No Agenda Episode 383

  Hot Rods
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Cover Art
  Art By: Silicon Spin
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Credits
  Hot Rods
  Executive Producers: Anonymous, Andrew Valencia
  Associate Executive Producers: John Henry, Mark Meyers, Mark Smith
  214 Valentine Donations: Mark Meyers, Mark Smith
  Become a member of the 384 Club, support the show here
  Knighthoods: Joe the Dish Slave
  Art By: Silicon Spin
  ShowNotes Archive of links and Assets (clips etc) 383.nashownotes.com
  Fanscribed Transcription: 383.readnoagenda.com (Pitch in!)
  New: Directory Archive of Shownotes (includes all audio and video assets used) nashownotes.com
  The No Agenda News Network- noagendanewsnetwork.com
Shownotes
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  Whitney and SOPA
    Pharma Industry vs Entertainment
      Pharma Marketing Blog: Pfizer & PhRMA Lobby in Support of SOPA
      Pfizer, PhRMA back SOPA amid online protests - FiercePharma
        With dozens of websites blocked in protest of new anti-piracy legislation, Pfizer ($PFE) and PhRMA are among the intellectual-property champions that are lobbying for, rather than against, the proposed laws. Pfizer says the measures--one approved by the House, another by the Senate--would help prevent drug counterfeiting. Report
      The Economics of the Global Entertainment Industry | Morss Global Finance
      Music 7 billion Movies 180 billion. Pharma 800 billion
    Lobbying for Counterfits
      Big Pharma and SOPA
        "Few have analyzed the source of private financial support for the Internet Censorship Act (my own pet name for the bill), but I would venture that Big Pharma has spent more on it than Big Entertainment. Here are some familiar names from the House Judiciary Committee on SOPA/PIPA corporate supporters:
        Here is the meat part. It creates a blacklist of pharmacies that don't have a physical presence in the U.S., and who can thus sell generic equivalents of expensive brand name drugs because they are not subject to U.S. patent law. So U.S. pharmaceutical companies get their cake and eat it tooÑ they can sell the generic equivalent in nations that don't protect their patent, while simultaneously forcing Americans to pay premium prices for their brand name drugs.
        Sec. 510A(b) of the bill proclaims, "Establishment of Registry- The Secretary shall establish a Registry of Legitimate Online Pharmacy Websites (referred to in this section as the ÔRegistryÕ) for the purpose of educating consumers and promoting public health and safety."
        The succeeding text then goes on to define that the only "legitimate" online pharmacies are 1) accredited by the United States National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (a trade group controlled by pharmaceutical companies for which foreign nations, like, say, Canada have equal standards certification organizations), 2) exist only within the boundaries of the United States, subject to FDA rules (all written by pharmaceutical companies); and 3) must have a pharmacy address within U.S. borders, registered with the appropriate U.S. agencies.
        Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP)
        Pfizer, Inc
        Elsevier (as a proxy for Merck)
        Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
    Patent expirations
      Teva FDA Approval Another Hit to Pfizer in Lipitor Generic War | Fox Business
        Teva plans to start selling its brand of the product after Ranbaxy's 180-day exclusivity period ends in May 2012. Until then, Teva will receive royalties from Ranbaxy's sales of Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets, which was a part of an earlier deal struck between the Indian company and the FDA following a dispute over whether Ranbaxy could produce the generic drug despite questions over its manufacturing facilities.
        Lipitor, a drug taken by some 8.7 million Americans, is the biggest-selling prescription drug of all time, raking in about $10.7 billion last year.
      Patents and Prescription Drugs-Part II
        Zyprexia from Eli Lilly with $2.5 billion in U.S. sales in October 2011. The drug treats schizophrenia.
        Lipitor from Pfizer with $5.3 billion in U.S. sales in November 2011. The drug treats high cholesterol.
        Lexapro from Forest Laboratories with $2.3 billion in U.S. sales in March 2012. The drug treats depression.
        Plavix from Sanofi-Aventis/Bristol-Myers Squib with $6.2 billion in U.S. sales. The drug treats cardiovascular disease.
        Singular from Merck with $3.2 billion in U.S. sales. The drug treats asthma and allergies.
