No Agenda 479 - Belieber

No Agenda Episode 479 - Belieber
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  War on Ammo
    NY Seals 1st State Gun Laws Since Newtown Massacre
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:48
      New York lawmakers agreed to pass the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats.
      "This is a scourge on society," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday night, six days after making gun control a centerpiece of his progressive agenda in his State of the State address. The bipartisan effort was fueled by the Newton tragedy that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators. "At what point do you say, 'No more innocent loss of life'?"
      The measure also calls for restrictions on ammunition and the sale of guns. It is expected to pass Tuesday.
      "This is not about taking anyone's rights away," said Sen. Jeffrey Klein, a Bronx Democrat. "It's about a safe society ... today we are setting the mark for the rest of the county to do what's right."
      Under current state law, assault weapons are defined by having two "military rifle" features. The proposal would reduce that to one feature and include the popular pistol grip.
      Private sales of assault weapons to someone other than an immediate family would be subject to a background check through a dealer. Also Internet sales of assault weapons would be banned, and failing to safely store a weapon could be subject to a misdemeanor charge.
      Ammunition magazines would be restricted to seven bullets, from the current 10, and current owners of higher-capacity magazines would have a year to sell them out of state. An owner caught at home with eight or more bullets in a magazine could face a misdemeanor charge.
      In another provision, a therapist who believes a mental health patient made a credible threat to use a gun illegally would be required to report it to a mental health director who would have to notify the state. A patient's gun could be taken from him or her.
      The legislation also increases sentences for gun crimes including the shooting of a first responder that Cuomo called the "Webster provision." Last month in the western New York town of Webster, two firefighters were killed after responding to a fire set by the shooter, who eventually killed himself.
      The measure passed the Senate 43-18 on the strength of support from Democrats, many of whom previously sponsored bills that were once blocked by Republicans. The Democrat-led Assembly gaveled out before midnight and planned to take the issue up at 10 a.m. Tuesday. It is expected to pass easily.
      The governor confirmed the proposal, previously worked out in closed session, also would mandate a police registry of assault weapons, grandfathering in assault weapons already in private hands.
      It was agreed upon exactly a month since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
      "It is well-balanced, it protects the Second Amendment," said Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Long Island.
      Cuomo said he wanted quick action to avoid a run on assault weapons and ammunition as he tries to address what he estimates is about 1 million assault weapons in New York state.
      Republican Sen. Greg Ball called that political opportunism in a rare criticism of the popular and powerful governor seen by his supporters as a possible candidate for president in 2016.
      "We haven't saved any lives tonight, except one: the political life of a governor who wants to be president," said Ball who represents part of the Hudson Valley. "We have taken an entire category of firearms that are currently legal that are in the homes of law-abiding, tax paying citizens. ... We are now turning those law-abiding citizens into criminals."
      In the gun debate, one concern for New York is its major gun manufacturer upstate.
      Remington Arms Co. makes the Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that was used in the Connecticut shootings and again on Christmas Eve when the two firefighters were slain in Webster. The two-century-old Remington factory in Ilion in central New York employs 1,000 workers in a Republican Senate district.
      The bill would be the first test of the new coalition in control of the Senate, which has long been run by Republicans opposed to gun control measures. The chamber is now in the hands of Republicans and five breakaway Democrats led by Klein, an arrangement expected to result in more progressive legislation.
      Former Republican Sen. Michael Balboni said that for legislators from the more conservative upstate region of New York, gun control "has the intensity of the gay marriage issue." In 2011, three of four Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote for same-sex marriage ended up losing their jobs because of their votes.
      &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;
      AP Writer Michael Virtanen contributed to this report from Albany.
    Gun Advocates Celebrate 'Secret' Obamacare Provision Forbidding Exec Order To Regulate Guns And Ammo - Forbes
      For these reasons, the following language did, indeed, become a part of the nation's controversial health care reform law:
      (c) PROTECTION OF SECOND AMENDMENT GUN RIGHTS.--
      ''(1) WELLNESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS.-- A wellness and health promotion activity implemented under subsection (a)(1)(D) may not require the disclosure or collection of any information relating to--
      ''(A) the presence or storage of a lawfully- possessed firearm or ammunition in the residence or on the property of an individual; or
      ''(B) the lawful use, possession, or storage of a firearm or ammunition by an individual.â€¨''
      (2) LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION.--None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used for the collection of any in- formation relating to--
      ''(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition;
      ''(B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or
      ''(C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition.
      ''(3) LIMITATION ON DATABASES OR DATA BANKS.--None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used to maintain records of individual ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition.
    REPUBLICAN INSIDER: Obama Livid Over Gun Rights Backlash - The Ulsterman Report
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:51
      }vF9ys'&\p#\oW3g aD3K%OUU7.h[vëÔM^~U]]uî|uVkóø;ô?-'<~G!Gk6Ix õfY%iec3rSvj4zh^Lwg>)gfSQ0mcQcvXK>>5;H:XR[Oq#5—"'½N{a)gOKe/.Eõd!;‚'Typ9a' d*)"¸^*;-$+#,"ZN4m ?lt#e%"8w9"DOh|ltY…½^~J|u×Úíº„Ú(]N%{x&_Äè'`C'~ _YfløÐ83^mJ'gvwl öMLs5\)&B2jVbBs]K"…û""jg8sÞµ~b_SKl:7L,-/`a‚Âd2M;z$e0~XkI6"0-kke[s<è£Kj-p\5Nh*7w8v"w'aY-&p6}§¨Ecs]JbOEXPN2òÂ+70q%T…­VPI827k†Õ3C7Q4 2O}G^dqRvjfw8ë¬/zR4O|@ FqO\6 ^G\u/Hvl$`ju‘Åca5vx!RDm\tx@fifmm§º6KñÔP4?M8 p!w? 8míH+v[e:3=ìM `u4c_R=XI0?|Dlop:riuj|p}~XAP;7g:t.UDaGó...E~Q(0h!wc&y‚Ô'O8Dé¦_bq#WJg'*>Þ¦ò±_Em~L=#6»'$L&VzOQ~Tî«joæ·l3/']ZsPm_74[ö85ôÂcgof4QK(Z1/V4O%zî'`]R /xu,!,Aq2]jg TÜ G:6Hx%K=`,\]Z_‘"ü57O|4€øX'§Â?6;^:8js'?;opsU§´vF_v~f1ìÛel"á^cd§±/j ÕJeb9%Q}8 gS@±'GlCE^V}-F-mh_GP1(T::}::|~hiÍ¸bkz/^ ;§']$KVgXoivqp__vn{E:68p\ôÑXb(x;cvRo4mo#ws0G}E?\dx`{{C[ 'Äxô«|y(`{0r73NZ^E}LxFî' ?7aawv#'Czv}.[yUMl3Xv(}{ME~Bjvk |94wm*c.Uy<§á2v5…x§±;\ivk… un6)cêö9%^7`E"HpUwJÍ^U9qwŽ¼¼Ok_t _k kdzTmB!(!'ð>>9Ü"MkTñµ C#1L~w76J<_DztOÍÔrFmVè...RuwE ¬3@_94Ræ­G'NVKr@6>M=ó¡.Y-/G_@ñø 6mv{E!+F6T T'T¸A*×Úw|>Aoh?7[mî¨q;R1[a; RA4eto"ROpZ+[m
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    Presidential Memorandum -- Engaging in Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence | The White House
      Presidential Memorandum -- Engaging in Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence
      MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
      SUBJECT: Engaging in Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence
      In addition to being a law enforcement challenge, gun violence is also a serious public health issue that affects thousands of individuals, families, and communities across the Nation. Each year in the United States there are approximately 30,000 firearm-related deaths, and approximately 11,000 of those deaths result from homicides. Addressing this critical issue requires a comprehensive, multifaceted approach.
      Recent research suggests that, in developing such an approach, a broader public health perspective is imperative. Significant strides can be made by assessing the causes of gun violence and the successful efforts in place for preventing the misuse of firearms. Taking these steps will improve our understanding of the gun violence epidemic and will aid in the continued development of gun violence prevention strategies.
      Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
      Section 1. Research. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, shall conduct or sponsor research into the causes of gun violence and the ways to prevent it. The Secretary shall begin by identifying the most pressing research questions with the greatest potential public health impact, and by assessing existing public health interventions being implemented across the Nation to prevent gun violence.
      Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
      (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
      (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
      (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
      (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
      Sec. 3. Publication. You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
      BARACK OBAMA
    Presidential Memorandum -- Tracing of Firearms in Connection with Criminal Investigations | The White House
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:44
      The White House
      Office of the Press Secretary
      For Immediate Release
      January 16, 2013
      January 16, 2013
      MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
      SUBJECT: Tracing of Firearms in Connection with Criminal Investigations
      Reducing violent crime, and gun-related crime in particular, is a top priority of my Administration. A key component of this effort is ensuring that law enforcement agencies at all levels -- Federal, State, and local -- utilize those tools that have proven most effective. One such tool is firearms tracing, which significantly assists law enforcement in reconstructing the transfer and movement of seized or recovered firearms. Responsibility for conducting firearms tracing rests with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Over the years, firearms tracing has significantly assisted law enforcement in solving violent crimes and generating thousands of leads that may otherwise not have been available.
      Firearms tracing provides two principal benefits. First, tracing is an important investigative tool in individual cases, providing law enforcement agents with critical information that may lead to the apprehension of suspects, the recovery of other guns used in the commission of crimes, and the identification of potential witnesses, among other things. Second, analysis of tracing data in the aggregate provides valuable intelligence about local, regional, and national patterns relating to the movement and sources of guns used in the commission of crimes, which is useful for the effective deployment of law enforcement resources and development of enforcement strategies. Firearms tracing is a particularly valuable tool in detecting and investigating firearms trafficking, and has been deployed to help combat the pernicious problem of firearms trafficking across the Southwest border.
      The effectiveness of firearms tracing as a law enforcement intelligence tool depends on the quantity and quality of information and trace requests submitted to ATF. In fiscal year 2012, ATF processed approximately 345,000 crime-gun trace requests for thousands of domestic and international law enforcement agencies. The Federal Government can encourage State and local law enforcement agencies to take advantage of the benefits of tracing all recovered firearms, but Federal law enforcement agencies should have an obligation to do so. If Federal law enforcement agencies do not conscientiously trace every firearm taken into custody, they may not only be depriving themselves of critical information in specific cases, but may also be depriving all Federal, State, and local agencies of the value of complete information for aggregate analyses.
      Maximizing the effectiveness of firearms tracing, and the corresponding impact on combating violent crimes involving firearms, requires that Federal law enforcement agencies trace all recovered firearms taken into Federal custody in a timely and efficient manner.
      Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
      Section1. Firearms Tracing. (a) Federal law enforcement agencies shall ensure that all firearms recovered after the date of this memorandum in the course of criminal investigations and taken into Federal custody are traced through ATF at the earliest time practicable. Federal law enforcement agencies, as well as other executive departments and agencies, are encouraged, to the extent practicable, to take steps to ensure that firearms recovered prior to the date of this memorandum in the course of criminal investigations and taken into Federal custody are traced through ATF.
      (b) Within 30 days of the date of this memorandum, ATF will issue guidance to Federal law enforcement agencies on submitting firearms trace requests.
      (c) Within 60 days of the date of this memorandum, Federal law enforcement agencies shall ensure that their operational protocols reflect the requirement to trace recovered firearms through ATF.
      (d) Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, each Federal law enforcement agency shall submit a report to the Attorney General affirming that its operational protocols reflect the requirements set forth in this memorandum.
      (e) For purposes of this memorandum, "Federal law enforcement agencies" means the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President may designate.
      Sec.2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof.
      (b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
      Sec. 3. Publication. The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
      BARACK OBAMA
    Presidential Memorandum -- Improving Availability of Relevant Executive Branch Records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System | The White House
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:44
      The White House
      Office of the Press Secretary
      For Immediate Release
      January 16, 2013
      MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
      SUBJECT: Improving Availability of Relevant Executive Branch Records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
      Since it became operational in 1998, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has been an essential tool in the effort to ensure that individuals who are prohibited under Federal or State law from possessing firearms do not acquire them from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). The ability of the NICS to determine quickly and effectively whether an individual is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm depends on the completeness and accuracy of the information made available to it by Federal, State, and tribal authorities.
