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Cyber War$
  Here We Go Again: Latest Draft Of White House Cybersecurity 'Executive Order' Is Leaked | Techdirt
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:15
    from the why-do-we-need-this-again? deptBack in September, we posted a leaked version of a draft for a cybersecurity executive order that the White House had been passing around, mainly to try to force Congress into passing a cybersecurity law. With the last ditch attempt by Senator Harry Reid to move that process forward failing, it took exactly a week for the White House to revise its draft exec order, and start passing it around on November 21st. And, today, that new draft leaked as well. You can see the full draft here or embedded below.
    It's basically more of the same. It insists that there's a problem without providing any real evidence of that. Much of the order focuses on increasing information sharing among and between different government agencies. As expected, it's designed to encourage private companies, who are "owners and operators of critical infrastructure" to "participate, on a voluntary basis, in the Enhanced Cybersecurity initiative." This is part of what had people so concerned about the various bill proposals: whether or not companies would get broadly defined as "owners and operators of critical infrastructure" and then be forced or pressured into sharing private information, all in the name of "cybersecurity!"
    And, of course, what is "voluntary" when it's the federal government, often means what is likely to put you in a very uncomfortable position if you don't participate. In fact, the executive order makes this somewhat explicit:
    The Secretary shall coordinate establishment of a set of incentives designed to promote participation in the Program. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary and the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce each shall make recommendations separately to the President... on what incentives can be provided to owners and operators of critical infrastructure that participate in the Program, under existing law and authorities, and what incentives would require legislation, including analysis of the benefits and relative effectiveness of such incentives.
    So, yeah, "voluntary" belongs in quotes.As for what counts as "critical infrastructure," well it basically involves various government agencies coming up with a list and then the government telling companies: "hey, you're critical infrastructure."
    The Secretary, in coordination with Sector-Specific Agencies, shall confidentially notify owners and operators of critical infrastructure identified under subsection (a) of this section that they have been so identified, and ensure identified owners and operators are provided with relevant threat information.
    There is one oddity snuck into that subsection (a):The Secretary shall not identify any commercial information technology products under this section.
    I'm not quite sure what that means within this context (so feel free to chime in and explain it if you do know...). Is it suggesting that this only applies to other forms of infrastructure? If so, that would ease the concerns of a number of tech companies, who were worried that they'd be listed as "critical infrastructure" under a broad reading of any rule.The exec order does include a shout out to protecting civil liberties, though you wonder how much that will matter in practice:
    Agencies shall coordinate their activities under this order with their senior agency officials for privacy and civil liberties and ensure that privacy and civil liberties protections are incorporated into such activities based upon the Fair Information Practice Principles and other applicable privacy and civil liberties policies, principles and frameworks.
    They also say that any programs will be reviewed by the Chief Privacy Officer and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to ensure that the program isn't causing any problems in those areas. For what it's worth, apparently the administration has been also reaching out to a lot of people to get in on the executive order -- a process described as "highly unusual" for an executive order.Either way, it's still frustrating that the order brushes over what the real problems are. It just handwaves that question away by insisting that we're under attack, without providing either (a) evidence or (b) notification on what laws are currently causing issues here. That's unfortunate.
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  Zeus Botnet Eurograbber Steals $47 Million - Security -.
    Link to Article
    Source: DaDenMan news feed
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:31
    Who Is Hacking U.S. Banks? 8 Facts
    (click image for larger view and for slideshow)A criminal gang wielding a new version of Zeus malware that's designed for mobile devices has stolen an estimated 36 million euros, or $47 million, from more than 30,000 corporate and private banking customers.That finding comes from a new report published by security vendors Versafe and Check Point Software Technologies. They've dubbed the related attack campaign as "Eurograbber," and notified banks and law enforcement agencies in the affected countries.
    WebcastsMore >>White PapersMore >>ReportsMore >>Attackers have configured the malware to target customers of 16 specific banks in Italy, as well as seven in Spain, six in Germany and three in the Netherlands. "To date, this exploit has only been detected in euro zone countries, but a variation of this attack could potentially affect banks in countries outside of the European Union as well," according to the report. Individual transfer amounts made by Eurograbber malware have ranged from 500 euros ($656) to 250,000 euros ($328,000).
    The malware used by attackers is a customized version of the Zitmo Trojan spyware application. Zitmo is short for "Zeus in the mobile," and the malware is designed to defeat the two-factor authentication systems employed by some banks. To do that, a companion, smartphone version of the malware intercepts the one-time transaction authentication number (TAN) that banks send to a customer's mobile device, via SMS, which the customer must then enter into a banking website prompt to authorize a money transfer.
    [ Here is a good question: Can Banks Prevent The Next Cyber Attack? ]
    The Zitmo Trojan can infect a PC if a user clicks on a malicious link in a spam or phishing email, or on a link on a website that's been compromised by attackers. The malicious Trojan application then remains dormant until a user logs into a targeted financial firm's website. "The next time the bank customer logs in to their bank account, the Eurograbber Trojan intercepts their banking session and injects a JavaScript into the customer's banking page," according to the report. "This malicious JavaScript informs the customer of the 'security upgrade' and instructs them on how to proceed."
    The security upgrade page requests that the user indicated which mobile operating system their smartphone uses -- Android, BlackBerry, iOS (iPhone), Symbian (Nokia) or other -- as well as their mobile phone number. This information is then relayed to a drop zone, which is a publicly writable folder on a Web server -- which attackers may have previously hijacked -- where they store information about every infected bank customer's PC, including account numbers, log-in credentials, and one-time passwords.
    A bogus confirmation SMS is then sent to the user's smartphone. "The SMS directs the customer to complete the security upgrade by clicking on the attached link. Doing so downloads a file onto the customer's mobile device with the appropriate mobile version of the Eurograbber Trojan," according to the report.
    From then on, anytime that PC is used to log onto the targeted financial website, automatic attacks may take place, with the malware on the PC initiating transfers, and the malware on the smartphone intercepting any TAN sent by the bank, and automatically approving the transaction, which transfers money to mule accounts. "Victims' bank accounts will have lost money without their knowledge," according to the report. "This entire process occurs every time the bank customer logs into his or her bank account."
    News of the Eurograbber Zitmo attack campaign follows the recent discovery of a cybercrime campaign waged using the Gameover Zeus Trojan, which steals banking credentials using phony but real-looking emails. Millions of those emails have been circulating in recent weeks, and are being distributed via the Cutwail spamming botnet.
    Recent breaches have tarnished digital certificates, the Web security technology. The new, all-digital Digital Certificates issue of Dark Reading gives five reasons to keep it going. (Free registration required.)
  Oklahoma cyber spy school prepares next generation of 007s
    Link to Article
    Source: StratRisks
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:25
    Source: DFP
    Jim Thavisay is secretly stalking one of his classmates. And one of them is spying on him.
    ''I have an idea who it is, but I'm not 100% sure yet,'' said Thavisay, a 25-year-old former casino blackjack dealer.
    Stalking is part of the curriculum in the Cyber Corps, an unusual two-year program at the University of Tulsa that teaches students how to spy in cyberspace, the latest frontier in espionage.
    Students learn not only how to rifle through trash, sneak a tracking device onto a car and plant false information on Facebook, they also are taught to write computer viruses, hack digital networks, crack passwords, plant listening devices and mine data from broken cell phones and flash drives.
    The little-known program has funneled most of its graduates to the CIA and the Pentagon's National Security Agency, which conducts America's digital spying.
    Other graduates have taken positions with the FBI, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security.
    The need for stronger cyber-defense '-- and offense '-- was highlighted when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned in an Oct. 11 speech that ''a cyber-terrorist attack could paralyze the nation'' and that America needs experts to tackle the growing threat.
    Panetta said the Pentagon spends more than $3 billion a year for cyber-security.
    That's music to the ears of Sujeet Shenoi, a naturalized citizen from India who founded the cyber program in 1998. He says 85% of the 260 graduates since 2003 have gone to the NSA, which students call ''the fraternity,'' or the CIA, which they call ''the sorority.''
    Shenoi subjects his students to both classroom theory and practical field work. Each student is assigned to a Tulsa police crime lab on campus and uses digital skills to help uncover evidence '-- most commonly child pornography images '-- from seized devices. Several students have posed as children online to lure predators. In 2003, students helped solve a triple homicide by cracking an e-mail account linking the perpetrator to his victims.
    In May, the NSA named Tulsa as one of four national centers of academic excellence in cyber-operations. The others were Northeastern University in Boston; Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and Dakota State University in Madison, S.D.
    Shenoi's students have ranged in age from 17 to 63. Many are retired from the military, or otherwise starting second careers. They are usually working toward degrees in computer science, engineering, law or business.
    About two-thirds get a cyber-operations certification on their diplomas, or what Shenoi calls a ''cyber-ninja'' designation ''because they have to be super techie.''
    To be accepted into the corps, applicants must be U.S. citizens with the ability to obtain a security clearance of ''top secret'' or higher.
    Tags: children, cia, Cyber Corps, defense, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, DFP, Facebook, india, Jim Thavisay, law, NASA, nsa, Pentagon, Pentagon National Security Agency, program, science, security, Sujeet Shenoi, terrorist, threat
Monsantooo
  Federal Register | Artificially Sweetened Fruit Jelly and Artificially Sweetened Fruit Preserves and Jams; Proposed Revocation of Standards of Identity
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:34
    Submit electronic or written comments on the proposed rule by March 4, 2013.
    You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. FDA-1997-P-0007 (formerly Docket No. 1997P-0142), by any of the following methods.
    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    Submit written submissions in the following ways:
    FAX: 301-827-6870.Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper or CD-ROM submissions): Division of Dockets Management, (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.Instructions: All submissions received must include the Agency name and Docket No. FDA-1997-P-0007 (formerly Docket No. 1997P-0142) for this rulemaking. All comments received may be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For additional information on submitting comments, see the ''Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket numbers found in brackets in the heading of this document into the ''Search'' box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.P>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Daniel Reese, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-820), Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-2371.
    For more than 50 years, FDA has maintained standards of identity for fruit jelly (jelly) (21 CFR 150.140) and fruit preserves and jams (preserves and jams) (21 CFR 150.160). The standards establish the common or usual name for these products and provide that these products may contain nutritive sweeteners (e.g., sugar). In 1959, FDA added new standards of identity for artificially sweetened fruit jelly (artificially sweetened jelly) (21 CFR 150.141) and artificially sweetened fruit preserves and jams (artificially sweetened preserves and jams) (21 CFR 150.161) (24 FR 8896; October 31, 1959) that permit the use of non-nutritive sweeteners (e.g., saccharin). Notably, §§ 150.141 and 150.161 limit the types of non-nutritive sweeteners that can be used in products that are governed by those standards of identity. Such products may only use saccharin, sodium saccharin, calcium saccharin, or any combination thereof, and may not use newer forms of non-nutritive sweeteners that have been established since the standard of identity regulations were issued.
    The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD Act) to provide for a number of fundamental changes in food labeling, leading to a new regulatory framework for the naming of foods that do not fully comply with the relevant standards of identity. In response to NLEA, FDA established in part 101 (21 CFR part 101), among other things, definitions for specific nutrient content claims using terms such as ''free,'' ''low,'' ''light'' or ''lite,'' and ''less,'' and provided for their use in food labeling (58 FR 2302; January 6, 1993). FDA also prescribed at the same time in § 130.10 (21 CFR 130.10) a general definition and standard of identity for foods named by a nutrient content claim defined in part 101, such as ''low calorie'' or ''sugar free,'' in conjunction with a traditional standardized food term (58 FR 2431; January 6, 1993). A nutrient content claim applied to the standardized food ''grape jelly,'' for example, could be ''low calorie grape jelly.'' Section 130.10(d)(1) allows the addition of safe and suitable ingredients to a food named by use of a nutrient content claim and a standardized term when these ingredients are used to, among other things, add sweetness to ensure that the modified food is not inferior in performance characteristic to the standardized food even if such ingredients are not specifically provided for by the relevant food standard. Thus, under certain circumstances, § 130.10 permits manufacturers to use safe and suitable artificial sweeteners (e.g., aspartame) that are not expressly listed in §§ 150.141 and 150.161 in the manufacture of jelly, fruit preserves, and jams (collectively, ''fruit spreads''). Therefore, fruit spread products named with a nutrient content claim (for example, ''low calorie grape jelly'') may contain newer artificial sweeteners to add sweetness to fruit spread products so that they are not inferior in their sweetness compared to their standardized counterparts (for example, ''grape jelly''). The provisions of § 130.10 do not require these products to declare the presence of such non-nutritive sweeteners within the name of these foods. FDA took this action to assist consumers in maintaining healthy dietary practices by providing for a modified version of a traditional standardized food to achieve a nutrition goal (e.g., reduction in sugar consumption or calories) and that has a descriptive name that is meaningful to consumers. The provisions of § 130.10 do not, however, permit the use of nutrient content claims as part of the name of a food for foods governed by standards of identity that established the phrase ''artificially sweetened'' as part of the standard of identity. Accordingly, jelly, preserves, and jams, that use saccharin, sodium saccharin, calcium saccharin, or any combination thereof as non-nutritive sweeteners must still include the term ''artificially sweetened'' in their names and are not permitted to bear a nutrient content claim as part of the name; however, similar products that use newer non-nutritive sweeteners are governed by § 130.10 and must not include the term ''artificially sweetened'' in their names.
    IJPA is a national trade association representing the manufacturers of jelly, preserves, jams, and nonstandardized fruit spreads, and suppliers of goods and services to the industry, including ingredient suppliers of fruit, sweeteners, and pectin. IJPA submitted a citizen petition dated March 31, 1997 (now Docket No. FDA-1997-P-0007), requesting the revocation of the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams. IJPA submitted its petition in response to FDA's advance notice of proposed rulemaking announcing that FDA was planning to review its food standards regulations (60 FR 67492; December 29, 1995). In that document, we sought comments on, inter alia, the benefits or lack of benefits of such regulations in facilitating domestic and international commerce, the value of these regulations to consumers, and alternative means of accomplishing the statutory objective of food standards (i.e., to promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers in the manufacture and sale of food products covered by the standard of identity regulations).
    IJPA asserts in its citizen petition that the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, jams, and preserves are outdated. According to IJPA, the standards have not been updated to take into account new non-nutritive sweeteners that have been approved by FDA since 1959. The petition maintains that the general standard in § 130.10 provides fruit spread manufacturers with sufficient flexibility to use newer, intense non-nutritive sweeteners in lieu of traditional nutritive sweeteners, and it would be appropriate to rely on that general standard rather than seek piecemeal amendments to the standards of identity to reflect the development of any new sweeteners. IJPA stated that by using the general standard in § 130.10, manufacturers can create products with nutrient content claims for reductions in calories or sugar content that are established in FDA regulations. According to IJPA, nutrient content terms (e.g., ''low calorie'') also better communicate to the consumer the nutritional benefit of the use of non-nutritive sweeteners than does the term ''artificially sweetened,'' which is required to appear in the labels of products manufactured in conformity with §§ 150.141 and 150.161. Therefore, IJPA concluded in its petition that the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams are both obsolete and unnecessary, and requested that we revoke these standards. Finally, IJPA stated that as of the date of submission of its citizen petition, there were few products being manufactured under these two standards of identity and that some manufacturers are already using the general standard in § 130.10 to formulate products that have reduced sugar and caloric content. IJPA stated that if these standards are revoked, any products that are currently manufactured in conformity with the standards could remain on the market by operation of § 130.10.
    We have reviewed IJPA's petition. We find merit in IJPA's argument that revoking the artificially sweetened standards of identity would allow manufacturers to more accurately and consistently describe the attributes of the fruit spreads that currently conform to those standards. We therefore tentatively conclude that revoking the standards would promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers and is, thus, appropriate under section 401 of the FD Act (21 U.S.C. 341). We tentatively reach this conclusion because we find that nutrient content claims, such as ''low calorie'' or ''reduced sugar'' better characterize the nutritional profile of the affected fruit spreads than does the term ''artificially sweetened.'' Further, revoking §§ 150.141 and 150.161 provides manufacturers with the flexibility to use the three non-nutritive sweeteners listed in those standards while also naming their products using FDA-defined nutrient content claims, in accordance with § 130.10. Moreover, other safe and suitable artificial sweeteners that might be developed in the future could be used in these products under § 130.10 without the need to further revise relevant standards of identity.
    Enactment of NLEA and the development of newer artificial sweeteners, thus, renders the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams in §§ 150.141 and 150.161 obsolete. They no longer serve their intended purpose of ensuring honesty and fair dealing while allowing for the use of artificial sweeteners in standardized fruit jelly and standardized fruit preserves and jams as firms may now use certain artificial sweeteners under § 130.10. The standards for artificially sweetened jelly and artificially sweetened preserves and jams predate the nutrient content claim provisions of § 130.10. Removal of the artificially sweetened standards of identity would mean that products that are currently subject to the requirements of §§ 150.141 and 150.161 would instead be subject to the requirements of § 130.10, the general definition and standard of identity for foods named by a nutrient content claim defined in part 101. Thus, these products would be named by use of a nutrient content claim (e.g., ''reduced calorie'' or ''no sugar added'') along with a standardized term (''jelly'' or ''jam''), in accordance with § 130.10. Revoking §§ 150.141 and 150.161 also would promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers by requiring manufacturers to more accurately and consistently describe the attributes of the food (e.g., less sugar or reduced calories); would allow any safe and suitable non-nutritive sweetener to be used in standardized jams, jellies, and preserves; and would allow better comparison to other jams, jellies, and preserves currently modified under the provisions of § 130.10. For example, under current requirements, a jelly that is sweetened with saccharin must be called ''artificially sweetened jelly'' (in accordance with § 150.141) whereas a similar jelly sweetened with aspartame may be named as ''reduced sugar jelly'' (in accordance with § 130.10 and provided it meets the requirements for the nutrient content claim ''reduced sugar'' in § 101.60.(c)(5)) to distinguish it from the standardized food (jelly in § 150.140). Revoking the standards would provide consistency and uniformity among such products because all fruit spreads sweetened with non-nutritive sweeteners would be subject to the same requirements. This proposed rule also is consistent with FDA's proposed general principles for modernizing food standards (70 FR 29214; May 20, 2005). In addition, this proposal is consistent with Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), and Executive Order 13653 of January 21, 2011 (76 FR 3821), regarding improving Agency regulations, regulatory planning, and regulatory review.
    Considering the information in this document, we are proposing to revoke the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams in §§ 150.141 and 150.161, respectively. We request comments on our tentative conclusion that these two standards of identity are obsolete and unnecessary, and that revoking them would promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers.
    We have examined the impacts of the proposed rule under Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13563, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4).
    Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct Agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, when regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. We tentatively conclude that this proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action as defined by the Executive Orders.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires Agencies to analyze regulatory options that would minimize any significant impact of a rule on small entities. Because we have tentatively concluded, as set forth in this document, that this rule would not generate significant compliance costs, we expect that this proposed rule, if finalized, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. We request comment on the impact of this rule on small entities.
    Section 202(a) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires that Agencies prepare a written statement, which includes an assessment of anticipated costs and benefits, before proposing ''any rule that includes any Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year.'' The current threshold after adjustment for inflation is $139 million, using the most current (2011) Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product. We do not expect this proposed rule to result in any 1-year expenditure that would meet or exceed this amount.
    A. Need for This RegulationWe are proposing to revoke the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams because we have tentatively concluded that these standards are obsolete and unnecessary. The current standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly (§ 150.141) and artificially sweetened preserves and jams (§ 150.161) provide that they may be manufactured only with specific, non-nutritive artificial sweeteners: saccharin, sodium saccharin, calcium saccharin, or any combination thereof. These standards of identity, therefore, do not permit the use of newer, safe and suitable artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame.
    The development of newer artificial sweeteners and the enactment of the NLEA have made the current standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams obsolete. The NLEA and § 130.10 permit the modification of a traditional standardized food to achieve a nutrition goal, such as a reduction in calories. Section 130.10(d)(1) allows the addition of safe and suitable ingredients to a food named by use of a nutrient content claim and a standardized term when these ingredients are used to, among other things, add sweetness to ensure that the modified food is not inferior in performance characteristic to the standardized food, even if such ingredients are not specifically provided for by the relevant food standard. Standardized jelly and standardized preserves and jams products modified under § 130.10 must use nutrient content claims to communicate the modified standardized product's nutritional profile to consumers. Under § 130.10, nonspecific, safe and suitable artificial sweeteners other than the three named in §§ 150.141 and 150.161 can be used to make reduced calorie or reduced sugar products labeled with a nutrient content claim that is established in FDA regulations. Revoking the standards of identity, as proposed, would mean that any product subject to §§ 150.141 and 150.161 would instead be subject to § 130.10. This would allow consumers to better compare any fruit spreads currently covered by §§ 150.141 and 150.161 with other spreads that are named and modified under the provisions of § 130.10. Revoking the standards would also provide manufacturers with the flexibility to use the three non-nutritive sweeteners listed in §§ 150.141 and 150.161, while naming their products under the provisions of § 130.10 using a defined nutrient content claim.
    B. Regulatory OptionsIn assessing our regulatory options, we considered the option of taking no action and the option of taking the action proposed by this rule. We have tentatively concluded that the proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, would not be an economically significant regulatory action. We are not quantitatively estimating the benefits and costs of the regulatory alternatives to the proposed rule. In the following paragraphs, we qualitatively compare the costs and benefits of the regulatory options to the costs and benefits of the proposed rule.
    1. The Option of Taking No ActionBy convention, we treat the option of taking no new regulatory action as the baseline for determining the costs and benefits of the other options. Therefore, we associate neither costs nor benefits with this option. The consequences of taking no action are reflected in the costs and benefits associated with taking the action set forth in this proposed rule.
    2. The Option of Taking the Proposed ActionIf the proposed rule is finalized as proposed, and we revoke §§ 150.141 and 150.161, products that are currently subject to the requirements of these standards of identity would no longer be required to use the phrase ''artificially sweetened'' as part of their product name. Furthermore, revoking §§ 150.141 and 150.161 would mean that these same products would be permitted to bear nutrient content claims along with a standardized term (e.g., ''reduced calorie jelly'' or ''no sugar added jam''), in accordance with § 130.10.
    The costs of this proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, would result from the need to relabel any existing jelly, preserves, and jams that conform with the standards in §§ 150.141 and 150.161. Any products currently manufactured in accordance with the standards in §§ 150.141 and 150.161 would have to be relabeled in order to comply with § 130.10 if this proposed rule is finalized as proposed. Our review of supermarket scanner data for the years 2001 through 2010, however, revealed that no such products are currently being sold. Sales for products manufactured in accordance with §§ 150.141 and 150.161 were last reported in 2002. A memorandum summarizing the results of this scanner data can be found in Reference 1. The data support our tentative conclusion that most manufacturers most likely have discontinued production of artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams, presumably because of a perception that the phrase ''artificially sweetened'' is unattractive to consumers. The data also support our tentative conclusion that it is unlikely that this proposed rule would generate significant compliance costs due to the need to relabel products. In fact, removal of the artificially sweetened standards of identity would allow manufacturers to re-introduce products covered under §§ 150.141 and 150.161 to be sold as products covered by § 130.10. That is, they would be named by use of a nutrient content claim in conjunction with a standardized term (e.g., ''reduced calorie jelly'' or ''no sugar added jam''), in accordance with § 130.10. Therefore, we tentatively conclude that any relabeling compliance costs would be negligible.
    We do not classify as anticipated costs of this proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, any expenses that firms might voluntarily incur if they choose to change their product formulas or manufacturing practices in response to the proposed revocation of the ''artificially sweetened'' standards of identity. Any such costs are not costs that would be required by this proposed regulatory change. Instead, these costs would result from voluntary business decisions made by manufacturers.
    We tentatively conclude that the principal benefits that would result from the proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, derive from increased information and flexibility. Revoking the artificially sweetened standards of identity would provide producers of jelly, preserves, and jams with the flexibility to use saccharin, sodium saccharin, calcium saccharin, or any combination thereof, in their formulations without having to include the term ''artificially sweetened'' in their product names. Manufacturers could instead name their products in accordance with approved nutrient content claims, as provided for under § 130.10, thus providing consumers with additional information about the nutritional profile of affected products. Additionally, revoking §§ 150.141 and 150.161 would assist consumers in comparing products covered by the standards with other similar jelly, preserves, and jams manufactured in accordance with § 130.10.
    Accordingly, while we do not quantify the costs and benefits of this proposed rule, we tentatively conclude that potential benefits will outweigh any potential costs associated with the rule.
    C. Initial Regulatory Flexibility AnalysisThe Regulatory Flexibility Act requires Agencies to analyze regulatory options that would minimize any significant impact of a rule on small entities. Because compliance costs, if any, generated by this proposed rule are expected to be negligible, we tentatively conclude that this proposed rule, if finalized, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. We request comment on this tentative conclusion. The following analysis, in conjunction with the discussion in this document, constitutes our initial regulatory flexibility analysis as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    This proposed rule, if finalized, would revoke the standards of identity for artificially sweetened jelly, preserves, and jams. The revocation of these artificially sweetened standards of identity would provide small fruit spread firms with the flexibility to use the three non-nutritive sweeteners listed in §§ 150.141 and 150.161 and to name their products with FDA-defined nutrient content claims in accordance with § 130.10, as is currently done for fruit spread products manufactured with other non-nutritive sweeteners.
    We do not classify as costs of this proposed rule any expenses that some small firms might voluntarily incur because they choose to change their product formulas or manufacturing practices in ways that would be permitted by the proposed rule, if finalized. As discussed in this document, any such costs would not be costs required by this proposal, if finalized. We request comments on the provisions of this proposed rule that might require small firms to change their current practices.
    We have analyzed this proposed rule in accordance with the principles set forth in Executive Order 13132. Section 4(a) of the Executive order requires Agencies to ''construe * * * a Federal statute to preempt State law only where the statute contains an express preemption provision or there is some other clear evidence that the Congress intended preemption of State law, or where the exercise of State authority conflicts with the exercise of Federal authority under the Federal statute.''
    Section 403A of the FD Act (21 U.S.C. 343-1) is an express preemption provision. Section 403A(a) of the FD Act provides that ''no State or political subdivision of a State may directly or indirectly establish under any authority or continue in effect as to any food in interstate commerce'--(1) any requirement for a food which is the subject of a standard of identity established under section 401 that is not identical to such standard of identity or that is not identical to the requirement of section 403(g).''
    The express preemption provision of section 403A(a) of the FD Act does not preempt any State or local requirement respecting a statement in the labeling of food that provides for a warning concerning the safety of the food or component of the food (section 6(c)(2) of the NLEA, 101, 104 Stat. 2353, 2364 (1990)).
    This proposed rule, if finalized, would impose requirements that fall within the scope of section 403A(a) of the FD&C Act.
    We have determined under 21 CFR 25.32(a) that this action is of a type that does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.
    We conclude that the provisions of this proposed rule are not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget because they do not constitute a ''collection of information'' under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).
    Interested persons may submit either written comments regarding this document to the Division of Dockets Management (see ADDRESSES) or electronic comments to http://www.regulations.gov. It is only necessary to send one set of comments. Identify comments with the docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document. Received comments may be seen in the Division of Dockets Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will be posted to the docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
    The following source has been placed on display in the Division of Dockets Management (see ADDRESSES) and may be seen by interested persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is available electronically at http://www.regulations.gov.