      The Patent Cliff Means U.S. Pharmacies are Increasingly a Lower Cost Option
        Generic prescriptions are on the rise, as doctors are prescribing them, and pharmacies are filling them, now more than ever. We recently wrote that the percentage of generic scripts being dispensed rose to 78% last year. But the popularity for generics -- attributed to the significantly lower price tag compared to brand name drugs -- is expected to take on a whole new meaning, as the patents for some blockbuster brand name drugs expire this year; this is also known as the "Patent Cliff".
        The biggest prize, Pfizer's Lipitor (for Cholesterol), the number one selling drug in the U.S., goes generic later this year (November 2011); and Plavix (a blood thinner) and Actos (for Diabetes) will follow (May 2012 and August 2012, respectively). As patents run out, these and other popular prescription drugs will be far more affordable in the U.S., since generic drug prices tend to be lower here than in other countries.
        Looking at the numbers in our 2011 Consumer Guide, it's easy to see why generic options are so essential. For example, Zocor, a Cholesterol-reducer, costs $542.75 for a three-month supply at a U.S. bricks and mortar pharmacy. It's generic, Simvastatin, costs just $193.99 at the same pharmacy; better yet, Simvastatin is only $10.83 at Costco.com -- a savings of 95%!
    Generic=Counterfit
      A War Against Generics, State By State // Pharmalot
        Only the FDA can certify a generic is safe enough to be substituted for a brand-name med. Once that happens, states can give local pharmacists the power to substitute a lower-priced generic when a patient presents a prescription, unless the prescribing doc orders the brand-name med. Nearly all states give pharmacists that option or require them to make the switch.
        The legislation being pushed at the state level would make a switch more difficult by requiring pharmacists to inform docs or get their permission before substituting a generic. The industry-backed legislation began appearing in scattered statehouses last year, but is now picking up steam.
      Roche issues counterfeit drug warning in US - Yahoo! News
      Authorized Generics | Generic Pharmaceutical Association
    Doctor Shopping
      Drug Registry To Combat Controlled Substance Abuse Slated For March - News Story - NBCMontana NBC Montana
        "Doctor shopping" will be harder to do sometime after March 1st. The Montana legislature passed a bill paving the way for a prescription drug registry.
        Montana will join a majority of states trying to keep tighter tabs on controlled substance prescription abuse.
        If a patient abuses a controlled substance by getting a prescription filled at "pharmacy A," then tries to get it filled at "pharmacy B," pharmacy B can check the prescription history through a statewide data base for the controlled substance.
        "Providers may look into it and see if people are abusing their relationship with their doctor or pharmacist," said the Montana Pharmacy Association's Tony King.
      The Prescription Drug Epidemic Sparks Blame Game | Addiction Recovery
        Most recently, war has been waged against online pharmacies. Anyone, young or old, can easily purchase prescription drugs on the Internet, often without a prescription. An estimated 10 percent of prescription drug users get their medications online. Because of the difficulty in targeting online providers of illegal drugs, which often operate overseas, efforts to regulate online pharmacies have been generally unsuccessful.
    Legislation
      Jamie Lee Curtis Wants Obama Administration to Tackle Drug Addiction in Wake of Whitney Houston's Death | Video | TheBlaze.com
        Curtis' column comes at the same time that President Obama's Drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske, has called Whitney Houston's death a "teachable moment" and -- almost exactly as Curtis does -- has said the administration should treat addiction as a disease. Video of Kerlikowske's remarks comes courtesy of The Hill and CBS:
      The Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011 introduced in Senate, endorsed by NACDS | Drug Store News
        A new bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate seeks to protect consumers from Internet drug sellers posing as legitimate pharmacies.
        The National Association of Chain Drug Stores announced it endorsed the legislation, noting that research has found that 1-in-6 Americans Ñ or more than 36 million consumers Ñ has purchased prescription medication online without a valid prescription.
        Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif; and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., introduced The Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011 on Thursday, which "targets fraud associated with illegitimate online drug sellers, particularly those who sell counterfeit drugs, provide drugs without a prescription or take money without providing anything in return." The bill also would require the Food and Drug Administration to establish a registry of legitimate online pharmacy websites.
      The Strategic Sourceror: Pharmaceutical Patent Protection and why 2012 is the year companies fear the most
        During 2010, overall sales for the industry reached over $800 billion worldwide, from which $250 billion are accounted for by only 120 brand-name prescription drugs that will all lose patent protection by 2016. That means that 30% of the sales will fade away in the next 5 years, and corporations are hard-pressed to develop new drugs with enough potential to bring in new revenues. There is not much time left to pull that off, and failure to do so can represent financial distress, market share reduction and fiercer competition.