      The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA) (Public Law 110-180) was a bipartisan effort to strengthen the NICS by increasing the quantity and quality of relevant records from Federal, State, and tribal authorities accessible by the system. Among its requirements, the NIAA mandated that executive departments and agencies (agencies) provide relevant information, including criminal history records, certain adjudications related to the mental health of a person, and other information, to databases accessible by the NICS. Much progress has been made to identify information generated by agencies that is relevant to determining whether a person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms, but more must be done. Greater participation by agencies in identifying records they possess that are relevant to determining whether an individual is prohibited from possessing a firearm and a regularized process for submitting those records to the NICS will strengthen the accuracy and efficiency of the NICS, increasing public safety by keeping guns out of the hands of persons who cannot lawfully possess them.
      Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
      Section1. Improving the Availability of Records to the NICS. (a) Within 45 days of the date of this memorandum, and consistent with the process described in section 3 of this memorandum, the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall issue guidance to agencies regarding the identification and sharing of relevant Federal records and their submission to the NICS.
      (b) Within 60 days of issuance of guidance pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, agencies shall submit a report to DOJ advising whether they possess relevant records, as set forth in the guidance, and setting forth an implementation plan for making information in those records available to the NICS, consistent with applicable law.
      (c) In accordance with the authority and responsibility provided to the Attorney General by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Public Law 103-159), as amended, the Attorney General, consistent with the process described in section 3 of this memorandum, shall resolve any disputes concerning whether agency records are relevant and should be made available to the NICS.
      (d) To the extent they possess relevant records, as set forth in the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, agencies shall prioritize making those records available to the NICS on a regular and ongoing basis.
      Sec. 2. Measuring Progress. (a) By October 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, agencies that possess relevant records shall submit a report to the President through the Attorney General describing:
      (i) the relevant records possessed by the agency that can be shared with the NICS consistent with applicable law;
      (ii) the number of those records submitted to databases accessible by the NICS during each reporting period;
      (iii) the efforts made to increase the percentage of relevant records possessed by the agency that are submitted to databases accessible by the NICS;
      (iv) any obstacles to increasing the percentage of records that are submitted to databases accessible by the NICS;
      (v) for agencies that make qualifying adjudications related to the mental health of a person, the measures put in place to provide notice and programs for relief from disabilities as required under the NIAA;
      (vi) the measures put in place to correct, modify, or remove records accessible by the NICS when the basis under which the record was made available no longer applies; and
      (vii) additional steps that will be taken within 1 year of the report to improve the processes by which records are identified, made accessible, and corrected, modified, or removed.
      (b) If an agency certifies in its annual report that it has made available to the NICS its relevant records that can be shared consistent with applicable law, and describes its plan to make new records available to the NICS and to update, modify, or remove existing records electronically no less often than quarterly as required by the NIAA, such agency will not be required to submit further annual reports. Instead, the agency will be required to submit an annual certification to DOJ, attesting that the agency continues to submit relevant records and has corrected, modified, or removed appropriate records.
      Sec. 3. NICS Consultation and Coordination Working Group. To ensure adequate agency input in the guidance required by section 1(a) of this memorandum, subsequent decisions about whether an agency possesses relevant records, and determinations concerning whether relevant records should be provided to the NICS, there is established a NICS Consultation and Coordination Working Group (Working Group), to be chaired by the Attorney General or his designee.
      (a) Membership. In addition to the Chair, the Working Group shall consist of representatives of the following agencies:
      (i) the Department of Defense;
      (ii) the Department of Health and Human Services;
      (iii) the Department of Transportation;
      (iv) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
      (v) the Department of Homeland Security;
      (vi) the Social Security Administration;
      (vii) the Office of Personnel Management;
      (viii) the Office of Management and Budget; and
      (ix) such other agencies or offices as the Chair may designate.
      (b) Functions. The Working Group shall convene regularly and as needed to allow for consultation and coordination between DOJ and agencies affected by the Attorney General's implementation of the NIAA, including with respect to the guidance required by section 1(a) of this memorandum, subsequent decisions about whether an agency possesses relevant records, and determinations concerning whether relevant records should be provided to the NICS. The Working Group may also consider, as appropriate:
      (i) developing means and methods for identifying agency records deemed relevant by DOJ's guidance;
      (ii) addressing obstacles faced by agencies in making their relevant records available to the NICS;
      (iii) implementing notice and relief from disabilities programs; and
      (iv) ensuring means to correct, modify, or remove records when the basis under which the record was made available no longer applies.
      (c) Reporting. The Working Group will review the annual reports required by section 2(a) of this memorandum, and member agencies may append to the reports any material they deem appropriate, including an identification of any agency best practices that may be of assistance to States in supplying records to the NICS.
      Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
      (i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
      (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
      (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
      (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
      (d) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to comply with the requirements of this memorandum.
      Sec. 5. Publication. The Attorney General is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
      BARACK OBAMA
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    Politics: Complete list of Obama's 23 executive orders on guns | CainTV
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:01
      By ROBERT LAURIE - 23 steps to....nothing substantial
      Here's a list of all 23 executive orders signed by the President this afternoon. Most are geared toward health care, post-crime investigation, and gun safety education. Not one of them would have done a thing to prevent the shootings at Sandy Hook. If today's goal was to ensure this "never happens again," this list represents an epic failure.
      As the boss said earlier, Washington excels at doing things that, in the end, do absolutely nothing.
      Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.Propose rule making to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.Nominate an ATF director.Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.Make sure you're following Robert Laurie on Twitter @RobertLaurie
      Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
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    CNN: Growing Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories - Anotheer 12 minutes from Pooper
      Link to Article
      Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:06
    VIDEO-Ingrid Michaelson, Newtown Children Perform 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' on 'GMA' - YouTube
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:55
    Obama unveils $500 million gun violence package | NBC17.com
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:34
      WASHINGTON --Without waiting for Congress, President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced a sweeping $500 million program to curb gun violence, setting up a fight over universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting.
      Obama also used his presidential powers to issue 23 orders that don't require congressional approval. The largely incremental executive steps include requiring federal agencies to make more data available for background checks, appointing a fulltime director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence.
      But the president, speaking at the White House, acknowledged the most effective actions must be taken by lawmakers.
      "To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said." And Congress must act soon."
      Congresswoman Renee Ellmers responded to the president's proposals by saying, "President Obama is once again exploiting a tragedy for political gain and eroding our constitutional rights for the sake of an extreme liberal agenda. We need to have a serious discussion on how we can prevent troubled individuals from carrying out their insane intentions. But attacking our legal rights and liberties through abusive executive orders destroys the very principles that have protected our citizens from oppressive government power for over 236 years."
      Obama was flanked by children who wrote him letters about gun violence in the weeks following the Newtown shooting. Families of the 20 children killed in the massacre, as well as survivors, were also in the audience along with law enforcement officers and members of Congress.
      "This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe," Obama said. "This is how we will be judged."
      The president based his proposals on recommendations from an administration-wide task force led by Vice President Joe Biden.
  King Obama
    Presidential Memorandum -- Delegation of Certain Functions Under Section 6 of Public Law 112-150 | The White House
      Presidential Memorandum -- Delegation of Certain Functions Under Section 6 of Public Law 112-150
      MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
      SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions Under Section 6 of Public Law 112-150
      By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to you all functions conferred upon the President by subsections (a) and (b) of section 6 of Public Law 112-150. You will exercise these functions in coordination with the Secretary of Defense.
      You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
      BARACK OBAMA
    Acts of the 112th United States Congress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      112-150 July 27, 2012 United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 Enhance strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel by establishing policy, amending some acts and requesting various reports.
    President Proclaims National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:08
      File photo: President Barak Obama. Defense Department photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo
      As the New Year kicks off, President Barack Obama proclaims January ''National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month'' as he reminds the nation that protecting human rights remains a founding principle of America and one of the nation's top priorities.
      The proclamation reads:
      ''This month, we rededicate ourselves to stopping one of the greatest human rights abuses of our time. Around the world, millions of men, women, and children are bought, sold, beaten, and abused, locked in compelled service and hidden in darkness. They toil in factories and fields; in brothels and sweatshops; at sea, abroad, and at home. They are the victims of human trafficking '-- a crime that amounts to modern-day slavery.
      ''As Americans, we have long rejected such cruelty. We have recognized it as a debasement of our common humanity and an affront to the principles we cherish. And for more than a century, we have made it a national mission to bring slavery and human trafficking to an end.
      ''My Administration has been deeply committed to carrying this legacy forward '-- beginning with trafficking that happens on our own shores. We have strengthened protections so all workers know their rights, expanded efforts to identify and serve domestic victims, devoted new resources to dismantling trafficking networks, and put more traffickers behind bars than ever before. In the months ahead, we will continue to take action by empowering investigators and law enforcement with the training they need, and by engaging businesses, advocates, and students in developing cutting-edge tools people can use to stay safe. We will invest in helping trafficking victims rebuild their lives. And as one of the world's largest purchasers of goods and services, the Federal Government will keep leading by example, further strengthening protections to help ensure that American tax dollars never support forced labor.
      ''Our commitment to stopping human trafficking does not end at our borders. As a leader in the global movement to combat this scourge, the United States has renewed sanctions on governments that harbor the worst offenders. We have partnered with groups around the world to help men, women, and children escape their abusers. And recognizing that no country can meet this challenge alone, we have aided others in addressing modern slavery's root causes, and encouraged nations across the globe to pass comprehensive anti-trafficking laws, enforce them rigorously, and care for survivors.
      ''We know the road ahead is long, and change will not come easily. But as we renew our pledge to erase modern forms of slavery from the face of this earth, let us also draw strength from the movements of the past. We recall the words of the Emancipation Proclamation '-- that every life saved is ''an act of justice,'' worthy of ''the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of an Almighty God.''
      ''We reflect on the Amendment that wrote abolition into law, the decades of struggle to make its promise real, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that has drawn nations together in the pursuit of equality and justice. These achievements once seemed impossible '-- but on this day, let us remember that they were not, and let us press on toward the future we know is possible.
      ''NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2013 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon businesses, organizations, faith-based groups, families, and all Americans to recognize the vital role we can play in ending all forms of slavery and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.
      ''In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.''
      '--'--'--'--'--
      Check out this American Forces Press Service article to learn more about the Defense Department's efforts to combat human trafficking.
      Check out these other posts:April 19: A Day to Remember Those Harmed by TerrorismVideo: Karzai Visits WashingtonSAVE Award- Final 48 Hours
  War on Poop
    No pooper scooper? Condo to get DNA from dogs
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:06
      People living in one Orlando condo complex fed up with dog owners not cleaning up after their pets are using a high-tech way to catch the culprits.
      ORLANDO, Fla. -Residents of an Orlando condo complex fed up with owners not cleaning up after their pets are using a high-tech way to catch the culprits, taking DNA from the dogs.
      [SEE THESE? Tattoo spell check | Worst ink ever | Florida mug shots]
      The Vue at Lake Eola in downtown has received numerous complaints about tenants leaving their dog's droppings at a pet park on the seventh floor of the condominium.
      The building is hiring a company called PooPrints to collect DNA samples from the dogs. Technicians will swab the dogs' mouths and then match that DNA to the feces.
      It will cost pet owners about $50 per dog to register them with PooPrints.
      If a tenant is caught not picking up after their dog they could be fined $100. Repeat offenders could be evicted from the building.
      Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.
  War on Horse
    BBC News - Horsemeat found in beefburgers on sale in UK and Ireland
      Link to Article
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:05
      15 January 2013Last updated at17:24 ETHorse DNA has been found in some beefburgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has said.
      The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire.
      It said there was no risk to health.
      The burgers were on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they were on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl and Aldi.
      Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteIn Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.''
      End QuoteProf Alan ReillyFSAI chief executiveThe FSAI said the retailers stated that they were removing all implicated batches of the burgers.
      A total of 27 products were analysed, with 10 of them containing horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.
      'Unacceptable'Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco.
      In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA.
      The chief executive of the FSAI, Professor Alan Reilly, said that while the findings posed no risk to public health, they did raise some concerns.
      Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
      Irish Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney: ''There is no food safety risk"
      "Whilst, there is a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants, there is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production process," he said.
      "In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger," Prof Reilly added.
      "Likewise, for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable."
      Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteThe safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco''
      End QuoteTim SmithTesco's group technical directorThe Irish Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, said he was concerned by the FSAI's findings, and had sent government vets into the factory that produced the 29% horsemeat burger to interview management.
