No Agenda 488 - Sponsor Influence

No Agenda Episode 488 - Sponsor Influence
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    William Bates (physician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Link to Article
      Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:44
      William Horatio Bates (December 23, 1860 '' July 10, 1931) was an American physician who practiced ophthalmology and developed what became known as the Bates Method for better eyesight,[1] an educational method intended to improve vision by undoing a supposed habitual strain to see. The efficacy of the method is questionable, and his theory that the eye does not focus by changing the power of the lens, but rather by elongating the eyeball, through use of the extraocular oblique muscles, was contradicted by mainstream ophthalmology and optometry of his day and still is today.[2][3]
      [edit]BiographyBates graduated A.B. from Cornell University in 1881 and received his medical degree at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885. He formulated a theory about vision health, and published the book Perfect Sight Without Glasses in 1920, and the magazine Better Eyesight from 1919 to 1930. Parts of Bates' approach to correcting vision disorders were based on psychological principles, which were contrary to many of the medical theories of the time and remain so. The Bates Method still enjoys some limited acceptance as a modality of alternative medicine.
      Bates treated many patients, who claimed to have been cured of vision defects, especially myopia. This brought him into conflict with his peers. He defended himself by claiming that other physicians were in thrall to the establishment.
      [edit]Bates' publicationsMain article: Bates methodBecause the copyrights have expired, the original version of Perfect Sight Without Glasses (or The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment Without Glasses) is now in the public domain. In 1943 an abridged version was published under the title Better Eyesight Without Glasses, which removed some of the most controversial points, such as the claim that "perfectly remembering black"[4] is a suitable substitute for anaesthesia, and recommendations to look at the sun.[2]
      [edit]Bates' mental healthBates appears to have suffered from a strange episode of amnesia (or possibly psychogenic fugue)[original research?], referred to in his obituary,[5] perhaps wrongly as 'a strange form of aphasia'. In 1902 he disappeared, was found, and then disappeared again, only to reappear after his second wife, who searched in vain for him, had died. This episode was said to have given him a particular interest in memory, perhaps influencing the direction of his work. He was married three times, having been widowed twice. In 1928, he married his long-time personal assistant Emily C. Lierman.
      [edit]Discovery of the medical use of adrenalineBates did other research. He discovered the astringent and haemostatic properties of the substance produced by the suprarenal gland, and its value in medicine, especially in surgeries. The substance would later be commercialized as adrenaline.[6]
      [edit]References[edit]External linksPersondataNameBates, WilliamAlternative namesShort descriptionAmerican opthalmologistDate of birthDecember 23, 1860Place of birthDate of deathJuly 10, 1931Place of death
    Bates method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Link to Article
      Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:43
      The Bates method is an alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care physician William Horatio Bates (1860''1931) attributed nearly all sight problems to habitual strain of the eyes, and felt that glasses were harmful and never necessary. Bates self-published a book as well as a magazine (and earlier collaborated with Bernarr MacFadden on a correspondence course) detailing his approach to helping people relax such strain, and thus, he claimed, improve their sight. His techniques centered around visualization and movement. He placed particular emphasis on imagining black letters and marks, and the movement of such. He also felt that exposing the eyes to sunlight would help alleviate eyestrain.[1]
      Although many of Bates' patients and followers of his methods have reported of successful results (most famously from author Aldous Huxley),[2] his methods have garnered much opposition from mainstream optometry. Bates was disbarred from the American Optometric Association because his techniques had not been shown objectively to improve eyesight.[3] Despite this, some behavioral optometrists and visual therapists continue to employ methods developed by Bates.[4][5]
      Bates' main physiological proposition '' that the eyeball changes shape to maintain focus '' has consistently been contradicted by observation.[6] In 1952, optometry professor Elwin Marg wrote of Bates, ''Most of his claims and almost all of his theories have been considered false by practically all visual scientists.''[7] Marg concluded that the Bates method owed its popularity largely to "flashes of clear vision" experienced by many who followed it.[2] Such occurrences have since been determined to most likely be a contact lens-like effect of moisture on the eye.[8]
      Both critics and proponents of the Bates method caution against overexposing the eyes to sunlight, driving without the legally required correction, or completely neglecting conventional eye care.[7][9]
      [edit]Underlying concepts[edit]AccommodationAccommodation is the process by which the eye increases optical power to maintain focus on the retina while shifting its gaze to a closer point. The long-standing medical consensus is that this is accomplished by action of the ciliary muscle, a muscle within the eye, which adjusts the curvature of the eye's crystalline lens.[3] This explanation is based in the observed effect of atropine temporarily preventing accommodation when applied to the ciliary muscle, as well as images reflected on the crystalline lens becoming smaller as the eye shifts focus to a closer point, indicating a change in the lens' shape. Bates rejected this explanation, and in his 1920 book presented photographs which he said showed that the image remained the same size even as the eye shifted focus, concluding from this that the lens was not a factor in accommodation. However, optometrist Philip Pollack in a 1956 work characterized these photographs as "so blurred that it is impossible to tell whether one image is larger than the other", in contrast to later photographs which clearly showed a change in the size of the reflected images, just as had been observed since the late nineteenth century.[6]
      Bates adhered to a different explanation of accommodation which had been generally disregarded by the medical community of his time. This model had the muscles surrounding the eyeball controlling its focus.[6] In addition to their known function of turning the eye, Bates maintained, they also affect its shape,[10] elongating the eyeball to focus at the near-point or shortening it to focus at a distance.[11] Commenting on this hypothesis in an interview with WebMD, ophthalmologist Richard E. Bensinger stated "When we put drops in the eye to dilate the pupil, they paralyze the focusing muscles. The evidence of the anatomical fallacy is that you can't focus, but your eye can move up and down, left and right. The notion that external muscles affect focusing is totally wrong."[3] Science author John Grant writes that many animals, such as fishes, accommodate by elongation of the eyeball, "it's just that humans aren't one of those animals."[12]
      Laboratory tests have shown that the human eyeball is far too rigid to spontaneously change shape to a degree which would be necessary to accomplish what Bates described.[6] Exceedingly small changes in axial length of the eyeball (18.6''19.2 micrometres) are caused by the action of the ciliary muscle during accommodation. However, these changes are far too small to account for the necessary changes in focus, producing changes of only ''0.036 dioptres.[13]
      [edit]Causes of sight problemsMedical professionals characterize refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia (the age-related blurring of near-point vision) as consequences of the eye's shape and other basic anatomy, which there is no evidence that any exercise can alter.[14] Bates, however, believed that these conditions are caused by tension of the muscles surrounding the eyeball, which he believed prevents the eyeball from sufficiently changing shape (per his explanation of accommodation) when gaze is shifted nearer or farther. Bates characterized this supposed muscular tension as the consequence of a "mental strain" to see, the relief of which he claimed would instantly improve sight.[1][15] He also linked disturbances in the circulation of blood, which he said is "very largely influenced by thought", not only to refractive errors but also to double vision, crossed-eye, lazy eye, and to more serious eye conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma.[6][16] His therapies were based on these assumptions.[1]
      Bates felt that corrective lenses, which he characterized as "eye crutches", are an impediment to curing poor vision. In his view, "strain" would increase as the eyes adjust to the correction in front of them. He thus recommended that glasses be discarded by anyone applying his method.[1]
      [edit]TreatmentsIn his writings, Bates discussed several techniques which he claimed helped patients to improve their sight. He wrote that "The ways in which people strain to see are infinite, and the methods used to relieve the strain must be almost equally varied",[15] emphasizing that no single approach would work for everyone. His techniques were all designed to help disassociate this "strain" from seeing and thereby achieve "central fixation", or seeing what is in the central point of vision without staring. He asserted that "all errors of refraction and all functional disturbances of the eye disappear when it sees by central fixation" and that other conditions were often relieved as well.[1]
      [edit]PalmingBates suggested closing the eyes for minutes at a time to help bring about relaxation.[17] He asserted that the relaxation could be deepened in most cases by "palming," or covering the closed eyes with the palms of the hands, without putting pressure on the eyeballs.[1] If the covered eyes did not strain, he said, they would see "a field so black that it is impossible to remember, imagine, or see anything blacker," since light was excluded by the palms. However, he reported that some of his patients experienced "illusions of lights and colors" sometimes amounting to "kaleidoscopic appearances" as they "palmed," occurrences which he attributed to his ubiquitous "strain" and which he claimed disappeared when one truly relaxed.[17] This phenomenon, however, was almost certainly caused by Eigengrau or "dark light." In fact, even in conditions of perfect darkness, as inside a cave, neurons at every level of the visual system produce random background activity that is interpreted by the brain as patterns of light and color.[6]
      [edit]VisualizationBates placed importance on mental images, as he felt relaxation was the key to clarity of imagination as well as of actual sight.[18] He claimed that one's poise could be gauged by the visual memory of black; that the darker it appeared in the mind, and the smaller the area of black which could be imagined, the more relaxed one was at the moment.[19] He recommended that patients think of the top letter from an eye chart and then visualize progressively smaller black letters, and eventually a period or comma.[1] But he emphasized his view that the clear visual memory of black "cannot be attained by any sort of effort", stating that "the memory is not the cause of the relaxation, but must be preceded by it",[19] and cautioned against "concentrating" on black, as he regarded an attempt to "think of one thing only" as a strain.[17]
      While Bates preferred to have patients imagine something black, he also reported that some found objects of other colors easiest to visualize, and thus were benefited most by remembering those, because, he asserted, "the memory can never be perfect unless it is easy".[1][19] Skeptics reason that the only benefit to eyesight gained from such techniques is itself imagined, and point out that familiar objects, including letters on an eye chart, can be recognized even when they appear less than clear.[6]
      [edit]MovementBates felt that the manner of eye movement affected the sight. He suggested "shifting", or moving the eyes back and forth to get an illusion of objects "swinging" in the opposite direction. He believed that the smaller the area over which the "swing" was experienced, the greater was the benefit to sight. He also indicated that it was usually helpful to close the eyes and imagine something "swinging". By alternating actual and mental shifting over an image, Bates wrote, many patients were quickly able to shorten the "shift" to a point where they could "conceive and swing a letter the size of a period in a newspaper."[20] One who mastered this would attain the "universal swing", Bates believed.[1]
      Perhaps finding Bates' concepts of "shifting" and "swinging" too complicated, some proponents of vision improvement, such as Bernarr Macfadden, suggested simply moving the eyes up and down, from side to side, and shifting one's gaze between a near-point and a far-point.[1]
      [edit]SunningBates believed that the eyes were benefited by exposure to sunlight. He stated that "persons with normal sight can look directly at the sun, or at the strongest artificial light, without injury or discomfort",[21] and gave several examples of patients' vision purportedly improving after sungazing'--this is at variance with the well-known risk of eye damage which can result from direct sunlight observation.[6][7][9]
      Bates cautioned that, just as one should not attempt to run a marathon without training, one should not immediately look directly at the sun, but he suggested that it could be worked up to. He acknowledged that looking at the sun could have ill effects, but characterized them as being "always temporary" and in fact the effects of strain in response to sunlight. He wrote that he had cured people who believed that the sun had caused them permanent eye damage.[22] In his magazine, Bates later suggested exposing only the white part of the eyeball to direct sunlight, and only for seconds at a time, after allowing the sun to shine on closed eyelids for a longer period.[23]
      Posthumous publications of Bates' book omitted mention of the supposed benefits from direct sunlight shining on open eyes.[2]