        Companies are focusing much of their time and resources in searching for that drug that can turn into a goldmine, trying to develop effective drugs for important and complicated diseases like AlzheimerÕs, ParkinsonÕs and certain cancer treatments. But at the same time, they are also trying to take advantage of their current patents and either increase prices or challenge the patents in order to delay expiration and therefore expand sales; only a six-month extension on the patent protection can represent up to $2.5 billion worth of sales.
        To give you an example, widely prescribed brand-name drugs such as Singulair, Plavix, Lipitor and Seroquel (all to lose patent protection before the end of 2012) have faced price increases of up to 16% within the last year. These products together represent over $22 billion on sales every year.
      Online Pharmacies You Can Trust - LegitScript
        LegitScript maintains the largest database of Internet pharmacies in the world.
        Arrow_right We monitor 226,195 Internet pharmacies, both active and inactive.
        Arrow_right Of these, 41,678 are active now.
        Arrow_right_lg 246 are legitimate (0.6%)
        Arrow_right_lg 1,121 are potentially legitimate (2.7%)
        Arrow_right_lg 40,310 are not legitimate (96.7%)
      Bill Text - 112th Congress (2011-2012) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
        Online Pharmacy Safety Act (Introduced in Senate - IS)
      DEA Diversion Control - Practitioner's Manual - SECTION V -- VALID PRESCRIPTION REQUIREMENTS
        A prescription for a controlled substance must be dated and signed on the date when issued. The prescription must include the patient's full name and address, and the practitioner's full name, address, and DEA registration number. The prescription must also include:
          drug name
          strength
          dosage form
          quantity prescribed
          directions for use
          number of refills (if any) authorized
        A prescription for a controlled substance must be written in ink or indelible pencil or typewritten and must be manually signed by the practitioner on the date when issued. An individual (secretary or nurse) may be designated by the practitioner to prepare prescriptions for the practitioner's signature.
    Fear of Counterfit
      Press Releases | Pfizer: the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company
    Registry database
    Firm up the Distribution channel
      Timeline of celebrities killed by Big Pharma: Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Farrah Fawcett, Elvis and more | Pakalert Press
        This is not an exhaustive list of celebrity deaths, of course, and some of these cases are still disputed as to the actual causes of death. But one thing is for sure: FDA-approved prescription drugs, many of which are highly-addictive, are a primary cause of mortality in America today, and yet they continue to flood the market unabated.
      Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (safeonlinerx.com) -- Really an "Alliance Against Safe and Affordable Online Pharmacies?"
        A new group called the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (www.safeonilnerx.com) is working to prevent access to safe and affordable online pharmacies. Its membership and "observers" include the usual pharmacy, pharma and pharma-front groups: American Pharmacists Association, Eli Lilly & Company, LegitScript.com, National Association of Chain Drugstores, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), National Health Council, and the Partnership for Safe Medicines.
        The group's stated mission is "to protect patient safety and ensure patient access to safe and legitimate online pharmacies in accordance with U.S. laws." The unstated premise is that since it is technically illegal for Americans to personally import medication from abroad, only U.S. pharmacies (i.e., those that are members of its own member organizations) are in accordance with U.S. laws.
        The focus of the group's website's is to direct its audience to current and past efforts (antics) of LegitScript.com, Safemedicines.org, and the NABP to misinform the public about the safety of buying prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries. These organizations, supported by the U.S. pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries, mix the genuine problems of rogue online pharmacies and counterfeit drugs with buying safe and affordable medication from non-US pharmacies, such as many of those verified by PharmacyChecker.com.
        If this "Alliance" were to achieve its goals, uninsured and under-insured Americans would have less access to safe and affordable non-US online pharmacies. This will end up endangering, not protecting, patients.
    Toxicology
      Whitney Houston death: Sorting out drug history difficult, experts say - latimes.com
        L.A. County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Opferman, who oversees a prescription drug task force but is not involved in the Houston case, said, "Celebrities often get their prescription drugs from doctors who are more than willing to give them what they want and sometimes using members of their entourage."
        Opferman also said some people also turn to illegal drugs when their prescriptions run out, placing the new drugs in the old bottles.