      He reassured the public that the burgers posed no health risk and added that the Republic of Ireland "probably has the best traceability and food safety in the world".
      'Extremely serious'Tesco's group technical director, Tim Smith, said his company was informed of the test results by the FSAI on Tuesday and they "immediately withdrew from sale all products from the supplier in question".
      In Tesco's case, two frozen beefburger products that are sold in both the UK and Ireland were found to contain horse DNA.
      In a statement, Mr Smith said: "The safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco. We will not tolerate any compromise in the quality of the food we sell. The presence of illegal meat in our products is extremely serious."
      He added that Tesco was "working with the authorities in Ireland and the UK, and with the supplier concerned, to urgently understand how this has happened and how to ensure it does not happen again".
      'Quality'Iceland said it has "withdrawn from sale the two Iceland brand quarter pounder burger lines implicated in the study".
      In a statement, the company said it noted the FSAI's findings "with concern" and "would be working closely with its suppliers to investigate this issue and to ensure that all Iceland brand products meet the high standards of quality and integrity that we specify and which our customers are entitled to expect".
      Aldi said only one of its products - which is only on sale in the Republic of Ireland - was affected.
      In a statement, Aldi Stores (Ireland) said: "Following notification this afternoon from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) of an issue in relation to our Oakhurst Beef Burgers (8 pack) we have immediately removed the product from sale and have launched an investigation into the matter."
      The company said it "takes the quality of all its products extremely seriously and demands the highest standards from its suppliers".
      Lidl was not immediately available for comment when contacted by the BBC.
      Meanwhile, Silvercrest Foods and Dalepak both said they had never bought or traded in horse product and have launched an investigation into two continental European third party suppliers.
  Shut Up Slave!
    H.R. 228: To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to prevent the payment of cash to recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance for the return of empty bottles and cans used to contain food purchased with benefits provided under such Act.
      Link to Article
      Source: Watching Congress
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:43
      If a recipient of food stamps or other nutrition assistance invests the time and effort into retaining, transporting, and returning these containers, why shouldn't they receive the bounty? All this will do is encourage more people to discard recyclables. Would this make a person on assistance ineligible to turn in aluminum cans? This is just stupid and greedy.
    Julie Burchill article: Observer removes content from website and issues apology after Twitter storm
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:53
      Julie Burchill has come under fire for a column in yesterday's ObserverThe columnist described transsexuals as 'd**** in chicks' clothing'The article has now been removed and an apology issuedMs Burchill was writing in defence of fellow columnist Suzanne MooreMiss Moore had been forced off Twitter after criticism of another articleShe said women were pressured to have bodies like 'Brazilian transsexuals'Lib Dem minister Lynne Featherstone has called for Ms Burchill to be sackedMiss Featherstone also wants Observer editor John Mulholland sackedBy Ben Spencer
      PUBLISHED: 15:03 EST, 14 January 2013 | UPDATED: 16:34 EST, 14 January 2013
      An Observer article that called transsexuals 'bed-wetters in bad wigs' and 'd**** in chick's clothing' has been taken offline after a torrent of abuse from furious readers.
      Controversial newspaper Julie Burchill was accused of being transphobic after she wrote a column in the Observer yesterday defending her friend and fellow columnist Suzanne Moore who came under fire on Twitter for an article that said women were under pressure to have bodies like 'Brazilian transsexuals'.
      The Observer website was swamped with comments in response to Miss Burchill's column, many describing it as 'vile' and 'horrible'.
      Now the paper has spiked the article and issued a statement from editor John Mulholland.
      Contrite: The Observer withdrew Ms Burchill's feature and apologised on its website after a storm of protest
      It said: 'We have decided to withdraw from publication the Julie Burchill comment piece 'Transsexuals should cut it out'.
      'The piece was an attempt to explore contentious issues within what had become a highly-charged debate.
      'The Observer is a paper which prides itself on ventilating difficult debates and airing challenging views. On this occasion we got it wrong and in light of the hurt and offence caused I apologise and have made the decision to withdraw the piece.'
      But Liberal Democrat minister Lynne Featherstone has called for Miss Burchill to be sacked. The former Equalities Minister, a staunch supporter of transsexual rights, said she should be fired and Mr Mulholland should also go.
      Miss Featherstone, now Minister for International Development, accused Miss Burchill and the Observer of 'inciting hatred'.
      'Sack her': Former equalities minister Lynne Featherstone, left, has called for Observer columnist Julie Burchill, right, to be sacked after she wrote an article that described transsexuals as 'bed-wetters in bad wigs'
      She said on Twitter: 'Julie Burchill rant against transgender community is absolutely disgusting '' a bigoted vomit for which the Observer should sack her.'
      Replying to a message saying Mr Mulholland should be sacked, she said: 'Good point '' they can both go!'
      Miss Burchill wrote the article in defence of fellow columnist Suzanne Moore, who became the target of transsexuals' fury over what seemed to be a throw-away comment in a previous article.
      Miss Moore, describing the challenges faced by modern women in an article for the New Statesman, had written that modern women were expected to look like 'Brazilian transsexuals'.
      She had said: '(Women]) are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape '' that of a Brazilian transsexual.'
      The comment provoked fury on Twitter and Miss Moore subsequently said she had been forced to stop using the website because of the abuse she had received.
      Miss Burchill ranted: 'Though I imagine (Twitter) to be something akin to being savaged by a dead sheep, as Denis Healey had it of Geoffrey Howe, I nevertheless felt indignant that a woman of such style and substance should be driven from her chosen mode of time-wasting by a bunch of d**** in chicks' clothing.
      She added that the reaction of 'the very vociferous transsexual lobby and their grim groupies' reminded her 'of those wretched inner-city kids who shoot another inner-city kid dead in a fast-food shop for not showing them enough ''respect''.'
      Under fire: Julie Burchill's column was in defence of friend Suzanne Moore, left, who was criticised for a piece in the New Statesman. Minister Lynne Featherstone has also called for Observer editor John Mulholland, right, to be sacked
      Miss Burchill's column also compared the attacks on Suzanne Moore to 'the Black and White Minstrels telling Usain Bolt how to run'.
      She added: 'I must say that my only experience of the trans lobby thus far was hearing about the vile way they have persecuted another of my friends, the veteran women's rights and anti-domestic violence activist Julie Bindel '' picketing events where she is speaking about such minor issues as the rape of children and the trafficking of women just because she refuses to accept that their relationship with their phantom limb is the most pressing problem that women '' real and imagined '' are facing right now.'
      The row started when Suzanne Moore said in a column that modern women were expected to have bodies like 'Brazilian transsexuals'. Brazilian Cristini Couto is pictured posing after she was elected Miss Transexual International in Madrid
      Miss Burchill was supported on Twitter by Miss Bindel, who writes for the Observer's sister paper the Guardian.
      She said of her article: 'This has been a long time coming, the bullying has to stop.'
      But not all at the Guardian News & Media were so supportive.
      The Guardian website last night published a retort to Miss Burchill's column by a transgender rights activist.
      Entitled 'Julie Burchill has ended up bullying the trans community', her article described Miss Burchill's comments as a 'list of negative epithets legitimising the currency of hate speech'.
      She added: 'The basic point behind everything she says is that trans people lead essentially inauthentic existences and that hers, as a working-class novelist with a taste for lobster and champagne, is real life.'
      Readers also took to the Observer website in their hundreds to complain about Ms Burchill's argument.
      Many readers described it as 'vile', 'shameful' and 'disgusting'.
      The Observer website version of Ms Burchill's article carried a message that said a number of complaints had been received since its publication.
      It said that it is subject to 'an inquiry' by the readers editor.
      The message from the Observer readers editor Stephen Pritchard said: 'As you might imagine, I have received many emails protesting about this piece this morning.
      'Thank you to those who have written. I will be looking at this issue and will be replying to all in due course.'
      A poll of readers on the Independent website following the article saw 90 per cent deem Ms Burchill's article offensive.
      Ms Burchill, 53, is a self-confessed 'militant feminist'.
      As well as being a journalist from the age of 17, she is also an acclaimed novelist with her 1989 novel Ambition becoming a bestseller.
      Her 2004 novel Sugar Rush was adapted for television.
  2TTH
    Why Was the Secret Service Involved in Aaron Swartz Case?
      Link to Article
      Source: Crooks and Liars
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:24
      Over on TechDirt, they're asking this question: Why, two days before Aaron Swartz' arrest, did the Secret Service take over handling of the case? Their question comes from Marcy Wheeler's excellent reporting on new documents disclosed in his case:
      According to a suppression motion in his case, however, two days before Aaron was arrested, the Secret Service took over the investigation.
      On the morning of January 4, 2011, at approximately 8:00 am, MIT personnel located the netbook being used for the downloads and decided to leave it in place and institute a packet capture of the network traffic to and from the netbook.This was accomplished using the laptop of Dave Newman, MIT Senior Network Engineer, which was connected to the netbook and intercepted the communications coming to and from it.Later that day, beginning at 11:00 am, the Secret Service assumed control of the investigation. [my emphasis]
      In fact, in one of the most recent developments in discovery in Aaron's case, the government belatedly turned over an email showing Secret Service agent Michael Pickett offering to take possession of the hardware seized from Aaron ''anytime after it has been processed for prints or whenever you [Assistant US Attorney Stephen Heymann] feel it is appropriate.'' Another newly disclosed document shows the Pickett accompanied the local cops as they moved the hardware they had seized from Aaron around.
      Her point is well-taken: According to the Secret Service website, they get involved in computer crime investigations in limited situations, and downloading academic papers from JSTOR fits none of the criteria.
      But if you go and look at the testimony of the Secret Service before Congress, you might find the answer there. In April 2011, Special Agent Pablo Martinez testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. The purpose of his testimony was to inform the subcommittee about measures to coordinate and investigate computer crimes which could result in economic loss. Buried in that testimony, there is this:
      The Secret Service developed a multifaceted approach to combating cyber crime by: expanding our Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program; expanding our network of Electronic Crimes Task Forces; creating a Cyber Intelligence Section; expanding our presence overseas; forming partnerships with academic institutions focusing on cybersecurity; and working with DHS to establish the National Computer Forensic Institute to train our state and local law enforcement partners in the area of cyber crime. These initiatives led to the opening of 957 criminal cases and the arrest of 1,217 suspects in fiscal year 2010 for cyber crime related violations with a fraud loss of $507.7 million. The arrest of these individuals prevented an additional loss estimated at $7 billion dollars and involved the examination of 867 terabytes of data, which is roughly the equivalent of 867,000 copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica. As a result of these efforts, the Secret Service is recognized worldwide for our investigative and innovative approaches to detecting, investigating and preventing cyber crimes.
      Could one of those partners have been MIT? Did the Secret Service and FBI fear that their partnership work in the area of combating computer crime and online fraud would be revealed?
      On the question of partnerships, let's have a look at Janet Napolitano's speech at MIT and what she had to say about the government relationship with the university:
      MIT, of course, is the source of one of the great national-security collaborations, in the form of the Lincoln Laboratory, which currently works with DHS on several projects. I have seen a good example of an impressive DHS-MIT project, which is called the Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance '' or "ISIS." The prototype camera, which is at Boston's Logan Airport, greatly expands our ability to spot suspicious objects and quickly analyze any breaches in security.
      Marcy asks whether MIT asked the Secret Service to get involved*. From these two pieces of information, it's unclear whether or not they actually asked, or it was simply routine in cases where there was not just one (perceived) breach on the network, but a persistent effort to breach and download information. Accept for the moment that federal law enforcement agencies make wingnuts' paranoia look mild. In my limited experience, they're paranoid and make presumptions of major guilt over minor things, leaving the accused with the unpleasant task of proving their innocence.
      Since MIT is a collaborator on national security via their Lincoln laboratory, I think it's entirely possible that at the point where the feds were brought into the case, they were fearful that JSTOR was simply a dry run for their national security scholarship; hence, the Secret Service involvement.
      There are other explanations as well, but they all seem to lead back to some kind of belief that Aaron Swartz was doing more than simply downloading journal articles from JSTOR. In short, I believe they feared he was going to steal and publish "national security secrets." Take this little piece Special Agent Martinez' subcommittee testimony with regard to the Secret Service CERT liason program:
      The primary goals of the program are: to broaden the Secret Service's knowledge of software engineering and networked systems security; to expand and strengthen partnerships and relationships with the technical and academic communities; to provide an opportunity to work closely with CERT-SEI and Carnegie Mellon University; and to present the results of this partnership at the quarterly meetings of our ECTFs.
