assume the telephone or telephones of G¼len and/or his interlocutor in Turkey were being tapped by the instruction of the prosecutor and the recordings were leaked to the internet by those who have access to legal tapping.
        If this probability is valid, it is difficult to understand how pineapples from Africa become evidence of a crime. Yet, guesses rather focus on the recordings being obtained through illegal means. Yet, the technical ability of the tapping and the political tact on the selection of the parts in the conversations do not indicate to be an amateur effort. It is a probable scenario that this was done by some state apparatus. In this case, the conclusion we could reach is tapping is being used openly as a weapon in the power struggle between the government and the Cemaat.
        When the long list of criminal records from the past on this type of illegal phone tapping and audio surveillance of the operational wing of the G¼len Cemaat is remembered, it is no doubt ironic the Cemaat today is victimized at the very top by the same method. However, our real issue is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, who himself is complaining about illegal phone tapping, feels free, when necessary, to refer to illegal recordings in terms of political interests and hitting his opponent over these.
        When we saw ErdoÄŸan's pineapple reference, we remembered another incident we witnessed five years ago. It was right after the astronomical tax fine levied on DoÄŸan Group in Feb. 2009. A phone conversation between the Deputy Chair of DoÄŸan Holding and Head of the Income Department at Finance Ministry Mehmet Akif Ulusoy on this fine started circulating on the internet on Feb. 25, 2009. There was no criminal factor in the conversation.
        A few days after this was leaked, Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan talked on the radio on March 4, 2009 and said: ''There are many things revealed. You know, there is stuff that came out of technical surveillance.
        Some papers published them; some websites posted them. These are very disturbing matters. Who is having what kind of connections with whom; they are all revealed. While these are being revealed, who knows what has happened in the past?''
        The ''technical surveillance'' phrase the prime minister has used here is a phrase to define legal tapping. The Next day, daily Milliyet had it on its headline: ''ErdoÄŸan's confession of phone tapping.''
        The Office of the Prime Ministry issued a statement the same day, saying ErdoÄŸan, with these words, meant: ''tapping done by unidentified centers.'' However, even if this is so, the prime minister did not see any harm in using transcriptions of illegal recordings made by unidentified centers'' in his public speech'...
        After three years, on Dec. 22, 2011, a bug was found from a search done in the office of ErdoÄŸan's house in Ankara. The prime minister himself was a victim of tapping. Secret ears had entered the interiors of his house. When you add up all these incidents, it becomes apparent the time has come to endorse a principled approach. Politicians and movements that are prone to politics, and everyone actually needs to agree to refrain from using tapping as a method for struggle.
        All examples are showing this weapon comes to hit everyone that uses it one day, just as it happens often in pineapple, sorry in banana republics.
        January/22/2014
      Turkish Government Accused of Arming Radicals in Syria
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:17
        Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoÄŸan's government stands accused of funding Islamist militants in Syria'--maybe even Al Qaeda'--by backers of his political rival in the latest twist of a knock-down, drag-out war of accusations between Turkey's Islamist power brokers.
        Previously, this battle between ErdoÄŸan and the followers of Fethullah G¼len, a mysterious, U.S.-based imam living in the mountains of Pennsylvania, had focused on allegations of government corruption and the prime minister's counter-accusation that the G¼lenists are forming a state within a state, populating judicial and law-enforcement posts with supporters to pursue a vendetta against ErdoÄŸan's party, the AKP.
        Now the issue of supplying arms to extremists in Syria is rumbling onto the agenda. The government calls the G¼lenists' claims a smear campaign and denies supplying weapons to militants. The G¼len camp says Ankara definitely has something to hide.
        Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
        Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (Reuters/Selahattin Sevi/Zaman Daily via Cihan News Agency)
        The G¼lenists, once government allies but now bitter foes, are keen to depict ErdoÄŸan's government as hard-line Islamists keeping company with unsavory friends like Al Qaeda.
        Turkey categorically denies any sort of connection with jihadi groups. But NGOs and even some foreign diplomats have criticized the government for allegedly turning a blind eye to extremists operating and funneling arms on Turkish soil, because they are fighting a mutual enemy in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
        ''It is not because of ideological reasons, but the fact that they thought they could support whoever could contribute to overthrowing Assad,'' says Soli Ozel, a lecturer at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. ''But in the end this turned out to be a boomerang,'' he adds, referring to the diplomatic blowback Ankara has endured for not having taken a clearer position against extremists in Syria.
        Now, he says, Turkey's unwillingness to disclose more information about the contents of certain mysterious trucks could create the same sort of bad impression.
        According to SANA, Syria's official News agency, these Turkish weapons, funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are being smuggled to Syria.
        On New Year's Day, Turkish security forces stopped a truck on the Syrian border, allegedly loaded with weapons and ammunition. The gendarmes'--members of the military who carry out police duties, similar to the National Guard in the U.S.'--had a search warrant but couldn't carry out a search. Why? Agents from Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) were on board and refused to let the police look around, saying the truck's contents were a ''state secret.''
        If that wasn't a strong enough signal that the Turkish government (which since the start of the civil war three years ago has denied arming Syrian rebels) didn't want the vehicle searched, the Ankara-appointed governor of Hatay province intervened and ordered the gendarmes to leave.
        Since the incident, the story has spiraled in several different ways. Initially, reports indicated that some of the people on the truck were allegedly part of the IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation), an Islamist charity that helped lead a 2010 effort to break Israel's maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, which ended with the death of nine activists at the hands of the Israeli Defense Force.
        The IHH, which Israel and the U.S. have long suspected of ties with Islamist extremists, ferociously denies that it was any way involved with the truck or its mysterious cargo. But the group continues to find itself the object of prosecutors' attention.
        Turkish soldiers guard the border with Syria in 2012. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
        Last week, police organized simultaneous raids in six different cities against Al Qaeda, detaining two alleged high-level members. As part of the investigation, police also went into IHH offices in the town of Kilis, near the border with Syria, detaining at least one person.
        Echoing ErdoÄŸan's rhetoric, B¼lent YÄ±ldÄ±rÄ±m, IHH's president, suggested that the G¼lenists were behind the investigation, and attempting to slander his organization, adding that he believes Israel was also involved.
        The government reportedly reassigned police officers involved in the raid, in what has become its standard response to big investigations in recent weeks'--a tactic also used to slow down other investigations into government-connected figures. But the police probes into the trucks haven't ceased and continue to cast a spotlight on radical groups and apparent arms shipments into Syria.
        Two questions linger: Who exactly is shipping the arms, and who is receiving them? The G¼lenists would dearly love to prove that Turkey is sending weapons to Islamist militants. And until they do so, the investigations'--and the government's vehement objections to them'--continue.
        Nearly 500 gendarmes acting on a tip stopped seven trucks headed on Syria on Sunday in southeastern Turkey. Containers in the three trucks reportedly contained mortar shells, rockets and other ammunition among medical supplies.
        The gendarmes again confronted the intelligence officers. A local governor again arrived, denying the gendarmes permission to search the trucks. Under a law passed a couple of years ago, prosecutors can act against the intelligence services only with permission from the prime minister. The governor's office says the intelligence officers were ''only doing their duty.''
        The message is the same at the national level. H¼seyin ‡elik, the spokesman for Turkey's governing AK party, vented his rage at the prosecutor who sought to probe inside government property. ''This is an intelligence agency truck,'' he said, warning that any prosecutors who made ''such mistakes'' would be punished. ''What is inside it doesn't concern anybody.''
        Such words might prevent prosecutors from physically prying into such trucks. They're unlikely, however, to dispel doubts over who Turkey is aiding in Syria.
      Brussels urges Turkish PM ErdoÄŸan to redraft law purging police and judiciary | World news | theguardian.com
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:58
        Turkish PM Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, left, Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and EC chief Jos(C) Manuel Barroso in Brussels. Photo: Isopix/Rex
        The Turkish prime minister's campaign to purge the top echelons of the national police and tame the country's senior judges ran into its first wall of international criticism on Tuesday when Brussels told Recep Tayipp ErdoÄŸan that he had to rewrite a contested bill to follow European standards.
        ErdoÄŸan is on his first visit to Brussels in five years, just weeks after the biggest corruption scandal in years erupted in Turkey. He was told that his bill giving the executive authority over judges and prosecutors ran foul of European constitutional norms on the separation of powers.
        The prime minister stood his ground, insisting that he was committed to the separation of powers . But he argued that judges were not acting independently in Turkey and that his bill would force them to do so.
        "The judiciary should not go beyond its defined mission and mandate," said ErdoÄŸan. "When one power starts interfering with another power, this country loses its quality of democracy."
        The problem, he said, would be fixed "legislatively". His remedy includes putting the justice minister '' a new appointment and close ally '' in a position to discipline and remove judges and prosecutors.
        ErdoÄŸan's robust defence of his controversial policies follows the allegations of corruption on a huge scale at the heart of his government, also implicating the prime minister's family.
        Dismissing the investigation into the sleaze allegations as a foreign plot to topple his government, he has moved to purge senior police ranks and exert greater control over the judiciary. According to the European commission (EC), some 2,000 senior police officers, including most of those in key intelligence and investigative roles, have been fired or re-assigned in the past month.
        Jos(C) Manuel Barroso, EC president, said after talks with ErdoÄŸan: "Whatever the problems are, the solutions should respect the principles of the rule of law and the separation of powers."
        ErdoÄŸan's war with Turkey's judges and police is ascribed to a bitter power struggle with his erstwhile ally, the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah G¼len, who runs networks of religious schools and cultural bodies in Turkey and who is said to have high-powered followers within the state's security and judicial structures.
        "That's the core of the problem," said a senior EU official dealing with Turkey. "It's a big setback. There has been damage done to the rule of law in Turkey. We made our concerns very clear."
        Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's foreign minister, warned on Monday that EU membership talks with Turkey might need to be frozen because of ErdoÄŸan's conduct. The negotiations only resumed in November after being suspended for 40 months because of various other disputes.
        ErdoÄŸan, who dominates Turkish politics after 11 years in office, has turned increasingly authoritarian since last May, when his power was challenged as never before by a wave of national street protest that was crushed by excessive police violence.
        The contested judiciary bill is currently being pushed through parliament in Ankara. The main opposition Republican People's party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement party (MHP), which both oppose the changes proposed by the ErdoÄŸan government, called for the bill to be put to the parliamentary constitutional commission. According to Turkish media reports, this met on Monday, with the justice minister, Bekir BozdaÄŸ present, but failed to reach agreement.
        The former culture minister, Ertugrul G¼nay, who resigned from ErdoÄŸan's Justice and Development (AK) party over the government's handling of the corruption scandal, harshly criticised the government's proposed changes to the judiciary law as "unconstitutional".
        He said: "I am sad to see what politics has come to. Important judicial changes are being made. We are trying to change a law that underwent reforms three years ago. Many believe this law is unconstitutional ... You might need the law one day. Let's not change the laws according to what might suit you and what might suit me."
        President Abdullah G¼l, who must sign the bill into law, has also voiced reservations about the proposed measures.
        If ErdoÄŸan pushes the bill through, there is likely to be an appeal to the constitutional or supreme court. But the law would be in force pending the appeal, enabling the government, critics say, to make the personnel changes it wants.
      Turkish Intel Chief Exposes CIA Operations via Islamic Group in Central Asia
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 23:49
        ''In the1990s Gulen's Madrasas sheltered 130 CIA agents'' in Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan''Yesterday Washington Post's Jeff Stein published a very interesting but incomplete story regarding a recently published memoir by former Turkish Intelligence Chief Osman Nuri Gundes. Here is the title of his post: Islamic group is CIA front, ex-Turkish Intel chief says. For those of you familiar with my case and what I've been covering here at Boiling Frogs Post this expos(C) is 'old news' but nonetheless a vindication. As for those who are first-timers here or not that familiar with my case, this is an opportunity for a bit of background and to learn a few important points and facts that you won't be getting from this 'half-picture' presented by the Washington Post.
        In his memoir Gundes claims that Fethullah Gulen's worldwide Islamic movement based in Pennsylvania has been providing cover for the CIA since the mid-1990s, and that in the 90s, the movement ''sheltered 130 CIA agents'' at its schools in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan alone.
        Now, as I've done before, I am going to praise Jeff Stain, whom I know and like, for his solid journalistic talent and background and give him a few credits for actually covering this story (it is one of those 'thou shall not cover' areas in an agreement between the US mainstream media and the US government), before I bash the piece, its half-a.. coverage, incomplete background, and it's incredibly lenient treatment of a shady-dubious-charlatan, a major player in this operation yet a major denier when confronted by Stein; Graham Fuller. Again, as before, I am going to blame it on the unfortunate situation of 'having to sell your journalistic soul to earn your living.'
        Let's start with Gulen. The only background provided on Gulen is the following with only one link which takes you to Gulen's marketing site:
        '...an influential former Turkish imam by the name ofFethullah Gulen, has 600 schools and 4 million followers around the world.
        '...
        The imam left Turkey in 1998 and settled inSaylorsburg, Pa., where the movement is headquartered. According to Intelligence Online, he obtained a residence permit only in 2008 with the help of Fuller and George Fidas, whom it described as head of the agency's outreach to universities.
        There is no mention of Gulen's decade-long 'wanted' status in Turkey (until recently), no mention of the ban on Gulen and his Madrasas in several Central Asian countries, no mention of various investigations of Gulen by other western countries, no mention of the unknown sources of his billions of dollars'...As we all know except for a very few, and by that I mean a number in 100s if that, no one in this country has ever heard of this guy with his billions, with his castle in Pennsylvania, his hundreds of Madrasas, now hundreds of US charter schools, his dubious businesses'....Yet, for an article as serious as this (Madrasas and mosques as CIA operation centers in Central Asia), the central figure in the story has been given one sentence; no history, no relevant facts'...
        Those of you who have not read our previous commentaries and updates on this topic can check them out here, here, here, and here, and below is a list of a few Gulen related facts totally (mysteriously?) absent from Washington Post piece:
        -In 1999 Gulen defected to the US shortly before his scandalous speech, where he is heard calling on his supporters to ''work patiently and to creep silently into the institutions in order to seize power in the state'', became public. Turkish prosecutors demanded a ten-year sentence for G¼len for having ''founded an organization that sought to destroy the secular apparatus of state and establish a theocratic state''. Mr. Gulen has not left the United States since.
        -The Netherlands has taken major steps to cut funding to all G¼len associated organizations and is investigating his operations. The Turkish Fethullah G¼len movement is really an Islamic fundamentalist group, claims Rotterdam council member Anita F¤hmel (Leefbaar Rotterdam) on the basis of her own study of the Turkish movement.
        -The Russian government has banned all G¼len schools and the activities of the Nur sect in Russia. Over 20 Turkish followers of Gulen were deported from Russia in 2002-2004.
        -In 1999 Uzbekistan closed all Gulen's Madrasas and shortly afterward arrested eight journalists who were graduates of Gulen schools, and found them guilty of setting up an illegal religious group and of involvement in an extremist organization.
        -In Turkmenistan, government authorities have placed Gulen's schools under close scrutiny and have ordered them to scrap the history of religion from curriculums.
        Now, back to the story and its other major short coming:
        Apparently Mr. Stein was not able to reach Gulen for comment, so he moved on to his CIA sources with 'long ties to Central Asia.' First he quotes his first source, Former CIA operative Robert Baer, chief of the agency's Central Asia and Caucasus operations from 1995 through 1997, who called the allegations bogus. However, Mr. Baer added: ''It's possible that the CIA turned around this ship after I left.''
        I don't have a problem with Baer's response. Based on what I personally know, US Islamization Operations in Central Asia via Gulen started in late 1997, early 1998. That brings me to what truly set me off, Stein's second source and actually a character who is pointed to by the new memoir's author '' Graham Fuller:
        Graham Fuller, a former CIA station chief in Kabul and author of ''The Future of Political Islam,'' threw cold water on Gundes's allegations about Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
        ''I think the story of 130 CIA agents in Gulen schools in Central Asia is pretty wild,'' Fuller said by e-mail.
        ''I should hasten to add that I left CIA in 1987 '-- nearly 25 years ago '-- and I have absolutely no concrete personal knowledge whatsoever about this. But my instincts tell me the claim is highly improbable.''
        Next, Jeff Stein very gently confronts Fuller with the fact that according to the memoir and related media coverage Gulen obtained his US residence permit with his (Fuller's) help, and Fuller denies it and says that's 'wrong,':
        ''What I did do,'' Fuller explained, ''was write a letter to the FBI in early 2006 '...at a time when Gulen's enemies were pressing for his extradition to Turkey from the U.S. In the post 9/11 environment, they began spreading the word that he was a dangerous radical. In my statement to the FBI I offered my views'...that I did not believe he posed a security threat of any kind to the U.S. I still believe that today, as do a large body of scholars on contemporary Islam.'''...
        First of all, there have been tens if not hundreds of articles establishing Graham Fuller as one of Gulen's official references to the court for his residency, you can view some of these here, here, here. This quote comes from Foreign Policy Journal:
        Fethullah Gulen became a green card holder despite serious opposition from FBI and from Homeland Security Department. Former CIA officers (formally and informally) such as Graham Fuller and Morton Abromovitz were some of the prominent references in Gulen's green card application.
        Next is the question of why. Why and in what capacity has Fuller been this active, this supportive, of Gulen? I am talking about this voluntary 'I wrote a letter to the FBI on Gulen' line:
        '...was write a letter to the FBI in early 2006 '...at a time when Gulen's enemies were pressing for his extradition to Turkey from the U.S. In the post 9/11 environment, they began spreading the word that he was a dangerous radical. In my statement to the FBI I offered my views'...that I did not believe he posed a security threat of any kind to the U.S. I still believe that today, as do a large body of scholars on contemporary Islam.
        And Stein let that slide?! I'd quickly ask: 'how often do you write to the FBI on people you think have been unfairly targeted or treated by them?!'
        Last but not least on Graham Fuller is my own on-the-record, more accurately, on-the-album, naming of individuals implicated (criminally) in my case, thus protected via invocation of the State Secrets Privilege:
        Coinciding with the publication of the first article in a series in Britain's Sunday Times covering some of her allegations, former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds posts a gallery of 18 photos of people and three images of question marks on her website, justacitizen.com The 21 images are divided into three groups, and the page is titled ''State Secrets Privilege Gallery.'''...''The third group includes people who all appear to work at think tanks'--primarily WINEP, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy'': Graham E. Fuller'--RAND Corporation, David Makovsky'--WINEP, Alan Makovsky'--WINEP, ? (box with question mark), ? (box with question mark), Yusuf Turani (president-in-exile, Turkestan), Professor Sabri Sayari (Georgetown, WINEP), and Mehmet Eymur (former head of the Turkish intelligence agency MIT).
        '...
        I am going to leave you with the following excerpts from my interview with Phil Giraldi for the Am Con Magazine in 2009, on Gulen, CIA Central Asia operations & the use of Islam and Mujahideen there-1997-2001, [All emphasis mine]:
        GIRALDI: You also have information on al-Qaeda, specifically al-Qaeda in Central Asia and Bosnia. You were privy to conversations that suggested the CIA was supporting al-Qaeda in central Asia and the Balkans, training people to get money, get weapons, and this contact continued until 9/11'...
        EDMONDS: I don't know if it was CIA. There were certain forces in the U.S. government who worked with the Turkish paramilitary groups, including Abdullah ‡atli's group, Fethullah G¼len.
        GIRALDI: Well, that could be either Joint Special Operations Command or CIA.
        EDMONDS: Maybe in a lot of cases when they said State Department, they meant CIA?
        GIRALDI: When they said State Department, they probably meant CIA.
        EDMONDS: Okay. So these conversations, between 1997 and 2001, had to do with a Central Asia operation that involved bin Laden. Not once did anybody use the word ''al-Qaeda.'' It was always ''mujahideen,'' always ''bin Laden'' and, in fact, not ''bin Laden'' but ''bin Ladens'' plural. There were several bin Ladens who were going on private jets to Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. The Turkish ambassador in Azerbaijan worked with them.
        There were bin Ladens, with the help of Pakistanis or Saudis, under our management. Marc Grossman was leading it, 100 percent, bringing people from East Turkestan into Kyrgyzstan, from Kyrgyzstan to Azerbaijan, from Azerbaijan some of them were being channeled to Chechnya, some of them were being channeled to Bosnia. From Turkey, they were putting all these bin Ladens on NATO planes. People and weapons went one way, drugs came back.
        GIRALDI: Was the U.S. government aware of this circular deal?
        EDMONDS: 100 percent. A lot of the drugs were going to Belgium on NATO planes. After that, they went to the UK, and a lot came to the U.S. via military planes to distribution centers in Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey. Turkish diplomats who would never be searched were coming with suitcases of heroin.
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      G¼len heroin CIA-Family Security Matters
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        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 23:27
        Exclusive: Gulen Movement Funded by Heroin Via the CIA?by PAUL L. WILLIAMS, PHDJune 29, 2010Court records and the testimony of former government officials show that Fethullah Gulen, who presently resides in Pennsylvania, has amassed more than $25 billion in assets from the heroin route which runs from Afghanistan to Turkey.
        Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator, testified that the drug money has been channeled into Gulen's coffers by the C.I.A.
        ''A lot of the drugs were going to Belgium with NATO planes,'' Ms. Edmonds said. ''After that, they went to the UK, and a lot came to the US via military planes to distribution centers in Chicago, and Paterson, New Jersey.''
        Ms. Edmonds further said that Turkish diplomats, who would never be searched by airport officials, havecome into the country''with suitcases of heroin.''
        According to Ms. Edmonds and other government witnesses, Gulen began to receive funding from the CIA in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union when federal officials realized that the U.S. could not obtain control of the vast energy resources of the newly created Russian republics because of deep-seated suspicion of American motives.
        Turkey, the U.S. officials came to realize, could serve as a perfect ''proxy'' since it was a NATO ally that shared the same language, culture, and religion as the other Central Asian countries.
        The strategy has met with success since Turkey has formed an alliance with Iran and is emerging as the world's most powerful Islamic nation.
        But the success has come with a price. The only way to provide Gulen with sufficient funds to topple Turkey's secular regime and to conduct education jihad within the Russian republics came from the poppy fields of Afghanistan.
        This scenario serves to explain why US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan are forbidden to firebomb the fields or fumigate the poppies with a chemical herbicide, such as glyphosate.
        Despite such testimony and growing concern over Turkey, the Obama administration has opted to turn a blind eye to Gulen and his mountain fortress in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.
        Fethullah Gulen has been called the ''most dangerous Islamist'' on the planet.
        In his native Turkey, Gulen's vast fortune has been used to create the Justice and Democratic Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma, AKP), which has gained control of the government.
        With the elections of 2002, the AKP gained absolute control of the Turkish government.
        Abdullah Gul, Turkey's first Islamist President, is a Gulen disciple along with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Yusuf Ziya Ozcan, the head of Turkey's Council of Higher Education.
        Under the AKP, Turkey has transformed from a secular state into an Islamic country with 85,000 active mosques '' - one for every 350- citizens '' - the highest number per capita in the world, 90,000 imams, more imams than teachers and physicians '' - and thousands of state-run Islamic schools.
        Despite the rhetoric of European Union accession, Turkey has transferred its alliance from Europe and the United States to Russia and Iran. It has moved toward friendship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria and created a pervasive anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-America animus throughout the populace.
        Gulen has purchased newspapers, television networks, construction companies, universities, banks, utilities, technological outlets, pharmaceutics, and manufacturing firms throughout the country.
        In addition, he has established thousands of madrassahs (Islamic religious schools) throughout Central Asia where students are indoctrinated in the tenets of militant Islam so they may be of service in the creation of a universal caliphate.
        This notion is not an idle pipedream. The dream of a universal caliphate came closer to reality in recent weeks with the collapse of the secular government in Kyrgyzstan,.
        But the Gulen movement is not confined to Turkey and Central Asia.
        Eighty-five Gulen schools have been set up in the United States as charter academies funded by public funds.
        Is Gulen really affiliated with the CIA?
        In support of his application for permanent residency status, Gulen obtained letters of support and endorsement, from Graham Fuller and other former CIA officials.
        His petition was also endorsed by former Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman, and former Ambassador to Turkey Morton Abramowitz.
        FamilySecurityMatters.orgContributing EditorPaul L. Williamsis the author ofThe Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World, The Al Qaeda Connection, and other best-selling books. He is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR. Visit his website at http://thelastcrusade.org.
      Turkish intelligence service trucks reveal secrets - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
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        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:34
        According to information Al-Monitor obtained from security sources, on Jan. 19 at 7:15 a.m., the prosecutor of Adana Anti-Terror Court instructed the Adana Provincial Gendarmerie Command to stop and search three semis. (photo by Anonymous)
        Author: Fehim TaÅŸtekin Posted January 20, 2014
        Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), which has bloomed as a parallel Foreign Ministry under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule after years of keeping a low public profile, was again caught transporting weapons to Syrian opposition forces. After saving a suspicious truck from the prosecutors and gendarmerie on Jan. 1, when the government called it ''a state secret,'' MIT this time hit the headlines with seven semis reported to be laden with weapons. Security forces were able to search some of the trucks in an operation on Jan. 19 that was launched after a tip was received and the government was slow in intervening. Nevertheless, the local governor did not allow a detailed search on ''state secret'' grounds and the trucks were released.
        Summary'Ž Print Did trucks linked to Turkey's National Intelligence Organization facilitate the smuggling of weapons to rebel forces in Syria?Prosecutor persisted but it didn't work
        According to information Al-Monitor obtained from security sources, on Jan. 19 at 7:15 a.m., the prosecutor of Adana Anti-Terror Court instructed the Adana Provincial Gendarmerie Command to stop and search three semis.
        Around noon, a security detail of 200 personnel stopped the semis with plates 06 DY 0393, 06 EY 2115 and 06 FC 9193 and an Audi A3 car accompanying them at Adana Sirkeli Motorway entry point. Eight drivers and other personnel in the trucks were detained. It was also discovered that there were two MIT officials in the Audi escort vehicle.
        After explosives-detecting dogs gave appropriate signals, the prosecutor allowed steel containers in the trucks to be opened. In six metal crates, concealed among medical supplies, were mortar shells, rockets and various other ammunition. While the trucks were being moved to nearby Seyhan Town Gendarmerie Command for a detailed search, the trucks were blocked by MIT personnel from their Adana regional office. At that point, the governor, Adana Huseyin Avni Cos, the provincial police chief and the MIT regional director arrived at the scene accompanied by 200 policemen. Cos tried for one hour to persuade the prosecutor not to go ahead with the search but couldn't. Then Cos wrote to the Ceyhan district governor and the Adana Provincial Gendarmerie Command, warning that the MIT was attached directly to the prime minister and searching MIT vehicles without the permission of the prime minister's office would be an offense. The vehicles then were released under the governor's instructions and continued on their way toward Syria.
        ''Routine duty''
        According to information provided to Al-Monitor when the first three suspicious trucks were stopped, MIT personnel tried to save the other four trucks from searches but they, too, were stopped by the gendarmerie.
        While the trucks once again were disappearing, the head prosecutor of the Anti-Terror Court said they could not give a list of items found because the investigation was confidential.
        At the end of the day, the governor's office of Adana issued the following statement:
        ''It was understood that in the three vehicles moving in the Adana-Ceyhan direction, there were MIT personnel doing their routine duties. After appropriate checks, these personnel left the location to continue with their routine duties.'' The term ''routine duties'' used by the governor's office only added to accusations that the MIT has been involved in field operations since the beginning of the Syrian crisis.
        Immunity for MIT
        The new truck incident rekindled the debate on immunity of the MIT. Huseyin Celik, the deputy chairman of Erdogan's AKP, issued a public reprimand, saying, ''This is a truck of the MIT. What is inside it doesn't concern anyone. Who are these prosecutors working for? Stopping MIT trucks means not knowing your limits. The prosecutors who make such mistakes will be held accountable.'' Celik, like Cos, said no MIT activity can be questioned without the prime minister's permission.
        According to legal experts, the rule that the prime minister's approval is needed to investigate the MIT doesn't accord the organization a blanket immunity. Experts say that a suspicious vehicle can be searched if there is likelihood of a crime, to collect the evidence and then a request for permission to investigate the MIT personnel is made. If this is not done, then the MIT is given liberty to commit crimes.
        On Nov. 7, also in Adana, a truck owned by a private company was found to contain 933 rocket warheads after a tip was received about narcotics smuggling.
        Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/turkish-intelligence-trucks-smuggle-syria.html
      RIGHTS - Human Rights Watch report slams Turkey over growing intolerance
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:29
        NEW YORK
        According the report, the government's response to the Taksim Gezi Park protests in Istanbul and anti-government protests in other cities demonstrated its 'intolerance of the right to peaceful assembly and free expression.' AFP photo
        The Turkish government is demonstrating a growing intolerance of political opposition, public protest and critical media, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in an annual report Jan. 21.''Harsh police crackdowns on protesters, a muzzled press, unfair trials, and a deeply flawed criminal justice system have marked Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] ErdoÄŸan's government's human rights record in 2013,'' said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior researcher for Turkey at the New York-based organization.
        ''The crackdown overshadowed efforts toward peace with the Kurds, but unless the government is prepared to uphold everyone's right to assembly, association, and free speech, the chances of solving the Kurdish issue are remote,'' she said.
        The 667-page report, presented in Berlin, examines the state of human rights in more than 90 countries. Though it is highly critical of Turkey, it praised the Turkish government for taking positive initial steps in a peace process with the country's Kurdish minority, announcing talks with imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah –calan to end the decades-long armed conflict with the armed group.
        The report also cited ''positive steps'' that the government had taken in 2013, such as the announcement of a ''democratization package'' of reforms, ending the headscarf ban for women in the civil service, signaling that the 10 percent election threshold that has kept minority parties out of Parliament would be lowered, and easing the restriction on mother-tongue education by permitting it in private schools.
        But the report said the government's response to the Taksim Gezi Park protests in Istanbul and anti-government protests in other cities demonstrated its intolerance of the right to peaceful assembly and free expression, while highlighting the fatalities and injuries of nonviolent protesters by the police.
        ''During the Istanbul Gezi Park protests and those in other cities between late May and September, the police severely injured scores of nonviolent protesters and six people died. Police officers are facing trial proceedings for killing two protesters, but there have been no prosecutions of the police for serious injuries and excessive use of force,'' the report said.
        Pressure on media
        It also criticized the Turkish government for pressuring the media, especially during the Gezi protests.''Government pressure on the media was reflected in the biased or muted coverage of the Gezi protests ... The mute or biased coverage of the Taksim Gezi protests in much of Turkey's media highlighted the reluctance of many media companies to report news impartially when it conflicts with government interests. In the course of the year, scores of media workers, among them highly respected mainstream journalists and commentators writing critically of the government in different media, were fired from their jobs,'' the report said.
        ''Turkey continued to prosecute journalists in 2013, and several dozen remain in jail. The trial continued of 44 mainly Kurdish journalists and media workers (20 in detention since December 2011, at time of writing) for alleged links to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), a body connected with the PKK. The government continued efforts to amend some laws that are used to limit free speech,'' it said.
        Restrictions on free speech and association were also evident in the high number of prosecutions and ongoing trials of journalists, political activists, lawyers and students, according to the report. ''Lengthy pretrial detention remains the norm, despite judicial reform efforts. Many of those incarcerated are accused of links to the [KCK],'' it said.
        The report also touched on the Uludere/Roboski Massacre. ''An indication of entrenched resistance to holding public officials and military accountable for abuses was the lack of justice for victims and their families two years after the December 2011 Turkish air force bombardment that killed 34 Kurdish villagers in Uludere,'' the report said.
        Mass trials, in which multiple defendants face charges of terrorism or plotting a coup, have raised serious concerns that such trials are unfair and politicized, the report also said. ''These concerns overshadowed the Ergenekon trial dealing with coup plots against the government in the early 2000s, which concluded in August without examining human rights abuses in which key defendants are implicated,'' it said.
        January/21/2014
      POLITICS - Turkish PM ErdoÄŸan to press for EU membership timeline in Brussels
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        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:28
        ANKARA
        Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan will meet with President of EU Council Herman van Rompuy, President of European Commission Jos(C)-Manuel Barroso and President of European Parliament Martin Schulz. AP photo
        Turkey will constantly highlight the need to set a timetable in negotiations for raising the chances of a swifter conclusion in its EU membership bid, EU Minister Mevl¼t ‡avuÅŸoÄŸlu said Jan. 20, on the eve of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan's visit to Brussels. ''We are demanding close cooperation from our European friends. We will surely underline that [our accession negotiations] process should be based on a timeline and it should not be open-ended,'' ‡avuÅŸoÄŸlu told reporters during his meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Janis Bj¶rn Kanavin.
        ‡avuÅŸoÄŸlu said these issues will be brought to the agenda of EU countries in successive meetings with EU officials, starting from ErdoÄŸan's talks with senior EU authorities in Brussels on Jan. 21.
        French President Fran§ois Hollande's visits to Turkey and ErdoÄŸan's visit to Berlin early February will also constitute good opportunities for Turkey to express its views vis-a-vis accession talks, he added.
        ErdoÄŸan was scheduled to depart for Brussels late Jan. 20 for one-day talks in the EU headquarters. He is set to meet with President of EU Council Herman van Rompuy, President of European Commission Jos(C)-Manuel Barroso and President of European Parliament Martin Schulz.
        Following bilateral meetings, the four men will come together at a luncheon hosted by van Rompuy.
        European officials are expected to express growing concerns about the Turkish government's successive steps in curbing judicial independence and in increasing its control over the judiciary through a controversial amendment on the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).
        In his first visit to Brussels since 2009, ErdoÄŸan will be accompanied by a delegation including EU Minister ‡avuÅŸoÄŸlu, Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu, deputy prime ministers BeÅŸir Atalay and Emrullah Ä°ÅŸler, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybek§i and Culture and Tourism Minister –mer ‡elik.
        January/20/2014
      Dutch prosecutors to probe retired top justice official for rape of 2 boys in Turkey
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        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:27
        Published on Jan 22, 20141:44 AM
        THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch prosecutors are to probe a retired top justice official for allegedly raping two Turkish boys in the 1990s, amid denials there had been a cover-up in the languishing case.
        "The court considers... that a criminal investigation is appropriate," the Den Bosch Appeals Court said on Tuesday of the allegations against former justice ministry secretary-general Joris Demmink.
        "Until now other investigations have not yielded the desired clarity," the judges said as they reopened a case that had led to international accusations that the Dutch authorities were failing to investigate properly.
        Mr Demmink, who was once regarded one of the country's most powerful civil servants, is being investigated over allegations that he raped two Turkish boys aged between 12 and 15 years old while on visits to Istanbul in the mid-1990s.
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      Erdogan vs. Gulen: Who has God on his side? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:32
        Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters as he arrives for a meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Jan. 14, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
        Author: Mustafa Akyol Posted January 19, 2014
        In today's Turkey, a single issue dominates the public agenda: the political battle between the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the religious community of Fethullah Gulen. Every recent dispute '-- the corruption probe against the government, an investigation of an alleged arms-carryingtruck crossing the Syrian border, the raidon al-Qaeda '-- is interpreted as being a part of that big war. Many seem to agree '-- but not able to prove '-- that the prosecutors who play an active role in these probes are motivated by their membership in the Gulen movement. They passionately disagree, though, on whether this political motivation should delegitimize the investigations as ''coup attempts,'' or whether the evidence for corruption and other misdeeds should be the real focus.
        Summary'Ž Print Political secularism may be the best path to moderation.For sure, all this is politics '-- and politics by other means. However, the religious commitments of both sides also bring a theological element to the fore. Both sides believe they are on the right path, not just politically but religiously. Both sides, in other words, seem to believe that God is on their side.
        This is somewhat visible in the rhetoric of Gulen '-- and perhaps not too surprisingly considering he's a religious leader. During the heat of the political tension, for example, he gave an emotional sermon in which he called on God to punish the unjust in this drama. ''Those who don't see the thief but go after those who chase the thief ... may God bring fire to their homes,'' he said in a video message to followers that was widely broadcast on Turkish TV. And when Erdogan vowed to go after Gulen movement members in their judiciary ''lairs'' '-- likening them to wild predators '-- Gulen responded, ''God sees who is in a lair.''
        To be fair, Gulen has never explicitly said ''God is on our side,'' but some of his followers seem to believe as much. A common argument is that the attacks on the Gulen movement will inevitably ''touch Gayretullah,'' literally meaning ''effort of God'' and implying that God can interfere in human affairs to prevent or punish wrongdoings. For example, when the 1999 earthquake shook the headquarters of Turkey's ultrasecularist military, it was rumored among conservatives that ''Gayretullah'' might have targeted the anti-Islamic generals.