    Sony Apologizes for Whitney Houston iTunes Price Hike - Peter Kafka - Media - AllThingsD
      Sony says it's sorry it raised prices on two Whitney Houston albums at Apple's U.K. iTunes store the day after the singer's death.
      On Sunday, Sony pushed through wholesale price changes that moved the retail price of Houston's "The Ultimate Collection" from 4.99 pounds to 7.99, and "Whitney: The Greatest Hits" from 7.99 pounds to 9.99. The label moved the prices back to their original level later that day.
  The Mortgage Settlement Scam
    Missing Settlement Document Raises Doubts on $25B Deal - American Banker Article
      More than a day after the announcement of a mammoth national mortgage servicing settlement, the actual terms of the deal still aren't public. The website created for the national settlement lists the document as "coming soon."
      That's because a fully authorized, legally binding deal has not been inked yet.
    Federal Government & Attorneys General reach landmark settlement with major banks | NationalMortgageSettlement
      http://nationalmortgagesettlement.com/
      Federal Government & Attorneys General reach landmark settlement with major banks
    Wisconsin to use part of national mortgage settlement for budget hole | StarTribune.com
      Wisconsin plans to use about $26 million of its $140 million share of a national mortgage settlement to help plug a state budget hole, a move that drew criticism from Milwaukee's mayor.
    Oklahoma is lone maverick in national mortgage settlement signed by 49 states | NewsOK.com
  Terror Mergers
    CalgaryGuru Says:
      How did you miss ShaQuaeda? SHAQ for short! ;-)
  Wag The Dog
    US Networks preparing for war [ABC]
      "I was visiting ABCNews the other day to see a friend who works on graphics. When I went to his room, he showed me all the graphics he was making in anticipation of the Israeli attack on Iran; not just maps, but flight patterns, trajectories, and 3-d models of U.S. aircraft carrier fleets.
      "But what was most disturbing -- was that ABC, and presumably other networks, have been rehearsing these scenarios for over 2 weeks, with newscasters and retired generals in front of maps talking about missiles and delivery systems, and at their newsdesks -- the screens are emblazoned with "This is a Drill" to assure they don't go out on air -- (like War of the Worlds).
      "Then reports of counter-attacks by Hezballah in Lebanon with rockets on Israeli cities -- it was mind-numbing. Very disturbing -- when pre-visualization becomes real."
  Leviathan
    Netanyahu Says Common Pipeline With Cyprus Being 'Studied' - Businessweek
      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Cyprus and Israel are studying the possibility of a common pipeline that could help export natural gas to Europe and Asia.
      Netanyahu, making the first visit to Cyprus by an Israeli prime minister, said today that he and President Demetris Christofias discussed a variety of ways that the two countries can work together in energy exploration, agriculture, tourism and science. Both leaders declined to speak publicly about proposals for military cooperation
    Arwa Damon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Arwa Damon (born September 19, 1977 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a video correspondent for CNN International and CNN based in Beirut. Damon joined CNN in February 2006. For the three years previous, she covered the Middle East as a freelance producer working with CNN, PBS, Fox News and others. She began her journalism career at CameraPlanet, working to get correspondent Peter Arnett's team into pre-war Iraq.
      Damon graduated from Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey, with honors in 1994, where her father, Dr. George H. Damon, was a teacher and middle school director from 1988 to 1998. An American, her father went from there to Isõkkent School in Izmir, and is presently headmaster of the American Community School at Beirut. Damon's mother, Joumana, is a Syrian Sunni Muslim and grew up in Damascus.[
    A Death Sentence for Greece >> Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
      On Privatisation: "The Government stands ready to offer for sale its remaining stakes in state-owned enterprises, if necessary in order to reach the privatisation objectives. Public control will be limited only to cases of critical network infrastructure."
      Instead of providing fiscal aid so Greece can meet its budget targets and can get back on its feet again, the troika (the European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund) is using the crisis to snatch vital state assets and deliver them to its corporate friends. The MOU is opening new avenues for exploitation and plunder. And there's more:
        "The Government will neither propose nor implement measures which may infringe the rules on the free movement of capital. Neither the State nor other public bodies will conclude shareholder agreements with the intention or effect of hindering the free movement of capital or influence the management or control of companies. The Government will neither initiate nor introduce any voting or acquisition caps, and it will not establish any disproportionate and non-justifiable veto rights or any other form of special rights in privatised companies."