      In August 2004, the Secret Service partnered with CERT-SEI to publish the first ever "Insider Threat Study" examining the illicit cyber activity in the banking and finance sector. Due to the overwhelming response to this initial study, the Secret Service and CERT-SEI, in partnership with DHS S&T, are working to update the study. An updated study, expected to be released in late 2011, will analyze actual incidents of insider crimes from inception to prosecution. The research team will share its findings with federal, state, and local law enforcement, private industry, academia and other government agencies.
      It's always the damned banks, isn't it? But the point here is that there's clearly academic-government research partnerships, forensic partnerships, and policy partnerships. They want to guard those, and with some good reason.
      The problem I see is that Aaron Swartz didn't touch any data from those partnerships, yet from investigator to prosecutor, they treated him as though he were the modern-day Rosenberg spy team rolled up in one really, really smart young guy. Instead of reading what he wrote in the Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto, where he clearly said that he believed information should be free, and he intended to free it, they leapt to a conclusion and then reached for every fragment they could find to support it. As Marcy points out, the government invoked that manifesto for the very first time in their response to Swartz' Motion to Suppress:
      In other words, precisely at the moment the government defended all the searches it did of Swartz, it (for the first time, I believe) introduced a new descriptor (in addition to the adjectives ''writer, hacker, and activist''): Swartz wrote the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto.
      The reference is particularly odd, being introduced (though not elaborated on) in this brief defending the investigative approach used by MIT and then the government. It effectively invokes First Amendment protected speech to justify investigative tactics.
      Of course, in the end, no Monday-morning quarterbacking will restore Aaron Swartz. But if it leads us to a place where we might have a real conversation about prosecutorial and investigatory overreach, perhaps it will at least begin to facilitate a long-overdue conversation about why people mistrust government with reason, what safeguards government should implement to protect the rights of citizens, and why we must reject celebrating prosecutors who want to "make examples" of others.
      Now that the government has dropped the charges against him posthumously, I am hoping his attorneys will release all of the pleadings and documents related to his case. It's time to have an honest conversation about this notion of "homeland security", who exactly is being protected (besides banks, of course), and how it can come to pass that the full force of the FBI and Secret Service came down on the head of a smart, passionate person who simply wanted to publish academic papers for everyone to access.
      *Update: As I was going through the new documents released in the case more carefully, I came across a report of new discovery released by Deputy US Attorney Heymann. It indicates that MIT police were involved in the investigation from day one and remained involved. That tracks with reports that MIT, unlike JSTOR, was not willing to drop the charges against Swartz and actually assisted in the investigation.
      What is most heartbreaking, however, is that the US Attorney's office, even after they had all of the facts and knew there had been no breach of national security, would not agree to any sentence that did not include prison time. They had also been warned that Swartz was a suicide risk, and showed no heart at all.
      Andy Good, Swartz's initial lawyer, is Ðalternately sad and furious.
      ''The thing that galls me is that I told Heymann the kid was a suicide risk,'' Good told me. ''His reaction was a standard reaction in that office, not unique to Steve. He said, 'Fine, we'll lock him up.''ÅI'm not saying they made Aaron kill himself. Aaron might have done this anyway. I'm saying they were aware of the risk, and they were heedless.''
      Good says the hard-line attitude was not unique to his case, but the facts were. People who steal things usually benefit financially from it. Swartz downloaded the material because he believed that such information '-- in this case, much of it research underwritten by taxpayers '-- should be free to the public. He did it not to make a buck, but to make a point.
      Swartz and his lawyers were not looking for a free pass. They had offered to accept a deferred prosecution or probation, so that if Swartz pulled a stunt like that again, he would end up in prison.
      Marty Weinberg, who took the case over from Good, said he nearly negotiated a plea bargain in which Swartz would not serve any time. He said JSTOR signed off on it, but MIT would not.
      ''There were subsets of the MIT community who were profoundly in support of Aaron,'' Weinberg said. That support did not override institutional interests.
      There it is, in black and white. An "almost done deal", except it was MIT who walked away from it. They should be ashamed.
  Vaccine$
    For God's Sake, Go Get a Flu Shot : The New Yorker
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:16
      Nobody yet knows how severe this year's epidemic of influenza will be. Nobody can ever know in advance. Yet, the evidence that this one will be bad is mounting: in New York, where twenty children have already died, Governor Cuomo has declared a public-health emergency. The virus has already spread widely throughout the country and it's not peaked yet. (California is the biggest exception, the only state largely spared so far, and unless they shut the airports, the cargo ports, and the roadways, that it is likely to change any day.) Unfortunately, high flu season is also the time when some of the smartest people I know act in the most irrational ways. On Friday, a highly educated, very smart colleague at The New Yorker explained her decision to remain unvaccinated with these words: ''I never get a flu shot, and I never get the flu.''
      O.K. Let's play her game. Turn to whomever you are with and say these sentences out loud: ''I never wear seat belts, and I never get killed in car crashes''; ''I never use condoms, and I never become infected with sexually transmitted diseases''; ''I eat red meat seven times a week, only exercise once a year, and I've never had a heart attack or a stroke.''
      When it comes to influenza, most people are denialists. So far, fewer than forty per cent of Americans (adults and children) have been vaccinated against this flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The vaccine is far from perfect: preliminary data suggests that it will work at most two-thirds of the time. Still, influenza kills as many as forty-five thousand Americans a year and the vaccine reduces deaths, illnesses, the use of antibiotics, and the number of hospital visits. It can greatly lessen the burdens on a health-care system that can hardly cope as it is. The C.D.C. reported this week that hospitalization rates were already higher than expected'--particularly for people sixty-five and older, the most vulnerable cohort.
      The vaccine has a very strong safety profile. (Each year public-health officials select three strains of the influenza virus that, based on surveillance data, are most likely to cause the most illness that season. It's educated guess-work but it explains why you need a new one each year. Scientists are working on a more universal solution.)
      People often say, ''I got the vaccine, and three days later I was sick.'' That can happen, but it probably won't be influenza and it certainly won't be from the vaccine. This is the season for all sorts of viruses, and people often use the word ''flu'' to signify any ailment that strikes them between Thanksgiving and the day of the Yankees' home opener.
      In 2009, when the novel virus H1N1 emerged, public-health officials throughout the world declared an emergency. (A novel virus is one that humans have never encountered; it means we have no antibodies and are far less capable of fighting the infection.) It turned out the virus was unusually mild; nonetheless it infected nearly a third of the world. If it had been powerful, tens of million of people'--and possibly more'--would have died. In circumstances like those, the sixty-five per cent effectiveness rate for the flu shot is a large number indeed.
      Even if you think you are invincible, your elderly neighbors and infant children are not. People with weakened immune systems'--those undergoing cancer treatments, for example'--are not. Your parents and grandparents are not. The flu vaccine is not perfect, but it's what we have. It's available at drug-store chains and malls, big-box superstores and, naturally, at your doctor's office. Get one today.
      Photograph by Sean D. Elliot/AP.
    FDA approves new bug-based flu vaccine - Health - Cold and flu | NBC News
      Link to Article
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:55
      updated 2 hours 6 minutes ago2013-01-17T01:49:49Amid the most severe influenza season in more than a decade, federal health officials on Wednesday approved a next-generation, insect-based flu vaccine that sidesteps the thorniest parts of production -- and will be used immediately in people willing to test it.
      Don't miss these Health stories5 things to do when you have the fluAchy muscles, respiratory symptoms and a sudden fever all point to influenza. Here are five things you can do when you have the flu, and five that are probably a waste of time.
      Cough lasts 18 days, no matter what, study finds3 items you're most likely to accidentally swallowWho gave you the flu? App, docs help place blameBlinking gives your brain a breakFood and Drug Administration officials gave the nod to Flublok, the first vaccine made by injecting flu genes into an insect virus and growing it in caterpillar cells. That means, unlike current vaccines, it does not require the whole flu virus grown in chicken eggs for production.
      About 150,000 doses of the vaccine have been produced and will be distributed by mid-February to people with egg allergies and others who are unable to receive current flu vaccines, said Manon Cox, president and CEO of Protein Sciences Corp., Meriden, Conn., firm that came up with the new process. It's approved for use in adults ages 18 to 49.
      "We've collected names and we'll see what we can do to help," said Cox.
      Flublok's novel manufacturing technology allows for production of large quantities of the flu virus protein known as hemagglutinin or HA, FDA officials said in a statement. That is the active ingredient in all inactivated flu vaccines required for entry of the virus into cells in the body. Most of the antibodies that prevent infection are directed against HA, FDA noted.
      "This approval represents a technology advance in the manufacturing of an influenza vaccine," said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "The new technology offers the potential for faster start-up of the vaccine manufacturing process in the event of a pandemic, because it is not dependent on an egg supply or on availability of the influenza virus."
      In vaccines produced now, the virus must be isolated from patients' blood, purified and injected into specific kinds of chicken eggs to grow. The Flublok technology avoids those time-consuming steps in a process that will be faster, easier to control and easier to scale up in an emergency.
      Flublok contains three full-length recombinant HA proteins to help protect against three strains of the flu including two influenza A viruses, H1N1 and H3N2, and one strain of influenza B. Flublok has a shelf life of 16 weeks from the date of manufacture.
      The vaccine was tested in about 2,500 people who were inoculated with Flublok. FDA officials rejected the company's first pitch for approval in 2009, asking for more safety data. In new users, the most commonly reported adverse events included pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue and muscle aches, side-effects that also are common in egg-based vaccines.
      The U.S. is in the midst of a moderate to severe flu outbreak, with deaths reaching epidemic levels and activity widespread across 90 percent of the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
      Related stories:
      This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
    DutchNews.nl - Gambling addiction was caused by Parkinson's medication: court.
      Link to Article
      Source: WT news feed
      Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:57
      Gambling addiction was caused by Parkinson's medication: courtSaturday 12 January 2013
      A man from Rotterdam who became a gambling addict after taking drugs to control Parkinson's disease may be entitled to compensation, a Dutch court has ruled.
      The addiction to gambling led to the 69-year-old man from Rotterdam losing his wife and job and was caused by the medication, judges in Utrecht said.
      The man, who took part in trials of the drug Permax at the end of the 1990s, blames the medicine for his behaviour and is attempting to claim '­Â452,000 in damages from its maker Eli Lilly.
      Side-effects
      The court said there are no indications the man had a tendency towards gambling or any other compulsive disorder prior to taking Permax. In order to reduce the desire to gamble, he reduced his intake of the drug 'demonstrating a causal effect', the court said in its ruling.
      Gambling was included on the list of possible side effects of the drug in the Netherlands in 2006, following the intervention of the Dutch medicine regulation body.
      This was a year after the manufacturer first told doctors pathological gambling and libido increase had been reported by a few users and several years before official warnings were issued in other countries.
      Prior knowledge
      If it can be proven that Eli Lilly knew of this side effect earlier, the man will be entitled to compensation, the court said. Gambling addiction has ruined the man's life and therefore 'not mentioning these serious side effects was an injustice to him,' the ruling said.
      Eli Lilly is appealing against the decision. It says there is no proof of a causal link between Permax and gambling addiction. In addition, the company says, there was no scientific evidence that gambling could be a side effect prior to 2005.
      There have been class action suits against Eli Lilly because Permax's side effects in the US, Canada and Australia. Permax has since been withdrawn from sale, apparently for other problems.
      The case was heard in December but has only now become public.
      (C) DutchNews.nl
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  Mali
    Mali in a nutshel + Algeria
      "Total, the French oil company, was involved in the exploration, as was the Qatar Petroleum Company. As we know, both Qatar and France were heavily involved in the overthrow of Gaddafi, and many Malian commentators see a conspiracy in which France (remembering that France and the Tuaregs did try and set up a Tuareg state back in the '50s prior to Malian independence, which was quashed by the FLN in Algeria and by the leaders of independent Mali) has always rued the fact that it lost all its colonies and access to the rich minerals in northern Mali. So many Malians see the Tuareg rebellion as being engineered by the French." ('Mali's Tuareg rebellion', theglobaldispatches.com, 27 March 2010)
      Besides the expectations of oil wealth, new gas fields have been discovered near the border with Algeria, and the Tuareg-dominated areas are also known to be rich in uranium. France depends on uranium from this region (at present largely imported from Niger) for both nuclear power generation, which accounts for 78 percent of the country's electricity generating capacity and yields billions of euros in annual profits, and its nuclear weapons programme.