    1. Memorandum to the file, from Cristina McLaughlin, FDA, November 26, 2012.
    Therefore, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under authority delegated to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and redelegated to the Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning, it is proposed that 21 CFR part 150 be amended as follows:
    begin regulatory text
    1. The authority citation for 21 CFR part 150 continues to read as follows:
    Authority:21 U.S.C. 321, 341, 343, 348, 371, 379e.
    2. Remove §§ 150.141 and 150.161.
    Dated: November 27, 2012.
    Leslie Kux,
    Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
    end regulatory text
    [FR Doc. 2012-29181 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4160-01-P
  Dr Oz Defends Monsanto:GMO Foods Same as Non-GMO Organic.
    Link to Article
    Source: WT news feed
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:29
    Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity host of the Dr. Oz program which appeals to individuals who are actually into alternative health in varying degrees, has recently declared that GMO foods are actually the same as organic '-- a move that reveals just how serious about helping you and your family Dr. Oz is. Writing in Time magazine, Dr. Oz even goes on to call those who shop for foods free of GMOs, pesticides, artificial sweeteners, and other contaminants 'snobs'.
    In the article, Dr. Oz states that those who buy organic are both 'snooty' and 'elitists'. Furthermore, he goes on to state that GMO conventional foods are the food of the 'people'. It makes you wonder if Dr. Oz even wrote this piece, as NaturalNews' Mike Adams points out in his piece on the subject. Dr. Oz's article even comes just after the largest healthcare group in the United States declared that everyone should avoid tumor-linked GMOs to avoid the serious health consequences that go along with their consumption.
    Kaiser Permanente, the major healthcare group, had this to say:
    ''Despite what the biotech industry might say, there is little research on the long-term effects of GMOs on human health. Independent research has found several varieties of GMO corn caused organ damage in rats. Other studies have found that GMOs may lead to an inability in animals to reproduce.''
    But what's going on here? Recently there have been numerous attacks on organic food, even leading the New York Times to issue a public apology over the ridiculous nature of the Times' hit piece on organic food and buyers (using similar language as Oz in calling them snobs and elitists). Plus, the previous studies attempting to tackle the benefits of organic actually showed why organic is better '-- even after attempting to use statistical lies to make it appear to be the opposite.
    It seems that Dr. Oz is the latest to join the barrage of attacks against Non-GMO, organic consumers across the nation. Was he paid by agribusiness a sum he could not refuse? There is currently no way of knowing, though he will surely have to respond to his ridiculous claims that GMO foods are literally the same health-wise as organic.
    In an effort to reminder Dr. Oz of the research that defies his claims, I would recommend he look at the peer-reviewed research that links Monsanto's Roundup (used in larger and larger doses on Monsanto's GMO crops as they are ravaged by resistant insects) to over 29 conditions including:
    DNA damageInfertilityLiver damageLymphomaHormonal disorders in childrenRoundup that organic food items do not use. But it seems Dr. Oz thinks that Roundup is perfectly safe, the same Roundup that researchers found at 'normal' levels contributed to tumor development and organ damage. And these are just a few examples.
    This information will undoubtedly be brought to Dr. Oz by activists and health conscious citizens from around the globe who will demand answers from the celebrity doctor attempting to align himself with the alternative health crowd while simultaneously pushing vaccinations, many Big Pharma creations, and now GMO-laden foods. But will he issue a public apology, or continue to push Monsanto's agenda throughout the mainstream media?
Elite$
  Pope gets some 370,000 Twitter followers in 24 hours
    Link to Article
    Source: Reuters: Technology News
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:05
    TweetShare thisEmailPrint1 of 3. Pope Benedict XVI uses an iPad device at the Vatican in this file photo dated June 28, 2011. Pope Benedict's handle on Twitter will be @pontifex.
    Credit: Reuters/Osservatore Romano
    By Philip Pullella
    VATICAN CITY | Tue Dec 4, 2012 9:22am EST
    VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Even though he hasn't sent a single tweet yet, Pope Benedict had some 370,000 followers on Twitter on Tuesday, a mere 24 hours after the Vatican unveiled his handle: @pontifex.
    They included people ranging from simple Roman Catholic faithful to a Jewish head of state.
    "Your holiness, welcome to Twitter. Our relations with the Vatican are at their best & can form a basis to further peace everywhere," tweeted Israeli President Shimon Peres, who at 89 is four years older than Benedict.
    The Vatican said on Monday Benedict will start tweeting on mostly spiritual topics from December 12.
    But the pope, leader of some 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, won't be following anyone but himself, the Vatican said.
    A look at his official Twitter page on Tuesday showed that he is "following" seven people but they are merely versions of his own Twitter account in different languages.
    The first papal tweets will be answers to questions sent to #askpontifex.
    The tweets will be going out in Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Arabic and French. Other languages will be added in the future.
    The tweets will come primarily from the contents of his weekly general audience, Sunday blessings and homilies on major Church holidays. They will also include reaction to major world events, such as natural disasters.
    He will push the button on his first tweet himself on December 12 but in the future most of the tweets will be written by aides, and he will sign off on them.
    The Vatican, whose website has been taken down by hackers in the past, said it has taken precautions to make sure the pope's certified account is not hacked. Only one computer in the Vatican's Secretariat of State will be used for the tweets.
    The pope's Twitter page is designed in yellow and white - the colors of the Vatican - and his picture over the backdrop of a St Peter's Square packed with pilgrims.
    The page may change during different liturgical seasons of the year and when the pope is away from the Vatican on trips.
    (Reporting By Philip Pullella, editing by Paul Casciato)
    Tweet thisLink thisShare thisDigg thisEmailReprintsComments (0)
    Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
    Add yours using the box above.
  Mayor Clinton? Bloomberg Urged Her to Consider a Run.
    Link to Article
    Source: WT news feed
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:28
    Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has long struggled to imagine a successor with the combination of star power, experience and grit to fill his shoes.
    But not long ago, he was struck by an inspiration: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the retiring secretary of state.
    In a phone call confirmed by three people, Mr. Bloomberg encouraged Mrs. Clinton to consider entering the 2013 mayor's race, trading international diplomacy for municipal management on the grandest scale. She would, he suggested, be a perfect fit.
    Much about the call, which occurred some months ago, remains shrouded in mystery. But Mr. Bloomberg's overture to the former first lady highlights the level of his anxiety about the current crop of candidates, his eagerness to recruit a replacement who can rival his stature and his determination to become a kingmaker in the political arena he will soon exit.
    In Mrs. Clinton, it seems, a mayor known for his sometimes unsparing critiques of those in public life sees a globe-trotting problem solver like himself.
    During their conversation, Mrs. Clinton left little room for doubt: she was not interested in seeking the mayoralty, people briefed on the call said.
    Even so, Mr. Bloomberg's reaching out to her is rich with political intrigue. He has privately signaled support for the presumptive candidacy of Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who cleared a path for his third term by backing a change to the city's term-limit law. The mayor's political apparatus has begun to coalesce around Ms. Quinn, and she promotes herself as a leader who ran the city alongside Mr. Bloomberg.
    In many corners of the city's political world, Mr. Bloomberg's eventual endorsement of Ms. Quinn has been considered a foregone conclusion, barring the entry of a big-name candidate into the field. But the mayor's conversation with Mrs. Clinton, even after he had begun to telegraph his allegiance to Ms. Quinn, suggests that, to a degree previously unknown, his thinking has been unsettled.
    ''He is looking for somebody he can feel comfortable handing the reins over to,'' said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York City political operative who worked on Mr. Bloomberg's last campaign.
    Spokesmen for both Mr. Bloomberg and Mrs. Clinton declined to comment, saying that, as a rule, they do not discuss private conservations. Told about the call on Monday, Ms. Quinn said, ''Really?'' as an elevator began to close, then added, ''I don't know anything about that.'' The doors then snapped shut.
    The people familiar with Mr. Bloomberg's conversation with Mrs. Clinton characterized it as a casual but earnest discussion that touched on the futures of them both.
    Mr. Bloomberg maintains close and warm relations with Mrs. Clinton, whose ascent within the New York political scene, in the early 2000s, closely tracked his own: Her tenure as a United States senator overlapped with Mr. Bloomberg's mayoralty for seven years, a period when they spoke frequently about state and federal policy and finances.
    Those familiar with their exchange over the mayor's race say Mr. Bloomberg holds Mrs. Clinton in extremely high regard, admiring her willingness to devote four grinding years to working for a former rival, President Obama, and her effectiveness as a diplomat. (In 2008, he invited the Clintons to drop the crystal-studded ball in Times Square on New Year's Eve, standing beside them on stage.)
    He also relishes the chance to influence the course of future campaigns, in New York and beyond, a goal he has started to institutionalize recently with the formation of his own ''super PAC.''
    Despite his stated allergy to decision-making by poll, Mr. Bloomberg is well aware of Mrs. Clinton's standing as a singularly popular Democrat who would upend the mayoral campaign.
    Mrs. Clinton is not a resident of New York City, a requirement for incoming mayors. But she has overcome such hurdles in the past. To establish New York state residency for her 2000 run for Senate, she and her husband bought a home in Chappaqua, N.Y.
    Democratic operatives and fund-raisers said the prospect of Mrs. Clinton's seeking citywide office struck them as improbable, whether or not she ever mounts a second run for the White House.
    As much as anything, they said, Mr. Bloomberg's encouragement seemed to reflect his lofty view of the office '-- and himself.
    ''If in fact he did say that to Hillary Clinton, it's only because he holds the position and therefore regards it as a step up from being president,'' said Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committee member from New York and a longtime fund-raiser for the party.
    The city's business community, of which Mr. Bloomberg is a leading member, has long fretted that after his 12-year mayoralty concludes, leadership of the city is likely to return to an elected official with little or no boardroom experience. Mrs. Clinton hardly fits the description of corporate chief executive '-- though she briefly served on the board of Wal-Mart Stores '-- but she has managed a large government bureaucracy as secretary of state, overseeing tens of thousands of employees in scores of countries.
    In contemplating Mrs. Clinton's future, Mr. Bloomberg was indirectly dealing with a challenge that has endlessly fascinated and bedeviled him: how to conduct a vibrant post-government life.
    Mr. Bloomberg postponed his own version of that discussion three years ago by seeking a third term. Now he is becoming steeped in it, telling friends and colleagues that he is not entirely sure how he will spend his time after Dec. 31, 2013, when he must step down.
    Michael M. Grynbaum contributed reporting.
EUROLand
  EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Not Good: This Is What the Eurozone Financial Crisis Is Really About
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:47
    Many people will look at a financial crisis as a distant thing, especially if they have a job. But if the crisis gets bad enough and the poorly created government infrastructure begins to collapse, things can get worse for all.Greek hospitals are in such dire straits that staff are failing to keep up basic disease controls such as using gloves and gowns, threatening a rise in multidrug-resistant infections, according to Europe's top health official.
    Greece already has one of the worst problems in Europe with hospital-acquired infections, and disease experts fear this is being made worse by an economic crisis that has cut health care staffing levels and hurt standards of care.
    With fewer doctors and nurses to look after more patients, and hospitals running low on cash for supplies, risks are being taken even with basic hygiene, said Marc Sprenger, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
    "I have seen places...where the financial situation did not allow even for basic requirements like gloves, gowns and alcohol wipes," Sprenger said after a two-day trip to Athens, where he visited hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
    For Americans, this is just a distant horror at present, but Obamacare is on its way. It's constructed in a manner that defies the basic laws of economics. It takes away incentives, while increasing demand, and it will put added financial pressure on the government. Add to this the likelihood of strong inflation in the years ahead and the situation could eventually become just as dire as it now is in Greece.The recent Hurricane Sandy provided an object lesson in the poor economic thinking of political leadership. Both Governors Cuomo and Christie instead of removing price controls on gasoline, which would have drawn much needed gasoline into the region, instituted gas rationing. Will political leadership institute price controls and rationing when the health crisis boils over? It's a strong possibility. Then the situation will deteriorate very quickly and hospital related shortages will come. It won't happen today, but Obamacare will set the crisis in motion. It may take a 2 to 5 years for it to develop in its entirety, but it sure looks like it will occur here and it won't be pretty.
  Spain tax amnesty brings in $1.6 billion, half of what government had hoped for - The Washington Post
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:34
    Spain's finance Minister says a tax amnesty aimed at raising money for the recession-hit country only raised about half of what is was supposed to.
    Cristobal Montoro said Monday the amnesty had bought in just '‚¬1.2 billion '-- short of the government's '‚¬2.5 billion target.
$hadow Puppet Theatre
  Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job.
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:01
    Former WellPoint VP Elizabeth Fowler sits behind her boss, Sen. Max Baucus, as he announces in 2009 that the health care bill will have no public option. Photograph: screen grab, Bill Moyers' Journal
    When the legislation that became known as "Obamacare" was first drafted, the key legislator was the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, whose committee took the lead in drafting the legislation. As Baucus himself repeatedly boasted, the architect of that legislation was Elizabeth Folwer, his chief health policy counsel; indeed, as Marcy Wheeler discovered, it was Fowler who actually drafted it. As Politico put it at the time: "If you drew an organizational chart of major players in the Senate health care negotiations, Fowler would be the chief operating officer."
    What was most amazing about all of that was that, before joining Baucus' office as the point person for the health care bill, Fowler was the Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs (i.e. informal lobbying) at WellPoint, the nation's largest health insurance provider (before going to WellPoint, as well as after, Folwer had worked as Baucus' top health care aide). And when that health care bill was drafted, the person whom Fowler replaced as chief health counsel in Baucus' office, Michelle Easton, was lobbying for WellPoint as a principal at Tarplin, Downs, and Young.
    Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry; as Wheeler wrote at the time: "to the extent that Liz Fowler is the author of this document, we might as well consider WellPoint its author as well." Watch the five-minute Bill Moyers report from 2009, embedded below, on the key role played in all of this by Liz Fowler and the "revolving door" between the health insurance/lobbying industry and government officials at the time this bill was written and passed.
    More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose . . . Liz Fowler. That the White House would put a former health insurance industry executive in charge of implementation of its new massive health care law was roundly condemned by good government groups as at least a violation of the "spirit" of governing ethics rules and even "gross", but those objections were, of course, brushed aside by the White House. She then became Special Assistant to the President for Healthcare and Economic Policy at the National Economic Council.
    Now, as Politico's "Influence" column briefly noted on Tuesday, Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry:
    "Elizabeth Fowler is leaving the White House for a senior-level position leading 'global health policy' at Johnson & Johnson's government affairs and policy group."
    The pharmaceutical giant that just hired Fowler actively supported the passage of Obamacare through its membership in the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) lobby. Indeed, PhRMA was one of the most aggressive supporters - and most lavish beneficiaries - of the health care bill drafted by Fowler. Mother Jones' James Ridgeway proclaimed "Big Pharma" the "big winner" in the health care bill. And now, Fowler will receive ample rewards from that same industry as she peddles her influence in government and exploits her experience with its inner workings to work on that industry's behalf, all of which has been made perfectly legal by the same insular, Versailles-like Washington culture that so lavishly benefits from all of this.
    It's difficult to find someone who embodies the sleazy, anti-democratic, corporatist revolving door that greases Washington as shamelessly and purely as Liz Fowler. One of the few competitors I can think of is Adm. Michael McConnell, who parlayed his military and intelligence career into a lucrative gig at Booz Allen, one of the nation's largest private intelligence contractors; then became George W Bush's Director of National Intelligence (where he spearheaded a huge gift to the telecom industry - retroactive immunity shielding it from all accountability for its participation in the illegal Bush NSA eavesdropping program - as well as continued his Booz Allen work of privatizing intelligence and surveillance functions); then returned to the loving arms of Booz Allen, where he now exploits his national security credentials on behalf of industry interests (by, for instance, spearheading the fear-mongering campaign about cyber-warfare in order to advocate for security programs that would amply enrich Booz Allen's clients).
    This is precisely the behavior which, quite rationally, makes the citizenry so jaded about Washington. It's what ensures that the interests of the same permanent power factions are served regardless of election outcomes. It's what makes a complete mockery out claims of democracy. And it's what demonstrates that corporatism and oligarchy are the dominant forms of government in the US:
Obama Nation
  Dean: Everyone Needs to Pay More, That's Why the Cliff is Better | MRCTV
  NBC Gushes Over Obama's 'Very Fashionable Decision' to Possibly Name 'Vogue' Editor as Ambassador | NewsBusters.org
  VIDEO-Only ABC Highlights Obama's Flip-Flop on a Budget Solution That Doesn't 'Hike Taxes' | MRCTV
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:56
    One year ago, Barack Obama backed a budget solution that would not "hike" taxes. Now, the President rejects this plan. Only ABC's Jake Tapper reported the apparent flip-flop. On Wednesday's Good Morning America, Tapper reminded that "what the Republicans are offering sounds a lot like what the President wanted during last year's budget showdown." He then played a 2011 clip of Obama requesting, "Give us $1.2 trillion in additional revenues, which could be accomplished without hiking tax rates by eliminating loopholes, eliminating some deductions." CBS This Morning and NBC's Today both ignored this quote.
2TTH
  NATO ambassador jumps to his death seconds after laughing and joking with diplomat colleagues | Mail Online
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:23
    Serbian ambassador Branislav Milinkovic strolled up to a barrier and flung himself to his death at a multistory garage at Brussels AirportColleagues say all had seemed fine with the popular and well-liked man in the hours before his deathMilinkovic is believed to have been unhappy about living apart from his Vienna-based wife and their 17-year-old sonHighly regarded as a liberal activist, he had opposed the authoritarian regime of former Serbian leader Slobodan MilosevicBy Daily Mail Reporter
    PUBLISHED: 12:48 EST, 5 December 2012 | UPDATED: 12:48 EST, 5 December 2012
    Serbia's ambassador to NATO was chatting and joking with colleagues in a multistory parking garage at Brussels Airport when he suddenly strolled to a barrier, climbed over and flung himself to the ground below, a diplomat said.
    By the time his shocked colleagues reached him, Branislav Milinkovic was dead.
    His motives are a mystery. Three diplomats who knew Milinkovic said he did not appear distraught in the hours leading up to his death Tuesday night. He seemed to be going about his regular business, they said, picking up an arriving delegation of six Serbian officials who were due to hold talks with NATO, the alliance that went to war with his country just 13 years ago.
    Serbian ambassador Branislav Milinkovic strolled up to a barrier and flung himself to his death at a multistory garage at Brussels Airport
    A former author and activist opposed to the authoritarian regime of Serbia's former strongman Slobodan Milosevic, Milinkovic was outgoing, had a warm sense of humor and worked to keep good ties with ambassadors from other ex-Yugoslav countries, according to diplomats and acquaintances.
    The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details, said they knew of no circumstances - private or professional - that would have prompted him to take his own life.
    But Milinkovic, 52, had mentioned to colleagues at diplomatic functions that he was unhappy about living apart from his wife, a Serbian diplomat based in Vienna, and their 17-year-old son.
    One of the diplomats described his death to The Associated Press, saying she had spoken to a member of the delegation who had witnessed the leap from the 8- to 10-meter-high (26- to 33-foot-high) platform.
    The diplomats all spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted by foreign service regulations to speak publicly to the press.
    Speaking in Brussels, Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said that 'Belgian police are investigating, but it's obviously a suicide. It's hard to figure out the motives or causes.'
    Milinkovic is believed to have been unhappy about living apart from his Vienna-based wife and their 17-year-old son
    The death cast a pall on the second day of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. Officials said they were shocked by the news of the death of a very popular and well-liked man.
    NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was 'deeply saddened by the tragic death of the Serbian ambassador.'
    'As Serbian ambassador to NATO he earned the respect and admiration of his fellow ambassadors,' he said.
    When Yugoslavia was a united country, Milinkovic worked for a prominent Yugoslav foreign policy think-tank.
    But when Milosevic seized power in Serbia in late 1980s, Milinkovic joined other liberals who opposed the former strongman's regime and presented a rare voice of moderation during the era when much of Serbia was engulfed in nationalist fervor. He established close ties with international human rights and other groups and remained active in anti-war groups.
    Highly regarded as a liberal activist, Branislav Milinkovic, far left, had opposed the authoritarian regime of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic
    After Milosevic was ousted in 2000, Milinkovic was appointed Serbia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, or OSCE, in Vienna.
    He was transferred to NATO as Serbia's special representative in 2004. Serbia is not a member of the military alliance, but Milinkovic was named ambassador after Belgrade joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program, which involves neutral states.
    The move to join the NATO program had angered Serbian nationalists who are now in power. They have pledged that Serbia will never join NATO because of the alliance's 1999 bombing campaign that forced Milosevic's forces to withdraw from Serbia's southern province of Kosovo. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, which has never accepted that loss.
    Milosevic was widely blamed for instigating the '90s Balkan wars that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, conflicts that claimed more than 100,000 lives and left millions homeless.
    At NATO, Milinkovic worked to foster closer ties with the representatives of all five other nations that gained independence after the bloody 1991 breakup of the former Yugoslav federation into Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia.
    Relations were still politically charged when Milinkovic first arrived in Brussels, but they have since improved drastically.
    Two months ago, when Croatia's ambassador to NATO was being transferred to Moscow, Milinkovic organized a dinner for all five of his counterparts and a band played music from all parts of the former Yugoslav federation.
    He is survived by his wife and son.
Ministry of Truth
  Obama Consults with MSNBC Hosts Sharpton, Maddow on Tax Rates | The Weekly Standard
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:47
    President Barack Obama met with several MSNBC hosts this afternoon at the White House to discuss tax rates, according to Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery. The reporter wondered if an "MSNBC love fest" was going on at the White House.
    Here's Bendery's reporting, in a series of tweets:
    Browse 15 Years of the Weekly Standard
  Fear of the Invisible, by Janine Roberts
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:01
    Contaminated Vaccines/AutismStatisticsOS : Linux bPHP : 5.2.17MySQL : 5.5.28-logTime : 15:02Caching : DisabledGZIP : DisabledMembers : 2297Content : 83Web Links : 3Content View Hits : 357153
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    Fear of the Invisible, by Janine Roberts
    Written by Administrator Thursday, 11 December 2008 06:35NEW! TOP SCIENTISTS CALL ON SCIENCE JOURNAL TO WITHDRAW FRAUDULENT PAPERS
    Readthe letter to the eminent Science journalasserting major fraud in key HIV papers - signed by eminent scientists!
    37 senior professors, scientists and top experts have reviewed the newly discovered documentary evidence in 'Fear of the Invisible' and conclude that there is serious scientific fraud in the scientific papers held for over 24 years to prove HIV the cause of AIDS. They formally request the Science journal to withdraw these papers - Is this the scientific fraud of the century?
    FOR THE EVIDENCE OF FRAUD - SEE LINK in column to the left
    The newly found evidence shows that the scientists who did the experimental work recorded in these papers, had originally concluded in them that the cause of AIDS could not be found, the very reverse of what they are now said to prove. It turns out that after Lab. boss Robert Gallo returned from overseas where he had boasted that they had found the cause of AIDS, he deleted these conclusions and key research findings from the lead paper, rewriting it so dramatically that three weeks later it was acclaimed for proving a virus causes AIDS. It is now one of the most cited scientific papers in the world, the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry, and yet, government experts ten years later concluded that the experiments recorded in this paper have never since been able to be repeated and thus verified.Our Press Release.
    Semmelweis Organization supports Scientists' letter
    Rethinking AIDS, representing over 2,000 scientists and others questioning the HIV theory, supports the Scientists' letter
    Semmelweis Board of Directors Resolution condemning fraudulent research - endorsing approach to the Nobel Foundation
    Letter to the Nobel Foundation
    - UPDATE - LETTER TO SCIENCE gets more signatures
    Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 December 2008 17:57 Fear of the Invisible
    by Janine Robertsisbn 0955917727, amazon.com
    308 pages US$19.95 UK£12.99An Investigative Journey into a reckless and contaminated Medical Industry
    This book takes its readers on a journey into the very heart of the hunt for viruses '' to the key experiments performed to prove that these invisibly small particles cause diseases that often were previously blamed on toxins or bacteria. It sheds light on the extraordinary assumptions underlying much of this research into viruses '' and the resulting vaccines and antiviral medicines.
    The author, an investigative journalist who researched and produced investigative films for the BBC, American and Australian television, was asked by parents with children severely ill after vaccination to discover if the medical authorities were hiding anything from them. (I should add this was Jabs!) She agreed, but had no idea how long this search would take or how it would change her ideas. She expected at best to uncover a small degree of contamination.
    On the ensuing decade-long journey of discovery, she found top government scientists report alarmingly, at meetings between scientists, that it is impossible to purify vaccines. They stated that the childhood vaccines of today are contaminated with viruses from chickens, humans and monkeys, with RNA and DNA fragments, with "cellular degradation products," and possibly "oncogenes and prions."
    A chapter called 'The impure nature of vaccines" draws heavily on official (but previously unseen ) transcripts of meetings between top UK and USA vaccine scientists... it is shocking to hear how they talk when no journalists are around. I had always imagined that vaccines were made of viruses put into a sterile fluid - with a few other chemicals added as preservatives - like mercury... and thought this was what one had to worry about...Well - this is untrue... the liquid used is not sterile - it is the fluid in which the viruses are drawn out of the incubator of animal, human or chicken cells... it cannot be filtered as that would remove the viruses wanted in it... so everything of the same size or smaller remains in the vaccines. These scientists all expressed grave concerns.... one of them said that if the Greens in the UK knew what they were saying, they would demand the immediate withdrawal of all vaccines! The author reports a manufacturer of MMR says the vaccine as given to children is full of cellular degradation products they cannot remove from it ... She also cites also authorities saying the manufactures cannot meet the government purity standards - even after they lowered them by a hundred times. A major US court decision in 2008 has linked autism with vaccine contamination.
    Thus it is not just mercury - there are a thousand things in the vaccines. Our children mostly do not fall ill from vaccination simply because nature gifts most of them with excellent immune systems...
    This book, proof read for scientific accuracy by an eminent professor of pathology, gives not just detailed quotations but also names the scientists who are saying these things - giving web links where possible so people can read the original documents for themselves. The doctors cited said that they dare not tell the pubic about all this contamination - as they might demand a withdrawal of the vaccines. Thus we are still not told despite all the consequences for long-term public health.
    There is much research here that has not been reported elsewhere. This chapter cites, for example, a World Health Organization (WHO) senior scientist who said that although they have found the MMR vaccine to be widely contaminated with chicken leukosis virus, they have decided not to tell the public and to continue to permit the vaccine to be made with contaminated eggs.
    The author has doubts over the full accuracy of their research, as it is based on discovering an enzyme, RT, not a virus, but these are important scientists and they say the virus is present, is very dangerous to chickens and potentially to children. But, to admit this publicly, would reveal that they cannot purify the vaccines given to our children.
    A senior professor is cited as writing the vaccine program was so contaminated and chimps were used in vaccine manufacturing so widely, that HIV could easily have spread in a vaccine.