    Natural Gas Europe - Azerbaijan Eyes Stake in Greece's DEPA - News
      Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR says it is interested in buying a stake in the State Gas Company of Greece (DEPA), should it be privatized.
      SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev held talks with Harris Sahinis, his counterpart from DEPA on a possible sale last week.
      "We're ready to consider this proposal, and if the conditions suit us, we'll acquire the Company. In general, in Europe a lot is put up for sale, but that does not mean that we have to participate everywhere," Abdullayev said.
    Papandreous blames the government.
      "Our political system is collectively responsible for all staff that we hired through patronage, the privileges granted by our law, outrageous claims that we have met, trade unionists and businessmen that we have fostered, and thieves that we have not put in jail. "
    GREEK DEFAULT EXCLUSIVE: SENIOR US BANKERS GIVEN EXPLICIT TIMETABLE FOR ATHENS DEFAULT | The Slog
    China Three Gorges Buys EDP Stake for $3.5 Billion - Asia Business News - CNBC
      China Three Gorges won the competition to buy Portugal's stake in utility EDP, paying 2.7 billion euros ($3.5 billion), in a privatization seen key to the indebted euro zone country's ability to sell state assets.
      Power strip
      Paul Eekhoff | Photographer's Choice | Getty Images
      The deal, which also includes Chinese investment in the wider economy, is the brightest news for Portugal since it was forced to seek a 78 billion euro bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in the spring after its financing costs soared.
      State holding company Parpublica said on Thursday that China Three Gorges' offer for the 21 percent stake in EDP, Portugal's largest company, was at a 53 percent premium to its share price.
  "Revenues"
    Gene Sperling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Gene B. Sperling (born December 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and political figure,[1] currently serving as a Counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He is also on the staff of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he serves as Senior Fellow for Economic Policy and Director of the Center on Universal Education. He has held several high-level economic policy positions in the U.S. government, and on January 7, 2011, President Obama selected him to become Director of the National Economic Council.[2]
    Pentagon wants $3 billion for the War in Iraq that we thought was over | End the Lie - Independent News
      The American public has been told that the Iraq War is a thing of the past. Even still, the US Department of Defense is asking the federal government for almost $3 billion for "activities" in a country that they shouldn't be in.
      The last US troops were supposedly withdrawn from Iraq just before 2012 began, but after years of a war that abruptly ended this past December, the Pentagon still wants billions to continue doing...something in Iraq. According to the latest budget request, the DoD think around $2.9 billion should cover the cost of "Post-Operation NEW DAWN (OND)/Iraq Activities."
    Democracy at any cost: Obama's $800 million for 'Arab Spring' states | End the Lie - Independent News
      The White House revealed its plans to help the Arab Spring states on Monday. The grim outlook of the US economy and the continuing mass protests at home do not seem to deter Obama from nursing the countries that the US wants to see as heading to a better, truly "democratic" future.
      Nor does he seem inclined to end military support to Egypt. Obama wants to keep aid to Egypt at recent levels, which is $1.3 billion a year despite a crisis triggered by an Egyptian investigation targeting American democracy activists, Reuters reports. Egypt has been getting about $1.6 billion annually, mostly in military assistance, and is thus regarded as one of the top recipients of US aid. In the fiscal year 2012, $250 million of aid approved for Egypt was economic; $1.3 billion was military and there was a $60 million "enterprise fund" approved by Congress.
      Most of the economic aid for the Arab Spring countries -- $770 million -- is expected to be spent on establishing a new "Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund," Obama said.
  Ministry of Truth
    White House Misleads Country On Budget Law - [VIDEO]
    WH Chief of Staff Errs on Senate Budget Rules - ABC News
      As President Obama prepares to unveil his FY2013 budget Monday, White House chief of staff Jack Lew this morning was asked by CNN to defend the Senate's refusal to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days.
      "You can't pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can't get 60 votes without bipartisan support," Lew said. "So unless... unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, [Majority Leader] Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed."
      That's not accurate. Budgets only require 51 Senate votes for passage, as Lew -- former director of the Office of Management and Budget -- surely must know.
      White House officials did not dispute that Lew misspoke. When asked about the discrepancy, a White House official said "the chief of staff was clearly referencing the general gridlock in Congress that makes accomplishing even the most basic tasks nearly impossible given the Senate Republicans' insistence on blocking an up or down vote on nearly every issue."