        Meanwhile, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) seems to believe that divine will is on its side. Since the beginning of this latest tension with the Gulen movement last November, Erdogan refered to God dozens of times during his tirades against the movement. In a Jan. 17 speech to the graduates of religious Imam-Hatip schools, he quoted Prophet Muhammad: ''Do not fear, worry or get sad; God is with us.'' In one of his earlier outbursts against the Gulen movement, he said, ''Whatever you do, you will not be able to harm this religion. It is an exalted religion, our Book [Quran] is protected'' '-- as if the issue was Islam or scripture.
        Besides these religious themes, both sides in this battle use moralistic arguments. According to voices in the AKP camp, the Gulen movement is a ''traitor'' to Turkey and Islam, which has engaged in an ''unpatriotic'' alliance with Zionists, US neocons and others who arguably want to see a ''weaker'' Turkey. But according to voices in the Gulen movement, the AKP has become a cadre of corrupt politicians '-- if not ''thieves'' '-- along with their lackeys who plunder state resources while using hypocritical rhetoric of claiming to serve Islam. They add that many prominent names within the AKP camp got suspiciously rich, while the members of the Gulen movement still lead modest, honest lives.
        However, in the midst of all these religious and moral arguments, there is a third view aired by other religious figures. The writings of Hidayet Sefkatli Tuksal, an Islamic feminist, often combine liberal views with Islamic values. On Serbestiyet, a liberal opinion website, she recently wrote an emotional piece titled, ''Leave God alone, and fight your battle on your own!'' She wrote, ''I am sad and unhappy that both sides try to portray God as on their side, that both sides exploit the name of God in their struggle for power and that they make [other] people feel cold about religion, faith and the faithful.''
        Another female Islamic pundit, Sibel Eraslan, wrote an article for the conservative, pro-AKP daily Star, in which she suggested an interesting solution to this intrareligious political conflict: secularism. She wrote:
        ''The [Gulen] community-AKP conflict invites us to think more seriously about 'secularism' ... [because] the fight for political space and power among the pious, forces us to look for a new referee.''
        The term ''referee'' (''hakem'') is a powerful word in Islam, referring to a neutral and fair judge who can settle disputes. Hence, it is notable that Eraslan, a pious, headscarf-wearing Muslim, thought this ''referee'' could be secularism, a principle that similarly pious Muslims have often seen as anathema to Islam.
        Such theoretical deliberations surely don't top Turkey's political agenda these days, but they should still be considered as significant, at least for the future. Because in addition to Tuksal and Eraslan, other third parties with religious commitments look at this conflict with grief, hoping for a solution that will ''build peace among Muslims.'' They see the conflict as mainly political, but the religious themes on both sides increase its passion. Why not consider putting religious arguments aside for a moment and discuss temporal issues only as temporal issues?
        Of course, this is a burning need, not just in Turkey but also the rest of the Muslim world, for self-righteous Muslim factions to sometimes fight with each other believing that God is on their side. In Syria, for example, most of the current warring factions have claims of Islamic righteousness. If considered wisely, the lesson from these conflicts is that Muslims might use a form of political secularism (or just secularity, to use a more neutral term) to help build peace and moderation among themselves. If considered wisely, in other words, this is a good reason to see secularity, which has often been regarded as a Western-imposed and thus anti-Islamic scheme, as an Islam-friendly principle.
        Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/turkey-erdogan-gulen-political-secularism.html
      Not All Is Lost In Turkey The Jerusalem Review
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:30
        Turkey's political forecast may be increasingly murky, but its energy security has never been more stable.
        By: Nicholas Borroz
        In the last few weeks, Turkey took an important step towards improving its energy security: on January 2nd, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced that crude oil had started flowing to the Turkish port of Ceyhan from Iraqi Kurdistan. Most media coverage of Turkey is currently focusing on the destabilizing effects of an ongoing corruption scandal, which commentators warn threatens both democracy and foreign capital inflows. These setbacks, while significant, should not overshadow the recent positive developments for Turkey's energy security.
        ENERGY INSECURITY
        The primary reason for Turkey's deepening ties with Iraqi Kurdistan, as exemplified by Yildiz's announcement, is that Turkey is driven to improve its energy security and gain access to new hydrocarbon supplies. Despite being well-known for its identity as an energy hub, Turkey is ironically bereft of its own natural oil and gas resources. Turkey is almost entirely dependent on oil and gas imports to meet its domestic consumption needs. In 2011, for instance, Turkey met more than 90 percent of its liquid fuels consumption with imports. Such dependence on foreign suppliers is an uncomfortable position for a developing economy such as Turkey. This is particularly true because its energy consumption is expected to increase dramatically over the next decade.
        LIMITED IMPORT PORTFOLIO
        Beyond being simply dependent on energy imports, Turkey is overly dependent on a limited number of less-than-reputable suppliers, namely Russia and Iran. Adding Iraqi Kurdistan as an oil supplier, and also eventually as a potential natural gas supplier, helps Turkey to diversify its import portfolio. As reported by the US Energy Information Agency, Iran and Russia are respectively Turkey's largest suppliers of oil and gas:
        The dependence illustrated in the previous graphs is particularly troubling since neither Russia nor Iran are known for being dependable energy exporters. For instance, in 2009, Russia stopped the flow of gas to Ukraine, showing that it is comfortable with using its control of energy supplies to exert political pressure, a fact already well known by many eastern European countries. Furthermore, Russia's extractive industry is aging and lacking in innovation, which puts into question its future ability to competitively extract oil and gas. Iran, on the other hand, has been crippled by international sanctions. Even if these sanctions are lifted, which seems more possible now than ever before, it will take significant time for Iran's hydrocarbon industry to recover its production potential. Additionally, Iran's oil and gas infrastructure is aging and inefficient, which has led it to regularly fall short in its gas delivery promises to Turkey in the past.
        Iraq in general, and Iraqi Kurdistan in particular, is an obvious choice for Turkey when it looks at options to diversify its hydrocarbon supplies. Coming from right across the border amidst vast oil and gas reserves, the new Iraqi Kurdistan oil flow augurs an improvement for Turkey's energy import portfolio in terms of diversification.
        SECURITY CONCERNS
        Another benefit to the Iraqi Kurdistan oil is that, unlike the oil from Iraq in general, this supply promises to be much more stable. The major oil artery from Iraq to Turkey is the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline (shown in red on the map below), which is regularly bombed by insurgents in Iraq. As a result, oil flows are often stopped for repairs. The majority of those attacks, as reported in open-source media, occur in the governorates of Ninawa and Salah ad-Din (underlined in blue on the map below). Iraqi Kurdistan (shaded green on the map below) is removed from most of the violence.
        Iraqi Kurdistan is relatively stable when compared to the rest of Iraq. Since the US invasion in 2003, Iraq's Kurds have carved out a political entity that is largely independent from the turmoil and strife that regularly wracks Iraq's other regions.
        Within this relative safe haven, new pipelines are being developed, the details of which are as of yet unclear. Media reports, however, indicate that multiple pipelines were under construction as of November. The Iraqi Kurdistan oil would also still have the potential to flow through Iraq's Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline if an accord is reached between Baghdad and Erbil. This variety of potential transportation routes provides the Iraqi Kurdistan oil with an added advantage: it is not dependent on a sole pipeline to reach Iraq. Whereas the Iraqi oil flow to Turkey is often shut down due to devastating bomb attacks on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, the Iraqi Kurdistan oil has greater strategic flexibility because of its multiple potential transit routes.
        CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM?
        Despite the media's focus on the destabilizing effects of the ongoing corruption scandal in Turkey, the news of the new oil flow from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey indicates that the country is also experiencing noteworthy improvement to its energy security. This seems likely to have a positive impact on the country's overall stability. A slew of other factors must be considered to fully understand Turkey's status and how it will change in the near future. For the moment though, the new pipeline indicates that not all is lost in Turkey, no matter what the alarmists are reporting.
        Nicholas Borroz is a staff writer at The Jerusalem Review of Near East Affairs.
        Photo credit: Flickr Commons
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      Kurdish movement worries crisis in Turkey might undo the 'peace process' - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:28
        Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtas addresses members of parliament from his party and audience members during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Jan. 8, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
        Author: Kadri Gursel Posted January 19, 2014
        As a result of its conflict with the Gulen Cemaat [faith movement], Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule has to cope with severe corruption and bribery allegations. The first victim of the chain of political reactions triggered by this development has been the rule of law in Turkey, where law and democracy have suffered serious mutilation.
        Summary'Ž Print The Kurdish movement is giving conditional support to Erdogan and his party, which are experiencing a serious legitimacy crisis as a result of corruption and bribery allegations.AuthorKadri GurselPosted January 19, 2014Translator(s)Timur Goksel
        Internal squabbles in Turkey have become a crisis of state. The second victim of this crisis could be the "process" the government launched at the end of 2012 with the Kurdish movement and its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
        I put the word ''process'' in quotation marks because reciprocal steps required for the ''peace and solution process'' were not taken; since fall, it has become a "state of non-hostility'' instead of an authentic process.
        Nevertheless, for Turkey, which since 1984 has lost close to 50,000 people '-- Kurds, Turks, soldiers, civilians and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants '-- this ''state of non-hostility'' is better than nothing.
        The minimal requisite for this ''non-hostility'' to once again become an active ''peace process'' when the conditions are ripe is for the two sides '-- which have both declared their ambitions for a solution '-- to preserve their will, strength and legitimacy.
        The Kurdish movement, which after a long struggle finally found a counterpart, is quite anxious about the extremely difficult position Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP government have found themselves in as a result of the anti-corruption operation that broke into the open Dec. 17.
        The Kurdish movement thought it had found an interlocutor to the solution; however, the legitimacy of the interlocutor's leadership and party has been gravely impaired by corruption and bribery allegations that forced four key ministers out of their posts.
        There are two possibilities:
        The first is for Erdogan to be forced to give up political power as a result of this extremely corrosive struggle and for the AKP to be left without Erdogan, or for both AKP and Erdogan to give up their power together.
        The second is for Erdogan and the AKP to retain power despite their colossal legitimacy losses while Turkey becomes a ''black hole'' state totally bereft of law alongside the collapse of the functionality of its institutions.
        Both possibilities would make reactivation of the ''solution process'' impossible.
        The Kurdish movement for the time being has no alternative other than AKP as an address for a solution. The opposition is not ideologically or politically ready to undertake such a mission, not that the AKP itself has the desire and strength to sustain solution efforts. But in Turkey we have a proverb that says ''There is hope as long as there is sign of life.''
        Perhaps this is why the Kurdish movement appears to be determined to do whatever needed to prolong the lifespan of this partner. The spokesmen for the Kurdish movement, led by Ocalan, have been using common narratives and expressions with the AKP while describing the situation Turkey reached Dec. 17, such as labeling the anti-corruption operation as an ''international conspiracy'' and a "coup'' and defining the penetration of state bodies by the Gulen Cemaat as a ''parallel state.''
        Idris Baluken, a member of parliament from the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party [BDP] who on Jan. 11 visited Ocalan in the special prison he is held at Imrali Island, said that according to Ocalan, Dec. 17 was a ''coup attempt launched by the parallel state against the process.''
        The co-chairman of the BDP, Selahattin Demirtas, in his conversations with a group of columnists in Istanbul on Jan. 12, conveyed Ocalan's analysis of the current situation: ''Ocalan has always been referring to the parallel state issue in his Imrali meetings. He kept saying, 'I have been warning for months but they are not listening.' Ocalan says, 'These people don't want a solution and are bound to cause problems for our solution process. The government might reach such a point that unless it takes it seriously, it might be wiped out by the parallel state in one day.' Ocalan says the Cemaat has taken over the state but this is actually an international scheme. His explanation is based on the analysis that this is a coup and they will topple the government. At the moment, the government is confronted by an international scheme.''
        According to Demirtas, Ocalan's analysis of the actors of this ''international scheme'' and their interactions goes like this: ''All the schemes are planned by the capital lobby in London, the Chicago-based Jewish lobby and an academy in Utah. Cemaat's extensions within the state are willingly assisting.''
        Demirtas quoted Ocalan saying that he has to take this affair seriously to safeguard the process.
        On Jan. 9, a view similar to Ocalan's was voiced by Bese Hozat, co-president of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the highest political structure of the Kurdish movement, who said: ''In Turkey, in addition to the official state, there are parallel states. For example, Fethullah Gulen's Cemaat is a parallel state. The Israeli lobby, nationalist Armenians and Greek lobbies are parallel states. These parallel states have serious common interests.''
        Such conspiratorial and paranoid assessments, which obviously are not based on any proven findings, nevertheless indicate grave oscillations in Kurdish thinking; they show that the intent of the Kurdish movement that is not on good terms with the Gulen Cemaat is to offer support to Erdogan. But if Dec. 17 really represents a ''parallel state'' coup by international organizations to topple a democratically elected government, shouldn't the Kurdish movement declare these corruption and bribery investigations illegitimate and seek their removal from the agenda?
        But BDP leaders are not thinking along those lines. They claim to draw a thick line between the coup attempt and AKP corruption. They are refraining from supporting AKP interference with the judiciary to block the corruption investigations because they fear it may backfire on their own legitimacy. This is what Demirtas said on corruption and bribery charges: "The parallel state found a legitimate and justified opening to intervene in politics. It exposed AKP ranks involved in theft. It couldn't have found a more effective way to affect public opinion. Public opinion is more sensitive to charges of theft rather than authoritarianism and oppression. On the one hand you have the thieves, on the other hand the police. Theft is not acceptable. At this point we have to pray for the Cemaat to conclude its attacks because the public conscience needs relief. We cannot continue with the burden of thefts. We as the BDP are not saying that we should ignore these thefts for Erdogan to survive. If the prime minister is ignoring theft, then he should go. We are against corruption in principle. We are not saying the solution will collapse if we keep discussing corruption.''
        Demirtas concluded: "The Dec. 17 operation is an opportunity to terminate the parallel state and make progress with the solution. But AKP's ability to achieve this is feeble. AKP has to give up interfering with the judiciary over thefts. It has to bolster democracy and reactivate a new constitutional process. This is how to have a ring of democracy around you to assure your survival while you are fighting with the parallel state. AKP will survive if it does all this and the prime minister is not implicated in thefts.''
        Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/turkey-kurds-peace-process-crisis-gulen-akp-hostility-law.html
      Turkey widens purge after graft probe - Yahoo!7
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:27
        AFPTurkey widens purge after graft probeIstanbul (AFP) - The Turkish government's mass purge of police and prosecutors has extended to the banking and telecoms sectors as well as state television, the latest fallout from a wide-ranging corruption scandal plaguing the country's leaders.
        Local media reported on Saturday that three high-ranking officials with top banking watchdog the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) were removed from their posts.
        Five department chiefs from the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) regulatory and a dozen people including senior news editors and department heads at Turkey's state television channel TRT have also been fired, the reports said.
        The Islamic-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already dismissed and reassigned hundreds of police officers and prosecutors in what critics say is a government attempt to derail a high-profile graft investigation.
        The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is also seeking to exert more control over the country's top judicial body, a move that has raised concerns among Turkey's allies including the European Union about the state of democracy.
        Hurriyet said the BDDK dismissals came after the release of leaked tapes allegedly belonging to exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time staunch AKP supporter who has become Erdogan's arch-nemesis.
        "We have men at BDDK," Hurriyet quoted one voice on the tape as saying.
        Erdogan has accused followers of Gulen of instigating the probe to undermine his government ahead of March local polls and many of those who have been dismissed are believed to be close to the cleric.
        In another move on Friday, Turkish authorities seized the assets of the main opposition candidate for the post of Istanbul mayor.
        Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund announced the decision after Mustafa Sarigul and nine other people allegedly failed to repay a loan worth $3.5 million (2.6 million euros) dating back to 1998, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
        Sarigul, the Republican People's Party's candidate for Istanbul mayor -- the biggest prize in the March 30 elections -- described the move as a provocation.
        "This incident is nothing more than the panic-stricken manipulation of state institutions for politics," he was quoted as saying by Hurriyet.
        Sarigul is seen as the main challenger to Istanbul's incumbent AKP mayor Kadir Topbas, who is running for a third term at the helm of Turkey's largest city.
        The local polls, to be followed by a presidential ballot in August and parliamentary elections in 2015, will be a key test for the government, which has been badly bruised by the corruption scandal.
        Dozens of people were detained in December, including top business leaders and the sons of three ministers, who have since resigned.
        Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper on Thursday reported that two of the ministers whose sons were detained had accepted over $60 million in bribes.
        The United States and the European Union, which Turkey has sought for decades to join, have voiced their concern over the developments in Turkey.
        Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, warned in an interview on Thursday that the moves to "politicise" the judiciary would weaken trust in the entire state and jeopardise democracy.
        The crisis is overshadowing Erdogan's visit to Brussels on Tuesday in what he had hoped would be the "year of the EU" for Turkey.
      Dutch Gülenists sneaky dormitory schools
    EUrabia
      BREAKING: U.S. Military Dress Code To Now Allow Muslim Friendly Beards And Turbans
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: The Ulsterman Report
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 05:02
        The Obama Administration's Pentagon is set to alter longstanding military uniform practices in order to allow more Muslim and Sikh friendly rules that would welcome full beards and turbans to be worn as part of official military dress. The new rules are being done under the guise of ''religious freedom''.
        My own opinion '' this is PC madness and a dangerous precedent.
        __________________________
        (via AllAlabama)
        The Pentagon is expected to announce changes today to rules governing religious items and uniform regulations, NBC News is reporting.
        The change would allow beards, some religious tattoos and turbans to be worn by members in uniform.
        NBC News obtained a draft of Department of Defense instructions that said the military will make every effort to accommodate ''individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs'' of service members. The memo said unless the items have an adverse impact on readiness, order or discipline, commanders will be allowed to grant special permission for personnel to wear religious article while in uniform.
        '...According to the NBC report, there are 3 Sikhs in the U.S. military and about 3,700 Muslims, 6,300 Buddhists and 1,500 Wiccans. LINK
        __________________________________
        If the United States had forced military service, I could entertain some argument to allow modification of the military dress code. As it is, we are a volunteer military. People choose to serve, and as such, can be required to accommodate strict military uniform guidelines regardless of religious background.
        Combine this ''new'' uniform policy via the Obama administration, with the recent removal of crosses atop military chapels, and a still just months old scandal involving updated military training manuals classifying Christian groups as terrorists, and the picture becomes undeniably clear as to the anti Christian bent of the Obama administration's supervision over our United States Military.
        And note too, that there are just THREE Sikhs presently serving in the U.S. Military. This policy change has nothing to do with a minority of three, but rather is appeasement to the increasingly powerful Muslim lobby in Washington D.C., and the thousands of Muslims already serving in our military. While most are likely serving with distinction and honor, they were clearly able to do so before this policy change, so why the move to make said change now?
        I would also remind readers that the last notable Muslim-American who complained about the U.S. Military's denial of his ''religious freedoms'' shot and killed 13 people and wounded 30 others at Fort Hood while screaming out in Arabic that ''God is great''. He has been receiving a military salary paid by YOU the taxpayer, ever since, and the Obama administration refused to cite the tragedy as a ''terrorist attack'', instead dismissing it as merely ''workplace violence''.
        ____________________________________
        ''WOW! A fascinating, believable concept of history as we saw it unfold.'' -Blakey LINK
        MAC WALKER'S BENGHAZI takes readers on a thrilling ride of action and intrigue and allows them a glimpse into a younger version of this much loved character as he and his military guns for hire team take an assignment into the dangerous world that is Benghazi, Libya days before the now infamous Benghazi Massacre. It is a fast paced military thriller where men and women of action find themselves facing an enemy far greater and more powerful than they imagined. LINK
      Give those jihadis some of out culture
      Love boat
      3 stooges
      Eddie Murphy
      Fast times at ridgemont high
      xboxes!
    Shut Up Slave!
      US District Court: Citizen Journalists Have Same Rights as News Media - Susanne Posel | Susanne Posel
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 03:46
        Susanne Posel ,Chief Editor Occupy Corporatism | The US Independent January 20, 2014
        The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that bloggers have the same 1st Amendment rights as established journalists when involved in a defamation of character suit; as long as the issue is of public concern.
        The outcome of this case establishes the fact that protections afforded the news media are not exclusive to their realm, but are also extended to citizen journalists and bloggers.
        The decision was entered because of a defamation lawsuit brought in Oregon concerning a blogger who had written online that this person had ''criminally mis-handled a bankruptcy case''.
        In this instance, the trustee was not a public figure; however it was ruled that this case is of public concern and the negligence standard was applied.
        Two years ago, Crystal Cox, an ''investigative blogger'' was sued by Kevin Padrick for writing online that Padrick was guilty of ''fraud, corruption, money-laundering and other illegal activities.''
        US District Court Judge Marco Hernandez originally denied Cox the right of journalistic protection.
        A new trial will ensue as the appellate court dismissed the ruling of Judge Hernandez and paved the way for a new trial for Cox.
        This 3 member judiciary panel, headed by Judge Andrew Hurwitz, wrote: ''Cox apparently has a history of making similar accusations and seeking payoffs in exchange for retraction.''
        Hurwitz continued: ''Because Cox's blog post addressed a matter of public concern, even assuming that Gertz is limited to such speech, the district court should have instructed the jury that it could not find Cox liable for defamation unless it found that she acted negligently. We hold that liability for a defamatory blog post involving a matter of public concern cannot be imposed without proof of fault and actual damages.''
        Most importantly, the judges found that ''under the 1st Amendment, it doesn't matter whether the person accused of defamation is a professional journalist, an amateur whistle-blower or a crank with a Web page.''
        This case highlights the findings in 1974 wherein the US Supreme Court wrote that freedom of the press applies to everyone '' not only journalists.
        Eugene Volokh, professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles, commented on the Cox case: ''It makes clear that bloggers have the same First Amendment rights as professional journalists. There had been similar precedents before concerning advocacy groups, other writers and book authors. This follows a fairly well established chain of precedents. I believe it is the first federal appeals court level ruling that applies to bloggers.''
        This case is important to the future of citizen journalism because of the crusade against freedom of speech being perpetrated by members of Congress.
        Senator Dianne Feinstein commented last year that the new Federal Media Shield would guarantee 1st Amendment protection to federally recognized journalists who are ''real reporters'' '' not those ''blogger'' journalists in alternative media.
        Feinstein claimed that the 1st Amendment is a privilege, not an inalienable right as defined by our US Constitution.
        The Federal Media Shield (FMS), a.k.a. the Free Flow of Information Act (FFIA) states: ''Conditions for Compelled Disclosure- In any proceeding or in connection with any issue arising under Federal law, a Federal entity may not compel a covered person to comply with a subpoena, court order, or other compulsory legal process seeking to compel the disclosure of protected information, unless a Federal court in the jurisdiction where the subpoena, court order, or other compulsory legal process has been or would be issued determines, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to such covered person.''
        There is a stipulation that the governmental ''party seeking to compel disclosure of the protected information [must have] exhausted all reasonable alternative sources (other than a covered person) of the protected information.''
        The definition of what a journalist is is included in the text: ''[The committee defined] a ''covered journalist'' as an employee, independent contractor or agent of an entity that disseminates news or information. The individual would have been employed for one year within the last 20 or three months within the last five years. It would apply to student journalists or someone with a considerable amount of freelance work in the last five years. A federal judge also would have the discretion to declare an individual a 'covered journalist,' who would be granted the privileges of the law.''
        The definition does not ''include any person or entity whose principal function, as demonstrated by the totality of such person or entity's work, is to publish primary source documents that have been disclosed to such person or entity without authorization''; meaning that journalists within the alternative and independent media are now not considered ''covered journalists'' or even journalists at all.
        Susanne Posel | Original Author | Original Copyright Holderhttp://OccupyCorporatism.com[email protected]Portland, Oregon, United States, -08:00
      SLAPP
        Strategic lawsuit against public participation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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          Archived Version
          Tue, 21 Jan 2014 04:12
          A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.[1]
          The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. The difficulty is that plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Hence, the difficulty in drafting SLAPP legislation, and in applying it, is to craft an approach which affords an early termination to invalid abusive suits, without denying a legitimate day in court to valid good faith claims.
          SLAPPs take various forms. The most common used to be a civil suit for defamation, which in the English common law tradition was a tort. The common law of libel dates to the early 17th century and (unusual in English law) is reverse onus, meaning, once someone alleges a statement is libelous, the burden was on the defendant to prove that it is not. The Defamation Act 2013 removed most of the uses of defamation as a SLAPP in the United Kingdom by requiring the proof of special damage. Various abusive uses of this law including political libel (criticism of the political actions or views of others) have ceased to exist in most places, but persist in some jurisdictions (notably British Columbia and Ontario) where political views can be held as defamatory. A common feature of SLAPP suits is forum shopping, wherein plaintiffs find courts that are more favourable towards the claims to be brought than the court in which the defendant (or sometimes plaintiffs) live.
          Other widely mentioned elements of a SLAPP are the actual effectiveness at silencing critics, the timing of the suit, inclusion of extra or spurious defendants (such as relatives or hosts of legitimate defendants), inclusion of plaintiffs with no real claim (such as corporations that are affiliated with legitimate plaintiffs), making claims that are very difficult to disprove or rely on no written record, ambiguous or deliberately mangled wording that lets plaintiffs make spurious allegations without fear of perjury, refusal to consider any settlement (or none other than cash), characterization of all offers to settle as insincere, extensive and unnecessary demands for discovery, attempts to identify anonymous or pseudonymous critics, appeals on minor points of law, demands for broad rulings when appeal is accepted on such minor points of law, and attempts to run up defendants' costs even if this clearly costs more to the plaintiffs.
          CanadaEditSome political libel and forum shopping incidents, both common in Canada, have been called SLAPP suits, because such suits load defendants with costs of responding in unfamiliar jurisdictions or at times (typically elections) when they're extremely busy and short of funds. Both types of suits are almost unique to Canada, so there is little academic concern nor examination of whether political subject matter or remote forums are a clear indicator of SLAPP.
          British ColumbiaEditOne of the first cases in Canada to be explicitly ruled a SLAPP was Fraser v. Saanich (see [1999] B.C.J. No. 3100 (B.C. S.C.)) (QL), where the British Columbia Supreme Court struck out the claim of a hospital director against the District of Saanich, holding that it was a meritless action designed to silence or intimidate the residents who were opposed to the plaintiff's plan to redevelop the hospital facilities.
          Following the decision in Fraser v. Saanich, the Protection of Public Participation Act went into effect in British Columbia in April, 2001. The legislation was repealed in August, 2001. There was extensive debate on its merits and the necessity of having hard criteria for judges and whether this tended to reduce or increase process abuse. The debate was largely formed by the first case to discuss and apply the Protection of Public Participation Act (PPPA), Home Equity Development v. Crow.[5] The defendants' application to dismiss the action against them was dismissed. The defendants failed to meet the burden of proof required by the PPPA, that the plaintiffs had no reasonable prospect of success. While it was not the subject of the case, some felt that the plaintiffs did not bring their action for an improper purpose, and the suit did not inhibit the defendants in their public criticism of the particular project, and that the Act was therefore ineffective in this case.
          Since the repeal, BC activists especially the BCCLA have argued repeatedly for a broad understanding of SLAPP and a broad interpretation of judicial powers especially in intervener applications in BC and other common law jurisdictions and when arguing for new legislation to prevent SLAPPs. The activist literature contains extensive research on particular cases and criteria. The West Coast Environmental Law Association agrees and generally considers BC to lag other jurisdictions [2]. So do some BC lawyers, again listing specific cases [3].
          OntarioEditIn Ontario, the decision in Daishowa v. Friends of the Lubicon (see [1996] O.J. No. 3855 Ont. Ct. Gen. Div.) (QL) was also instructive on SLAPPs. A motion brought by the corporate plaintiff Daishowa to impose conditions on the defendant Friends of the Lubicon Indian Band that they would not represent Daishowa's action as a SLAPP was dismissed.
          By 2010, the Ontario Attorney-General considered SLAPP a major problem and issued a major report on them [4]. However, a year later nothing substantial had changed, according to commentators [5]. In June, 2013, the Attorney General introduced legislation that was intended to implement the recommendations of the report.[6]
          QuebecEditQu(C)bec's then Justice Minister, Jacques Dupuis, proposed an anti-SLAPP bill on June 13, 2008. [7] The bill was adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 3, 2009. As of September 2013, Quebec's amended Code of Civil Procedure is the only anti-SLAPP mechanism in force in Canada.
          This bill was invoked in Ontario (and then Supreme Court of Canada docket 33819) in the case of Les ‰ditions ‰cosoci(C)t(C) Inc., Alain Deneault, Delphine Abadie and William Sacher vs. Banro Inc., in which the publisher ‰cosoci(C)t(C) pled (supported by the BCCLA[6]) that it should not face Ontario liability for a publication in Quebec, as the suit was a SLAPP and the Quebec law explicitly provided to dismiss these. As of November 15, 2011, the judgement was still pending, having been heard in the Court in March of 2011.
          The Quebec law is substantially different in structure than that of California [7] or other jurisdictions, however as Quebec's Constitution generally subordinates itself to international law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights applies. That treaty only permits liability for arbitrary and unlawful speech. The ICCPR has also been cited, in the BC case Crookes v. Newton, as the standard for balancing free speech versus reputation rights. The Supreme Court of Canada in October 2011, ruling in that case, neither reiterated nor rescinded that standard.
          United StatesEditTwenty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have enacted statutory protections against SLAPPs.[8][verification needed] These states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,[9]Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. In Colorado and West Virginia, the courts have adopted protections against SLAPPs. These laws vary dramatically in scope and level of protection, and the remaining states lack protections.
          There is no federal anti-SLAPP law. The extent to which state laws apply in federal courts is unclear, and the Circuit courts have reached different conclusions. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has allowed California litigants to use their state's special motion in federal district courts located in California, in cases where the court is hearing at least one California state law claim through the doctrine of supplemental jurisdiction.[10] However, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has held that the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP law, as a mere matter of procedure, does not apply in federal courts.[11]
          It has been argued that the lack of uniform protection against SLAPPs has encouraged forum shopping; proponents of federal legislation have argued that the uncertainty about one's level of protection has likely magnified the chilling effect of SLAPPs.[12]
          In December 2009, Rep. Steve Cohen (D''Tennessee) introduced the Citizen Participation Act in the U.S. House.[13] This marks the first time the Congress has considered federal anti-SLAPP legislation, though the Congress enacted a law on the closely related issue of libel tourism.[14] Like many state anti-SLAPP laws, H.R. 4364 would allow the defendant of a SLAPP to have the suit quickly dismissed and to recover fees and costs.
          CaliforniaEditCalifornia has a unique variant of anti-SLAPP legislation which has led a significant volume of SLAPP litigation in that state. A search for reported cases on SLAPP litigation in 2009 found 1,386 cases for the State of California alone. The rest of the states combined had about 341, of which Massachusetts accounted for 176, raising the question whether California's SLAPP statute is accomplishing its primary objective of reducing costly litigation.[15] The U.S. state of California enacted Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16 in 1992, a statute intended to frustrate SLAPPs by providing a quick and inexpensive defense.[3] It provides for a special motion that a defendant can file at the outset of a lawsuit to strike a complaint when it arises from conduct that falls within the rights of petition or free speech. The statute expressly applies to any writing or speech made in connection with an issue under consideration or review by a legislative, executive, or judicial proceeding, or any other official proceeding authorized by law, but there is no requirement that the writing or speech be promulgated directly to the official body. It also applies to speech in a public forum about an issue of public interest and to any other petition or speech conduct about an issue of public interest.
          To win an anti-SLAPP motion, the defendant must first show that the lawsuit is based on claims related to constitutionally protected activities, typically First Amendment rights such as free speech, and typically seeks to show that the claim lacks any basis of genuine substance, legal underpinnings, evidence, or prospect of success. If this is demonstrated then the burden shifts to the plaintiff, to affirmatively present evidence demonstrating a reasonable probability of succeeding in their case by showing an actual wrong would exist as recognized by law, if the facts claimed were borne out.
          The filing of an anti-SLAPP motion stays all discovery. This feature acts to greatly reduce the cost of litigation to the anti-SLAPP defendant, and can make beating the motion extremely difficult for the plaintiff, because they effectively must prove their case has at least a basis of visible legal merit and is not merely vexatious, prior to discovery.
          If the special motion is denied, the order denying the motion is immediately appealable. Defendants prevailing on an anti-SLAPP motion (including any subsequent appeal) are entitled to a mandatory award of reasonable attorney's fees. After an anti-SLAPP motion has been filed, a plaintiff cannot escape this mandatory fee award by amending its complaint. More than 300 published court opinions have interpreted and applied California's anti-SLAPP law.[16]
          California's Code of Civil Procedure § 425.17 corrects what the Legislature found to be abuse of the anti-SLAPP statute.[17] Signed into law on September 6, 2003, this statute prohibits anti-SLAPP motions in response to certain public interest lawsuits and class actions, and actions that arise from commercial statements or conduct. Section 425.18, signed into law on October 6, 2005, was enacted to facilitate SLAPP victims in recovering their damages through a SLAPPback (malicious prosecution action) against the SLAPP filers and their attorneys after the underlying SLAPP has been dismissed.[18]
          Balancing the right of access to the courtsEditThe SLAPP penalty stands as a barrier to access to the courts by providing an early penalty to claimants who seek judicial redress. In recent years, the courts in some states have recognized that enforcement of SLAPP legislation must recognize and balance the constitutional rights of both litigants. It has been said:
          Since the Magna Carta, the world has recognized the importance of justice in a free society. ''To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.'' (Magna Carta, 1215.) This nation's founding fathers knew people would never consent to be governed and surrender their right to decide disputes by force, unless government offered a just forum for resolving those disputes.[19]
          The right to bring grievances to the courts, in good faith, is protected by state and federal constitutions in a variety of ways. In most states, the right to trial by jury in civil cases is recognized. The right to cross-examine witnesses is fundamental to our judicial system. Moreover, the first amendment protects the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The ''right to petition extends to all departments of the Government. The right of access to the courts is indeed but one aspect of the right of petition.''[20] Because ''the right to petition is 'among the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights,' ... the right of access to the courts shares this 'preferred place' in our hierarchy of constitutional freedoms and values.[21] This balancing question is resolved differently in different states, often with substantial difficulty.[22]
          In Palazzo v. Alves, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island stated:
          By the nature of their subject matter, anti-SLAPP statutes require meticulous drafting. On the one hand, it is desirable to seek to shield citizens from improper intimidation when exercising their constitutional right to be heard with respect to issues of public concern. On the other hand, it is important that such statutes be limited in scope lest the constitutional right of access to the courts (whether by private figures, public figures, or public officials) be improperly thwarted. There is a genuine double-edged challenge to those who legislate in this area.[citation needed][23]
          The most challenging balancing problem arises in application to SLAPP claims which do not sound (give rise to a claim) in tort. The common law and constitutional law have developed in the United States to create a high substantive burden to tort and tort-like claims which seek redress for public speech, especially public speech which addresses matters of public concern. The common law in many states requires the pleader to state accurately the content of libelous words. Constitutional law has provided substantive protection which bars recovery against a first amendment defense except upon clear and convincing evidence that there has been deliberate or reckless falsehood. For this reason, ferreting out the bad faith SLAPP claim at an early stage of litigation should be accomplished with relative ease. Extension of the SLAPP penalties to factually complex cases, where the substantive standard of proof at common law is lower presents special challenges.
          A Minnesota Supreme Court case, Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed Dist. v. Stengrim, 784 N.W.2d 834 (Minn. 2010) establishes a two-step process to determine whether SLAPP procedure should be applied. The decision arises in the context of an effort to enforce a settlement agreement between a local government and an opponent of a flood control project. The landowner had accepted a significant monetary settlement in settlement of his opposition to land acquisition. The landowner agreed as part of the settlement to address no further challenges to the project. When the local government sued the landowner for breach of settlement, the landowner contended that enforcement of the settlement was a strategic lawsuit against public participation. The Supreme Court rejected that claim and affirmed the District Court's denial of SLAPP relief, holding ''The District Court properly denied a motion to dismiss where the underlying claim involved an alleged breach of a settlement agreement that potentially limited the moving party's rights to public participation.'' The Supreme Court explained:
          Preexisting legal relationships, such as those based on a settlement agreement where a party waives certain rights, may legitimately limit a party's public participation. It would be illogical to read sections 554.01-.05 as providing presumptive immunity to actions that a moving party may have contractually agreed to forgo or limit.