    The author tells how she disturbingly discovered that the key HIV research, that said to prove that HIV causes AIDS, was investigated for scientific fraud by very powerful US scientific institutions (supervised by the US Academy of Science) and by Congress over a four year period. Why is this not widely known? It seems there has been some sort of cover-up. The book cites their conclusions, showing that they reported over twenty major errors in this research, with some errors so serious that they made it impossible to repeat these experiments and verify them! I reproduce the key documents so the reader can assess them for themselves. This is explosive material.
    Read more... Written by Janine Roberts Monday, 18 August 2008 01:37extract from Chapter 7 of Fear of the Invisible.
    MMR Vaccine Contaminated
    A year after I met with the top government regulatory scientists at the NIH Emergency Workshop on SV40 in 1997, they met again in Washington for another workshop on vaccine safety. At this there were representatives of all the major US government health organisations and of the vaccine manufacturers. A third similar meeting would be held a year later in 1999.
    The main issue at the November 1998 meeting was whether or not it would be safe for manufacturers to produce the viruses needed for vaccines from cancer cells. Pharmaceutical companies were at that time seeking government approval for this, on the basis that cancerous cells, as 'immortal' and permanent, would be cheaper to use than cells they had to regularly replace by, for example, buying more monkeys.
    These workshops looked at the issue broadly, by comparing the safety of the different ways available for making our vaccines. As everyone present was a scientist, the discussions were much more open and frank than they are when journalists are present.
    They started with the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR). One of the first speakers on this was from the federal Food and Drugs Agency (FDA) and what she had to report was very disturbing.
    'Today I would like to present an update on the reverse transcriptase [RT] activity that is present in chicken cell derived vaccines.' My attention was immediately grabbed. I knew that the mumps and measles viruses used for the MMR vaccine are grown in fertilised chicken eggs, as are also the viruses for the Flu and Yellow Fever vaccines. (The rubella virus for MMR is produced differently - in artificially grown cells taken originally from an aborted human foetus.)
    Dr, Khan was reporting the result of a just concluded two-year investigation into the safety of MMR led by the World Health Organisation. She explained that this was initiated in 1996 after the discovery in MMR of RT; an enzyme whose presence they believed could well indicate that retroviruses had contaminated the vaccine. This had greatly alarmed them as some retroviruses are thought to cause cancers - and AIDS.
    WHO had then quietly, without telling the public, without withdrawing the vaccine, organised MMR safety studies at various laboratories to see 'whether this RT activity was associated with a retroviral particle, and even more importantly, whether this retrovirus particle could infect and replicate in human cells.'
    What they then discovered confirmed their worse fears. Dr Khan continued: 'The RT activity is found to be associated with retroviral particles of two distinct avian endogenous retroviral families designated as EAV and ALV.' Now ALV stands for Avian Leukosis Virus. It is associated with a leukaemia cancer found in wild birds, so definitely was not wanted in the vaccines. EAV was however less dangerous, at least for birds as it is natural for them to have it.
    Khan added that they had also found another possible danger; 'There was a theoretical possibility that the virus [ALV] could ... infect the [human] cell' thus integrating its genetic code 'into the human DNA' to cause cancer. The only reassurance she could give was that her team had watched vaccine cultures for a full '48 hours', and, in that time period, no merger of viral and human DNA had been observed. I thought this much too short a period to guarantee safety. Cancers develop over years.
    Dr Khan then warned; 'there is a possibility that there could also be potential pseudotypes (merging between) ... the measles vaccine virus and the retroviral sequences' - meaning there was a risk that bird viruses might combine with the measles virus in the vaccine to create dangerous new mutant viruses, They had not seen it, but it could happen.
    She acknowledged much longer term safety studies were needed than 48 hours, but said that long-term studies of measles vaccine cultures were very difficult: 'because the measles vaccine virus itself lyses [kills] the culture in about three to four days.' This had prevented them from studying the longer-term consequences of this contamination of the MMR vaccine.
    So far, she added, they had only managed to analyse a small part of the retrovirus contamination in the vaccines. 'Our ongoing studies are directed towards doing similar analysis' of other retroviral genetic codes found in the vaccine preparations.' It was suspected that other retroviruses might also be present. She also noted that 'about 20 years ago similar RT activity was reported' in the vaccine. Apparently nothing had been done about it at that time and the public were never told.
    She concluded by explaining what the World Health Organisation (WHO) had decided to do about this chicken leucosis virus (ALV) contamination. It would take the risk of quietly allowing MMR to continue to be contaminated. It would permit vaccine manufacturers to continue to use retrovirus contaminated eggs, because 'you cannot get ALV free flocks in places where you are making yellow fever vaccine.'
    Dr Andrew Lewis, head of the DNA Virus Laboratory in the Division of Viral Products, then warned. 'All the egg-based vaccines are contaminated,' including 'influenza, yellow fever and smallpox vaccines, as well as the vaccine for horses against encephalomyelitis virus' for 'these fertilised chicken eggs are susceptible to a wide variety of viruses.'
    This was an eye opener for me. Before I started on this investigation, if I thought about it, I would have presumed our vaccines were made of selected viruses in sterile fluid to which a small amount of preservative chemicals has been added. I think this is what most parents presume.
    It was thus a shock to discover from this top-level scientific workshop that the viruses in our current vaccines are not in a sterile fluid as I had presumed, but in a soup of unknown bits and pieces, a veritable witches' brew of DNA fragments, added chemicals, proteins and, even possibly prions and oncogenes, all of which would easily pass through the filters used to be injected into our children.
    Our vaccines, I thus learnt, are not filtered clean but are suspensions from the manufacturers' 'incubation tanks' in which the viruses are produced from 'substrates' of mashed bird embryo, minced monkey kidneys or cloned human cells. These suspensions are filtered before use but only to remove particles larger than viruses. The point of the vaccine is that it contains viruses, thus these must not be filtered out. This means there remains in the vaccine everything of the same size or smaller, including what the manufacturers call 'degradation products' - parts of decayed viruses or cells.
    I also learnt that the only official checks made for contaminants in vaccines are for a few known pathogens, thus ignoring a vast host of unknown, unstudied, small particles and chemicals. These eminent doctors reported at these vaccine safety meetings that it is simply impossible to remove these from our common vaccines - and this would of course also apply to vaccines for pets, farm animals and birds.
    I went to the published reports of the MMR manufacturers and found these confirmed what the scientists at this workshop had reported. A manufacturer stated in 2000 that it made the MMR vaccine with 'harvested virus fluids.' It stated frankly that their 'Measles vaccine bulk is an unpurified product whose potency was measured through a biological assay for the active substance rather than through evaluation of integrity of physical form. Degradation products are neither identified nor quantified.' In other words, it left the latter in the measles vaccine along with all contaminants that lay there quietly, or worked slowly. The pharmaceutical company admitted checking the measles vaccine only for obviously active contaminates. It did not measure how much the vaccine was polluted with genetic code fragments, other viruses, or with parts of bacterial, animal, bird or human cells.
    ......
    The latest information I could find on the retroviral contamination of the MMR vaccine was in a 2001 scientific paper from the CDC. This reported that 100 MMR recipients were tested to see if they were contaminated by either of the two types of retroviruses identified by Dr Khan and others. The conclusion was dramatic. 'The finding of RT activity in all measles vaccine lots from different manufacturers tested suggests that this occurrence is not sporadic and that vaccine recipients may be universally exposed to these [chicken] retroviral particles.'
    They then concluded: 'Despite these reassuring data, the presence of avian retroviral particles in chick embryo fibroblast-derived vaccines [like MMR] raises questions about the suitability of primary chicken cell substrates for vaccine production.' They recommended considering stopping production in fertilized eggs, and growing the vaccine viruses instead on 'RT-negative cells from different species, such as on immortalized [cancerous] or diploid [laboratory grown] mammalian cells.' I was amazed to learn this, for, to the best of my knowledge, nothing has been done since this report was made to render MMR safer. The measles vaccine is still produced from contaminated chicken embryos.
    http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/cber05.html#VaccinesandRelatedBiological
    http://www.fda.gov/cber/advisory/vrbp/vrbpmain.htm
    http://www.emea.eu.int/humandocs/PDFs/EPAR/mmrvaxpro/060406en6.pdf.
    Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 August 2008 17:12 Written by Administrator Thursday, 12 October 2006 10:00The introduction to the book...Virology - the misnamed Science
    The word 'virus' comes from the Latin for a poisonous liquid, and before that from the Sanskrit for the same. The hunt for them started when, towards the end of the 19th century, it was suggested that invisible living particles much smaller than bacteria might cause the epidemic illnesses for which no bacterial cause could be found. When the electron microscope found tiny particles in the blood serum of patients entering and leaving human cells, this was a Eureka Moment. The prediction was surely about to be proved true. These particles were assumed to be invading and hijacking our cells in order to reproduce. They were thus all condemned as poisons, as 'viruses.'
    As more of these were searched for and found in sick people, many illnesses became blamed on them. They became the invisible enemy, the nano-terrorist we must fear. We were instructed that one of our first duties for our newborn children is to vaccinate them against this dreaded foe. Thus was created an ever-growing multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry.
    But, as I have travelled through the science that underlies this industry, I have gradually learnt to ask questions. I now realise that there is another way to see this story that fits all the data. I have learnt from biologists that our cells naturally produce viral-like particles without being invaded or infected, both when healthy and sick. Currently such particles are named by asking what illnesses they cause as if this is their raison d'ªtre, their only importance, the sole reason for cells making them. They would be named far more positively and comprehensively by asking what cells produce them and for what purpose.
    Scientists like Barbara McClintock, who won a Nobel Prize for finding that cells operate with intelligence and seek to repair themselves, have given us a very different understanding of the particles they make. We now know that our cells create multitudes of tiny transport particles (vesicles) to carry the proteins and genetic codes needed within and between cells. The ones that travel between cells, those our cells use to communicate with each other - are puzzlingly just like those that we have long blamed for illnesses.
    It now seems that we may have broadly misconceived the virus; that they may be simply inert messages in envelopes carried from cell to cell. In the last ten years scientists have begun to call them instead 'exosomes', 'particles that leave the body' of the cell, thus removing the inference that they are all poisons. Distinguishing the healthy particle from the pathogenic is now an enormous problem for the virologist, for it has been discovered that our cells make them all in the same way, in the very same place. It also seems we cannot stop this process without risking severely damaging our cells.
    So, perhaps we need to halt the juggernaut of virology with its virus hunt, and look to see if there is another way of helping us keep healthy. We need to know how we can strengthen the malnourished cell, rather than use the many medicines that try to prevent it from making particles by interfering with its essential processes. We need to know if a poisoned cell may produce unhealthy messengers or viruses. We need to learn far more about cells - for only now are we starting to understand how they communicate and the very important role played in this by the particles we had totally demonised as viruses.
    I spent over 4 years in the 1990s researching why the vaccines made to protect our children from viruses sometimes instead did them grievous damage. It then took me over 8 years to travel from accepting without question that a virus causes polio and another causes AIDS to discover that most people, including myself, have been vastly misled.
    I now realize that science today is so specialized, that every new generation of scientists has had to trust that those who laid the foundations got things right, for they cannot repeat this earlier work except at great cost. If this trust ever proves to be misplaced, it is absolutely vital to correct this with all speed and courage.
    I have been horrified to learn from the highest scientific authorities that this trust has sometimes been very grievously misplaced. For example, high-level US governmental inquiries in the 1990s, guided by eminent scientists, explicitly reported the key foundation HIV research papers were riddled with grave errors and deceptively "fixed." They documented these findings with great care - and I likewise do so here. But when the Republican Party gained control over the US House of Representatives at the end of 1994, it ended this most important investigation, buried its reports and left the scientific papers it found to be erroneous uncorrected. These same papers are thus still frequently used by unsuspecting scientists worldwide, who cite them as proof that HIV causes AIDS. I present clear evidence here that these papers were fixed at the last moment before publication. I also reproduce the original documents so you can judge for yourselves.
    When I dug back further, to the origins of virology and the great hunt for the poliovirus, I found the story was scandalously much the same. Powerful evidence was presented to Congress linking the summer polio epidemics to summer-used heavy metal pesticides. These scientists suggested remedies, reported curing polio - and were ignored. Instead parents were told to be scared of a yet undiscovered virus. Today thousands of children are still being identically paralysed in regions where such pesticides are heavily used - but all the World Health Organisation (WHO) says is: 'Don't worry; we have nearly exterminated the dreaded poliovirus. We have checked. The paralysed children were not infected by it.'
    As for childhood vaccinations, surely they have proved a great benefit? I long thought so, but I have found the government scientists we entrust with our children's lives have admitted, at official vaccine safety meetings reported here for the first time, that they cannot clean these vaccines; that they allowed their use despite knowing that they are scandalously polluted with numerous viruses, viral and genetic code fragments, possibly toxins, prions and oncogenes. The World Health Organisation has also disclosed at these meetings that it has long known that the MMR vaccine to be contaminated with avian leucosis virus. This is a bird virus linked to leukaemia, but the public have not been told about this. Why most children are not falling ill from this dangerous contamination is, it seems, because most are thankfully gifted by nature with very effective immune systems - and because these viruses are generally not as dangerous as these scientists believe.
    As for the great flu' epidemic of 1918, it is used today to spread fear of viruses. Yet, shortly after it occurred, an eminent Yale University professor reported that bacteria primarily caused it, and the flu viruses present were virtually harmless. As far as I can discover, his work remains unquestioned but not mentioned. I thus report it in this book. As for the recent scare over bird flu - any self-respecting bird would fall ill and create new viruses if subjected to the amounts of pollution now emitted in China. What we need to focus on is the pollution - not to waste a fortune on chasing genetic code fragments in birds healthily migrating thousands of miles.
    What also of the many eminent scientists who have concluded publicly that the HIV theory of AIDS must be scientifically flawed because their research indicates that it has other causes and is curable? Is it right that their research is being suppressed, ridiculed and not funded - simply because they have not confirmed the establishment's theory for this dreaded epidemic? At the end of this book I list some of their names and positions.
    Among these dissenters are at least one Nobel Laureate and many senior professors at major universities. But it seems, no matter how important the academic chairs they hold, they are all mocked for so concluding and are scarcely ever interviewed. Instead they are scandalously called 'Denialists,' as if they had denied the Nazi Holocaust, on the basis that their work dissuades people from taking antiretroviral chemotherapy drugs - which logically cannot be lifesaving, despite all claims, if a retrovirus is not to be blamed.
    I have to ask what are the consequences of this uncritical adherence to the theory of HIV? So far this theory has produced no cure and no vaccine despite the spending of some $200 billion on research. So, what if unacknowledged fraud is a major reason for this continual frustration? Is HIV science built upon flawed and fraudulent research? As for Robert Gallo, the first scientist awarded the credit for discovering HIV; it seems he may have only escaped criminal prosecution for fraud in developing the HIV test on a technicality; because it was found by a State Attorney General that too much time had elapsed for his prosecution to be undertaken.
    As for AIDS in Africa, journalists rarely check how AIDS is diagnosed in that continent. Most logically presume it is diagnosed the same as in the West. But, if they had checked, they would have learnt that World Health Organisation has set very different criteria for an AIDS diagnosis in Africa - explicitly stating that AIDS can be diagnosed solely on the basis of symptoms common to other major diseases! Thus many diseases can be and are diagnosed as AIDS in Africa. I cite these remarkable diagnostic rules in full in this book so you can judge this for yourselves.
    If the dissenting scientists were right, if we wrongly fear a sexually transmitted virus, this discovery would have an enormous impact around the world and especially in Africa. It would cause a vast uplifting of the spirits of its people, far greater than anything achieved by "Alive-AID" concerts. We all know how devastating it is for an individual to be told that they are HIV positive and will inevitably die of AIDS. What then does it do to the morale of the people of a continent to be told that they are not only desperately poor but incurably blighted - due to sex?"
    We have been taught to greatly fear viruses - and yet scientists have long known that these are fundamental parts of life, made by the millions by all healthy cells. I hope this book will help by combating this fear, this damning of the invisible because we do not understand it. Without this fear, hopefully the focus in medical research will shift to the environmental toxins that really do put us, and our world, gravely at risk.
    As for myself, my work as an investigative journalist previously was on relatively safer subjects for one's reputation in the liberal press, such as arms for Iran, Aboriginal land rights, blood diamonds. I do not expect such a relatively easy ride this time, given the emotion connected to this issue. Indeed, attempts have already been made to prevent this work appearing, by the same academics who have tried to prevent publicity for the works of the 'dissident' scientists, I suppose I should be honoured to be seen so early as a danger by them, even before this book appeared! You can read here verbatim their attacks on my work and judge their validity for yourselves.
    But the truth needs to be out. I hope my account will help to lift the fear with which these natural and fascinating tiny particles have been enshrouded for far too long. They are the products of our cells - and they helped make us.
    When I began some twelve years ago my journey into medical research, it took me into the grim world of the virus hunters - but then, utterly unexpectedly, it led to me being utterly enthralled by the marvels of miniscule world of the cell and of its messenger particles or viruses, a world that may well extend across galaxies. I invite you to join me on this journey to meet with our oldest, smallest ancestors, ones whom we are only just now starting to know.
    For an example of 'infection' used as a criteria, see Retroelement and Retrovirus Universal Classification - Pat Heslop-Harrison. http://www.le.ac.uk/bl/phh4/retrocla.htm
    Last Updated on Monday, 08 September 2008 00:07 Written by Janine Roberts Monday, 18 August 2008 21:06How 'Measles Virus' is isolated for a Vaccine.
    extract from 'Fear of the Invisible"
    In an online paper entitled 'Isolation and Identification of Measles Virus in Cell Culture,' the CDC, the central Health Research authority of the USA, lays out how isolation of this virus should be done so it can be used, say for a vaccine. It instructs, first obtain from the patient a small sample of urine or fluid from the nose or mouth.
    Next 'sacrifice' a marmoset monkey, take some of its cells, then make these cancerous, perhaps by exposing them to radiation, and then give them, on top of this, Epstein-Barr disease! Such extremely sick cells, the CDC informs us, are '10,000 times' more sensitive to the measles virus than are normal human cells.
    Now add to these cells a toxin called trypsin. The CDC tells us to expect some cells to fall off the sides of the vessel as if they have been poisoned. They have been. Now add nutrients and glucose and leave for two or three days so the cells can somewhat recover.
    Now add to the cells the sample gathered from the patient. After an hour, inspect the cells in the culture with a microscope to see if any of the cells are becoming distorted, or are floating free as they did when trypsin was added. If they are, the CDC says this is proof that measles virus is present and making the cells ill.
    This statement made me sit back and think. Why should this illness now be caused by a virus? They had poisoned the cells, made them cancerous..... and now the CDC was saying the cells must be ill because they had measles. Where was the logic in this?
    The next stage involves the addition of two antibiotics, Penicillin and Streptomycin, to the culture and leaving it alone for a day. Again the cells are inspected - and if small holes now appear between cells, it is now presumed that measles virus has caused these. If no sign of such damage, this process is repeated. If after this there are still no signs of damage, then the culture is discarded. However, if 50% or more of the cells are now seriously ill and distorted, the culture is set aside and kept in the fridge as 'isolated measles virus stock suitable for vaccines!' All this without actually detecting the virus itself!
    This is the whole process as recommended by the CDC. There is no mention of the need to have a control culture, no mention of any need to isolate the measles virus or even to see it with an electron microscope. The cells are poisoned - and an unseen measles virus is blamed - even thou' the disease the cells have is totally unlike measles. Where is the logic in this?
    CDC. Isolation and Identification of Measles Virus in Culture, Revised November 29, 2001.
    Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 August 2008 17:02
  Liberal Amsterdam plans to create 'scum villages' | World news
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:31
    Amsterdam's anti-social tenants will be housed in converted shipping containers, such as these already used by students. Photograph: Paul O'Driscoll/Bloomberg News
    Amsterdam still looks liberal to tourists, who were recently assured by the Labour mayor that the city's marijuana-selling coffee shops would stay open despite a new national law tackling drug tourism. But the Dutch capital may lose its reputation for tolerance over plans to dispatch nuisance neighbours to "scum villages" made from shipping containers.
    The mayor, Eberhard van der Laan, insists his controversial new £810,000 policy to tackle antisocial behaviour is to protect victims of abuse and homophobia from harassment.
    The camps where antisocial tenants will be rehoused for three to six months have been called "scum villages" because the policy echoes proposals from Geert Wilders, the far-right populist, who last year demanded that "repeat offenders" be "sent to a village for scum".
    But Bartho Boer, a spokesman for the mayor, denies that the plans are illiberal. "We want to defend the liberal values of Amsterdam," he says. "We want everyone to be who he and she is '' whether they are gay and lesbian or stand up to violence and are then victims of harassment. We as a society want to defend them."
    According to Boer, the villages are not for "the regular nuisance between two neighbours where one has the stereo too loud on Saturday night" but "people who are extremely violent and intimidating and in a clear situation where a victim is being repeatedly harassed".
    Those deemed guilty of causing "extreme havoc" will be evicted and placed in temporary homes of a "basic" nature, including converted shipping containers in industrial areas of the city. "We call it a living container," says Boer. Housing antisocial tenants in these units, which have showers and kitchens and have been used as student accommodation, will ensure that they are not "rewarded" by being relocated to better accommodation.
    Dutch newspaper the Parool has pointed out that in the 19th century troublemakers were moved to villages in Drenthe and Overijssel, which rapidly became slums. But Boer insists that the administration has learned from past mistakes and is not planning to house the antisocial together.
    It would be more accurate to call them "scum houses" than scum villages, says Boer, "because we don't want to put more than one of these families in the same area". After up to six months in these houses, scattered around the city, the tenants will be found permanent homes. The city government anticipates moving around 10 families a year into this programme, which starts in 2013.
    The temporary dwellings will be heavily policed, but antisocial tenants will also have access to doctors, social workers and parole officers. "They are taken care of so the whole situation is not going to repeat at the new house they are in," says Boer.
  Amsterdam plans caravan exile for nasty neighbours
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:39
    Amsterdam plans caravan exile for nasty neighboursFriday 30 November 2012
    Problem families who engage in long-running and structural intimidation of their neighbours face being moved to caravans in isolated parts of the city under a new plan drawn up by Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan.
    A special team of city hall officials is being set up to identify the worst offenders and if their behaviour does not improve, they face eviction and rehousing in containers with 'minimal services', the Parool states.
    They would remain in the dwellings under the supervision of police and social workers for six months.
    The council is investing '‚¬1m in the project to tackle neighbourhood intimidation, the paper says. The project also involves setting up a special system for victims to report their problems.
    Troublemakers
    The Parool points out that such moves are not new. In the 19th century, troublemakers were moved to special villages in Drenthe and Overijssel. These projects were rarely successful.
    'We have learned from the past,' Van der Laan's spokesman Bartho Boer told the paper. 'A neighbourhood can deal with one problem family but if there are more the situation escalates.'
    Last year, Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration PVV, called for the setting up of special 'scum villages' to house persistent troublemakers.
    Bartho denied the new project would create 'scum villages'. 'But the aim is not to reward people who behave badly with a new five-room home with a south-facing garden. This is supposed to be a deterrent,' he said.
    There have already been several small-scale experiments in the Netherlands, including in Amsterdam, where several shipping container homes were set aside for persistent offenders.
    A good idea? Use the comment box below to have your say
    (C) DutchNews.nl
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  UN Enable - Text of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:49
    Sixty-first sessionItem 67 (b)Human rights questions: human rights questions, includingalternative approaches for improving the effective enjoymentof human rights and fundamental freedoms
    Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesPreamble
    The States Parties to the present Convention,
    (a) Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
    (b) Recognizing that the United Nations, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, has proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind,
    (c) Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need for persons with disabilities to be guaranteed their full enjoyment without discrimination,
    (d) Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
    (e) Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others,
    (f) Recognizing the importance of the principles and policy guidelines contained in the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in influencing the promotion, formulation and evaluation of the policies, plans, programmes and actions at the national, regional and international levels to further equalize opportunities for persons with disabilities,
    (g) Emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming disability issues as an integral part of relevant strategies of sustainable development,
    (h) Recognizing also that discrimination against any person on the basis of disability is a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human person,
    (i) Recognizing further the diversity of persons with disabilities,
    (j) Recognizing the need to promote and protect the human rights of all persons with disabilities, including those who require more intensive support,
    (k) Concerned that, despite these various instruments and undertakings, persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world,
    (l) Recognizing the importance of international cooperation for improving the living conditions of persons with disabilities in every country, particularly in developing countries,
    (m) Recognizing the valued existing and potential contributions made by persons with disabilities to the overall well-being and diversity of their communities, and that the promotion of the full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and of full participation by persons with disabilities will result in their enhanced sense of belonging and in significant advances in the human, social and economic development of society and the eradication of poverty,
    (n) Recognizing the importance for persons with disabilities of their individual autonomy and independence, including the freedom to make their own choices,
    (o) Considering that persons with disabilities should have the opportunity to be actively involved in decision-making processes about policies and programmes, including those directly concerning them,
    (p) Concerned about the difficult conditions faced by persons with disabilities who are subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or other status,
    (q) Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are often at greater risk, both within and outside the home of violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
    (r) Recognizing that children with disabilities should have full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children, and recalling obligations to that end undertaken by States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
    (s) Emphasizing the need to incorporate a gender perspective in all efforts to promote the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities,
    (t) Highlighting the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities live in conditions of poverty, and in this regard recognizing the critical need to address the negative impact of poverty on persons with disabilities,
    (u) Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and security based on full respect for the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations and observance of applicable human rights instruments are indispensable for the full protection of persons with disabilities, in particular during armed conflicts and foreign occupation,
    (v) Recognizing the importance of accessibility to the physical, social, economic and cultural environment, to health and education and to information and communication, in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms,
    (w) Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to which he or she belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the International Bill of Human Rights,
    (x) Convinced that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State, and that persons with disabilities and their family members should receive the necessary protection and assistance to enable families to contribute towards the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities,
    (y) Convinced that a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities will make a significant contribution to redressing the profound social disadvantage of persons with disabilities and promote their participation in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres with equal opportunities, in both developing and developed countries,
    Have agreed as follows:
    Article 1Purpose
    The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
    Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
    Article 2Definitions
    For the purposes of the present Convention:
    ''Communication'' includes languages, display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language, human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology;
    ''Language'' includes spoken and signed languages and other forms of non spoken languages;
    ''Discrimination on the basis of disability'' means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation;
    ''Reasonable accommodation'' means necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;
    ''Universal design'' means the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. ''Universal design'' shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.
    Article 3General principles
    The principles of the present Convention shall be:
    (a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons;
    (b) Non-discrimination;
    (c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
    (d) Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;
    (e) Equality of opportunity;
    (f) Accessibility;
    (g) Equality between men and women;
    (h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
    Article 4General obligations
    1. States Parties undertake to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. To this end, States Parties undertake:
    (a) To adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention;
    (b) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities;
    (c) To take into account the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities in all policies and programmes;
    (d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent with the present Convention and to ensure that public authorities and institutions act in conformity with the present Convention;
    (e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability by any person, organization or private enterprise;
    (f) To undertake or promote research and development of universally designed goods, services, equipment and facilities, as defined in article 2 of the present Convention, which should require the minimum possible adaptation and the least cost to meet the specific needs of a person with disabilities, to promote their availability and use, and to promote universal design in the development of standards and guidelines;
    (g) To undertake or promote research and development of, and to promote the availability and use of new technologies, including information and communications technologies, mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, suitable for persons with disabilities, giving priority to technologies at an affordable cost;
    (h) To provide accessible information to persons with disabilities about mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies, including new technologies, as well as other forms of assistance, support services and facilities;
    (i) To promote the training of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in this Convention so as to better provide the assistance and services guaranteed by those rights.