      [edit]Results and criticismBates' techniques have never been scientifically established to improve eyesight.[3] Several of Bates' techniques, including "sunning", "swinging", and "palming", were combined with healthy changes to diet and exercise in a 1983 randomized controlled trial of myopic children in India. After 6 months, the experimental groups "did not show any statistically significant difference in refractive status", though the children in the treatment group "subjectively ... felt relieved of eye strain and other symptoms."[24]
      It has been argued, such as by philosopher Frank J. Leavitt, that the method which Bates described would be difficult to test scientifically due to his emphasis on relaxation and visualization. Leavitt asked "How can we tell whether someone has relaxed or imagined something, or just thinks that he or she has imagined it?" In regards to the possibility of a placebo trial, Leavitt commented "I cannot conceive of how we could put someone in a situation where he thinks he has imagined something while we know that he has not."[18]
      [edit]After BatesAfter Bates died in 1931, his methods of treatment were continued by his widow Emily and other associates,[10] some of whom incorporated exercises and dietary recommendations.[1] Most subsequent proponents did not stand by Bates' explanation of how the eye focuses mechanically,[1] but nonetheless maintained that relieving a habitual "strain" was the key to improving sight.[2]
      [edit]Margaret Darst CorbettMargaret Darst Corbett first met Dr. Bates when she consulted him about her husband's eyesight. She became his pupil, and eventually taught his method at her School of Eye Education in Los Angeles.[25] She was of the stated belief that "the optic nerve is really part of the brain, and vision is nine-tenths mental and one-tenth only physical."[2][26]
      In late 1940, Corbett and her assistant were charged with violations of the Medical Practice Act of California for treating eyes without a licence. At the trial, many of her students testified on her behalf, describing in detail how she had enabled them to discard their glasses. One witness testified that he had been almost blind from cataracts, but that, after working with Corbett, his vision had improved to such an extent that for the first time he could read for eight hours at a stretch without glasses. Corbett explained in court that she was practicing neither optometry nor ophthalmology and represented herself not as a doctor but only as an ''instructor of eye training''. Describing her method she said "We turn vision on by teaching the eyes to shift. We want the sense of motion to relieve staring, to end the fixed look. We use light to relax the eyes and to accustom them to the sun."[25]
      The trial attracted widespread interest, as did the ''not guilty'' verdict. The case spurred a bill in the Californian State Legislature which would have then made such vision education illegal without an optometric or medical licence. After a lively campaign in the media, the bill was rejected.[27]
      [edit]Aldous HuxleyPerhaps the most famous proponent of the Bates method was the British writer Aldous Huxley. At the age of sixteen Huxley had an attack of keratitis, which, after an 18-month period of near-blindness, left him with one eye just capable of light perception and the other with an unaided Snellen fraction of 10/200. This was mainly due to opacities in both corneas, complicated by hyperopia and astigmatism. He was able to read only if he wore thick glasses and dilated his better pupil with atropine, to allow that eye to see around an opacity in the center of the cornea.[28]
      In 1939, at the age of 45 and with eyesight which continued to deteriorate, he happened to hear of the Bates method and sought the help of Margaret Corbett, who gave him regular lessons.[28] Three years later he wrote The Art of Seeing, in which he related: "Within a couple of months I was reading without spectacles and, what was better still, without strain and fatigue... At the present time, my vision, though very far from normal, is about twice as good as it used to be when I wore spectacles".[29] Describing the process, Huxley wrote that "Vision is not won by making an effort to get it: it comes to those who have learned to put their minds and eyes into a state of alert passivity, of dynamic relaxation." He expressed indifference regarding the veracity of Bates' explanation of how the eye focuses, stating that "my concern is not with the anatomical mechanism of accommodation, but with the art of seeing".[2]
      His case generated wide publicity as well as scrutiny. Ophthalmologist Walter B. Lancaster, for example, suggested in 1944 that Huxley had "learned how to use what he has to better advantage" by training the "cerebral part of seeing", rather than actually improving the quality of the image on the retina.[2]
      In 1952, ten years after writing The Art of Seeing, Huxley spoke at a Hollywood banquet, wearing no glasses and, according to Bennett Cerf, apparently reading his paper from the lectern without difficulty. In Cerf's words:
      Then suddenly he faltered'--and the disturbing truth became obvious. He wasn't reading his address at all. He had learned it by heart. To refresh his memory he brought the paper closer and closer to his eyes. When it was only an inch or so away he still couldn't read it, and had to fish for a magnifying glass in his pocket to make the typing visible to him. It was an agonizing moment.[1]
      In response to this, Huxley wrote "I often do use magnifying glasses where conditions of light are bad, and have never claimed to be able to read except under very good conditions."[30] This underscored that he had not regained anything close to normal vision, and in fact never claimed that he had.[31]
      [edit]Modern variants"Natural vision correction" or "natural vision improvement" continues to be marketed by practitioners offering individual instruction, many of who have no medical or optometric credentials. Most base their approach in the Bates method, though some also integrate vision therapy techniques.[3] There are also many self-help books and programs, which have not been subjected to randomized controlled trials, aimed at improving eyesight naturally.[32] Purveyors of such approaches argue that they lack the funds to formally test them.[33]
      The heavily advertised "See Clearly Method" (of which sales were halted by a court order in November 2006, in response to what were found to be dishonest marketing practices)[34] included "palming" and "light therapy", both adapted from Bates.[14] The creators of the program, however, emphasized that they did not endorse Bates' approach overall.[35]
      In his 1992 book The Bates Method, A Complete Guide to Improving Eyesight'--Naturally, "Bates method teacher" Peter Mansfield was very critical of eye care professionals for prescribing corrective lenses. He recommended most of Bates' techniques to improve vision, but omitted sungazing. The book included accounts of twelve instances of eyesight improving, but did not report any measurements of refractive error.[36]
      Czech native John Slavicek claims to have created an "eye cure" that improves eyesight in three days, borrowing from ancient yogic eye exercises, visualizations from the Seth Material, and the Bates method. Although he has testimonials from his neighbor and others, several of his students indicate that he has greatly exaggerated their cases. Slavicek's self-published manual, Yoga for the Eyes, was rejected by an ophthalmologist who evaluated it, and evinced no interest from the World Health Organization and St. Erik's Eye Foundation in Sweden as he had not conducted double-blind tests.[37]
      [edit]Claimed successAs evidence for the effectiveness of the Bates method, proponents point to the many accounts of people allegedly having improved their eyesight by applying it.[3] While these anecdotes may be told and passed on in good faith, several potential explanations exist for the phenomena reported other than a genuine reversal of a refractive error due to the techniques practiced:
      Some cases of nearsightedness are recognized as due to a transient spasm of the ciliary muscle, rather than a misshapen eyeball. These are classed as pseudomyopia, of which spontaneous reversal may account for some reports of improvement.[38]Research has confirmed that when nearsighted subjects remove their corrective lenses, over time there is a limited improvement (termed "blur adaptation") in their unaided visual resolution, even though refraction indicates no corresponding change in refractive error.[39] This is believed to occur due to adjustments made in the visual system.[40] One who has been practicing Bates' techniques and notices such improvement may not realize that simply leaving the glasses off would have had the same effect, which may be especially pronounced if the prescription was too strong to begin with.[1]Visual acuity is affected by the size of the pupil. When it constricts (such as in response to an increase in light), the quality of focus will improve significantly, at the cost of a reduced ability to see in dim light. This is known as the "pinhole effect".[8] This concept is also used in photography when changing the aperture size.Some eye defects may naturally change for the better with age or in cycles (ophthalmologist Stewart Duke-Elder suggested that this is what happened with Aldous Huxley[41]). A cataract when first setting in sometimes results in much improved eyesight for a short time. One who happens to have been practicing the Bates method will likely credit it for any improvement experienced regardless of the actual cause.[1]Some studies have suggested that a learned ability to interpret blurred images may account for perceived improvements in eyesight.[8] Ophthalmologist Walter B. Lancaster had this to say: "Since seeing is only partly a matter of the image on the retina and the sensation it produces, but is in still larger part a matter of the cerebral processes of synthesis, in which memories play a principal role, it follows that by repetition, by practice, by exercises, one builds up a substratum of memories useful for the interpretation of sensations and facilitates the syntheses which are the major part of seeing."[42] Lancaster faulted ophthalmologists in general for neglecting the role of the brain in the process of seeing, "leaving to irregular, half-trained workers the cultivation of that field".[42][edit]Flashes of clear visionBates method enthusiasts often report experiencing "flashes" of clear vision, in which eyesight momentarily becomes much sharper, but then reverts to its previous state.[2] Such flashes are not the result of squinting, and can occur in one eye at a time or in both eyes at once.[43] Observation has suggested that both the quality and duration of such flashes can be increased with practice, with some subjects holding a substantial improvement for several minutes. Tests of such subjects have found that the temporary improvement in visual acuity is real, but per retinoscopy is not due to any change in refractive error.[2] A 1982 study concluded that such occurrences are best explained as a contact lens-like effect of moisture on the eye, based on increased tear action exhibited by 15 out of 17 subjects who experienced such improvement.[8] A more recent series of studies have proposed that such flashes may be caused by "negative accommodation" (i.e. an active flattening of the lens by the ciliary muscles).[44][45]
      [edit]General researchIn 2004 the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) published a review of various research regarding "visual training",[3] which consisted of "eye exercises, muscle relaxation techniques, biofeedback, eye patches, or eye massages", "alone or in combinations". No evidence was found that such techniques could objectively benefit eyesight, though some studies noted changes, both positive and negative, in the visual acuity of nearsighted subjects as measured by a Snellen chart. In some cases noted improvements were maintained at subsequent follow-ups. However, these results were not seen as actual reversals of nearsightedness, and were attributed instead to factors such as "improvements in interpreting blurred images, changes in mood or motivation, creation of an artificial contact lens by tear film changes, or a pinhole effect from miosis of the pupil."[8]
      In 2005 the Ophthalmology Department of New Zealand's Christchurch Hospital published a review of forty-three studies regarding the use of eye exercises. They found that "As yet there is no clear scientific evidence published in the mainstream literature supporting the use of eye exercises" to improve visual acuity, and concluded that "their use therefore remains controversial."[46]
      [edit]General criticisms[edit]Dead-endA frequent criticism of the Bates method is that it has remained relatively obscure, which is seen as proof that it is not truly effective. Writer Alan M. MacRobert concluded in a 1979 article that the "most telling argument against the Bates system" and other alternative therapies was that they "bore no fruit". In regards to the Bates method, he reasoned that "If palming, shifting, and swinging could really cure poor eyesight, glasses would be as obsolete by now as horse-drawn carriages."[47] Others, including philosopher Frank J. Leavitt, have argued that due to Bates' emphasis on relaxation and visualization, application of his principles would depend heavily on each individual, as with martial arts and yoga, and that the Bates method is therefore not discredited simply by its failure to become mainstream.[18]
      [edit]Avoidance of conventional treatmentOne of the greatest potential dangers of faith in the Bates method is that a believer may be disinclined to seek medical advice regarding what could be a sight-threatening condition requiring prompt treatment, such as glaucoma.[7] Also, children with vision problems may require early attention by a professional in order to successfully prevent lazy eye. Such treatment may include exercises, but which are different from those associated with the Bates method, and parents who subscribe to Bates' ideas may delay seeking conventional care until it is too late.[9] It may further be necessary for a child at risk of developing lazy eye to wear the proper correction.[48]