    Notorious Al-Qaeda Commander Claims Credit For Kidnapping 41 Foreign Nationals, Including 7 Americans In Algeria'...
      Link to Article
      Source: Weasel Zippers
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:24
      Will the MSM sweep this under the rug so Obama isn't forced to deal with it?
      Via LWJ:
      A notorious al Qaeda commander named Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed credit for the kidnapping of 41 foreign nations at an BP oil field in eastern Algeria, according to multiple press reports.
      A Frenchman, a Briton, and an Algeria security guard are reported to have beed killed in the initial attack. Seven Americans, five Japanese citizens, and several Europeans are said to be among those who are being held hostage.
      According to Reuters, BP said that armed men still occupy the ''facilities at the gas field, which produces 9 billion cubic meters of gas a year (160,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day), more than a tenth of [Algeria's] overall gas output.''
      A spokesman for Belmokhtar's terrorist organization, the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam (Those who Sign with Blood) Brigade, said the assault and kidnappings were retaliation for the French-led invasion of neighboring Mali.
      ''Algeria's participation in the war on the side of France betrays the blood of the Algerian martyrs who fell in the fight against the French occupation,'' the spokesman said, according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.
      Keep reading'...
    Italian Oil Giant Pulls Out Of Mali - Ventures Africa
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:00
      VENTURES AFRICA '' Eni, the Italian oil and gas group, has pulled out of Mali, citing poor prospecting outlook in the troubled African country, it was announced on Wednesday.
      Eni spokesman said: ''Eni has handed back licenses it had because of the very low potential of the area.''
      Eni is the biggest foreign oil major in Africa and has identified the continent as one of its key drivers for growth.
      The licenses were handed back before the recent outbreak of fighting in the country, he said.
      Eni's announcement came at a time when France dispatched more troops and conducted airstrikes to flush Islamist rebels from a town in central Mali.
      This was after Al Qaeda militants controlling much of the country's north had hunkered down and warned of a long conflict ahead.
      A French official told Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that a coalition of troops from Mali's West African neighbours would arrive within 10 days to bolster the fight against the militants.
      The US has yet to decide on a specific action in support of the intervention, which began with French airstrikes last Friday.
      Omar Hamaha, a veteran fighter with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the militant group that has overrun Mali's north, told WSJ rebels were digging in in cities under their control, threatening a drawn-out guerrilla fight against foreign forces.
      ''Even if they come at us with nuclear bombs, we will defend the terrain,'' Hamaha shouted into the telephone. ''This is going to be worse than Afghanistan!''
      France's President Fran¤ois Hollande said French combat jets pinpointed the small garrison town of Diabaly, which rebels took on Monday after driving out the Malian army.
      Diabaly is 30 miles south of what has been the front line between government-controlled territory and the rebel-held north of the Saharan country. Hamaha said French bombers began pounding areas outside the town around midnight.
      France intervened in Mali last Friday in an effort to block an advance by rebel fighters whom the West fear could use the West African nation as a launching pad for international attacks.
      Eni, in partnership with Algeria's state-owned Sonatrach, said in 2006 it had acquired 5 exploration licenses in Mali's Taoudeni Basin.
      Mzwandile JacksMzwandile Jacks has been a financial journalist for more than 20 years. He has worked full time for the Sowetan, The Lowvelder, Mpumalanga News, Business Day, Primedia Publishing, Finance Week, This Day, Financial Mail and Business Report. His articles have also been published in The New Age, City Press, Fin 24 and many other niche magazines in the stable of Capemedia and Highbury Safika Media, both independent magazine publishers. He has covered Africa extensively while working for the above-mentioned publications. He studied journalism at the Peninsula Technikon in the Western Cape and Politics and English at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He cites South Africa's pioneering journalists like Aggrey Klaaste, Joe Thloloe, Mathatha Tsedu, Monk Nkomo and Len Maseko as his mentors. He was voted the best black financial journalist at Finance Week in 2002. Rikus Delport, the editor of Finance Week at the time, described him as ''a top notch journalist of that time.''
      Total Posts: 148
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    Eni acquires 5 exploration licences in the Taoudeni Basin, Mali - Eni
      The total acreage of the 5 exploration blocks is approximately 193,000 square kilometres. Blocks are located in the central part of the Taodueni Basin, a completely unexplored and high potential basin according to recent studies.
    US grants France 'logistic' aid in Mali conflict '-- RT
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:50
      French soldiers walk past a hangar they are staying at the Malian army air base in Bamako January 14, 2013.(Reuters / Joe Penney)
      The US has pledged intelligence and logistic aid to French forces battling al-Qaeda militants in Mali. In response to the French bombardment of the country, rebel leaders pledged to strike the ''heart of France'' and open the ''gates of Hell.''
      French president Francois Holland hailed the latest overnight airstrikes on rebel targets as ''achieving their goal'' and said that assembling an African force to back up the French could take a ''good week.''
      "We will continue the deployment of forces on the ground and in the air," Hollande added.
      The international community has rallied behind France's campaign in Mali, offering logistical support. Fears have been voiced on the international stage that if al-Qaeda-linked rebels entrench in Mali, the country could become a platform for them to spread throughout the region.
      US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed that the US was providing intelligence to French forces in Mali. "One is obviously to provide limited logistical support, two is to provide intelligence support and three to provide some airlift capability," Panetta said during a press briefing.
      "We have made a commitment that al-Qaeda is not going to find any place to hide,'' Panetta told reporters on Monday. Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany have also publicly supported the French incursion, pledging logistical support in the crackdown on the rebels.
      West African defense chiefs will meet on Tuesday to approve the deployment of ground troops into Mali to tackle the Islamist rebel forces.
      "On January 15, the committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff will meet in Bamako to approve the contingency plan," the mission head of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Aboudou Toure Cheaka, told Reuters.In one week, troops would effectively be on the ground as a precursor to a full intervention plan, Cheaka said.
      The original UN-approved initiative to deploy 3,330 West African troops was scheduled for this September, but the plan was brought forward when the French began their aerial bombardment of northern and central Mali on Friday. Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Senegal have all pledged troops, but said that a full deployment would have to wait because of training constraints.
      The French government issued a statement on Monday that it would send 2,500 troops to support Malian government soldiers and the West African security force. France has already deployed some 750 troops to Mali under 'Operation Serval.'
      Despite the heavy French bombardment of rebel targets in the northern and central regions of the country over the weekend, Islamist militants are continuing to advance in their push towards the capital Bamako.
      Rebel militants wrested the town of Diabaly from Malian security forces in a counterattack, the French Ministry of Defense reported on Monday. A leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated of Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) told AFP that the rebels would strike the ''heart of France'' for their ''attack on Islam.''
      The French had ''opened the gates of hell'' and sprung a trap far ''more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia,'' the MUJAO leader said.
      Northern Mali was captured by Islamist militants nine months ago; the international community has been debating since then over what action should be taken. The conflict escalated last week when France launched its air assault to ''maintain stability in the region.''
      The EU will hold a meeting on Thursday to assess the situation and how best to aid the French forces in Mali.
  Somalia
    Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate Regarding the War Powers Resolution | The White House
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:45
      The White House
      Office of the Press Secretary
      For Immediate Release
      January 13, 2013
      TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTTO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE
      January 13, 2013
      Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
      On January 11, 2013, French forces conducted an operation in Somalia in which they attempted to rescue a French citizen being held hostage by al-Shabaab. United States forces provided limited technical support to the French forces in that operation, but took no direct part in the assault on the compound where it was believed the French citizen was being held hostage. United States combat aircraft briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed. These aircraft did not employ weapons during the operation. The U.S. forces that supported this operation left Somalia by approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 11, 2013.
      I directed U.S. forces to support this rescue operation in furtherance of U.S. national security interests, and pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.
      I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.
      Sincerely,BARACK OBAMA
      ###
  Boeing vs Airbus
    American Airlines-US Airways merger: good for air travelers? | Travel | The Seattle Times
      The long-rumored merger between American Airlines and US Airways appeared to move a step closer early this month when Tom Horton, American's chief executive, announced that the two carriers were in "discussions" and that a decision would be made "within a matter of weeks."
  Drone Nation
    Florida Senate drones: Surveillance drone bill passes Senate panel - OrlandoSentinel.com
      Link to Article
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:05
      By Jennifer Curington Tallahassee Bureau3:17 p.m. EST,January 16, 2013
      TALLAHASSEE '-- A panel of senators unanimously passed legislation that will prohibit the use of drones as surveillance tools in Florida '-- but only after creating exemptions for law enforcement who get search warrants or cite emergency situations.
      "These issues are about boundaries and there is a line to be drawn," said Sen. Joe Negron, R-Naples, sponsor of the Freedom for Unwarranted Surveillance Act. "You have to draw the line somewhere and so where I draw the line is having these unmanned drones hovering in the sky and potentially visualizing hundreds of these in the air over Florida at any given moment, just surveilling law-abiding Floridians."
      The use of drones has become a hot-button topic. The City of Miami police became the first agency in the nation to use the unmanned aircraft after the Federal Aviation Administration issued permission to do so across the country. And the Orange County Sheriff's Office recently acquired two surveillance drones for about $50,000.
      Negron said drones are a threat to citizen privacy.
      His bill (SB 92) would prohibit code enforcement agencies from using drones. For example, a homeowners' association could not fly over neighborhoods to check for violators of association mandates.
      But lawmakers adopted an amendment that would allow the use of drones if a judge specifically allows a drone to be used to complete a search warrant, if there is a "terrorist attack" or in "exigent circumstances" when, for instance, a person's life is in danger, such as a hostage situation.
      "I would anticipate very minimal uses for drones, and it may end up being that because the uses are so limited it's not practical to have one," Negron said. "That's a law-enforcement decision."
      An identical measure has also been filed in the House by Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, but it has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. The Senate bill has three more committee hearings and votes before it goes to the full Senate.
      NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the Florida Sheriffs and Florida Police Chiefs associations indicated their support for the amended bill. Spokespeople for the groups said both are supportive of Tuesday's amendments but are not formally supporting the bill.
      jcurington@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5566.
  Fiscal Cliff
    Sorry, middle class. The VAT may be inevitable.
      Link to Article
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:34
      FORTUNE -- You can't blame middle-income Americans for wondering whether the new "fiscal cliff" deal really protects them from big tax increases in the future. That's essentially what President Obama promised in championing the hike in rates for high-earners signed into law on January 2. Still, the politicians and pundits keep talking about how our steep deficits and mountainous debt will rise even after the new revenue is counted. So it's only natural for the folks to ask the obvious question: Now that the affluent are paying far more, where's the extra cash supposed to come from?
      The answer is that America's teachers, nurses, truck drivers, police officers, computer programmers and construction workers should indeed be worried. To understand why, it's important to carefully analyze the most likely trajectory of tomorrow's budgets. To get the best view of our fiscal future, I spoke to Congressional aides who recently prepared new forecasts incorporating projected receipts from the recent tax increases. Those projections closely track the numbers prepared by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in March and August of last year, when the fresh revenues from high-earners are included.
      On January 4th, the CBO posted a blog predicting that the new legislation would lower deficits over the next decade by a modest $600 billion to $700 billion, compared to the projected shortfall if all the Bush tax cuts remained in place. The forecasts in this story generally reflect that estimate.
      Charting the path of future spending and revenues points to four conclusions. First, over the next several years, the numbers that are now so troubling, including deficits, debt and spending as a share of GDP, may substantially improve. That's by no means certain, since it depends on a convergence of low interest rates, a strong economy, and other unpredictable factors. But it's highly possible, or even likely.
      MORE: The ticking time bomb in bond funds
      Second, this interim period of calm will not last long. By 2018, the budget picture -- in the absence of major structural reforms to entitlements -- will start unraveling at shocking speed. Anticipating disaster, global investors could shun U.S. Treasurys and drive up interest rates, igniting a crisis.
      Third, the budget-blowup scenario can only be averted by starting to reform Medicare and Social Security soon, since waiting eight or ten years would require lowering a hammer on a new bulge of baby boomers who will by then either be receiving benefits, or getting close to eligibility. So the longer our politicians wait, the more politically difficult, and more unlikely, entitlement reform becomes.