    Obama Campaign Launches 'Truth Teams' - ABC News
      The Obama campaign is today beginning a new effort to enlist and educate at least 2 million supporters for a "grassroots communications team" they're calling the Truth Team.
      The rollout also includes a social media blitz, directing supporters to three new websites: KeepingHisWord.com, which highlights ObamaÕs record and Òpromises keptÓ; KeepingGOPHonest.com, which highlights GOP policy positions; and AttackWatch.com, which fact-checks claims made against Obama on the campaign trail.
    BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules - TV & Radio - Media - The Independent
      The BBC will today apologise to an estimated 74 million people around the world for a news fixing scandal, exposed by The Independent, in which it broadcast documentaries made by a London TV company that was earning millions of pounds from PR clients which it featured in its programming.
  The Greek Squid
    Tegenlicht Docu
    EuroStat, lobbyists and different fonts
      28:00
    Lucas van Praag about the swaps
      49:00
      Interview Page
      Full interview 1/5 - statemen reading
  Shut Up Slave!
    Indiana's HB 1169 risks unleashing zero-tolerance "government parents" - Student Press Law Center
      House Bill 1169, pushed by the special-interest lobbyists for school administrators, would unleash school principals to control essentially anything their students do -- anytime, anywhere -- that they disapprove of.
      The bill, sponsored by Rep. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, would let public schools suspend or expel students who do or say anything that may "reasonably be considered to be an interference with school purposes or an educational function," even on a Saturday at the shopping mall.
  $hadow Puppet Theatre
    Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on World Bank President Robert Zoellick
      Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today:
      "Bob Zoellick has served the international community--including the membership of the World Bank Group and IMF--with great distinction. Bob will be leaving the Bank with a record of achievement of which he can be very proud. It has been a pleasure working with him both in my capacity as Managing Director and as a finance minister. I wish him the very best in his future endeavors, and look forward to maintaining a close working relationship with the Bank once a successor is chosen."
    Robert Zoellick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Robert Bruce Zoellick /Ëˆz...›l...ªk/ (German: [ËˆtsÅ“l...ªk]; born July 25, 1953) is the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he has held since July 1, 2007.[2] He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs,[3] United States Deputy Secretary of State (resigning on July 7, 2006) and U.S. Trade Representative, from February 7, 2001 until February 22, 2005.
      President George W. Bush nominated Zoellick on May 30, 2007 to replace Paul Wolfowitz as President of the World Bank.[4] On June 25, 2007, Zoellick was approved by the World Bank's executive board.[2][5]
    The next World Bank president: Bill Clinton? | World news | guardian.co.uk
      Alongside names such as Larry Summers and Tim Geithner, speculation in Washington has been rampant if unsourced that Bill Clinton's name is in the frame, and the constant rumours that Hillary Clinton was interested in the job -- repeatedly denied by her -- were in fact a misunderstanding over which Clinton was a candidate.
      Hillary Clinton's role as US secretary of state would be a bar to Bill taking the top job at the Bank -- but Hillary's decision to step down after the US presidential election later this year removes that obstacle.
      But another obstacle to Bill Clinton -- or any of the other American candidates -- is the US's pledge to open up the top job to candidates that don't hold a US passport, including a commitment made at the G20.
    GOP Poster Solyndra
    Steve Spinner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Steve Spinner is an energy policy adviser with the Center for American Progress.[1] He was a top Obama fundraiser in the 2008 election.[2] He currently is a stimulus adviser for the United States Department of Energy.[3]
      Between 1996 and 2000 he worked for NBC attaining the position of senior vice president of strategic partnerships.[1]
      In 2006 he founded the company Sports Potential in Menlo Park, California which offers a test called Smart that assesses the mental and physical qualities of children to guide them to appropriate sports.[4]
      In 2011 he was involved in the Solyndra loan controversy where it has been alleged that he pushed for the loan while his wife worked for the firm that represented Solyndra.[5] Because of his wife, Allison Spinner's, work he had publicly recused himself in 2009. Time Magazine reported in 2011 though that they had emails showing that "Spinner played a central role in making sure the process to review the company's credit risk was moving forward in August of 2009".[6]
  ACTA
    Tom Petty, Bob Dylan Vs. Music Labels: The Industry's New Copyright War - LIVE@LEEDS
      In 1976, Congress, sympathetic to musicians who often sign away rights for a pittance before they become stars, wrote Section 203 of the Copyright Act, which gives those who sell music rights an opportunity to "terminate" grants after 35 years, provided they give proper notice between two and 10 years in advance. The law went into effect in 1978 -- the same year The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack ruled the Billboard charts -- meaning that in 2013, the first crop of compositions and sound recordings comes up for termination.