      [edit]See also[edit]References^ abcdefghijklmnoGardner, Martin (1957). "Chapter 19: Throw Away Your Glasses!". Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Reprint: Courier Dover Publications. pp. 230''241. ISBN 0-486-20394-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC&pg=PA232.^ abcdefghiMarg, Elwin (April 1952). "Flashes of clear vision and negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual training" (PDF). American Journal of Optometry & Archives of American Academy of Optometry29 (4): 167''84. http://brain.berkeley.edu/pub/1952%20April%20Flashes%20of%20Clear%20Vision.pdf.^ abcdefgSkarnulis, Leanna (5 February 2007). "Natural Vision Correction: Does It Work?". WebMD. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080622193404/http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features/natural-vision-correction-does-it-work. Retrieved 14 March 2009.^Krapp, Kristine M. (2001, 2007). Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing & Allied Health. Toronto: Thomson Gale. pp. eBook article: Behavioral Optometry. ISBN 978-0787649340. http://www.enotes.com/behavioral-optometry-reference/behavioral-optometry-171761.^Worrall, O.D., Russell S.. "Eye-Related Quackery". Quackwatch. http://www.srmhp.org/archives/vision-therapy.html. Retrieved 27 August 2012.^ abcdefghPollack, Philip (1956). "Chapter 3: Fallacies of the Bates System". The Truth about Eye Exercises. Philadelphia: Chilton Company. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4399673.^ abcdChou, Brian (15 September 2004). "Exposing the Secrets of Fringe Eye Care". Review of Optometry141 (9). http://www.revoptom.com/content/d/therapeutics/c/17353/.^ abcde"Complementary Therapy Assessments: Visual Training for Refractive Errors". American Academy of Ophthalmology. October 2004. http://one.aao.org/CE/PracticeGuidelines/Therapy_Content.aspx?cid=d7238b2b-a59f-49f6-9f30-64d1e84efc3b. Retrieved 6 July 2008.^ abcGrierson, Ian (2000). "Exercises for Eyes as an Alternative to Glasses". The Eye Book: Eyes and Eye Problems Explained. Liverpool University Press. pp. 58''60. ISBN 0-85323-755-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=YY0inTk-CEcC&pg=PA58.^ ab"Exercise v. Eyeglasses". Time. 15 March 1943. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884800,00.html.^Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 4: The Truth About Accommodation as Demonstrated by Experiments on the Eye Muscles of Fish, Cats, Dogs, Rabbits and other Animals". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 38''53. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA38.^John Grant (2006). Discarded Science. FFF: Surrey, UK. ISBN 1-904332-49-8.^Drexler W, Findl O, Schmetterer L, Hitzenberger CK, Fercher AF. (1 October 1998). "Eye elongation during accommodation in humans: differences between emmetropes and myopes.". Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.39 (11): 2140''7. PMID 9761293. http://www.iovs.org/cgi/reprint/39/11/2140.^ abRob Murphy, Marilyn Haddrill, Gary Heiting (May 2009). "The See Clearly Method & Other Programs: Do Eye Exercises Improve Vision?". AllAboutVision.com. http://www.allaboutvision.com/buysmart/see_clearly.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2009.^ abBates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 9: The Cause and Cure of Errors of Refraction". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 89''105. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA89.^Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 10: Strain". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 106''113. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA106.^ abcBates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 12: Palming". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 123''135. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA123.^ abcLeavitt, Frank J. (2007). "How to Save the World: Alternatives to Biomedical Research". Ethics in Biomedical Research: International Perspectives. Rodopi. pp. 203''207. http://books.google.com/books?id=-Tr7WZd_GwQC&pg=PA203&vq=Bates&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=ACfU3U0N8ztV_WZnlDRcO3L3J6GH140ceA.^ abcBates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 13: Memory as an Aid to Vision". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 136''147. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA136.^Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 15: Shifting and Swinging". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 159''171. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA159.^Bates, William H. (June 1920). "Sun-gazing". Better Eyesight (New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co).^Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 17: Vision Under Adverse Conditions a Benefit to the Eyes". Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 183''197. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA183.^Bates, William H. (July 1929). "The Use of the Sun Glass". Better Eyesight (New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co). http://www.central-fixation.com/better-eyesight-magazine/better-eyesight-1929-07.php#sun-glass.^Mohan, Madan (1983). "Therapy of myopia". Indian Journal of Ophthalmology31 (6): 741''3. PMID 6676257. http://www.ijo.in/text.asp?1983/31/6/741/29315.^ abPollack, Philip (1956). The Truth about Eye Exercises. Philadelphia: Chilton Company. p. 7. http://books.google.com/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett.^Corbett, Margaret Darst (1954). How to Improve your Sight. London: Faber and Faber. pp. 26''27.^Pollack, Philip (1956). The Truth about Eye Exercises. Philadelphia: Chilton Company. p. 8. http://books.google.com/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett.^ ab"'Fifty per cent terrific! fifty per cent non-existent': Aldous Huxley and medicine" (PDF). The Ceylon Medical Journal49 (4): 142''3. December 2004. http://www.cmj.slma.lk/cmj4904/cmj4904.pdf.^Nugel, Bernfried (2008). Aldous Huxley, Man of Letters: Thinker, Critic and Artist: Proceedings of the Third International Aldous Huxley Symposium, Riga 2004. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-M¹nster. p. 250. ISBN 978-3-8258-9034-6. http://books.google.com/?id=jkC0gvN12DMC&pg=PA250.^Smith, Grover Cleveland (1970). Letters of Aldous Huxley. Harper & Row. p. 815. ISBN 0-7011-1312-X. http://books.google.com/?id=zcIZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22I+often+do+use+magnifying+glasses+where+conditions+of+light+are+bad%2C+and+have+never+claimed+to+be+able+to+read+except+under+very+good+conditions.%22.^Murray, Nicholas (2003). "Sorrow". Aldous Huxley: A Biography. Macmillan. pp. 421''422. ISBN 0-312-30237-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=ktDo9SCBfxoC&pg=RA1-PA421.^"I can see clearly now...sort of". Harvard Women's Health Watch. 1 July 2003. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2994518/I-can-see-clearly-now.html.^Bradley, Robyn E. (23 September 2003). "Advocates see only benefits from eye exercises". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2003/09/23/advocates_see_only_benefits_from_eye_exercises/.^Shin, Annys (6 November 2006). "Seeing the See Clearly Method for What It Is". The Washington Post. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thecheckout/2006/11/hold_onto_those_eyeglasses.html. Retrieved 14 March 2009.^Steven M. Beresford, David W. Muris, Mara Tableman, Francis A. Young. "Clinical Evaluation of the See Clearly Method" (PDF). p. 13. http://www.visiontherapy.net/RESEARCH%20MASTER.pdf. Retrieved 14 March 2009.^Grosvenor, Theodore (November 1997). "Book Review". Optometry and Vision Science74 (11): 880. http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re/ovs/pdfhandler.00006324-199711000-00020.pdf.[dead link]^Barendsen, Kristin (20 November 2003). "Blind faith". The Prague Post (Czech Republic). http://www.thepraguepost.com/P03/2003/spsect/1120/sp1.php.^S Leo, Y Ling, T Wong, B Quah (October 2007). "Report of the National Myopia Prevention and Control Workgroup 2006: A Summary" (PDF). Singapore: Annals-Academy of Medicine36 (10): 67. http://www.annals.edu.sg/PDF/36VolNo10SupplOct2007/V36N10(S1)pS65.pdf.^Mark Rosenfield, Susan Hong, Sini George (September 2004). "Blur Adaptation in Myopes". Optometry and Vision Science81 (9): 657''662. doi:10.1097/01.opx.0000144743.34976.da. PMID 15365384. http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200409000-00009.htm.^Konrad Pesudovs, Noel A. Brennan (1993). "Decreased Uncorrected Vision After a Period of Distance Fixation with Spectacle Wear" (PDF). American Academy of Optometry70 (7): 528''531. http://www.pesudovs.com/konrad/Docs/Brennan.pdf.^Duke-Elder, Stewart (22 May 1943). "Aldous Huxley on Vision" (PDF). British Medical Journal: 635''636. http://ukpmc.ac.uk/backend/ptpmcrender.cgi?accid=PMC2282772&blobtype=pdf.^ abLancaster, Walter B (31 October 1945). "Present Status of Eye Exercise for Improvement of Visual Function" (PDF). The Australasian Journal of Optometry28 (10): 449''480. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122274312/PDFSTART.^Beach, S. Judd (1948). "Myopia Cures". Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society46: 284''294. PMC 1312764. PMID 16693476. //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1312764/.^Raz, A., Marinoff, G. P., Landzberg, K.S., & Guyton, D. L. (2004). "Substrates of negative accommodation.". Binocular Vision & Strabismus Quarterly19 (2): 71''74.^Raz, A., Marinoff, G. P., Zephrani, Z. R., Schweizer, H. R., & Posner, M. I. (2004). "See clearly: suggestion, hypnosis, attention, and visual acuity.". International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis52 (2): 159''187.^Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ (2005). "A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises". J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus42 (2): 82''8. PMID 15825744.^MacRobert, Alan M. (28 March 1979). "Hocus Focus: modern spiritualism". San Diego Reader. http://www.skeptically.org/thinkersonreligion/id1.html.^Donahue, Sean P. (February 2007). "Prescribing Spectacles in Children: A Pediatric Ophthalmologist's Approach". Optometry and Vision Science84 (2): 110''114. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e318031b09b. PMID 17299340. http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200702000-00009.htm.[edit]External linksHistorical writings:
      Coverage focusing on individual cases:
  Education Industrial Complex
    Meet the Team | UnCollege
      Dale J. Stephens
      Chief Educational Deviant
      Dale J. Stephens brings a unique perspective on the future of education, talent, and innovation.- An educational futurist and speaker on issues facing Generation Y, he delivers core insights about learning, technology, and success.- He is a sought-after education expert appearing on major news networks including-CNN,-ABC,NPR,-CBS,-Fox, and-TechCrunch. -His work has been covered by the-New York Times-and-New York Magazine-to-Fast Company-and-Forbes.
      At 20, Dale leads-UnCollege, the social movement changing the notion that college is the only path to success. -His first book,-Hacking Your Education,-will be published by Penguin in 2013.
      In May 2011 Stephens was selected out of hundreds of individuals around the world as a-Thiel Fellow.- The Thiel Fellowship recognizes the top changemakers around the world under the age of twenty.
      Rejected for being young or inexperienced, he has risen above skepticism to do what many said he couldn't. Because he bridges the gap between teens and adults, he doesn't just relate to both but shares their experiences, fears, and challenges.
  Space Wars
    Asteroids are very valuable
      How asteroid mining could turn billionaires into trillionaires (+video) - CSMonitor.com
        Google Inc executives Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and filmmaker James Cameron are among those bankrolling a venture to survey and eventually extract precious metals and rare minerals from asteroids that orbit near Earth, the company said on Tuesday.
        Google billionaires announce scheme to mine asteroids (+video)
        Planetary Resources' aim is to open deep-space exploration to private industry, much like the $10 million Ansari X Prize competition, which Diamandis created.
    BBC News - Nasa examines 'tractor beams' for sample gathering
      US space agency Nasa has funded a study of "tractor beams" to gather samples for analysis in future missions.
      The $100,000 (£63,000) award will be used to examine three laser-based approaches to do what has until now been the stuff of science fiction.
      Several tractor-beam ideas have been published in the scientific literature but none has yet been put to use.
      Nasa scientist Paul Stysley says the approach could "enhance science goals and reduce mission risk".
      "Though a mainstay in science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, laser-based trapping isn't fanciful or beyond current technological know-how," said Dr Stysley of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, whose group was awarded the research funding.
    The Test - 3 events
      The ÒtestÓ USSTRATCOM was preparing for, and which caused Ògrave concernÓ among top Russian space scientists, this report says, was an American attempt to use their High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HARRP) facilities located in Alaska, Norway and Guam to create a Òtractor beamÓ around the Òcelestial objectsÓ traveling with 2012 DA 14 with the ÒgoalÓ of having at least one of them Òcrash landÓ in the remote barren regions of either the Alaskan or Canadian Arctic.
      1
      To the grim outcome of the USSTRATCOM ÒtestÓ, this report continues, was the Americans first Òtractor beamÓ attempt on 13 February which failed when the Òcelestial objectÓ they were trying to ÒdirectÓ towards the Arctic plunged into the atmosphere and exploded with great destructive effect over the Cuban town of Rodas, Cienfuegos.
      Cuba Town Also Rocked by Celestial Body - Cuba's Havana Times.org
        HAVANA TIMES -- Homes in the central Cuban town of Rodas, Cienfuegos shook on Wednesday evening after an explosion overhead, reported ANSA news service.
        Witnesses reported the fall of a celestial phenomenon that ended with a huge explosion with a very bright light in the sky that shook their homes, said ANSA citing the Cuban morning TV news program as its source.
        Experts are scouring the area in search of any remains that fell to Earth.- No reports of injuries or damage to property has come in.
        Meanwhile in Russia on Friday, a piece of a meteorite caused extensive material damage and nearly a thousand injures were reported in the Ural region of the country.- See report.
      Cuba, too, reports powerful meteorite explosion - Yahoo! News
        HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba apparently experienced a phenomenon similar to but smaller than the meteorite that detonated over Russia this week, island media reported, with startled residents describing a bright light in the sky and a loud explosion that shook windows and walls.