      Fourth, if America fails to enact historic, structural reforms in spending, an entirely new source of revenue will be needed. And it's likely to be enacted in haste and near-panic, as the only option to forestalling a crisis. "The gap between revenues and outlays will be simply too large," says J.D. Foster, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a former budget official under President George W. Bush. "Three points of GDP need to be closed to make budgets sustainable. Either government spending gets back near where it used to be, or we'll need an completely new type of tax."
      The new levy will need to be big, so big that the most probable choice is a European-style value-added tax or VAT. That looming revenue machine is the phantom in the room, the tax that's still invisible to most Americans, but that threatens precisely the group that's supposed to emerge from all the deal-making as the Great Unthreatened, our middle class.
      As background, it's important to understand the current fiscal picture, and how it limits our freedom to maneuver in the futureÐ -- especially because borrowing levels are already so high. Today, government spending is running at almost 23% of GDP, compared to an average of 20% from 1989 to 2008. Because of the meager expansion, tax revenues have fallen to 16% of national income, far below the long-term average of over 18%. The shortfall has saddled us with a near-7% budget deficit, and driven the burden of debt-to-GDP to 73%, well below European levels, but nearing the danger zone.
      MORE: A boom-time debt product is back with a vengeance
      Here's how the picture is poised to brighten. From 2013 to 2017, tax revenues will rise sharply. The catalysts are the continuing recovery, and the new taxes on the affluent. At the same time, spending should be tightly controlled because of one overriding factor: A gigantic fall in "discretionary" outlays, funds that need to be appropriated each year, everything from defense spending to the budget for the Department of Education. One forecast by a respected Congressional aide predicts that discretionary outlays will drop from 7.7% to just over 5% by GDP over the next decade. That's a decline of as much as 20% adjusted for inflation.
      The reason the spending numbers are plausible is because the Sequestration Act of 2012 requires big, automatic reductions in defense and other discretionary outlays. The Republicans won't abandon Sequestration without big reforms to entitlements, a possibility that looks increasingly remote.
      To be sure, this scenario assumes that the economy grows at a robust 4% from 2014 to 2017 and that interest rates remain subdued. If that favorable climate prevails, spending in 2017 will drop to 21.5% of GDP, deficits will shrink to around 3.5%, and debt will stand in the mid-70% range, not far from today's figure.
      The descent starts in 2018. In the absence of entitlement reform, it's totally predictable, fully quantifiable, and extremely steep. Spending will start to explode as an aging population swells Social Security and Medicare benefits, at the same time revenues remain flat as a share of national income.
      Revenues won't save the day. The forecast I'm using foresees receipts of 19.6% of GDP in 2018, well above the historical norm. Neither Republicans nor Democrats think that revenues can rise beyond that level with the current tax system that's heavily dependent on income taxes. In other words, we'll run out of room to raise more money.
      MORE: The euro crisis no one is talking about: France is in free fall
      As revenues rise with the overall economy, and no more, expenditures soar about 0.4% a year faster than GDP -- for many, many years to come. By 2028, spending would absorb close to 25.5% of national income. Without tax increases or action on entitlements, debt-to-GDP would exceed 100% and soaring interest payments would threaten America with insolvency. This is the definition of a chronic, structural deficit, one that isn't caused by a recession, and persists even when growth is robust.
      To avoid a crisis, taxes would need to start rising sharply in the middle part of this decade. The U.S. can support 3% budget deficits without a disastrous increase in debt, since the economy will potentially grow at that rate. So by the mid-2020s, we'd need to have a system in place that collects an extra 3 points of GDP in revenues. That's the 25.5% spending rate, minus around 22.5%, approximately representing the 19.6% share of revenues plus the 3% deficit.
      How big is that number? By 2028, it would total around $1 trillion. Raising an extra $1 trillion would require a 37% rise in income taxes. Hiking tax rates on anyone, high-earners or the middle class, won't remotely collect that kind of money. Once again, the 19.6% of GDP is about the limit of what the current tax system can provide, given that marginal tax rates far higher than today's have seldom collected more than that share.
      It gets worse. To hold deficits at 3% of GDP, revenues, meaning tax receipts, would need to rise by 5.4% a year, by my calculation. That's 5.4% after inflation, assuring a ballooning of the public sector and a shrinking of the private economy that funds it.
      This crunch may not happen. Sweeping new measures that slow the growth of entitlement spending is the sole alternative. To work, the reforms need to start soon. By 2019, all baby boomers will be age 55 or older. America will be running out of time for reform. Curbing Medicare and Social Security at that point would mean slashing benefits from tens of millions more Americans who will already depend on monthly checks and affordable medical care, or are counting on those benefits in a few years (eligibility for Social Security starts at age 62). The appeal of leaving today's benefits in place for folks nearing retirement, a staple of all reform plans, would be gone, greatly diminishing the opportunities for an overhaul.
      MORE: Good luck estimating your new tax rate!
      If Washington gridlock persists, the big new tax is a virtual certainty. The most probable choice will be a VAT. Since the VAT is assessed on things people buy, not their incomes, it falls heavily on the middle class. Suddenly, the issue is sneaking into the fiscal debate. A January 7th editorial in the New York Times called for a VAT. The same week, in a piece criticizing the nomination of Jack Lew for Treasury Secretary, the Wall Street Journal editorial page groused that President Obama's spending plans will saddle America with a VAT by default.
      This isn't what the middle class was promised. But the numbers, even assuming good days ahead for the economy, point inexorably in that direction. We don't know what crisis will enable the phantom to take charge. But every day of inaction brings that crisis nearer.
  Cyber War$
    Patient data revealed in medical device hack - Hackers - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence
      searchers have exploited critical vulnerabilities in two popular medical management platforms used in a host of services including assisting surgeries and generating patient reports.
      The dangerous unpatched flaws within the Philips Xper systems allowed researchers to develop an exploit within two hours capable of gaining remote root access on the device. -
      From there, attackers would have administrative access to a host of patient data stored in connected databases.
      The affected machine can operate any medical device which uses the ubiquitous-HL7 standard.
      "We have a remote unauthenticated exploit for Xper, so if you same see an Xper machine on a network, then you can own it," Cylance researcher Billy Rios told-SC.
    JAVA Bugs, the STUXNET Worm and the Coming Cyber 9/11
      Link to Article
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:47
      JAVA malware, Courtesy of Guess Who?New malware exploiting Java 7 in Windows and Unix systems
      A new Trojan horse called Mal/JavaJar-B has been found that exploits a vulnerability in Oracle's Java 7 and affects even the latest version of the runtime (7u10).
      Besides computers, JAVA is heavily into providing platforms for cell phones and; Java powers set-top boxes, printers, Web cams, games, car navigation systems, lottery terminals, medical devices, parking payment stations, and more.Now who would want to spy on Americans phone conversations?
      ORACLE is behind JAVA and their top dog is Larry Ellison. Click on this link to see who else is at the ORACLE Bar Mitzvah.
      Larry is the 3rd richest person in America, worth around 41 BILLION.
      That kind of loot makes Larry the richest Jew in the world, according to this article in the JPost.
      The same article says Larry used to work for the CIA. There's no such thing as a 'former' CIA employee, the Farm doesn't let its people go. And ORACLE has a large presence in 'Stolenland.'
      Between Larry's links to the CIA + Apartheid Israel, it doesn't take an IT genius to see where this is leading.
      Larry, shortly after the FALSE FLAG/INSIDE JOB of 9/11, approached Israel's colony on the Potomac and offered up ORACLE's database to be used to create a national ID card.
      Larry Ellison once was the richest man in the world. Now, in some quarters, he's on his way to being one of the most reviled.
      The Oracle chief executive's impassioned pleas for a national ID card prompted one nonprofit group to dub him the "privacy villain of the week," and conservative and libertarian activists are outraged.
      This week at the National Press Club, Ellison talked up the need for better government identification -- backed by Oracle databases, of course -- for everyone.
      Wadda a guy.Don't think 'al CIA Duh' will be flying any planes into this Haifa, Israel IT park anytime in the future.
      If you know where theSTUXNET worm came from that disabled the Japanese reactor, then it's not a far reach to imply that this JAVA bug was designed in a lab.Thatsame STUXNET wormcan also be used to disable/destroy public utilities around the world, and water, gas and oil pipelines.
      The Stuxnet worm attacking computers in Iran includes a reference to the Book of Esther in its code.
      When that'Cyber 9/11' comes true as predictedby our hijacked government, we'll know where it came from.
      Israel video shows Stuxnet as one of its successes
      More NWO mayhem, "Operation Olympic Games"
      But at least Larry can escape to his own Hawaiian island!
      All that money, what to do?
      Screw the localsschools where you have one of your mansions!
      Perhaps Larry gets help from Israel's 'Silicon Wadi?'
      Or maybe he gets help from the Zionist Occupation Force's IT arm, MAMRAM?
      Stuxnet: Cyber Warfare by Israel & The U.S.
  Ministry of Truth
    Fox News Hires Liberal Ex-Presidential Hopeful Dennis Kucinich As Contributor - Deadline.com
      Link to Article
      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:59
      Fox News Channel announced today it has brought former Congressman Dennis Kucinich on board as contributor to the top-rated cable news network. He will debut Thursday night on The O'Reilly Factor.''I've always been impressed with Rep. Kucinich's fearlessness and thoughtfulness about important issues,'' said Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes in a statement Wednesday. The strongly liberal Kucinich had represented Ohio's 10th District since 1997, but he lost his seat in redistricting in during the fall elections. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and 2008. Here's FNC announcement:
      FOX News Channel (FNC) has signed former two-time presidential candidate and former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) as a contributor in a multi-year deal, announced Bill Shine, Executive Vice President of Programming for the network. Kucinich will provide analysis and commentary across FNC's daytime and primetime programming, as well as on Fox Business Network (FBN). He will make his debut in the new role on The O'Reilly Factor (8:00 PM/ET) this Thursday, January 17th.Adding to the announcement, Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, FOX News, said, ''I've always been impressed with Rep. Kucinich's fearlessness and thoughtfulness about important issues. His willingness to take a stand from his point of view makes him a valuable voice in our country's debate.''
      Kucinich commented, ''Through 16 years in Congress and two presidential campaigns, FOX News has always provided me with an opportunity to share my perspective with its enormous viewership. I look forward to a continuation of our relationship this time as a FOX News contributor.''
      Most recently, Kucinich served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Ohio, representing Ohio's 10th congressional district, for sixteen years from 1997 to January 2013. Furthermore, he served as Subcommittee Chairman on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as well as being a ranking member, and was also on the Education and the Workforce Committee. Additionally, Kucinich was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the President of the United States in both 2004 and 2008. Prior to serving in Congress, he was an Ohio State Senator for two years. He also ran his own marketing and communications firm, K Communications, from 1988 to 1994 while he took time off from serving in office.
      Kucinich began his long career in government at the young age of 23 when he was elected to the Cleveland City Council. At the age of 31, he was elected mayor of Cleveland and was the youngest mayor, at the time, of a major city in the United States. He is also the author of The Courage to Survive, which was published in 2007.
      FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. A top five cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for more than eleven years and according to Public Policy Polling, is the most trusted television news source in the country. Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
      Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.
      Get Deadline news and alerts FREE to your inbox...
    Agusta A109 - PPRuNe Forums
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:41
      18th Jan 2000, 02:59 #1 (permalink)Guest
      Can anyone tell me how many of the new AA-sponsored Air Ambulance 109s are in service now and where they're based? Is it Sloane that runs them?
      19th Jan 2000, 20:54 #2 (permalink)Guest
      One 109 Power at White Waltham and operated by Sloane Helicopters.
      19th Jun 2000, 21:36 #3 (permalink)Guest
      Just read in the Bun that a 109 power has crashed somewhere near a school. Pilot was "Heroic". Well done Steve, must have been all those practice sessions in a floppy. Glad you're all OK, Blue for handling, red for site selection, remember the S's next time bloke.P.S.a form 5 is not a witch hunt, no, not at all, its just an investigation.
      [This message has been edited by Mr.Proach (edited 19 June 2000).]
      20th Jun 2000, 16:51 #4 (permalink)Guest
      Whilst brunching at Waltham, waiting for a client, I heard the pilots Mayday over the club tannmoy. The crew may like to know that the WLAC ARV, full of concerned groundcrew, made a very impressive response to his brief Mayday call. As they sped off to the threshold of the RW in use, they weren't to know that the school was off-airfield:-)Great news to hear that all aboard escaped. Any news about the cause....Sloane informant suggests FADEC problems..this is not the first Power to crash in such circumstances.