          Under the Minnesota approach, as a preliminary matter, the moving party must meet the burden of showing that the circumstances which bring the case within the purview of SLAPP protection exists. Until that has been accomplished, no clear and convincing burden has been shifted to the responding party.
        Court: Radio Talk Show Host's Statements Not Actionable
          Link to Article
          Archived Version
          Tue, 21 Jan 2014 04:15
          Metropolitan News-Enterprise
          Monday, April 27, 2009
          Page 1
          Court: Radio Talk Show Host's Statements Not Actionable
          Panel Concludes Reasonable Listeners Would Consider Comments Opinion
          By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Staff Writer
          The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday upheld the dismissal of a defamation action against radio host Tom Martino and his nationally syndicated consumer advocacy talk show program, ''The Tom Martino Show.''
          Affirming the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown of the District of Oregon granting Martino and Westwood One Inc.'s special motion to strike, the panel held Martino's on-air statements to a frustrated consumer during the call-in portion of the show were non-actionable opinion.
          The case arose after consumer Melissa Feroglia called Martino's radio show'--which seeks to aid frustrated consumers with their problems'--to complain about a personal watercraft she had purchased from John and Susan Gardner, the proprietors of Mt. Hood Polaris in Boring, Ore.
          During the broadcast, Feroglia told Martino she was experiencing overheating problems with her watercraft and had taken it back to theGardner's Polaris dealership for repairs. She said John Gardner had written out an invoice saying the dealership would buy back the watercraft, but later refused to honor it, claiming the machine had been repaired.
          Feroglia said she had asked if the watercraft had been tested to ensure it was running properly, and two hours later was informed that ''it works great.''
          Martino then responded: ''Yeah, they're just, yeah, they're just lying to you.''
          After Feroglia disclosed that she did not have a copy of the alleged invoice, Martino asked if a dealership employee with whom Feroglia had spoken would ''admit to us that they'...went back on their word.''
          One of the radio show's producers called Mt. Hood Polaris and spoke to an individual identified on-air as the ''general manager'' and reported that he was told Feroglia would have to contact the watercraft's manufacturer, Polaris Industries.
          Martino then said ''Polaris sucks,'' adding that the manufacturer had told him Feroglia would have to ''go through the dealer,'' Mt. Hood Polaris.
          ''Mt. Hood Polaris, Polaris Industries equals sucks,'' Martino declared, telling listeners:
          ''I urge you to let them know you will never buy a Polaris product knowing that they treat people like this.''
          The program was broadcast live on KHOW inDenver, and later rebroadcast on KEX inPortland,Ore.
          The Gardners and Mt. Hood Polaris filed suit against Martino and Westwood One Inc.'--the provider of the broadcast'--alleging claims for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, intentional interference with economic relations, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
          Martino and Westwood One removed to federal court on the basis of diversity and federal question jurisdiction, and moved to strike all the claims pursuant toOregon's anti-SLAPP law.
          Magistrate Judge Dennis James Hubel recommended granting the motion, finding Martino's statements were not defamatory as a matter of law. Brown adopted his recommendation and dismissed the action without prejudice.
          On appeal, Judge Consuelo B. Marshall explained that if a reasonable fact finder could not conclude that an allegedly defamatory statement implied an assertion of objective fact, that statement is protected by the First Amendment.
          Marshallreasoned that Martino's show contained ''many of the elements that would reduce the audience's expectation of learning an objective fact: drama, hyperbolic language, an opinionated and arrogant host, and heated controversy.''
          As Martino's statements were made in reliance on facts outlined by Feroglia in the minutes preceding his comments,Marshallconcluded no reasonable listener would have considered them anything more than the host's interpretation of the facts equally available to him and to the audience.
          Marshallemphasized that the defamation analysis did not turn on whether Feroglia's story was incorrect, but whether Martino's reliance was reasonable.
          ''It would be unreasonable to require a speaker to determine the actual truth or falsity of every fact the speaker relies on before stating his or her opinion,'' she wrote. Even if Feroglia's narration of the facts had been false, ''given the nature of talk shows, such as his,'' Martino had not been negligent or unreasonable in relying on Feroglia's story,Marshallsaid.
          ''[P]rior investigation is not required in the context of a radio show that takes live calls on the air,'' the jurist added, noting that the plaintiffs had been given an opportunity to call in to the program and explain their version of events, but had declined to do so.
          Marshallfurther reasoned that Martino's use of ''two loose, hyperbolic statements'' as a ''vigorous epithet'''--the two utterances of the word ''sucks'''--would be understood as ''the type of obvious exaggeration generally employed on Martino's program'...not false factual accusations.''
          She also concluded that Martino's statements urging listeners not to buy Polaris products were also protected statements of opinion, which was fatal to the plaintiffs' claims for intentional interference with economic relations and prospective economic advantage.
          Judges Harry Pregerson and Stephen Reinhardt joinedMarshallin her opinion.
          Linda L. Marshall ofLake Oswego,Ore.represented the Gardners and Mt. Hood Polaris. She said her clients were ''disappointed'' in yesterday's ruling, but that she doubted they would seek further review.
          The attorney told the MetNews that ''some of the comments made by the judge in the opinion would suggest'...if you're a radio host, you have a little bit more leeway in terms of what you say.'' But she emphasized that her client's had suffered ''a substantial amount of loss of income'' as a result of the broadcast.
          Portland,Ore.attorney Charles F. Hinkle of Stoel Rives LLP represented Martino and Westwood One. He praised yesterday's ruling as an ''important application of the SLAPP statute,'' and an ''emphatic upholding of free speech principles in the context of talk radio.''
          The case is Gardner v. Martino, 06-35437.
          Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company
      NYTimes on actual risks of work place vs terrorism
      Connecticut Schools mandate health testing Johnson & Johnson email
        Hey Adam, I heard the last podcast where you were talking about New York
        State proposing forced mental health assessments on all children in school,
        and I figured I would write to you about how my state of Connecticut, was
        trying to do this last year. After looking into the legislation, using
        techniques developed mainly through listening to No Agenda (i.e. find out
        who is sponsoring this bill, and who's going to make off), I found
        something rather curious.
        The main organization pushing for this bill was an organization called the
        CT Association of School Based Health Centers. This organization gets its
        funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The RWJF is a
        non-profit of Johnson & Johnson, the largest pharmaceutical company in the
        world, which, of course, would greatly benefit from this bill! Complete
        BullCrap! I am sure there is a similar case in New York, and everywhere
        else that this is happening!
        I wrote an article about this , which you can read here if your interested:
        http://www.thegoodmanchronicle.com/2013/03/forced-mental-health-assessments-being.html
        Keep up the great work, you guys are awesome!
        Goodman
        www.TheGoodmanChronicle.com
    Slave Training
      EXCLUSIVE: Gov. Cuomo to unveil universal pre-K plan without hiking taxes in budget address - Daily News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:56
        Mike Groll/APAs part of his universal pre-K proposal, Cuomo wants to separately fund the addition of pre-K classroom space through a $2 billion education technology bond act he wants to put before voters in November.
        ALBANY -- Gov. Cuomo will teach Mayor de Blasio a lesson Tuesday in power politics -- pledging to fund de Blasio's signature proposal of universal prekindergarten but without raising taxes.
        Cuomo will use his annual budget address to call for $1.5 billion in state spending over five years to make pre-K available in every corner of the state, sources told the Daily News.
        RELATED: KING WOULD BE FOR PRE-K, HALTING STOP-AND-FRISK: DE BLASIO
        The pre-K expansion would be paid for with existing state revenues rather than by hiking taxes on the rich, as de Blasio has demanded. An improving economy and belt-tightening by the state has made the money available, the sources said.
        Under the plan, part of Cuomo's $138 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins April 1, New York would become just the fourth state to fully fund full-day pre-K for any community that wants it, sources familiar with the proposal said.
        RELATED: DE BLASIO ROLLS OUT PR BLITZ TO FUND UNIVERSAL PRE-K
        Districts would be under no obligation to opt in, and those that want the expansion could phase it in at their own pace. Charter schools would also be eligible for the pre-K money.
        As part of his proposal, Cuomo will also call for tougher pre-K regulations and teaching requirements. "We want to make sure it's about education and not baby-sitting," said an administration official familiar with the plan.
        RELATED: PRE-K SUPPORT IN ALBANY
        The governor and the mayor have been on a collision course for months over how to pay for de Blasio's plans for pre-K and afterschool programs.
        Throughout the mayoral campaign, de Blasio called for raising income taxes on city residents who earn at least $500,000 to pay for pre-K and after school programs. The tax hike, he said, would provide a guaranteed revenue stream, safeguarding the funding from the whims of the annual state budget process.
        RELATED: REJECTING NYC'S PRE-K TAX PROPOSAL COULD LEAD TO TAX FEUD
        "We don't want a phase in," de Blasio said earlier this month.
        Last week, de Blasio even launched a privately-funded campaign to build public support for his tax hike proposal.
        But Cuomo, who is running for re-election, has made it clear he has no interest in hiking taxes and will instead seek $2 billion in tax cuts.
        Cuomo's plan to finance pre-K with existing revenues will make it harder for de Blasio to get the state Legislature and the public to get behind a tax hike.
        As part of his proposal, Cuomo wants to separately fund the addition of pre-K classroom space through a $2 billion education technology bond act he wants to put before voters in November. De Blasio estimated $50 million raised from his tax hike each year would go toward infrastructure.
        RELATED: N.Y. GOP BIG: NO NEED FOR TAX ON RICH
        In addition, officials say, Cuomo will propose another $720 million over five years in revenues generated by new casinos to fully fund after-school programs statewide. De Blasio's tax plan would use $190 million a year for after school programs in the city.
        Without new pre-K funding, Cuomo's budget would hike overall education spending by 3.1%, the same increase he will target for health care, officials said.
        RELATED: BILL'S CHALLENGE: GET PRE-K RIGHT
        State spending growth would be kept to 1.7%. Cuomo will also include a push for ethics reform and public financing of campaigns.
      '‹Majority of US college campuses becoming 'no-free-speech' zones - report
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: RT - USA
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:05
        Published time: January 22, 2014 13:53Reuters/Larry Downing
        Despite the explicit protections of the First Amendment, a majority of US institutions of higher learning enforce rules that severely restrict free speech on campus, according to a new study.
        According to a report by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), 59 percent of US colleges and universities received a 'red light', meaning that the schools endorse policies that the watchdog group says impede on First Amendment rights.
        A red-light institution, according to FIRE, is one that has ''at least one policy both clearly and substantially restricting freedom of speech, or barring public access to its speech-related policies by requiring a university log-in and password for access.''
        Out of 427 schools surveyed in the report, about one out of every six enforced ''free speech zone'' policies '' legislation that limits student protests and other ''expressive activities'' to small and isolated parts of campus.
        The report provided some examples of free speech policies that they say infringe on First Amendment rights. The University of Southern Mississippi, for example, requires students to hold their demonstrations in one designated 'Speakers' Corner' unless they register the demonstration at least one month in advance of the event.
        Longwood University in Virginia limits speeches, demonstrations and literature distribution to one location, and requires the area to be reserved five days in advance.
        In addition to the 59 percent listed as restricting free speech, FIRE gave a 'yellow light' rating to 35.6 percent of colleges and universities because they have "policies that overregulate speech on campus."
        Another method that many colleges and universities employ for impeding upon free speech is by charging demonstrating groups for the cost of providing security at such events.
        The University of Oklahoma, for example, states ''When the director of Student Life determines that additional security beyond that normally provided is necessary, the director of Student Life shall so inform the [Registered Student Organization]. The RSO shall be responsible for the cost of additional security.''The FIRE report indicated that some schools impinged on free speech rights in an attempt to ''stop harassment'' against particular groups and organizations.
        Many institutions ''expand the term to prohibit broad categories of speech that do not even approach actual harassment'...These vague and overly broad harassment policies deprive students and faculty of their free speech rights.''
        An example is provided by way of Athens State University in Alabama, which has a long list of groups that any protesting student group must be careful not to offend or criticize.
        Their policy on harassment says that ''any conduct consisting of words or actions that are unwelcome or offensive to a person in relation to race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, genetic information, or veteran status.''FIRE's Director of Policy Research Samantha Harris said in a statement, "the Department of Education needs to make clear to universities, once and for all, that prohibiting harassment does not mean restricting protected speech."
      NY schools test 'panic button' app in wake of Sandy Hook | New York Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:27
        Nassau County and a Manhattan private school are testing a new emergency-response ''panic button'' inspired by the Sandy Hook school massacre.
        The system, called School Safety Response, provides an instant link between schools and police and fire departments through an app installed on teachers' smartphones.
        The Rudolf Steiner School on East 79th Street and Nassau County's Boards of Cooperative Educational Services are piloting the program, which costs from $8,000 to $20,000 annually.
        The app allows school staffers to touch a red ''SOS'' button on their phones in crisis situations, at which point an exact GPS location is sent to an emergency-response center, where a team can listen to what's happening live at the scene.
        Once the button is pushed, other school staff with the app are notified with instructions such as ''lock down'' or ''evacuate.''
        Meanwhile, emergency staffers immediately feed the information to local authorities.
        ''When we first get an alert, we don't say anything '-- we listen,'' said David Ruby, CEO of GEOS, the firm behind the app. ''We don't want to give someone away unless they talk to us first.''
        GEOS, which has coordinated 4,000 rescues internationally on land or sea, created the school app following the Newtown tragedy in December 2012, Ruby told The Post.
        The app can be used outside the classroom, including on field trips, and allows school staff to communicate with the emergency center via text message.
        A Steiner School spokesman said the system ''bolsters our total security plan'' and ''provides our entire community with peace of mind.''
      Governors Race to the Drop (of Common Core) | Truth in American Education
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 01:08
        I have to admit. I didn't coin that title; credit goes to Heather Crossin who coined it in an email. We have had a couple of Governors make some statements about the Common Core as state legislatures go into session.
        Republican Governor Mike Pence of Indiana in his state of the state address last week said: ''Hoosiers have high expectations when it comes to Indiana schools. That's why Indiana decided to take a time-out on national education standards,'' Pence said. ''When it comes to setting standards for schools, I can assure you, Indiana's will be uncommonly high. They will be written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers and will be among the best in the nation.''
        After the address Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said ''We always adopt our own standards. It just so happens that in 2010 the State Board of Education adopted the Common Core as its standards. We are reviewing those standards. I'm pretty confident there are going to be changes to those standards. And Indiana will be adopting a new set of standards.''
        Heather Crossin (who again gets credit for the title) cautioned Hoosiers:
        However, we must also add the cautionary words of ''not so fast.'' Hoosiers want real change when it comes to the content of future standards '' minor revisions and a simple name change won't cut it. On this point, we turn your attention to Breitbart's coverage of Pence's remarks, in which Common Core supporters Derek Redelman, of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and State Board of Education member Tony Walker (D), both predict that the changes made will be minimal and a mere tweaking of the Common Core. Of most concern is Walker's statement that he thinks ''all of the anchor standards have to be Common Core.'' Obviously, this will NOT be acceptable.
        Now shift to South Carolina. Republican Governor Nikki Haley says we're going to ditch the Common Core.
        In a speech to the Greenville County Republican Women's Club on Jan. 16, according to the Anderson Independent Mail, Haley, a Republican who's up for re-election this year, said, "We are telling the legislature: Roll back common core. Let's take it back to South Carolina standards." She added that if Senate Bill 300 (introduced last year for the state's 2013-14 legislative session) reaches her desk, she "absolutely will sign it." In that bill, there's no pause, no mandated review period'--just a straightforward move to remove the standards from the state.
        There have been different bills looked at by the South Carolina State Legislature, but none have made it out of the Senate education committee. Haley is in a reelection year and she understands where her base is. She has however been consistent in her opposition to the Common Core State Standards. We just haven't seen it amount to anything yet.
        Back to the Midwest now Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faces the loss of his base if he doesn't take a strong stand against the Common Core State Standards.
        From the Wisconsin Daily Independent:
        While Scott Walker has gained ground around the country for a possible presidential bid, there are increasingly loud rumblings from his Wisconsin base. The source of the friction is the controversial Common Core State Standards.
        The governor's office has been inundated with calls from across Wisconsin for the past several days. Callers are insisting that Walker make a plain statement in his upcoming State of the State address this week, rejecting the Common Core and laying out a clear plan for immediate cessation and reversal of the standards. One reason for the mounting pressure on the governor is the scheduled deployment of Common Core-related Smarter Balanced assessments later this year, a process that has resulted in major blowback in states such as New York and Kentucky.
        Walker has remained largely silent regarding the ongoing implementation of Common Core in his state. The few vague statements he has made so far have been viewed as at least a passive embrace of the standards. There is additional reason to suspect that the governor is pro-Common Core. For example, the governor notably failed to provide support to a fellow Republican who last year attempted to unseat Tony Evers, the current Democratic secretary of Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction. Evers had gained notoriety for making Wisconsin the first state in the nation to adopt Common Core and has essentially seen no pushback from Walker on the initiative.
        With Governor Walker's star currently rising on the national horizon, it's not just his Wisconsin base paying attention to his position on Common Core. Less than 48 hours from his State of the State, eyes across the nation are watching Walker to see whether or not he will join the vanguard of governors now repudiating Common Core in their states.
        I'll be watching from Iowa.
        Which state will drop the Common Core first?
      stress test.doc
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 04:30
        ½½à±½>½½ {~½½½½z½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½ ½½½bjbjW½W½ 45½5½½½½½½½½½½22½½HHH½½½½p½V½½½½½½½T½T½T)V+V+V+V+V+V+V$HX½½Z^OVH½T½S½½T½T½TOV½½½½w5dVaUaUaU½T"½½½H½)VaU½T)VaUaU6aU½½½½½½{½½½½½½½T.aUVzV0½VaUX[!U@X[aUaUX[HuU½½T½TaU½T½T½T½T½TOVOVaU½T½T½T½V½T½T½T½T½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½X[½T½T½T½T½T½T½T½T½T2 R: Hello ½ I½m writing you today to ask for your assistance with a special project at Sapulpa Public Schools as we prepare for this year½s state testing of students. As many of you remember, the State of Oklahoma had significant technological problems stemming from a vendor who conducted the state tests (CTB-McGraw Hill) in 2013. Those problems resulted in real difficulties for students who are required to pass the End of Instruction (EOI) exams as required by the Oklahoma State Legislature and the State Department of Education. In one week (January 28) the SDE will be requiring all school districts to conduct a ½stress test½ at the behest of our testing vendor (CTB-McGraw Hill) which has the responsibility of conducting the tests again this year. In essence ½ this is a ½trial run½ to determine if CTB has corrected its technology problems of a year ago. I½d like to be able to tell you that we are enthusiastic about participating in this event ½ but I½d be lying. Although we fundamentally do not believe it is the responsibility of school districts to interrupt the normal workings of a school day at our secondary schools (in order to assist a vendor who is receiving more than $30 million to carry out this work) ½ we want to ensure our students and families that they can be confident in taking these important assessments later this year. This is important for our kids. We need your help to ensure our participation in the tests ½ with the least disruption to our school day. We need you to be physically present for us and act as ½test takers½ as we literally run all of our secondary computers (running the test) at the same time. This test will be conducted at the same time across the entire State of Oklahoma so that the testing company can be assured of ½load tolerances½ for their servers and other equipment. If you½re available ½ and interested - please consider assisting our schools and the Information Technology department of Sapulpa Public Schools by volunteering. Joe Slitzker (Director of IT) has included the information about how to help in this packet. We look forward to having you with us on January 28 at Sapulpa High School, Sapulpa Junior High School or Sapulpa Middle School. Thanks in advance, Kevin Burr SAPULPA PUBLIC SCHOOLS 511 E Lee Sapulpa, OK 74066-4633 918-224-3400 Ext. 1115 FAX 918-227-8347 kburr@sapulpaps.org ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN A CARING ENVIRONMENT Kevin E. Burr Superintendent ½½½
    F-Russia
      Russian President Putin links gays to pedophiles - The Washington Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:31
        By Associated Press, Published: JANUARY 19, 12:04 PM ET Aa MOSCOW '-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russia's anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to ''cleanse'' itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.
        Putin's comments in an interview broadcast Sunday with Russian and foreign television stations showed the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West.
        A Russian law passed last year banning ''propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations'' among minors has caused an international outcry.
        Putin refused to answer a question from the BBC on whether he believes that people are born gay or become gay. The Russian law, however, suggests that information about homosexuality can influence a child's sexual orientation.
        The law has contributed to growing animosity toward gays in Russian society, with rights activists reporting a rise in harassment and abuse.
        International worries about how gays will be treated in Sochi have been met with assurances from Russian officials and Olympics organizers that there will be no discrimination, and Putin reiterated that stance.
        ''There are no fears for people with this nontraditional orientation who plan to come to Sochi as guests or participants,'' Putin declared in the TV interview.
        He said the law was aimed at banning propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia, suggesting that gays are more likely to abuse children.
        Making another favorite argument against homosexuality, Putin noted with pride that Russia saw more births than deaths last year for the first time in two decades. Population growth is vital for Russia's development and ''anything that gets in the way of that we should clean up,'' he said, using a word usually reserved for military operations.
        The law on propaganda has been used to justify barring gay pride rallies on the grounds that children might see them. This has raised the question of how athletes and fans would be treated for any gay-rights protests during the Olympics.
        When asked about this by the ABC TV channel, Putin said protests against the law itself would not be considered propaganda.
        Putin then hit back, accusing the United States of double standards in its criticism of Russia, pointing to laws that remain on the books in some U.S. states classifying gay sex as a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2003 that such laws were unconstitutional.
        Homosexuality was a crime in the entire former Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. It was decriminalized in Russia in 1993.
        The Sochi Winter Olympics run Feb. 7-23.
        Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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      Russian President
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        Archived Version
        Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:07
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      Russia is starting 2014 in a strong natural gas position The Barrel Blog
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:44
        Relations between the European Union and Russia tend to see-saw, with neither side able to maintain its dominance for long. Where natural gas is concerned, the past few years have seen Gazprom on its back foot.
        The European Commission's probe into Gazprom's oil indexed contracts, its insistence on the move from border toward hub trading, and the compulsory unbundling of supply from transportation affecting Gazprom's joint ventures in Europe were all furiously challenged by the Kremlin, but so far with no effect.
        As the new year gets under way, though, the picture is looking very different, with Russia winning on several fronts.
        First, what promised to be a major coup for the European Union''wooing Ukraine away from the Kremlin's sphere of influence''turned sour in the closing days of 2013, as Moscow eased Kiev's main gripe: high natural gas prices.
        While protesters were camping out in Independence Square, calling for closer ties with the EU and ultimately visa-free travel to new labor markets, their president, Victor Yanukovich, was unable to ignore the lure of cut-price gas and the prospect of even bigger riots, such as those in the failed Eurozone states. He signed up to what Moscow was offering instead, and explicitly conceded that his country's goal of diversification of gas supplies was less important than securing cheap gas.
        Russia won a second victory en passant, so to speak, by getting the better of one of its customers, Germany's RWE.
        RWE Supply & Trading had a framework agreement to export gas to Ukraine through two routes, and planned to use a third one from this year. But it can hardly fight back with an even lower offer, since the Russian gas price means Ukraine has the cheapest gas in the region: $9.70/MMBtu, at today's rates, compared to almost $11/MMBtu in Germany. Thanks to Gazprom's generosity to Kiev, RWE has for the time being at least lost the market for gas it had contracted to buy and then sell profitably to Ukraine.
        Blog entry continues below'...
        Third, Russia saw its records for exports tumble in 2013. Despite the economic recession, and despite the growth of coal-fired generation at the expense of gas in Germany, continental Europe's biggest gas market, Russia grabbed market share from its major competitor, Norway, and exported one-sixth more gas in 2013 than it had in 2012, albeit at a slightly lower unit price.
        And this was at prices close to the long-term oil indexed price, meaning this figure was not achieved by the destruction of value. Demand was simply running very high and additional supply could only really come from Russia. Uncontracted gas vanished from the hubs in the very early stages; Norway had production problems offshore including at its major Troll field; war in Libya cut its exports to Italy; and of the EU's other external suppliers, most, such as Qatar and Algeria, had other, more attractive, markets in view thanks to the global reach of liquefied natural gas.
        Cargoes of LNG were delivered to Spain and southern France, for example, but then put back on tankers and hauled away to Asia for sale at more attractive prices. In other cases the ship did not even touch the coast, but was diverted east from the outset. Very little LNG came to the UK, where there are no reloading facilities.
        Despite the record high prices paid for gas in the UK for summer delivery '' almost a fifth higher in June-August 2013 than in the year before '' they were not enough to drag trade back to the Atlantic Basin. Pipeline gas substituted for LNG, and much of that pipeline gas came from Russia. New gas fields in Yamal and new transportation routes have more than offset the termination of purchases of cheap gas from Central Asia.
        But not much remains stable in the gas industry for long. Gazprom cannot count on the present situation enduring indefinitely as new LNG supplies from Australia and even the US will bring in their wake new opportunities and risks.
      Ukraine slides into full-blown dictatorship with brutal new law - Boing Boing
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        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 16:48
        (click for full)
        Despite the valiant efforts of the motley opposition in Ukraine, the tame Ukrainian Parliament has passed a brutal law that slides the country into full-on dictatorship. Forbidden under the new law on penalty of high fines and imprisonment: driving cars in columns that are more than five vehicles long; setting up an unauthorized sound system; distribution of "extremist opinion"; "mass disruptions" (10-15 years imprisonment!); collecting information on police or judges; and more.
        The new law also demolishes the trappings of democracy: you can be convicted in absentia based on unsubstantiated hearsay; MPs can be arrested during plenary sessions; the state can order arbitrary Internet censorship; and legal service of documents now consists of signatures or "any other data."
        (click to embiggen)
        (Thanks, Bob!)
      Hugh Laurie's 'vodka boycott' call causes stir in Russia - Yahoo News
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        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:48
        HomeMailNewsSportsFinanceWeatherGamesGroupsAnswersScreenFlickrMobileMoreCelebrityShineMoviesMusicTVHealthShoppingTravelAutosHomesYahoo NewsSearch NewsSearch WebSign InMailHelpAccount InfoHelpSuggestionsYahoo
      Statement by NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden on Ukraine
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        Archived Version
        Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:58
        The White House
        Office of the Press Secretary
        For Immediate Release
        January 19, 2014
        We are deeply concerned by the violence taking place today on the streets of Kyiv and urge all sides to immediately de-escalate the situation. The increasing tension in Ukraine is a direct consequence of the government failing to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of its people. Instead, it has moved to weaken the foundations of Ukraine's democracy by criminalizing peaceful protest and stripping civil society and political opponents of key democratic protections under the law. We urge the Government of Ukraine to take steps that represent a better way forward for Ukraine, including repeal of the anti-democratic legislation signed into law in recent days, withdrawing the riot police from downtown Kyiv, and beginning a dialogue with the political opposition. From its first days, the Maidan movement has been defined by a spirit of non-violence and we support today's call by opposition political leaders to reestablish that principle. The U.S. will continue to consider additional steps -- including sanctions -- in response to the use of violence.
      Forget Spinning, Here's How Vladimir Putin Stays in Shape - ABC News
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 03:57
        Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for showcasing his physicality, often without a shirt, offered up details of his personal fitness routine and diet regimen in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos just weeks before the opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi next month.
        The Russian leader, 61, said there is no silver bullet for staying in shape, but consistency is key.
        "How does one control weight? By not overeating. How does one stay in shape? One plays sports. There are no magic pills here," Putin said during an interview for "This Week."
        "I spend a little time every day to play sports. Last night, I was skiing here until 1:30 in the morning. I hit the gym this morning. I swim almost every day, a thousand meters," he said in an interview conducted Friday in Sochi.
        During the interview, Putin invoked a Russian saying when describing his approach to fitness.
        "You know there's a Russian saying: 'grain by grain, and a hen fills her belly,'" he said.
        Like "This Week" on Facebookhere. You can also follow the show on Twitterhere.
    SnowJob
      RedBook - ES 2TTH by April
      Podesta, Left-Wing Mastermind, to Lead NSA Review
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:49
        The president's speech contained little news. It was a classic Obama set-piece, designed to demonstrate that he understands both sides of a complex argument, while delegating responsibility to third parties and taking steps that reinforce the interests and goals of the hard left. In this instance, Obama left final decisions about where to store NSA data to Congress, while making sure that Podesta is in charge of the consultative process as a whole.
        To be fair, there are few clear answers, even in the wake of stunning revelations about the NSA, as to where the line between security and privacy ought to be drawn. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has led the opposition to the NSA's surveillance programs, quipped: ''I think what I heard was if you like your privacy you can keep it.'' Yet aside from a general sense of mistrust in the president, there is little agreement in his party about a solution.
        Democrats are no more united. Their primary concern, like Obama's, is to make the issue go away. Obama has an additional goal: to restore an image of competence. He knows that his speech will not assuage the concerns of privacy advocates, and could lead to confrontation with intelligence agencies. "But I want the American people to know that the work has begun," he said. Under Podesta, of course--a detail Obama left for the end.
        It was telling that the president chose to deliver his speech at the Department of Justice, which is something of a political haven for him. Earlier this week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the administration would extend rules against racial profiling to include religious groups, a move sought by Muslim organizations that are upset about the federal government's (limited) surveillance in mosques and Muslim neighborhoods.
        It is difficult to see how the U.S. will prevent attacks by religiously-motivated terrorists if it cannot identify them by their religious affiliation. The new policy suggests that early protests by conservatives against hiring former terrorist defense lawyers in the department were justified. In the context of Obama's NSA speech, the ban on religious profiling is a reminder that for this administration, political interests often trump national security.
      Fool Me Twice'... | a.nolen
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:05
        Remember back in 2010 when almost 300 Pentagon computers were found with child pornography on them? That story just fell off the radar, and to this day, nobody at the Defense Department (DoD) has been charged FOR HAVING CHILD PORN (bad enough) ON THEIR WORK COMPUTER. Tor is targeted in Russia under the guise that it is'' perhaps truthfully'' one of the largest distributors of this type of poison. This slide suggests providing more Tor ''client IPs'' (computers that Tor can route between) will help the NSA track Tor users.
        Final slide from Guardian-leaked NSA document 'Tor Stinks'.
        My favorite adage is an unfashionable one: 'God helps those who help themselves'.
        It's a tough-love piece of advice that doesn't sit well with bleeding hearts of any stripe. But like any unfashionable truth, it needs to be heard. I think that in the wake of the revelations that Snowden made, and Obama's predictable speech on the NSA, this adage needs another airing.
        Nobody can expect a corrupt government to fix itself; especially when the rot has had so long to get established. One of the ancient Greek philosophers said it is a citizen's duty to change the law where the law goes against his conscience, but if after a time he fails to change things, it's his duty to leave the city.
        How do you 'leave the city' in an age of global surveillance? a.nolen suggests readers take a first step outside the city gates by 'helping themselves' and embracing an uncomfortable truth:
        'Solutions' to government surveillance which are presented by the media are not real solutions. I'm talking about Tor, 'dark' anything, and that silver bullet, encryption.The screenshot at the top of this post is from ''Tor Stinks'', one of the documents that The Guardian claims is part of Edward Snowden's leaks. This is the final slide in a presentation on Tor; its authors talk about how to track people using the Tor network. Please read these three bullet points again.
        Remember back in 2010 when almost 300 Pentagon computers were found with child pornography on them? That story just fell off the radar, and to this day, nobody at the Defense Department (DoD) has been charged FOR HAVING CHILD PORN (bad enough) ON THEIR WORK COMPUTER. Tor is targeted in Russia under the guise that it is'' perhaps truthfully'' one of the largest distributors of this type of poison. This slide suggests providing more Tor ''client IPs'' (computers that Tor can route between) will help the NSA track Tor users.
        Let's connect the dots: The Pentagon's nearly 300 kiddie porn computers were never shut down. The NSA believes that more DoD-friendly computers on the Tor network will help them track Tor users. The Tor network just happens to include an exceptional number of computers involved in child exploitation. (And Tor's 40% DoD funded in the first place! At least 60% of its funding is US government.)
        Is Tor a solution to our spy-state problem? I think not.
        Need more convincing? This morning I found a news story that reads like a wet-dream for European statists: 25-Year-Old Arrested After Selling Gun for Bitcoin on Black Market. The story is a trifecta of everything uninformed European apparatchiks love to hate: an American kid sells GUNS for CRYPTOCURRENCY through TOR. 'Terror, terror, terror!,' they cry, 'The boy's probably one of those patriots!' Note how the article points to Snowden documents, then says these documents show Tor is secure when (look above) the documents do precisely the opposite. Readers, what makes this story newsworthy is that the Dutch found the kid after only one gun.
        Still not enough to put you off Tor? Silk Road, the website that sold drugs for bitcoins, operated as a Tor hidden service. One month after the FBI shuts Silk Road down in a blaze of media fireworks, Silk Road is back up and running. ONE MONTH. God helps those who help themselves.
        So if you can't rely on Tor can you rely on digital currencies for privacy? The benefit from digital currencies comes from their decentralization and how hard they are to inflate, not necessarily from increased user privacy. Anyone who understands digital currencies will tell you that most of these currencies'' including the most popular Bitcoin'' are not designed for anonymity. Maintaining anonymity is very difficult at best, you have to know what you're doing, and even then, the encryption tools you use might be compromised:
        Cryptographers have long suspected that the agency planted vulnerabilities in a standard adopted in 2006 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the United States' encryption standards body, and later by the International Organization for Standardization, which has 163 countries as members.
        Classified N.S.A. memos appear to confirm that the fatal weakness, discovered by two Microsoft cryptographers in 2007, was engineered by the agency. The N.S.A. wrote the standard and aggressively pushed it on the international group, privately calling the effort ''a challenge in finesse.''
        ''Eventually, N.S.A. became the sole editor,'' the memo says. [From Revealed: The NSA's Secret Campaign to Crack, Undermine Internet Security, ProPublica.org Sep. 5, 2013.]
        Encryption standards like SHA-256 may not be designed with weaknesses, but the way they are popularly implemented may be'' do you read all of the code that you use? Do you know what every line does, even the undocumented lines? Back in 2012 Bill Binney told us that using encryption was a red flag in the NSA's eyes; it made them more likely to want to watch you. We should all face the fact that we can't trust the NIST or IOS to do our thinking for us. God helps those who help themselves.
        So, erm, what do you do? If you want to organize a political party that you think NSA'ers won't like, time to do what the real 'terrorists' do, and set up a face-to-face network. You know, that old 'flesh-and-blood' friend network.
        Real 'terrorists' write messages on bits of paper, unsigned, and leave them in dumpsters, under rocks etc. where the recipient knows to look. Real 'terrorists' trust their family and members of their 'in' social group to do what Tor claims to do. That's why the Russians are mulling the ugly but practical notion of targeting the families of 'terrorists'; it's why the US government infiltrators targeted the 'Patriot' movement in the 1990s and why NYC police target Muslim communities. This is where American political rhetoric flies in the face of American practice. In an effort to cut adversaries off from their resources, 'law enforcement' ends up criminalizing ideas, rather than specific actions.
        This practice, criminalizing ideas, gives lie to the claim that Snowden's revelations help 'terrorists' work better. 'Terrorists' have known that online networks were untrustworthy for a long time. (That's why Osama used couriers!) The NSA's Facebook, Google, Apple connections are, pure and simple, for watching domestic opposition to the domestic regime and nipping viable political movements off 'in the bud'. Nobody expecting to be targeted by the NSA uses Facebook to organize, or Google docx to write their manifestos!
        If you are a concerned citizen who would like to 'leave the city' and found something better, you're going to have to take a page out of the 'terrorists' playbook and leave the easy world of instant messaging, Reddit and Facebook behind. You're going to have to leave Tor and dreams of encryption behind. Step out into the sunshine and talk to the real people around you'' Dianne Feinstein melts in sunlight. God helps those who help themselves.
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      MediaPost Publications DMA Criticizes Obama Comments Comparing Gov't Snooping With Ad Tracking 01/17/2014
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:39
        In his speech today about governmental surveillance, President Barack Obama made some comments that didn't sit well with the Direct Marketing Association.That group took issue with a portion of Obama's remarks that it says conflated surveillance by the government with tracking by ad companies. The president mentioned in his speech that ''challenges'' to privacy don't just come from the government. ''Corporations of all shapes and sizes track what you buy, store and analyze our data, and use it for commercial purposes; that's how those targeted ads pop up on your computer or smartphone,'' he said. ''But all of us understand that the standards for government surveillance must be higher.''