        There were no reports of any injuries or damage such as those caused by the Russia meteorite, which sent out shockwaves that hurt some 1,200 people and shattered countless windows.
        In a video from a state TV newscast posted on the website CubaSi late Friday, unidentified residents of the central city of Rodas, near Cienfuegos, said the explosion was impressive.
        "On Tuesday we left home to fish around five in the afternoon, and around 8:00 we saw a light in the heavens and then a big ball of fire, bigger than the sun," one local man said in the video.
        "My home shook completely," said a woman. "I had never heard such a strange thing."
        Marcos Rodriguez, whom the video identified as a specialist in anthropology, said all signs point to a meteorite.
        According to scientists, five to 10 smaller meteorites hit the planet each year. Larger events like the one over Russia are more rare, and some experts said it may have been the biggest such blast since another meteor hit Siberia in 1908.
        Also Friday, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area reported seeing a fireball in the sky that scientists said was likely a piece of space rock. Another meteor in the same area last October caused a loud sonic boom.
        In Cuba, a reporter on the video said a similar phenomenon was observed in 1994 elsewhere in Cienfuegos province.
        It said Cuban authorities were looking for any fragments that may have fallen to the earth.
      2
      The second, and most catastrophic, Òtractor beamÓ attempt occurred over Russia when military defense forces fired upon the Òcelestial objectÓ causing it to explode with a force estimated to be equivalent to a 300-kiloton nuclear warhead causing over 1,200 injuries, and which we had reported on in our previous report titled ÒRussia Goes On High Alert After UFO Shoot-Down Injures HundredsÓ.
      3
      The third, and final, Òtractor beamÓ attempt, this report says, occurred last evening when the Òcelestial objectÓ trying to be retrieved by USSTRATCOM erupted in a massive fireball that lit up the night sky throughout Northern California ter rifying many residents already uneasy after the Russian explosion earlier in the day.
    APA - Vladimir Zhirinovsky denies meteorite, claims US weapons tests
      Link to Article
      Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:04
      Vladimir Zhirinovsky denies meteorite, claims US weapons tests[ 15 February 2013 15:51 ]
      Moscow. Farid Akberov '' APA. Russian nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, long known for his flamboyance and outrageous remarks, said Friday that meteorite fragments had not rained down on Russia in the morning, but that the light flashes and tremors in several of the country's regions resulted from US weapons tests, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
      ''Those aren't meteors falling, it's the Americans testing new weapons,'' Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, told journalists several hours after the Emergencies Ministry began issuing statements on the incident, which has injured hundreds and damaged scores of buildings.
      He also said US Secretary of State John Kerry had wanted to warn Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the ''provocation'' on Monday, but couldn't reach him '' a reference to US State Department comments earlier this week that Kerry had spent several days trying to speak to Lavrov by phone to discuss North Korea and Syria.
      Outer space has its own laws, Zhirinovsky went on.
    The Tunguska Impact--100 Years Later
      Link to Article
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 10:51
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      June 30, 2008: The year is 1908, and it's just after seven in the morning. A man is sitting on the front porch of a trading post at Vanavara in Siberia. Little does he know, in a few moments, he will be hurled from his chair and the heat will be so intense he will feel as though his shirt is on fire.
      That's how the Tunguska event felt 40 miles from ground zero.
      Today, June 30, 2008, is the 100th anniversary of that ferocious impact near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in remote Siberia--and after 100 years, scientists are still talking about it.
      "If you want to start a conversation with anyone in the asteroid business all you have to say is Tunguska," says Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It is the only entry of a large meteoroid we have in the modern era with first-hand accounts."
      Above: Trees felled by the Tunguska explosion. Credit: the Leonid Kulik Expedition. [more]
      While the impact occurred in '08, the first scientific expedition to the area would have to wait for 19 years. In 1921, Leonid Kulik, the chief curator for the meteorite collection of the St. Petersburg museum led an expedition to Tunguska. But the harsh conditions of the Siberian outback thwarted his team's attempt to reach the area of the blast. In 1927, a new expedition, again lead by Kulik, reached its goal.
      "At first, the locals were reluctant to tell Kulik about the event," said Yeomans. "They believed the blast was a visitation by the god Ogdy, who had cursed the area by smashing trees and killing animals."
      While testimonials may have at first been difficult to obtain, there was plenty of evidence lying around. Eight hundred square miles of remote forest had been ripped asunder. Eighty million trees were on their sides, lying in a radial pattern.
      "Those trees acted as markers, pointing directly away from the blast's epicenter," said Yeomans. "Later, when the team arrived at ground zero, they found the trees there standing upright '' but their limbs and bark had been stripped away. They looked like a forest of telephone poles."Such debranching requires fast moving shock waves that break off a tree's branches before the branches can transfer the impact momentum to the tree's stem. Thirty seven years after the Tunguska blast, branchless trees would be found at the site of another massive explosion '' Hiroshima, Japan.
      Kulik's expeditions (he traveled to Tunguska on three separate occasions) did finally get some of the locals to talk. One was the man based at the Vanara trading post who witnessed the heat blast as he was launched from his chair. His account:
      Suddenly in the north sky'... the sky was split in two, and high above the forest the whole northern part of the sky appeared covered with fire'... At that moment there was a bang in the sky and a mighty crash'... The crash was followed by a noise like stones falling from the sky, or of guns firing. The earth trembled.
      The massive explosion packed a wallop. The resulting seismic shockwave registered with sensitive barometers as far away as England. Dense clouds formed over the region at high altitudes which reflected sunlight from beyond the horizon. Night skies glowed, and reports came in that people who lived as far away as Asia could read newspapers outdoors as late as midnight. Locally, hundreds of reindeer, the livelihood of local herders, were killed, but there was no direct evidence that any person perished in the blast.
      Above: The location of the Tunguska impact.
      "A century later some still debate the cause and come up with different scenarios that could have caused the explosion," said Yeomans. "But the generally agreed upon theory is that on the morning of June 30, 1908, a large space rock, about 120 feet across, entered the atmosphere of Siberia and then detonated in the sky."
      It is estimated the asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere traveling at a speed of about 33,500 miles per hour. During its quick plunge, the 220-million-pound space rock heated the air surrounding it to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit. At 7:17 a.m. (local Siberia time), at a height of about 28,000 feet, the combination of pressure and heat caused the asteroid to fragment and annihilate itself, producing a fireball and releasing energy equivalent to about 185 Hiroshima bombs.
      "That is why there is no impact crater," said Yeomans. "The great majority of the asteroid is consumed in the explosion."
      Yeomans and his colleagues at JPL's Near-Earth Object Office are tasked with plotting the orbits of present-day comets and asteroids that cross Earth's path, and could be potentially hazardous to our planet. Yeomans estimates that, on average, a Tunguska-sized asteroid will enter Earth's atmosphere once every 300 years.
      "From a scientific point of view, I think about Tunguska all the time," he admits. Putting it all in perspective, however, "the thought of another Tunguska does not keep me up at night."
      Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
  Drone Nation
    Barack Obama Openly Hints At Desire To Kill Citizens With Drones Inside America'...
      Link to Article
      Source: The Ulsterman Report
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:12
      In a very oddly worded public response to a question posed to him during an online interview, Barack Obama dances around the topic of using military drones to kill Americans inside of the United States. Watch the following response and as you do, keeping in mind at no point does President Obama simply say NO we would never do that'...
      __________________________
      First he begins his answer by stating, ''There has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil.'' Barack Obama doesn't say there never will be '' or that he never intends to do so'...he instead chooses '' deliberatly, to say that such a thing has not happened'...YET.. The president then gets into the meat of his prepared statement to a question he knew he would be asked:
      ''The rules outside of the United States are going to be different than the rules inside the United States,'' Obama explained. ''In part because our capacity to capture a terrorist inside the United States are very different than in the foothills or mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan.''
      Again, note how Barack Obama refuses to simply say NO '' we would never do that inside of the United States. He throws out words words and more words, which is the now all too familiar Obama song and dance routine that they use to placate the media and effectively bury the question, while at the same time, still hinting at true intent, which in this case, is the frightening prospect of a sitting President of the United States having the authority to utilize drone strikes against American citizens on American soil by simpling labeling that citizen or group as terrorists.
      Lastly, I would have you pay very close attention to the final part of Barack Obama's response in the video. Whenever this president comes out and openly promises ''Hey, that's now how things work'', or his even more oft-used phrase ''Let me be clear'' - Obama is actually admitting to exactly how he wishes for it to be. Also, the fact Barack Obama is taking the time to do even a brief media sit down like this, prepared questions or not, indicates there are those in the administration finally getting nervous about the growing backlash against the Obama drone obsession. And that term obsession is finally being used by other media outlets '' a bit long time coming, but getting there nevertheless.
      Now to the video:
      __________________________________________
      White House Insider: Words From A Washed Up Tired Old Political Operative '' and then some'...
      The Man Who Calls Himself Obama: Collection One: Volumes 1-6
  Cultural Jihad
    Prime Minister Stephen Harper to name Canada's first religious freedom ambassador
      Link to Article
      Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:59
      Prime Minister Stephen Harper to name Canada's first religious freedom ambassador
      Facebook | Twitter | Email | Instapaper
      Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia NewsSaturday, Feb. 16, 2013
      Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil the government's long-awaited Office of Religious Freedom on Tuesday. Grant Black / Postmedia News Files
      Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil the government's long-awaited Office of Religious Freedom and name Canada's first religious freedom ambassador at a Toronto-area Ahmadiyya Muslim community centre on Tuesday.
      The announcement at Tahir Hall in the Toronto suburb of Vaughan will fulfil a two-year-old promise that has seen its fair share of controversy since it was first proposed during the 2011 federal election.
      The government has pointed to a growing body of literature linking religious freedom with democratic rights and societal well-being to justify making the safeguarding of religious minorities abroad a key tenet of Canadian foreign policy.
      But critics have worried about the government picking and choosing which religions the $20-million office defends, and using the institution as a tool for domestic political gain.
      The government has not officially confirmed the prime minister's presence at Tahir Hall, which was opened by the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim community last July and can hold 800 people.
      Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's spokesman Rick Roth would only say the office ''is a priority for our government, and is a part of our principled foreign policy.''
      However, numerous organizations have confirmed receiving invitations to the prime minister's event, which was first reported by Ottawa-based foreign policy newspaper Embassy.
      Those interviewed expressed cautious excitement about the religious freedom office's official launch.
      They say the need to protect religious minorities and freedom is as critical now as when the government promised the initiative two years ago.
      But the fact the office has taken so long to come together, and that the details remain largely unknown, provides reason enough to temper expectations.
      ''We will have to see what happens with the office and what the mandate is,'' said Gerald Filson of the Baha'i Community of Canada. ''We haven't seen the mandate and we don't know who the ambassador is.''
      The ambassador's identity could be a key indicator of how the Harper government sees the office functioning, which may explain reports it had a hard time finding someone to take the position.
      ''It's probably a difficult appointment, a delicate appointment,'' Filson said. ''Anything to do with religion is delicate. It's a very tough appointment.''
      Similarly, it remains unclear exactly what the office will do, or how it will fit into Canada's dealings with the rest of the world.
      ''The potential (for the office) is great,'' said Kathryn White, executive director of the United Nations Association of Canada. ''But there remain lots of potential pitfalls in terms of how the office actually conducts its mandate.''
      The Conservative government has said it is planning to spend $5 million a year on the initiative over the next four years.
      Documents obtained through access to information show $500,000 will go to the office; where the rest will go is unclear.
      The government does plan to include Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canadian foreign aid agency, CIDA, in the initiative.
      This implies visas or refugee settlement as well as money to individuals and community organizations representing religious groups enduring discrimination.
      There is precedent for such an office; in 1998, the U.S. administration of President Bill Clinton signed off on a similar initiative, which had been unanimously approved by Congress after nearly two years of fractious debate.
      But while boasting successes, the U.S. effort has been accused of bias against Muslims, championing Christianity, and using taxpayer dollars to pursue pet projects.
      Similar concerns have been raised over the past two years as the Harper government has moved to create a Canadian office.
      Some Muslim groups have complained they were excluded from consultations, while a recent study found a surge in the amount of Canadian foreign aid money channeled through religious groups, many of them Christian.