      21st Jun 2000, 00:43 #5 (permalink)Guest
      wrong what happened was,it had just come out of maintanance and they had replaced the swashplate scissors the wrong way around which overloaded the bolt,which snapped causing pitch control to be impossible.They also found that the previous crash with Pete Barnes was caused by the same mistake.All 109's are now being checked and both engineers at Sloane have been suspended nothing wrong with the Power.
      21st Jun 2000, 20:27 #6 (permalink)Guest
      Scarey!! but thanks for the explaination.
      22nd Jun 2000, 02:27 #7 (permalink)Guest
      an ex vietnam pilot once told me if u have an rngine failure to aim for a school- - the kids will cushion the landing!!!
      22nd Jun 2000, 13:41 #8 (permalink)Guest
      I'll be looking out for the accident report on this one - if, as suggested, the scissors link broke, then they're either extremely lucky or the pilot was having a really good day . . .
      24th Jun 2000, 00:57 #9 (permalink)Guest
      ... take care not leap to simplistic, and possibly premature, conclusions on this one (flyerh - & eesdl). I agree with Whoneedswings - the accident report will make very interesting reading when it is finally released. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, as it is necessarily of some interest to all you Power drivers.
      24th Jun 2000, 12:34 #10 (permalink)Guest
      Good effort Steve, in what must have been a very hairy few minuets. If flyhr is right then it would appear that the engineers could carry the can for this. But what about the guy who designed a component that could be fitted the wrong way round?? We all know that it will happen eventually.
      24th Jun 2000, 19:43 #11 (permalink)Guest
      As I am not prone to jumping to conclusions, am not a power driver and the fact that Agusta have already by insistence of the AAIB informed all Power operators throughout the world of this problem, you can judge for yourselves.Both accidents did not take minutes to meeting the hard stuff. If they had, the consequenses could have been very different.
      As the scissor link holds the pitch change links in the correct place and at the correct loading angle, if several attemps to pull pitch had been made the upright angle would have decreased causing the pitch links to depart company with the blades.
      As for fitting the part the wrong way around, both accidents happened within two hours of the parts being fitted by the same company and, so far, none of the other 120 Powers thoughout the world have crashed.
      Jumping to conclusions would be blaming the FADEC!
      24th Jun 2000, 19:45 #12 (permalink)Guest
      Steve well done and hope your okay. Fred sends his regards from the USA.Call in sometime and how's the mil contract going, it will be your baby soon!
      26th Jun 2000, 13:59 #13 (permalink)Guest
      Stinger :I'm of the opinion that this accident, IF ( that's an IF in BIG LETTERS ) the accident report shows mis-rigging of the scissors link, then it's really important for every helicopter pilot. One more really really important bit to check before I wind my Robbie up ( don't laugh ) next time . . .
      27th Jun 2000, 01:48 #14 (permalink)Guest
      Thanks all for the thought on the 109 incident - fraid to say you are all right the scissor link was installed the wrong way round the witch hunt goes on.Stand by for more on this the third accident from possibly the same engineering error!!!!
      27th Jun 2000, 02:19 #15 (permalink)Guest
      They thought that, in the Pete Barnes accident, the passenger hit the overhead switches with his headset that knocked out the buzz bars lol.Now we know the real reason. You fly in the cruise at 85% torque and flat pitch in a millisecond and try and not hit the top of your headset on the overhead console.Follow that with a snap turn in cloud at night and you have lost all your instruments and light.
      Well done Pete! And in both incidents, well done the 109 Power - everybody walked away.
      29th Jun 2000, 01:17 #16 (permalink)Guest
      The master and gen buz bars on inspection are on the passenger side with a sprung loaded bar that can switch off all three at the same time (now being modified).The headsets in use at the time had thick pads across the top of the head very close to these switches but under normal circumstances not a factor.Fly along at cruise torque with not so tight seat belts and slam the collective down (not recommended). Doesn't take too much negative G to lift you a couple of inches out of your seat. (Done it in my wild and crazy days in a BO 105, settled down now though).Before the real reason came to light, they thought the passenger bent foreward, leaned back and switched everything off causing a sudden loss of SAS and loss of instruments. Only thing they could come up with at the time, even though he would have had to lift his bum at the same time. Flat pitching would lift your bum just enough to reach those switches and that is what happens when that part breaks!
      1st Jul 2000, 04:55 #17 (permalink)Guest
      It has been officially confirmed that the scissor link was put on the wrong way round with the bolt shearing on both accidents. Amazing that the accident investigators were so convinced it was electrics etc they didnt bother to check the head for any discrepancies especially as link changes were made just prior to flight.FlyerH seems to have a handle on what happened.
      1st Jul 2000, 19:56 #18 (permalink)Guest
      I must be missing something here; does installing the bits mentioned incorrectly, not affect the handling or collective behaviour? Is the first sign of the problem when the bolts fail? With the blade pitch uncontrolled, do you not get horrendous vibrations and loss of control?I only ask, because I 'heard' of a B212 that had a 'rotating scissors assembly drive bolt' (say that after a few pints!) fail in flight, resulting in loss of pitch control on one blade. The a/c practically destroyed itself in the subsequent descent and only stopped (destroying itself) when it hit the water.
      Lots of interesting points seem to be raised here. Did the AAIB really not look at the head?
      Excellent job done by both pilots though, well done.
      ------------------Another day in paradise
      [This message has been edited by 212man (edited 01 July 2000).]
      1st Jul 2000, 21:31 #19 (permalink)Guest
      All things being equal, if a component CAN be fitted back-to-front, inside-out or upside-down it WILL be at some time or other.Unfortunately today, like non-North-Sea helo pilots, engineers work long hours under extreme pressure to achieve a result the we were well rewarded for ten years ago.
      Engineering in a competetive marketplace is regarded as an expensive necessity especially since the advent of the JAR regs.
      If, as alleged, the rotating scissors failed due to incorrect fitment the reasons for that way of fitting MUST be correctly established by the AAIB.
      Human factors must be included in the report.In any pilot error report the commander's flying experience 1. In total 2. In the last 90 days and 3.The last 28 days is expressed. The licensed engineers' previous time on duty is never released, so in theory the concerned personnel could have been on shift for a ridiculous amount of time before making a mistake.
      All in all some poor minimum wage geezer in Italy may have painted ALL the scissors in a certain batch "THIS WAY OUT" on the wrong side os the scissors for all we know. Like pilot based accidets there is usually more than one cause ( and often many) that contribute to an incident.
      Let's be thankful there have been no injuries in both these accidents.
      [This message has been edited by 4Rvibes (edited 02 July 2000).]
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    FAA Grounds All US Based Boeing 787 Dreamliners
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    VIDEO-Internet Activist Aaron Swartz Dies At 26 : NPR
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      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:09
      Internet wizard Aaron Swartz has been found dead at his Brooklyn, N.Y., home. Authorities say Swartz, who helped create the web feed format RSS, committed suicide just weeks before going to trial on charges he stole millions of electronic journal articles to make them freely available.
      Copyright (C) 2013 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
      STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
      It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Let's talk now about the life and death of Aaron Swartz. He was a 26-year-old computer prodigy and social activist. He created new technologies. He led campaigns that touched millions of lives. And last Friday, Mr. Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment. He was facing a criminal investigation at the time. NPR's Steve Henn is covering this story. Good morning, Steve.
      STEVE HENN, BYLINE: Good morning.
      INSKEEP: For listeners who might not have heard of Aaron Swartz, even if he did touch their lives, would you talk a little bit about his life?
      HENN: Sure. Most recently, Mr. Swartz helped lead the fight against SOPA, the Stop Online Privacy Act. The bill would've given the U.S. law enforcement greater authority to block payments or to shut down websites with pirated material. Critics like Swartz argued that it was far too broad and would give the government the ability to take down big chunks of the web, entire domains, for alleged violations.
      So he helped organize an enormous online protest and a partial web blackout that basically resulted in killing that bill.
      INSKEEP: And he was somebody who had the prominence to do that, even though he was only 26, because he had been influential for years.
      HENN: That's right. He was one of the people who helped create the RSS feed. For non-techies, that stands for Real Simple Syndication and it's what makes it possible to have stories by a given author about a certain subject delivered to your inbox automatically. He also founded a web start-up which merged with Reddit, which is now a hugely popular social news website.
      He was really both a technologist and an online activist who believed that as much information should be free and as widely distributed online as possible. Ultimately, it was his decision to act on those convictions that got him in trouble with federal prosecutors.
      INSKEEP: When did that happen?
      HENN: Well, problems began in 2009. He downloaded and published approximately 20 percent of a database of federal court documents. At that point, he was investigated by the FBI, but not indicted and not prosecuted. However, in early 2011, he was arrested for downloading 4.8 million articles from JSTOR, an academic archive, which requires a subscription and has a pay wall. He allegedly walked into a computer closet at a library at MIT and attached a laptop to the library systems and downloaded these articles en masse.
      Federal prosecutors argued that tapping into MIT's network that way was basically theft and they prosecuted him aggressively. The archive, however, JSTOR, never took legal action against him and asked prosecutors to drop the case. MIT did not.
      INSKEEP: Well, I guess we should be clear here. He wasn't taking private information. He was, however, taking articles that he should have paid for and did not. Ended up committing suicide here - so how are people responding?
      HENN: Well, shortly after the news of Aaron Swartz's suicide became public, his family released a statement that was harshly critical of both federal prosecutors who brought the case against him and MIT. It said, quote, "Aaron's death is not simply a personal tragedy. It's the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach."
      The family said that decisions at the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts and MIT, quote, contributed to his death. But it bears mentioning that Aaron Swartz had battled depression for years, had written about it publicly. However, his family argued that Swartz felt backed into a corner by the federal case against him and the prosecutors were asking for up to 35 years in prison and $1 million fine.
      His family also criticized MIT by saying it refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community's most cherished principles.
      INSKEEP: Steve Henn, let me just ask this. Was it likely that he actually could have faced 35 years in prison? Because sometimes, of course, prosecutors make demands because they're negotiating.
      HENN: It's difficult to say. Similar charges in a different federal court circuit recently failed to stand up to appellate review. Now, that federal case isn't binding in Massachusetts, but it was clear that the prosecutors were trying to be very aggressive here. I don't know whether it was a negotiating position or not. But in the past few days, countless academics have been tweeting free links to their articles as a tribute to what Swartz said he was trying to accomplish.
      Yesterday, the president of MIT launched an internal investigation into the university's role in all of this.
      INSKEEP: That's NPR's Steve Henn. Steve, thanks very much.
      HENN: You're welcome.
      Copyright (C) 2013 National Public Radio. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
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    US To "Assist" In Mali "Conflict" In Africa
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    VIDEO: Further heavy snowfall predicted
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      BBC News - Further heavy snowfall predicted across the UK
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    VIDEO-Pelosi: More Gun Control Needed Because 'We Took an Oath to Protect and Defend' | CNS News
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      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:32
      House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (AP Photo)
      (CNSNews.com) '' House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said action must be taken in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School because members of Congress took an oath to ''protect and defend,'' although the actual oath says to ''support and defend the Constitution of the United States '....''
      Pelosi held a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on "Gun Violence Prevention: A Call to Action,'' where she endorsed the gun control proposals President Barack Obama unveiled today.
      ''Earlier this month, shortly after Newtown, all members of Congress took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the American people,'' Pelosi said. ''To protect and defend. That is our first responsibility.''
      ''Today, members of the House Democratic Caucus have come together to fulfill that duty to confront the challenge of gun violence in our society and act to ensure the safety and security of our communities,'' she said.
      President Obama and Democrats have called for stricter gun control legislation in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, in addition to the 23 executive orders signed by Obama today. Gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), have pushed back against new gun laws, saying they will infringe on the right to bear arms guaranteed by the 2nd amendment to the Constitution.
      The oath taken by members of Congress as they are sworn in does not include the phrase ''protect and defend,'' nor does it include anything about protecting the American people, though it does include a vow to defend the Constitution.
      According to the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House administers the following oath to members:
      ''I, (name of Member), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.''
      President Barack Obama. (AP)
      The presidential oath of office, however, states, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
      During the hearing, Pelosi praised the 23 executive orders issued by Obama and endorsed his call to reinstate the 1994 ''assault weapons'' ban, implement a universal background check system and institute a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
      The Democrat hearing included testimony from Janet Robinson, the superintendent of schools of Newtown, Conn., where gunman Adam Lanza murdered 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14.