        The DMA said in a statement issued Friday afternoon that it was ''disappointed to see the responsible use of consumer data for marketing purposes conflated with 'government surveillance.'''
        DMA vice president Rachel Thomas adds that comparisons between ad tracking and NSA surveillance don't make sense. ''Consumers have transparency, and very robust and meaningful choices about how their data is used for marketing purposes,'' she tells MediaPost. ''The same, of course, is not true when it comes to government surveillance.''
        While the DMA focused on remarks about commercial tracking, Obama only mentioned that topic in passing. The bulk of his remarks outlined upcoming changes to the NSA's surveillance program. Among the most significant changes is that Obama is now requiring the agency to get court permission before reviewing information about the phone numbers people call, except in emergencies.
        Obama also endorsed the idea that the government should stop storing phone records. The president isn't yet proposing any concrete alternatives, but one possibility is that phone companies would be required to retain the data for a certain period of time.
        Additionally, Obama suggested that telecoms and Web companies will be allowed to disclose more information about the requests by the government for data about consumers; a coalition of tech companies is now suing for the right to do so. The president also announced that John Podesta will lead a review of big data and privacy.
        In general, digital rights groups say the new policies and proposals are a good start, but don't go far enough. ''Far more needs to be done to restore the faith of the American people and repair the damage done globally to the U.S. reputation as a defender of human rights on the Internet,'' Greg Nojeim, director of the Center for Democracy & Technology's project on freedom, security and surveillance, said in a statement. He added that possible storage of bulk phone records by companies -- instead of the NSA -- ''would be merely a shuffling of the chairs, not a real reform.''
        Jeff Chester, executive director of the privacy group Center for Digital Democracy, pointed out that advocates are still awaiting legislation to establish a privacy ''bill of rights'' -- which would limit data collection and retention by private companies. Chester said in a statement that the new administration initiative ''isn't the same as real safeguards limiting the collection and use of our commercial data -- and which can be accessed by the NSA and others.''
    EUROLand
      Burgerforum EU
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 01:27
        Hieronder de video van het Tweede Kamerdebat van 21 januari 2014 met de inleidende toespraak van Thierry Baudet, vergezeld door Ewald Engelen, namens Burgerforum-EU en de 63.000 ondertekenaars van het Burgerinitatief voor een EU referendum.
        De uitgeschreven tekst van de toespraak vindt u hier!
        Lees ook onze eerdere berichten over het Burgerinitiatief:26 januari 2012 | Onherroepelijk richting een federale unie. Ook wij eisen een referendum!26 maart 2013 | Burgerinitiatief ingediend! Dank voor de handtekeningen! Teken door!11 september 2013 | Krijgen we ons referendum over de EU?21 januari 2014 | Na 10 maanden is het zover: Ons burgerinitiatief komt in de Tweede Kamer
        In 2005 stemde ruim 61% van de Nederlandse bevolking tegen de Europese Grondwet. Toch is de macht van de EU sindsdien sterk toegenomen. Ook de eurocrisis leidt weer tot ingrijpende machtsoverdracht van Nederland aan de EU, onder meer op het gebied van begroting en budget.
        Op nationaal niveau blijft steeds minder politieke zeggenschap over. De democratie raakt steeds verder uitgehold.
        Dit kan niet zonder uitdrukkelijke instemming van de bevolking.
        In de krachtigste bewoordingen roepen wij Parlement & Regering op om gehoor te geven aan onze wens
        1. dat de sluipende overdracht van bevoegdheden aan de EU stopt.
        2. dat indien toch nieuwe bevoegdheden worden overgedragen, een referendum wordt gehouden waarin de Nederlandse bevolking zich over die bevoegdheidsoverdracht kan uitspreken.
      Kamermeerderheid achter idee van burgerinitiatief over EU - Europese Unie - VK
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:12
        Door: Robert Giebels '' 21/01/14, 21:04
        (C) thinkstock.
        Het komt zelden voor, maar dinsdag reikte een burgerinitiatief tot in de plenaire zaal van de Tweede Kamer. Burgerforum EU verzamelde 63 duizend handtekeningen en kreeg zo de uitdijende Europese Unie op de Kameragenda. Aanvankelijk schaarde alleen de PVV zich volledig achter het initiatief, maar tijdens het debat waaraan alle politieke partijen deelnamen, kreeg Burgerforum EU zowaar een Kamermeerderheid achter zich.
        De initiatiefnemers eisen dat als er toch nieuwe bevoegdheden dreigen te worden overgedragen, dat dan het Nederlandse volk zich daarover moet uitspreken in een raadgevend referendum.
        De medestanders van Burgerforum EU mogen vanaf de publieke tribune niet applaudisseren maar doen het toch. Ze klappen als hun voorman Thierry Baudet waarschuwt voor 'de sluipende overdracht van Nederlandse bevoegdheden aan Brussel'. En de handen gaan op elkaar bij elk woord van PVV-Kamerlid Madlener. 'U mag uw gevoelens van medeleven niet kenbaar maken', hamert de Kamervoorzitter van dienst, CDA'er Knops.
        Jihad-hooligansDat ze er staan is een prestatie op zich. Burgerinitiatieven halen hun doel, gehoord worden in het nationale parlement, bijna nooit. Want het moet over iets moet gaan waarover de Kamer twee jaar lang niet gesproken heeft. Lastig, want in die periode spreekt 's lands parlement over zo goed als alles, van maagzuurremmers tot jihad-hooligans.
        Aanvankelijk schaarde alleen de PVV zich volledig achter het initiatief, maar tijdens het debat waaraan alle politieke partijen deelnamen, kreeg Burgerforum EU zowaar een Kamermeerderheid achter zich. Dat het kalm aan moet met het overdragen van bevoegdheden aan Brussel, daar bleken bijna alle partijen zich wel in te kunnen vinden. Maar ook de koppeling aan een referendum kreeg instemming, zij het krap. Tegen waren de bekende referendahaters VVD, CDA en SGP. Ze vonden zowaar D66 aan hun zijde. De referendumpartij vreest uitholling van het middel als 'na elke EU-top' een referendum gehouden gaat worden, zo verwacht D66'er Schouw.
        Steun kwam er, ondersteund met een groot aantal moties, van de rest van de Kamer, inclusief de PvdA en ChristenUnie. 'De PvdA wil snel aan de slag met een eventueel referendum', zei PvdA'er Maij. Segers van de ChristenUnie zorgde voor de grootste verrassing. Zijn partij is fel tegen referenda. 'Bij wijze van uitzondering accepteren wij een raadgevend referendum.' Want, zo redeneerde Segers, op geen enkele andere manier dan met een referendum kan een onomkeerbare Europese verdragsverandering ongedaan worden gemaakt.
        StoomwalsVooraf rekenden de initiatiefnemers niet op steun van andere partijen dan de PVV, die vlakweg wil dat Nederland uit de EU stapt. Want die stoomwals naar een federaal Europa rolt maar door en weinig politici denken die nog te kunnen stoppen. Destructie was de enige optie die Burgerforum EU nog meende te zien: 'Zand in de machine gooien, Zieken. Sfeer verpesten. Je moet toch wat.'
        Dat lijkt niet nodig, maar er moet nog wel iets gebeuren in de Eerste Kamer voordat Burgerforum EU echt kan krijgen wat ze wil. In de senaat ligt immers het wetsvoorstel voor een raadgevend referendum. Voor zo'n volksraadpleging zijn wel iets meer handtekeningen nodig dan voor een burgerinitiatief: 300 duizend.
      British Conservatives on EU Road Trip to Tout Reform - SPIEGEL ONLINE
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:20
        It has now been one year since British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to hold a referendum in 2017 on his country's European Union membership. By then, he demanded, the EU must have introduced far-reaching reforms. Otherwise, Great Britain might leave. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne repeated the demands last week.
        British Conservatives believe that the power of the European Commission has grown too great. Cameron hopes to convince other member states to agree that some competencies should be withdrawn from Brussels and returned to individual member states. Exactly how he envisions the bloc's future remains unclear. Negotiations will only get started following the next general elections in 2015, assuming he is re-elected.
        But the Tories have already begun the process of feeling out European capitals to determine who might be prepared to back which reforms. Several Conservative House of Commons deputies are serving as Cameron's unofficial emissaries. The group is called Fresh Start and they began their travels in countries which, they hope, will show sympathy with the British position: Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic. This week, they are heading to Paris. SPIEGEL ONLINE caught up with one member of the group, Andrea Leadsom, late last week.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: You and some of your Tory colleagues are currently on a tour of Europe to sound out the willingness to reform the EU. What have you found?
        Leadsom: The experience has been similar everywhere: The official government stance is rather reserved, but in the parliaments, people are very open to us. In Germany, the chair of the structural cohesion funds subcommittee of the Bundestag was interested, for example, in our idea of stopping the practice of recycling taxpayers' money among wealthy member states in the form of structural and cohesion funds, and instead restricting beneficiaries to only the poorer member states. Wealthier states then keep the 'recycled' cash and national parliaments decide how to spend it in their own countries.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: With the referendum planned for 2017, David Cameron has effectively set a deadline for EU reform. What do other EU countries say about this timetable imposed by Britain?
        Leadsom: Initially, other European politicians and ambassadors were very cynical, saying that we were just trying to get a better deal for Britain. But we have managed to shift that view. When I talk to European colleagues now, they all agree on the need for reform, and that Fresh Start ideas are worth considering.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: To be fair, reform is a constant topic in Brussels.
        Leadsom: Yes, but there is no action. The EU spends only 2 percent (of its budget) on negotiating free-trade agreements, but 40 percent on farming. Or take the Strasbourg circus: European parliamentarians commuting from Brussels to Strasbourg monthly is a huge waste of money. There is so much potential for change. Cameron's announcement sent the message: The clock is ticking. We need those changes now.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: You expect France to give up the European Parliament seat in Strasbourg?
        Leadsom: This is actually one of the easiest problems to solve. Twenty-seven member states are on board. You just need France to agree to it. It depends on what you offer them. A grande ecole for the Commission of the future? A big research facility for EU inventions? Let's just do it.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your central demand is more power for the national governments.
        Leadsom: We don't want a national veto, we want a red card for groups of member states. Under the Lisbon treaty, a group of member states can show a yellow card to the EU Commission when they don't like a certain proposal. The Commission will listen to this opinion, but can then decide to go ahead anyway. We want to transform the yellow card into a red card, which would force the Commission to drop the proposal.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: One of the aims of the Lisbon treaty was to make EU decision-making quicker and more efficient. That's why the Commission was empowered to act. Why do you want to take a step back?
        Leadsom: The democratic legitimacy of the EU lies in the democratic legitimacy of the member states. Therefore the ultimate say has to be with the member states.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: You also want to restrict the freedom of movement for EU citizens. How exactly?
        Leadsom: The free movement directive should be amended to put the decision about access to benefits back into the hands of member states. The intention of free movement was for those with a job, not for those without a job. It should be for member states to decide whether and when immigrants from other EU countries get access to education, health, housing and social assistance. That would be my starting point for negotiation.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: Which concessions do you have to get as a minimum in order to be able to sell renegotiation as a success to British voters?
        Leadsom: I see two red lines. First, we have to reach a political agreement among the 28 (member states) that ever closer union at the EU level is no longer relevant. Obviously, for the euro zone, further integration is inevitable. But at the level of the EU, we should declare an end to it. Secondly, we need the red card for member states to stop EU proposals and reverse existing laws. Then, all the other reforms follow from that. This is my personal opinion, not the position of the British government.
        SPIEGEL ONLINE: Let's assume renegotiation is successful and the British vote for staying in. Can you imagine that the EU bashing in Britain would actually stop?
        Leadsom: Inevitably those who lost the referendum will continue to talk. But polls show that the EU itself is not something the British people are upset with. What they are upset about are things they see as the consequence of the EU and that we are unable to do anything about, for example immigration. Giving everybody their say will establish the legitimacy of our membership. Nobody will be able to say anymore: We haven't been heard. I am sure this will change the debate.
        (C) SPIEGEL ONLINE 2014All Rights ReservedReproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
      What is EUROGENDFOR
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:39
        The European Gendarmerie ForceThe European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) is a multinational initiative of six EU Member States - France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain '' established by treaty with the aim to strengthen international crisis management capacities and contribute to the development of the Common Security and Defense Policy. EUROGENDFOR can be considered as an integrated police tool designed to carry out police missions in different theatres, including destabilized ones, in support of the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), or possible ad hoc coalitions.
        According to the Declaration of Intent and the Treaty, EUROGENDFOR is featured as an "Operational, pre-organized, robust and rapidly deployable" force contributing to the European Security and Defense Policy (now CSDP in the post Lisbon), even when deployed under non European Union structures. The European Gendarmerie Force was founded on the 17th of September 2004, in Noordwijk (The Netherlands), where the Declaration of Intent was signed by the Ministers in charge, and declared operational on the 20th of July 2006, by the High Level Interdepartmental Committee (CIMIN).Ever since then EUROGENDFOR's main goal has been to strengthen its operational capabilities to be ready to properly respond to eventual requests.This path has led, at the end of 2007, to EUROGENDFOR's first participation in a crisis management operation, the European Union EUFOR operation ''ALTHEA'' in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This first operational contribution was followed, in 2009, by an EUROGENDFOR participation in the challenging NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. From February till December 2010 EUROGENDFOR provided support to the United Nations Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) after the devastating earthquake that shook the Haitian Republic.
        The important steps taken so far, through its current commitments to EU, NATO and UN, have allowed EUROGENDFOR to achieve a considerable improvement in its planning capabilities and to gain significant experience in execution of operations that have further developed the force itself, thus increasing its reliability within the international community. Despite being a relatively young international organization, EUROGENDFOR has already proven to be a highly suitable tool for a range of crisis management operations contributing to peace and international security.
        Characteristics and CapabilitiesOne of the main features characterizing EUROGENDFOR is the flexibility of the tool. It can be placed under either a military, in the case of high-intensity conflict, or civilian chain of command and are able to act autonomously or together with other forces. Consequently EUROGENDFOR is able to manage every aspect of the various phases in a crisis:
        The initial phase, carrying out stabilization operations and ensuring order and security, substituting or strengthening weak or nonexistent local police forces;During the transition phase, continuing to fulfill its mission, as part of military expeditionary force, facilitating co-ordination and co-operation with local or international police units;During the disengagement, facilitating the seamless and smooth transfer of responsibilities from the military to the civilian chain of command.Scenarios of InterventionThe possible scenarios of intervention for EUROGENDFOR are mainly the following:
        Substitution of local police forces taking place in an area where the conflict has led to a significant breakdown of the central administration. The international police presence may be mandated to perform the full range (or just some) of the police functions, thus being entitled to executive police powers, and should therefore be armed.Strengthening of local police forces in a scenario characterized by a high level of insecurity and criminality due to the lack of a proper Rule of Law system. The international police officers would monitor, mentor and advise as well as train the Local Police in order to raise their professional standards, contributing to the restructuring of the Local Police also through screening and vetting programs.Other possible uses in humanitarian operations in case of natural or manmade disasters, unsafe environments, lack of adequate infrastructure, internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees.Added ValueRapid Planning and rapid deployment.
        Civilian Police forces are, in general, not capable to deploy as fast as the military. On the contrary EUROGENDFOR is able to deploy alongside the military in the first stage of a crisis management operation, generally the most critical, thus filling the deployment and security gaps.
        Possibility to act under a military chain of command or under civilian authority
        The possibility to act under civilian and military chain of Command and even to assure the transition from the military to the civilian primacy in a CMO will allow synergy of efforts and consistency of action. Generally civilian polices are not allowed to act under military Chain of command.
        Capability to operate in non benign environments
        Gendarmerie forces have some military skills and robust equipment that allows them to act in destabilized environments performing police tasks from the very outset of a crisis
      EU gives Gazprom preliminary 'OK' for South Stream gas pipeline '-- RT Business
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:24
        Published time: January 20, 2014 11:06AFP Photo / Sergey Karpukhin
        Countries hosting Gazprom's European super pipeline will not have to revise earlier agreements that technically break EU law. Russia and the EU have agreed on further cooperation on a route that will satisfy Europe with 15% of natural gas needs by 2018.
        Gunther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Energy, told Vedomosti newspaper that Moscow and Brussels will find a solution to honor previous intergovernmental agreements Gazprom has made with European transit countries. Oettinger met with Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak in Moscow on January 17, and the two agreed to create a commission to address technical and legal details of the gas pipeline, which will stretch 2400 km, and by 2018 will have the capacity to deliver 64 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe.
        ''South Stream can function normally under European Commission laws,'' Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said. The route will supply Europe with 15 percent of its gas requirements via pipes in Eastern Europe and under the Black Sea.
        The EU's 'Third Energy Package' regulations aim to protect third party access to pipelines, and as a result prevents Gazprom from both owning the pipeline and the product shipped through it. Moscow broke ground on the South Stream project after securing agreements with Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia and soon-to-be EU member Serbia, but ignored the European 'anti-monopoly' law.
        A delegation of Eastern Europeans requested the European Commission to help broker a deal with Russia on their behalf.
        Separately, the EU has launched an antitrust investigation into Gazprom, and the company could face a fine of up to $15 billion for unfair pricing, and its over-dominant role in the European gas market.
        Gazprom in EuropeGazprom opened an office in Brussels in December, and Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Medvedev paid a visit for the opening.
        An EU-Russia summit will take place in Brussels on January 28 between Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, and the EU's top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton. Tensions between policymakers will be high because of fresh protests in Kiev, which snubbed closer relations with Europe in favor of a $15 billion debt deal and gas discounts from Russia.
        Strategic partners in the South Stream project are Italy's Eni, France's EDF, and Germany's Wintershall, European utilities that want to see the project become a reality to reduce reliance on gas deliveries from North Africa.
        The South Stream pipeline will help ensure the reliability of gas supplies to Europe, as it will bypass politically unstable Ukraine. In the winter of 2009, deliveries through Ukraine were disrupted for a 3-week period, which left customers in Europe without heat and cost Gazprom (by their estimates) around $2 billion in losses.
        Gazprom has strong support from Germany, Europe's biggest energy consumer, where the sister project called Nord Stream, connects Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, and was opened in November 2011.Partners in Nord Stream are Dusseldorf-based E.ON, Germany's largest crude producer Wintershall, French gas utility GDF Suez, and the Netherlands' operator Gasunie.
        ''Profitable from day one''Gazprom thinks the $45 billion South Stream project will pay for itself in 15 years, as the company will save on expensive Ukrainian transit fees, and will also have a brand-new transport grid, instead of Ukraine's aging pipes.
        "South Stream would be profitable from day one. We expect an investment return within 15 years of its operation," Medvedev said in December, as quoted by Reuters.
        Gas deliveries to Europe from Russia dwindled in 2013, only reaching 162.7 billion cubic meters, the Financial Times reported. The gas major's value is dropping on weak demand from Europe and the changing landscape of the LNG market in the east.
        The South Stream project is vital for Russia's diversification strategy for gas supply routes to the EU, and to compete with the rival EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project.
        Eni, Italy's largest industrial company and a 20 percent stakeholder in South Stream has taken Gazprom to court over "take or pay" contracts, and in 2012, supply to Italy dropped by 12 percent.
    Elite$
      Randi Zuckerberg Proves Davos Is a Total Joke
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: Valleywag
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:05
        S
        Right now, many of the worst people alive are flocking to a tiny, silly Swiss town for a week of swapping platitudes and talking about money. But why would our planet's ultrarich dickheads want to attend Davos, where Mark Zuckerberg's uselesssister is considered a "Young Global Leader"?
        Davos is the vibrating, gilded king of conferences. "Business world" attendees spend tens, of not hundreds of thousands of dollars to muse about nebulous non-topics like "The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business." Business publications happily blow portions of their annual budgets just to say they have someone at Davos. It's the most expensive possible dinner party, a dreamworld Xanadu concocted by the collective unconscious of white people who live like Brookstone catalog characters.
        But at least, on paper, these people are supposed to be influential. They're captains of industry, decorated academics, or just really fucking rich inbred Europeans, or at least they pretend to try. This year's "List of Registered Young Global Leaders" includes Ivy League economists, the crown princess of Norway, and c-suite drips from all manner of corporations. They might not really be the best and brightest, but they at least do things, of some sort, during the day.
        Then, there's Randi Zuckerberg, whose aspirational fame train ran out of steam long ago, but continues a downhill cruise in spite of itself. USA Today calls her a "key participant" of Davos, and at the bottom of this World Economic Forum list, alphabetically and otherwise, she's cited as "Founder and Chief Executive Officer" of Zuckerberg Media'--a corporate entity that has so far done nothing much beyond planning a wedding for one of Randi's friends. She's as much a "chief executive" as Colonel Sanders was a tactician.
        You can't out Randi Zuckerberg as a social climber in 2014, because that happened years ago'--and it's a given she's at Davos to sing at cocktail parties, not discuss monetary policy. But if this is a multi-multi-million dollar assemblage of mostly pretenders and charlatans, we should all just acknowledge as much, move on, and hope this is the last time R-Zuck is taken seriously.
        No matter what, barring a fortuitous avalanche, not a single important thing will happen at Davos this year. I promise you. It's why people who actually matter, like, say, Mark Zuckerberg, don't bother.
        Photo of Randi Zuckerberg at the last conference she attended/Getty
    War on Crazy
      America's most popular prescription sleep medication linked to mass shootings '-- RT USA
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:55
        Published time: January 20, 2014 22:05Edited time: January 21, 2014 12:59A new report describing the bizarre and dangerous side effects of the sleep aid Ambien has once again raised questions about one of the United States' most popular prescription drugs.
        In a story by the Fix, Allison McCabe chronicled the numerous cases in which Ambien has caused individuals to commit unsafe, and sometimes deadly acts.
        In 2009, 45-year-old Robert Stewart was convicted on eight charges of second-degree murder after he killed eight people in a nursing home. He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but by claiming his tirade was Ambien-induced he was able to have the charges lessened and sentenced to 142-179 years in prison.
        In a similar case, Thomas Chester Page of South Carolina was sentenced on five counts of attempted murder despite his claims that Ambien was the cause of a shootout with officers. He received 30 years of prison on each count, to be served concurrently.
        Although the Food and Drug Administration approved Ambien in 1992, its warning labels have changed significantly over the last two decades as evidence mounted documenting the drug's ability to induce dangerous behavior.
        ''After taking AMBIEN, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity that you do not know you are doing,'' the label currently reads. ''The next morning, you may not remember that you did anything during the night'...Reported activities include: driving a car (''sleep-driving''), making and eating food, talking on the phone, having sex, sleep-walking.''
        In the courtroom, cases related to Ambien use have ranged from shootings to child molestation charges to car accidents. In one such case, flight attendant Julie Ann Bronson from Texas ran over three people '' including an 18-month old who suffered from brain damage as a result. When Bronson woke up in jail the next morning, she could barely comprehend what she had done.
        ''It was surreal. It was like a bad dream,'' she said in May 2012. ''I did the crime but I never intended to do it. I wouldn't hurt a flea. And if I would have hit somebody, I would have stopped and helped. We're trained in CPR.'' Bronson pleaded guilty to the felony charges, but also received lesser charges by citing Ambien as the reason for her actions.
        While some drug companies work on sleep aids that do not induce the kind of unpredictable and risky behavior Ambien does, the popularity of the medication raises concern over America's prescription drug culture. The market for sleeping pills is a billion-dollar industry, yet dangerous side effects continue to be reported.
        Last year, a report by the Department of Health and Human Services highlighted about 2,200 doctors for suspicious activities such as over-prescribing drugs. More than 700 Medicare doctors were also flagged for issuing what could be seen as ''extreme'' and potentially harmful prescriptions.
        Although the report noted that some prescriptions could have been effective, it added, ''prescribing high amounts on any of these measures may indicate that a physician is prescribing drugs which are not medically necessary or that he or she has an inappropriate incentive, such as a kickback, to order certain drugs.''
        Soon after that report was issued, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that roughly 18 women a day are dying in the United States due to prescription drug overdose, namely from painkillers like Vicodin and Oxycontin. With women making up 40 percent of all overdose deaths in 2010, these numbers marked a 400 percent increase compared to data from 1999.
        The benefits of medication have also been placed under heavy scrutiny when it comes to other health issues, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In December 2013, RT reported that the authors of the primary study promoting medication over behavioral therapy in order to treat ADHD now have serious concerns over their original results.
        ''I hope it didn't do irreparable damage,'' said one of the stud's co-authors, Dr. Lilly Hechtman of Montreal's McGill University. ''The people who pay the price in the end is the kids. That's the biggest tragedy in all of this.''
      Cops kill mentally ill teen after parents call police to help him '-- RT USA
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Mon, 20 Jan 2014 21:23
        Published time: January 07, 2014 18:51Edited time: January 08, 2014 16:01Still from WECT video
        A Boiling Springs Lakes, North Carolina family is looking for answers after local police shot and killed their mentally ill teenage son while responding to a call for help.
        The family contends that Keith Vidal, 18, was ''killed in cold blood'' after police were requested to help calm the teenager down during a schizophrenic episode.
        Now, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has decided to look into the matter, as Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David vowed to meet with the family and ''go wherever the truth leads in this case."
        "The public deserves to have a process put in place that will lead to the most just resolution," he said, according to NBC News.
        The incident occurred on Sunday, January 5, when Vidal suffered from a mental breakdown in which he threatened to fight his mother. He was holding a small screwdriver in his hand when the first of three police units arrived at the scene. A confrontation was noted in the county event report obtained by local WECT, but the responding unit radioed in multiple times that the situation was under control.
        Little more than a minute after a third police unit arrived, it reported that a gun was fired in self-defense.
        According to the teenager's father Mark Wilsey, however, Vidal posed no danger to anyone. He said the screwdriver in his son's hand was small and not a threat, while the family noted that the young man had just turned 18 and weighed 90 pounds. Wilsey said that Vidal had been subdued until the third officer walked in and the boy became agitated.
        "Then all of a sudden, this Southport cop came, walked in the house [and said]: 'I don't have time for this. Tase him. Let's get him out of here,'" Wilsey told NBC. After the stun gun was used on Vidal, Wilsey said the third officer shot him, saying he was protecting his officers.
        "He reached right up, shot this kid point-blank, with all intent to kill," Wilsey added. "He just murdered him flat out."
        Southport Police Chief Jerry Dove said in a press conference that Detective Byron Vassey, a nine-year veteran of the force, had been placed on administrative leave following the incident. Dove would not say whether Vassey was the officer who fired the gun.
        As WECT noted, Vidal's mother, Mary Wilsey, said she tried to get her son help on multiple occasions. The family added that their daughter was just recently killed in a car accident, making Vidal the second child they'll have to bury.
        Neighbors, meanwhile, said that while Vidal suffered from depression, he played with their children and never hurt anyone.
    Sandy Hook
      Computer evidence shows Lanza's interest in pedophilia - SFGate
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:13
        NEWTOWN -- Adam Lanza had an interest in pedophilia.
        On his computer hard drive was a screenplay, "Lovebound," that describes a relationship between a 30-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy, as well as documents advocating for "pedophiles' rights and the liberation of children."
        He also discussed with a friend how it was "a disease that needed to be treated and not looked at as evil," according to the State Police report on the shooting released late last month.
        Smiggles, a screen name state police said Lanza used, made hundreds of posts on a now-defunct online forum, "Shocked and Beyond," that focused on mass shootings after Columbine.
        In a post dated Dec. 30, 2009, Smiggles said, "I used to think I was asexual, but the primary reason why I thought that was because my BMI (body mass index) was 14." At the time of his death nearly three years later, he was 6 feet tall and weighed 112 pounds.
        Smiggles also posted on the forum, "I castrated myself when I was 15 to rebel against society."
        Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky said he was "unaware of any information" about Lanza attempting to castrate himself.
        While there is still no concrete evidence that Lanza was a pedophile -- or a victim of one -- the material does point to an internal conflict that may have plagued Lanza in the years before he walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and took the lives of 20 young children and six educators before killing himself the morning of Dec. 14, 2012.
        "Certainly, there isn't enough evidence to come to a firm conclusion," said Dr. Fred Berlin, director of the sexual behaviors consultation unit at Johns Hopkins University, "but it sounds like he was conflicted about these issues. It's possible he had an attraction (to children) or he knew people who had them and he was trying to sort it out. But it's still a long way from explaining what he did."
        Berlin said one could speculate that Lanza, if he had pedophilia tendencies, could have targeted the elementary school in an attempt to eliminate temptation.
        "The idea is that someone who has a strong desire for something and they're forbidden to act upon it, they can be angry at the source of temptation," he said. "It's not unreasonable, given what happened. There must have been a tremendous amount of rage inside of him."
        He stressed, however, that the idea is just a hypothesis and there isn't enough evidence at this point to either refute or support the claim.
        "It's just more pieces to an incredibly complex puzzle," he said.
        It's a puzzle that may never be solved. Despite a nearly yearlong investigation and thousands of documents investigators have examined in a search for answers, what motivated Lanza to walk into Sandy Hook Elementary School that day remains a mystery. Read Full Article
        Mary Ellen O'Toole, a retired FBI behavioral analyst whose expertise is in mass homicides and school violence, said there is a compulsive aspect to many pedophiles that isn't apparent in the evidence released to date on Lanza.
        "These urges come back repeatedly, and they aren't satisfied by one instance," she said. "I would expect to see a more compulsive nature to the inquiry. When searching a home, you would expect to find volumes of material on the subject."
        She added that investigators would expect to see some kind of searches pertaining to a sexual curiosity on most 20-year-olds' computers. Lanza's hard drive, however, was filled with documents pertaining to his research of mass shootings, images of Lanza holding a handgun to his head and a smattering of information related to the rights of pedophiles.
        While additional evidence hasn't surfaced in the Lanza case, O'Toole said that doesn't mean it didn't exist.
        "It could mean the investigators didn't find it or it was part of what was destroyed," she said.
        Lanza made every effort to destroy his hard drive before his rampage, which included killing his mother in her bed at home. He also redacted a number of comments he left on social media forums that may have discussed the topic.
        Dr. Charles Herrick, the head of psychiatry at Danbury Hospital, said it is difficult with the information released to date to know if Lanza's interest in pedophilia had any influence on his behavior.
        "The material related to his obsession with mass shootings is far more compelling about what is driving his behavior," he said.
        Herrick said that while perpetrators of any kind of abuse tend to have been abused themselves, there is no indication that Lanza was molested.
        "That's pretty common," he said, "but they don't usually think about it in such a intellectual way. If abused, why would someone seek to justify it?"
        Dr. Harold Schwartz, chief of psychiatry at the Institute for Living in Hartford and part of the 16-member Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, said there was not enough information in the documents to say whether Lanza may have been a victim himself of a pedophile.
        Members of the commission, appointed by the governor last year to make recommendations on school safety, mental health and gun violence after the shooting, have been openly critical of the state police report on the shooting, saying the report released late on a Friday afternoon was all but indecipherable.
        The report is so disorganized that the commission has accepted the help of a Hartford law firm to turn the 6,700-page file -- an online collection of hundreds of individual documents without a table of contents or index -- into a searchable database.
        "I think all of us have gone into the document pages and were just never quite sure whether we missed something or have gotten to the thing that matters most to us," said Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, chairman of the commission.
        Staff writer John Pirro contributed to this report.
    Agenda 21
      Definition of a Meltdown
        Three cores at Fukushima Daiichi (Units 1-3) were severely damaged; some of the fuel melted.
        I have recently learned that most people think of a meltdown as something that causes all of the core, its
        supporting structures inside the pressure vessel, the pressure vessel, the structures that support the
        pressure vessel, etc. to all turn to a liquid blog that works its way deep into the soil underneath the
        reactor containment.
        If that is what people are talking about when they say "meltdown" the real answer is that such an event is
        energetically and materially impossible.
        Of course, many mealy mouthed nukes will say something like "extremely unlikely," but they simply too
        wimpy to tell the truth.
        Maybe they are worried about the remote possibility that the entire planet is destroyed by an asteroid
        impact and cause reactor damage that some alien from another time and place may someday call a "meltdown."
        Rod
      The 4 Myths The Nuclear Industry Wants You to Believe
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: WTF RLY REPORT
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 06:10
        Washington's Blog
        Washington's Blog
      The Worst Drought In The History Of California Is Happening Right Now
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Source: WTF RLY REPORT
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 06:07
        The American Dreamby Michael Snyder
        Did you know that 2013 was the driest year ever recorded in the state of California? And did you know that so far this is the driest January that the state of California has ever experienced? The worst drought in the history of California is happening right now. Just check out the current conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor. About two-thirds of the state is experiencing ''extreme drought'' at the moment, and Governor Jerry Brown says that it is ''not likely to rain for several weeks''. Unfortunately for California, the truth is that the weather in the western half of the country is simply returning to historical norms. Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century in the western half of the United States in 1000 years, and that extremely dry conditions are normally what we should expect for most areas from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River. If long-term conditions truly are ''returning to normal'', then the state of California could be heading for a water crisis of unprecedented magnitude.
        But it is not just the state of California that should be concerned. The reality of the matter is that the produce grown in California feeds the rest of the nation. Just check out these statistics'...
        The state produces 99 percent of the artichokes grown in the US, 44 percent of asparagus, a fifth of cabbage, two-thirds of carrots, half of bell peppers, 89 percent of cauliflower, 94 percent of broccoli, and 95 percent of celery. Leafy greens? California's got the market cornered: 90 percent of the leaf lettuce we consume, along with and 83 percent of Romaine lettuce and 83 percent of fresh spinach, come from the big state on the left side of the map. Cali also cranks a third of total fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S.'--and 95 percent of ones destined for cans and other processing purposes.
        As for fruit, I get that 86 percent of lemons and a quarter of oranges come from there; its sunny climate makes it perfect for citrus, and lemons store relatively well. Ninety percent of avocados? Fine. But 84 percent of peaches, 88 percent of fresh strawberries, and 97 percent of fresh plums?
        Come on. Surely the other 49 states can do better.
        In other words, the rest of us are extremely dependent on the fruits and vegetables that the state of California grows for us.
        So don't take too much joy in what California is going through. It is going to affect you too.
        Things have gotten so bad that Governor Brown has declared a water emergency'...
        'I've declared this emergency and I'm calling all Californians to conserve water in every way possible,' he said, in a move that will allow him to call for conservation measures and provide flexibility in deciding state water priorities.
        All over the state, reservoirs are approaching dangerously low levels. In fact, at one reservoir near Sacramento water levels have dropped so low that old buildings from a Gold Rush ghost town have appeared'...
        In a sign of the severity of the drought, some of the state's reservoirs are at their lowest levels in years. The Folsom Reservoir near Sacramento is so low that the remains of a Gold Rush-era ghost town '' flooded to create the lake in the 1950s '' are visible for the first time in years.
        The state's mountain ranges, where runoff from melting snow provides much of the water for California's thirsty cities and farms, have just 20 percent of the snow they normally have at this time of year, officials noted.
        In a previous article, I quoted a recent Fresno Bee article which described what is happening to the Pine Flat Reservoir'...
        Pine Flat Reservoir is a ghost of a lake in the Fresno County foothills '-- a puddle in a 326 billion-gallon gorge.
        Holding only 16% of its capacity, Pine Flat is the best example of why there is high anxiety over the approaching wet season.
        Gone is the healthy water storage that floated California through two dry years. Major reservoirs around the state need gully-washing storms this winter.
        Unfortunately, there is not much hope on the horizon, and most of the state has been experiencing these drought conditions since last May'...
        The U.S. Drought Monitor reported that 94.25% of the state is enduring some level of drought conditions and that most of the prime agriculture area of the Central Valley is in extreme drought, the second-worst category.
        At least 90% of the state has been in a drought since early May.
        During the 20th century, we were extremely blessed. An abnormally high level of rainfall in most parts of the western half of the country allowed us to build teeming cities in the middle of the desert. But that may turn out to have been a tragic mistake. A recent National Geographic article contained the following chilling statement'...
        The wet 20th century, the wettest of the past millennium, the century when Americans built an incredible civilization in the desert, is over.
        So what are we going to do with these massive cities out west when there is no longer enough water to support them?
        It has been estimated that the state of California only has a 20 year supply of fresh water left. And that projection was made before this current drought began. The truth is that if current conditions persist, California might run out long before that.