      So far, some record companies have responded as they often do Ñ with litigation. The dizzying complexity of the Copyright Act leaves several gray areas when it comes to determining whether artists are entitled to terminate rights grants. So-called works for hire donÕt fall under the rule, for instance, and music publishers have argued that a co-author of a work canÕt terminate his or her grant unless the rest of the co-authors are on board as well, which some lawyers say is akin to herding cats because rights often are owned by heirs or others who no longer work together.
  GOP X Factor
    Ron Paul could be the real winner of Maine caucus | End the Lie - Independent News
      With only 84 percent of the votes tallied in Maine, Romney was declared the victor with 39 percent of the votes favoring the former Massachusetts governor. In second place, however, was Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who only fell flat of Romney by fewer than 200 votes. The Paul campaign had predicted a win in Washington County, and when voters are finally allowed to voice their opinion, the mainstream media may have to retract their earlier opinion.
      Ron Paul's team feels that it was a bit fishy that Washington County was washed away on caucus day.
      "The caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn't be reported by the national media," campaign manager John Tate explains to Ron Paul supporters. "The truth is, there is no length to which the GOP establishment won't go. There is nothing the mainstream media won't do," Tate added."This is MAINE we're talking about," John Tate's email continues. "The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn't cancelled! And just the votes of Washington County would have been enough to put us over the top. This is an outrage."
      In his response, Tate also writes that the "GOP establishment and their pals in the national media...will do anything to silence our message of liberty."
    RP Supporter Chairman of Belfast Maine Caucus Calls State GOP to Confirm Vote Tally, result "not even close" to the actual vote! | Ron Paul 2012 | Peace . Gold . Liberty
      I just called the Maine GOP
      Submitted by MattMcDonald on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 12:05.
      I served as the Chairman of my Caucus in Belfast and I just called the State office to make sure they had the numbers from Belfast and the number they had wasn't not even close to the actually vote [sic]. They said that Romney won, when in fact Ron Paul won.
      This is happening all over Maine.
  Techno Expoerts
    UK Seize Popular Music Blog, Arrest Operators and Threaten Readers | TorrentFreak
      As part of a criminal investigation the UK Government has shut down the popular blog RnBXclusive which posted news, commentary and links to music. Authorities have arrested the owners of the site for allegedly defrauding the music industry. In addition, the Serious Organised Crime Agency is threatening users of RnBXclusive that they face 10 years in prison if they downloaded music through the site.
    'Balls-up': $3.1m Parliament House website a year late
      A "major breach" of Australia's Parliament House computer network partly contributed to a $600,000 cost blowout and 12-month delay in constructing the newly designed parliament website which is due to launch to the public this Friday evening.
      The figure and breach was revealed in senate estimates yesterday by parliamentary librarian Roxanne Missingham and President of the Senate John Hogg, who reported that the total cost of the new aph.gov.au site, which was meant to go live February 2011, had so far come to about $3.1 million.
  Drone Nation
    Animal rights group says drone shot down | sUAS News
      A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday.
      Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying.
      He said the animal rights group decided to send the drone up anyway.
      "Seconds after it hit the air, numerous shots rang out," Hindi said in the release. "As an act of revenge for us shutting down the pigeon slaughter, they had shot down our copter."
      He claimed the shooters were "in tree cover" and "fled the scene on small motorized vehicles."
  EUROLand
    Troika inspectors review Portugal bailout | euronews, economy
  Out There
    UFO sightings reveal more strange metal boxes along coastal beaches | HULIQ
      Ore. -- They can't be moved; even when yanked by a four-wheel drive truck pulling on heavy chains tied around these humming metal boxes that are still appearing as of Feb. 8 up and down West Coast beaches.
      Thus, within these British government UFO files, available via the Internet, are the Sri Lanka beach boxes that are similar in both size, coloring and shape; with locals all along Sri LankaÕs beaches Ð located in the blue waters of the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal Ð stating in the recently released British UFO documents that Òthe strange metal boxes appeared suddenly, and after numerous reported UFO sightings.Ó
      In turn, the metal boxes along Oregon, Washington State and Northern California beaches are now being photographed, documented and examined by local experts.