    2. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, each State Party undertakes to take measures to the maximum of its available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice to those obligations contained in the present Convention that are immediately applicable according to international law.
    3. In the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the present Convention, and in other decision-making processes concerning issues relating to persons with disabilities, States Parties shall closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations.
    4. Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are more conducive to the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and which may be contained in the law of a State Party or international law in force for that State. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of the human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized or existing in any State Party to the present Convention pursuant to law, conventions, regulation or custom on the pretext that the present Convention does not recognize such rights or freedoms or that it recognizes them to a lesser extent.
    5. The provisions of the present Convention shall extend to all parts of federal states without any limitations or exceptions.
    Article 5Equality and non-discrimination
    1. States Parties recognize that all persons are equal before and under the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law.
    2. States Parties shall prohibit all discrimination on the basis of disability and guarantee to persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection against discrimination on all grounds.
    3. In order to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, States Parties shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided.
    4. Specific measures which are necessary to accelerate or achieve de facto equality of persons with disabilities shall not be considered discrimination under the terms of the present Convention.
    Article 6Women with disabilities
    1. States Parties recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination, and in this regard shall take measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by them of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
    2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the full development, advancement and empowerment of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the present Convention.
    Article 7Children with disabilities
    1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.
    2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
    3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right.
    Article 8Awareness-raising
    1. States Parties undertake to adopt immediate, effective and appropriate measures:
    (a) To raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities;
    (b) To combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life;
    (c) To promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of persons with disabilities.
    2. Measures to this end include:
    (a) Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns designed:
    (i) To nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with disabilities;(ii) To promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards persons with disabilities;(iii) To promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities of persons with disabilities, and of their contributions to the workplace and the labour market;
    (b) Fostering at all levels of the education system, including in all children from an early age, an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities;
    (c) Encouraging all organs of the media to portray persons with disabilities in a manner consistent with the purpose of the present Convention;
    (d) Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding persons with disabilities and the rights of persons with disabilities.
    Article 9Accessibility
    1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas. These measures, which shall include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:
    (a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;
    (b) Information, communications and other services, including electronic services and emergency services.
    2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
    (a) Develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public;
    (b) Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;
    (c) Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing persons with disabilities;
    (d) Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
    (e) Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;
    (f) Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons with disabilities to ensure their access to information;
    (g) Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet;
    (h) Promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.
    Article 10Right to life
    States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
    Article 11Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies
    States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.
    Article 12Equal recognition before the law
    1. States Parties reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law.
    2. States Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.
    3. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.
    4. States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with international human rights law. Such safeguards shall ensure that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the rights, will and preferences of the person, are free of conflict of interest and undue influence, are proportional and tailored to the person's circumstances, apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular review by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The safeguards shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the person's rights and interests.
    5. Subject to the provisions of this article, States Parties shall take all appropriate and effective measures to ensure the equal right of persons with disabilities to own or inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, and shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not arbitrarily deprived of their property.
    Article 13Access to justice
    1. States Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their effective role as direct and indirect participants, including as witnesses, in all legal proceedings, including at investigative and other preliminary stages.
    2. In order to help to ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities, States Parties shall promote appropriate training for those working in the field of administration of justice, including police and prison staff.
    Article 14Liberty and security of the person
    1. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others:
    (a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;
    (b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty.
    2. States Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities are deprived of their liberty through any process, they are, on an equal basis with others, entitled to guarantees in accordance with international human rights law and shall be treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of this Convention, including by provision of reasonable accommodation.
    Article 15Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishment
    1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
    2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
    Article 16Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
    1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, including their gender-based aspects.
    2. States Parties shall also take all appropriate measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse by ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for persons with disabilities and their families and caregivers, including through the provision of information and education on how to avoid, recognize and report instances of exploitation, violence and abuse. States Parties shall ensure that protection services are age-, gender- and disability-sensitive.
    3. In order to prevent the occurrence of all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, States Parties shall ensure that all facilities and programmes designed to serve persons with disabilities are effectively monitored by independent authorities.
    4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote the physical, cognitive and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation, violence or abuse, including through the provision of protection services. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment that fosters the health, welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and takes into account gender- and age-specific needs.
    5. States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies, including women- and child-focused legislation and policies, to ensure that instances of exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities are identified, investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
    Article 17Protecting the integrity of the person
    Every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.
    Article 18Liberty of movement and nationality
    1. States Parties shall recognize the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of movement, to freedom to choose their residence and to a nationality, on an equal basis with others, including by ensuring that persons with disabilities:
    (a) Have the right to acquire and change a nationality and are not deprived of their nationality arbitrarily or on the basis of disability;
    (b) Are not deprived, on the basis of disability, of their ability to obtain, possess and utilize documentation of their nationality or other documentation of identification, or to utilize relevant processes such as immigration proceedings, that may be needed to facilitate exercise of the right to liberty of movement;
    (c) Are free to leave any country, including their own;
    (d) Are not deprived, arbitrarily or on the basis of disability, of the right to enter their own country.
    2. Children with disabilities shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.
    Article 19Living independently and being included in the community
    States Parties to this Convention recognize the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community, including by ensuring that:
    (a) Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement;
    (b) Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community;
    (c) Community services and facilities for the general population are available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their needs.
    Article 20Personal mobility
    States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including by:
    (a) Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost;
    (b) Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including by making them available at affordable cost;
    (c) Providing training in mobility skills to persons with disabilities and to specialist staff working with persons with disabilities;
    (d) Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons with disabilities.
    Article 21Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
    States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others and through all forms of communication of their choice, as defined in article 2 of the present Convention, including by:
    (a) Providing information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost;
    (b) Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official interactions;
    (c) Urging private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities;
    (d) Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities;
    (e) Recognizing and promoting the use of sign languages.
    Article 22Respect for privacy
    1. No person with disabilities, regardless of place of residence or living arrangements, shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence or other types of communication or to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. Persons with disabilities have the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
    2. States Parties shall protect the privacy of personal, health and rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
    Article 23Respect for home and the family
    1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others, so as to ensure that:
    (a) The right of all persons with disabilities who are of marriageable age to marry and to found a family on the basis of free and full consent of the intending spouses is recognized;
    (b) The rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to age-appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education are recognized, and the means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights are provided;
    (c) Persons with disabilities, including children, retain their fertility on an equal basis with others.
    2. States Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities, with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship, adoption of children or similar institutions, where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the best interests of the child shall be paramount. States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to persons with disabilities in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.
    3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have equal rights with respect to family life. With a view to realizing these rights, and to prevent concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation of children with disabilities, States Parties shall undertake to provide early and comprehensive information, services and support to children with disabilities and their families.
    4. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. In no case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or both of the parents.
    5. States Parties shall, where the immediate family is unable to care for a child with disabilities, undertake every effort to provide alternative care within the wider family, and failing that, within the community in a family setting.
    Article 24Education
    1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and life long learning directed to:
    (a) The full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity;
    (b) The development by persons with disabilities of their personality, talents and creativity, as well as their mental and physical abilities, to their fullest potential;
    (c) Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society.
    2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:
    (a) Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability;
    (b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live;
    (c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual's requirements is provided;
    (d) Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education;
    (e) Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.
    3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:
    (a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;
    (b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
    (c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development.
    4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.
    5. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access general tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong learning without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this end, States Parties shall ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities.
    Article 25Health
    States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are gender-sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. In particular, States Parties shall:
    (a) Provide persons with disabilities with the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care and programmes as provided to other persons, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health and population-based public health programmes;
    (b) Provide those health services needed by persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent further disabilities, including among children and older persons;
    (c) Provide these health services as close as possible to people's own communities, including in rural areas;
    (d) Require health professionals to provide care of the same quality to persons with disabilities as to others, including on the basis of free and informed consent by, inter alia, raising awareness of the human rights, dignity, autonomy and needs of persons with disabilities through training and the promulgation of ethical standards for public and private health care;
    (e) Prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the provision of health insurance, and life insurance where such insurance is permitted by national law, which shall be provided in a fair and reasonable manner;
    (f) Prevent discriminatory denial of health care or health services or food and fluids on the basis of disability.
    Article 26Habilitation and rehabilitation
    1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures, including through peer support, to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. To that end, States Parties shall organize, strengthen and extend comprehensive habilitation and rehabilitation services and programmes, particularly in the areas of health, employment, education and social services, in such a way that these services and programmes:
    (a) Begin at the earliest possible stage, and are based on the multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs and strengths;
    (b) Support participation and inclusion in the community and all aspects of society, are voluntary, and are available to persons with disabilities as close as possible to their own communities, including in rural areas.
    2. States Parties shall promote the development of initial and continuing training for professionals and staff working in habilitation and rehabilitation services.
    3. States Parties shall promote the availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities, as they relate to habilitation and rehabilitation.
    Article 27Work and employment
    1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realization of the right to work, including for those who acquire a disability during the course of employment, by taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to, inter alia:
    (a) Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment, including conditions of recruitment, hiring and employment, continuance of employment, career advancement and safe and healthy working conditions;
    (b) Protect the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to just and favourable conditions of work, including equal opportunities and equal remuneration for work of equal value, safe and healthy working conditions, including protection from harassment, and the redress of grievances;
    (c) Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their labour and trade union rights on an equal basis with others;
    (d) Enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes, placement services and vocational and continuing training;
    (e) Promote employment opportunities and career advancement for persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and returning to employment;
    (f) Promote opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship, the development of cooperatives and starting one's own business;
    (g) Employ persons with disabilities in the public sector;
    (h) Promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector through appropriate policies and measures, which may include affirmative action programmes, incentives and other measures;
    (i) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities in the workplace;
    (j) Promote the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work experience in the open labour market;
    (k) Promote vocational and professional rehabilitation, job retention and return-to-work programmes for persons with disabilities.
    2. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not held in slavery or in servitude, and are protected, on an equal basis with others, from forced or compulsory labour.
    Article 28Adequate standard of living and social protection
    1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
    2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right, including measures:
    (a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other assistance for disability-related needs;
    (b) To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to social protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes;
    (c) To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability-related expenses, including adequate training, counselling, financial assistance and respite care;
    (d) To ensure access by persons with disabilities to public housing programmes;
    (e) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement benefits and programmes.
    Article 29Participation in political and public life
    States Parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others, and shall undertake to:
    (a) Ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter alia, by:
    (i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use;
    (ii) Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote by secret ballot in elections and public referendums without intimidation, and to stand for elections, to effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all levels of government, facilitating the use of assistive and new technologies where appropriate;
    (iii) Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with disabilities as electors and to this end, where necessary, at their request, allowing assistance in voting by a person of their own choice;
    (b) Promote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and encourage their participation in public affairs, including:
    (i) Participation in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country, and in the activities and administration of political parties;
    (ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at international, national, regional and local levels.
    Article 30Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
    1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities:
    (a) Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats;
    (b) Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats;
    (c) Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.
    2. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.
    3. States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.
    4. Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.
    5. With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
    (a) To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels;
    (b) To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
    (c) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues;
    (d) To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system;
    (e) To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.
    Article 31Statistics and data collection
    1. States Parties undertake to collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement policies to give effect to the present Convention. The process of collecting and maintaining this information shall:
    (a) Comply with legally established safeguards, including legislation on data protection, to ensure confidentiality and respect for the privacy of persons with disabilities;
    (b) Comply with internationally accepted norms to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and ethical principles in the collection and use of statistics.
    2. The information collected in accordance with this article shall be disaggregated, as appropriate, and used to help assess the implementation of States Parties' obligations under the present Convention and to identify and address the barriers faced by persons with disabilities in exercising their rights.
    3. States Parties shall assume responsibility for the dissemination of these statistics and ensure their accessibility to persons with disabilities and others.
    Article 32International cooperation
    1. States Parties recognize the importance of international cooperation and its promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities. Such measures could include, inter alia:
    (a) Ensuring that international cooperation, including international development programmes, is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities;
    (b) Facilitating and supporting capacity-building, including through the exchange and sharing of information, experiences, training programmes and best practices;
    (c) Facilitating cooperation in research and access to scientific and technical knowledge;
    (d) Providing, as appropriate, technical and economic assistance, including by facilitating access to and sharing of accessible and assistive technologies, and through the transfer of technologies.
    2. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the obligations of each State Party to fulfil its obligations under the present Convention.
    Article 33National implementation and monitoring
    1. States Parties, in accordance with their system of organization, shall designate one or more focal points within government for matters relating to the implementation of the present Convention, and shall give due consideration to the establishment or designation of a coordination mechanism within government to facilitate related action in different sectors and at different levels.
    2. States Parties shall, in accordance with their legal and administrative systems, maintain, strengthen, designate or establish within the State Party, a framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate, to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention. When designating or establishing such a mechanism, States Parties shall take into account the principles relating to the status and functioning of national institutions for protection and promotion of human rights.
    3. Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process.
    Article 34Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
    1. There shall be established a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter referred to as ''the Committee''), which shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided.
    2. The Committee shall consist, at the time of entry into force of the present Convention, of twelve experts. After an additional sixty ratifications or accessions to the Convention, the membership of the Committee shall increase by six members, attaining a maximum number of eighteen members.
    3. The members of the Committee shall serve in their personal capacity and shall be of high moral standing and recognized competence and experience in the field covered by the present Convention. When nominating their candidates, States Parties are invited to give due consideration to the provision set out in article 4.3 of the present Convention.
    4. The members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution, representation of the different forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems, balanced gender representation and participation of experts with disabilities.
    5. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by the States Parties from among their nationals at meetings of the Conference of States Parties. At those meetings, for which two thirds of States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee shall be those who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present and voting.
    6. The initial election shall be held no later than six months after the date of entry into force of the present Convention. At least four months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit the nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating the State Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present Convention.
    7. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. They shall be eligible for re-election once. However, the term of six of the members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first election, the names of these six members shall be chosen by lot by the chairperson of the meeting referred to in paragraph 5 of this article.
    8. The election of the six additional members of the Committee shall be held on the occasion of regular elections, in accordance with the relevant provisions of this article.
    9. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any other cause she or he can no longer perform her or his duties, the State Party which nominated the member shall appoint another expert possessing the qualifications and meeting the requirements set out in the relevant provisions of this article, to serve for the remainder of the term.
    10. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
    11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the present Convention, and shall convene its initial meeting.
    12. With the approval of the General Assembly, the members of the Committee established under the present Convention shall receive emoluments from United Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide, having regard to the importance of the Committee's responsibilities.
    13. The members of the Committee shall be entitled to the facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on mission for the United Nations as laid down in the relevant sections of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
    Article 35Reports by States Parties
    1. Each State Party shall submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, a comprehensive report on measures taken to give effect to its obligations under the present Convention and on the progress made in that regard, within two years after the entry into force of the present Convention for the State Party concerned.
    2. Thereafter, States Parties shall submit subsequent reports at least every four years and further whenever the Committee so requests.
    3. The Committee shall decide any guidelines applicable to the content of the reports.
    4. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial report to the Committee need not, in its subsequent reports, repeat information previously provided. When preparing reports to the Committee, States Parties are invited to consider doing so in an open and transparent process and to give due consideration to the provision set out in article 4.3 of the present Convention.
    5. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.
    Article 36Consideration of reports
    1. Each report shall be considered by the Committee, which shall make such suggestions and general recommendations on the report as it may consider appropriate and shall forward these to the State Party concerned. The State Party may respond with any information it chooses to the Committee. The Committee may request further information from States Parties relevant to the implementation of the present Convention.
    2. If a State Party is significantly overdue in the submission of a report, the Committee may notify the State Party concerned of the need to examine the implementation of the present Convention in that State Party, on the basis of reliable information available to the Committee, if the relevant report is not submitted within three months following the notification. The Committee shall invite the State Party concerned to participate in such examination. Should the State Party respond by submitting the relevant report, the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article will apply.
    3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall make available the reports to all States Parties.
    4. States Parties shall make their reports widely available to the public in their own countries and facilitate access to the suggestions and general recommendations relating to these reports.
    5. The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, and other competent bodies, reports from States Parties in order to address a request or indication of a need for technical advice or assistance contained therein, along with the Committee's observations and recommendations, if any, on these requests or indications.
    Article 37Cooperation between States Parties and the Committee
    1. Each State Party shall cooperate with the Committee and assist its members in the fulfilment of their mandate.
    2. In its relationship with States Parties, the Committee shall give due consideration to ways and means of enhancing national capacities for the implementation of the present Convention, including through international cooperation.
    Article 38Relationship of the Committee with other bodies
    In order to foster the effective implementation of the present Convention and to encourage international cooperation in the field covered by the present Convention:
    (a) The specialized agencies and other United Nations organs shall be entitled to be represented at the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of the present Convention as fall within the scope of their mandate. The Committee may invite the specialized agencies and other competent bodies as it may consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates. The Committee may invite specialized agencies and other United Nations organs to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities;
    (b) The Committee, as it discharges its mandate, shall consult, as appropriate, other relevant bodies instituted by international human rights treaties, with a view to ensuring the consistency of their respective reporting guidelines, suggestions and general recommendations, and avoiding duplication and overlap in the performance of their functions.
    Article 39Report of the Committee
    The Committee shall report every two years to the General Assembly and to the Economic and Social Council on its activities, and may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from the States Parties. Such suggestions and general recommendations shall be included in the report of the Committee together with comments, if any, from States Parties.
    Article 40Conference of States Parties
    1. The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.
    2. No later than six months after the entry into force of the present Convention, the Conference of the States Parties shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The subsequent meetings shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations biennially or upon the decision of the Conference of States Parties.
    Article 41Depositary
    The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of the present Convention.
    Article 42Signature
    The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States and by regional integration organizations at United Nations Headquarters in New York as of 30 March 2007.
    Article 43Consent to be bound
    The present Convention shall be subject to ratification by signatory States and to formal confirmation by signatory regional integration organizations. It shall be open for accession by any State or regional integration organization which has not signed the Convention.
    Article 44Regional integration organizations
    1. ''Regional integration organization'' shall mean an organization constituted by sovereign States of a given region, to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention. Such organizations shall declare, in their instruments of formal confirmation or accession, the extent of their competence with respect to matters governed by this Convention. Subsequently, they shall inform the depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
    2. References to ''States Parties'' in the present Convention shall apply to such organizations within the limits of their competence.
    3. For the purposes of article 45, paragraph 1, and article 47, paragraphs 2 and 3, any instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be counted.
    4. Regional integration organizations, in matters within their competence, may exercise their right to vote in the Conference of States Parties, with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to this Convention. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its right, and vice versa.
    Article 45Entry into force
    1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
    2. For each State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally confirming or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the twentieth such instrument, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of its own such instrument.
    Article 46Reservations
    1. Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted.
    2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
    Article 47Amendments
    1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to the present Convention and submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a request to be notified whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of two thirds of the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for acceptance.
    2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the deposit of its own instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding only on those States Parties which have accepted it.
    3. If so decided by the Conference of States Parties by consensus, an amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article which relates exclusively to articles 34, 38, 39 and 40 shall enter into force for all States Parties on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment.
    Article 48Denunciation
    A State Party may denounce the present Convention by written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall become effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.
    Article 49Accessible format
    The text of the present Convention shall be made available in accessible formats.
    Article 50Authentic texts
    The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the present Convention shall be equally authentic.In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention.
    Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
    The States Parties to the present Protocol have agreed as follows:
    Article 1
    1. A State Party to the present Protocol (''State Party'') recognizes the competence of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (''the Committee'') to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by that State Party of the provisions of the Convention.
    2. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Convention that is not a party to the present Protocol.
    Article 2
    The Committee shall consider a communication inadmissible when:
    (a) The communication is anonymous;
    (b) The communication constitutes an abuse of the right of submission of such communications or is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention;
    (c) The same matter has already been examined by the Committee or has been or is being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement;
    (d) All available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This shall not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged or unlikely to bring effective relief;
    (e) It is manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated; or when
    (f) The facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior to the entry into force of the present Protocol for the State Party concerned unless those facts continued after that date.
    Article 3
    Subject to the provisions of article 2 of the present Protocol, the Committee shall bring any communications submitted to it confidentially to the attention of the State Party. Within six months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.
    Article 4
    1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to the State Party concerned for its urgent consideration a request that the State Party take such interim measures as may be necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged violation.
    2. Where the Committee exercises its discretion under paragraph 1 of this article, this does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.
    Article 5
    The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under the present Protocol. After examining a communication, the Committee shall forward its suggestions and recommendations, if any, to the State Party concerned and to the petitioner.
    Article 6
    1. If the Committee receives reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by a State Party of rights set forth in the Convention, the Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the information and to this end submit observations with regard to the information concerned.
    2. Taking into account any observations that may have been submitted by the State Party concerned as well as any other reliable information available to it, the Committee may designate one or more of its members to conduct an inquiry and to report urgently to the Committee. Where warranted and with the consent of the State Party, the inquiry may include a visit to its territory.
    3. After examining the findings of such an inquiry, the Committee shall transmit these findings to the State Party concerned together with any comments and recommendations.
    4. The State Party concerned shall, within six months of receiving the findings, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee, submit its observations to the Committee.
    5. Such an inquiry shall be conducted confidentially and the cooperation of the State Party shall be sought at all stages of the proceedings.
    Article 7
    1. The Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in its report under article 35 of the Convention details of any measures taken in response to an inquiry conducted under article 6 of the present Protocol.
    2. The Committee may, if necessary, after the end of the period of six months referred to in article 6.4, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures taken in response to such an inquiry.
    Article 8
    Each State Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of the present Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in articles 6 and 7.
    Article 9
    The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of the present Protocol.
    Article 10
    The present Protocol shall be open for signature by signatory States and regional integration organizations of the Convention at United Nations Headquarters in New York as of 30 March 2007.
    Article 11
    The present Protocol shall be subject to ratification by signatory States of this Protocol which have ratified or acceded to the Convention. It shall be subject to formal confirmation by signatory regional integration organizations of this Protocol which have formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention. It shall be open for accession by any State or regional integration organization which has ratified, formally confirmed or acceded to the Convention and which has not signed the Protocol.
    Article 12
    1. ''Regional integration organization'' shall mean an organization constituted by sovereign States of a given region, to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by the Convention and this Protocol. Such organizations shall declare, in their instruments of formal confirmation or accession, the extent of their competence with respect to matters governed by the Convention and this Protocol. Subsequently, they shall inform the depositary of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
    2. References to ''States Parties'' in the present Protocol shall apply to such organizations within the limits of their competence.
    3. For the purposes of article 13, paragraph 1, and article 15, paragraph 2, any instrument deposited by a regional integration organization shall not be counted.
    4. Regional integration organizations, in matters within their competence, may exercise their right to vote in the meeting of States Parties, with a number of votes equal to the number of their member States that are Parties to this Protocol. Such an organization shall not exercise its right to vote if any of its member States exercises its right, and vice versa.
    Article 13
    1. Subject to the entry into force of the Convention, the present Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.
    2. For each State or regional integration organization ratifying, formally confirming or acceding to the Protocol after the deposit of the tenth such instrument, the Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit of its own such instrument.
    Article 14
    1. Reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Protocol shall not be permitted.
    2. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time.
    Article 15
    1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to the present Protocol and submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall communicate any proposed amendments to States Parties, with a request to be notified whether they favour a meeting of States Parties for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proposals. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties favour such a meeting, the Secretary-General shall convene the meeting under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of two thirds of the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for acceptance.
    2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force for any State Party on the thirtieth day following the deposit of its own instrument of acceptance. An amendment shall be binding only on those States Parties which have accepted it.
    Article 16
    A State Party may denounce the present Protocol by written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall become effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.
    Article 17
    The text of the present Protocol shall be made available in accessible formats.
    Article 18
    The Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of the present Protocol shall be equally authentic.In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Protocol.
  LifeSiteNews Mobile | Video: Rick Santorum, Sen. Mike Lee, homeschool leader blast invasive UN treaty
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:47
    WASHINGTON, D.C., November 28, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) '' The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would erode U.S. sovereignty, skew the constitutional boundaries between state and federal governments, and allow the UN to promote more liberal abortion laws, a coalition of conservative experts warn.
    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to press forward with a hearing on the treaty this week. A motion to open Senate debate passed on Tuesday.
    Article 25 of the CRPD calls on nations to furnish the disabled ''free or affordable health care'...including in the area of sexual and reproductive health and population-based public health programmes.''
    ''The feminists are using this treaty as an opportunity to promote their abortion agenda,'' said Phyllis Schlafly.
    The treaty ''opens up Pandrora's Box for the most vulnerable among us '' children,'' said former Senator Rick Santorum at a news conference Monday, alongside his wife Karen, and three of his seven children, including Bella, a special needs child.
    Although the UN covenant contains many positive affirmations of the equality of the disabled, he said it contains ''some very troubling provisions.''
    The organization founded by Christian evangelist and quadriplegic Joni Erickson Tada, Joni and Friends, ''holds deep concerns regarding CRPD language on parental rights and the rights of the unborn with disabilities,'' as well as U.S. sovereignty.
    So far, 36 Republican Senators have signed a letter of opposition to the treaty during the lame duck session of Congress. The measure requires a two-thirds majority to pass the Senate.
    ''We can't be sure that a few of them won't change their position and vote for CPRD,'' said a statement from Santorum's political action committee, Patriot Voices. ''That's why we have to keep the pressure on. Please call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your Senator to vote 'NO' on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.''
    Some who oppose the CRPD say it is unnecessary.
    ''We already treat individuals, able or disabled, rich or poor, better than any other nation by our Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Fair Housing Act, Rehabilitation Act, Voting Accessibility for Elderly and Handicapped Act, Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and Architectural Barriers Act,'' said Schlafly.
    One of the Senate leaders, Utah Republican Mike Lee, said the United States had historically rejected even well-intentioned UN documents out of concern they would set the nation on a ''march toward socialism'' and out of ''grave concern for [national] sovereignty.''
    For instance, Article 4 says signatories must embrace ''economic, social, and cultural rights.''
    ''These rights refer to positive rights, as opposed to negative rights granted by government,'' Lee noted. ''These are positive rights to certain entitlement rights'...that the government would be required, by treaty, to provide to individuals.''
    President Obama has publicly lamented that ''the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted,'' is ''a charter of negative liberties.''
    Experts say the treaty would allow the federal government to supersede local ordinances and that it gives unelected UN officials too much leeway to promote an agenda often unrelated to the purpose of the ratified treaty.
    Mike Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association, who teaches International Law at Patrick Henry College, said turning authority over any aspect of U.S. life to foreign bureaucrats goes against the grain of most Americans.
    Farris said curtly, ''Americans should make the law for America.''