        And many Americans living in the eastern half of the country do not realize this, but Dust Bowl conditions are literally returning to many parts of the western half of the country. In fact, dust storms producing ''near-apocalyptic'' conditions have been reported in parts of Nevada.
        Today, about 38 million people live in the state of California.
        There isn't going to be enough water for all of them in the years ahead.
        And there certainly isn't going to be enough water in the years ahead to produce the massive amount of food that California is currently producing.
        The American Dream
      Germany eyes swift cuts in renewable energy subsidies - Yahoo News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:57
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      Green Fade-Out: Europe to Ditch Climate Protection Goals - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:22
        The climate between Brussels and Berlin is polluted, something European Commission officials attribute, among other things, to the "reckless" way German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked stricter exhaust emissions during her re-election campaign to placate domestic automotive manufacturers like Daimler and BMW. This kind of blatant self-interest, officials complained at the time, is poisoning the climate.
        But now it seems that the climate is no longer of much importance to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, either. Commission sources have long been hinting that the body intends to move away from ambitious climate protection goals. On Tuesday, the S¼ddeutsche Zeitung reported as much.
        At the request of Commission President Jos(C) Manuel Barroso, EU member states are no longer to receive specific guidelines for the development ofrenewable energy. The stated aim of increasing the share of green energy across the EU to up to 27 percent will hold. But how seriously countries tackle this project will no longer be regulated within the plan. As of 2020 at the latest -- when the current commitment to further increase the share of green energy expires -- climate protection in the EU will apparently be pursued on a voluntary basis.
        Climate Leaders No More?
        With such a policy, the European Union is seriously jeopardizing its global climate leadership role. Back in 2007, when Germany held the European Council presidency, the body decided on a climate and energy legislation package known as the "20-20-20" targets, to be fulfilled by the year 2020. They included:
        a 20 percent reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions;raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20 percent;and a 20 percent improvement in the EU's energy efficiency.All of the goals were formulated relative to 1990 levels. And the targets could very well be met. But in the future, European climate and energy policy may be limited to just a single project: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission plans also set no new binding rules for energy efficiency.
        Welcome, Frackers
        In addition, the authority wants to pave the way in the EU for the controversial practice of fracking, according to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The report says the Commission does not intend to establish strict rules for the extraction of shale gas, but only minimum health and environmental standards.
        The plans will be officially presented next Wednesday ahead of an EU summit meeting in March. Observers, however, believe that a decision is unlikely to come until the summer at the earliest. But action must be taken this year: At the beginning of 2015, a climate conference will take place in Paris at which a global climate agreement is to be hashed out.
        The European Parliament is unlikely to be pleased with the Commission's plans. Just at the beginning of January, a strong parliamentary majority voted to reduce carbon emissions EU-wide by 40 percent by 2030 and to raise the portion of renewables to at least 30 percent of energy consumption.
        Germany's Energy Goals at Risk
        The Commission's move further isolates Germany. Merkel's government, a "grand coalition" of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), seeks to increase the share of renewables in the country's energy mix to 60 percent by 2036. As reported in the latest issue of SPIEGEL, Sigmar Gabriel, SPD chair and minister of energy and economics, recently urged Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and Energy Commissioner G¼nther Oettinger to put forth mandatory expansion targets for renewable energy in the EU by 2030. Europe "can't afford to pass up this opportunity," Gabriel wrote.
        But within the Commission, the ambitious project has long been controversial. The same goes for EU member states, as Gabriel recently discovered. Prior to Christmas the minister, together with eight colleagues from throughout the EU, called for a "renewables target" in a letter to the Commission. But some countries, such as France, joined the appeal only hesitantly at the time. Paris might prefer instead to rely more heavily on nuclear power in order to meet stringent carbon emission requirements.
        Energy Commissioner G¼nther Oettinger, a German from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, has also shown reluctance. Rather than setting clear goals for the share of renewables, he wants fixed targets only for the reduction of carbon emissions -- and he is skeptical even of the 40 percent target proposed by Climate Commissioner Hedegaard.
        The Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) writes in a recent study that more moderate EU climate goals and less support for renewable energies could have a real impact on Germany's so-called Energiewende, or energy revolution. "In such a context," writes the nonpartisan think tank, "it will be increasingly difficult for Germany to successfully carry out pioneering policies."
        (C) SPIEGEL ONLINE 2014All Rights ReservedReproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
    Chiners
      Dutch Dairy
        Hey Adam,
        Nijsgjirrich stikje f√ªn...http://itnijs.nl/2014/01/sjina-kolonisearret-fryske-plattelan/---China colonizes Frysl√¢n
        In Africa Chinese companies buy great stretches of land to produce food for the fast growing Chinese home market. In Frysl√¢n the same happens, but with a difference.
        With Chinese money four new dairy factories are being built in the North of the Netherlands. Three in Heerenveen and one in Assen. They are meant to produce cheese, baby formula and milk powder for China. The increased production for China does not only help the job market, but also means a great attack on the Frisian landscape and nature.
        It concerns factories of the A-ware Food Group, Fonterra, Ausnutria Hyproca and Xian Consummate. These companies will take full advantage of the end of the milk quota 1 April 2015. The dropping of this quota will most probably lead to an increased production of 20 to 30 percent.
        The combined cheese and related products factory A-ware Food Group and Fonterra are building in Heerenveen is the result of a co-operation of New Zealand dairy concern Fonterra, agreed in 2005, with the Chinese Shijiazhuang San Lu Group. Fonterra is the biggest exporter of dairy products to China. The envisioned production in Heerenveen is, among others 80.000 tonnes of cheese, which requires 700 million barrels/vats of farm milk. This corresponds with an increase in the milk production in the Netherlands of about 8 percent.
        50 percent of Ausnutria Hyproca stock is owned by Chinese and they already have a factory in Heerenveen; possibly they will begin building a second in 2014. The company is also the owner of Lypack in Leeuwarden, Lyempf in Kampen and Hypocra Dairy in Ommen.
        It is remarkable to see that local and national media in Frysl√¢n and in the Netherlands only report on the increased job opportunities of this Chinese dairy invasion in the North. It would concern about a thousand jobs, directly and indirectly. What does not gain the limelight is the attack on the landscape and nature of the North of the Netherlands and in particular Frysl√¢n. This is highly under reported. How much does it actually cost us, this increased milk production for the Chinese market?
        The increase in industrial livestock in the fields will cause irrepairable damage to the already endangered bird population. The world famous Frisian landscape will also be endagered. Farmers will only want to grow their business and only build more mega barns (those ugly beasts).
        Moreover, the growth of the dairy industry will lead to sad prospects for pork and poultry farmers. As the dung production in the dairy market increases rapidly, the current dung laws will require the dung production in the other sectors to be lowered. Looking at the insane investments in the dairy industry one can deduct that there will be no space in the inn for these other dung producers, unless the dung legislation is drastically changed. And that can easily lead to environmental problems.
        Milieudefensie estimates the costs of the increase in dairy production at about 355 million euro's a year. "These costs will have to be carried by the community if the politicians do not intervene." according to Jacomijn PLuimers, campagne leader of Sustainable Eating at Milieudefensie.
        In other words, if nothing changes, Frysl√¢n will be transformed into a colony in the coming years. A colony of China, with many negative consequences for our province. I am curious how the Frisian administrators will explain that to the population?---There's more of that sort going on. http://www.frieslandcampina.com/english/news-and-press/news/press-releases/2013-11-16-new-sino-dutch-research-and-development-centre-to-improve-chinese-dairy.aspxhttps://www.rabobank.com/en/press/search/2013/20131014_Rabobank_Report_Dairy_imports_set_to_grow_to_meet_Chinese_appetite_for_milk.html?languageDoesNotExists=nl
        This is about the quota: http://www.reformthecap.eu/issues/policy-instruments/milk-quotaSeems the butter mountain still exists then... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTTTeE9LkUE
        The Chinese are definitely making inroads in Europe as well. It'll be interesting to see whether this is only in NL, or also in the rest of the EU...
        Paul
      CHINERS-Dutch dairy firms to invest '‚¬700m to meet export demand, says NZO
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:47
        Dutch dairy processors plan to invest more than '‚¬700m ($915m) over the next two years to increase their processing capabilities and meet increasing export-driven demand for their products,
        According to a report published by the Dutch Dairy Association (NZO), which represents the interests of Dutch dairy processors in the Netherlands, companies continue to invest hundreds of millions of euros in the Dutch dairy sector despite ''tough economic times.''
        Under existing plans, seven new dairy processing facilities will be constructed and a number will be expanded in the Netherlands over the next couple of years despite the current economic challenges.
        NZO has pinpointed increasing international demand for Netherlands-made dairy products and the abolition of the European Union (EU) milk quotas in 2015 as the driving factors behind these investments.
        Significant export growth
        In 2012, the Netherlands exported around '‚¬5.9bn worth of dairy products to more than 135 countries. Neighbouring Germany is currently the largest export market for Dutch dairy products, but significant growth in demand is coming from emerging markets
        Exports to China, Russia and Nigeria currently total around '‚¬450m ($590m), according to the report. This figure is expected to increase by around 7% each year.
        In an attempt to meet this increasing demand, Dutch dairy manufacturers including FrieslandCampina intend to invest more than '‚¬700m over the next two years to increase capacity of their processing facilities.
        Cheese maker CONO intends to plough around '‚¬80m into the development of a new cheese manufacturing plant, Vreugdenhil is planning to spend approximately '‚¬35m on a new milk powder facility, and Heerenveen-based A-ware Foods and FrieslandCampina have plans to invest around '‚¬500m.
        AVH Dairy, Ausnutria Hyproca, Chinese Xian Consummate Industrial and Trading, DOC Kaas, CZ Rouveen en De Graafstroom also have plans to expand their production capabilities in the country.
        The NZO expects that around 1,000 jobs will created as a result of these investments, adding to the 44,000 already employed in the sector.
      DISA Press Release-BlackBerry
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:40
        DISA Announces Initial Release v1.0 of DoD Unclassified Mobility CapabilityFORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. '' The new year will bring new mobile capabilities to as many as 100,000 DOD users.
        DOD will begin deploying version 1.0 of the unclassified mobility capability Jan. 31 and will build out capacity to support up to 100,000 users by the end of the fiscal year.
        In the 11 months since the announcement of the DOD Mobility Implementation Plan, DISA as the lead agency for the DoD Mobility Capability has made substantial progress toward delivering unclassified mobile capability to the Department of Defense.
        The program currently supports 1,800 unclassified mobile devices including iPad 3 and 4, iPhone 4S and 5, Samsung 10.1 tablets and Samsung 3S, and Motorola RAZR devices with participation from the combatant commands, services, and agencies throughout DOD. The program also supports 80,000 BlackBerry phones.
        By Jan. 31, DOD Mobility Unclassified Capability users in DISA will begin the phased transition to initial release 1.0 capabilities including the mobile device management system, mobile application store, approved devices list, supported cellular access, DOD PKI support, transition of approved applications and enterprise services for mobility including DoD Enterprise Email, the DOD Global Address List, Tier 2/3 Service Desk Support and Defense Connect Online.
        Along with the wide selection of devices, the mobility program supports 16 mobile applications and is in the process of vetting more than 90 additional applications. DISA is also working with key mission partners including Air Mobility Command from the AF and the Human Resource Command from the Army to service large mission needs that have not been connected to the network in the past. AMC has more than 18,000 Flight Bag devices and HRC anticipates more than 10,000 users. All future customer transition schedules are based on the priority set by mission partners. For example, the Army provided a detailed schedule by major command that DISA is using to prioritize requirements for new customers or to transition pilot users that already exist.
        The initial release begins a 90-day spiral approach to deploying new capabilities. The next major release in second quarter of FY14 adds gateway support on unclassified side and also an office capability package to enable editing of Word documents and other Microsoft Office items.
        The mobility program is not business as usual for IT procurements. DISA is working to create a secure adaptive mobile environment necessary incorporate the steady advancement of technology, including application development, changing security architecture requirements, and continuous enhancement of equipment. The DOD Mobility Program works through a collaborative team approach among combatant commands, agencies, services, and vendors to ensure that as the mobile environment changes, the security environment adapts with it to maintain the security requirements necessary to protect critical information.
        Posted January 16, 2014
      Mega Default In China Scheduled For January 31 - Forbes
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Mon, 20 Jan 2014 20:14
        On Friday, Chinese state media reported that China Credit Trust Co. warned investors that they may not be repaid when one of its wealth management products matures on January 31, the first day of the Year of the Horse.
        The Industrial and Commercial Bank of ChinaBank of China sold the China Credit Trust product to its customers in inland Shanxi province. This bank, the world's largest by assets, on Thursday suggested it will not compensate investors,stating in a phone interview with Reuters that ''a situation completely does not exist in which ICBCICBC will assume the main responsibility.''
        There should be no mystery why this investment, known as ''2010 China Credit-Credit Equals Gold #1 Collective Trust Product,''is on the verge of default. China Credit Trust loaned the proceeds from sales of the 3.03 billion-yuan ($496.2 million) product to unlisted Shanxi Zhenfu Energy Group, a coal miner. The coal company probably is paying something like 12% for the money because Credit Equals Gold promised a 10% annual return to investors'--more than three times current bank deposit rates'--and China Credit Trust undoubtedly took a hefty cut of the interest.
        Zhenfu was undoubtedly desperate for money. One of its vice chairmen was arrested in May 2012 for taking deposits without a banking license, undoubtedly trying to raise funds through unconventional channels. In any event, the company was permitted to borrow long after it should have been stopped'--reports indicate that it had accumulated 5.9 billion yuan in obligations. Zhenfu, according to one Chinese newspaper account, has already been declared bankrupt with assets of less than 500 million yuan.
        The Credit Equals Gold product is not the first troubled WMP, as these investments are known, to risk nonpayment, but Chinese officials have always managed to make investors whole. CITIC Trust did that in 2013 on a steel-loan product in Hubei province, and a mysterious third-party guarantee rescued a Hua Xia Bank WMP. An investment marketed by ICBC's Suzhou branch was similarly repaid.
        There has never been a default'--other than one of timing'--of a WMP, so the Credit Equals Gold product could be the first. If it is, it will edge out the WMP that invested in loans to Liansheng Resources Group, another Shanxi coal miner. Jilin Trust packaged Liansheng's loans into a wealth management product sold by China Construction BankChina Construction Bank, the country's second-largest lender by assets, to its customers. Liansheng is in bankruptcy, and it looks like the WMP holders will not be repaid in full.
        A WMP default, whether relating to Liansheng or Zhenfu, could devastate the Chinese banking system and the larger economy as well. In short, China's growth since the end of 2008 has been dependent on ultra-loose credit first channeled through state banks, like ICBC and Construction Bank, and then through the WMPs, which permitted the state banks to avoid credit risk. Any disruption in the flow of cash from investors to dodgy borrowers through WMPs would rock China with sky-high interest rates or a precipitous plunge in credit, probably both. The result? The best outcome would be decades of misery, what we saw in Japan after its bubble burst in the early 1990s.
        Most analysts don't worry about a WMP default. Their argument is that the People's Bank of China, the central bank, is encouraging a failure of the Zhenfu product to teach investors to appreciate risk and such lesson will improve the allocation of credit nationwide. Furthermore, they reason the central authorities would never allow a default to threaten the system.
        Observers make the logical argument that ''to have a market meltdown, you have to have a market'' and China does not have one. Instead, Beijing technocrats dictate outcomes.
        That's correct, but that is also why China is now heading to catastrophic failure. Because Chinese leaders have the power to prevent corrections, they do so. Because they do so, the underlying imbalances become larger. Because the underlying imbalances become larger, the inevitable corrections are severe. Downturns, which Beijing hates, are essential, allowing adjustments to be made while they are still relatively minor. The last year-on-year contraction in China's gross domestic product, according to the official National Bureau of Statistics, occurred in 1976, the year Mao Zedong died.
        Why will China's next correction be historic in its severity? Because Chinese leaders will prevent adjustments until they no longer have the ability to do so. When they no longer have that ability, their system will simply fail. Then, there will be nothing they can do to prevent the freefall.
        We are almost at that critical point, as events last June and December demonstrate. The PBOC did not try to tighten credit as analysts said in June and December; it simply did not add liquidity. The failure to add liquidity caused interbank rates to soar and banks to default on their interbank obligations. In the face of the resulting crises, the central bank backed down both times, injecting more money into state banks and the economy. So Chinese leaders showed us twice last year that they now have no ability'--or no will'--to deal with the most important issue they face, the out-of-control creation of debt.
        There are rumors that local authorities in Shanxi will either find cash so that Liansheng can pay back its loans or force institutions to roll over the WMP marketed by Jilin Trust. Similarly, there are suggestions that ICBC, despite its we're-not-responsible statement, will produce dough for the Credit Equals Gold investors. Others say China Credit Trust, China's third-largest such group as measured by assets, will repay investors in part. Repayment will avoid an historic default and postpone a reckoning. In all probability, authorities will be able to get past Zhenfu if they try to do so.
        Even if Beijing makes sure there is no default on January 31, we should not feel relief. Just as Zhenfu followed Liansheng, there will be another WMP borrower on the edge of disaster after Zhenfu. And there are many Lianshengs and Zhenfus out there. There may have been 11 trillion yuan in WMPs at the end of last year.
        And at the same time China's money supply and credit are still expanding. Last year, the closely watched M2 increased by only 13.6%, down from 2012's 13.8% growth. Optimists say China is getting its credit addiction under control, but that's not correct. In fact, credit expanded by at least 20% last year as money poured into new channels not measured by traditional statistics. That appears to be in excess of credit expansion in 2012.
        Even if credit expansion slowed last year, Silvercrest Asset Management's Patrick Chovanec tells us why we should be concerned. As he wrote today, ''Looking purely at the decline in the year-on-year rate of credit expansion is kind of like arguing that if I chase my shot of vodka with a pint of beer, I'm actually exercising moderation because the alcohol proof level of my drinks is falling.''
        Follow me on Twitter @GordonGChang
    Obama Nation
      Nancy Reagan Dress outrage from 1981
      Articles: Barack Hussein Soebarkah?
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 23:50
        One of the unexplained mysteries in the scanty documentation of the early life of the 44th President of the United States is the appearance of the name Soebarkah as his last name on an official document filled out by his mother.
        In a recent contribution to American Thinker, Nick Chase offers very persuasive evidence that the long-form birth certificate released by Obama is a forgery.
        While in the midst of developing an argument supporting the idea that Obama was adopted by the Indonesian Lolo Soetoro, Chase states:
        Finally, we have Stanley Ann Soetoro's 1968 application to extend her 1965 passport (now destroyed) for an additional two years, as shown in Figure PPA.
        On the second page of the application, Ann moved to exclude her son Barack Hussein Obama (Soebarkah) from her passport, but the item has been crossed out -- perhaps on the advice of the consulate in Jakarta, as this would have left seven-year-old Barry passportless -- so it didn't happen.
        The appendage "(Soebarkah)" has never been satisfactorily explained by anyone, and I certainly don't know what "Soebarkah" means, but it does seem to indicate a name change or change in citizenship status for the boy.
        Clearly, just what constitutes "a satisfactory explanation" varies with respect to persons, subject matter, context, and so forth.
        And yet, there is a very good -- and simple -- explanation for the seemingly random appearance of the sobriquet "Soebarkah" on Mother Soetoro's passport application.
        Believe it or not, the reason may be linked to one Loretta Fuddy.
        Yes, that Loretta Fuddy -- the Hawaii state health director who approved the release of Obama's long-form birth certificate and who has apparently succumbed to a nasty case of post random plane crash induced arrhythmia.
        Ann Soetoro and Loretta Fuddy appear to have one very odd thing in common: both have been linked to the Subud cult, which originated in, of all places, Indonesia and was founded by the Javanese Muslim Muhammed Subuh.
        The smallish cult appears to have had, at least circa 2001 and according to this profile of sorts in the Honolulu Advertiser, 20,000 members worldwide. Notice the picture of Deliana Fuddy, then "regional helper" and member of the faith? Let's return to her Subud status in a second.
        Note also that the World Subud organization seems to have been based in, of all cities....wait for it...Chicago. Indonesia...Chicago...Hawaii... three locales linked to Obama's life.
        Next, observe that the Advertiser article states that Subud was introduced to Hawai'i in the 1960s (more on this in the conclusion).
        Now to Ann Soetoro. She was linked to Subud by her biographer (and New York Times reporter) Janny Scott (Harvard '77) in the book A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother," reviewed by the New York Timeshere.
        Loretta Fuddy was more than merely a follower of Subud; she worked her way up the ranks and became chairwoman of Subud USA, based in Seattle from 2006 to 2008, and was known to Subud not merely as Loretta Fuddy, but as "Deliana" Loretta Fuddy. In fact, you can see that in its headline, the official Subud "memorial" page drops "Loretta" and refers simply to "Deliana" Fuddy.
        Ann Soetoro's close association with members of the Subud cult will be documented below. But first, note in passing that of all the persons -- Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Hindu, or you-name-it -- that could have been installed as Director of the State Department of Health in Hawaii, Hawaii alighted on Fuddy -- a leader of a small cult with roots in Indonesia and connections to Ann Soetoro -- Obama's mother. Second, observe that Fuddy assumed the Director position in Hawaii in January 2011, just a few months before the release of Obama's long form birth certificate.
        Now to Ann Soetoro's links with Subud and to a brief discussion of the Barry "Soebarkah" mystery associated with Ann Soetoro's 1968 passport renewal application.
        Read the following excerpt from SubudVoice in 2011 (and please note that I have italicized a couple of sentences to emphasize that the Subud "Staff Reporter" is drawing on material from Janny Scott's biography of Ann Soetoro; they aren't simply making an anonymous, empty assertion that can't be substantiated.)
        Obama's mother and Subud
        By Staff Reporter...
        A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother,a biography of the mother of US President Obama, Ann DunhamSutoro, contains several references to Subud. As is generally known Obama lived with his mother in Jakarta for some years...
        Arianne (no second name) wrote to me to say, "Talked to Irin Poellot who is reading the book about Obama's mother and has already run into several literal mentions of Subud!!! I remember the late Mansur Madeiros mentioning he knew her in Indonesia and he is mentioned in the book! I can't help wondering if we will get inquiries about Subud since it is mentioned often in a book which probably will be widely read. It also is a delicious fact that our Subud sister, Ms Fuddy, just was appointed to her post in the Health Dept in Hawaii in time to be involved in the documentation of fact that Obama was born there."
        I wrote back asking for more specific information and Arianne replied, "Irin kindly supplied some quotes:In chapter 4 "Initiation in Java" the Subud members are quoted. And then (on page 116): "...she (Ann) was hired to start an English-language, business-communications department in one of the few private non profit management-training schools in the country."
        Ann "found a group of young Americans and Britons enrolled in an intensive course in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language, at the University of Indonesia recalled Irwan Holmes, (a member of the original group). She was looking for teachers. A half dozen of them accepted her invitation, many of them members of an international spiritual organization, Subud, with a residential compound in a suburb of Jakarta.."
        And ......Mohammad Mansur Madeiros, a reclusive and scholarly Subud member from Fall River, Massachusetts, and Harvard, whom Ann hired as a teacher, had immersed himself so deeply in Javanese culture, language and religion that friends nicknamed him Mansur Java. When he died in 2007, friends recalled his preference for the company of ordinary Indonesians --street vendors and becak drivers -- over that of other Subud members and expatriates."
        But what might the Ann Soetoro, Deliana Fuddy, Subud links really have to do with the sobriquet Barry Soebarkah?
        To help answer that, transport yourself backward in time and sit at the feet of the Indonesian Subud master Bapak circa 1963:
        Question:1 Many people in Subud change their names. Is this necessary? Is it important? How does the change of a name affect us? Physically, spiritually or both?
        Bapak: Brothers and sisters, whether it is necessary or not depends on what you want....
        If changing one's name for "spiritual reasons" was something frequently done by followers of Subud's Bapak, and Stanley Ann Soetoro was in fact closely associated with Subud, it is reasonable to suppose that "Soebarkah" arose in the same way new names for others (like "Deliana" Loretta Fuddy?) associated with Subud did: as a matter of course depending on the case.
        Readers might agree that the above is a quite reasonable account of the origin of Barry "Soebarkah."
        But there is something else. The above biographical material bonds Ann Soetoro to Subud members via an English language, business communications department post. According to the New York Times here, that would have been around 1970 or 1971. However, the passport renewal application with the name "Soebarkah" dates to 1968. This suggests that either the "Soebarkah" handle came from nowhere, or that matters are as we have discussed and that Ann Soetoro in fact came to Subud before 1970 -- perhaps in Hawaii.
        Clearly, we might want to recall that the above linked Honolulu Advertiser Subud profile indicates that Subud was introduced to Hawai'i in the 1960s.
        In closing, the Ann Soetoro's 1968 passport renewal application raises the spectre of possible Obama birth certificate fraud yet again. Have a look at page 2 of the document:
        For a larger version, click here
        "Sorebarkah" appears in the section labeled "Amend to Include (Exclude) Children."
        The name Barack Hussein Obama (Sorebarkah) is crossed out.
        Nick Chase has concluded that this signifies that Ann Soetoro had improvidently decided to exclude Barack from her passport renewal. Chase thinks that Soetoro changed her mind about exclusion after having been informed by the Consulate that doing so would leave Barack passportless.
        But there is another possibility -- one just as valid on its face.
        What if Soetoro was trying to include Obama in the renewal, but she wasn't able to produce a birthcertificate, and the Subud name "Soebarkah" just didn't do the trick? (hat tip Louise Hodges for the "inclusion" possibility; one can't be certain why she did not link the inclusion possibility to Soebarkah).
        That could explain why the name Subud name "Soebarkah" appears nowhere else (that we are aware of anyway),
        Of course, we might then have to wonder exactly how Obama did his traveling at certain points in time, but then perhaps Subud is, at least at times, more than a mere cult?
        Dr. Jason Kissner is associate professor of criminology at California State University, Fresno. You can reach him at crimprof2010@hotmail.com.
      VIDEO-SOTU 2014 | The White House
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:07
        Each year, a group of extraordinary Americans joins the First Lady in a viewing box at the Capitol to watch the President's State of the Union address. From teachers to innovators, business leaders to service members, these Americans exemplify the themes and ideals laid out in the President's speech. Below, learn more about who will join the First Lady this year.
        Michelle ObamaFirst Lady of the United States
        Dr. Jill BidenSecond Lady of the United States
        Valerie JarrettSenior Advisor to President Barack Obama
      Download Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra-Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 BWV 1051 3rd Movement mp3 for free on Mp3Gangster.com
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        Artist: Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra | Song: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 BWV 1051 3rd Movement | Album: Baby Bach | Year: 2002Genre: Other | Duration: 02:21 | Bitrate: 192 | Size: 3,29 MBDownloads: 0 | Check date: 2012-10-21 23:05:20 | Frequency: 44100Download mp3 free
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      Brandenburg concertos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:12
        The Brandenburg concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1046''1051, original title: Six Concerts plusieurs instruments)[1] are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt,[2] in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). They are widely regarded as some of the best orchestral compositions of the Baroque era.
        History[edit]Bach's dedication to the Margrave was dated 24 March 1721. Most likely, Bach composed the concertos over several years while Kapellmeister at K¶then, and possibly extending back to his employment at Weimar (1708''17). The first sentence of Bach's dedication reads:
        As I had the good fortune a few years ago to be heard by Your Royal Highness, at Your Highness's commands, and as I noticed then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the little talents which Heaven has given me for Music, and as in taking Leave of Your Royal Highness, Your Highness deigned to honour me with the command to send Your Highness some pieces of my Composition: I have in accordance with Your Highness's most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness with the present Concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments; begging Your Highness most humbly not to judge their imperfection with the rigor of that discriminating and sensitive taste, which everyone knows Him to have for musical works, but rather to take into benign Consideration the profound respect and the most humble obedience which I thus attempt to show Him.[3][4]
        The dedication page Bach wrote for the collection indicates they are Concerts avec plusieurs instruments (Concertos with several instruments). Bach used the "widest spectrum of orchestral instruments ... in daring combinations," as Christoph Wolff has commented.[5] "Every one of the six concertos set a precedent in scoring, and every one was to remain without parallel." Heinrich Besseler has noted that the overall forces required (leaving aside the first concerto, which was rewritten for a special occasion) tallies exactly with the 17 players Bach had at his disposal in K¶then.[6]
        Because King Frederick William I of Prussia was not a significant patron of the arts, Christian Ludwig seems to have lacked the musicians in his Berlin ensemble to perform the concertos. The full score was left unused in the Margrave's library until his death in 1734, when it was sold for 24 groschen (as of 2008, about US$22.00) of silver. The autograph manuscript of the concertos was only rediscovered in the archives of Brandenburg by Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn in 1849; the concertos were first published in the following year.[7]
        In the modern era these works have been performed by orchestras with the string parts each played by a number of players, under the batons of, for example, Karl Richter and Herbert von Karajan. They have also been performed as chamber music, with one instrument per part, especially by (but not limited to) groups using baroque instruments and (sometimes more, sometimes less) historically informed techniques and practice. There is also an arrangement for four-hand piano duet by composer Max Reger.
        The individual concerti[edit]Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 1mo 2 Corni di Caccia, 3 Hautb: ¨ Bassono, Violino Piccolo concertato, 2 Violini, una Viola col Basso Continuo.[1]
        [no tempo indication] (usually performed at Allegro or Allegro moderato)AdagioAllegroMenuet '' Trio I '' Menuet da capo '' Polacca '' Menuet da capo '' Trio II '' Menuet da capoInstrumentation: two corni da caccia, three oboes, bassoon, violino piccolo, two violins, viola, cello, basso continuo Duration : About 22 minutes
        This concerto is the only one in the collection with four movements. An earlier version (Sinfonia, BWV 1046a), which does not use the violino piccolo, was used for the opening of the cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208. This version lacks the third movement entirely, and the Polacca from the final movement, leaving Menuet '' Trio I '' Menuet '' Trio II '' Menuet. The first movement can also be found as the sinfonia of the cantataFalsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht, BWV 52. The third movement was used as the opening chorus of the cantata Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, BWV 207.
        Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 2do 1 Tromba, 1 Flauto, 1 Hautbois, 1 Violino, concertati, ¨ 2 Violini, 1 Viola ¨ Violone in Ripieno col Violoncello ¨ Basso per il Cembalo.[1]
        [no tempo indication] (usually performed at Allegro or Allegro moderato)AndanteAllegro assaiConcertino: natural trumpet in F, recorder, oboe, violin
        Ripieno: two violins, viola, violone, and basso continuo (including harpsichord) Duration: About 13 minutes
        The trumpet part is still considered one of the most difficult in the entire repertoire, and was originally written for a clarino specialist, almost certainly the court trumpeter in K¶then, Johann Ludwig Schreiber.[8] After clarino skills were lost in the eighteenth century and before the rise of the historically informed performance movement of the late twentieth century, the part was usually played on the valved trumpet.
        The trumpet does not play in the second movement, as is common practice in baroque era concerti due to the construction of the natural trumpet, which allows it to play only in one key. Because concerti often move to a different key in the second movement, concerti that include a trumpet in their first movement and are from the period before the valved trumpet was commonly used, exclude the trumpet from the second movement.
        This piece served as the theme song for William F. Buckley, Jr.'s Firing Line. It was also chosen as the first to be played on the "golden record", a phonograph record containing a broad sample of Earth's common sounds, languages, and music sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes.
        It is also used by The Teaching Company at the start of each individual lecture for The Great Courses series. Also, in its course "The 30 Greatest Orchestral Works" the piece is studied by Professor Robert Greenberg.
        Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 3zo a tre Violini, tre Viole, ¨ tre Violoncelli col Basso per il Cembalo.[1]
        [no tempo indication] (usually performed at Allegro or Allegro moderato)AdagioAllegroInstrumentation: three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo (including harpsichord) Duration: About 10 minutes
        The second movement consists of a single measure with the two chords that make up a 'Phrygian half cadence'[9] and'--although there is no direct evidence to support it'--it was likely that these chords are meant to surround or follow a cadenza improvised by a harpsichord or violin player. Modern performance approaches range from simply playing the cadence with minimal ornamentation (treating it as a sort of "musical semicolon"), to inserting movements from other works, to cadenzas varying in length from under a minute to over two minutes. Wendy Carlos's three electronic performances (from Switched-On Bach, Switched-On Brandenburgs, and Switched-On Bach 2000) have second movements that are completely different from each other.
        Occasionally, the third movement from Bach's "Sonata for Violin and Continuo in G , BWV. 1021" (marked Largo) is substituted for the second movement as it contains an identical 'Phrygian cadence' as the closing chords. The Largo from the Violin Sonata in G, BWV 1019, has also been used. It has a flourish of different notes.[citation needed]
        The outer movements use the ritornello form found in many instrumental and vocal works of the time. The first movement can also be found in reworked form as the sinfonia of the cantata Ich liebe den H¶chsten von ganzem Gem¼te, BWV 174, with the addition of three oboes and two horns.
        Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 4ta Violino Principale, due Fiauti d'Echo, due Violini, una Viola ¨ Violone in Ripieno, Violoncello ¨ Continuo.[1]
        AllegroAndantePrestoConcertino: violin and two recorders
        Ripieno: two violins, viola, cello, violone and basso continuo Duration: About 16 minutes
        The violin part in this concerto is extremely virtuosic in the first and third movements. In the second movement, the violin provides a bass when the concertino group plays unaccompanied.
        Bach adapted the 4th Brandenburg concerto as the last of his set of 6 harpsichord concertos, the concerto for harpsichord, two recorders and strings in F major, BWV 1057. As well as taking on most of the solo violin's role, the harpsichord also takes over some of the recorders' parts in the andante, plays a basso continuo role at times and occasionally adds a fourth contrapuntal part to an originally three-part texture (something which Bach occasionally did while improvising). The harpsichord concerto is thus more than a mere transcription.
        Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 5to une Traversiere, une Violino principale, une Violino ¨ una Viola in ripieno, Violoncello, Violone ¨ Cembalo concertato.[1]
        AllegroAffettuosoAllegroConcertino: harpsichord, violin, flute
        Ripieno: violin, viola, cello, violone, (harpsichord) Duration: About 23 minutes
        The harpsichord is both a concertino and a ripieno instrument: in the concertino passages the part is obbligato; in the ripieno passages it has a figured bass part and plays continuo.
        This concerto makes use of a popular chamber music ensemble of the time (flute, violin, and harpsichord), which Bach used on its own for the middle movement. It is believed that it was written in 1719, to show off a new harpsichord by Michael Mietke which Bach had brought back from Berlin for the K¶then court. It is also thought that Bach wrote it for a competition at Dresden with the French composer and organist Louis Marchand; in the central movement, Bach uses one of Marchand's themes. Marchand fled before the competition could take place, apparently scared off in the face of Bach's great reputation for virtuosity and improvisation.
        The concerto is well suited throughout to showing off the qualities of a fine harpsichord and the virtuosity of its player, but especially in the lengthy solo 'cadenza' to the first movement. It seems almost certain that Bach, considered a great organ and harpsichord virtuoso, was the harpsichord soloist at the premiere. Scholars have seen in this work the origins of the solo keyboard concerto as it is the first example of a concerto with a solo keyboard part.[10][11]
        An earlier version, BWV 1050a, exists, and has many small differences from its later cousin, but no major difference in structure or instrumentation. It is dated ca. 1720/1721.
        Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051[edit]Title on autograph score: Concerto 6to due Viole da Braccio, due Viole da Gamba, Violoncello, Violone e Cembalo.[1]
        [no tempo indication] (usually performed at Allegro or Allegro moderato)Adagio ma non-tantoAllegroInstrumentation: two viola da braccio, two viole da gamba, cello, violone, and harpsichord Duration: About 16 minutes
        The absence of violins is unusual. Viola da braccio means the normal viola, and is used here to distinguish it from the "viola da gamba". When the work was written in 1721, the viola da gamba was already an old-fashioned instrument: the strong supposition that one viola da gamba part was taken by his employer, Prince Leopold, also points to a likely reason for the concerto's composition'--Leopold wished to join his Kapellmeister playing music. Other theories speculate[who?] that, since the viola da braccio was typically played by a lower socioeconomic class (e.g., servants), the work sought to upend the musical status quo by giving an important role to a "lesser" instrument. This is supported by knowledge that Bach wished to end his tenure under Prince Leopold. By upsetting the balance of the musical roles, he would be released from his servitude as Kapellmeister and allowed to seek employ elsewhere.