      The government has also defended its decision to channel foreign aid money through an evangelical group, Crossroads Christian Communications, that posted anti-gay messages to its website.
      NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar noted the government discussed the office with international religious leaders, such as leaders of the Coptic Orthodox church, that boast a large number of members in key ridings across Canada.
      However, the government refused to meet with international human rights groups.
      Dewar said this raises concerns the office will simply be an extension of the Harper government's ongoing effort to court certain ethnic groups.
      ''There is nothing wrong with the issue of promotion of religious freedom,'' Dewar said. ''But this seems to be more about domestic politics than about international affairs.''
      Posted in:News Tags:Canadian Politics, Canada, Religious Freedom And Discrimination, Stephen Harper
  Obama Nation
    President Harrison J. Bounel : Personal Liberty Digest'
      Link to Article
      Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:53
      PHOTOS.COM
      Who is Harrison J. Bounel? According to the 2009 tax return submitted by President Barack Obama, he's the President of the United States. All nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices are scheduled to discuss this anomaly today.
      The case in question is Edward Noonan, et al v. Deborah Bowen, California Secretary of State, and the Justices are finally looking at it thanks to the dogged determination of Orly Taitz. The case calls into question many of the documents Obama (Bounel, Soetoro, Soebarkah, etc.) has used and/or released as authentic since he came on the national scene. The case contends that the documents '-- birth certificate, Social Security number, Selective Service registration, etc. '-- are fakes or forgeries. If that's the case, Obama should not have been on the California ballot in 2008 and, therefore, should not have received the State's electoral votes.
      Four of the nine Justices must vote to move the case forward. We'll see.
      Meantime, on Feb. 4, Kathleen O'Leary, presiding judge of the 4th District Court of Appeal, reinstated the appeal of Taitz v. Obama et al filed by Taitz when she ran for Senate. That case involves evidence of 1.5 million invalid voter registrations in the State of California. The appeal also involves Obama's lack of legitimacy to hold the office of President based on his forged IDs, stolen Connecticut Social Security number, the fact the last name he's using is not legally his and his fraudulent claim to be the U.S. citizen.
      Evidence in the case includes:
      A certified copy of the passport records of Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, showing her son's legal last name to be Soebarkah, not Obama.Obama's school records from Indonesia, showing his citizenship to be Indonesian.Sworn affidavits of top law enforcement experts and investigators, showing Obama's birth certificate and Selective Service certificate are forgeries and that the Social Security number used by Obama on his 2009 tax returns as posted on WhiteHouse.gov was fraudulent. (The SSN failed when checked through both E-Verify and the Social Security Number Verification Service.)On another legal front, Obama defaulted in the case of Grinols et al v. Obama et al on Jan. 30 when he failed to file a response within 21 days of being served notice of the suit. This case also involves Obama's phony SSN.
      The suit states:
      [I]nvestigator Albert Hendershot found in the database of http://www.acxiom.com/identity-solutions/acxiom-identity-batch-solutions/ the name of the individual whose Social Security Obama is using. Acxciom-batch-solutions showed (Exhibit 1) that Harry J Bounel with the same Social Security number xxx-xx-4425 at 5046 S Greenwood Ave in Chicago, home address of Barack Obama, Database shows Bounel with the same address and Social Security number as Barack Obama himself. According to the databases last changes to the information on Harrison (Harry) J Bounel were made in and around November 2009 by Michelle Obama, who is listed as Bounel's relative. Database changes can involve entering the information or deletion of information. It appears that changes made by relative Michelle Obama included deletion of information, which was done at a time when Taitz brought to Federal court in the Central District of California before Judge David O. Carter a case of election challenge by her client, former U.S. ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes and 40 state Representatives and high ranked members of the U.S. military.
      Recently obtained results of the 1940 census, Exhibit 2, provided the last missing link, link (sic) between Harry J. Bounel and the date of birth of 1890. Exhibit 2 shows the printout of the U.S. census, showing Harry J Bounel, immigrant from Russia, residing at 915 Daly Ave, Bronx, NY, age 50 during the 1940 census, meaning he was born in 1890, as shown in the affidavit of Investigators Daniels and Sankey.
      There is a pattern of Obstruction of Justice and tampering with the official records and falsification/forgery of the official records related to Obama. This happens in particular when [George W.] Bush employees leave their positions and are replaced by Obama appointees.
      Taitz has asked for expedited default judgment and post judgment discovery in this case out of fear that any records on hand at the Social Security office will be destroyed when George W. Bush-appointed Commissioner Michael Astrue leaves office in February. Records that might have proven Obama's Selective Service registration was a forgery were destroyed in 2009 after Bush-appointed Selective Service Director William Chatfield resigned, Taitz alleges.
      Bob LivingstonBob Livingston is an ultra-conservative American who has been writing a newsletter since 1969. Bob has devoted much of his life to research and the quest for truth on a variety of subjects. Bob specializes in health issues such as nutritional supplements and alternatives to drugs, as well as issues of privacy (both personal and financial), asset protection and the preservation of freedom.
  EUROLand
    Wiretapping scandal hits Spain
      Link to Article
      Source: Set You Free News
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:49
      PressTV
      The Spanish government has been hit by a fresh illegal wiretapping scandal, with reports suggesting different politicians and distinguished figures were eavesdropped on.
      According to Spainish El Mundo daily, a detective bureau allegedly spied on 500 political figures in northeastern Catalonia. The secret agents allegedly conducted eavesdropping operations and framed politicians.
      The report also said that the Spanish ruling Popular Party (PP) had issued the order for the wiretaps. A former police officer, who had worked with the detective bureau, handed evidence regarding the eavesdropping operations to the country's security officials.
      Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz pledged to investigate the claims, saying police would ''get to the bottom'' of the issue. The case became known when the leader of People's Party in Catalonia, Alicia Sanchez-Camacho, told police that her telephone conversation had been recorded in a Barcelona restaurant in 2010.
      The recent scandal has gravely undermined the reputation of Spanish politicians prior to the country's election. The scandal followed earlier reports that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and other leaders of the Popular Party had received secret payments for years.
      Center-left newspaper El Pais reported on January 31 that the premier received 25,200 euros a year between 1997 and 2008. It also said that the fund was collected mostly from construction firms, adding that such payments would be legal if they were fully declared to the taxman.
      The allegations sparked anger among people who have been asked to accept harsh austerity measures as the government tried to prevent an international bailout.
      (C) Copyright 2013 Press TV '' Published at Set You Free News with license
  Armageddon
    Wal-Mart Execs Panic Over Falling Stock
      Link to Article
      Source: Crooks and Liars
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:11
      ''Where are all the customers? And where is all their money?'' That was the plaintive tone struck by a Wal-Mart executive concerned about the giant retailer's early February results, which he called ''a total disaster'' in a memo leaked by Bloomberg News. Investor panic caused the stock of America's largest retailer to drop 3.8 percent at its low-point Friday, and led other retailers' stocks to fall in sympathy. The obvious answer: the people at the lower rungs of the income ladder who constitute Wal-Mart's customer base have been hit disproportionately by the increase in the payroll tax that took effect on January 1.
      Bloomberg News:
      Wal-Mart's Geiger in his e-mail urged employees to improve business by ''fixing something that could really make a difference to our performance.'' He quoted Tim Yatsko, the company's executive vice president of global sourcing, saying: ''We need to 'stop the stupid.'''
      Wal-Mart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said during a Feb. 1 officers meeting, the minutes of which were attached to Geiger's e-mail, that the troubled economy leaves little room for internal errors.
      ''In an environment like this, we can't afford to hurt ourselves,'' Simon said, according to the minutes. ''Self- inflicted wounds are our biggest risk and our toughest enemy.''
      Could these greedy sobs be any more pathetic? Maybe if they paid all their employees a living wage, they could afford to do a little shopping.
  Ministry of Truth
    Study: ABC News Tops In Consumer Loyalty - TVNewser
      ABC News is the recipient of some good branding news.
      In a survey revealed late last week, ABC News programs "Good Morning America" and "ABC World News" topped the broadcast and cable competition in consumer loyalty and engagement. "Good Morning America" led the field in the "morning news" category, with "World News" on top in the "evening news" category. The NFL also received top marks.
      MediaPost's Wayne Friedman has more on the survey, which queried 39,000 people between the ages of 18 and 65.
    MediaPost Publications ABC, NFL Get Top Marks For Consumer Loyalty, Engagement 02/15/2013
      Where do consumers place their loyalty when it comes to entertainment brands? ABC, the NFL, and video game "Call of Duty" draw the biggest votes.
      For its annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, marketing consultancy Brand Keys says ABC's "Good Morning America" at 94%, ABC's "World News Tonight" at 98%, the NFL at 86% and video game "Call of Duty" at 93% get top honors in their respective categories: morning news, evening news, sports leagues and gaming, respectively.
      Some 24 brands were tracked in the research company's TV news, spectator sports, and entertainment categories. These "emotional engagement values" relate a brand with consumers' personal connection.
      In the morning-news category, other contenders after ABC included, in order: NBC's "Today," "CBS This Morning," Fox News' "Fox & Friends" and CNN's "Starting Point."
      For the evening news category after ABC came NBC, Fox News, CBS and a fifth-place tie between CNN and MSNBC.
      For sports leagues, after the NFL, comes Major League Baseball, NBA and the NHL. The gaming category contenders after "Call of Duty" included "Halo," "Madden Football" and "NBA 2K 12" (in a tie for third place), "Battlefield," "FIFA" and "World of Warcraft" (tied for sixth), "Starcraft 2" and "Crysis."
      Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, stated: "Consumers in those categories have, as they've done for nearly 20 years via our emotional and predictive metrics, indicated that their expectations regarding 'brand' have again increased."
      Brand Keys surveyed 39,000 consumers, 18 to 65 years of age.
    John Bolton's Fake Applause
      Link to Article
      Source: Craig Murray
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:27
      The Oxford Union has dubbed fake applause onto the videos of John Bolton's address to the Union. It has not done this for any other speaker.
      If you listen to these videos of Bolton itching for war with Iran, you can hear precisely the same burst of ultra enthusiastic applause at the start, fading ''naturally'' as he begins to speak.
      This dubbing in of applause is not used for any other speaker on the Oxford Union website, either before or after Bolton.
      Everyone else just gets the actual applause that really existed.
      Contrast the presentation of these question answers from Bolton with this from Julian Assange:
      One futher interesting feature of the Bolton video is that the students asking questions '' who were mostly hostile '' are all edited out in favour of fake applause.
      I was involved in heated negotiations with the Oxford Union on the transmission of Assange's address, against attempts not by the students but by the Board of Trustees to block it ''on legal grounds''. These conversations were not pleasant. When Assange's address was finally put out, the sound was completely messed up and remained so for a fortnight, with this comment from the Oxford Union posted underneath:
      ''
      Thanks>> for your feedback. We are aware there are issues with the audio when playing on mobile devices and we are working on getting this fixed as quickly as possible. The audio can be heard on desktops or with headphones on laptops.
      ''
      I am therefore fascinated by the skill with which the Oxford Union have merged the dying of the fake applause over the start of Bolton's speaking, when they were technically incapable of a simple straight sound feed of the Assange address.
      Bolton is not only banging the drum for neo-con war, he is a war criminal with a direct role in launching the illegal role of aggression in Iraq. His address to the Union was the day before Assange's speech to the Sam Adams Award at the same venue. Yet not a single one of the students who demonstrated against Assange demonstrated against Bolton.
      To take the issue of rape, which was ostensibly the subject of the protest, Bolton's Iraq qar directly caused innumerable rapes. Nobody can know the exact figure, but certainly tens of thousands of rapes, and very many of them were fatal or had the most devastating consequences for the women who suffered. Read this excellent article
      Rape is a common weapon of any war; no one knows how many Iraqi women have been raped since the war began in 2003. Most crimes against women ''are not reported because of stigma, fear of retaliation, or lack of confidence in the police,'' MADRE, an international women's rights group, wrote in its 2007 report about violence against women in Iraq. Some women, like Khalida, are raped by Iraqi security forces. A 2005 report published by the Iraqi National Association for Human Rights found that women held in Interior Ministry detention centers endure ''systematic rape by the investigators.''