  US Transport Companies Cashing in on Mexico Trade Boom
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:27
    U.S. rail and trucking companies are making big investments on both sides of the border with Mexico to capitalize on booming trade between the two countries. Every day, about 10 Kansas City Southern trains hauling everything from cars to chemicals crisscross the border between Mexico and the United States at Laredo, Texas, up from about six just three years ago.
    The fourth-largest U.S. public railroad is leading the charge to take advantage of the swelling freight between the countries as manufacturing booms south of the border because of the rising costs of goods from China and other overseas exporters. Over the past five years, Kansas City Southern has spent about $300 million to lay roughly 90 miles of new track in Texas, buy and update terminals in Mexico and make other network upgrades.
    The rail company now generates one-quarter of its revenue moving parts and finished goods across the border. Union Pacific Corp, the No. 1 U.S. railroad company, owns a 26 percent stake in Mexican railway company Ferromex. Like its rivals CSX Corp and Norfolk Southern Corp , Union Pacific partners with Kansas City Southern to haul carloads in the United States to locations not served by the railroad. As the U.S. economy creaks along, the growing business with Mexico is a cause for cheer: Both Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific are reporting much bigger increases in cross-border shipments than in overall volume.
    Two areas that are "just exploding" are transporting automobiles into the United States and intermodal shipping - moving goods in containers that are shifted from truck to train or train to ship, said William Galligan, vice president of investor relations at Kansas City Southern. The Kansas City, Missouri-based company, which took full ownership in 2005 of a Mexican railroad now known as Kansas City Southern de Mexico, has built the first intermodal network between the countries.
    The company, which started investing in the Mexican rail company a decade earlier, said it was betting the North American Free Trade Agreement would significantly alter shipping. U.S. government data show total cross-border freight by train and truck between the countries has surged nearly 35 percent in the past five years. At $291 billion through September, the volume of goods crossing the border this year is set to top the $352 billion of 2011 and $308 billion in 2010.
    The Mexican automobile industry's double-digit production and export growth heightens transportation needs. . Kansas City Southern expects Mexico's vehicle output to leap 30 to 40 percent by 2015, citing Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics data. The company, which already serves nine auto plants in Mexico, said Honda Motor Co, Mazda Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Audi AG will open plants there in the next two years. Five steel plants are also opening.
    Galligan said Kansas City Southern was in talks with Asian and European manufacturers looking for space near the locations it serves in Mexico. Of course, companies with business in Mexico must deal with the drug war. Kansas City Southern posts guards on trains in high-risk areas and scans cargo as trains cross the border.
    Partnering, Buying, Expanding
    Trains and trucks compete, but they are also partnering to keep up with demand. "We don't have containers, we don't have intermodal customers. So we approached J.B. Hunt, Schneider and Swift Transportation, to name three big ones, and convinced them that this was a real huge opportunity," said Galligan. Swift runs 700 trucks south of the U.S. border and plans to add up to 100 next year, Chief Operating Officer Richard Stocking said in mid-November.
    "Mexico has increasingly been advantaged over Asia," said Foster Finley, co-head of the transportation practice at AlixPartners. "China's real wage rates and cost of raw materials, overhead, the exchange rate, the freight costs - in ocean, inclusive of peak season surcharges and time on the water - have risen faster than the equivalent costs in Mexico." Kansas City Southern's cross-border volume jumped 21 percent in the first nine months of 2012, compared with a 6 percent rise in overall volume and generated about one-quarter of its $1.67 billion in revenue. Union Pacific's cross-border carloads rose 6 percent in the first nine months, far outpacing its 1 percent overall volume rise, said Chief Financial Officer Rob Knight.
    Last year, Mexico volumes grew 9 percent, triple the total rise. Railroad companies report results by business segment not region, but Knight said the Mexico business netted about $1.5 billion of the $15.6 billion in revenue through September, on pace to top last year's $1.8 billion. "Mexico represents roughly 10 percent of our total book and growing," up from 8.5 percent in 2007, Knight said.
    Doubling Up
    A number of ventures that broaden the footprint of U.S. transport in Mexico have surfaced recently. Celadon Group Inc's Celadon Trucking Services took over equipment and drivers from USA Dry Van, and FedEx Corp added two service centers in Mexico. U.S. Xpress Enterprises said it would buy 90 percent of Xpress Internacional and has formed a joint venture with Logisti-K in Mexico. Logistics company Pacer International Inc has a multi-year agreement to manage and provide transport for Union Pacific, as well as container and chassis management in Mexico.
    Celadon is sticking with trucking, calling a revenue-sharing rail tie-up "not viable" because its trucks are more economical for moving freight near the border. "If you're going to take things from Southern Mexico then it may make more sense," said Paul Will, Celadon's president and chief operating officer. Whether companies go it alone or form partnerships, experts say Mexico is a top market for U.S. companies. "Anybody with an opportunity to position themselves in this marketplace and chooses not to will probably regret it sometime in the next five to 10 years because cross-border market growth is going to outstrip probably any growth in any other (intermodal) transportation," said Dahlman Rose analyst Jason Seidl.
  DVIDS - Video - Opening Remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the NATO-Georgia Commission
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    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:32
    Choose quality '–¼Embed code '–¼<iframe width="500" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none; overflow: hidden; width: 500px; height: 300px;" allowtransparency="true" src="http://www.dvidshub.net/video/embed/192401"></iframe>
    Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the NATO-Georgia Commission in Foreign Ministers session. Also available in High Definition.
  Serbia's NATO Ambassador Leaps To His Death
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    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:21
  A Shameful Day In The US Senate
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    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:20
Drone Nation
  Federal Register | Minimum Altitudes for Use of Autopilots
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:20
    DATES:ADDRESSES:FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:Authority for This RulemakingI. Overview of Proposed RuleII. BackgroundA. Statement of the ProblemB. History1994 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)1997 RulemakingARAC Efforts To Amend Autopilot RulesIII. Discussion of the ProposalA. Revise Minimum Altitudes for Use of Autopilot (§ 121.579, 125.329 and 135.93)B. Takeoff and Initial Climb (§§ 121.579(b), 125.329(b) and 135.93(b))C. Enroute (§§ 121.579(c), 125.329(c) and 135.93(c))D. Approach (§§ 121.579(d), 125.329(d), 135.93(d))E. Go Around/Missed Approach (§§ 121.579(e), 125.329(e) and 135.93(e))F. Landing (§§ 121.579(f), 125.329(f) and 135.93(f))G. Rotorcraft Operations (§ 135.93(g))IV. Regulatory Notices and AnalysesA. Regulatory EvaluationBenefitsCostsB. Regulatory Flexibility DeterminationC. International Trade Impact AssessmentD. Unfunded Mandates AssessmentE. Paperwork Reduction ActF. International CompatibilityG. Environmental AnalysisV. Executive Order DeterminationsA. Executive Order 13132, FederalismB. Executive Order 13211, Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or UseVI. Additional InformationA. Comments InvitedB. Availability of Rulemaking DocumentsList of SubjectsThe Proposed AmendmentPART 121'--OPERATING REQUIREMENTS: DOMESTIC, FLAG, AND SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATIONSPART 125'--CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS: AIRPLANES HAVING A SEATING CAPACITY OF 20 OR MORE PASSENGERS OR A MAXIMUM PAYLOAD CAPACITY OF 6,000 POUNDS OR MORE; AND RULES GOVERNING PERSONS ON BOARD SUCH AIRCRAFTPART 135'--OPERATING REQUIREMENTS: COMMUTER AND ON DEMAND OPERATIONS AND RULE GOVERNING PERSONS ON BOARD SUCH AIRCRAFTSend comments on or before February 4, 2013.
    Send comments identified by docket number Docket No.: FAA-2012-1059 using any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically.Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket Web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For technical questions concerning this action, contact Kel O. Christianson, FAA, Aviation Safety Inspector, Performance Based Flight Systems Branch (AFS-470), Flight Standards Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone 202-385-4702; email Kel.christianson@faa.gov.
    For legal questions concerning this action, contact Robert H. Frenzel, Manager, Operations Law Branch, Office of the Chief Counsel, Regulations Division (AGC-220), Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone 202-267-3073; email Robert.Frenzel@faa.gov.
    The FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the United States Code. This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in 49 U.S.C. 44701(a)(5), which requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations and minimum standards for other practices, methods, and procedures necessary for safety in air commerce and national security. This amendment to the regulation is within the scope of that authority because it prescribes an accepted method for ensuring the safe operation of aircraft while using autopilot systems.
    The FAA proposes to amend and harmonize minimum altitudes for use of autopilots for transport category airplanes in order to streamline and simplify these operational rules. The proposed rule would enable the operational use of advanced autopilot and navigation systems by incorporating the capabilities of new and future autopilots, flight guidance systems, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) guidance systems while protecting the continued use of legacy systems. This would allow the FAA to enable the benefits of Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) technologies and procedures (Optimized Profile Descents, Performance Based Navigation (PBN)) to enhance aviation safety in the National Airspace System (NAS). The rule would accomplish this through a performance-based approach, using the certified capabilities of autopilot systems as established by the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). The proposal would also give the FAA Administrator the authorization to require an altitude higher than the AFM if the Administrator believes it to be in the interest of public safety.
    Currently, operators have a choice whether or not to update their aircraft with new autopilots as they are developed and certified by equipment manufacturers. This rule would not affect that decision-making process and would protect operators who choose to continue to operate as they do today. As a result, the proposed rule would not impose any additional costs on certificate holders that operate under parts 121, 125, or 135. Also, by setting new minimum altitudes for each phase of flight that certified equipment may operate to, the proposed rule would give manufacturers more certainty that new products could be used as they are developed.
    In response to Executive Order 13563 issued by President Obama on January 18, 2011, the proposed rule was first identified for inclusion in the Department of Transportation Retrospective Regulatory Review (May 2011), noting that the current minimum altitudes for use of autopilots were unduly restrictive and would limit the ability to use new technologies. On May 10, 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13610, establishing the Retrospective Regulatory Review as an on-going obligation. The proposed rule would also be consistent with the requirement in Executive Order 13610 to modify or streamline regulations ''in light of changed circumstances, including the rise of new technologies.''
    A. Statement of the ProblemThe FAA and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) technical standards for autopilot systems date back to 1947. These standards have been revised eight times since 1959, but the operating rules for autopilot minimum use altitudes in 14 CFR 121.579, 125.329, and 135.93 have not been amended in any significant way since the recodification of the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) and Civil Aviation Manuals (CAM) on December 31, 1964.
    By contrast, autopilot certification standards contained in § 25.1329 were updated as recently as April 11, 2006. Consequently, operational regulations in parts 121, 125, and 135 do not adequately reflect the capabilities of modern technologies in use today and thus make it difficult to keep pace with the FAA's implementation of NextGen.
    B. History1994 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)The FAA published an NPRM in the Federal Register on December 9, 1994 (59 FR 63868) based on a recommendation from the Autopilot Engagement Working Group of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) to change the existing rules concerning engagement of autopilots during takeoff. The ARAC determined that the increased use of an autopilot during takeoff would enhance aviation safety by giving pilots greater situational awareness of what was going on inside and outside of the aircraft. This benefit would be realized by reducing the task loading required to manually fly the aircraft during the critical takeoff phase of flight. The FAA received seven comments in response to the NPRM, and all commenters supported an amendment to the rule.
    1997 RulemakingIn 1997, the FAA amended 14 CFR 121.579, 125.329, and 135.93 to permit certificate holders the use of an approved autopilot system for takeoff, based on the 1994 NPRM and an expectation that autopilot technology would continue to advance (62 FR 27922; May 21, 1997). This authorization was given to certificate holders through an Operations Specification (OpSpec), which was implemented as a stopgap measure. The rule itself was not changed to provide manufacturers and operators the guidance for producing and operating new aircraft capable of attaining lower autopilot minimum use altitudes. The amendment also failed to address autopilot minimum use altitudes on instrument approaches or harmonize 14 CFR parts 121, 125 and 135.
    ARAC Efforts To Amend Autopilot RulesSince 1997, multiple groups have been formed to review current regulations and autopilot technologies. The FAA Transport Airplane Directorate initiated an effort under the ARAC Flight Guidance Harmonization Working Group to evaluate the status of current autopilot technologies, rules and guidance along with the harmonization of U.S. policy and guidance with the Joint Aviation Authorities. Later, the Performance-based operations Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which established the Autopilot Minimum Use Height (MUH) action team, evaluated autopilot minimum use altitudes and made recommendations to the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. The team was specifically tasked with developing recommendations to address progress in the area of PBN and the subsets of area navigation (RNAV) and required navigation performance (RNP) operations. The team's conclusions aligned with the previous groups' acknowledgement that 14 CFR 121.579, 125.329 and 135.93 were outdated and recommended new rulemaking to take advantage of advancements in modern aircraft technologies and the certified capabilities of autopilot systems to create a performance-based structure to aid in the implementation of NextGen flight operations.
    A. Revise Minimum Altitudes for Use of Autopilot (§ 121.579, 125.329 and 135.93)The FAA proposes a complete rewrite of 14 CFR 121.579, 125.329 and 135.93. The language in each section of the proposed regulations would be identical except for an additional paragraph in § 135.93 exempting rotorcraft. The proposed rule would harmonize these three parts of 14 CFR because the rule would be based on the performance capabilities of the equipment being utilized, not the operating certificate held. Nothing in the proposed rule would prevent or adversely affect the continued safe operation of aircraft using legacy navigation systems.
    The proposed rule would align the autopilot operational rules with the new autopilot certification standards contained in § 25.1329, updated and effective April 11, 2006. The proposed rule would also be proactive by allowing for future technological advances within the scope of the rule, thus facilitating the implementation of NextGen into the National Airspace System.
    In effect, the proposed rule would accommodate future technological changes by setting safe minimum altitudes in each phase of flight that certified autopilots could operate to. Once a new piece of equipment or system is certified and the new limitations incorporated in the AFM, as required in §§ 21.5, 25.1501 and 25.1581, a certificate holder might then make use of the new capabilities when authorized through OpSpecs. This change would enable new autopilots to utilize both current and future navigational systems. The current rule only references ground-based instrument approach facilities and Instrument Landing Systems (ILS).
    Sections 121.579(a), 125.329(a), and 135.93(a) of the proposed rule would define altitude references for the different phases of flight, unlike the current rule which defines all altitudes with reference to terrain. All altitudes referring to takeoff, initial climb and go around/missed approach would be defined as being above airport elevation. All altitudes referring to enroute flight would be defined as being above terrain elevation. All altitudes referring to approach would be defined as being above Touchdown Zone Elevation (TDZE), except if the altitude is in reference to a Decision Altitude/Height (DA(H)) or Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) in which case the altitude would be defined in relation to the DA(H) or MDA itself (e.g. 50 ft. below DA(H)). All altitudes defined as being above airport elevation, TDZE, or terrain would be considered to be above ground level (AGL).
    As a result, the proposed rule would allow operators to add the applicable altitudes or heights published in the AFM to the airport and TDZE published on the instrument approach plate. This also would provide a standard reference for all operators and manufacturers using and producing Flight Management Systems (FMS).
    The proposed rule would be formatted to model the actual phases of flight: Takeoff through landing or go-around. Each paragraph in the proposed rule would have a base minimum autopilot use altitude for the intended phase of flight that all aircraft may utilize. In order to protect the use of all legacy systems, the proposed base altitudes would remain identical to the altitudes in the current rule. Lower minimum use altitudes would be based on certification of the autopilot system and limitations found in the AFM. The proposed enroute minimum use altitude would not change from the current rule. The minimum use altitude in each paragraph might also be raised by the Administrator if warranted by operational or safety need.
    B. Takeoff and Initial Climb (§§ 121.579(b), 125.329(b) and 135.93(b))The current rule defines the base minimum altitude at which all aircraft may engage the autopilot after takeoff as 500 ft. or double the autopilot altitude loss (as specified in the AFM) above the terrain, whichever is higher. The current rule also gives the Administrator the authority to use OpSpecs to authorize a lower minimum engagement altitude on takeoff, which must be specified in the AFM. This takeoff paragraph was added as an amendment to the original autopilot rule that applied only to enroute operations. Although the amendment provided a vehicle to allow lower autopilot minimum use altitudes through OpSpecs, it did not place the authority for the operations directly in the rule.
    The proposed rule would retain the same minimum altitudes for all aircraft to protect legacy systems and would introduce the ability to use lower engagement altitude on takeoff/initial climb based upon the certified limits of the autopilot as specified in the AFM. The proposed rule would also give the Administrator the authority to specify an altitude above, but not below, that specified in the AFM.
    As a result, the proposed rule would establish the AFM as a performance-based standard by which a certificate holder might be authorized for operations through its OpSpecs. Once an autopilot's capabilities and limitations are certified and reflected in the AFM, a certificate holder might request a change to its OpSpecs to authorize use of the new minimum use altitude specified in the AFM.
    C. Enroute (§§ 121.579(c), 125.329(c) and 135.93(c))The enroute paragraph of the current rule specifies a minimum use altitude of 500 ft. above terrain, or an altitude that is no lower than twice the autopilot altitude loss specified in the AFM, whichever is higher, for all operations. The proposed rule would maintain the same base minimum use altitude as the current rule. The proposed rule would also grant the Administrator the authority to specify a higher altitude.
    D. Approach (§§ 121.579(d), 125.329(d), 135.93(d))The base minimum use altitude for an approach for the proposed rule would remain the same as that of the current rule. No person may use an autopilot at an altitude lower than 50 ft. below the DA (H) or MDA of the instrument approach being flown. The current rule allows for exceptions to this altitude with the use of a coupled autopilot, instrument landing system (ILS), and in specified reported weather conditions. The proposed rule would maintain the limitation that no person may use an autopilot at an altitude lower than 50 ft. below the DA(H) or MDA of the approach being flown and provides weather criteria that would allow current aircraft to meet the same autopilot minimum use altitudes as today.
    However, the proposed rule would enable properly equipped aircraft to use the autopilot with other certified navigation systems in certain specified weather conditions to attain the same minimum use altitudes currently allowed with the coupled ILS. These aircraft must be capable of flying a coupled approach with both vertical and lateral path references being provided to the autopilot for guidance. A typical vertical path reference is a flight path angle provided by the signal of an ILS, microwave landing system, GNSS landing system or a navigation flight path provided for RNAV operations by an onboard database. This change would allow a greater number of aircraft to safely use their autopilots to lower minimum use altitudes.
    The remaining provisions in the approach paragraph would provide minimum use altitudes dependent on the type of autopilot certification found in the AFM. The potential lowest minimum use altitude allowed by the proposed rule would be 50 ft. above the elevation TDZE. The advantage of this provision, for example, is that it would allow operators to keep the autopilot engaged until over the runway during complex PBN approaches. This would enable a stable approach path in both Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) and Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). In IMC, it would alleviate the transition from the autopilot to instrument hand flying during a critical segment of the approach. This would reduce the possibility of disorientation and a destabilized approach. In VMC, the same stabilized approach could be maintained while flightcrews monitor aircraft performance and watch for potential traffic conflicts. Currently, pilots must perform these tasks while disconnecting the autopilot half way through a descending final turn and continuing the approach manually. Although not being utilized, current technology exists to allow aircraft autopilot systems to remain engaged below the current allowable altitude using multiple forms of navigation. Such technology will eventually become a requirement for the implementation of NextGen. The proposed rule would provide a regulatory vehicle to meet this vision.
    E. Go Around/Missed Approach (§§ 121.579(e), 125.329(e) and 135.93(e))The proposed rule would also provide guidance for executing a missed approach/go-around that the current rule lacks. This guidance is first presented in the approach paragraph, wherein an aircraft does not need to comply with the autopilot minimum use altitude of that paragraph provided it is executing a coupled missed approach/go-around. A new subparagraph is also included to provide guidance on when the autopilot could be engaged on the missed approach/go-around, if a manual missed approach/go-around is accomplished.
    F. Landing (§§ 121.579(f), 125.329(f) and 135.93(f))The last paragraph proposed in the new rule would provide guidance for landing. Current language authorizes the Administrator, through OpSpecs, to allow an aircraft to touchdown with the autopilot engaged using an approved autoland flight guidance system. This authorization relies upon an ILS to meet this requirement. The proposed rule would state that minimum use altitudes do not apply to autopilot operations when an approved and authorized landing system mode is being used for landing. The difference in the two rules is that the proposed rule would stand alone and would not limit approved landing systems to be ground based systems, as the current rule does. The proposed rule would also allow new performance based landing systems to be approved and implemented for autoland operations as they become available.
    G. Rotorcraft Operations (§ 135.93(g))The current rule expressly excludes rotorcraft operations from the minimum altitudes for use of autopilots. The proposed rule would continue to exclude rotorcraft operations.
    A. Regulatory EvaluationChanges to Federal regulations must undergo several economic analyses. First, Executive Order 12866 directs that each Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (96) requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the Trade Agreements Act (96) prohibits agencies from setting standards that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. In developing U.S. standards, this Trade Act requires agencies to consider international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis of U.S. standards. Fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4) requires agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more annually (adjusted for inflation with base year of 1995). This portion of the preamble summarizes the FAA's analysis of the economic impacts of this proposed rule. We suggest readers seeking greater detail read the full regulatory evaluation, a copy of which we have placed in the docket for this rulemaking.
    Department of Transportation Order DOT 2100.5 prescribes policies and procedures for simplification, analysis, and review of regulations. If the expected cost impact is so minimal that a proposed or final rule does not warrant a full evaluation, this order permits that a statement to that effect and the basis for it be included in the preamble if a full regulatory evaluation of the cost and benefits is not prepared. Such a determination has been made for this proposed rule. The reasoning for this determination follows:
    BenefitsThe rule would incorporate the capabilities of current autopilots and would allow operators to more readily utilize the capabilities of future autopilots, flight guidance systems, and GNSS guidance systems as they are developed. These new capabilities would enable and accelerate the benefits of NextGen technologies and procedures that depend upon flight guidance systems to enhance aviation safety in the NAS.
    CostsThe proposed rule would specify autopilot minimum use altitudes for parts 121, 125 and 135 operators. The rule would be based on the capabilities of the aircraft and the minimum use altitudes or lack of minimum use altitudes published in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). The proposed rule would not affect the minimum use altitudes presently used by operators in the National Airspace System. Operators would have the option to operate as they currently do or pursue the proposed lower minimum use altitudes based on their aircraft certification. Operators with aircraft that are certified and wishing to immediately achieve the proposed lower minimum use altitudes might incur the cost of accelerated training. This accelerated training cost is a change in present value, but not in total cost, because this type of training would have occurred in the future. Additionally, operators would not incur certification costs for aircraft, avionics equipment, autopilot and flight management systems that have already been certificated. Also, by setting new minimum altitudes for each phase of flight that certified equipment might operate to, the proposed rule would give manufacturers more certainty that new products can be used as they are developed. The FAA recognizes some older airplanes are not certificated to utilize the lower proposed minimum use altitudes. The FAA believes these operators would not incur these costs because they would not seek to modify their aircraft in order to be certified for the lower minimum use altitudes. The FAA seeks public comments regarding these findings and requests that all comments be accompanied with detailed supporting data.
    The FAA has, therefore, determined that this proposed rule would not qualify as a ''significant regulatory action'' as defined in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, and is not ''significant'' as defined in DOT's Regulatory Policies and Procedures.
    B. Regulatory Flexibility DeterminationThe Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (96) (RFA) establishes ''as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor, consistent with the objectives of the rule and of applicable statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of the businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to regulation. To achieve this principle, agencies are required to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the rationale for their actions to assure that such proposals are given serious consideration. The RFA covers a wide-range of small entities, including small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. If the agency determines that it will, the agency must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in the RFA. However, if an agency determines that a rule is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, section 605(b) of the RFA provides that the head of the agency may so certify and a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required. The certification must include a statement providing the factual basis for this determination, and the reasoning should be clear.
    This proposed rule would not impose any additional costs on operators that operate under parts 121, 125, or 135. Consequently, the FAA certifies that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    C. International Trade Impact AssessmentThe Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (96), as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (103), prohibits Federal agencies from establishing standards or engaging in related activities that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. Pursuant to these Acts, the establishment of standards is not considered an unnecessary obstacle to the foreign commerce of the United States, so long as the standard has a legitimate domestic objective, such the protection of safety, and does not operate in a manner that excludes imports that meet this objective. The statute also requires consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis for U.S. standards. The FAA has assessed the potential effect of this proposed rule and determined that it would have only a domestic impact and therefore no effect on international trade.
    D. Unfunded Mandates AssessmentTitle II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement assessing the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final agency rule that may result in an expenditure of $100 million or more (in 1995 dollars) in any one year by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector; such a mandate is deemed to be a ''significant regulatory action.'' The FAA currently uses an inflation-adjusted value of $143.1 million in lieu of $100 million. This proposed rule would not contain such a mandate; therefore, the requirements of Title II of the Act do not apply.
    E. Paperwork Reduction ActThe Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)) requires that the FAA consider the impact of paperwork and other information collection burdens imposed on the public. The FAA has determined that there would be no new requirement for information collection associated with this proposed rule.
    F. International CompatibilityIn keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to conform to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. The FAA has determined that there are no ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices that correspond to these proposed regulations.
    G. Environmental AnalysisFAA Order 1050.1E identifies FAA actions that are categorically excluded from preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act in the absence of extraordinary circumstances.
    The FAA has determined this rulemaking action qualifies for the categorical exclusion identified in paragraph 312f and involves no extraordinary circumstances.
    A. Executive Order 13132, FederalismThe FAA has analyzed this proposed rule under the principles and criteria of Executive Order 13132, Federalism. The agency has determined that this action would not have a substantial direct effect on the States, or the relationship between the Federal Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, and, therefore, would not have Federalism implications.
    B. Executive Order 13211, Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or UseThe FAA analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use (May 18, 2001). The agency has determined that it would not be a ''significant energy action'' under the executive order and would not be likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy.
    A. Comments InvitedThe FAA invites interested persons to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in this document.
    The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit only one time.
    The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in light of the comments it receives.
    B. Availability of Rulemaking DocumentsAn electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the Internet by'--
    1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
    2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies or
    3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
    Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this rulemaking.
    All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item (1) above.
    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend chapter I of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
    begin regulatory text
    1. The authority citation for part 121 continues to read as follows:
    Authority:49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 40119, 41706, 44101, 44701-44702, 44705, 44709-44711, 44713, 44716-44717, 44722, 46105.
    2. Revise § 121.579 to read as follows:
    § 121.579 Minimum altitudes for use of autopilot.(a) Definitions. For purpose of this section:
    (1) Altitudes for takeoff/initial climb and go-around/missed approach are defined as above the airport elevation.
    (2) Altitudes for enroute operations are defined as above terrain elevation.
    (3) Altitudes for approach are defined as above the touchdown zone elevation (TDZE) unless the altitude is specifically in reference to DA(H) or MDA in which case the altitude is defined by reference to the DA(H) or MDA itself.
    (4) Altitudes specified as above airport elevation, runway TDZE or terrain are considered to be above ground level (AGL).
    (b) Takeoff and initial climb.
    No person may use an autopilot for takeoff or initial climb below the higher of 500 feet or an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM), except as follows:
    (1) At a minimum engagement altitude specified in the AFM, or
    (2) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (c) Enroute.