      Also, due to recent storms out in the Pacific Ocean, the ÒboxesÓ are being more or less ignored; with passing comments in local coastal newspaper,Ó state Errol, a BrayÕs Point local and a member of the Oregon UFO ÒwatchersÓ group that gathers both here and at nearby Stonefield Beach to scan the sky for flying objects in much the same way bird lovers use binoculars for birth watching.
    Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens, former pentagon consultant claims | Mail Online
      The former five-star general in the United States Army who commanded the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War, was also keen on pushing the U.S. space programme.
      His meeting with the cosmic life forms is said to have taken place while officials were told that he was on vacation in Palm Springs, California, in February 1954.
      The initial meeting is supposed to have taken place with aliens who were 'Nordic' in appearance, but the agreement was eventually 'signed' with a race called 'Alien Greys'.
      Mr Good added: 'We know that up to 90 per cent of all UFO reports can be explained in conventional terms. However, I would say millions of people worldwide have actually seen the real thing.'
    FreemanTV.com - Occult Symbolism of Madonna at Superbowl Halftime
    NASA eyes plan for deep-space outpost near the Moon | KurzweilAI
      NASA is pressing forward on assessing the value of a "human-tended waypoint" Earth-moon libration point 2 (EML-2) -- a places in space where the combined gravitational pull of the Earth and Moon roughly balance each other out, allowing spacecraft to essentially "park" there.
      EML-2 could serve as a gateway for capability-driven exploration of multiple destinations, such as near-lunar space, asteroids, the moon, the moons of Mars and, ultimately, Mars itself, according to NASA officials.
  Vaccine$
    More Doctors 'Fire' Vaccine Refusers - WSJ.com
      Pediatricians fed up with parents who refuse to vaccinate their children out of concern it can cause autism or other problems increasingly are "firing" such families from their practices, raising questions about a doctor's responsibility to these patients.
      Medical associations don't recommend such patient bans, but the practice appears to be growing, according to vaccine researchers.
    Anti-smoking drug Chantix works for alcohol too
      The drug varenicline is already on the market under the brand name Chantix to help smokers kick the habit but new preliminary research now suggests it could also be useful in helping heavy drinkers quit.
      The research which was carried out on rats provided the rodents with intermittent access to 40 proof alcohol for four months and by varying the access to the liquor supply the rats were made to crave it.
      The researchers say every time the rodents had access to booze, they upped their intake and drank all day and withdrawing the alcohol made them want to drink even more.
    Generic Chantix Availability - Drugs.com
      Exclusivity is exclusive marketing rights granted by the FDA upon approval of a drug and can run concurrently with a patent or not. Exclusivity is a statutory provision and is granted to an NDA applicant if statutory requirements are met.
        Exclusivity expiration dates:
          May 10, 2011 - NEW CHEMICAL ENTITY
  VIDEO
    White House Misleads Country On Budget Law - [VIDEO]
    14th EU-China Summit - the President's Videos
    Extract on China's interest in helping Europe - [VIDEO]
    Seattle Police Officer Caught On Video Talking About Making Up Evidence - [VIDEO]
    "You Can Either Stand With Us Or With The Child Pornographers" Canadian Lawmaker - [VIDEO]
    WH Economic Adviser: "This Is A Democratic Budget" And "We Need A Global Minimum Tax" - [VIDEO]
      Gene Sperling at the WH says Obama's latest budget is a democratic budget and that Obama wants a global minimum tax (2.13.2012)
    Arwa Damon, CNN Correspondent, Reports From Syria Amid Violence
    BBC News - Greek debt crisis: Eurozone talks 'cancelled'
    Children Trained For Suicide Attacks! (or... Why The TSA NEEDS To Feel Up Your 12 Y/O Daughter) - [VIDEO]
    Troika inspectors review Portugal bailout | euronews, economy
    Farage: EU-ECB-IMF Troika Driving Greece Towards Violent Revolution - [VIDEO]
    TSA says woman has 'cute figure,' asks for three body scans | The Raw Story
    Electronic Cigarette Explodes In Man's Mouth - [VIDEO]
    Death Metal Rocker Dave Mustaine Endorses Rick Santorum After Becoming Disillusioned By Gingrich - [VIDEO]
Clips and Stuff
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  Iran-Syria
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  na383art
  Shut Up Slave
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  Techno Experts
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