      They did not demonstrate against Bolton because the mainstream media and establishment have whipped up no hysteria about him. But they were directed to outrage against Assange, a man who has done a great deal to expose war crimes and try to prevent war, because the mainstream media and establishment pushed the useful idiots in that direction with some extraordinarily unconvincing accusations.
      I said most of this at my owb speech to the Sam Adams awards. Strangely the Oxford Union have not posted that speech at all'.....
    How tall is Adam Curry
      How tall is Adam Curry?
      Here you find the height of Adam Curry.
      The height of Adam Curry is 6ft 4in(193cm)
      Do you think Adam Currys height is incorrect? Please tell us by leaving a comment!
  Cyber War$
    Facebook: Hacked by "Sophisticated" Attack, No User Data Compromised - Set You Free News
      Facebook said: "As soon as we discovered the presence of the malware, we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day."
      The security team for Facebook first identified the problem as a suspicious domain in the company's corporate DNS logs. This led to the tracing to an employee's laptop where the malware was discovered. To the security team, this event appeared as a "sinkhole" usurping control over network traffic, according to Joe Sullivan, chief security officer for Facebook.
      Sullivan explained: "This looked like a new campaign that wasn't linked to previous Advanced Persistent Threat activities."
      Facebook stated: "After analyzing the compromised website where the attack originated, we found it was using a 'zero-day' (previously unseen) exploit to bypass the Java sandbox (built-in protections) to install the malware."
    Mary Ellen Callahan - DHC Cyber Security Officer
      I think I sent you an email a few months ago about her. I was at a conference in
      Chicago and she was a speaker.
      She is a nice person, but a complete IDIOT
      She is also apparently working BOTH for DHS and most recently a partner at the mega
      lawfirm, Jenner and Block
      She gave as an example of her expertise in cyber security, at the conference, the
      big DHS project she worked on where some Federal dufus lost his USB drive with
      hundreds of millions of slaves' personal information on it. It was unencrypted,
      never found.
      She said that she trained people not to lose usb drives.
    Canadian Internet surveillance bill scrapped, new law to be unveiled
      Link to Article
      Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:58
      The Canadian PressPublished Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 4:48PM ESTLast Updated Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 10:50PM EST
      OTTAWA -- The Conservative government is scrapping its controversial and much-maligned Internet surveillance bill in favour of modest changes to Canada's warrantless wiretap law.
      Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says Bill C-30, the so-called Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, will not go ahead.
      The law, which sparked a public outcry when it was first introduced, had been sought by police who said they needed it to go after child pornography, but it quickly met stiff resistance from privacy and civil liberties advocates.
      The legislation would have forced Internet service providers to maintain systems that allowed police to intercept and track online communications.
      "We will not be proceeding with Bill C-30, and any attempts we will have to modernize the Criminal Code will not contain the measures in C-30 -- including the warrantless mandatory disclosure of basic subscriber information, or the requirement for telecommunications service providers to build intercept capabilities within their systems," Nicholson said.
      "Any modernization of the Criminal Code ... will not contain those."
      Nicholson said the government was responding to Canadians "who have been very clear on this."
      Public Safety Minister Vic Toews set off a public firestorm last year when he told parliamentarians they could either stand with the government on Bill C-30 or stand with child pornographers.
      The comment infuriated a wide cross-section of opponents, including many small-c conservative libertarians who opposed what they called Big Brother oversight in the legislation.
      The government will instead take one small element of the legislation and create a new law that will address Supreme Court concerns over the use of police wiretaps without a warrant, Nicholson said.
      Another piece of legislation, Bill C-12, remains before Parliament. It would make it easier for Internet service providers, email hosts and social media sites to voluntarily share personal information about customers with authorities, possibly including private security firms.
      The changes announced Monday, however, will nonetheless ensure police will once again be able to tap people's phones without a warrant in cases of emergency or imminent harm.
      Nicholson said under the new rules, anyone whose communications have been intercepted in situations of imminent harm must be notified by police within 90 days.
      There will also be an annual report compiled on the use of imminent harm wiretaps, and only police -- and not other peace officers -- will be able to use them.
      The government's proposals fall in line with recommendations from the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that warrantless wiretaps would constitute a breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
      The high court gave the government a year to come up with changes to address its concerns.
    Michael Geist - Sony Rootkit Redux: Canadian Business Groups Lobby For Right To Install Spyware on Your Computer
      Link to Article
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 10:39
      The deadline for comments on Industry Canada's draft anti-spam regulations passed earlier this week with a group of 13 industry associations - including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Marketing Association, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada - submitting a lengthy document that, if adopted, would gut much of the law. The groups adopt radical interpretations of the law to argue for massive new loopholes or for the indefinite delay of several provisions. I will focus on some of the submissions shortly, but this post focuses on the return of an issue that was seemingly killed years ago: demands to permit surreptitious surveillance by the copyright owners and other groups for private enforcement purposes.During the anti-spam law debates in 2009, copyright lobby groups promoted amendments that would have allowed for expansive surveillance of user computers. Coming on the heels of the Sony rootkit scandal, the government ultimately rejected those proposals (the Liberals had plans to propose such amendments but backed down), leaving in place an important provision that requires express consent prior to the installation of computer software. The provision states:
      8. (1) A person must not, in the course of a commercial activity, install or cause to be installed a computer program on any other person's computer system or, having so installed or caused to be installed a computer program, cause an electronic message to be sent from that computer system, unless(a) the person has obtained the express consent of the owner or an authorized user of the computer system and complies with subsection 11(5); or(b) the person is acting in accordance with a court order.
      The law adds several wrinkles to this general requirement, including the need for clear and prominent descriptions of the functionality of the software in certain circumstances (including the collection of personal information, changing user settings, or interfering with user control over their computer) and exemptions for programs such as cookies, HTML code, and javascripts.
      The industry groups are now demanding that the government overhaul these requirements. Its preferred approach is to simply kill the provision altogether by referring it to a "Review Body", which it says could be a task force or another public consultation, before taking effect. In other words, despite considerable debate and approval on this specific provision by Members of Parliament from all parties, these industry groups still want it placed in legislative limbo.
      Alternatively, the groups want at least ten kinds of computer programs excluded from the express consent requirement. The very first should set off alarm bells for all Canadians:
      a program that is installed by or on behalf of a person to prevent, detect, investigate, or terminate activities that the person reasonably believes (i) present a risk or threatens the security, privacy, or unauthorized or fraudulent use, of a computer system, telecommunications facility, or network, or (ii) involves the contravention of any law of Canada, of a province or municipality of Canada or of a foreign state;
      This provision would effectively legalize spyware in Canada on behalf of these industry groups. The potential scope of coverage is breathtaking: a software program secretly installed by an entertainment software company designed to detect or investigate alleged copyright infringement would be covered by this exception. This exception could potentially cover programs designed to block access to certain websites (preventing the contravention of a law as would have been the case with SOPA), attempts to access wireless networks without authorization, or even keylogger programs tracking unsuspecting users (detection and investigation). Ensuring compliance with the law is important, but envisioning private enforcement through spyware without the involvement of courts, lawful authorities, and due process should be a non-starter.
      The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and other business groups want to ensure that the anti-spam law does not block their ability to secretly install spyware on personal computers for a wide range of purposes. In doing so, these groups are proposing to turn the law upside down by shifting from protecting consumers to protecting businesses. The comment period on the draft regulations may have closed, but it is not too late to tell Industry Minister Christian Paradis or your local Member of Parliament to reject demands that would gut the anti-spam bill and legalize spyware for private enforcement purposes.
      casl, copyright, spam, spywareSlashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterEmailPrintPDFWednesday February 06, 2013Related Items:
  Brand New Bills
    To enhance homeland security, including domestic preparedness and collective response to terrorism, by improving the Federal Protective Service, and for other purposes. (H.R. 735)
      Link to Article
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:36
      GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
      Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
      No summary available.
      House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
      No summary available.
      House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
      So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
      We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
    To amend title 10, United States Code, to extend whistleblower protections to a member of the Armed Forces who alerts Department of Defense investigation or law enforcement organizations, a person or organization in the member's chain of command, and ce
      Link to Article
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:34
      GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
      Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
      No summary available.
      House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
      No summary available.
      House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
      So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
      We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
    A bill to reform the Federal sugar program, and for other purposes. (S. 345)
      Link to Article
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:28
      GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
      Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
      No summary available.
      House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
      No summary available.
      House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
      So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
      We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
    A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes. (S. 359)
      Link to Article
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:26
      GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
      Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
      No summary available.
      House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
      No summary available.
      House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
      So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
      We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
  ManHunt
    Autopsy Suggests Dorner Killed Himself
      Link to Article
      Source: News 1 Stop
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:50
      John JohnsonNewserFebruary 16, 2013
      It looks like Christopher Dorner killed himself in his showdown with police at a mountain cabin in California. Autopsy results show that Dorner died of a single gunshot wound to the head, reports AP.
      While he had been in a fierce gunfight with officers prior to that, a spokesman for the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office says the wound appears to be self-inflicted.
      That gibes with reports from the scene at the time: Police say they heard a single shot as they began pumping in tear gas in the final assault.
      The spokesman also confirmed that Dorner was hiding for days in a condo near the command center police set up for the manhunt.
      Full article here
      This article was posted: Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 1:15 pm
      Tags: domestic news
      Share this article:
  Bank$ters
    New head of Vatican bank appointed
      Link to Article
      Source: BBC News - Home
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:07
      15 February 2013Last updated at08:37 ETPope Benedict XVI has appointed German lawyer Ernst von Freyberg to head the Vatican's embattled bank, officials have announced.
      Mr Freyburg's selection is one of the last major appointments of the Pope's tenure in office.
      The bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been dogged by scandal in recent years.
      The pontiff, 85, shocked the world's biggest Christian Church on Monday when he announced his resignation.
      Payments suspendedA Vatican statement said Mr Freyberg brought "a vast experience of financial matters and the financial regulatory process".
      Correspondents say that he has solid financial and Catholic credentials as a member of the Knights of Malta military order, an ancient chivalrous organisation drawn from European nobility which last week celebrated its 900th birthday in Rome.
      The Vatican said that Mr Freyberg had been appointed by the bank's commission of cardinals and that the Pope had "expressed his full consent".
      The appointment ends a nine-month search after the previous president of the Institute of Works of Religion, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was removed from his post for dereliction of duty,
      In 2010 Italian police launched an investigation against Mr Tedeschi as part of a money-laundering inquiry.
      It said in May last year that a new director was required to restore relations with the international financial community, "based on mutual respect for accepted international banking standards".
      Mr Tedeschi said that he was being victimised because he wanted more transparency.
      In January the Italian central bank suspended all bank card payments in the Vatican, citing its failure fully to implement anti-money laundering legislation.
      The Holy See was required to meet European Union safeguards on finances by the start of 2013.
      Pope Benedict has promised greater transparency in Vatican finances and the operations of its bank.
      A group of experts from the Council of Europe said last year that the Vatican had made progress in reforming to meet EU standards but that a lot of work remained to be done.
  Agenda 21
    'Biggest Climate Rally In History' In D.C. Today
      Link to Article
      Source: Crooks and Liars
      Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:50
      Livestreaming here.
      Frances Beinecke:
      The National Resources Defense Council, 350.org and Sierra Club are hosting the biggest climate rally in history this Sunday in Washington, D.C.. We expect tens of thousands of people to join us in calling for immediate climate action. I urge you to add your voice to the growing chorus.
      The time is right for this rally.
      President Obama underscored his commitment to fighting climate change in both his Inaugural Address and his State of the Union Address. Now he has two critical opportunities to turn those words into deeds. We want him to know that when he takes these bold actions to stabilize the climate, the American people will support him every step of the way.
    Cars may explode in crashes if EU forces firms to fit 'highly flammable' green coolant, warns Mercedes
      Link to Article
      Source: WT news feed
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:29
      Mercedes say the 'climate-friendly' chemical is highly flammableBrussels and the coolant's producers deny the suggestionBy Ray Massey
      PUBLISHED: 13:15 EST, 15 February 2013 | UPDATED: 08:11 EST, 16 February 2013
      New cars sold in Britain and Europe risk catching fire and exploding in a crash because of EU rules to impose a controversial 'green' air-conditioning coolant from the start of this year, German car giant Mercedes-Benz has warned.