    No person may use an autopilot enroute, including climb and descent, below the following:
    (1) 500 feet,
    (2) At an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the AFM for an autopilot malfunction in cruise conditions, or
    (3) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (d) Approach.
    No person may use an autopilot at an altitude lower than 50 feet below the DA(H) or MDA for the instrument procedure being flown, except as follows:
    (1) For autopilots with an AFM specified altitude loss for approach operations, the greater of:
    (i) An altitude no lower than twice the specified altitude loss,
    (ii) An altitude no lower than 50 feet higher than the altitude loss specified in the AFM when reported weather conditions are less than the basic VFR weather conditions in § 91.155 of this chapter, suitable visual references specified in § 91.175 of this chapter have been established on the instrument approach procedure, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references,
    (iii) An altitude no lower than the higher of the altitude loss specified in the AFM or 50 feet above the TDZE when reported weather conditions are equal to or better than the basic VFR weather conditions in § 91.155 of this chapter, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references, or
    (iv) An altitude specified by the Administrator.
    (2) For autopilots with AFM specified approach altitude limitations, the greater of:
    (i) The minimum use altitude specified for the coupled approach mode selected,
    (ii) 50 feet, or
    (iii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (3) For autopilots with an AFM specified negligible or zero altitude loss for an autopilot approach mode malfunction, the greater of:
    (i) 50 feet, or
    (ii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (4) If executing an autopilot coupled go-around or missed approach, using a certificated and functioning autopilot in accordance with paragraph (e) in this section.
    (e) Go-Around/Missed Approach.
    No person may engage an autopilot during a go-around or missed approach below the minimum engagement altitude specified for takeoff and initial climb in paragraph (b) in this section. An autopilot minimum use altitude does not apply to a go-around/missed approach initiated with an engaged autopilot. Performing a go-around or missed approach with an engaged autopilot must not adversely affect safe obstacle clearance.
    (f) Landing.
    Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this section, autopilot minimum use altitudes do not apply to autopilot operations when an approved automatic landing system mode is being used for landing. Automatic landing systems must be authorized in an operations specification issued to the operator.
    3. The authority citation for part 125 continues to read as follows:
    Authority:49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701-44702, 44705, 44710-44711, 44713, 44716-44717, 44722.
    4. Revise § 125.329 to read as follows:
    § 125.329 Minimum altitudes for use of autopilot.(a) Definitions. For purpose of this section:
    (1) Altitudes for takeoff/initial climb and go-around/missed approach are defined as above the airport elevation.
    (2) Altitudes for enroute operations are defined as above terrain elevation.
    (3) Altitudes for approach are defined as above the touchdown zone elevation (TDZE) unless the altitude is specifically in reference to DA(H) or MDA in which case the altitude is defined by reference to the DA(H) or MDA itself.
    (4) Altitudes specified as above airport elevation, runway TDZE or terrain are considered to be above ground level (AGL).
    (b) Takeoff and initial climb.
    No person may use an autopilot for takeoff or initial climb below the higher of 500 feet or an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM), except as follows:
    (1) At a minimum engagement altitude specified in the AFM, or
    (2) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (c) Enroute.
    No person may use an autopilot enroute, including climb and descent, below the following:
    (1) 500 feet,
    (2) At an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the AFM for an autopilot malfunction in cruise conditions, or
    (3) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (d) Approach.
    No person may use an autopilot at an altitude lower than 50 feet below the DA(H) or MDA for the instrument procedure being flown, except as follows:
    (1) For autopilots with an AFM specified altitude loss for approach operations, the greater of:
    (i) An altitude no lower than twice the specified altitude loss,
    (ii) An altitude no lower than 50 feet higher than the altitude loss specified in the AFM when reported weather conditions are less than the basic VFR weather conditions in§ 91.155 of this chapter, suitable visual references specified in § 91.175 of this chapter have been established on the instrument approach procedure, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references,
    (iii) An altitude no lower than the higher of the altitude loss specified in the AFM or 50 feet above the TDZE when reported weather conditions are equal to or better than the basic VFR weather conditions in § 91.155 of this chapter, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references, or
    (iv) An altitude specified by the Administrator.
    (2) For autopilots with AFM specified approach altitude limitations, the greater of:
    (i) The minimum use altitude specified for the coupled approach mode selected,
    (ii) 50 feet, or
    (iii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (3) For autopilots with an AFM specified negligible or zero altitude loss for an autopilot approach mode malfunction, the greater of:
    (i) 50 feet, or
    (ii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (4) If executing an autopilot coupled go-around or missed approach, using a certificated and functioning autopilot in accordance with paragraph (e) in this section.
    (e) Go-Around/Missed Approach.
    No person may engage an autopilot during a go-around or missed approach below the minimum engagement altitude specified for takeoff and initial climb in paragraph (b) in this section. An autopilot minimum use altitude does not apply to a go-around/missed approach initiated with an engaged autopilot. Performing a go-around or missed approach with an engaged autopilot must not adversely affect safe obstacle clearance.
    (f) Landing.
    Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this section, autopilot minimum use altitudes do not apply to autopilot operations when an approved automatic landing system mode is being used for landing. Automatic landing systems must be authorized in an operations specification issued to the operator.
    5. The authority citation for part 135 continues to read as follows:
    Authority:49 U.S.C. 106(g), 41706, 40113, 44701-44702, 44705, 44709, 44711-44713, 44715-44717, 44722, 45101-45105.
    6. Revise § 135.93 to read as follows:
    § 135.93 Minimum altitudes for use of autopilot.(a) Definitions. For purpose of this section:
    (1) Altitudes for takeoff/initial climb and go-around/missed approach are defined as above the airport elevation.
    (2) Altitudes for enroute operations are defined as above terrain elevation.
    (3) Altitudes for approach are defined as above the touchdown zone elevation (TDZE) unless the altitude is specifically in reference to DA(H) or MDA in which case the altitude is defined by reference to the DA(H) or MDA itself.
    (4) Altitudes specified as above airport elevation, runway TDZE or terrain are considered to be above ground level (AGL).
    (b) Takeoff and initial climb.
    No person may use an autopilot for takeoff or initial climb below the higher of 500 feet or an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM), except as follows:
    (1) At a minimum engagement altitude specified in the AFM, or
    (2) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (c) Enroute.
    No person may use an autopilot enroute, including climb and descent, below the following:
    (1) 500 feet,
    (2) At an altitude that is no lower than twice the altitude loss specified in the AFM for an autopilot malfunction in cruise conditions, or
    (3) At an altitude specified by the Administrator, whichever is greater.
    (d) Approach.
    No person may use an autopilot at an altitude lower than 50 feet below the DA(H) or MDA for the instrument procedure being flown, except as follows:
    (1) For autopilots with an AFM specified altitude loss for approach operations, the greater of:
    (i) An altitude no lower than twice the specified altitude loss,
    (ii) An altitude no lower than 50 feet higher than the altitude loss specified in the AFM when reported weather conditions are less than the basic VFR weather conditions in§ 91.155 of this chapter, suitable visual references specified in § 91.175 of this chapter have been established on the instrument approach procedure, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references,
    (iii) An altitude no lower than the higher of the altitude loss specified in the AFM or 50 feet above the TDZE when reported weather conditions are equal to or better than the basic VFR weather conditions in § 91.155 of this chapter, and the autopilot is coupled and receiving both lateral and vertical path references, or
    (iv) An altitude specified by the Administrator.
    (2) For autopilots with AFM specified approach altitude limitations, the greater of:
    (i) The minimum use altitude specified for the coupled approach mode selected,
    (ii) 50 feet, or
    (iii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (3) For autopilots with an AFM specified negligible or zero altitude loss for an autopilot approach mode malfunction, the greater of:
    (i) 50 feet, or
    (ii) An altitude specified by Administrator.
    (4) If executing an autopilot coupled go-around or missed approach, using a certificated and functioning autopilot in accordance with paragraph (e) in this section.
    (e) Go-Around/Missed Approach.
    No person may engage an autopilot during a go-around or missed approach below the minimum engagement altitude specified for takeoff and initial climb in paragraph (b) in this section. An autopilot minimum use altitude does not apply to a go-around/missed approach initiated with an engaged autopilot. Performing a go-around or missed approach with an engaged autopilot must not adversely affect safe obstacle clearance.
    (f) Landing.
    Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this section, autopilot minimum use altitudes do not apply to autopilot operations when an approved automatic landing system mode is being used for landing. Automatic landing systems must be authorized in an operations specification issued to the operator.
    (g) This section does not apply to operations conducted in rotorcraft.
    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 27, 2012.
    John M. Allen,
    Director,Flight Standards Service.
    end regulatory text
    [FR Doc. 2012-29274 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
  Channel 9 apologise after experimental DroneCam crashes into wedding reception That Cricket Blog
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:25
    Perth, Australia '' Australian broadcasting giant, Channel 9, have been forced into making a formal apology to the National Assembly of Afghanistan after an experimental 'DroneCam', used as part of their coverage of the third test at Perth, crashed into a wedding reception being held at a nearby Afghani cultural centre.
    Whilst the drone caused limited damage '' overturning a finger buffet and destroying the amplifier of a state-of-the-art karaoke system '' it's the presence as guest of honour by the Afghanistan ambassador to Australia, Amb Andisha, which has caused an international incident.
    ''We can't apologise enough for what has happened, '' stressed Channel 9 spokesman, Bob Philtrum, ''at Channel 9 we've always regarded ourselves as at the forefront of innovative cricket coverage, but purchasing a first generation de-weaponised drone from the US military just to give us a new camera angle may, in retrospect, have been a step too far.''
    It's understood that whilst the drone's black-box flight recorder has already been recovered from underneath a pile of ruined canap(C)s, analysis of its contents has yet to reveal the cause of the crash.
    ''At the time it we lost control over it, the drone was being used as part of our morning pitch report to identify areas that should be targeted for attack, '' explained Mr Philtrum, ''we're currently working on the assumption that it went into some kind of pre-programmed default mode as soon as it it made visual contact with the Afghani wedding party.''
    Whilst the Afghanistan Embassy in Canberra declined to comment on the incident, local resident Jeff Shaw explained what he saw on the day.
    ''I was in my garden whilst the wedding reception was being held and I noticed the guests became agitated as soon as the drone started to circle. But then I know from visiting the centre when it first opened that attending a wedding reception that's being buzzed by an unmanned drone is considered an exceedingly bad omen in Afghani culture.''
    A spokesman for the Perth Afghani Cultural Centre confirmed it will be open as usual on Monday and that Channel 9 had contacted them with reassurances that 'DroneCam' would no longer be part of their cricket coverage.
    ''Channel 9 has been profuse with their apologies, for which we're grateful, but we've had to decline the offer of a personal visit by their commentary team as our staff is already traumatised. Although I suppose the one good thing to come out of this incident is that the centre's aim, to educate Australians as to the realities of day-to-day life in Afghanistan, has been fully realised.''
  Explosion probe will take time
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:24
    Updated: Monday, 03 Dec 2012, 8:18 PM ESTPublished : Monday, 03 Dec 2012, 8:18 PM EST
    INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The search for answers in the south side explosion continues, but Marion County's prosecutor says closing the case will take time. Terry Curry tells 24-Hour News 8 that the investigation could take weeks or even months to complete.
    Still, signs of progress are showing in several places at Richmond Hill.
    Demolition on three more homes began Monday. Evidence processing near the blast site is now nearly complete. But, Curry says that doesn't mean the case against those responsible for the explosion is done.
    ''This is a painstaking and deliberative process,'' Curry told 24-Hour News 8. ''The investigators continue to chase down leads, doing additional interviews. The processing of the scene has slowed down. I think it's fair to say that most of the significant work there has been completed. But, work does continue.''
    In a law career spanning more than three decades, Curry said this is one of the largest cases he's ever worked.
    The size of the scene and scope of the investigation brought in additional investigators and more agencies. That's all meant additional time.
    Asked if he expected the investigation to take as long as it already has, Curry immediately nodded.
    ''I'm not the least bit surprised that it's taken this long. And, it will undoubtedly take some time past today as well. There's much work that needs to be done,'' he said.
    Still, Curry says progress is being made, and was quick to praise the work being done by teams from local, state and federal agencies all working together.
    ''It has been very smooth,'' he said. ''That's no surprise to us. Every agency bringing their unique expertise can only help in terms of having a successful investigation and prosecution, if that becomes necessary.''
    Investigators continue to work around the clock, executing at least 15 search warrants by the end of last week. Curry wouldn't confirm how many search warrants have been issued or executed since then, but sources tell 24-Hour News 8 additional warrants are likely this week. Curry also would not confirm where the warrants were issued, or what investigators are looking for.
    ''Both the underlying affidavits seeking search warrants and the results of the search warrants are sealed at this time, as we're entitled to do in the course of investigations. So, that information is confidential. If, in fact, there are ultimately are suspects in this case, we don't want particular information to be made available to them. And, if individuals come forward and provide information, we want some comfort level that that's based on firsthand knowledge and not based upon something they've read or heard in the press,'' he said.
    Curry said investigators have now interviewed "dozens" of people in connection with the case. Most of them are witnesses, but that figure also includes the homeowners at the center of the blast: Monserrate Shirley and her boyfriend Mark Leonard.
    Asked if investigators anticipated questioning Shirley and Leonard in the future, Curry said simply that he couldn't comment.
    Testimony from those witnesses and others will then go hand in hand with evidence that's been taken from the scene. It is now undergoing forensic testing at the Marion County Crime Lab and other labs, Curry said.
    That evidence includes the gas meter from the Shirley home, which 24-Hour News 8 confirmed is being stored by Citizens Energy in a secure facility.
    ''I don't know in this sort of situation anything would be typical,'' Curry said, when asked why the meter was not being stored in an evidence locker. ''Obviously, this is a very unique situation. In this case, an explosion or arson investigation, the science side of it is a significant part of the investigation and case. Everything that has been gathered is accounted for and is being preserved appropriately.''
    Curry confirmed he is receiving ''daily'' updates on the progress in the case, though he has not been back to the explosion site.
    He would not, however, talk about the potential development of suspects or even persons of interest in the case. He also said there is no set timeline for closure in the case.
    ''In terms of reaching an ultimate conclusion in this case, I have '-- at this point '-- no sense of whether that be one week, one month, six months,'' he said. ''The work being done is progressing and we will keep pushing ahead until we can reach a conclusion one way or the other in this case.''
  Israel to use drones in Azerbaijan for possible Iran strike
    Link to Article
    Source: StratRisks
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:26
    Source: CHD
    Israel plans to use unmanned drones it deployed in Azerbaijan to preemptively strike Iranian missile sites in the event of a war, the London-based Sunday Times reported.
    The report comes amid mounting speculations that Israel may launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities next year, in which case the latter would retaliate by firing Shahab-3 and other long-range missiles at the Jewish state, while Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Gaza militants would follow suit.
    Ahead of a possible strike, Heron drones armed with Hellfire missiles would take out the missiles before they leave the ground, the paper said.
    According to the report, the Nevatim airbase in Israel's Negev desert houses a U.S.-made X-band radar capable of detecting Iranian missiles loaded on launching pads 1,000 miles to the northeast, giving the Israelis 13 minutes' early warning.
    ''We'll try to 'kill' them at the booster stage, the moment their engines are ignited,'' the newspaper quoted ''a well-informed'' Israeli military source as saying.
    ''If that happens, and it isn't as easy as it sounds, then the remaining missiles will be finished off by our Air Defense Command, '' the source said.
    Israel denies having armed UAVs, known in the U.S. military as Predator or hunter-killer drones, but independent experts say it has used such hardware on numerous occasions, including to strike targets far beyond its borders, such as arms convoys bound for the Gaza Strip.
    Several reports over the past year have suggested that Azerbaijan, located beside the Caspian Sea and bordering Iran from the north, is slated to play a pivotal role in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran's nuclear program '-- whether as a safe haven from which Israeli jets could take off and land for refueling, or for ground operations to rescue downed pilots and drone strikes.
    Both Israeli and Azeri officials have dismissed the reports.
    The Heron TP II drone, delivered to the Israel Air Force in February 2010 and reportedly slated to attack the Iranian missiles, is a fourth-generation, all-weather craft with a cruising altitude of 14,000 meters.
    With a wingspan of 26 meters, the size of a Boeing 737, it can carry nearly 5 tons of payload and remain aloft for 36 hours. Its range is classified, but Israel Aerospace Industries, which developed the craft, has previously said its linkup to satellite communication enables it to fly great distances and reach any country in the region.
    Tags: Air Defense Command, Azerbaijan, CHD, Gaza, Gaza Strip, iran, Israel, Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel Negev, London, military, missiles, radar, report, strike, Sunday Times, U.S., unmanned, war
  NASA/GA-ASI Agreement Expands Unmanned Aircraft Capabilities
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:16
    EDWARDS, Calif. -- NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) have partnered in a collaborative agreement to allow for the development and flight testing of new command and control satellite link capabilities on a Predator B unmanned aircraft system.
    As the result of a no-cost Space Act Agreement signed in September, the parties will upgrade the command and control system of NASA's MQ-9 Predator B, named "Ikhana," to enable aircraft operations in more remote geographical regions. The upgraded aircraft will then be used to conduct systems testing and evaluation flights. This activity will allow both NASA and GA-ASI to reach the mutual goal of demonstrating this advanced capability.
    "The system improvements enabled by this agreement expand the utility of the Ikhana MQ-9 for NASA science and the development of technology required for unmanned air systems to fly in the national airspace," said NASA Dryden center director David McBride. "Both are key national priorities that benefit from this government/industry cooperative effort."
    "We are pleased to renew our commitment to NASA and to help expand the utility of Ikhana to Arctic missions," said Frank Pace, president of the Aircraft Systems Group, GA-ASI. "With growing interest in using remotely piloted aircraft for civil missions, we expect our work with NASA to open the door for increased confidence in operating these aircraft in the National Airspace System."
    "This new capability will allow Ikhana to support NASA science missions at higher latitudes where many important geophysical processes must be studied," said Bob Curry, NASA Dryden chief scientist. "In recent years, unmanned aircraft have demonstrated transformational opportunities for Earth science airborne research, particularly due to their very long endurance capability. They can also reduce the need to expose aircrew to remote and unforgiving environments."
    NASA is using the aircraft in advanced flight research activities including those paving the way for opening up the National Airspace System to unmanned aircraft systems operation, in addition to its role in advancing science.
    The next mission for NASA's Predator B aircraft, planned for the summer of 2013, is the Marginal Ice Zone Observations and Processes Experiment, or MIZOPEX. NASA will provide the aircraft system and its associated engineering, technical and operational staff to support Ikhana's mission to carry science instruments designed to investigate ice changes in the Arctic. The MIZOPEX team is comprised of scientists led by James Maslanik of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The science project manager is John Adler of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    Ikhana was manufactured by GA-ASI and delivered to NASA in 2006. Ikhana carried the NASA-developed Autonomous Modular Scanner for the multi-year Western States Fire Mission in 2007 and 2008 that investigated fires in the Western United States, especially California. Working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration, the remotely piloted aircraft flew in the National Airspace System allowing the sensor to deliver near-real time wildfire information to incident commanders in the field.
    Ikhana is capable of reaching altitudes above 40,000 feet and flying for more than 20 hours.
    The aircraft recently underwent a major retrofit that included integrating redundant avionics, wingtip antennas, laser altimeters, centerline hard points and greater electrical power generation capability.
    For more about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, visit:www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/index.html
    For more about General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., visit:www.ga-asi.com
    For more information about Ikhana, NASA's Predator B, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-097-DFRC.html
    For more information contact:
    Beth Hagenauer NASA Dryden Flight Research CenterPhone: 661-276-7960This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    Kimberly KasitzGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.Phone: 858-312-2294This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MIC
  Defense Bill Passes Senate Vote, Calls For $631 Billion Budget, Accelerated Afghanistan Withdrawal
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:03
    WASHINGTON '-- The Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping, $631 billion defense bill Tuesday that sends a clear signal to President Barack Obama to move quickly to get U.S. combat troops out of Afghanistan, tightens sanctions on Iran and limits the president's authority in handling terror suspects.
    Ignoring a veto threat, the Senate voted 98-0 for the legislation that authorizes money for weapons, aircraft and ships and provides a 1.7 percent pay raise for military personnel. After a decade of increasing Pentagon budgets, the vote came against the backdrop of significant reductions in projected military spending and the threat of deeper cuts from the looming "fiscal cliff" of automatic spending cuts and tax increases.
    The bill reflects the nation's war-weariness after more than a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, the messy uncertainty about new threats to U.S. security and Washington belt-tightening in times of trillion-dollar-plus deficits. Spending solely on the base defense budget has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, but the latest blueprint reins in the projected growth in military dollars.
    The bill would provide some $526 billion for the base defense budget, $17 billion for defense programs in the Energy Department and about $88 billion for the war in Afghanistan. House and Senate negotiators must reconcile their competing versions of the bill in the next few weeks.
    "The major challenge is time," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters after the vote.
    Reacting to the relentless violence in Syria, the Senate voted 92-6 to require the Pentagon to report to Congress on the ability of the U.S. military to impose a no-fly zone over Syria.
    Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has pushed for greater U.S. military involvement to end the Syrian civil war, sponsored the amendment. Obama on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar Assad not to use chemical and/or biological weapons against his people as the U.S. and its allies weigh military options.
    "If military action has to be taken to prevent sarin gas to be used, Congress has to be involved," McCain said.
    But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said it was a "bad idea to discuss contingency plans for war."
    The amendment specified that it should not be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization to use force.
    Last year, Obama and congressional Republicans agreed on nearly $500 billion in defense cuts over 10 years. If the two sides fail in the next month to avert the "fiscal cliff" the Pentagon would face an additional $55 billion in automatic, across-the-board cuts after the first of the year.
    Not far from the Capitol, a coalition of retired military leaders, administration officials and lawmakers pleaded with the president and Congress to address the nation's debt, calling it the greatest threat to national security. The group of prominent Republicans and Democrats said the United States can spend less on defense while still maintaining its military superiority.
    "A strong economy and strong national security are inextricably linked," said retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
    The administration has threatened to veto the Senate bill, strongly objecting to a provision restricting the president's authority to transfer terror suspects from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to foreign countries. The provision is in current law.
    The Senate also voted to restrict the transfer of detainees held at Guantanamo to prisons in the United States.
    Further stoking the debate over U.S. detention policy '' and setting up a fight with the House '' the Senate also added a provision saying the government may not detain a U.S. citizen or legal resident indefinitely without charge or trial even if there is a declaration of war or the authorization to use military force.
    Current law denies suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens seized within the nation's borders, the right to trial and subjects them to the possibility they would be held indefinitely. It reaffirms the post-Sept. 11 authorization for the use of military force that allows indefinite detention of enemy combatants.
    That provision had created a conservative backlash, and a coalition of liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans pushed for the new provision.
    The bill sends a clear message to Obama and the military to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan. On a strong bipartisan vote of 62-33 last week, the Senate endorsed Obama's timetable to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014 but pressed for a quicker pace, without specifying how that would be achieved.
    Obama and the military are engaged in high-stakes talks about the pace of drawing down the 66,000 U.S. combat troops there now.
    The bill added stringent new sanctions on Iran's energy and shipping sectors in a fresh attempt to hobble the Islamic Republic's economy and hamper its nuclear ambitions.
    The sanctions build upon penalties that Congress has passed '' and Obama has implemented '' that target Tehran's financial and energy sectors.
    Officials in Washington argue that the sanctions have undermined Tehran's economy and robust oil sales, thwarting its suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
    Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who have shepherded sanctions bills through Congress, sponsored the latest package that also would close a major loophole '' the ability of Iran to circumvent sanctions and barter oil for precious metals. Turkey has been bartering gold for oil.
    The sanctions would designate Iran's energy, port, shipping and ship-building sectors as "entities of proliferation" and prohibit transactions with these areas. The legislation also would penalize individuals selling or supplying commodities such as graphite, aluminum and steel to Iran, all products that are crucial to Tehran's ship-building and nuclear operations.
    The administration had complained that the new sanctions were duplicative and unnecessary.
    Also on HuffPost:
  The 'pivot' to paradise has just begun.
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:57
    Upcoming Maritime C4ISR opportunities in the Caribbean Basin
    This summer we saw a succession of maritime disputes involving China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines over a few scattered uninhabited rocks in the South and East China Sea. On the surface these little rocks have little to offer, but whoever controls sovereignty over these rocks also controls a 200 mile radius exclusive economic zone. The reason for all this hostility, experts say, is vast reserves of oil in those waters.
    More than 10,000 miles east of the South China Sea or 18 hours non-stop by plane lies the Caribbean Basin. Think Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and what comes to mind is idyllic white sandy beaches,
    cocktails and time spent doing as little as possible. What almost no one knows is that this sleepy part of the world is about to receive a lot of attention from the United States, Canada, the European Union and an increasingly powerful Brazil, not to mention, China which has been quietly buying influence in the region. Analysts say it's because of oil. This doesn't sound as far-fetched as we know there is oil in the Gulf of Mexico (remember the BP oil spill?) and vast reserves just off the coast of Venezuela. Oil has replaced tourism as the largest contributor of GDP in nearby Trinidad & Tobago. Brazil, further down south, has huge oil reserves rivalling the Middle East about which Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, remarked that this just proves that ''God is Brazilian''.
    If you're in the business of surveillance, whether it's fixed wing, rotary or coastal sensors, AIS based maritime information systems, secure data and communication networks that can pull and push information from US, NATO and Latin American sources. Or interdiction through fast patrol craft, small OPVs, etc. '' or maritime security in general '' there is there is a bonanza coming up in the 24 nations that comprise the Caribbean Basin. As there is no regional consensus on how to approach common surveillance and security problems, there are also opportunities for
  Pentagon builds military intelligence network to rival the CIA
    Link to Article
    Source: StratRisks
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:25
    The Pentagon is planning a major expansion of America's international spy network, creating a new generation of undercover agents to get a better handle on critical issues such as China's growing military might and the rising influence of fundamentalist militants in Africa.
    The enlarged military spy ring will rival the civilian Central Intelligence Agency in size, marking a major expansion in America's espionage network '' something that reflects the Obama administration's preference for undercover operations over conventional force.
    The US has conducted more than 300 drone strikes since Barack Obama took office in 2008, killing thousands in missions managed by the CIA and the military.
    But with the CIA increasingly stretched, the Pentagon is planning to deploy hundreds of additional spies to work alongside civilian colleagues and elite military commando units, according to the Washington Post.
    The expansion will change the complexion of the Defence Intelligence Agency, the military intelligence body which is expected to end up with as many as 1,600 intelligence ''collectors'' around the world. Unlike the CIA, the DIA does not have the authority to conduct drone strikes.
    Although the total includes officials who do not work undercover, the newspaper cited unnamed US officials who said the bulk of the growth would come from a new cohort of spies trained by the CIA but directed in their activities by defence chiefs.
    Their focus, given the Pentagon's priorities as US forces wind down in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be on hot-button issues such as fundamentalism in Africa, the growth of China's military, and weapons transfers by the secretive North Korean regime.
    The DIA's team of undercover agents has already reportedly expanded to about 500, a figure that is expected to swell to as much as 1,000 before the decade is out. To avoid friction, the new agents will work closely with local CIA station bosses, who will also be able to block missions.