      Other witnesses included Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Scott Knight, chief of police of Chaska, Minnesota; and Emily Nottingham, the mother of Gabe Zimmerman, a staff member to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was killed during the Tucson, Arizona shooting.
      (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
      ''We look forward to hearing their ideas and testimony and answering the call to action on gun violence prevention,'' Pelosi said. ''We are especially pleased to be doing so on the day when our president'--as we continue to mourn for the families of Newtown'--has told us that the time for action is now.''
      ''We must do everything in our power to stop this terrifying violence in the future,'' she said. ''We recognize that these challenges are not new, and as President Obama said so eloquently in the days following the shooting, we can't tolerate this anymore.''
      ''These tragedies must end and to end them we must change, he said, and today the president put his proposals on the table,'' Pelosi said. ''He outlined 23 executive actions the administration is taking right now, he demanded action from Congress on establishing a universal background check system, restoring the ban on assault weapons, banning high capacity assault magazines, putting more police officers on our streets. We must address issues of mental health, keeping weapons out of the hands of those in danger of doing harm to themselves or to others.''
      ''These common-sense proposals, among others, represents steps we can take and must take right away to put a stop to the violence,'' she said. ''As the president said today, this time must be different.
      ''We agree,'' she said.
      While an autopsy was performed on the Sandy Hook killer, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who committed suicide at the scene, toxicology reports for him have not been completed. The toxicology tests could show whether there were psychiatric medications or illegal drugs in Lanza's system.
    VIDEO-Bill Clinton on gun control: 'This is nuts'
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      Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:22
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    VIDEO-YOU CAN BE SHOT BY AN UNLOADED GUN! - YouTube
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:59
    VIDEO-Bill Clinton: Hillary will live to 120
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      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:00
      Bill Clinton: Hillary will live to 120 Bill Clinton: Hillary will live to 120 Former president Bill Clinton says his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is so healthy he expects her to live to be 120. Secretary Clinton is recovering from a recent concussion and blood clot. (Jan. 16)
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      Former president Bill Clinton says his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is so healthy he expects her to live to be 120. Secretary Clinton is recovering from a recent concussion and blood clot. (Jan. 16)
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    VIDEO-BBC News - London helicopter crash: Two die in Vauxhall crane accident
      Link to Article
      Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:23
      16 January 2013Last updated at12:11 ETPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
      Eyewitness Andrew Beadle: "I thought it was a bomb" (Footage Jason/Complete Couriers and Jose Gomez)
      Two people were killed and 12 were hurt when a helicopter crashed into a crane on a building in central London.
      The helicopter hit the crane on top of The Tower, One St George Wharf beside the Thames at about 08:00 GMT.
      Cars and two buildings caught fire after the burning wreckage fell into Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth. Eighty firefighters tackled the blaze.
      The pilot, Capt Pete Barnes from charter firm Rotormotion, was killed, along with a person on the ground.
      Mr Barnes, 50 and from near Reading, Berkshire, had asked to be diverted to a nearby heliport because of bad weather.
      Metropolitan Police Commander Neil Basu told BBC News it was "miraculous" the crash was not much worse.
      Action moviesFive people were taken to hospital, all of whom have minor injuries. Seven people were treated at the scene.
      It is thought some of the injured were hit by falling debris.
      The Civil Aviation Authority said a warning about the crane involved in the crash had been issued to pilots in October and again on 7 January.
      Continue reading the main storyPete Barnes had worked as a pilot on action films including Die Another Day
      Part of the crane was left hanging from the side of the residential building, which is still under construction.
      A spokeswoman for Berkeley Homes, the company behind the St George Wharf development, said she would not speculate if a light on the crane, which is meant to be on 24 hours to alert pilots, was on at time of the crash.
      Residents have raised complaints about it not being lit.
      London Fire Brigade said part of the tail section of the helicopter landed on roof of the building and the main section landed in Wandsworth Road, hitting two cars. The fire from the helicopter ignited two buildings.
      Jon Horne, chief executive of Redhill Aerodrome Ventures, said the helicopter had left Redhill in Surrey at 07:35 on a scheduled flight to Elstree in Hertfordshire.
      He said it was an Agusta 109, a lightweight, twin-engine helicopter, and that just the pilot was on board when it departed Redhill.
      Mr Horne said: "We believe it was unable to land in Elstree and was diverting to an alternate location. The next information we had was following the crash in south London."
      'Enormous bang'Mr Barnes is understood to have piloted helicopters in action scenes for films Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan.
      According to his LinkedIn profile he had also operated flights for the BBC and ITN during the Athens and London Olympics.
      Capt Philip Amadeus, managing director at Rotormotion, said Mr Barnes was a highly qualified commercial pilot with more than 12,000 flying hours. He had worked for the firm for more than 15 years.
      Mr Amadeus said: "We are devastated by the loss of a highly valued colleague and very dear friend. Our thoughts and condolences are with Peter's wife and children.
      "His death is a very great loss to the aviation community and Rotormotion."
      Continue reading the main storyThe incident caused gridlock with all approaches to the Vauxhall Cross one way system closed at the height of the rush hour and Vauxhall Tube station and railway station closed.
      The Tube stations have reopened but Wandsworth Road is expected to remain closed in both directions between Vauxhall Cross and Queenstown Road until next week at least.
      London Fire Brigade said more than 50 other firefighters were at St George's Wharf to secure the damaged crane.
      The BBC weather centre said weather observations at the time of the crash showed very low cloud but not thick fog. The nearest observation site was London City Airport which at 08:00 reported 700m visibility with broken cloud at a height of 100ft.
      NATS, which runs air traffic control across the UK, said the pilot had been receiving assistance earlier in the flight but not at the time of the crash.
      Julian Firth, who is leading a team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigating the crash, said the wreckage would be taken to its site at Farnborough, Hampshire.
      He said it would take several months to produce a full report into the incident.
      An RNLI lifeboat was initially sent to search the Thames near the crash scene following a request from London Heliport after it lost contact with the aircraft.
      Fire brigade station manager Bruce Grain said crews arrived at the scene in four minutes.
      He said the helicopter fell into Wandsworth Road, hitting various vehicles and bursting into flames and there were also fires in nearby buildings.
      Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
      Mayor of London Boris Johnson: ''Clearly there will be questions about how it happened and what we can do''
      A man was rescued from a burning car by firefighters.
      Wandsworth Road was blocked by the burning wreckage and aviation fuel and the side of a building also caught fire.
      A motorcycle was also lying on its side in the road where it was abandoned.
      Witness Michael Krumstets said: "I was on my way to work this morning with my flatmate when the helicopter crashed right next to us.
      "We saw the helicopter clip the crane and heard a loud crack, it started spinning out of control and directly towards us. It took just seconds for this to happen.
      "We ran as it fell towards us. We got away just in time.
      "We were just feet away when it hit the ground and exploded."
      'People screaming'Mark Osbourne, from a bike shop near the scene, said he ran to try to help the injured.
      "There was lots of wreckage and fire," he said.
      "I saw a woman on a motorcycle that must have missed the carnage by six feet.
      "It felt like a war movie, it was surreal."
      Craig Dunne, who was walking to work at the time of the accident, said: "When I got to the end of the road there was a massive explosion and the crane is obviously in pieces.
      Continue reading the main storyDebabani MajumdarBBC London News
      Canadian Virginia Bennett, who lives in one of the residential apartments facing the River Thames, was getting ready to take her dog Abby for a walk when the morning calm was shattered by "the noise of metal crashing".
      She said: "It sounded like a big car crash. We are not on the roadside so that didn't make sense.
      "I opened the curtain and saw what appeared [to be] big pieces [of] metal falling.
      "I went out to the living room and looked out and could see the black smoke. Then my husband and I realised that the top of the crane was gone."
      "And I looked to the left-hand side and there were cars - three cars on fire - people screaming, shouting and hollering, and the next thing I know there are police, ambulances and everything everywhere and people going crazy. It's madness - absolute madness."
      Mark Correll was cycling along Wandsworth Road when debris from the crash started falling around him.
      "I heard a massive explosion and looked up to see debris falling everywhere from the sky," he said.
      "I didn't hang around as there was massive debris falling intermittently and if anything had hit me I would have been killed.
      "My first instinct was to dodge the debris - I thought the building was going to collapse.
      "It was easily the most frightening thing I have ever witnessed."
      Ex-BBC producer Paul Ferguson said the helicopter "plummeted straight into the ground".
      He said the building the helicopter hit was "shrouded in mist".
      Market worker Andrew Ross said: "I heard a loud bang and I saw this helicopter falling out of the sky.
      "(There was) an orange glow and lots of smoke coming up.
      "It was flying below cloud cover - it was still foggy and a little bit dark."
      Michael Gavin, who was waiting for a train on a platform at Vauxhall station, said: "I heard the bang - the top of the crane was obscured by the fog so I did not see the impact but I did see the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane, then the long plume of smoke from there.
      "It was really quite shocking. There was a group of us on the platform waiting, we could not see where it hit because it was blocked by a wall at the end of the station.
      "There were a lot of worried people around."
      Interactive map: Helicopter crash
      Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough, heard an "enormous bang" as she walked towards Vauxhall Tube before seeing "clouds of black smoke".
      Quinn Murray, who was cycling when he saw the crash, said: "I saw the helicopter hit the top of the crane and come down just to the left of the station.
      "There was quite a large amount of fire and a huge smoke cloud. It wasn't on the road, but into a building site where they are building the new Nine Elms area."
      Erin Rogers, who was waiting at a bus stop outside Vauxhall station, said: "It was a bit surreal actually. I just had a coffee in my hand, I looked up, heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor.
      "Then the helicopter was in flames. The rest of the people at the bus station were looking on going 'What was that?'.
      "It's something I will never forget for a long time."
      Rigorous controlsThe emergency services were praised for their swift response by Councillor Lib Peck, leader of Lambeth Council.
      She said: "I understand that swift action by the fire service may well have saved the life of one of the casualties of the crash.
      "The safety of Lambeth residents is my major concern and I will be seeking reassurances about the procedures governing helicopter flights."
      While visiting the scene, London mayor Boris Johnson said questions would be asked about how the accident happened.
      He also said the crane was now secure and would be dealt with soon.
      Kate Hoey, Labour MP for Vauxhall, said : "My initial thought was that it might have hit one of the many densely populated tall buildings. To hear it had hit the crane was a relief in some way.
      "Police said to me that their first fear was it was the police helicopter, however, it had been grounded because of the weather."
      She told the BBC the rapid increase in the number of tall buildings in London meant more rigorous controls over who can fly where may be needed.
      At Prime Minister's Questions she asked David Cameron for a review of the rules on helicopters flying over central London.
      Mr Cameron said: "She's right that it's not an issue for today but inevitably it's something that has to be carefully looked at."
      The Civil Aviation Authority said there were 16,374 helicopter flights over London in 2012. It said single-engine craft were required to fly along certain routes, selected to provide safety, and while twin-engine helicopters could operate in wider areas, all were subject to air traffic control clearance.
      It said pilots were notified of very tall structures for flight planning purposes, as was the case with the crane involved in the crash.
      The Met told the BBC there was no suggestion the incident was linked to terrorism.
      Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you canupload here.
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    Cenk Uygur Asks Alex Jones if He's Ever Sought Mental Health Treatment
      Link to Article
      Source: Crooks and Liars
      Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:20
      From this Monday evening's The Young Turks, this interview with Alex Jones wasn't quite as contentious as the one he had with Piers Morgan last week, but it wasn't a whole lot better. I did enjoy watching Cenk get a chance to ask him if he'd ever sought any mental health treatment after listening to quite a bit of his ranting and raving. I can also say it didn't break my heart to see two of these wingnuts tearing each other apart and Jones ripping on Glenn Beck after he criticized his interview on CNN.
      Alex Jones to Glenn Beck: 'Thomas Jefferson would spit on you':
      In this clip from Cenk's interview with radio host Alex Jones, whose rant on Piers Morgan's CNN show was dismissed by Glenn Beck as an attempt to make gun advocates seems crazy, Jones says, ''You jackass mainline conservatives don't speak for me. You're the ones that have discredited true conservatism and libertarianism. Thomas Jefferson would spit on you, you little bastard. You little piece of trash. That's what I have to say to Glenn Beck.''
      If you're in for some more abuse, you can watch the extended interviews with Jones here and here.
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