      The luxury car-maker says the new 'climate-friendly' air-con chemical is 'highly flammable', poisonous and poses a danger both to occupants and rescue services '' and German government officials now agree.
      Mercedes-Benz is refusing to put the controversial new gas refrigerant into its latest vehicles, sparking a major confrontation with Brussels and the firms who make it - both of whom deny any safety risks.
      Wheels on fire: Mercedes carried out their own tests on the coolants
      Today, Mercedes-Benz and its parent company Daimler received backing from Germany's Federal Environment Agency UBA.
      It asked the EU to 'compromise' by granting them and other car-makers '' including Volkswagen and Audi - an extension from the mandatory rules until 2015 if they agree to introduce an alternative green refrigerant based on carbon dioxide, which experts say is safer because it doesn't burn.
      If Daimler is correct, around 2 million new cars sold in the UK each year are potentially at risk. Photographs from the firm's own simulated crash tests on cars showed that a mix of the refrigerant and air-conditioning compressor oil released under a car's hood could ignite a heated engine.
      This would mainly be a risk if the car crashes, but it is also possible if the coolant leaks for any other reason.
      The row centres on the new coolant with the codename 'R1234yf' which Daimler argues can start a fire in the car and release toxic hydrogen fluoride gas. It is the replacement for the long-time industry standard, which EU legislators in Brussels have ordered to be phased out from January because of concerns about greenhouse gases.
      The new 'green' refrigerant is produced by US giant Honeywell and is currently the only one if its kind that meets new EU climate guidelines. The firm denies categorically that there is any safety risk.
      Hot rod: Mercedes say the EU regulations will lead to accidents
      Car makers are supposed to phase in the change from the start of this year, but by 2017 every single one of the estimated 14 million a year air-conditioned vehicles that rolls off assembly lines for sale in Europe will be filled with about £43 worth of the new coolant. This will not include the million Mercedes-Benz's built each year, of which 90,000 are sold in the UK.
      Urging the EU to compromise, Jochen Flasbarth, president of Germany's Federal Environment Agency UBA said: 'We have been warning about the dangers (of HF0-1234yf) for years. Daimler's internal tests proved not only that our own fears were justified but also that we may even have underestimated the risks.'
      But he added: 'It's just not possible to switch to a CO2-based system within six months or even a year, though, so I would propose giving carmakers until the end of 2015 to make the switch.'
      Mr Flasbarth noted:'If you switch to CO2 then you reduce your global warming potential by 75 per cent over HFO-1234yf, so I think that justifies permitting a longer transition time for those carmakers that commit to the switch,'
      Earlier this month, BMW joined Daimler and Volkswagen's Audi in resigning from an industry research group looking into the safety of HFO-1234yf, due to concerns over the scientific thoroughness of the investigation.
      Mercedes officials said they were horrified by the results of the coolant leak tests
      Mercedes-Benz executives said they watched in horror when engineers at a test-track in Sindelfingen in Germany simulated a leak in the air-conditioning line of a Mercedes B-Class tourer using the new coolant.
      After releasing a fine mixture of the refrigerant and air-conditioning compressor oil which sprayed across the car's turbo-charged 1.6 litre engine, they watched it ignite in 'a ball of fire' before their eyes.
      The substance caught fire as soon as it hit the hot surface, releasing a toxic, corrosive gas as it burned. The car's windshield turned milky white as lethal hydrogen fluoride began eating its way into the glass, said the firm.
      Stefan Geyer, a senior Daimler engineer who ran the tests said: 'We were frozen in shock, I am not going to deny it.'
      A Mercedes-Benz source said: 'In over half the tests, a significant fire occurred, which could endanger the lives of passengers and rescue teams.
      'It doesn't explode like in the movies. But there is a boom and a ball of fire.'
      Mercedes source
      Walter P¹tz, director of vehicle certification and regulatory affairs at Mercedes-Benz Cars said: 'The whole vehicle can catch fire and the burning refrigerant generates acutely poisonous hydrogen fluoride which poses a severe danger to both passengers and rescue workers.'
      In sharp contrast, the existing refrigerant 'was proved to be safe under identical testing conditions, he said.
      Daimler said in a statement: 'Due to the new findings of this study and the high safety demands at Mercedes-Benz, this chemical will not be used in its products.'
      German carmaker Volkswagen has also announced it is looking at an alternative carbon-dioxide (CO2) based coolant to the new 'green' version.
      But MEPs said parent company Daimler were putting cost-cutting ahead of climate change remedies '' charges the firm denies.
      Liberal MEP Chris Davies told European magazine EurActive that the firm was trying to 'frustrate' the directive's ambitions: 'Daimler are evil and I think their CEO should be summoned to the European parliament and humiliated.'
      He said: 'Daimler has apparently discovered that HFO-1234yf is flammable. Well so are petrol, oil and diesel. Of course it's flammable if you shove a flame thrower under it, which is more or less the test that Daimler is said to have carried out.'
      Honeywell today countered the safety fears by publishing a report from safety experts SAE International saying that their new air-con fluid 'posed no greater threat than any other engine compartment fluids.'
      It accused Mercedes-Benmz of using 'unrealistic' and 'extrremely idealised' testing conditions.
      Honeywell vice president Terence Hahn said the report left no doubt that their refrigerant 'is safe for automotive applications.'
      A spokesman for Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was taking seriously Mercedes-Benz's concerns, adding: 'At the forefront of all members thoughts is the safety of drivers and passengers in the vehicles they are putting on the market.
      'The additional research is welcome and members will be looking at the outcomes of that research closely.'
      Paul Sanders, managing director Fluorines EMEAI, Honeywell said their new air conditioning refrigerant 'has been proven to be a safe and effective replacement.'
      'It is already in use by the auto industry. It reduces the global warming impact of automotive refrigerants by 99.7 per cent.
      'Its adoption in cars today would have the greenhouse gas equivalent impact of removing more than 4 million cars from European roads.'
      He added car-makers had six years to prepare to meet the requirements of the new directive and that 'the vast majority of automakers have taken the necessary steps to comply'
      He said Germany's Federal Environment Agency (UBA) 'only spreads misinformation' and said using carbon-dioxide was 'inefficient' and had 'short-comings' adding:'It has higher emissions when both the air-conditioning system and efficiency of the engine are accounted for.'
    The Tesla/N.Y. Times Fight is a Sideshow
      Link to Article
      Source: NYTimes eXaminer
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 10:31
      February 16, 2013 á 0 Comments
      Source: Grist
      By David Roberts:
      Last week, reporter John Broder of The New York Times wrote an account of his road trip from Washington, D.C., to Milford, Conn., in Tesla's new all-electric Model S sedan, using the two Superchargers that the company has set up along the route. Broder says he got less range than advertised, lost a bunch of range overnight inexplicably, and ran out of power on his last leg. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, published a response to the story, effectively accusing Broder of journalistic malpractice.
      Broder responded to Musk, and then responded again. Rebecca Greenfield at the Atlantic Wire also responded, charging that Musk hadn't established his case against Broder. TechCrunch weighed in.Twice. Also GigaOm. Also Boing Boing. Even Gawker piped up. And of course our own Philip Bump.
      This seems like an awful lot of attention devoted to the precise performance characteristics of this particular vehicle on this particular trip. The Tesla S has been extensively and mostly positively reviewed in lots of other outlets (including the NYT itself). It's pretty well-established what it can and can't do. What really seems to be behind this, yet again, is a proxy argument over electric cars in general.
      Kevin Bullis has the wisest comment on this dust-up, which is that it's dumb for an electric car to compete in the ''drive a really long way without stopping much'' category, precisely the place where gas cars currently retain an advantage. Broder made a bunch of mistakes, in retrospect. He could have done the drive without trouble if he'd planned better, been more careful, and gotten better advice from Tesla personnel. But American drivers are not accustomed to low speeds or careful planning in their long-distance driving and it will take time for those habits to change. It would make more sense to highlight the car's performance in applications where it shines, like commuting, which constitutes the vast bulk of Americans' actual travel.
      Lurking in the background is the notion that the ''promise of electric cars'' is false until an electric car can plop down in America's current transportation system and do everything an internal-combustion-engine car can do. Broder encourages this way of thinking, but then, so does Musk, and so even does Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
      It's a dumb notion, though, a classic example of our obsession withwidgets over systems. It is probably true that electric cars will never be able to replace gas cars, if the cars themselves '-- the widgets '-- are the only thing we replace. The entire system was designed and built around ICE cars. Turns out it's difficult to build a luxurious, two-ton armored tank that can travel 300 miles on a quick-charging battery pack.
      The problem, however, is not merely that our cars consume too much oil. It's that our transportation system consumes too much oil. A better system won't merely involve better cars, it will involve driving less, telecommuting more, using more public transportation, sharing cars, making cars smarter, and building more and better electrical infrastructure.
      There are a lot of chicken-and-egg problems in there. It's hard to change behavior without the tech in place, it's hard to develop the tech without supportive public policy, and it's hard to get supportive public policy when the tech and behaviors aren't there yet. Changing one part of the system without changing a bunch of other parts simultaneously is challenging and can often, at least temporarily, look like a step backward. (Don't reduce my range, bro!) System change is difficult, halting, and messy.
      The reason the conservative movement relentlessly attacks electric cars is not that they dispute particular performance characteristics in particular circumstances. It's that they don't want to change the system. They like the oil/SUV/sprawl set-up and are quite overt about it.
      The status quo bias displayed by journalists like Broder, by contrast, more often manifests as narrow, widget-focused thinking, on which basis he's been an an electric car naysayer for some time now. (See also The New York Times' Matt Wald on clean energy.)
      Of course Broder and Musk should both tell the truth. Battle it out on tech blogs all day! But the resolution of this dispute says roughly nothing about the need for, or the promise of, systemic changes in U.S. transportation. Electric vehicles are one piece of a complex puzzle. They may not ''fulfill their promise'' until other parts are in place. All those pieces will coevolve in unpredictable ways.
      The baseline question, though, is whether the current system is sustainable, and if it isn't, how it can be made so. Widget-based proxy arguments don't do much to illuminate that question.
      By admin
  Vaccine$
    New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmission
      Link to Article
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:54
      New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmissionTop News
      New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmission
      Wed, Feb 13 14:39 PM EST
      By Kate Kelland
      LONDON (Reuters) - A third patient in Britain has contracted a new SARS-like virus, becoming the second confirmed British case in a week and showing the deadly infection is being spread from person to person, health officials said on Wednesday.
      The latest case, in a man from the same family as another patient, brings the worldwide number of confirmed infections with the new virus - known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV - to 11.
      Of those, five have died. Most of the infected lived or had recently been in the Middle East. Three have been diagnosed in Britain.
      NCoV was identified when the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an international alert in September 2012 saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi Arabia.
      The virus belongs to the same family as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. Symptoms common to both viruses include severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.
      Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the latest patient, who is a UK resident and does not have any recent travel history, is in intensive care at a hospital in central England.
      "Confirmed novel coronavirus infection in a person without travel history to the Middle East suggests that person-to-person transmission has occurred, and that it occurred in the UK," said John Watson, the HPA's head of respiratory diseases.
      He said the new case was a family member in close contact with another British case confirmed on Monday and who may have been at greater risk because of underlying health conditions.
      The WHO said although this latest case shows evidence of person-to-person transmission, it still believes "the risk of sustained person-to-person transmission appears to be very low".
      RISK VERY LOW, BUT VIRUSES CAN MUTATE
      Coronaviruses are typically spread like other respiratory infections such as flu, travelling in airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
      Yet since NCoV was identified in September, evidence of person-to-person transmission has been limited.
      Watson said the fact it probably had taken place in the latest two cases in Britain gave no reason for increased alarm.
      "If novel coronavirus were more infectious, we would have expected to have seen a larger number of cases than we have seen since the first case was reported three months ago.