        The two violas start the first movement with a vigorous subject in close canon, and as the movement progresses, the other instruments are gradually drawn into the seemingly uninterrupted steady flow of melodic invention which shows the composer's mastery of polyphony. The two violas da gamba are silent in the second movement, leaving the texture of a trio sonata for two violas and continuo, although the cello has a decorated version of the continuo bass line. In the last movement, the spirit of the gigue underlies everything, as it did in the finale of the fifth concerto.
        References[edit]^ abcdefgJohann Sebastian Bach's Werke, vol.19: Kammermusik, dritter band, Bach-Gesellschaft, Leipzig; ed. Wilhelm Rust, 1871^MacDonogh, Giles. Frederick the Great: A Life in Deed and Letters. St. Martin's Griffin. New York. 2001. ISBN 0-312-27266-9^http://www.baroquecds.com/770Web.html^http://www.classicalmusicforpleasure.com/2011/08/johann-sebastian-bach-brandenburg.html^Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (WW Norton, New York, 2000).^Besseler's preface to the Neue Bach-Ausgabe edition of the Brandenburg Concertos is reprinted with a translation in B¤renreiter's Study Score of the Six Brandenburg Concertos (B¤renreiter TP9, 1988)^Malcolm Boyd, Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos (Cambridge UP, 1993), ISBN 0-521-38713-2 .^Schreiber as the trumpeter for concerto no.2^wikt:Phrygian cadence^Steinberg, M. The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, p. 14, Oxford (1998) ISBN 0-19-513931-3^Hutchings, A. 1997. A Companion to Mozart's Piano Concertos, p. 26, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816708-3Marissen, Michael (1999). The Social and Religious Designs of J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 168. ISBN 0-691-00686-5. External links[edit]ScoresEssaysRecordingsList of recordings, with reviews, from jsbach.orgFree MP3 Recording with Creative Commons LicenseJohann Sebastian Bach '' The six Brandenburg concertos '' BVW 1046''1051, the first Czechoslovak recording: Maurice Andr(C), Ars Rediviva, Milan Munclinger, Supraphon/Columbia Music Entertainment, 1965Johann Sebastian Bach '' The six Brandenburg concertos '' BVW 1046''1051, the first Czechoslovak Radio recording: Ars Rediviva, Milan Munclinger, 1977New Czech Radio recording, Musica Florea, Marek Å tryncl, 2006 - free download; for updated information to this Czech Radio webpage see (Czech)An animated version of the Third Concerto on YouTube.Free midi recordings of all concertos by various artistsFree midi recordings of the concertos 3 and 5 by Alan Kennington. On piano only.The Six Brandenburg Concertos for Piano Four Hands, transcribed by Max Reger,on iTunesStreaming audio of the complete first, third and fourth concertos performed by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.Streaming audio of the complete second, third and sixth concertos performed by the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam.High-Definition video of Brandenburg Concertos 3 & 4 performed on original instruments by the ensemble Voices of Music, copyright free for use in classrooms
      Loretta Fuddy: The Most Unlucky Person of 2013 '' or was she killed to cover a big lie?
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        Archived Version
        Mon, 20 Jan 2014 21:22
        21st Century Wire says'...
        Are the White House plumbers at it again?
        A Cessna crashes in Hawaii, and eight survive '' but one woman, for some reason, could not be rescued. Her name was Loretta Fuddy, she was 65 years old, and she happened to be the Hawaiian health official who released the notorious copy of President Obama's long form birth certificate.
        A political storm erupted when a PDF birth certificate appeared on the White House's website back in April 2011. Although ridiculed, and blacked out by the mainstream media, the issue has not gone away. This latest tragic accident' will only increase interest in the story of Obama's true roots, and what may have been done to cover up the truth.
        Officials also say that the reason the plane went down was a ''mystery'', but it landed on the water and passengers even had time to collect and put on life jackets. NBC also reports the following:
        The flight was due to travel from Molokai to Oahu. The pilot was among the survivors, and the rest of the passengers were treated for ''non-life threatening injuries''. Most survivors have already been sent home.
        This tells us the crash was not fatal '' because no one sustained any real injuries. But Fuddy still, disappears.
        Strangely, initial news reports provide detail on every technical thing about this incident, yet say nothing of what actually happened to Fuddy. Do authorities need time to sure-up their story?
        The US Coast Guard supposedly post this picture (below) of the ''rescue'' on Instagram, only it shows absolutely nothing at all. So why post it in the first place?
        ''A spokesman from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told NBC News they were sending, ''at least one investigator to the scene.''
        NTSB investigating Hawaii crash of Cessna 208 into ocean shortly after takeoff from Kalaupapa Airport.
        '-- NTSB (@NTSB) December 12, 2013It's expected that the NTSB will not find anything unusual regarding the crash, or the death of Loretta Fuddy.
        Already, conflicting reports about the plane crash are emerging:More conflicting evidence: initial reports state that all 9 people survived: one swam to shore, 3 rescued by the helicopter and 5 by Fire rescue, later the story was changed. Passenger C. Phillip Holstein contradicted the reports of her body being the the fuselage, he stated that she was fine when she got out of the plane.
        This report by the Maui police dept. on Thursday says the body was recovered from the wreckage and an autopsy will be done.Health director who approved Obama birth certificate dies in plane crashHenry Austin and Christopher NelsonNBC NewsThe health director who approved the release of President Obama's birth certificate has died in a plane crash, Hawaiian officials said Thursday.
        Loretta Fuddy died after the Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft she was travelling on went down shortly after leaving Kalaupapa Airport at around 3:15 p.m. local time (10:15 a.m. ET) on Wednesday.
        The other eight people on board were rescued, Richard Schuman, president of Makani Kai Air, told NBC News early Thursday, adding that there was no indication as to why the plane had crashed.
        Fuddy hit the headlines two years ago when she approved a waiver request allowing Obama to access certified copies of his birth certificate, signed by the delivery doctor, Obama's mother and the local registrar. His mother, then 18, signed her name (Stanley) Ann Dunham Obama.
        So-called ''birthers'' opposed to Obama including real estate mogul Donald Trump had long questioned why Obama hadn't ensured the long form was released.
        Hawaiian senator J. Kalani English led the tributes to the 65-year-old saying she, ''will be dearly missed,'' by people on the islands.
        ''I would like to extend my most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the Department of Health Director Loretta Fuddy, who tragically passed away in a plane crash late Wednesday afternoon,'' he said'...
        Continue this story at NBC News
        More from 21WIRE'...
        For those who took the time to actually examine the Birth Certificate in question, it is widely accepted as a digital forgery.
        Beyond this, it's fairly obvious, even to a novice researcher, how a story has been woven to place Barack Obama in Hawaii at the time of his birth, as well as establish that Barack Sr from Kenya was indeed his father. Without this story in place, he would not qualify as President.
        One NBC reader, Spider-4268760, points out some of the obvious problems with the President's alleged Birth Certificate.
        4 Simple questions from a reputable attorney'...
        This really should get your ''gray matter'' to churning, even if you are an Obama fan. I wouldn't want my hero to be made out to be a liar, would you?
        For all you ''anti-Fox News'' folks, none of this information came from Fox. All of it can be verified from legitimate sources (Wikipedia, the Kapiolani hospital website itself, and a good history book, as noted herein). It is very easy for someone to check out.
        4 Simple Questions:
        1. Back in 1961 people of color were called 'Negroes.' So how can the Obama 'birth certificate' state he is ''African-American'' when the termwasn't even used at that time ?
        2. The birth certificate that the White House released lists Obama's birth as August 4, 1961 & Lists Barack Hussein Obama as his father. No big deal, Right ? At the time of Obama's birth, it also shows that hisfather is aged 25 years old, and that Obama's father was born in ''Kenya , East Africa ''.
        This wouldn't seem like anything of concern, except the fact that Kenya did not even exist until 1963, two whole years after Obama's birth, and 27 years after his father's birth. How could Obama's fatherhave been born in a country that did not yet Exist? Up and until Kenya was formed in 1963, it was known as the ''British East Africa Protectorate''. (check it below) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_
        3. On the Birth Certificate released by the White House, the listed place of birth is ''Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital''.This cannot be, because the hospital(s) in question in 1961 were called ''Kaui Keolani Children's Hospital'' and ''Kapi'olani Maternity Home'', Respectively.The name did not change to Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital until 1978, when these two hospitals merged.How can this particular name of the hospital be on a birth certificate dated 1961 if this name had not yet been applied to it until 1978 ?(CHECK IT BELOW) http://http/http/www.kapiolani.org/women-and-children/about-us/default.aspx
        Why hasn't this been discussed in the major media ?
        4. Perhaps a clue comes from Obama's book on his father. He states how proud he is of his father fighting in WW II. I'm not a math genius, so I may need some help from you. Barack Obama's ''birth certificate'' says his father was 25 years old in 1961 when Obama was born. That should have put his father's date of birth approximately 1936-if my mathholds (Honest! I did That without a calculator!!!) Now we need a non-revised history book-one that hasn't been altered to satisfy the author's goals-to verify that WW II was basically between 1939 and1945. Just how many 3 year olds fight in Wars? Even in the latest stages of WW II his father wouldn't have been more than 9 years old.Does that mean that Mr. Obama is a liar, or simply chooses to alter the facts to satisfy his imagination or political purposes ?
        Very truly yours,
        RICHARD R. SILVERLIEBAttorney at Law354 Eisenhower ParkwayLivingston , NJ 07039
        Add to this another fact: Obama's grandmother came out on national TV, stating that her grandson was not born in Hawaii, but in Africa, and she was dead by a stroke days later.
        See how the White House PDF birth certificate for Barack Obama is a digital forgery:
        From Citizen Wells May 15, 2013:
        ''CORRESPONDENCE FROM PERKINS COIE/OBAMA WITH THE STATE OF HAWAII.
        Perkins Coie represented the Obama Campaign in 2008 and going forward and Robert F. Bauer represented Obama in keeping his birth certificate, college records and other records hidden beginning with the Philip J. Berg lawsuit in 2008. Bauer was appointed White House General Counsel by Obama.
        Judith L. Corley of Perkins Coie assisted Obama in procuring the document placed on WhiteHouse.gov. Once again we are presented with a confusing scenario smelling of Orwellian spin. Ms. Corley writes on behalf of Obama requesting two certified copies of his certificate of live birth and that she is authorized to do so. Once again, per Hawaii law, and irrespective of any departmental policy, Obama is entiltled to personally request a certified copy of an original birth certificate if he has one.
        Loretta J. Fuddy, Director of Health, states that she is making an exception to departmental policy to accomodate Obama. Is that due to the third party, Ms. Corley acting as a go between? Ms. Fuddy then confirms that the copies will be computer generated.
        We learned today that Judith L. Corley stated ''I will be coming to your offices to pick up the copies of the certificates.''''
        http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/arpaio-cold-case-posse-affidavit-obama-whitehouse-gov-alleged-birth-certificate-alabama-supreme-court-obama-eligibility-challenge-mike-zullo-prepared-and-signed/
        It is no coincidence that Loretta Fuddy was the only non-survivor of this non-fatal Cessna crash.
        READ MORE US NEWS AT:21st Century Wire
        -
    PedoBear
      Oud-topman justitie Demmink vervolgd wegens verkrachting | Volg het nieuws terwijl het gebeurt
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        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:51
        Het Openbaar Ministerie moet Joris Demmink, de oud-secretaris-generaal van het ministerie van Justitie, gaan vervolgen op verdenking van verkrachting. Dat heeft het gerechtshof in Arnhem besloten.
        De voormalig secretaris-generaal wordt al jarenlang beticht van pedofilie, maar heeft altijd volgehouden dat daar niets van waar is.
        Twee Turkse mannen beweren in 1996 door Demmink te zijn misbruikt. Ze eisten bij het gerechtshof in Arnhem dat het OM Demmink zou vervolgen. In december liet het OM nog weten daar geen aanleiding voor te zien.
        Het Openbaar Ministerie deed recent nog onderzoek of Demmink naar Turkije was geweest. Op basis van dat onderzoek concludeerde justitie dat Turkije geen informatie heeft dat Demmink in 1996 in Turkije was. Advocaat Ad¨le van der Plas van de beide Turkse mannen twijfelde toen al openlijk aan dat onderzoek. Er zou alleen gekeken zijn naar gegevens van de afdeling grensbewaking, asiel en vreemdelingen. Volgens Van der Plas zou Demmink daar helemaal niet geregistreerd staan, omdat hij destijds een diplomatiek paspoort had.
        Redelijk vermoeden schuldHet gerechtshof heeft besloten dat Demmink toch vervolgd moet worden omdat er wel een 'redelijk vermoeden van schuld is'. De aanwijzingen moeten van het gerechtshof verder worden onderzocht.
        Demmink is afgelopen november met pensioen gegaan.
        RTL Nieuws
    2030
      Survival Guide email
        I know John sucks at finishing books. I have a better idea:
        2030 Survival Guide
        We can crowdsource each chapter/section from the No Agenda community.
        --
        Blake
    Hillary 2016
      Christie camp held Sandy relief money hostage, mayor alleges | MSNBC
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:45
        Two senior members of Gov. Chris Christie's administration warned a New Jersey mayor earlier this year that her town would be starved of hurricane relief money unless she approved a lucrative redevelopment plan favored by the governor, according to the mayor and emails and personal notes she shared with msnbc.
        The mayor, Dawn Zimmer, hasn't approved the project, but she did request $127 million in hurricane relief for her city of Hoboken '' 80% of which was underwater after Sandy hit in October 2012. What she got was $142,000 to defray the cost of a single back-up generator plus an additional $200,000 in recovery grants.
        Up With Steve Kornacki, 1/18/14, 9:11 AM ET
        Mayor: Christie camp held Sandy money Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says that top officials in Chris Christie's administration have told her that her city will only receive critical Sandy relief'...
        In an exclusive interview, Zimmer broke her silence and named Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Richard Constable, Christie's community affairs commissioner, as the two officials who delivered messages on behalf of a governor she had long supported.''The bottom line is, it's not fair for the governor to hold Sandy funds hostage for the City of Hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer,'' she said Saturday on UP w/ Steve Kornacki. '''... I know it's very complicated for the public to really understand all of this, but I have a legal obligation to follow the law, to bring balanced development to Hoboken.''
        Constable and Christie '' through spokespersons '' deny Zimmer's claims.
        ''Mayor Zimmer has been effusive in her public praise of the Governor's Office and the assistance we've provided in terms of economic development and Sandy aid,'' Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak wrote in a statement. ''What or who is driving her only now to say such outlandishly false things is anyone's guess.''
        Christie's office later issued a second statement attacking MSNBC. ''MSNBC is a partisan network that has been openly hostile to Governor Christie and almost gleeful in their efforts attacking him, even taking the unprecedented step of producing and airing a nearly three-minute attack ad against him this week,'' spokesman Colin Reed said.
        Zimmer's statements and documentation suggest that Christie's administration '' hailed for what seemed like a heroic response to Hurricane Sandy '' in fact refused to help some of the neediest.
        ''I'd be more than willing to testify under oath and '' and answer any questions and provide any documents, take a lie detector test,'' Zimmer said, referring to the Christie administration's denials. ''And, you know, my question back to them is, 'Would all of you? Would all of you be willing do that same thing, to testify under oath, to take a lie detector test?'''
        Zimmer's interview comes on the heels of a scandal in which other members of Christie's inner circle conspired to create huge traffic swells, possibly in an act of political retribution, on another New Jersey town on the outskirts of Manhattan.
        Christie, who sailed to re-election last year and has made no secret of his presidential ambitions, has denied any knowledge of the plot that shut down lanes at the foot of the George Washington Bridge, one of the most heavily trafficked in the country. His office and several former senior aides are currently the subject of a number of federal and state inquiries into what has become known as ''Bridge-gate.''
        RELATED: Who's who on the 'Bridge-gate' subpoena list
        In this account '' supported by email, public records and Zimmer's own diary entries '' Christie's inner circle was willing to cut off devastated constituents, muscle a friendly mayor and arrange public funds to finance a study for a project the governor supported.In a news conference last week, Christie rejected the notion that his administration engages in retribution or seeks political payback. Zimmer's account paints a different portrait.
        Zimmer claims they leaned on her twice to get their way. By the second encounter, Zimmer said '' this time with Constable '' the 45-year-old mayor and mother of two young children was despondent, according to her own notes.
        ''I was emotional about governor Christie,'' she wrote in a diary entry she provided that is dated May 17, 2013. ''I thought he was honest. I thought he was moral. I thought he was something very different. This week I found out he's cut from the same corrupt cloth that I have been fighting for the last four years.''
        New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone told UP Saturday that Zimmer's accusations suggest an ''abuse of power'' by the Christie administration. ''This is something that the U.S. attorney should be looking at, and has to be further investigated,'' he said.
        Zimmer and Christie
        Among the great ironies in the latest claims about the New Jersey governor is that without Christie, Zimmer would not likely have become the mayor of Hoboken.
        Click to enlarge.What pole-vaulted her to the Mayor's Office was a corruption scandal five years ago that enveloped a number of New Jersey politicians, including Zimmer's predecessor. The investigation, which netted high profile convictions, was launched by the U.S. Attorney's office then led by Christie. By the time of the arrests in 2009, Christie had already resigned from office to run for governor. But it helped boost his image as tough on corruption and crime.
        For Zimmer, it was a welcome sign for New Jersey's future and while she is a Democrat, she became a Christie supporter.
        Swept into office from the city council, Zimmer inherited preliminary plans for a redevelopment project supported by the previous mayor.
        The deal, as envisioned in 2008, would have awarded the Rockefeller Group '' a New York developer '' the right to redevelop a stretch of Hoboken. The project would have been eligible for tax incentives and it would have given the Rockefeller Group a much freer hand to build whatever they wanted while asking for millions in subsidies. If done right, it would have been an immensely lucrative deal in a town that has become a hip bedroom community of Manhattan.
        Zimmer wasn't against the deal but she wanted a professional study done on the projected development. The problem was that Hoboken's finances were in disarray and she wanted to wait until the community was on sounder footing before spending the money for a study.
        Zimmer told the Rockefeller Group they'd have to follow the same process as everybody else. That process couldn't start until the city had enough money to pay professionals '' planners and engineers '' to study the issue.
        The sides were at an impasse: the Rockefeller Group had big plans for hugely valuable land but Zimmer wasn't moving forward on it yet.
        The dispute became public and that's when the Christie administration came in. Lori Grifa, who in 2010 served as Christie's first community affairs commissioner, went to Hoboken that June and told Zimmer the administration might be able to help track down a source to pay for the study.
        Soon enough, the Christie administration connected Zimmer to the Port Authority '' the same jointly run New Jersey-New York agency that operates the George Washington Bridge, and is littered, on the New Jersey side, with Christie's political appointees.
        Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty
        Mayor Dawn Zimmer (L) of Hoboken talks with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) prior to a joint press conference, Nov. 4, 2012 in Hoboken, N.J.On Dec. 28, 2010, the Port Authority approved a $75,000 grant for the study but there was a catch. The Port Authority alone would choose the firm that conducted the study. In February 2011, it selected Clarke Caton Hintz '' a reputable firm '' to carry out the redevelopment study. It took a long time: the rest of 2011 and all through 2012, with Hurricane Sandy slowing things down.
        Finally, in January 2013, the firm '' which was tasked with evaluating a 19-block area '' concluded that only the three blocks in which the Rockefeller Group had an ownership stake were fit for redevelopment.
        Zimmer's team was concerned. The landowners for the other 16 blocks were angry. They hired a lawyer who called the study ''curious, disturbing and suspect to the say the least.''
        The Rockefeller Group had its own representation '' Wolff & Samson '' the most powerful, politically connected law firm in all of New Jersey. It's heavily involved in development deals and it's known for its close, intimate ties to the Christie administration. It is the firm of David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority, the former attorney general of New Jersey, and a Christie appointee who's coming under increasing scrutiny in the Bridge-gate scandal.
        The firm is also now the professional home of Lori Grifa, the former Christie aide who now lobbies on behalf of the Rockefeller Group.
        ''Our client, The Rockefeller Group, has specifically asked us to speak with you regarding its property in Hoboken,'' Grifa emailed an attorney employed by Hoboken in early 2012.
        Over many months, Grifa kept up the heat on Hoboken, with calls and email pressing for a decision on the project.
        By April 5, 2013, Joe Marazati, the Hoboken lawyer, wrote to Zimmer's director of community development. ''I am getting the full court press on this,'' Marazati wrote in an email. ''I have a voice mail from last night from Lori asking that I join a call this am with Lori and Dave Samson (chair of the PA) or suggest another time.''
        Email obtained by msnbc shows a raft of exchanges between the town of Hoboken and the law firm until May 8 when the Hoboken Planning Board voted 4-3 against the project, finding ''insufficient evidence'' to designate those three blocks for redevelopment.
        Instead, the board declared the entire 19 block area ''in need of rehabilitation.'' The designation didn't make it impossible for the Rockefeller Group to get what it wanted but it was a strong signal that Zimmer's team wasn't going to roll over for them.
        In a statement to msnbc, a spokesman for the Rockefeller Group said: ''We have no knowledge of any information pertaining to this allegation. If it turns out to be true it would be deplorable.''
        Sandy Aid
        At the same time that the planning board voted against the study, Zimmer was applying for funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, a huge vault of money overseen by Christie to help communities hit hard by Sandy prepare themselves for the next storm.
        Photo by Gary Hershorn/Reuters
        A woman makes her way through the floodwaters, Oct. 31, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J.After Sandy hit, in Hoboken's darkest hour, Christie came to town and told residents they could count on him.
        ''I spoke to the mayor this morning, and I told her Hoboken is in the front of my mind, and whenever there's any assistance that's needed here, I'll be here to help.
        Christie's people came back with less than 1% of what Hoboken had sought. With $250 million to disburse statewide, just $142,000 went to Hoboken '' enough to help defray the cost of one backup generator to power a flood pump. Out of another pool of money for recovery grants '' $1.8 billion in all '' Hoboken received $200,000.Hoboken is perched above the mouth of the Hudson River, directly across from lower Manhattan. Following Christie's visit, city officials submitted seven letters of intent for around $100 million in funds from programs the state was now running. Among the requests were money for storm surge coastal protection, money to buy properties to be used as open space and money for backup generators.
        ''Please governor,'' Zimmer wrote in a letter following the decisions, ''we need your help. I have tried to assure Hoboken residents that we would be treated fairly because you have always treated Hoboken fairly in the past.''
        There was no response to that letter, dated May 8 of last year, the same day the Hoboken Planning Board did not adopt the redevelopment recommendation for the Rockefeller property.
        Two days later, Zimmer got a call from the Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadagno, who wanted to come to town to do an event at a ShopRite to spotlight businesses that had recovered from the storm.
        On May 13, Guadagno and Zimmer met at the Hoboken ShopRite. That is where, Zimmer said, Guadagno delivered the first message about the relief aide.
        Zimmer shared this diary entry which she said she wrote later that day. ''At the end of a big tour of ShopRite and meeting, she pulls me aside with no one else around and says that I need to move forward with the Rockefeller project. It is very important to the governor. The word is that you are against it and you need to move forward or we are not going to be able to help you. I know it's not right '' these things should not be connected '' but they are, she says, and if you tell anyone, I will deny it.''
        The second warning, according to Zimmer, came four days later. She and Constable, who now led Christie's department of community affairs, were seated together on stage for a for a NJTV public television special on Sandy Recovery.
        Again, Zimmer provided this diary entry from May 17, which she said captured the incident.
        ''We are mic'ed up with other panelists all around us and probably the sound team is listening. And he says ''I hear you are against the Rockefeller project''. I reply ''I am not against the Rockefeller project; in fact I want more commercial development in Hoboken.'' ''Oh really? Everyone in the State House believes you are against it '' the buzz is that you are against it. If you move that forward, the money would start flowing to you'' he tells me.
        Lisa M. Ryan, spokeswoman for Constable, said in a statement: ''Mayor Zimmer's allegation that on May 16, 2013, Commissioner Constable conditioned Hoboken's receipt of Sandy aid on her moving forward with a development project is categorically false.''
        Publicly, Zimmer has not spoken out against either Constable or Christie and the governor's office was quick to point to two supportive tweets she wrote about the governor.
        In the diary entry she shared, Zimmer concluded with these lines:
        ''My beloved governor who wants to run for President. I cannot understand it. Why is he so concerned about Rockfeller? What has he promised them? What have they promised him? I cannot figure it out but I have no option but to stand up to him.''
        Dafna Linzer and Jack Bohrer contributed to this report.
    NA-Tech
      Why Does Ad Tech Advertise on Piracy Sites? | Digiday
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:36
        When advertisers purchase media from exchanges, they can never be exactly sure where their ads will show up. But it seems even the companies selling programmatic buying technology have the same problem.
        Ads for demand-side platforms, ad exchange companies and other ad technology providers are regularly served on websites that facilitate piracy or feature otherwise questionable content.
        This week, for example, display ads for MediaMath, OpenX, The Trade Desk and TapSense were repeatedly served on Sweden-based vipboxus.co, which offers free access to online streams of paid TV channels from around the world and monetizes them with ads. It's a similar story on Cuevana.tv, on which ads for both MediaMath and Trade Desk were served.
        The question is: Do those companies' ads show up on that type of site because they can't stop them? Or do they simply ignore the fact because they're a great source of cheap, effective media? Either way, it's not a great look. If they are unable to stop the ads, that doesn't give advertisers much comfort. And if they don't care, well, publishers are a bit less cavalier when it comes down to misappropriation of intellectual property.
        According to MediaMath, it's the former. ''We do take these matters very seriously. We currently have in place a number of internal and external protocols to protect against these types of situations,'' said the company's head of marketing, Rachel Meranus. ''In addition to these preventive measures, MediaMath acts promptly when situations like this one are brought to our attention. This site, in particular, has now been added to our global block list,'' she added.
        Multiple executives at The Trade Desk did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the situation with its own ads.
        MediaMath CEO Joe Zawadzki implied it's difficult for the company to keep track of the sites it is buying ads on. He said ads end up on sites like vipbox because ''small bad actors 'hack' [exchanges] to get their bad inventory in there,'' and added that it's not a simple case of ''bad ad on bad site; somebody is doing something wrong or not enough.''
        But ultimately, it is, because perception is important. Many big-brand advertisers are still wary of spending on ad exchanges because of brand-safety issues, and the fact that ads for their vendor partners show up in questionable places is, presumably, far from reassuring. (Incidentally, ads for big brands including Progressive Insurance, StubHub, Philips, Samsung, Zappos and Anthropologie also appeared on vipbox.tv yesterday.)
        Ad tech executives continue to refute the fact that exchange-traded inventory does not all come from low-quality, long-tail sites, but a quick visit to a couple of low-quality, long-tail sites can easily suggest otherwise.
        That's not to say there is anything wrong with low-quality, long-tail inventory, of course, if that's what an advertiser wants to buy. But ad tech companies should be aware that serving their ads on piracy-related sites implies either that they're happy to associate themselves with that content or that their tech is incapable of stopping it. Neither is a good look.
    Real News
      Justin Bieber ARRESTED FOR DUI In Miami; All The Details Here!
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        Archived Version
        Source: Radar Online Radar Online
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:27
        Justin Bieber was arrested in Miami Beach early Thursday in connection with DUI and drag racing, and RadarOnline.com has all the details for you on the story.
        The 'Baby' singer, according to NBC6, was departing from a club behind the wheel of a rented yellow Lamborghini, when police apprehended him at Pine Tree Drive and 26th Street on suspicion of drag racing.
        Police said that the singer's hangers-on had blocked off the intersection to set up a drag strip for the fast-living showman. Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martineztold the Miami Herald that officers had a tough time of apprehending the group, as ''when the cars are going that fast, it takes awhile to catch up.'' (The NY Daily News reported that a second car was pulled over directly in front of the Canadian pop star.)
        PHOTOS: Bieber Gets Stopped By The LAPD
        When he was taken into custody at 4:30 a.m., Bieber, 19, flunked a field sobriety test. After further testing, Martinez told the paper that singer '-- who didn't have a valid driver's license on his person '-- was determined to be under the influence of drugs.
        Bieber was in South Florida following a quick excursion to Cuba Wednesday, where he retreated to in the wake of mounting problems after his Calabasas, Calif. mansion was examined by police following an incident with a neighbor, and drugs were apprehended at the scene. He's spent the rest of his time in South Florida at the beach, or at King of Diamonds, a gentleman's club where he reportedly treated pal Lil Scrappy to a $75,000 birthday bash. (New reports emanating from the area indicated officials in Opa-Locka, Fla. are looking into claims he had a police detail squiring him around town.)
        The incident looks to be another footnote in a celebrity meltdown reminiscent of Robert Downey Jr. in 1996, Britney Spears in 2007-2008, and Charlie Sheen in 2011.
        PHOTOS: Lil Za Arrested For Cocaine Possession At The Home Of Pop Star Justin Bieber
        In 2014 alone, Bieber has already been implicated of: presiding over a drug-laden party pad to the chagrin of his neighbors; attacking one of those neighbor's homes with eggs, leading to a police investigation that turned up drugs, and could have consequences for the singer at the felony level; taunting, and sending unwanted pics of his genitals to ex Selena Gomez; and being linked to the frequent consumption of illegal drugs such as marijuana and ''sizzurp'', a potent codeine-based liquid.
        The parade of unsightly headlines have crippled the once-wholesome singer's commercial appeal, as his film Believetanked at the box office, while concert ticket sales have lagged as his target demographic has found new heartthrobs to fawn over.
        The singer's mother Pattie Mallette Wednesday encouraged his fans to pray for her son, saying, ''I ask that people keep me and Justin in their minds. I pray for him every day '... I think so many people go into the entertainment industry with amazing Christian roots and they get influenced somehow.''
        Stay with Radar for more updates on this story.
      Celebrity Big Brother crew member spotted holding 'storyline' cue cards | Mail Online
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:26
        By Daily Mail Reporter
        PUBLISHED: 07:00 EST, 22 January 2014 | UPDATED: 10:49 EST, 22 January 2014
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        Viewers are questioning the authenticity of Celebrity Big Brother after a crew member was spotted in the house prompting contestants during a task.
        The public have always been led to believed that both contestants in Big Brother and the celebrity version of the show have zero contact with the outside world during their time in the house.
        However that illusion has since been shattered after an eagle-eyed viewer spotted a member of the show's production team holding cue cards for the contestants during Sunday's Big Brother's Bit On The Side.
        Scroll down for video
        They're behind you! A Celebrity Big Brother crew member was spotted in the house by viewers during Sunday's spin-off series Big Brother's Bit On The Side
        As host Iain Lee presented the show, while watching the task from behind a mirror, a woman could be seen wearing a T-shirt clearly labelled 'crew' on the back.
        The show staffer was seen as former Made in Chelsea star Ollie Locke performed a reality show style skit with The Only Way Is Essex's Sam Faiers in which he declared his love for her.
        The staffer held up the 'story-line' cards as they performed the routine on stage for the other housemates.
        Judged by Jim Davidson, Luisa Zissman and Linda Nolan, the rest of the group also had to show off their skills in front of their co-stars.
        A Big Brother spokesman explained to MailOnline: 'Sometimes members of the task team enter the Big Brother house but they do not communicate with housemates.
        Crew member holding cue card spotted inside Big Brother house
        No contact allowed: As host Iain Lee presented the segment, a person wearing a T-shirt clearly labelled 'crew' on the back could be seen
        'Ollie and Sam were taking part in an improvised reality scene and as part of this they were provided with surprise story lines to react to on chalk boards by a member of the task team.'
        Convenient explanations aside, it does bring into question exactly how much contact the production team have with the contestants.
        One viewer named Emily Taylor tweeted: 'Crew member on Big Brother telling them what to do #totallyruinedit #cbb'.
        While Alexander Robertson added: 'Ollie is a docile twonk! He cant even perform a two minute skit without bb crew prompting him.'
        Helping hand: A Big Brother spokesman told the MailOnline: 'Sometimes members of the task team enter the Big Brother house but they do not communicate with housemates.
        Not so improvised: Ollie and Sam were taking part in a scene in which they were 'provided with surprise story lines to react to on chalk boards'
        The backlash continued. A fan, who tweets as Joshlarr, said: 'Hang on, there's a crew member INSIDE the #cbb house! That's just spoiled it a bit tbh... @bbuk'.
        After Whaleydaly commented: 'Much sad to see the crew member giving many prompts in the cbb house. #cbb #FAKE'
        This isn't the first time one of the programme's rules has been broken, as Sam was allowed contact with an OK magazine journalist. Despite being inside the house, she submitted her weekly column for the publication on time.
        Channel Five and OK! are both owned by publishing and television group Northern & Shell.
        And show bosses granted the boutique owner permission to talk to one of the publication's editorial team to discuss her experiences in the house for her weekly column.
        Day job: The task saw the former Made in Chelsea regular propose to Sam after declaring his love for her
        This year's housemates have arguably been among the most scandalous, with thanks to Blue's Lee Ryan and his love triangle with Jasmine Waltz and Casey Batchelor.
        Evictee Jasmine was tuning into the show on Tuesday night to spy on Lee Ryan, and his increasingly flirty exchanges with the brunette.
        Jasmine appeared at first to encourage Casey to think about her reputation, tweeting: 'My gwad the desperation... Have some pride for yourself'.
        Obviously angered by the busty model's moves on her man, the Hollywood actress continued to express her rage, indicating she wanted to tell her off personally:
        'NO Casey!! He doesn't want to drink with you and he doesn't want your snagle teeth on his d**k and he doesn't care your horny #Uneedasmack'.
        Celebrity Big Brother continues on Channel 5 at 9pm on Wednesday.
        Critics: Judged by Jim Davidson, Luisa Zissman and Linda Nolan, the rest of the group also had to show off their skills
        Share or comment on this article
      £6,000 worth of Viagra, 100 bayonets stolen from UK MoD '-- RT News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:17
        Published time: January 21, 2014 14:53Reuters/Keith Bedford
        Some 6,000 ($9,900) pounds' worth of Viagra has been stolen from the UK's Ministry of Defence since 2007, among other stolen goods totaling 7 million pounds, including nuclear submarine equipment and a washing machine, according to new figures.
        The anti-impotence pills and nuclear submarine equipment were taken from RAF Marham in Norfolk, East Anglia, the Times reported.
        Some 100 bayonets, thousands of rounds of ammunition, an industrial washing machine and a Bedford truck were all taken from various Ministry of Defence sites nationwide.
        Lead flashing and roofing, copper piping and radiators have also been among items going missing '' alongside a silver statue '' worth 25,000 pounds from the Household Cavalry barracks in Knightsbridge.
        Statistics for stolen equipment were found to be significantly higher in the period 2009-2010. In these two years, equipment with a value of around 2.5 million pounds disappeared.
        In the last eight months alone, some 572,549 million pounds of military gear has been taken.
        The figures were disclosed by the ministry after a written Parliamentary question was posed by Conservative MP, Nick de Bois. Increasing attention is being given to missing equipment since the case of Sergeant Major Steven Barratt who was jailed for 20 months last week, after attempting to sell army night vision gear on eBay for 115,000 pounds.
        ''The MoD takes the loss of theft of equipment very seriously and works hard to detect and deter theft,'' an MoD spokesperson said. ''Where theft does occur and a suspect is identified, prosecution or internal disciplinary action will follow as appropriate.''
        The spokesman added: "Viagra has other medical uses - for example it is often used to treat low blood pressure and altitude sickness."
    War on Drugs
      HSBC is paying $2 billion, or 5 weeks' worth of its profit, to avoid criminal charges in drug cartel laundering case | GlobalPost
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:25
        Please support our site by enabling javascript to view ads.
        US regulators continue to find weaknesses in the way HSBC Holdings tries to prevent money laundering, according to people familiar with the matter, even after the British bank was forced to pay nearly $2 billion in penalties and invested millions in increasing its compliance.
        The deferred prosecution agreement was reached in December 2012 and was approved Monday. The settlement was seen as a record amount to resolve charges that the bank failed to stop billions of dollars in drug money from flowing through the bank from Mexico.
        Under the terms of the deal, the Justice Department agreed to suspend criminal charges against HSBC and its US subsidiary for five years if the bank agreed to pay the penalty.
        When announcing the settlement, HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said: "The HSBC of today is a fundamentally different organization from the one that made those mistakes."
        But examiners from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have continued to find problems, two people familiar with the matter said. They said that the regulator told the bank late last year it has not seen enough improvement in the bank's controls in its correspondent banking business, which processes transactions for financial institutions around the world, including HSBC units.