    Casting a wider net of spies will not come easy, however. For one, defence intelligence bosses will have to work out how, given the limited number of slots at American embassies around the world, to find overseas jobs for the new covert agents. The old ruse of creating false identities and having agents live beyond embassy walls not only requires more work, but also means the operatives don't have diplomatic immunity.
    According to the Post, the expansion will be financed from existing budgets.
    A former senior military official involved in the planning told the Post: ''The stars have been aligning on this for a while.'' The paper reported that the project was being overseen by Michael Vickers, the top Pentagon intelligence official.
    Approval for greater co-ordination between the Pentagon and the CIA was given by the Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, and General David Petraeus, the former head of the CIA who left abruptly last month following revelations of an extra-marital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
  Jpost | Print Article
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:52
    The joint chiefs of staff of Iran's armed forces have established a new 'soft war' headquarters to counter threats from Israel and the US, particularly in cyberspace, the Iranian media reported on Saturday.The Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces for Cultural Affairs and Defense, Brig.-Gen. Massoud Jazayeri said that Iran's enemies were 'very serious' in their 'soft war' efforts against the Islamic Republic, according to Sepah News, the official public relations site of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). ''Therefore, we too must develop an organized means to address the fight with the enemy in this arena,'' Jazayeri said.
    The military leader claimed that ''hundreds of think tanks'' in the US are monitoring Iran.
    ''The enemy is trying to dominate Iran in cyberspace. They are doing their utmost to create roadblocks to prevent Iran's progress and success in cyber warfare,'' Jazayeri warned.
    The brigadier-general made his comments to a gathering of military personnel at a conference organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Basij Cyber Battalions in Tehran, the aim of which was to equip and mobilize Iran's national media to combat what Tehran sees as the ''soft war'' threat, according to a report by IRIB itself.
    Attending the conference were IRIB cyber space experts and members of Iran's Cyber Council Committee and the Basij voluntary militia, IRIB reported. The Cyber Council Committee comprises seven ''battalions'' '' politics, culture, social concerns, media, economics, women's issues and Islamic jurisprudence '' each of which deals with issues ''targeted by the West in its soft-war against Iran,'' IRIB said.
    The development comes amid evidence that a shadowy cyber war between Iran, the US and Israel has intensified.
    Over the past year, Israel and Israeli-linked targets have been hit by a wave of cyber attacks originating in Iran.
    Last week, a group of pro- Iranian hackers nicknamed ''Parastoo'' '' the Persian word for the bird ''swallow'' '' claimed to have seized personal data from 200 scientists and officials linked to the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). In a message that has been widely disseminated among pro-hacking websites in Iran, the group threatened to make its information public if ''a Western-favored element entertains another sip of motorbike and magnet bomb cocktail,'' alluding to allegations that Israel was responsible for assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists.
    In July, researchers at computer security companies Kaspersky Lab and Seculert reported the discovery of a sophisticated malware attack, nicknamed Mahdi after the Shi'ite messiah, that mostly targeted critical infrastructure companies, financial services and government embassies in Israel as well as Saudi Arabia, the US and the United Arab Emirates. The malware was spread via an email containing a fake word document attachment that when opened executed a malware dropper. The malware is designed to spy on computers, including by sending screen shots and recordings back to the attackers. An analysis by Seculert revealed that Mahdi, likely originated in Iran.
    While is it impossible to know for certain whether the Parastoo hack or the far more serious Mahdi malware and the recent wave of network attacks against US financial institutions and Saudi oil companies were carried out by groups linked to the Iranian government, it is clear that Iran has stepped up its cyber warfare activities as an integral element of both its soft war defense and its asymmetric warfare strategy.
    The IRGC stepped up its ''soft war'' rhetoric in the wake of the widespread riots and unrest that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential elections.
    According to that rhetoric, ''soft war'' can include any attempts to create unrest in Iran, including psychological operations.
    However, following the launch of the Stuxnet virus that Iranian officials said had infected computer systems and centrifuges used to enrich uranium, Iran has expanded its definition of ''soft war'' to include cyber warfare attacks.
    Offensively, Iran uses cyber warfare in a similar manner to its other asymmetric strategies, which appear to include training its proxies to carry out attacks. Last month, Israel took its police department offline after discovering computers had been infected by a remote-access tool (RAT) allowing attackers to control machines in real-time. According to the US-based computer security firm Norman, those and other recent attacks originated in Gaza, home to Iranian- backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
    Norman described the attacks from Gaza as ''an espionage operation [that] has been underway for at least a year.'' Iran's cyber warfare strategy is also designed to counter what it sees are attacks from the US and Israel.
    In a recent report published on its new public website, Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused the US and Israel of perpetrating a cyber war against Iran, including by using ''advanced malware'' against its nuclear facilities.
    The report '' intended for consumption by the Iranian public and widely disseminated by the Iranian media '' relies on information and opinions given in various Western news reports and commentary on the issue of cyber warfare.
    The launch of the new ''soft war'' barracks and the Intelligence Ministry report both come after Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast in May accused ''illegitimate regimes'' of ''producing viruses and trying to use cyberspace,'' in response to questions about whether the Flame computer virus had infected any of Iran's computer systems.
    In April, Iran said it had experienced a cyber attack against computer systems in its Petroleum Ministry and other oil-related state companies, which it said was part of a wider ''soft war'' effort by the US and Israel.
    Defensively, Iran's cyber strategy includes online propaganda, including via its state media, for both domestic and international consumption.
    Tehran is engaged in a large-scale propaganda war with the West, not only on behalf of its own regime but also for its allies. In its most recent move, Iran's Fars News, which is closely affiliated with the IRGC, opened a branch in Damascus to ''provide a realistic view'' of events in Syria and counter what Iran has termed Western propaganda against its closest regional ally, Syrian president Bashar Assad.
    The Cyber Council Committee conference, run by IRIB, also comes after the US Senate voted unanimously in favor of enhanced sanctions against Iran, which include blacklisting IRIB and preventing others from doing business with the Iranian state media company and its chief, Ezzatollah Zarghami.
    The European Union has already placed individual sanctions against Zarghami, whom it says has committed human rights abuses including by broadcasting forced confessions of detainees and show trials in August 2009 and December 2011.
    Iran, however, says the new sanctions are a ''flagrant attempt to try to silence the Iranian media.''
    Referring to the sanctions against IRIB, Chief of Staff Jazayeri accused Israel and the US of using ''soft war'' techniques to try to create a political crisis in Iran, including via cyberspace.
    Jazayeri said Iran's enemies try to lure Iranians with promises of a ''Western lifestyle.''
    The head of the Cyber Council Committee, Ali Asghar Jafaari '' who serves as a media adviser to Zarghami '' said that cyberspace was ''an important platform'' through which the enemy tries to flaunt anti-Iranian [propaganda] and we will move to constrict them in this area, as we have done in other arenas.''
  Bradley Manning: a tale of liberty lost in America | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | The Guardian
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:23
    'The repressive treatment of Bradley ­Manning is one of the disgraces of Obama's first term.' Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
    Over the past two and a half years, all of which he has spent in a military prison, much has been said about Bradley Manning, but nothing has been heard from him. That changed on Thursday, when the 23-year-old US army private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks testified at his court martial proceeding about the conditions of his detention.
    The oppressive, borderline-torturous measures to which he was subjected, including prolonged solitary confinement and forced nudity, have been known for some time. A formal UN investigation denounced those conditions as "cruel and inhuman". President Obama's state department spokesman, retired air force colonel PJ Crowley, resigned after publicly condemning Manning's treatment. A prison psychologist testified this week that Manning's conditions were more damaging than those found on death row, or at Guantnamo Bay.
    Still, hearing the accused whistleblower's description of this abuse in his own words viscerally conveyed its horror. Reporting from the hearing, the Guardian's Ed Pilkington quoted Manning: "If I needed toilet paper I would stand to attention and shout: 'Detainee Manning requests toilet paper!'" And: "I was authorised to have 20 minutes sunshine, in chains, every 24 hours." Early in his detention, Manning recalled, "I had pretty much given up. I thought I was going to die in this eight by eight animal cage."
    The repressive treatment of Bradley Manning is one of the disgraces of Obama's first term, and highlights many of the dynamics shaping his presidency. The president not only defended Manning's treatment but also, as commander-in-chief of the court martial judges, improperly decreed Manning's guilt when he asserted in an interview that he "broke the law".
    Worse, Manning is charged not only with disclosing classified information, but also the capital offence of "aiding the enemy", for which the death penalty can be imposed (military prosecutors are requesting "only" life in prison). The government's radical theory is that, although Manning had no intent to do so, the leaked information could have helped al-Qaida, a theory that essentially equates any disclosure of classified information '' by any whistleblower, or a newspaper '' with treason.
    Whatever one thinks of Manning's alleged acts, he appears the classic whistleblower. This information could have been sold for substantial sums to a foreign government or a terror group. Instead he apparently knowingly risked his liberty to show them to the world because '' he said when he believed he was speaking in private '' he wanted to trigger "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms".
    Compare this aggressive prosecution of Manning to the Obama administration's vigorous efforts to shield Bush-era war crimes and massive Wall Street fraud from all forms of legal accountability. Not a single perpetrator of those genuine crimes has faced court under Obama, a comparison that reflects the priorities and values of US justice.
    Then there's the behaviour of Obama's loyalists. Ever since I first reported the conditions of Manning's detention in December 2010, many of them not only cheered that abuse but grotesquely ridiculed concerns about it. Joy-Ann Reid, a former Obama press aide and now a contributor on the progressive network MSNBC, spouted sadistic mockery in response to the report: "Bradley Manning has no pillow?????" With that, she echoed one of the most extreme rightwing websites, RedState, which identically mocked the report: "Give Bradley Manning his pillow and blankie back."
    As usual, the US establishment journalists have enabled the government every step of the way. Despite holding themselves out as adversarial watchdogs, nothing provokes their animosity more than someone who effectively challenges government actions.
    Typifying this mentality was a CNN interview on Thursday night with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange conducted by Erin Burnett. It was to focus on newly released documents revealing secret efforts by US officials to pressure financial institutions to block WikiLeaks' funding after the group published classified documents allegedly leaked by Manning, a form of extra-legal punishment that should concern everyone, particularly journalists.
    But the CNN host was completely uninterested in the dangerous acts of her own government. Instead she repeatedly tried to get Assange to condemn the press policies of Ecuador, a tiny country that '' quite unlike the US '' exerts no influence beyond its borders. To the mavens of the US watchdog press, Assange and Manning are enemies to be scorned because they did the job that the US press corps refuses to do: namely, bringing transparency to the bad acts of the US government and its allies around the world.
    Bradley Manning has bestowed the world with multiple vital benefits. But as his court martial finally reaches its conclusion, one likely to result in the imposition of a long prison term, it appears his greatest gift is this window into America's political soul.
    ' This is an op-ed I wrote to appear in the Guardian newspaper
Squirrel!
  MI6 told agent they could not kill al-Qaeda leader
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:14
    His work helped foil three terrorist plots in Britain and Demark and led to the jailing of Hassan Tabbakh, a science graduate of Syrian origin who was making home-made bombs in Small Heath, Birmingham, it can be disclosed.
    Storm has provided documentation to the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten which confirms he was recruited by the Danish security service, the PET.
    A recording of a conversation with a Danish security officer provided to the Daily Telegraph confirms that he also worked for MI5, the British domestic security service.
    In addition, Storm says he also traveled to Yemen and East Africa on behalf of MI6, the British foreign intelligence service.
    A security source refused to talk about Storm but said that MI6 does not get involved in ''extra judicial killing or assassinations.''
    The source said MI6 officers are not allowed to do anything abroad that would be illegal in Britain, nor ask anyone to do it on their behalf, without permission from the Foreign Secretary.
    ''Lethal force'' can be used with ministerial authorisation only in times of ''emergency or crisis which causes danger to the UK or its citizens'' - which has effectively ruled out its use for decades.
    Morten Storm says he was on a training course run by MI5 in Edinburgh when he told them he had an idea how to track down Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP).
    Awlaki, an American citizen of Yemeni origin, had lived in Britain for two years and was already one of al-Qaeda's most successful propagandists.
    He had preached to three of the 9/11 hijackers and his videos were found in a series of raids on terrorist safehouses in Britain, including the bookshop used by the 7/7 bombers.
    Storm had befriended Awlaki during his days as an extremist studying in Yemen, when Awlaki was teaching at a local university, shortly after arriving from Britain.
    At their last meeting in September 2009 Awlaki had asked Storm to look out for a more Westernised wife, preferably a convert, more in keeping with his tastes than the two Arab women he had already married.
    By chance Storm was contacted on Facebook by a 32-year-old Croatian social worker called Aminah and he planned to use her to lead them to Awlaki.
    But Storm says his MI5 handlers told him: ''We do not involve ourselves in encouraging people to participate in jihad and we don't involve ourselves in killings abroad. Our objective is to gather intelligence.''
    A few weeks later, on Christmas Day 2009, Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, a former student at University College London who traveled to Yemen to meet Awlaki, tried to blow himself up on a trans-Atlantic flight using a bomb in his underpants.
    Awlaki had also recruited a British Airways worker called Rajib Karim who lived in Newcastle and was quizzing him over the internet about how to get bombs onto trans-Atlantic aircraft. Karim was later jailed for 30 years.
    Storm last saw his MI5 handler, Kevin, at Birmingham airport in April 2010 as he left for a meeting with the CIA in Copenhagen.
    Storm says he was told: ''I have bad news for you. I'm very sorry to say that we are pulling out. I might never see you again but I want to say thank you, it's been very good working with you. It's because of Aminah, it's bureaucracy and we can't do anything about it.''
    The operation with Aminah failed and Storm launched a second attempt to track down Awlaki using the preacher's courier network.
    At a briefing for the CIA and Denmark's PET in Malaga, Southern Spain, he was introduced to an officer from MI6 for the last time.
    ''I took the opportunity to say thank you to him. He didn't come with any suggestions, he just took notes and asked me if there was anything interesting for the British.''
    Storm believes it was his work that led to Awlaki's death in a drone attack three weeks later in September last year, but the CIA told him they had been running a ''parallel operation.''
    The relationship deteriorated until Storm believed that the Americans were prepared to kill him in a drone attack and he decided to go public.
Millenials
  VIDEO-About Noodles Kids
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:13
    Wendy Mogel poignantly examines a rising generation of otherwise 'high achieving' students who are ''information rich, but experience poor'' and who, as new employees and interns, ''don't take initiative [and] are uncomfortable taking on challenges.'' She suggests that ''what [students] need most of all is the opportunity to play.'' Mogel confirms that ''imaginative play increases executive functioning [and] causes you to grow in maturity'... It is also hard work.''
    Further information and related resources are provided below the embedded video.
    Dr. Wendy Mogel is an internationally acclaimed clinical psychologist, and the bestselling author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus. She is frequently consulted by journalists, and publishes articles, on the dangers of overprotection, overindulgence and overscheduling of children. Quite some time ago, Dr. Mogel was our school's psychologist, and we have a little game around here guessing which perplexing anecdotes from Blessing of a Skinned Knee came from our teachers and parents. -CT
    RELATED RESOURCES:
Watson
  Software Programs Help Doctors Diagnose, but Can't Replace Them - NYTimes.com
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:27
    Illustration by Sean McCabe; Photograph by Jim Wilson/The New York Times
    SAN FRANCISCO '-- The man on stage had his audience of 600 mesmerized. Over the course of 45 minutes, the tension grew. Finally, the moment of truth arrived, and the room was silent with anticipation.
    At last he spoke. ''Lymphoma with secondary hemophagocytic syndrome,'' he said. The crowd erupted in applause.
    Professionals in every field revere their superstars, and in medicine the best diagnosticians are held in particularly high esteem. Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal, 39, a self-effacing associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is considered one of the most skillful clinical diagnosticians in practice today.
    The case Dr. Dhaliwal was presented, at a medical conference last year, began with information that could have described hundreds of diseases: the patient had intermittent fevers, joint pain, and weight and appetite loss.
    To observe him at work is like watching Steven Spielberg tackle a script or Rory McIlroy a golf course. He was given new information bit by bit '-- lab, imaging and biopsy results. Over the course of the session, he drew on an encyclopedic familiarity with thousands of syndromes. He deftly dismissed red herrings while picking up on clues that others might ignore, gradually homing in on the accurate diagnosis.
    Just how special is Dr. Dhaliwal's talent? More to the point, what can he do that a computer cannot? Will a computer ever successfully stand in for a skill that is based not simply on a vast fund of knowledge but also on more intangible factors like intuition?
    The history of computer-assisted diagnostics is long and rich. In the 1970s, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh developed software to diagnose complex problems in general internal medicine; the project eventually resulted in a commercial program called Quick Medical Reference. Since the 1980s, Massachusetts General Hospital has been developing and refining DXplain, a program that provides a ranked list of clinical diagnoses from a set of symptoms and laboratory data.
    And I.B.M., on the heels of its triumph last year with Watson, the Jeopardy-playing computer, is working on Watson for Healthcare.
    In some ways, Dr. Dhaliwal's diagnostic method is similar to that of another I.B.M. project: the Deep Blue chess program, which in 1996 trounced Garry Kasparov, the world's best player at the time, to claim an unambiguous victory in the computer's relentless march into the human domain.
    Although lacking consciousness and a human's intuition, Deep Blue had millions of moves memorized and could analyze as many each second. Dr. Dhaliwal does the diagnostic equivalent, though at human speed.
    Since medical school, he has been an insatiable reader of case reports in medical journals, and case conferences from other hospitals. At work he occasionally uses a diagnostic checklist program called Isabel, just to make certain he hasn't forgotten something. But the program has yet to offer a diagnosis that Dr. Dhaliwal missed.
    Dr. Dhaliwal regularly receives cases from physicians who are stumped by a set of symptoms. At medical conferences, he is presented with one vexingly difficult case and is given 45 minutes to solve it. It is a medical high-wire act; doctors in the audience squirm as the set of facts gets more obscure and all the diagnoses they were considering are ruled out. After absorbing and processing scores of details, Dr. Dhaliwal must commit to a diagnosis. More often than not, he is right.
    When working on a difficult case in front of an audience, Dr. Dhaliwal puts his entire thought process on display, with the goal of ''elevating the stature of thinking,'' he said. He believes this is becoming more important because physicians are being assessed on whether they gave the right medicine to a patient, or remembered to order a certain test.
    Without such emphasis, physicians and training programs might forget the importance of having smart, thoughtful doctors. ''Because in medicine,'' Dr. Dhaliwal said, ''thinking is our most important procedure.''
    He added: ''Getting better at diagnosis isn't about figuring out if someone has one rare disease versus another. Getting better at diagnosis is as important to patient quality and safety as reducing medication errors, or eliminating wrong site surgery.''
    Clinical Precision
    Dr. Dhaliwal does half his clinical work on the wards of the San Francisco V. A. Medical Center, and the other half in its emergency department, where he often puzzles through multiple mysteries at a time.
    One recent afternoon in the E.R., he was treating a 66-year-old man who was mentally unstable and uncooperative. He complained of hip pain, but routine lab work revealed that his kidneys weren't working and his potassium was rising to a dangerous level, putting him in danger of an arrhythmia that could kill him '-- perhaps within hours. An ultrasound showed that his bladder was blocked.
    There was work to be done: drain the bladder, correct the potassium level. It would have been easy to dismiss the hip pain as a distraction; it didn't easily fit the picture. But Dr. Dhaliwal's instinct is to hew to the ancient rule that physicians should try to come to a unifying diagnosis. In the end, everything '-- including the hip pain '-- was traced to metastatic prostate cancer.
    ''Things can shift very quickly in the emergency room,'' Dr. Dhaliwal said. ''One challenge of this, whether you use a computer or your brain, is deciding what's signal and what's noise.'' Much of the time, it is his intuition that helps figure out which is which.
Out There
  NASA accidentally improves weather forecasting with lunar dust-measuring lasers
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:59
    Anyone that's ever tried to plan an outdoor activity in advance knows that weather forecasting is not an exact science, but the perpetual sky-watchers at NASA may have inadvertently found a way to improve these guesstimations. They have been testing a laser system for measuring lunar dust and soil kicked up by rocket exhausts, and while using precipitation as a substitute to calibrate the laser, they found they could measure the average size of raindrops passing through it. This value is estimated in current forecasting models, so plugging in some accurate numbers should make those predictions more reliable.
    The original mission hasn't been forgotten, though. Particles whipped up by landing rockets on the moon's surface could damage what was left behind by the Apollo missions, ruining its scientific and historic value. One of the laser sensors may find its way onto a craft vying for Google's X Prize, with the results used to determine where vessels can touch down whilst keeping a safe distance from Apollo landing sites. Although an accidental discovery, the system's other potential career in weather forecasting will also continue to be explored. Now, if only there was a way to make it rain and speed up the testing.
  Will a Secret Private Manned Mission to the Moon Be Announced This Week? | Wired Science | Wired.com
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 03:59
    Is this happening again? Image: NASA
    Internet rumors have beenswirling for several weeks of a secret venture backed by private entrepreneurs that would return people to the moon's surface. It seems that the veil will finally be lifted this week, during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 6.
    ''The Golden Spike Company invites you to attend a game-changing announcement about the future of commercial human space travel to the Moon,'' reads the announcement for the media briefing. ''Executives from the company will describe the team, the mission architecture, and the business model.''
    Many questions remain about the prospects for such a mission, including its feasibility, rationale, and how the company intends to fund the endeavor, which will likely run to billions of dollars. Early rumors suggested that backers included Warren Buffet and Richard Branson, though these have since been shown false. The plan may also include a $120 million deal with SpaceX to provide a heavy rocket to reach the moon. SpaceX had no statement about such a deal when Wired reached out to them on Dec. 2.
    The Golden Spike Company is registered in Colorado to planetary scientist and aerospace engineer Alan Stern, who ran NASA's science directorate from 2007 to 2008. Stern also worked in the private spaceflight sector that year, as an independent research representative for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. In a 2011 interview he said, ''I hope that in 10 to 20 years' time, we are on the hills of human return to the moon, so that we could then go on with humans to explore the solar system. I think this is our destiny.''
    Golden Spike is a reference to the ceremonial spike driven into the rails connecting the U.S. transcontinental railroad in 1869, which helped open up the American West. The company has recently started both a Facebook group and Twitter account.
    The company has apparently been around for a while. A conference presentation from May mentioned a company called Golden Spike that was ''backed by respected scientific and astronautical entities'' and ''envisions the development of a reliable 'Cislunar Superhighway.''' That same presentation mentioned a ''cooperative initiative coalescing between independent, national and international enterprises [that] could see 2 to 4 people on the surface for 1 to 4 weeks at an estimated cost of US$5-10 billion.'' Whether this plan is the same as Golden Spike's is unclear.
    Adam is a Wired reporter and freelance journalist. He lives in Oakland, Ca near a lake and enjoys space, physics, and other sciency things.
    Read more by Adam Mann
    Follow @adamspacemann on Twitter.
  NASA Scientist Says Many Young People Contemplating Suicide Over 2012 Doomsday Rumors
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 04:03
    For most of us, December 21st, 2012, will pass by without incident.
    But some are apparently so concerned about alleged Mayan prophecies of doom and gloom that they're seriously considering checking out early to avoid being around for the end of the world.
    "At least a once a week I get a message from a young person '• as young as 11 '• who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday," NASA astrobiologist David Morrison is quoted as saying in the government's official response to the Armageddon rumor mill.
    In fact, so heavy is the deluge of eschatological fear from letter-writing Americans that Morrison has taken it upon himself to be NASA's chief doomsday rumor debunker, setting up an entire page on NASA's official website devoted to addressing different doomsday scenarios.
    Spoiler alert: None are expected to pan out.
    "Many people don't know what they're afraid of," Morrison told NPR last week, "but they have heard this doomsday thing so often that they just come to me with a simple question: Will we have Christmas this year?"
    Yes, Virginia, we will. Now put down the gun.
    [H/T: Daily Intel, image via Shutterstock]
Haiti
  Shame on the UN for creating the deadly cholera epidemic that's killed 7,500 in Haiti - Comment - Voices - The Independent
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:28
    Not any more, thanks to the UN. The disease was carried to the island in 2010 by UN troops from Nepal, where cholera is endemic; and it first appeared near their camps. In the past two years, it has ravaged Haiti, killing 7,500 people and making 600,000 very ill. People are still dying in large numbers and it will probably be impossible to eradicate it from the fresh water supply on the island.
    There is no doubt about the UN's culpability, though it is still trying to evade this and has not held anybody responsible for what happened. It is seeking to treat this man-made calamity as if it was a natural disaster that nobody could have foreseen or prevented. So far it has largely succeeded, because the outside world pays little attention to what goes on in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
    The last time the UN so fatally failed people it was meant to protect was in Srebrenica in 1995, when 8,373 Muslims were massacred by Serbian forces in Bosnia. On that occasion, it was a 400-strong Dutch unit of the UN protection force that failed to stop the massacre of defenceless people who wrongly supposed they would be all right in a "Safe Area" declared by the UN Security Council.
    Srebrenica was denounced by the UN secretary general as the worst war crime in Europe since the Second World War. People still recognise the name, but how many people know that the UN presence in Haiti has led to a wholly predictable epidemic that has so far killed 7,568 Haitians, a toll that is still rising and which, sometime next year, will surpass that of Srebrenica?
    The UN has yet to respond formally to the charge of starting the epidemic made against it by human rights organisations, or agree to pay compensation. It has sought to downplay the whole event, commissioning an expert report which has just been published and makes clear that the UN brought cholera to Haiti from Nepal, but claims "the source of the cholera in Haiti is no longer relevant to controlling the outbreak".
    The UN study, entitled The Final Report of the Independent Panel of Experts on the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, is worth reading as an example of experts trying to tell a truth deeply damaging to those who commissioned the report. But at the same time, they rob their conclusions of impact by wrapping them in bureaucratic gobbledegook and claiming that nobody in the UN was at fault.
    If anybody is to blame, the independent experts seem to think, it is the Haitians for being so vulnerable to the incoming bacteria brought by the infected Nepalese soldiers. Had the Haitians not used the rivers "for washing, bathing, drinking and recreation", all might have been well. Haitians lacked natural immunity, had inadequate sanitation, lacked effective medical facilities and should not have spread the illness by fleeing their villages when they were hit by the epidemic. Somehow, so the panel argues, this vulnerability of Haitians to the cholera means the outbreak "was not the fault of, or deliberate action of, a group or individual".
    This is hypocrisy of a high order and the epidemic was certainly not an unhappy accident that nobody in the UN could have predicted.
    The UN troops were sent to Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake in January 2010. Nepal was in the middle of a cholera outbreak, as was widely known. If troops came from Nepal, even after the most stringent screening, there was the likelihood that they would bring cholera with them. In practice, screening was very lax for soldiers on their way from Nepal to Haiti. Worse, in the 10 days before they departed, they were given 10-day passes to travel around the country, including the cholera-hit areas. They were not retested on their return.