      Tom Wilkinson, a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at Britain's University of Southampton, said that if NCoV turned out to be like the previous SARS outbreak, it may prove quite slow to spread from one human to another.
      "But it's early days to make any definite statements because viruses can change and mutate very rapidly, so what is right today may be wrong tomorrow," he told Reuters.
      Based on the current situation, the WHO said all member states should continue surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections and investigate any unusual patterns.
      "Testing for the new coronavirus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, or in patients with unexplained severe, progressive or complicated respiratory illness not responding to treatment," it said in a statement.
      The WHO said on Monday that the confirmation of a new British case did not alter its risk assessment but "does indicate that the virus is persistent".
      The British patient confirmed on Monday had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and is in intensive care in a separate British hospital, the HPA said.
      Among the 11 laboratory confirmed cases to date, five are in Saudi Arabia, with three deaths; two are in Jordan, where both patients died; three are in Britain, where all three are receiving treatment; and one was in Germany in a patient from Qatar who had since been discharged from medical care.
      The WHO said at this stage there is no need for travel or trade restrictions, or for special screening at border points.
      (Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Michael Roddy)
      New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmissionTop News
      New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmission
      Wed, Feb 13 14:39 PM EST
      By Kate Kelland
      LONDON (Reuters) - A third patient in Britain has contracted a new SARS-like virus, becoming the second confirmed British case in a week and showing the deadly infection is being spread from person to person, health officials said on Wednesday.
      The latest case, in a man from the same family as another patient, brings the worldwide number of confirmed infections with the new virus - known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV - to 11.
      Of those, five have died. Most of the infected lived or had recently been in the Middle East. Three have been diagnosed in Britain.
      NCoV was identified when the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an international alert in September 2012 saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi Arabia.
      The virus belongs to the same family as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. Symptoms common to both viruses include severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.
      Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the latest patient, who is a UK resident and does not have any recent travel history, is in intensive care at a hospital in central England.
      "Confirmed novel coronavirus infection in a person without travel history to the Middle East suggests that person-to-person transmission has occurred, and that it occurred in the UK," said John Watson, the HPA's head of respiratory diseases.
      He said the new case was a family member in close contact with another British case confirmed on Monday and who may have been at greater risk because of underlying health conditions.
      The WHO said although this latest case shows evidence of person-to-person transmission, it still believes "the risk of sustained person-to-person transmission appears to be very low".
      RISK VERY LOW, BUT VIRUSES CAN MUTATE
      Coronaviruses are typically spread like other respiratory infections such as flu, travelling in airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
      Yet since NCoV was identified in September, evidence of person-to-person transmission has been limited.
      Watson said the fact it probably had taken place in the latest two cases in Britain gave no reason for increased alarm.
      "If novel coronavirus were more infectious, we would have expected to have seen a larger number of cases than we have seen since the first case was reported three months ago.
      Tom Wilkinson, a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at Britain's University of Southampton, said that if NCoV turned out to be like the previous SARS outbreak, it may prove quite slow to spread from one human to another.
      "But it's early days to make any definite statements because viruses can change and mutate very rapidly, so what is right today may be wrong tomorrow," he told Reuters.
      Based on the current situation, the WHO said all member states should continue surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections and investigate any unusual patterns.
      "Testing for the new coronavirus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, or in patients with unexplained severe, progressive or complicated respiratory illness not responding to treatment," it said in a statement.
      The WHO said on Monday that the confirmation of a new British case did not alter its risk assessment but "does indicate that the virus is persistent".
      The British patient confirmed on Monday had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and is in intensive care in a separate British hospital, the HPA said.
      Among the 11 laboratory confirmed cases to date, five are in Saudi Arabia, with three deaths; two are in Jordan, where both patients died; three are in Britain, where all three are receiving treatment; and one was in Germany in a patient from Qatar who had since been discharged from medical care.
      The WHO said at this stage there is no need for travel or trade restrictions, or for special screening at border points.
      (Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Michael Roddy)
    Really! Another flu epidemic? What's next? I know. Allow the TSA to vaccinate you as you get off the ...
      Link to Article
      Source: 101292674006572799842 - Google+ Posts
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:37
      "....giving pharmacists the right to immunize infants and children in hopes of curbing the spread of the potentially lethal virus"A nice example of Big Pharma and the media scaring the public in action. Keywords 'the right' and ' potentially'. Of course to sell useless, but dangerous vaccines (read all the stories of horrible side effects of vaccines and why healthcare workers are trying to refuse the mandatory vaccimes).
      The word 'epidemic' has been redefined by the WHO also, now automatically turning every little flu outbreak into something with 'epidemic.proportions'. Mostly spread by the media. The WHO represents Big Pharma. Nothing independent there with your health in mind.
      Flu is nothing new. It's been around for centuries already. Usually takes a little over a week to get over it for a healthy person. Some with really low resistance die from it. Vaccines do not prevent that. They only totally mess up healthy people.>>
    Bird flu found at German farm, ducks slaughtered
      Link to Article
      Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:19
      BERLIN: About 14,000 ducks at a German farm are being slaughtered following a bird flu outbreak.
      A federal laboratory confirmed Friday the H5N1 virus was detected at the farm near Seelow, east of Berlin - the first such finding in Germany in more than three years.
      On Saturday, officials started slaughtering the farm's ducks. Local council spokesman Tobias Seyfarth told news agency dpa that all poultry within a one-kilometer (half-mile) radius of the facility will be kept under observation for the next 21 days, with owners told to keep their birds where they are and report any symptoms.
      The H5N1 virus normally spreads between sick poultry, but it can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. Bird flu has killed 367 people worldwide since surfacing in 2003, the World Health Organization says.
    War on chicken; Mexico to slaughter a half million chickens o
      Link to Article
      Source: bertb news feed
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:11
      Chickens remain in their cages in a farm under quarantine in Tepatitlan, Jalisco State, Mexico on July 4, 2012. Mexico will slaughter 486,000 chickens after an outbreak of bird flu was detected in the central state of Guanajuato, officials said Friday.
      AFP - Mexico will slaughter 486,000 chickens after an outbreak of bird flu was detected in the central state of Guanajuato, officials said Friday.
      Poultry producer Bachoco reported a possible case of H7N3 influenza in five breeder farms late Wednesday, which agriculture ministry officials confirmed on Friday.
      Authorities launched preventive measures, testing nearby farms to check if the outbreak had spread elsewhere.
      Last year, a bird flu outbreak in the western state of Jalisco forced farmers to slaughter 22 million hens, sparking an egg crisis in Mexico, the world's top consumer of eggs per capita.
    Drug-Resistant Super-Gonorrhea Laughs in the Face of Antibiotics
      Link to Article
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:59
      You know how gonorrhea has always been, like, the chillest STI ever? All, "Hey, man! It's me, gonorrhea! Listen, I'm going to be hanging around your junk for a few weeks, but I'll keep it quiet'--no loud parties!'--and then when things start to get weird, just pop some antibiots and I'm out, brah!" Gonorrhea knows when to leave. It's like the Don Pratt of largely asymptomatic genital diseases! Now, obviously any kind of STI (with the potential for anal itching!) is no treat, but provided you have health insurance and keep a vigilant eye on your downtown situation, gonorrhea is of the least worst.
      Buuuuuuut not anymore. Once again, there are rumblings of a more sinister, aggressive strain of gonorrhea that's taking back the night and telling antibiotics (and you) to fuck off. Not cool, bro. Not cool. (Meanwhile, chlamydia's all...)
      Lab studies show that cephalsporins, the current class of antibiotics used to treat gonorrhea, are becoming less effective at treating the disease. If this trend continues, cephalosporin-resistant gonorrhea could emerge in the U.S., like it has in Japan, France, and Spain. To help delay the emergence of this new super bug, the CDC made changes to guidelines for gonorrhea treatment. An injectable cephalosporin called ceftriaxone combined with an oral antibiotic is now the preferred treatment.
      Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States. In 2011, more than 300,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported.
      "The continued threat of multidrug-resistant gonorrhea makes protecting against [gonorrhea] more important than before," said Dr. Lindsey Satterwhite, an epidemiologist in the CDC's Division of STD Prevention.
      All jokes aside, shit like this is going to get worse if we keep allowing superstitious, medieval trolls to dictate our health policies. We should not still be "debating" the ethics of birth control, or comprehensive sex education, or condoms in schools, or universal fucking healthcare. There should be condoms fucking everywhere. When I walk past a local high school, I want to feel anxious about my air supply because I am trapped beneath a cascading avalanche of condoms. Religious extremism in America is everyone's problem, and while Rick Santorum might be super-jazzed about his kids' crotches rotting away from incurable gonorrhea, I'd prefer if he left my family out of it. In conclusion:
      CDC Warns of Super-Gonorrhea [ABC]
      Photo credit: photomak / Stockfresh.
    Fish are becoming easier to catch 'because traces of anti-depressants are getting into water supply and making them more relaxed'
      Link to Article
      Source: Infowars åÈ Featured Stories
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:26
      'Making them more relaxed'
      DAMIEN GAYLEUK Daily MailFeb 16, 2013
      Sleeping pills may be disturbing river ecosystems by turning fish into greedy, risk-taking loners, say researchers.
      Scientists studied the behaviour of perch exposed to a sedative which is carried into waterways through sewage.
      The drug, a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety and insomnia called oxazepam, made the fish bolder and less social.
      They left the safety of their schools to forage alone '' making them vulnerable to predators '' and also ate more quickly than normal.
      'Normally perch are shy and hunt in schools,' said study leader Dr Tomas Brodin, from Umea University in Sweden.
      Full article here
      This article was posted: Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 5:48 am
      Tags: health, natural health, water
      Share this article:
  VIDEO
    Bill Nye Says Russian Meteorite Has Nothing To Do With Asteroid 2012 DA14
      Link to Article
      Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:40
    Chris Dorner's Ex-Girlfriend Has Nothing Nice To Say About Him
      Link to Article
      Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:47
    'Good Morning America' Giddy Over Possibility Hillary Might Run
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:22
      If Good Morning America's giddiness today over the prospect that Hillary Clinton might run for president is any indication of how the MSM will treat the story, it's gonna be a long-g-g-g four years.
      The excited GMA crew was looking for any harbinger--from falling meteorites to the number of baskets scored by an ABC reporter in a charity game--that Hillary might throw her pantsuit into the ring. A correspondent even joked--at least we hope she was joking--that GMA might have to run a segment every week with the latest is-Hillary-running news.
    Joan Rivers: 'Abe Lincoln Was Gay'
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:08
      MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
      MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
      Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
    CNN Reporter Compares Plight of Cruise Passengers to Katrina Victims
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Sat, 16 Feb 2013 04:44
      CNN's Martin Savidge compared the "isolation factor" of the Carnival cruise passengers to that of New Orleans residents during Katrina.
      Passenger Rob Kenny quickly put the fiasco in context: "Katrina was a major devastation. We're on a friggin' cruise ship and we're just all having a good time."
    CNN Wonders Why GOP Still Asking About Benghazi
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:33
      MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
      MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
      Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
    'Nixon, Bush, OBAMA, They're War Criminals': Dr Cornel West
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:54
      CORNEL WEST (10 Feb 2013): The chickens are coming home to roost. We've been talking about this for a good while the immorality of drones dropping bombs on innocent people. It's been over two hundred children so far. These are war crimes I think we have to be very honest. Let us not be deceived. Nixon Bush Obama, they're war criminals. They have killed innocent people in the name of the struggle for freedom.
Clips and Stuff
  Cyber War$
    Jeff Jarvis on BBC.mp3
  Donations
    Lightning Rod Groun#82C6896.aif
    Rod Serling on Spon#82C6890.mp3
    Velveta 33 ham giold cheese.mp3
  Drone Nation
    Obama drones in US.mp3
  JCD Clips
    2nd mention startegy.mp3
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  ManHunt
    Dorner 2 arsenal.mp3
    Dorner 3 reward.mp3
    Dorner Suicided 1.mp3
    Fake Dorner ex girlfriend.mp3
  Ministry of Truth
    Biden legitimate media.mp3
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  Obama Nation
    Cornel West Obama war.mp3
  Space War$
    asteroid mining.mp3
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