        Sources declined to provide further detail about the nature of the weaknesses. The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the internal changes or the communication with regulators.
        While none of the people suggested HSBC could face another regulatory or enforcement action at this point, the assessment by the authorities shows how difficult it is for the bank to resolve the issues.
        HSBC spokesman Rob Sherman said in a statement: "We continue to make solid progress in addressing AML (anti-money laundering) and sanctions compliance deficiencies, but recognize there's more work to do."
        The bank is working to implement globally consistent controls and has hired experienced executives to continue transforming the compliance team and help it to work directly with HSBC bankers, Sherman said.
        OCC spokesman Bryan Hubbard declined comment.
        SPEEDING UP OVERHAUL
        In response to the regulator's findings, the bank, which is Europe's largest, has taken steps to speed up its overhaul, the sources said. In the past few months HSBC has hired several new anti-money laundering executives, restructured its compliance department, and is considering the unusual step of cutting off USdollar-clearing access to some foreign affiliates, they said.
        HSBC has already pulled out of several high-risk and low-profit business areas and countries, including Panama and other Latin American countries, Reuters previously reported. It retrenched from banking some embassies and consulates last year, and is in the process of cutting off relationships with some small, cash-focused businesses in the United States, such as corner stores.
        It is spending about $800 million each year on compliance costs across its operations in 80 countries.
        Two top legal officials at the US arm of the bank, anti-money laundering director Alan Schienberg and chief compliance officer Gary Peterson, left in November amid HSBC's compliance overhaul.
        Instead of replacing those positions, HSBC is globally restructuring its department that deals with questionable transactions around regional heads of "financial crimes compliance," and hired former Bank of America executive Patty O'Connor earlier this month to fill that role in the United States, according to people familiar with the changes.
        The new structure, a brain child of former US Treasury Department official Robert Werner who was appointed head of group financial crimes compliance in December 2012, increases the team's firepower.
        Three of O'Connor's direct reports will be executives who deal exclusively with HSBC's anti-money laundering efforts, anti-corruption efforts, and compliance with sanctions laws. That structure is expected to be replicated at HSBC units around the world, the sources said.
        HSBC also just hired former JPMorgan executive Jessica Gomel into a new position, global head of financial crime compliance for correspondent banking, and plans to make additional hires in the coming weeks, the sources said.
        Gomel's mandate is to police bank-to-bank transactions and all currency clearing activity, sources said.
        HSBC's struggles with its correspondent banking controls have been a long-standing issue for the bank. A 2010 OCC order flagged the issue as the bank's primary anti-money laundering problem and said HSBC had failed to properly police some high-risk cash transactions of its affiliates.
        HSBC operates hundreds of affiliates around the world and its US arm acts as the gateway into the U.S. financial system for this network by processing US dollar-denominated payments.
        A US Senate report released in mid-2012 said HSBC failed to assess the money laundering risks associated with affiliates before opening correspondent accounts for them.
        The interaction between HSBC's US arm and HSBC affiliates around the world continues to be a concern for the OCC, the sources said. In response, the bank has begun advising units that those that fail to implement full anti-money laundering regimes could have their correspondent accounts closed, one of the sources said.
        The bank has specifically found problems with transactions coming from its Hong Kong unit, but was unlikely to cut off dollar clearing services for that unit, the source said. HSBC has a huge presence in Hong Kong and made around one-third of its profits from there in the first nine months of 2013.
        http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/140121/hsbc-paying-2-billion-drug-money-laundering-cartel
    Vaccine$
      Super-Vaccine To Eradicate The Flu, Including Bird Flu | Health News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:29
        It is little wonder that so many of the world's health scares, such as the swine flu and bird flu pandemics, were caused by the flu virus. The virus, also known as influenza, mutates often, is highly contagious and grows resistant to treatments. Now, an Israeli company has developed a universal vaccine that may forever eradicate the flu family.
        BiondVax Pharmaceuticals, which is developing the vaccine, has announced that it has completed a series of tests, which show that the vaccine is indeed ''universal'' and is also suited to the many new deadly flu strains that have appeared in the past few years.
        Until relatively recently, the flu strains H5N8, H6N1, H7N7, H7N9 and H10N8 infected only birds and were not considered dangerous for humans. However, as viruses do, all of them have now evolved and infected humans as well.
        Related articles
        Between 2003 and 2013, the bird flu H5N1, for example, has infected 648 people, with 384 deaths as a result. Similarly, the H7N9 virus, first identified in China, has since March 2013 caused the death of 33 percent of those infected.
        A universal vaccine
        In contrast to current vaccines, which are strain-specific, BiondVax's new vaccine was designed to contain small doses of the flu virus, which are enough to teach the human immune system to recognize all flu strains, so that the body quickly stops the virus from causing illness. The company anticipates that the universal vaccine, when the development stage is completed, will be broadly effective against present and future strains of flu.
        BiondVax's Chief Scientist Doctor Tamar Ben-Yedidia says: ''These data are exciting and support the universality of BiondVax's vaccine against strains emerging in the world, seasonal or pandemic. Today as people are constantly travelling, there are no natural borders that stop diseases from spreading across the globe. We need a new kind of flu vaccine that works against all flu strains and BiondVax has the solution in hand''.
        BiondVax is a publicly traded advanced clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to improving global protection against influenza. The universal influenza vaccine, called M-001, is their lead product.
        Photo: H1N1 Virus H5N1 Virus H7N9 Virus Bird Flu Virus by Bigstock
      School networks will help plan for the next flu pandemic
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:06
        Saved by the bell. NASA/GFSC/Rebecca RothLack of exposure to a particular influenza strain means you won't have had a chance to build up complete immunity. And if the strain spreads easily between people and there is little immunity in communities, this can lead to pandemic status. In 2009, the emergence of a new strain of influenza '' A/H1N1, or swine flu '' was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, which put the death toll at over 18,000 people. A recent study suggested that this figure could have been up to ten times higher.
        It is reasonable to assume there will be more influenza pandemics in the future. Historical records show that pandemics occur with startling frequency: flu pandemics occurred in 1889 (''Russian flu''), 1918 (''Spanish flu''), 1957 (''Asian flu''), 1968 (''Hong Kong flu'') and then in 2009 (''Swine flu''). The 1918 pandemic was one of the deadliest in human history and is believed to have killed up to 50m people worldwide.
        Four more human cases of H7N9 were reported this week. But there has been much speculation and exaggeration of the risks posed by a number of these avian flu viruses.
        Knowing how people get exposed to avian flu and how often these zoonotic infections (those that can cross between species) normally occur tell us not only about how these viruses evolve but can also put potential threats like H5N1 and H7N9 into a proper context.
        Our work in the FluScape project in Southern China is helping us understand a lot about the human ecology of influenza in the region. For example, we're examining how diverse people's immunity to current and past influenza infections is. And we're looking at how ''patchy'' immunity is between different villages and towns, even though they may be relatively close. We're also trying to work out how often people in the region are exposed to avian and swine influenza strains.
        Social networksBeing able to predict how fast a new flu pandemic will spread and what to do about it also demands an understanding of how normal flu spreads. Schools, where lots of small people with generally poor hygiene congregate on an almost daily basis, are known to be important drivers in the spread of influenza and many other flu-like illnesses.
        I've been working closely with colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US on the SMART study. This study aims to help understand how children spread flu viruses in schools and beyond. Using a variety of methods, from questionnaires and electronic devices that record close encounters to video recordings, we're quantifying the social mixing patterns of students and their interactions with the wider community.
        Like other researchers, we've found that pupils' social networks are dominated by encounters with similar-aged children '' not surprising given they spend much of their within-school time in class with their peers. We've also been looking at how much interaction they have outside of schools to help understand whether deliberately closing schools would impact in the way people think on the spread of flu.
        We're also linking which students actually got flu or other infections in the school to their social networks, to determine exactly what sort of contacts, for example whether you spend a long time together or both handle the same object, might enable flu to spread, and how similar (or not) the spread of different viruses is.
        Big spread. SMART networks
        The picture above shows just one friendship network that we recorded in an elementary school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each circle is a student, and friendships are shown as a link between them. Students are colour coded by their school grade (A) and whether they got sick (B).
        This work will be critical to help predict how far and how fast a new influenza strain with pandemic potential may really spread in the US '' and potentially elsewhere. It will also help us to develop the best ways to mitigate transmission through closing schools or classrooms in the event of a new pandemic.
        H + numbersIt is not, perhaps, surprising that we have seen a human case of H5N1 in a developed country outside of south-east Asia. The person concerned had visited China and it's likely that's where they caught the infection. But the risks of it spreading within Canada are extremely low; there have been more than 600 human cases worldwide in the the past decade and almost no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Put simply, it seems you catch H5N1 from handling sick birds, not from infected people.
        The H7N9 strain is more worrying; it has caused more than 150 human cases in China and Hong Kong since it emerged just last year. It has a lower fatality rate than H5N1, but it is still more serious than normal seasonal influenza '' a Hong Kong and Chinese-based team estimated that 36%61207-6/fulltext) of confirmed cases die from the infection and raised the possibility that only the most severe cases were identified.
        The concern about H7N9 is really that there is some (limited) evidence that it can already spread between people. But so far, unless it mutates sufficiently, it doesn't seem to do this easily.
        While these viruses are still far from pandemics, we're able to learn much from them '' and to keep tabs on a virus that can rapidly evolve. Influenza viruses are difficult to predict with precision and as such remain a threat '' one that requires research conducted in ''peacetime'' to help prepare ourselves for when another pandemic happens in the future.
        Sign in to Favourite Post a CommentTagsPublic health, Influenza, Bird flu H5N1, Avian flu
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      Flu pandemic in 2009 killed 10 times more than thought
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:06
        By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY5:01 p.m. EST November 26, 2013
        This is a highly magnified, digitally colorized transmission electron micrograph of the H1N1 flu virus.(Photo: Cynthia Goldsmith, CDC)
        Story HighlightsEarlier death figures for H1N1 included only lab-confirmed casesMany flu victims are never officially diagnosed through lab testsDeaths from H1N1 were up to 20 times higher in the Americas than in EuropeSHARE320CONNECTEMAILMOREDeaths from H1N1 influenza in 2009 may have been 10 times higher than previously estimated, killing 123,000 to 203,000 people from respiratory illness worldwide, according to a new analysis in the journal PLOS Medicine.
        The World Health Organization had listed the global death toll from the H1N1 pandemic, also known as swine flu, at 18,449, based only on laboratory-confirmed cases.
        That relatively low death tally had led some to wonder if the dangers of H1N1 had been overblown, according to the analysis, conducted by 60 researchers in 26 countries and funded by the WHO.
        Most people infected with the flu never got a lab test to confirm their diagnosis, according to the study, whose authors used death records from countries around the world to estimate the true number of deaths.
        Some flu deaths go uncounted, because the immediate cause of death of many people is actually pneumonia or another chronic respiratory ailment, according to the study led by researchers at George Washington University School of Public Health in Washington.
        Health officials around the world were on high alert after H1N1 appeared, because it was a new strain of flu virus for which, at least initially, there was no vaccine. Earlier pandemics killed millions of people worldwide, and officials were concerned that people would have no natural immunity to a new virus.
        Some researchers said they expected the final estimate of flu deaths to be higher than early tallies.
        "We knew all along that lab-confirmed deaths were just the tip of the iceberg," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
        Researchers write that their analysis may underestimate the true number of flu deaths. That's because they included only deaths from respiratory illness. Researchers also covered only the first nine months of 2009 and may have missed deaths from later that year.
        Mortality was highest in younger people and in Central America and South America, where death tolls were up to 20 times higher than in Europe.
        That variation shows how difficult it can be to prepare for a pandemic and to respond once it's underway, said Arnold Monto, a leading flu researcher and professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Policymakers can't easily predict how hard their communities will be hit. The first cases of H1N1 were found in Mexico, which had one of the highest death rates from the pandemic, Osterholm said.
        The analysis confirms how H1N1 differed from seasonal flu. In a typical year, 90% of flu deaths occur in those over age 65. With H1N1, 62% to 85% of deaths occurred in those under age 65.
        In the past, public health officials have judged the severity of a flu outbreak on the total number of deaths. Osterholm says it's also important to know which populations suffered the most.
        "It's not just about the total number of deaths, but who is dying," Osterholm says. "In the past, we've used deaths as an indicator of severity. But a death in an 82-year-old is very different than in an healthy 21-year-old female who happened to be pregnant."
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      CDC - Vaccine Effectiveness - How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work? | Seasonal Influenza (Flu)
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:47
        How effective is the flu vaccine?How well the flu vaccine works (or its ability to prevent flu illness) can range widely from season to season. The vaccine's effectiveness also can vary depending on who is being vaccinated. At least two factors play an important role in determining the likelihood that flu vaccine will protect a person from flu illness: 1) characteristics of the person being vaccinated (such as their age and health), and 2) the similarity or "match" between the flu viruses the flu vaccine is designed to protect against and the flu viruses spreading in the community. During years when the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating viruses, it's possible that no benefit from flu vaccination may be observed. During years when there is a good match between the flu vaccine and circulating viruses, it's possible to measure substantial benefits from vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness. However, even during years when the vaccine match is very good, the benefits of vaccination will vary across the population, depending on characteristics of the person being vaccinated and even, potentially, which vaccine was used.
        Each season researchers try to determine how well flu vaccines work to regularly assess and confirm the value of flu vaccination as a public health intervention. Study results about how well a flu vaccine works can vary based on study design, outcome(s) measured, population studied and the season in which the flu vaccine was studied. These differences can make it difficult to compare one study's results with another's.
        While determining how well a flu vaccine works is challenging, in general, recent studies have supported the conclusion that flu vaccination benefits public health, especially when the flu vaccine is well matched to circulating flu viruses.
        Is the flu vaccine effective against all types of flu and cold viruses?Seasonal flu vaccines are designed to protect against infection and illness caused by the flu viruses research indicates will be most common during the flu season. ''Trivalent'' flu vaccines are formulated to protect against three flu viruses, and ''quadrivalent'' flu vaccines protect against four flu viruses. Flu vaccines do NOT protect against infection and illness caused by other viruses that can also cause flu-like symptoms. There are many other viruses besides flu viruses that can result in flu-like illness* (also known as influenza-like illness or ''ILI'') that spread during the flu season.
        Does the flu vaccine work the same for everyone?No. While the flu vaccine is the single best way to prevent the flu, protection can vary widely depending on who is being vaccinated (in addition to how well matched the flu vaccine is with circulating viruses). In general, the flu vaccine works best among healthy adults and older children. Some older people and people with certain chronic illnesses might develop less immunity than healthy children and adults after vaccination. However, even for these people, the flu vaccine still may provide some protection.
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        How effective is the flu vaccine in the elderly?Older people with weaker immune systems often have a lower protective immune response after flu vaccination compared to younger, healthier people. This can result in lower vaccine effectiveness in these people.
        How effective is the flu vaccine in children?In general, the flu vaccine works best among healthy adults and children older than 2 years of age. Reduced benefits of flu vaccine are often found in studies of young children (e.g., those younger than 2 years of age) and older adults (e.g., adults 65 years of age and older).
        How are benefits of vaccination measured?Public health researchers measure how well flu vaccines work through different kinds of studies. ''Randomized studies,'' in which people are randomly assigned to receive either vaccine or placebo (i.e., salt water solution), and then followed to see how many in each group get the flu, are the ''gold standard'' (best method) for determining how well a vaccine works. The effects of vaccination measured in these studies is called ''efficacy.''
        ''Observational studies'' are studies in which subjects who choose to be vaccinated are compared to those who chose not to be vaccinated. This means that vaccination of study subjects is not randomized. The measurement of vaccine effects in an observational study is referred to as ''effectiveness.'' Randomized studies are expensive and are not conducted after a recommendation for vaccination has been issued, as withholding vaccine from people recommended for vaccination would place them at risk for infection, illness and possibly serious complications. For that reason, most U.S. studies conducted to determine the benefits of flu vaccination in the elderly are observational studies.
        Top
        How does CDC present data on flu vaccine effectiveness?CDC typically presents vaccine effectiveness (VE) as a single point estimate: for example, 60%. This point estimate represents the reduction in risk provided by the flu vaccine. CDC vaccine effectiveness studies commonly measure laboratory confirmed flu illness that results in a doctor's visit or urgent care visit as an outcome. For this outcome, a VE point estimate of 60% means that the flu vaccine reduces a person's risk of developing flu illness that results in a visit to the doctor's office or urgent care provider by 60%.
        In addition to the VE point estimate, CDC also provides a ''confidence interval'' (CI) for this point estimate, for example, 60% (95% CI: 50%-70%). The confidence interval provides a lower boundary for the VE estimate (e.g., 50%) as well as an upper boundary (e.g., 70%). One way to interpret a 95% confidence interval is that if CDC were to repeat this study 100 times, 95 times out of 100, the VE point estimate would fall within the confidence interval (i.e., on or between 50% and 70%). There is still the possibility that five times out of 100 (a 5% chance) that CDC's point estimate of VE could fall outside of the 50%-70% confidence interval.
        Why are confidence intervals important for understanding flu vaccine effectiveness?Confidence intervals are important because they provide context for understanding the precision or exactness of a VE point estimate. The wider the confidence interval, the less exact the point value estimate of vaccine effectiveness becomes. Take, for example, a VE point estimate of 60%. If the confidence interval of this point estimate is 50%-70%, then we can have greater certainty that the true protective effect of the flu vaccine is near 60% than if the confidence interval was 10-90%. Furthermore, if a confidence interval crosses zero, for example, (-20% to 60%), then the point value estimate of VE provided is ''not statistically significant.'' People should be cautious when interpreting VE estimates that are not statistically significant because such results cannot rule out the possibility of zero VE (i.e., no protective benefit). The width of a confidence interval is related in part to the number of participants in the study, and so studies that provide more precise estimates of VE (and consequently, have a tighter confidence interval) typically include a large number of participants.
        Why are there so many different outcomes for vaccine effectiveness studies?Results of studies that assess how well a flu vaccine works can vary based on study design, outcome(s) measured, population studied and the season in which the vaccine was studied. These differences can make it difficult to compare one study's results with another's. As there is interest in how well flu vaccines may prevent illness, hospitalization, and even death with influenza, many outcomes need to be considered.
        Top
        How does CDC measure how well the vaccine works?Scientists continue to work on better ways to design, conduct and evaluate non-randomized (i.e., observational) studies to assess how well flu vaccines work. CDC has been working with researchers at universities and hospitals since the 2003-2004 flu season to estimate how well flu vaccine works through observational studies using laboratory-confirmed flu as the outcome. These studies currently use a very accurate and sensitive laboratory test known as RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) to confirm medically-attended flu virus infections as a specific outcome. CDC's studies are conducted in five sites across the United States to gather more representative data. To assess how well the vaccine works across different age groups, CDC's studies of vaccine effects have included all people aged 6 months and older recommended at that time for an annual flu vaccination. Similar studies are being done in Australia, Canada and Europe.
        What do recent vaccine effectiveness studies show?CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the flu vaccine protects against flu illness. These estimates provide more information about how well this season's vaccine is working. Recent studies show vaccine can reduce the risk of flu illness by about 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the viruses the flu vaccine is designed to protect against.
        Do recent vaccine effectiveness study results support flu vaccination?The large numbers of flu-associated illnesses and deaths in the United States, combined with the evidence from many studies showing that flu vaccines help to provide protection, support the current U.S. flu vaccination recommendations. It's important to note, however, that how well flu vaccines work will continue to vary each year, depending especially on the match between the flu vaccine and the flu viruses that are spreading and causing illness in the community, as well as the characteristics of the person being vaccinated.
        Where can I get more information?CDC has compiled a list of selected publications related to vaccine effectiveness.
        Besides vaccination, how can people protect themselves against the flu?Getting a flu vaccine each year is the best way to prevent the flu. Antiviral drugs are an important second line of defense against the flu. These drugs must be prescribed by a doctor. In addition, good health habits, such as covering your cough and frequently washing your hands with soap, can help prevent the spread of the flu and other respiratory illnesses.
        More information on Vaccine Selection.
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      Activist Post: The Influenza Deception
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 03:10
        Brandon TurbevilleActivist PostWith the latest round of hysteria regarding the prevalence of the annual flu season and the ''need'' for the flu vaccine in full swing, one unaccustomed to reading the details of government statistics and the arguments for or against vaccination might justifiably be terrorized into running to their local vaccine dispensary and rolling up their sleeves. Indeed, the average person encountering the reports of infection, hospitalization, and death will justifiably be stirred into a frenzied state of panic.
        The vaccine makers, pharmaceutical companies, and their representatives also known as medical doctors, are, of course, waiting with open arms and needles locked and loaded. With statistics such as ''hundreds of thousands'' of infections and ''tens of thousands of deaths'' by the flu virus being repeated ad nauseam, it is understandable why many hapless individuals rush to take toxic vaccines unaware of the hazardous ingredients they contain.
        However, what is scarcely examined is whether or not these numbers quoted by mainstream media outlets and the medical industry are, in fact, accurate. Indeed, in most cases, these numbers are simply repeated by various players with little or no adequate challenge ever mounted against them.
        Yet, upon closer examination, the statistics being repeated by these outlets are revealed to be nothing more than propaganda. While the flu virus might not be something to ignore, the truth is that the apocalyptic predictions and bio-panic reports constantly shoveled out to the American population are much smaller both in terms of infection and mortality rates.
        These vastly reduced amounts of infection are clearly evident when one evaluates the actual numbers of infection confirmed to be caused by the flu virus itself.
        First, it is important to point out the difference between Influenza (Flu) and Influenza-like illness. Both the flu and flu-like illnesses reveal themselves by the manifestation of the same symptoms, i.e. fever, runny nose, headache, body aches, etc. Both are caused by viruses. However, the flu is caused, logically, by the influenza virus of which there are three different types (A,B, and C) while flu-like illness is caused by a variety of other viruses.Unfortunately, the majority of individuals who manifest these symptoms and who make a trip to their medical doctor are diagnosed with the flu, with no further testing to confirm this diagnosis. Thus, while medical doctors and their patients might believe they are witnessing an influx of flu patients, the reality may be that none of these individuals actually have the flu, but, instead, they may be infected with a flu-like illness.
        For instance, one need only take a look at the statistics compiled by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to understand that the flu is not the culprit of an annual genocide lurking behind every corner and on the hands of every sniffling person.
        The following data lists the year, the number of tested cases of sickness, and the percentage of those tested that turned up positive for the flu, respectively.
        1997-1998 99,072 13.05%[1]
        1998-1999 102,105 14.21%[2]
        1999-2000 106,768 15%
        2000-2001 88,598 11%
        2001-2002 100,815 15.5%
        2002-2003 96,871 11%
        2003-2004 130,577 18.9%
        2004-2005 157,759 14.9%
        2005-2006 179,772 12.1%
        2006-2007 179,268 13.2%
        2007-2008 225,329 18%
        2008-2009 195,744 14%
        2009-2010 157,449 21%
        2010-2011 256,399 22%
        2011-2012 234,456 12%
        The average percentage rate of flu virus infection during the 15 years between 1997 and 2012 is 15.05%.*[3]
        Clearly, as one can see from the data above, the hype surrounding the flu virus is hyperbolic to say the least. The worst flu season in 15 years yielded just a 22% infection rate, while many of the other years yielded significantly below that. 2002-2003, for instance, only had an 11% infection rate.
        Thus, for the last fifteen years, the flu infection rate hovers around 15%; meaning that approximately 85% of the people who believe they have the flu or are diagnosed with the flu, do not have it at all. These statistics mean simply that 85% of the population diagnosed with the flu actually have a flu-like illness, not the flu itself.
        Also note that the years with the highest rate of infection (2009-2011) were the two years of and immediately following the H1N1 Swine Flu panic that resulted in the mass vaccination of millions of people the world over. Considering that the potential for the seasonal flu vaccine was demonstrated to actually increase susceptibility to the H1N1 Swine flu, one would be justified in wondering whether or not it was actually the vaccine that caused the slight uptick in infection rates for those years.
        Nevertheless, since the virulence and spread of infection of the flu is vastly lower than what is claimed by the medical industry and media outlets, the question then becomes whether or not the virus is particularly deadly when one is actually infected by it. Thus, it is once again important to look at the numbers.
        The official statements coming from the CDC claim that, on average, 36,000 people die each year from the flu. 36,000 is indeed a frighteningly large number, despite the fact that they themselves strike a stunningly low number of the population as a whole.
        However, there are once again issues with the actual numbers of flu deaths when those numbers are broken down. First, it is important to remember that flu deaths are lumped together with pneumonia deaths every year. Second, it is also known that flu deaths are often statistically combined with flu-related deaths for propaganda purposes. Much like intentionally confusing the cases of the flu with cases of flu-like illness, compounding flu deaths with flu-related deaths or pneumonia deaths, serves only the purpose of causing panicked stampedes toward vaccination by the general public are being assaulted with the massaged and manipulated numbers.
        By lumping flu and pneumonia deaths together, the propagandists in the medical and pharmaceutical industries as well as in corporate media outlets are able to provide a number in the realm of staggering proportions, somewhere in the range of 50,000 to 60,000 depending on the year. Yet, in order to determine how many individuals were killed by the flu as opposed to pneumonia, a separation of the numbers must take place.
        Thus, if the medical industry's claims of approximately 36,000 dead from the flu each year are true, that would mean that slightly to well over half of the initial total of 50,000 to 60,000 provided would have been caused by the flu itself. This assumption, however, is wholly incorrect as it rests on the factual accuracy of the CDC's claims of 36,000 dead from the flu every year.
        To be fair, medical researchers claim the reason they lump flu and pneumonia deaths together in their final reports is due to the possibility of secondary pneumonia infection as a result of the flu. However, as mentioned above, it is quite possible to tell whether or not the deaths recorded were due to pneumonia as well as whether or not they were flu or flu-related.
        Interestingly enough, the CDC itself admits that even influenza-related deaths (not only deaths that were caused solely by influenza), are drastically lower than the amounts paraded in front of the public. On its own website the CDC states, ''only a small proportion of deaths in either of these two categories are estimated to be influenza-related. CDC estimated that only 8.5% of all pneumonia and influenza deaths and only 2.1% of all respiratory and circulatory deaths were influenza-related.''
        With these numbers in mind, if we take the 60,000 deaths estimated to have been caused by Pneumonia and Influenza, the death rate would hover at or around only 5100 (slightly more or slightly less), not 36,000. Keep in mind, even the term ''influenza-related'' is a very loose and statistically generous term. The CDC defines ''influenza-related'' by stating the following: ''Seasonal influenza-related deaths are deaths that occur in people for whom seasonal influenza infection was likely a contributor to the cause of death, but not necessarily the primary cause of death.'' This definition allows for the attribution of death to be labeled as ''influenza-related'' even when influenza is not the cause or even a contributing factor simply because of its presence in a terminally ill or dying person.
        Because the CDC has been much less forthcoming with the data regarding flu deaths or even influenza-related deaths, the exact numbers of influenza-related deaths are difficult to determine. From searching the CDC website, the only readily available set of numbers that directly referenced the number of influenza-related deaths came from the year 2009-2010 which listed the number of deaths at 2,125.
        However, the National Vaccine Information Center compiled a chart of Pneumonia and Influenza deaths dating back from 1940 and ending in 2010. The deaths are separated by those attributed to Pneumonia and those attributed to Influenza. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the deaths attributed to the flu are in fact influenza-related deaths, not deaths directly attributed to the flu virus. The numbers for the years 1998 - 2010 are listed below.
        1998 720
        1999 1,724
        2000 1,665
        2001 257
        2002 727
        2003 1,792
        2004 1,100
        2005 1,812
        2006 849
        2007 411
        2008 1,722
        2009 2,918
        2010 494
        With this in mind, when examining the confirmed cases of death confirmed to have been caused by the flu, the average number is generally much lower than 36,000 flu deaths per year cited by medical ''experts.'' Yet the numbers listed above include ''Influenza-related'' deaths, not flu deaths directly traced back to the flu itself. In fact, the real numbers of flu death are vastly lower than even 1,000 people per year. In the last fifteen years, not one flu season has been recorded as having contained even 100 flu deaths during the course of one year.
        Indeed, in the last fifteen flu seasons, only 216 people have died as a result of the confirmed flu.
        This is quite a different breakdown of flu deaths than that which is presented in media reports. For this reason, it is important to note that either pneumonia or some other illness is responsible for the other deaths included in the calculations. A drop from 36,000 dead to, in some cases, single digit figures is the result of an overwhelming misrepresentation of the facts to say the very least.
        Thus, with the above information in mind, it is important to take a closer look at the statistics. Below are listed the last 15 flu seasons with the number of dead who are tied directly back to the flu. As you can see, the numbers are hardly cause for panic.
        1997-1998 6
        1998-1999 13
        1999-2000 9
        2000-2001 7
        2001-2002 7
        2002-2003 31
        2003-2004 18
        2004-2005 19
        2005-2006 18
        2006-2007 13
        2007-2008 16
        2008-2009 43
        2009-2010 16
        2010-2013 Data unavailable
        Very little can be added to the statistics as presented above beyond pointing out the misleading and false nature of the propaganda machine operated by the pharmaceutical, vaccine, and medical industries via their mouthpieces in the mainstream corporate media , particularly regarding the nature of the dangers of the flu virus and the need to vaccinate.
        For too many years, the American people as well as the people of the rest of the world have been stampeded into to taking toxic injections and dangerous vaccines in order to protect them from a highly inflated bogeyman.
        While the flu is no laughing matter, the projection of it as the new Black Plague that will kill us all is the opposite of what is needed to improve public health. The overwhelming majority of people who are diagnosed with the flu only have a flu-like illness to begin with. Regardless, even if you contract the flu, it is important to remember that well below 100 people die of the virus every year.
        Thus, as the hype and hysteria ramp up at the beginning of flu season and continue throughout the subsequent months, it is helpful to remember the numbers and statistics provided in this article, so as to avoid succumbing to the panic such propaganda is attempting to produce.
        To an unvaccinated person, Flu season does not equal imminent death, a justification for panic, or even a reason to be overly concerned (assuming that person has a healthy immune system and other commonsense health precautions have been taken).
        To a vaccinated person, however, the dangers from lurking viruses may be the least of their worries.2008-2009 1,557
        2009-2010 2,125
        Notes:
        [1] Tenpenny, Sherri. ''Flu And Flu Vaccines: What's Coming Through That Needle?''
        [2] Tenpenny, Sherri. ''Flu And Flu Vaccines: What's Coming Through That Needle?''
        [3] Please note: These numbers were a result of the calculations of the figures provided by the CDC and two sets of numbers as calculated by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. These numbers, although accurate, should be taken as an approximation. The actual numbers may be slightly higher or lower by a measure of hundredths or tenths of decimal points. These numbers, however, can be confidently used as a representation of the amount of flu infections during these years.
        Recently by Brandon Turbeville
        Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, and The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria. Turbeville has published over 275 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville's podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.
    War on Printers
      3D-Printed Gun Creator Cody Wilson Lands Quarter Million Dollar Book Deal - Forbes
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    Out There
      Virgin Galactic Started Selling Tickets to Space Before Getting Permission to Take People There | Smart News | Smithsonian
        Link to Article
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:43
        Commercial spaceflight is off to a slow start. This makes sense, of course'--going to space is hard: it's dangerous, it's expensive, it's technologically challenging, and it's a whole new legal frontier. Few nations, let alone companies, have successfully left planet Earth.
        While there are a few private spaceflight companies looking to ferry tourists to the edge of space, the one that seems to be leading the pack is Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. But in its rush to collect checks, it seems that Virgin Galactic missed what seems like a pretty important step: the company never actually got a permit from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to take people to space, says the CBC.
        Almost 700 people have paid $200,000 to $250,000 a seat to a company that doesn't yet have the legal capacity to deliver. CBC:
        Known as a Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission Licence, this little document is the final piece of the commercial space travel puzzle that Virgin Galactic began assembling in 2004.
        Without it, only test-flight personnel like former astronauts and military pilots can fly aboard SpaceShipTwo, the most recent evolution of the company's supersonic craft.
        "It's one of our remaining major milestones. We will be the first, I hope, commercial operator to receive one of these licences for human space flight," Attenborough says.
        Even the company's billionaire owner, Sir Richard Branson, who has said publicly that he and his two adult children will be passengers on the first public flight, cannot legally fly in SpaceShipTwo until the licence is obtained.
        As we've written previously, Virgin Galactic has been having trouble: for each year of the past decade, private spaceflight was always just a year or so away, according to Branson.
      Mystery on Mars: Rock suddenly appears in front of Opportunity rover leaving scientists baffled | Mail Online
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 16:35
        Opportunity rover hasn't moved in over a month as it awaits better weatherPhoto taken on Jan 8th shows a rock that wasn't visible in previous imagesOne theory claims the rock was stuck in the rover's wheels and fell to its current positionBy Ellie Zolfagharifard
        PUBLISHED: 12:43 EST, 17 January 2014 | UPDATED: 06:37 EST, 21 January 2014
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        A mysterious Martian rock that appeared in front of the Opportunity rover within days has left scientists scratching their heads.
        The rover, which landed on Mars in 2004, hasn't moved in over a month as it waits for better weather on the red planet.
        But a photo taken on Sol 3540 (January 8th, or the 3,540th Martian solar day since the Opportunity rover landed) shows a rock that wasn't visible in previous photos taken on Sol 3536.
        An strange rock, seen here on the left image, mysteriously appeared in front of Opportunity rover in the beginning of the month. The rover, which landed on Mars in 2004, hasn't moved in over a month as it waits for better weather on the red planet
        Astronomers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, who maintain the rover camera database for Nasa, have named the 'doughnut-sized' rock Pinnacle Island.
        The discovery was revealed by Mars Exploration Rover lead scientist Steve Squyres in a '10 years of roving Mars' keynote at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory last night.
        Mr Squyres said the rock may be Martian rock that was blown out of the ground by a meteoroid impact and landed next to the rover.
        Another theory is that the rock previously got stuck in a rover wheel and finally fell into its current position,according to a report in Discovery News.
        Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 in what was to be a three-month mission. 10 years later, and it is still active on the red planet
        OPPORTUNITY MARS ROVEROpportunity landed on Mars in 2004 in what was to be a three-month mission. Instead the rover has lived beyond its prime mission and roved the planet for nearly 10 years.
        The rover is currently at 'Solander Point' at the rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars. The rover hasn't moved in over a month as it waits for better weather on the red planet.
        During its time on Mars, the rover has identified rock laden with what scientists believed to be clay minerals.
        Their presence is an indication that the rock has been altered at some point in the past through prolonged contact with water.
        '[The rock] obligingly turned upside down, so we're seeing a side that hasn't seen the Martian atmosphere in billions of years and there it is for us to investigate,' Mr Squyres said.
        'It's just a stroke of luck.'
        Opportunity has been on Mars for 10 years, despite being designed for a 90 Sol mission
        A Sol, one Martian day, is slightly longer than an Earth day at 24 hours and 37 minutes.
        Its mission has been extended several times as it continues to make new and profound discoveries about the red planet.
        In December 2012, for instance mission scientists announced that Opportunity was exploring a special spot on the rim of Endeavour Crater.
        The area, known as Matijevic Hill, was found to contain clay minerals, implying that the area was exposed to water billions of years ago.
        Share or comment on this article
    TPP/TTIP
      Trans-Pacific Partnership's toothless environment chapter gets the Wikileaks treatment
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 16:23
        The closed-door policy wins the TPP few friends. Public CitizenThe secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a free trade agreement being hammered out between twelve countries, has received another broadside from Wikileaks. The third leak in three months, this was the draft environmental chapter and a report showing the positions on the chapter of the twelve member countries '' Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam.
        The latest leak is significant for three reasons. First, the fact that someone or some member country inside the process has leaked yet another chapter shows there are some very unhappy campers holed up in these negotiations. Pressure is clearly being applied to countries that feel they need outside voices to help them hold the line. That pressure continues to intensify, making further leaks likely.
        These documents, dated 24 November 2013, the last day of the Salt Lake City round that preceded the December meeting of TPP ministers in Singapore, gives some insight into how ministers are trying to break the deadlock in key areas.
        Asking one country, in this case the Canadian chair of the environment working group, to prepare a new text themselves to present to the rest is a controversial strategy used at the World Trade Organisation to isolate countries that are holding outlier positions, even ones that are critically important for them. They can be treated as obstructive if they insist on holding the line, unless they are sufficiently powerful to get their own way when it comes to the political trade-offs.
        Second, the text is weak '' hardly the 21st century standard-setter TPP cheerleaders have been claiming. The environmental provisions in this document address a wide range of issues from overfishing, shark-finning and protecting endangered species, to recognising indigenous rights over traditional knowledge and genetic resources. Most of the provisions are aspirational and it has no teeth to enforce what limited obligations there are.
        I have mixed feelings about that. The core chapters of these agreements, especially on investment, agriculture, intellectual property and services, impose pro-corporate rules on governments and communities. Those rules are toxic to biodiversity, ecosystems, indigenous knowledge and resources, human and animal health, water, forests fish and other natural resources, and other aspects of conservation and the environment.
        And those rules are certainly enforceable, in the case of investments both by states and through the notorious investor-state dispute settlement processes . The secrecy of the cases, inconsistent, usually pro-investor interpretations, conflicts of interests of many arbitrators, and excessive awards of compensation, including compound interest, are just some of the grievances. The vast majority of investor-state disputes involve government measures to regulate natural resources or to protect the environment or public health.
        The Nafta of the Pacific? tppinfo.org
        Environment chapters are often mere fig leaves, used to deflect criticisms. So it's no surprise that the TPP's environment chapter is weak, lacking measures for enforcement or dispute. They are not meant to act as an antidote. So the leaked chapter confirms our expectations that the ''gold standard'' rules are only for the corporations, not to protect people and the planet. But if the agreement does happen, a strong chapter could be important.
        That leads to the third and most significant point from the leaks. The chair's commentary shows the US is the outlier on most of the disputed provisions. That includes articles that refer explicitly or by implication to international agreements it has not signed, such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
        But the most important outlier is the refusal of all the other governments to agree that even these weak obligations should be enforceable by trade sanctions under the dispute mechanisms that apply to the agreement as a whole. Instead, they have proposed a mixture of consultations, political discussions, and arbitration that leads to a conclusion about a breach and an action plan '' but nothing to enforce it.
        Back in May 2007 President George W Bush did a deal with the Democrat-controlled Congress. Its terms included what must be in the environment chapter of any US free trade agreement. Those requirements include the enforceability of the chapter by imposing trade sanctions for governments found to have breached their obligations. The US has required that in all subsequent free trade pacts. But this leaked text falls far short of the May 2007 standards in many ways, and especially on sanctions.
        This poses a dilemma for the Obama administration. On 9 January a bill was tabled in both houses of Congress seeking fast track negotiating authority for the TPP and other agreements. Fast track would require Democrats and Republicans to accept or reject a final text as a whole, within a specified time. Obama is already struggling for support. This environment chapter will strengthen opposition from some Democrats and force Obama to rely even more on hostile Republicans. Even with fast track, a TPP with an unenforceable environment chapter would be very hard to pass.
        As if to herald such a showdown, US Trade Representative Michael Froman made clear in response to the leak, that ''we will insist on a robust, fully enforceable environment chapter in the TPP or we will not come to agreement''.
        It is hard to imagine the environment chapter being the break point for the TPP. The US will play hardball. The current bet is on a trade-off that accepts enforcement of an incredibly weak chapter, making the concession largely meaningless. But the leaked chapter will show that the other eleven countries have caved to US demands, an association they may soon regret.
        Sign in to Favourite Post a CommentTagsEnvironmental law, Indigenous people, Biodiversity, Transpacific Partnership, Neoliberalism
        Related articles 22 January 2014 Sharks and rays threatened worldwide '' overfishing to blame 14 January 2014 Justified and ancient: our best woodland is irreplaceable 10 January 2014 Lost microbes are eroding Amazon's ability to capture carbon 9 January 2014 The world's top predators are in decline, and it's hurting us too 6 January 2014 Why one hectare of rainforest grows more tree species than US and Canada combined
    Six Week Cycle
      Feds: Man Sold Deadly Toxin to Agent | NBC 10 Philadelphia
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        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 06:17
        A Florida man faces federal charges after authorities said he sold a deadly toxin to an undercover agent.
        Jesse William Korff, 19, of LaBelle, Fla., was arrested over the weekend in Florida. He was charged with smuggling and possessing a toxin _ in this case, abrin _ for use as a weapon. Abrin is a natural poison found in the seeds of a plant. It is similar to ricin.
        Prosecutors said Korff negotiated over the Internet with the undercover agent in New Jersey.
        "He allegedly peddled the poison on a virtual black market of illegal and dangerous good, hidden in the shadow of a secretive computer network favored by cybercriminals,'' said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
        Korff received $1,500 over the Internet from the agent and left the toxin hidden in two candles at a rest stop near Fort Myers, Fla., authorities said. Korff was arrested after the candles were found to contain abrin.
        "Had this been an actual sale to a real customer, the consequences could have been tragic,'' Fishman said.
        According to the criminal complaint, Korff maintained a seller's profile on a website called BMR, through which he negotiated the sale of two liquid doses of abrin. He and the buyer agreed on a price of $2,500 for the two doses. The undercover agent transferred the equivalent of $1,500 in Bitcoin from a bank account in New Jersey to Korff on Jan. 6.
        They agreed the buyer would travel from Canada on Jan. 15 to pick up the abrin. Korff sent the agent pictures of the location at a rest stop about 10 miles from Fort Myers.
        Korff dropped off a fast food bag at the rest stop, authorities said. An undercover agent collected it and left an additional deposit toward the remaining payment. Korff was under surveillance during the transaction.
        Officials said even the smallest doses of abrin are potentially lethal to humans if ingested, inhaled or injected. It typically causes death within 36 to 72 hours of exposure.
        Korff appeared before a magistrate in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. A bail hearing was scheduled for Friday. He is expected to be transferred eventually to New Jersey, where he will be tried.
        Copyright Associated Press
      RTV6 - Shooting reported on Purdue campus - Local Story
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        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:41
        WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A man was killed and one person was taken into custody after a shooting at the Purdue University campus around noon Tuesday.
        Campus officials said the shooting occurred in the school's Electrical Engineering building on the northeast side of campus.
        Police said they believe there is only one suspect and that the person is not cooperating in the investigation. The names of the victim and suspect were not released, but police said they believe the suspect knew the victim.
        "We need to let the investigators do their job so we can make sure everything is done right," said Purdue University Police Chief John Cox.
        The university sent a text alert instructing people to shelter in place shortly after the shooting.
        "When the text alert first went out, it was chaotic," said Chris Adam, a Purdue employee who used to work at RTV6. "People were crying and upset."
        The shelter in place order was lifted about 1:30 p.m., though the Electrical Engineering building stayed closed.
        Rachel Casey, a freshman at Purdue and sister of RTV6 traffic reporter Lauren Casey, said she was relieved when the all-clear was issued.
        "It just feels good knowing that they've got things under control," she said.
        Purdue freshman Nicki Heston said she was in a 300-person lecture hall when everyone heard a commotion outside.
        "We heard two or three policemen screaming, 'Get down, get down,'" Heston said. "We went to the door to see what was going on outside."
        Initial reports were chaotic in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with erroneous reports of multiple shooters flooding social media.
        Numerous pictures circulated on social media of possible suspects and/or police presence. The veracity of those images could not immediately be confirmed, but authorities said many of the images were of police officers.
        Purdue President Mitch Daniels was not on campus and is currently in Colombia, university officials said.
        Gov. Mike Pence issued a statement on the shooting.
        "Today's shooting at Purdue University is a tragedy, and our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the victim and to everyone in the Purdue community," the statement read. "I commend the professionalism of the Purdue University Police Department in apprehending the suspect and bringing the situation to a swift conclusion. The Indiana State Police are on the scene and will continue to assist local law enforcement with the ongoing investigation."
        Watch RTV6 and refresh this page for updates.
        Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
      Explosives placed on Madison County railroad tracks | FOX2now.com
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 03:47
        Posted on: 5:07 pm, January 20, 2014, by Joe Millitzer, updated on: 05:17pm, January 20, 2014
        (KTVI) '' Authorities with called Norfolk Southern railroad in a suspicious object to the bomb squad at around noon on Monday. They found a 1.2lb propane tank with flares attached to it. The suspicious object was placed on the tracks near Highway 140 and Quercus Grove Road.
        Investigators say that someone tried to detonate the bomb. They were unsuccessful in their attempt to detonate the propane canister.
        Illinois Secretary of State Police Bomb Squad detonated the object on site. The area of track was already out service, but trains in the area were delayed from 12pm to roughly 4:30pm.
        The TSA has been notified about this incident. More details will be posted as this story develops.
    Pre-Stream
      PRE-STREAM-Down On Exodus |
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        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:32
        HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Starting 2014 with a relaxed reggae mashup between Bob Marley and Sweden's own Elliphant. Note that the video is shorter than the actual MP3 so don't miss to listen to the full version on my Soundcloud.
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      PRE_STREAM-Smacking Up Papaoutai |
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        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:31
        Here's one I uploaded as a demo to my Soundcloud page and since so many people liked it I decided to finish it. So here's the final mix of The Prodigy vs. Stromae, dedicated to all my fans in French speaking countries!
        Like this:LikeLoading...
    VIDEOS
      VIDEO-Bieber arrested, accused of DUI, drag racing
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:13
        By Alan Duke, CNN
        updated 8:22 AM EST, Thu January 23, 2014
        STORY HIGHLIGHTS
        Florida case is the first time singer Justin Bieber has been arrestedBieber is also under investigation in felony vandalism case in California(CNN) -- Pop star Justin Bieber was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and drag racing Thursday morning, Miami Beach police Detective Vivian Hernandez said.
        Further details about the arrest weren't immediately available.
        Bieber, 19, flew to Miami on Monday.
        It is the first time the teen singer has been arrested, although he is under investigation on allegations of egging his California neighbor's home.
        Bieber's rough times
        Bieber's rough times
        Bieber's rough times
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        HIDE CAPTION
        Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies used a felony search warrant to raid Bieber's mansion in the felony vandalism investigation on January 9. They seized Bieber's iPhone and the security camera system, which detectives have been examining for clues about who tossed eggs over a fence that splattered onto the house next door causing an estimated $20,000 in damages.
        Bieber is having some issues
        Deputies have also investigated reports by Bieber's neighbors that he raced his expensive sports car down the streets of the exclusive Oaks community of Calabasas, California, but no charges ever resulted.
        One neighbor accused Bieber of spitting in his face during a heated confrontation last March. Deputies have responded to complaints about loud parties at Bieber's place.
        The Los Angeles County district attorney's office concluded it couldn't prove the spitting or speeding cases in court, so it declined to prosecute.
        Prosecutors also rejected a misdemeanor battery complaint from a photographer who accused Bieber of attacking him in the parking lot of a Calabasas shopping center as he was taking photos of Bieber and his then-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, in May 2012.
        "We didn't do this search warrant to send a message," Sheriff's Lt. David Thompson said last week. "That's not what we do, but we hope maybe that understanding the gravity of this will change some of the behavior."
        CNN en Espa±ol's Adriana Hauser contributed to this report.
      VIDEO-CBS Promotes Lefty San Francisco Tax on Buses as a 'Symbol of Income Inequality' | MRCTV
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:58
        [For more, see video cross-posted on NewsBusters.] CBS This Morning journalists on Wednesday pushed a new San Francisco tax on buses as a symbol of "income inequality" and failed to identify a liberal organization supporting the move. The progressive city approved a $1 per stop tax on tech company buses that transport employees to the Silicon Valley. CBS journalist John Blackstone lectured, "The private buses have become symbols of income inequality and the belief that well payed tech workers are to blame for steeply rising rents." Talking to Cynthia Crews, identified in the segment as a "San Francisco resident," Blackstone sympathized, "So, a dollar a stop doesn't seem like much." Blackstone featured Crews insisting, "The shuttles, the tech companies are not paying their fair share." According to the Canadian Globe and Mail, Crews is "a representative of the San Francisco League of Pissed-Off Voters." That group's website features endorsements, like this one for city attorney: "A progressive City Attorney would have more guts to stand up to the fat cat companies...who get way too many breaks in this town."
      VIDEO-US revokes Ukraine visas as protests turn deadly - World News
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:18
        Sergei Supinsky / AFP - Getty Images
        Protesters clash with the police in the center of Kiev on Wednesday.
        By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor
        The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine revoked the visas of a number of Ukrainians on Wednesday as a crackdown on opposition protesters turned deadly overnight.
        The embassy said that under U.S. law it was not permitted to say whose visas it had revoked, but referred to "several Ukrainians who were linked to the violence." But the U.S. has clearly aligned itself on the side of the protesters and against the actions of troops deployed by President Viktor Yanukovych.
        The American statement came as news emerged that three protesters had been killed. The Ukraine's general prosecutor said in a statement seen by Reuters that three protesters had been killed in violence: two from gunshot wounds, the other falling to his death from atop the Dynamo Kiev football stadium, the scene of some of the clashes.
        Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov branded demonstrators "terrorists" who would be punished.
        Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital after tough anti-protest legislation was rushed through parliament last week.
        Hours later, opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk tweeted that Yanukovich had agreed to meet three main opposition leaders at 1.45 p.m. (6.45 a.m. ET).
        Protests first broke out on Nov. 21 after the Ukraine ditched a deal with the European Union in favor of a shift toward Vladimir Putin's Russia.
        As many as 100,000 people descended on Independence Square, the Maidan, again on Sunday after tough anti-protest legislation was rushed through parliament last week.
        Despite calls for peaceful protest by opposition leaders, a smaller group splintered off and clashed with riot police near the parliament building. The street battles have at times turned downtown Kiev into an urban battleground.
        The embassy statement on Wednesday said it was "considering further action against those responsible for the current violence."
        During December's protests, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy traveled to Kiev to give their support to the opposition.
        "To all Ukrainians, America stands with you," McCain told the crowd.
        Hollywood star George Clooney also posted a video last month in which he told the demonstrators: "When you look to the West, know that we are looking back at you with great admiration."
        Reuters contributed to this report.
        Related:
      VIDEO-Obama calls Dominican Republic the 'Dominican Republican' - YouTube
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        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:01
      VIDEO-EXCLUSIVE: Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime - CNN.com
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:54
        STORY HIGHLIGHTS
        Expert: Syrian defector has "direct evidence" of "systematic torture and killing"Defector provided thousands of photographs of victims, a new report statesThe defector, codenamed "Caesar," allegedly photographed as many as 50 bodies a day"This is a smoking gun," one lawyer saysEditor's note: Read this story on CNNArabic
        (CNN) -- A team of internationally renowned war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts has found "direct evidence" of "systematic torture and killing" by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the lawyers on the team say in a new report.
        Their report, based on thousands of photographs of dead bodies of alleged detainees killed in Syrian government custody, would stand up in an international criminal tribunal, the group says.
        CNN's "Amanpour" was given the report in a joint exclusive with The Guardian newspaper.
        "This is a smoking gun," said David Crane, one of the report's authors. "Any prosecutor would like this kind of evidence -- the photos and the process. This is direct evidence of the regime's killing machine."
        Crane, the first chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, indicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Taylor went on to become the first former head of state convicted of war crimes since World War II. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
        CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the photographs, documents and testimony referenced in the report, and is relying on the conclusions of the team behind it, which includes international criminal prosecutors, a forensic pathologist, an anthropologist and an expert in digital imaging.
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        Alleged torture of prisoners by Assad regime
        HIDE CAPTION
        The bodies in the photos showed signs of starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation, and other forms of torture and killing, according to the report.
        In a group of photos of 150 individuals examined in detail by the experts, 62% of the bodies showed emaciation -- severely low body weight with a hollow appearance indicating starvation. The majority of all of the victims were men most likely aged 20-40.
        A complex numbering system was also used to catalog the corpses, with only the relevant intelligence service knowing the identities of the corpses. It was an effort, the report says, to keep track of which security service was responsible for the death, and then later to provide false documentation that the person had died in a hospital.
        One of the three lawyers who authored the report -- Sir Desmond de Silva, the former chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone -- likened the images to those of Holocaust survivors.
        The emaciated bodies were the product of starvation as a method of torture, "reminiscent of the pictures of those [who] were found still alive in the Nazi death camps after World War II," he said in a CNN interview.
        "This evidence could underpin a charge of crimes against humanity -- without any shadow of a doubt," de Silva told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "Of course, it's not for us to make a decision. All we can do is evaluate the evidence and say this evidence is capable of being accepted by a tribunal as genuine."
        Throughout the civil war in Syria, al-Assad's regime has denied accusations of human rights abuses and blamed "terrorists" for the deadly violence.
        The report draws its evidence from the testimony of a Syrian government defector codenamed "Caesar" and almost 27,000 photographs he provided; in all 55,000 such images were brought out of the country.
        According to the report, Caesar worked as photographer in the military police. Once the war broke out, his work consisted entirely of documenting "killed detainees."
        He claimed to have photographed as many as 50 bodies a day.
        At one point he took the unusual step of photographing a group of bodies to show that it "looked like a slaughterhouse," according to the report.
        The fact that all the bodies were photographed, the report's authors say, strongly suggests that "the killings were systematic, ordered, and directed from above."
        "It's a callous, industrial machine grinding its citizens," Crane said to CNN. "It is industrial age mass killing."
        The killings may have been so thoroughly documented as a way of proving each person's death without allowing the deceased's family to see the body, the report suggests. Also, it may have been aimed at proving that "orders to execute individuals had been carried out."
        It is also possible that, far from being a systematic plan to document human rights abuses, the photographing was simply the way it had always been done -- a little-thought-out continuation of a long-time practice.
        The report was authored by de Silva, Crane, and Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, former lead prosecutor against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
        Its release comes just days ahead of the Geneva II conference, the latest push for a diplomatic solution to Syria's bloody civil war.
        The lawyers were hired to write the report by the British law firm Carter-Ruck, which in turn was funded by the Government of Qatar, de Silva told Amanpour.
        "Ultimately, the validity of our conclusions turn on the integrity of the people involved," he said. "We, the team, were very conscious of the fact there are competing interests in the Syrian crisis -- both national and international. We were very conscious of that."
        "We approached our task with a certain amount of skepticism, bearing that in mind."
        CNN was referred to Carter-Ruck, and this report, by a Qatari government official, and a CNN producer met in the Qatari capital Doha with the report's authors.
        How Syria talks were derailed before they started
        Mountains of data
        The report says "Caesar" brought from Syria photographs of thousands of people who had been killed, he says, by the regime.
        The lawyers and the three forensics experts with whom they worked were given 26,948 images on a laptop computer. They, in turn, did a "formal analysis" of images of 835 and then a much more detailed examination of 150 individuals.
        The images given to CNN paint a horrific scene.
        Stomachs, faces and even legs are concave -- sunken, rather than convex. On some torsos, bruising and bleeding is so severe that the victims' skin is a mosaic of black, red, purple and pink.
        Oblong and parallel wounds, a mix of bruises and torn skin, line one man's chest and torso, covering every inch of the victim's body from neck to pelvis.
        "This is not just somebody who is thin, or who maybe hasn't had enough food because there's a war going on," Dr. Stuart Hamilton, a forensic pathologist who examined the evidence, told Amanpour. "This is somebody who has been really starved."
        The forensics team identified the neck bruising as consistent with strangulation with a rope, piece of rubber, or other such object, as opposed to the marks that would be left by a hanging.
        "Strangulation of this kind is also consistent with strangulation being used as a method of torture," the report reads.
        Digital imaging expert Stephen Cole also offered his assessment that the images were not digitally altered or manipulated.
        Haunting images of Syria's abandoned homes
        Evidence allegedly shows process 'line by line'
        So why do the lawyers think that they were given "smoking gun" proof of murders by the al-Assad regime?
        "In Sierra Leone I had 1.2 million human beings that were destroyed but I could not match them to names and incidents," David Crane said. "Here we have the photographs, the photographer and the reports with documents, stamps, signatures and dates."
        Each body in the photographs seen by CNN had a number written on it; a person's hand can often also be seen holding a piece of paper in the frame of the photograph with the same number written on it.
        Those numbers are obscured in the report released to CNN to protect "Caesar's" identity and to hide the location of the military hospital where the photos were taken. However a CNN producer in Doha viewed the unobscured, original images.
        When a detainee dies in custody, the body is sent to a military hospital where it is numbered and photographed as part of a bureaucratic record-keeping process.
        This detailed numbering system, the lawyers say, is compelling evidence of the government's deadly intent.
        When a detainee was killed, the report says, the corpse was assigned a number that corresponded to the "branch of the security service responsible for his detention and death."
        The body was then taken by the security service to a military hospital.
        There, the body would enter the Syrian government's bureaucracy.
        Caesar told the lawyers that he, a doctor, and a member of the judiciary would examine the corpse.
        The doctor would then fill out internal paperwork, to document that he had seen the body, as well as an official death certificate, which would often list a false cause of death -- like "heart attack" or "breathing problems" -- to be given to the deceased's family.
        At this point, a second number would be assigned to the body, documenting its false cause of death, according to Caesar, the report says.
        "As a prosecutor I have to prove a process," Crane said. "And evidence like this, though not unusual, is rare in modern international law." He added that he could walk a tribunal or jury through the process "line by line."
        Nice, in an interview with Amanpour, agreed. The number of bodies, the systematic way in which they were cataloged, and the effort given to obscuring their causes of death point in one direction, he said.
        "You can reasonably infer that this is a pattern of behavior, which has to have higher authority," he said.
        Refugees starving to death in Syrian camp
        The source
        Ever since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq -- bolstered by false evidence provided by a source codenamed "Curveball" -- there has been deep skepticism in both the intelligence community and the press about believing single-source defectors like "Caesar."
        The lawyers who interviewed Caesar, including Crane whose background also includes experience in military intelligence, said they found him to be "a truthful and credible witness."
        Part of the report reads: "He revealed no signs of being 'sensational,' nor did he seem partisan. Although he was a supporter of those who opposed the present regime, the inquiry team is satisfied that he gave an honest account of his experiences."
        Caesar's evidence, they say, "could safely be acted upon in any subsequent judicial proceedings."
        The report says that Caesar claims taking the photos inflicted "psychological suffering" on him and his colleagues
        In September 2011, about seven months after the Syrian civil war broke out, Caesar was contacted by a man, a relative by marriage, who had fled the country just days after the uprising began.
        This man is referred to in the report as "Caesar's contact," whom the lawyers also interviewed for the report.
        The contact was working with what the report calls "international human rights groups," and saw "Caesar" as a reliable source of information from within the country.
        Soon Caesar was sending his contact thousands of images. When Caesar became concerned for his safety, his contacts in the Syrian opposition to whom he had leaked the photos arranged for him and his family to be smuggled out of Syria.
        The lawyers have remained mum on how that was done, but the report says the process took four months, and that Caesar left the country before his family.
        "If he wished to exaggerate his evidence it would have been very easy for him to say that he had actually witnessed executions," the report says. "In fact, he made it quite plain that he never witnessed a single execution."
        It is unclear where Caesar and his family are currently living; the lawyers say only that they carried out their investigation in the Middle East.
        The next step
        Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court. The only way the court could prosecute someone from Syria would be through a referral from the United Nations Security Council.
        Because of Russia's support for the Assad regime, and because it has veto power on the council, such a referral seems unlikely, at least for the time being.
        But if, one day, the court were to take up Syria's case, this report would almost certainly be entered into evidence.
        "All we can do is put the ammunition in the pistol," said de Silva. "It is for others to aim it and pull the trigger."
      VIDEO-Bill Gates Says Government Spying Isn't Always Bad -- Fusion.
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 16:19
        By AMERICA WITH JORGE RAMOS - 01/21/2014, 12:00PM / Updated 01/21/2014, 04:31PM
        By AMERICA WITH JORGE RAMOS - 01/21/2014, 12:00PM / Updated 01/21/2014, 04:31PM
        Bill Gates has strong opinions when it comes to world poverty, but the tech titan-turned-philanthropist takes the middle ground on government spying.
        Speaking with Fusion's Jorge Ramos in an interview set to air on Tuesday, Gates said the U.S. needs to strike a balance between protecting citizens' privacy and identifying national security threats.
        ''At the end of the day...we want to stop terrorism, we want to see if someone's talking about nuclear weapons, or bioterrorism or various bad things,'' Gates said. ''So it's not as though government surveillance is absolutely bad in all cases'...I think it's a valuable debate and I do think we can balance the two goals.''
        Gates spoke to Fusion in conjunction with the release of the annual letter from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the letter, Gates pronounced that by 2035, no nation would be as poor as the 35 poorest nations in the world today, as classified by the World Bank.
        In the interview with Ramos, Gates commented on the broad domestic surveillance programs that were made public by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year. He said that people expect a level of privacy and security when communicating.
        ''Well certainly when I'm calling somebody on the phone, I don't assume that's being tapped into,'' Gates said. ''When I'm sending emails, I'm willing to talk about confidential matters, what salary, who we're going to promote, what we're going to do in things. So there is a basic sense that whoever is providing that technology has to make it's secure.''
        Viewing America's population through the lens of diversity, we will cover the social, cultural and political impact of various racial and ethnic groups in this country.
        KEY STORIES ON Diverse America
      VIDEO-Mysterious Turkish cleric in Pennsylvania
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:16
        STORY HIGHLIGHTS
        Turkish government says group managed by Fethullah Gulen is leading a coup attempt in TurkeyHe denies any involvement in a political conspiracyGulen's group once backed Turkey's Prime Minister, but that relationship has soured"There is a political crisis in Turkey right now," and society is polarized, author saysIstanbul (CNN) -- One of the world's most powerful Muslim preachers lives behind a gated compound in the small, leafy town of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.
        The reclusive Turkish cleric's name is Fethullah Gulen.
        If you believe the Turkish government, supporters of this cleric in Pennsylvania are spearheading a coup attempt in Turkey that is destabilizing one of America's most important allies in the Middle East.
        In recent weeks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a religious conservative, has compared Gulen and his supporters to a virus and a medieval cult of assassins.
        Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, a top official from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, called the Gulen movement a "fifth column" that had infiltrated the Turkish police force and judiciary.
        "We are confronted by a structure that doesn't take orders from within the chain of command of the state," parliament member and deputy AKP chairman Mahir Unal told CNN. "Rather, it takes orders from outside the state."
        Who is this mysterious man in Pennsylvania?
        The 72-year old imam went into self-imposed exile when he moved from Turkey to the United States in 1999.
        He rarely speaks to journalists and has turned down interview requests from CNN for more than two years. But in a rare e-mail interview published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Gulen denied any involvement in a political conspiracy.
        "We will never be a part of any plot against those who are governing our country," he wrote, according to The Wall Street Journal.
        Muslim cleric and school spiritual leader
        Supporters describe Gulen as a moderate Muslim cleric who champions interfaith dialogue. Promotional videos show him meeting with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in the 1990s. He also repeatedly met with rabbis and Christian priests in Turkey.
        The preacher is best known as the spiritual leader of a network of schools and universities that operate in more than 100 countries. In the U.S., this academic empire includes Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school network in Texas. The U.S. Department of Education awarded Harmony schools in Texas a $30 million grant after they received high scores in the government's "Race to the Top" education competition.
        Every year, students from Gulen schools around the world gather in Istanbul for a lavish series of concerts, dances and academic competitions called The Turkish Olympics. At these events, African students perform Turkish folk dances in traditional Turkish costumes before packed stadium audiences.
        Gulen supporter and newspaper columnist Ihsan Yilmaz insisted the schools "are not owned by Gulen," but by a loose network of volunteers from the cleric's movement.
        "These people know each other, they meet together, but officially speaking, (the schools) are owned by different businessmen," Yilmaz explained.
        Volunteers in the Gulen movement also own TV stations, the largest-circulation newspaper in Turkey, gold mines and at least one Turkish bank.
        "There are many businessmen in Turkey who espouse the ideas of Gulen. Because starting from the 1960s, Gulen has been teaching them look, in order to be a good Muslim, you don't have to be a poor guy," explained Yilmaz, who is also a professor of political science at Fatih University, a Gulen-affiliated school in Istanbul.
        Relations with the Prime Minister
        Throughout much of the last decade, the Gulen movement was also a strong Erdogan supporter.
        Pro-Gulen media outlets backed sprawling investigations of alleged coup plots organized by Turkish military commanders. Dozens of military officers, as well as secular writers, academics and businessmen, waited for years in prison for trials that critics called witch hunts.
        At that time, it also became increasingly dangerous to criticize the Gulen movement.
        Police arrested and imprisoned writer Ahmet Sik for more than a year, accusing him of supporting a terrorist organization. A court banned his book "The Imam's Army," which took a critical look at the Gulen movement, before it was even published.
        Now out of prison, but still facing charges, Sik said the long-standing alliance between Turkey's two most prominent Islamic conservative leaders -- Erdogan and Gulen -- had collapsed into a bitter power struggle.
        "There was a forced marriage, and the fight that began with who would lead the family is continuing as an ugly divorce," Sik told CNN.
        "On the one side, there is the Gulen community, a dark and opaque power that can damage the most powerful administration in Turkish history. And on the other side, you have an administration that under the guise of fighting this community can and has suspended all legal and democratic principles," he said.
        In November, Erdogan announced plans to shut down privately owned preparatory schools, which help some Turkish students study for university entrance exams. Pro-Gulen media groups denounced the move, which would hurt an important part of the Gulen academic empire in Turkey.
        Anti-corruption raids
        On December 17, police carried out a series of anti-corruption raids targeting dozens of people closely linked to the Turkish government. Among those arrested were the sons of two senior Cabinet ministers as well as the head of the state-owned HalkBank. Outlets like the pro-Gulen newspaper Today's Zaman published detailed reports alleging that police found large amounts of cash -- in the case of the bank director, stored in shoe boxes -- in the homes of some of the suspects.
        Erdogan denounced the allegations of graft against his government. Instead, he accused police and prosecutors of organizing a politically motivated investigation to hurt his party before nationwide municipal elections in March. The Turkish government embarked on the highly unusual mass demotion of thousands of police and prosecutors believed to be involved in the investigation.
        'God is behind us'
        "There is a political crisis in Turkey right now, and also a societal crisis in the sense that I've hardly seen Turkish society this polarized, this tense, this paranoid," said Mustafa Akyol, author of the book "Islam Without Extremes."
        "Both sides use religious language to justify themselves," Akyol added. "Both sides say 'God is behind us.' "
        In a fiery speech distributed on one of his movement's websites last month, Gulen accused the Turkish government of hypocrisy.
        "Those who don't see the thief but go after those trying to catch the thief, who don't see the murder but try to defame others by accusing innocent people: Let God bring fire to their houses, ruin their homes, break their unity," the cleric yelled while shaking his fist in anger.
        There are few signs that the power struggle between rival wings of the Turkish bureaucracy shows any signs of letting up. Speaking on condition of anonymity, Erdogan supporters have said that a recent series of police arrests targeting alleged al Qaeda suspects in Turkey were actually carried out by pro-Gulen police and prosecutors seeking to embarrass the Turkish government.
        Within hours of the anti-al Qaeda raids on January 14, a counter-terror police commander involved was reportedly demoted to his department's juvenile crimes division.
        As the mudslinging also continues between different factions of the Turkish media, it is highly unlikely that the enigmatic cleric, safely sequestered in Pennsylvania, will return to face the political firestorm in Turkey anytime soon.
        READ: Turkey purges police force
        READ: Is instability the 'new normal' for Turkey?
      VIDEO-The higher purpose of doodling - CBS News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Tue, 21 Jan 2014 15:50
        Is the employee who DOODLES at office meetings a goof-off who's neglecting his or her responsibilities? Or is he or she actually exercising something that could be called "Doodle Diligence"? A question this morning for our Lee Cowan:
        How many of us, when we let our minds drift, find that our pencils drift right along with it?
        To the doodler, the canvas can be anything -- a napkin, a margin, a soon-to-be-discarded envelope.
        Yet for all its ubiquity, the doodle seems to be the artistic equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield -- it just gets no respect.
        Even the Oxford English Dictionary reduces the doodle to a "drawing made absentmindedly."
        And boy, does that upset doodler Sunni Brown: "I don't like the definition! I'm not pleased with the definition, that is correct!"
        What's wrong with it, Cowan asked? "It's totally inaccurate," said Brown. "It's not an accurate representation of what's happening for a doodler."
        Brown is convinced that doodling isn't a mindless activity, but instead engages the mind in a way that helps us think.
        So much so she's written a manifesto of sorts, called "The Doodle Revolution," that lays out her case.
        "I want to flip the entire conversation and be like, okay, let's actually acknowledge this as a valuable tool and as a valuable technique. What, then, can we do with it?" she said.
        For her, drawing what she calls "Info-doodles" can help in problem-solving, and aid in memory retention, by creating a visual language that she insists is more powerful than most people know.
        "I've seen people tackling serious challenges, and they inevitably go straight to the white board or straight to the wall and start mapping it to have a more effective conversation," Brown said. "And then you have that visual explanation to help people understand what's really happening."
        Her Austin-based consultancy, SB Ink, now offers doodling workshops. Her clients are major retailers and media companies . . . who are starting to catch on.
        But the doodle, she says, still has doubters.
        "There are skeptics everywhere, and I encounter them all the time -- and I love them," Brown said.
        "They say all the usual stuff: 'Oh, it's a waste of time.' 'Oh, it's mindless scratching.' They say everything that you would expect them to say when you misunderstand and you underestimate something."
        Andrew Silton stopped underestimating the power of the doodle after he realized he'd been doing it most of his professional life.
        "For me it was definitely something more," Silton said. "I actually think it was rather important."
        Andrew Silton drew this when he was supposedly doing something else.
        Courtesy Andrew Silton
        Over a career that spanned three decades in asset management, Stilton amassed oodles of doodles, drawn while he was actually leading important financial meetings all over the world.
        The longer the meetings, the more detailed the doodles.
        "What do you think prompted it? Were you just bored in the meetings?" Cowan asked.
        "No. I think it was actually a way of staying engaged in the meetings," he replied. "I suspect that what it does is, it occupied me from thinking about other stuff."
        That notion -- that doodles may open the door to better concentration -- has been getting the attention of researchers of late.
        In a study published in 2009 in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, researcher Jackie Andrade played a tedious voicemail to a group of volunteers. Some were asked to doodle, while others simply listened to the message. Turns out the doodlers remembered 29 percent more details than the non-doodling group.
        "Doodling has been grossly under-studied," said professor Jesse Prinz. "It is one of the most neglected day-to-day activities."
        Prinz teaches philosophy of the mind at the City University of New York. His blue hair is as much a trademark as his obsession with doodling heads.
        He's drawn thousands of them, all while he was supposed to be paying attention to something else.
        "Every single picture you see here was drawn during an academic lecture," Prinz said.
        Some of Morley Safer's doodles.
        CBS News
        He's so convinced that doodling helped him remember those lectures better that he actually encourages it in his own classroom."So, do you want kids to be doodling while you're lecturing?" Cowan asked.
        "Absolutely!" said Prinz. "I think we should train people to doodle."
        The reason is simple: to his mind, doodling isn't just a distraction from boredom -- it may actually keep us from daydreaming and zoning out altogether.
        "Think about mindless drawing as a way to take all those things that distract you, all those subjects that you ruminate on, and clearing them away, and opening this space where information can get in," said Prinz. "Doodling is the attentional sweet spot."
        For a perspective a little closer to home, Cowan turned to our own artist in residence, Morley Safer of "60 Minutes." He says he does between five and 10 doodles daily. His desk is covered with them, from the obscure to the familiar.
        "Now this one is purely abstract. Don't ask me what the hell that one means!" Safer laughed.
        "It's sort of drawings by the unconscious mind, in a certain way, it's where the hand kind of takes over."
        "Does it serve some kind of purpose for you?" Cowan asked.
        14Photos
        Presidential doodlesThe scribblings of some of history's most powerful men
        "It's very satisfying, obviously," Safer said. "I mean, if it was painful, I wouldn't be doing it."
        "So what do you think makes a doodler and somebody who just doesn't really doodle?" Cowan asked.
        "I think dull people DON'T doodle!" Safer laughed.
        Perhaps that's why so many U.S. presidents doodled. John F. Kennedy often doodled sailboats. Ronald Reagan drew cowboys. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was caught doodling during a U.N. Security Council meeting. Mark Twain and Fyodor Dostoyevsky both were habitual doodlers.
        There was a time, it seemed, when doodles were black-and-white proof that the usually embarrassed artist wasn't really paying attention. And while everyone agrees it warrants more study, it just may turn out that doodling is a window to clarity.
        "Maybe doodles define us, right?" said Safer. "It tells us who we are."
        Or who we're not?
        For more info:
        (C) 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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