    The cholera epidemic in Haiti started downriver from the Nepalese soldiers' camps at Mirebalais, Hinche and Terre Rouge near a0 tributary of the Artibonite River, north of the capital Port-au-Prince, the first case being confirmed on 22 October 2010. Cholera normally spreads through water contaminated by faecal waste and there was little attempt to dispose of this safely. The independent report found that raw sewage from the Nepalese camp at Mirebalais ended up in tanks that were pumped out twice a week by an independent contractor into a truck. It continues: "The waste is then transported across the street and up a residential dirt road to a location at the top of a hill, where it is deposited in an open septic pit." A photo of the pit in the report shows it to be just a substantial hole in the ground. It is unfenced and children play around it. Another open cesspit nearby was used by the Nepalese soldiers for solid waste, with local residents commenting that "the area is susceptible to flooding and overflow into the tributary [of the Artibonite River] during rainfall".
    There had been suggestions advantageous to the UN early on that the bacteria infecting Haiti might have come from the Gulf of Mexico or be a home-grown cholera strain previously present in Haiti that had mutated into a deadlier variety. The report knocks these ideas firmly on the head. It says that "study indicated that the Haitian strains were all identical and ... closely related to strains of Vibrio cholerae from the Indian sub-continent". It is quite distinct from those isolated in South America, Africa, Bahrain, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia or Germany.
    As with many official reports, the one on Haiti plays down its most damning findings in its executive summary and conclusions, but they are present in more direct language in the body of the report.
    This leaves no doubt about the feckless disregard on the part of the UN commanders of the health risk posed by bringing Nepalese troops, some of whom were very likely to be cholera carriers, given that an epidemic was raging in their country, and allowing them to contaminate the water supply in Haiti. The excuse by the panel of experts that all might still have been well if Haiti had a better supply of fresh water and adequate sanitation is absurdly self-serving and hypocritical.
    The UN's continuing evasion of responsibility for the Haitian outbreak, the biggest cholera epidemic anywhere in the world in recent years, has practical and fatal consequences for Haitians. It means the rest of the world is unaware of the seriousness of what has happened. The only way such an epidemic can be stopped is to improve Haiti's fresh water supply, sanitation, and health care. When the epidemic started, local medical centres did not even have a place where people could wash their hands. Haiti, where 400,000 people are still living in tents because their houses were destroyed by the earthquake two years ago, does not have any money to build such an infrastructure. When so many die because of incompetence, that incompetence becomes a crime. The UN should admit what it did, build this infrastructure, and pay reparations to its victims.
Homeless
  Link to Article
  Source: Clusterfuck Nation
  Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:00
  Even if the so-called economy were "recovering," the people of the USA would be stuck in a physical setting for daily life that has no future - the nightmare infrastructure of subdivision houses, strip malls, and WalMarts, all rigged up for incessant motoring. Of course, the so-called economy is not recovering because there is no more cheap oil. If oil ever gets cheap again, it will be because nobody has enough money to pay for it and surely you can connect the dots to what that hamster wheel of futility means. In fact, the heart of our economic predicament is that the American economy came to be based on the construction of ever more suburban stuff, the financing of which, especially the houses, became the fodder for an episode of epic swindles that has left our banking system a hollowed out shell of accounting fraud. In short, we built even more stuff with no future, and ruined our society in the process. How tragic is that? The behavioral habits, practices, and consequences of being stuck in that living arrangement may end up being at least as problematic as the physical residue of it. It has left the people in a network of alienation, anxiety, and misery that defeats exactly the mentality needed to break free of it. For the truth is we're faced with a massive necessary re-ordering of daily life in this country, and there is no vision or will to get on with the job. Among the tribulations of this living arrangement is the utter loss of connection between place and purpose often expressed in the phrase "loss of community," which is a little too abstract to me and fails to convey the tragedy of individuals living with no sense of purpose -- and by that I mean duties, obligations, and responsibilities to other human beings. Obviously, the whole idea of a single-family house by definition dictates a certain disposition of things. It will lack the dimension and social relations of a household composed of multiple generations plus non-family members, helpers, employees, servants. And it should also be obvious that the single-generation, single-family house is a product of mid-20th century industrial dynamism that made even factory worker wage slaves rich by historical standards - Tom Wolfe pointed out years ago that the average GM assembly line drone enjoyed more sheer physical luxury at home than Louis XIV. Put the single-family house in the context of a suburban monoculture organized to conform relentlessly to the dictates of single use zoning, and you get a recipe for instant (and permanent) social dysfunction. Then, fill that house with electronic diversion devices and a microwave oven and you end up with a very few disconnected humans who rarely share a meal and exist, while "at home," in a narcissistic vapor-realm of canned entertainment, pornography, texting (i.e. melodrama created to fill a void of purposelessness), and the sado-masochistic combats of video games (a substitute for purposeful, virile endeavor), all floating on a virtual river of relentless advertising. It always interests me to see the emergent purposelessness of the American Dream expressed so vividly in the television sitcoms of that mid-20th century day - the very moment of its emergence. Ozzie Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet seemed to have absolutely nothing to do except sit around the kitchen waiting for somebody else to come in for a cup of coffee. He clearly had nowhere else to go. The ennui of Ozzie Nelson was a source of mirth to busy hipsters who savored the ironies of behavioral kitsch - loving what's horrible for the horror it induces. But it really isn't so funny since it is a portrait of an un-manned man trapped in utter purposeless and reduced to the pathetic existential status of somebody endlessly waiting for nothing. (Cue Samuel Beckett....) Anyway, that was then and it's all crashing down now in a great galumphing debris-field of bankruptcy, psychosis, regret, obesity, and foreclosure. So what comes next? They say that the millennial generation is the most group-oriented, cooperative bunch to come along in the march of Boomers, Xs, and Ys. How much of this is an hallucination of transient computer connectivity, I don't know. The fact that it is so difficult for them financially to even hope to form a household will surely be a defining factor in the choices they make ahead about how exactly to inhabit the landscape. I think they will make out better in this project than their Boomer forerunners, who started out in communes sharing toothbrushes and graduated to dismal McMansions in a geography of nowhere, while dedicating their careers to the looting of posterity. I'm quite sure that many will rediscover a sense of purpose in the re-ordering of social life that lies ahead, which includes a return to different household arrangements and probably much more hierarchical social relations. Implicit in the latter is the now-utterly-incorrect-and-taboo notion of someone knowing their place. The catch is: you need to have a place in order to know your place, and therefore know who you are - and in a society full of people for whom place means nothing, there is little chance of acquiring a real identity, other than the sham raiment of the app-supported avatar life that has taken the place of being human. I had a fugitive thought the other evening walking through my beaten-down small town in the late fall chill. I imagined that instead of the blue tomb-like glow of television emanating from house to house that I could hear the sequential music of parlor pianos, and voices singing to them, and of healthy people coming and going from warm kitchens to fetch firewood, and of groups of people gathered around tables for a meal, and generally of buildings that were truly inhabited, not just storage containers for lives unspent. I grant you it was a fleeting nostalgic fantasy. But isn't nostalgia just a state of being homesick?____________________________________
Bengali Bad Actors
  U.S.-Approved Weapons Transfer Ended Up With Libyan Jihadis - NYTimes.com
    But in the months before, the Obama administration clearly was worried about the consequences of its hidden hand in helping arm Libyan militants, concerns that have not previously been reported. The weapons and money from Qatar strengthened militant groups in Libya, allowing them to become a destabilizing force since the fall of the Qaddafi government.
    The experience in Libya has taken on new urgency as the administration considers whether to play a direct role in arming rebels in Syria, where weapons are flowing in from Qatar and other countries.
    The Obama administration did not initially raise objections when Qatar began shipping arms to opposition groups in Syria, even if it did not offer encouragement, according to current and former administration officials. But they said the United States has growing concerns that, just as in Libya, the Qataris are equipping some of the wrong militants.
    The United States, which had only small numbers of C.I.A. officers in Libya during the tumult of the rebellion, provided little oversight of the arms shipments. Within weeks of endorsing Qatar's plan to send weapons there in spring 2011, the White House began receiving reports that they were going to Islamic militant groups. They were "more antidemocratic, more hard-line, closer to an extreme version of Islam" than the main rebel alliance in Libya, said a former Defense Department official.
  Senator Feinstein On Benghazi Massacre '' Agrees ''Gross Negligence'' By Obama Administration
    Link to Article
    Source: The Ulsterman Report
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:59
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Syria
  CNN: "NBC: Syria Loads Chemical Weapons Into Bombs" - [VIDEO]
  NBC Uses Video Of Saddam Chemical Weapons Attack While Talking About Syria - [VIDEO]
  Russia Returns to Soviet-Style Secrecy About Its Leader's Health - NYTimes.com
    MOSCOW -- If you type "Putin" on Yandex, the most popular search engine in the Russian language, a drop-down list appears: "Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich," "Putin stroke," "Putin Wikipedia," "Putin biography" and "Putin is ill." In other words, the top five options include two regarding the Russian president's rumored ill health. Even Putin's ostensible longtime mistress is only No. 7 on this list of things that Russians want to know. The big question now is, What's wrong with the president?
    Officially, nothing. Nothing at all. We have now heard not one but two rounds of denials from Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov. On Nov. 1, Peskov issued some remarkable non-denial denials, saying that Putin's back injury was "not an injury" but "just a mismovement" and that it was not getting in the way of Putin's continued athletics. Whatever the problem, however, it was very much getting in the way of the president's travel schedule, which had been scrapped. Putin had not left his dacha in weeks.
    A month passed. Last week, with Putin still dacha-bound, the leaders of all the parliamentary factions had to travel outside of Moscow to meet with him. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarussia complained to a reporter that Putin had canceled a hockey match in which they were planning to take part because, he said, Putin had hurt his back while practicing judo. This was a better story than one that had been circulating: that Putin had sustained the injury while hang-gliding with Siberian cranes in an unsuccessful environmental mission. Still, Lukashenko apparently regretted his remark: According to the Russian news agency Interfax, it was removed from the interview transcript posted on President Lukashenko's official Web site.
    Whoever told Lukashenko that Putin's health was not a topic for discussion must have said the same thing to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan, who said it to Shunsuke Hasegawa, the mayor of the city of Nemuro, who transmitted the message to two Japanese news agencies, which reported that Noda had had to cancel a planned visit to Moscow because of Putin's ill health.
  "Use Of Chemical Weapons Would Be Totally Unacceptable" (Unless Done To Peaceful Protesters By Cops)
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:38
  Thousands of US troops arrive near Syrian shore on USS Eisenhower - BlackListedNews.com
    The USS Eisenhower, an American aircraft carrier that holds eight fighter bomber squadrons and 8,000 men, arrived at the Syrian coast yesterday in the midst of a heavy storm, indicating US preparation for a potential ground intervention.
    While the Obama administration has not announced any sort of American-led military intervention in the war-torn country, the US is now ready to launch such action "within days" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decides to use chemical weapons against the opposition, the Times reports.
    Some have suggested that the Assad regime may use chemical weapons against the opposition fighters in the coming days or weeks.
    The arrival of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the 11 US Navy aircraft carriers that has the capacity to hold thousands of men, is now stationed at the coast of Syria, DEBKAfile reports. The aircraft carrier joined the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which holds about 2,500 Marines.
Yemen
  Yemen gunmen sabotage oil pipeline | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR
    ADEN: Gunmen on Wednesday attacked an oil pipeline that pumps some 8,000 barrels of crude per day from southeastern Yemen to export terminals on the Gulf of Aden, suspending operations, an official said.
    The unknown assailants opened fire at a section of the pipeline on the outskirts of the town of Rawda, in the province of Shabwa, causing a halt in oil pumping, a local official told AFP.
    The pipeline is operated by the Korea National Oil Co (KNOC), and transfers crude from oil fields in the Iyadh region in Shabwa province to Belhaf terminal.
    An explosion had hit the same pipeline on November 8.
    Gas and oil pipelines have been a regular target for sabotage attacks in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation, which relies on its modest energy exports as a main source of revenue.
    The attacks, blamed on tribesmen seeking to barter with the authorities or Al-Qaeda, have become more frequent in the wake of a 2011 uprising that forced out veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh.
    Yemen had lost more than $4 billion in revenues since February 2011 due to the attacks, Petroleum and Minerals Minister Hisham Abdullah said in early July.
  Amnesty Report Calls Yemen "Human Rights Catastrophe" Detailing Crucifixtions & Executions
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    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:17
War on Farmers
  Draft UFAA Farm Program: Restore the American Family Farm
    Link to Article
    Source: TARPLEY.net
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:58
    Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D.TARPLEY.netDecember 2, 2012
    Stop all farm foreclosures with a modernized version of the Frasier-Lemke Act.Debt moratorium for insolvent farmers for the duration of the world economic depression.Nationalize the Federal Reserve to provide 0% long-term federal credit for farm operations and capital improvements.Increase irrigation with a program of water projects, including NAWAPA, financed with 0% century bonds by the nationalized Fed.Restore parity price supports for farm commodities and set payments at 110% of parity or more for the duration of the world depression and food emergency.Double US overseas emergency food aid under Food for Peace, focusing on the eradication of famine with no political strings attached.No cuts to Food Stamps (SNAP); increase the Food Stamps benefit to a minimum of $3 per person per meal from the current $1.48, with liberalized eligibility.Pay for (5) (6) and (7) and other measures with a 1% federal Wall Street Sales Tax, with half of the proceeds going to the states under revenue sharing.
Da Bruddahood
  MORSI IN TROUBLE
    Link to Article
    Source: aangirfan
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:58
    The USA and Europe are not well pleased with their man, Mr Morsi.
    "The slogans used by Muslim Brotherhood activists suggest that the final word is held not by Morsi but by the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie..."
    Egypt's Morsi is losing control over the crisis - Haaretz
  Over 100000 Protesters Surround The Presidential Palace In Egypt
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:04
FnF
  AG Eric Holder's Chief of Staff Announces Departure
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:57
    Updated 4:29 p.m.
    Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.'s chief of staff, Gary Grindler, is leaving the department this week after serving in various high-level roles since 2009.
    Grindler, who joined the department's Criminal Division as a deputy assistant attorney general under the leadership of Lanny Breuer in April 2009, served as the second-in-command at DOJ in 2010 after the departure of David Ogden.
    Holder named Grindler'--a former white-collar defense and government investigations partner at King & Spalding'--chief of staff in January 2011. (Grindler, who had worked under Holder during the Clinton administration, replaced Kevin Ohlson.)
    Holder said in a statement today that Grindler "has distinguished himself as an exceptional public servant, a trusted advisor, and a principled leader."
    "He has demonstrated time and again his good judgment and an ability to make the tough'--and correct'--decisions," Holder said in the statement. "I cannot imagine the Department without Gary, though I wish him all the best as he considers opportunities in the private sector'--and I know that his extraordinary contributions will continue to guide our efforts.''
    The timing of Grindler's decision to leave the department comes between administrations, when it's not uncommon to see changes in federal agency leadership posts.
    Assistant Attorney General Christopher Schroeder, who ran the DOJ Office of Legal Policy since April 2010, is returning to Duke Law School, where he taught constitutional, administrative and environmental law before taking a leadership post at the department. Elana Tyrangiel, a top lawyer in the legal policy office, will take over on an acting basis.
    DOJ officials didn't say whether Grindler, who will step down effective December 5, plans to return to a law firm. Wick Sollers, the King & Spalding managing partner in Washington, said Grindler is a "terrific lawyer who made a lot of sacrifices in dedicating himself to public service" the last several years.
    "This has been, for me, for the last three-plus years, really the most gratifying time of my entire career," Grindler said. "That's because not just what I've done as chief of staff but also as acting deputy attorney general. It's been a great experience to work with the career lawyers and investigators that make this place go. It's been incredibly gratifying to come to work every day."
    Margaret Richardson, Holder's deputy chief of staff, will be the new chief of staff, DOJ said.
    Richardson, who served as director of Women for Obama in several states, including California, joined DOJ in early 2009. Richardson previously directed the Clean Slate Clinic at the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, Calif. She has been a counselor to the attorney general since January 2009.
    ''During her tenure, Margaret has proven through her thoughtful advice and tireless work to be a tremendous asset not just to me, but to the entire Department of Justice," Holder said in a statement. "She is an outstanding public servant, a trusted advisor and a good friend, and I am grateful that she has agreed to continue to work with me as my next Chief of Staff.''
    DOJ said Grindler, as chief of staff, played a key role in the negotiation of the criminal settlement'--$4 billion in fines and penalties'--with BP plc. The deal, which Holder, Breuer and others top officials recently announced in New Orleans, marked the largest-ever criminal resolution in the country's history.
    Grindler led the steering committee of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and he served as the chair of the Task Force on Intellectual Property. In the Criminal Division, as a deputy assistant attorney general, Grindler had oversight of the fraud and appellate sections.
    "There's a reason that he had all of those jobs, which is he is very smart, very able, trustworthy and dedicated to the department," said Jamie Gorelick, who leads the defense, national security and government practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington.
    Republicans on Capitol Hill made Grindler a target of criticism in the controversy over the Operation Fast and Furious gun sting.
    House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a report published in October that Grindler was aware of the connection between flawed investigatory tactics and the December 2010 death of a border patrol agent but failed to ''properly supervised the operation."
    A DOJ internal investigation about Fast and Furious said Grindler and other top DOJ officials "were not told about ATF's use of flawed tactics in Operation Wide Receiver until several months after" the shooting death of agent Brian Terry.
    Grindler received a briefing about Fast and Furious in 2010, the report said. ''However, we found that ATF's leadership provided him with a relatively brief high-level overview that highlighted the case as a significant investigation but did not identify any questions or concerns about it,'' the report said.
    FBI Director Robert Mueller III said in a statement that the FBI is "grateful" for Grindler's service.
    ''Gary has had to handle some tough issues at the Department over the years," Mueller said. "He has been an effective, reliable, steady hand on the tiller."
Shut Up Slave!
  Google Helps WWF Stop Wildlife Crime | Stories | WWF
    Technology to fight poaching
    WWF received a $5 million grant as part of Google's new Global Impact Awards, which provides support to organizations using technology and innovative approaches to address some of the toughest human challenges.
    The grant enables WWF to test advanced but easily-replicable technologies and create an overarching system to curb poaching--an important complement to the work WWF, partners and governments are already undertaking.
    Remote aerial survey systems, wildlife tagging technology and ranger patrolling guided by analytical software like the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) will be integrated to increase the detection and deterrence of poaching in vulnerable sites in Asia and Africa. Our goal is to create an efficient, effective network that can be adopted globally.
  IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:26
    IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare lawTop News
    IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law
    Mon, Dec 03 18:14 PM EST
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service has released new rules for investment income taxes on capital gains and dividends earned by high-income individuals that passed Congress as part of the 2010 healthcare reform law.
    The 3.8 percent surtax on investment income, meant to help pay for healthcare, goes into effect in 2013. It is the first surtax to be applied to capital gains and dividend income.
    The tax affects only individuals with more than $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), and married couples filing jointly with more than $250,000 of MAGI.
    The tax applies to a broad range of investment securities ranging from stocks and bonds to commodity securities and specialized derivatives.
    The 159 pages of rules spell out when the tax applies to trusts and annuities, as well as to individual securities traders.
    Released late on Friday, the new regulations include a 0.9 percent healthcare tax on wages for high-income individuals.
    Both sets of rules will be published on Wednesday in the Federal Register.
    The proposed rules are effective starting January 1. Before making the rules final, the IRS will take public comments and hold hearings in April.
    Together, the two taxes are estimated to raise $317.7 billion over 10 years, according to a Joint Committee on Taxation analysis released in June.
    To illustrate when the tax applies, the IRS offered an example of a taxpayer filing as a single individual who makes $180,000 in wage income plus $90,000 from investment income. The individual's modified adjusted gross income is $270,000.
    The 3.8 percent tax applies to the $70,000, and the individual would pay $2,660 in surtaxes, the IRS said.
    The IRS plans to release a new form for taxpayers to fill out for this tax when filing 2013 returns.
    The new rules leave some questions unanswered, tax experts said. It was unclear how rental income will be treated under the new rules, said Michael Grace, managing director at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP law firm in Washington.
    "The proposed regulations surely will increase tax compliance burdens for individuals," said Grace, a former IRS official. "There's clearly some drafting left to be done."
    (Reporting by Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Howard Goller and Jan Paschal)
    IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare lawTop News
    IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law
    Mon, Dec 03 18:14 PM EST
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service has released new rules for investment income taxes on capital gains and dividends earned by high-income individuals that passed Congress as part of the 2010 healthcare reform law.
    The 3.8 percent surtax on investment income, meant to help pay for healthcare, goes into effect in 2013. It is the first surtax to be applied to capital gains and dividend income.
    The tax affects only individuals with more than $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), and married couples filing jointly with more than $250,000 of MAGI.
    The tax applies to a broad range of investment securities ranging from stocks and bonds to commodity securities and specialized derivatives.
    The 159 pages of rules spell out when the tax applies to trusts and annuities, as well as to individual securities traders.
    Released late on Friday, the new regulations include a 0.9 percent healthcare tax on wages for high-income individuals.
    Both sets of rules will be published on Wednesday in the Federal Register.
    The proposed rules are effective starting January 1. Before making the rules final, the IRS will take public comments and hold hearings in April.
    Together, the two taxes are estimated to raise $317.7 billion over 10 years, according to a Joint Committee on Taxation analysis released in June.
    To illustrate when the tax applies, the IRS offered an example of a taxpayer filing as a single individual who makes $180,000 in wage income plus $90,000 from investment income. The individual's modified adjusted gross income is $270,000.
    The 3.8 percent tax applies to the $70,000, and the individual would pay $2,660 in surtaxes, the IRS said.
    The IRS plans to release a new form for taxpayers to fill out for this tax when filing 2013 returns.
    The new rules leave some questions unanswered, tax experts said. It was unclear how rental income will be treated under the new rules, said Michael Grace, managing director at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP law firm in Washington.
    "The proposed regulations surely will increase tax compliance burdens for individuals," said Grace, a former IRS official. "There's clearly some drafting left to be done."
    (Reporting by Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Howard Goller and Jan Paschal)
Follow the Pipes
  Woodside dives into Israeli gas field - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:15
    By Justine Parker
    Updated December 03, 2012 18:21:23
    Woodside Petroleum has agreed to take a 30 per cent stake in a gas field off the coast of Israel as it seeks to expand its business outside Australia.
    Australia's largest oil and gas company will pay a total of $1.2 billion for the stake in the Leviathan field.
    Chief executive Peter Coleman says the deal will allow the company to gain a key foothold in a potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Israel.
    "These licenses contain the Leviathan field offshore Israel, one of the biggest recent gas discoveries worldwide with an estimated 17 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas," Mr Coleman said.
    Woodside says it will operate any LNG development that results from exploration of the site, while Texas-based Noble Energy, a partner in the joint venture, will operate the overall development.
    "Leviathan is truly a world-class field that offers significant development opportunities through the growing Israeli domestic gas market and Asian and European export markets, while also having additional exploration upside," Mr Coleman said.
    In a note on the agreement, City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said the deal was not as risky as it may appear.
    "The big prize will be Woodside operating any LNG development," Mr Esho said.
    "This will make Woodside one of the most sought-after strategic players in energy markets as Western European nations finally find practical diversification solutions to over-reliance on Russian energy."
    The deal is subject to approval by governments and regulators, and the completion of due diligence.
    Shares in Woodside Petroleum closed nearly one per cent higher today, at $34.11.
    Topics:business-economics-and-finance, company-news, oil-and-gas, israel, wa
    First posted December 03, 2012 16:07:23
  Top Australian company buys into Israeli natural gas | The Times of Israel
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:22
    Australia's largest natural gas and oil company, Woodside Petroleum, has taken a 30 percent stake in Israel's Leviathan off-shore gas drilling operation, it was announced on Monday. Located in the Mediterranean 130 km. west of Haifa, Leviathan is estimated to contain up to 17 trillion cubic feet of usable natural gas, making it one of the largest fields in the world.
    Globes reported on Monday that Leviathan will pay up to $2.5 billion for the stake, contradicting earlier reports that the deal was valued at only $1.2 billion. According to the terms of the agreement, Leviathan is valued at some $8.3 billion, according to Globes.
    ''Leviathan is truly a world-class field that offers significant development opportunities through the growing Israeli domestic gas market and Asian and European export markets,'' Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in a statement, praising Leviathan as ''one of the biggest recent gas discoveries worldwide.''
    Shares in Leviathan, one of several gas fields off the shore of Israel discovered within the last few years, are now divided between Israel's Delek Group (which has a majority stake), Noble Energy of Texas, and Ratio Oil Exploration of Israel. Each of those companies will transfer a percentage of their stake to Woodside as part of the deal. The agreement also makes Woodside a strategic partner in the drilling process.
    Leviathan's discovery in 2010 raised political tension between Israel and Lebanon, because it is near the disputed borderline between the countries' territorial waters. Lebanon later retracted a claim that the field was inside its waters.
    Initial production for the Israeli gas market is slated for 2016.
    According to the US Geological Survey, the subsea area, or the Levantine Basin, that runs northward from Egypt to Turkey, contains upwards of 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas '-- and reserves in Israeli territorial waters account for some 40% of that total.
    Reuters reported on Monday that Woodside's agreement also allows the company to be involved in future offshore exploration, via two already extant Israeli offshore petroleum licences. CEO Coleman said that this aspect of the deal was ''an exciting opportunity to grow our portfolio in the emerging Eastern Mediterranean basin.''
    Michal Shmulovich contributed to this report.
  Keystone XL Lies Du Jour
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:19
    I'm tired of the horrible, biased, fact-challenged Keystone XL reporting by the Associated Press (AP) and all the other fake-neutral media. Their reporting just gets worse and worse. The AP used to have well-deserved credibility with readers, but has slowly stooped lower and lower so that now it is little more than a National Esquire writer-esqe embarrassment for American journalism. Here's a snippet from their most recent pathetic reporting on the Keystone XL pipeline:
    WASHINGTON '-- It's a decision President Barack Obama put off during the 2012 campaign, but now that he's won a second term, his next move on a proposed oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada may signal how he will deal with climate and energy issues in the four years ahead.
    Obama is facing increasing pressure to determine the fate of the $7 billion Keystone XL project, with environmental activists and oil producers each holding out hope that the president, freed from the political constraints of re-election, will side with them on this and countless other related issues down the road.
    Keystone XL is especially important in North Dakota because it will bring 100,000 barrels per day of Bakken oil to U.S. refineries, said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. While the pipeline does not run through North Dakota, feeder pipelines from within the state would connect to it.
    Associated Press
    Once again, I feel obligated to take a few of the bigger lies in this AP story and pick them apart. First, let's talk about this suggestion President Obama "put off" the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. The truth is the application to construct the pipeline was incomplete. Imagine you work at the counter at North Dakota's Game & Fish office and someone comes in to get a hunting license. They fill out the application but refuse (or decline) to provide their last name, their mailing address and their date of birth. You're the bureaucrat working behind the counter. You look at the application and see it is incomplete. Do you give the applicant a hunting license? Of course not. You turn it back and tell the applicant it's incomplete and tell them to finish filling it out. That's just how it works. Everybody who has reviewed the situation who has half a brain understands the application was incomplete. It had to be rejected. (More here on that.)
    Second, let's talk about that 100,000 barrels per day of Bakken oil that is scheduled to be sent to U.S. refineries. This is a pure fiction. We've written about this before, with the help of Prairie Blogger Jim Fuglie. Here's what he and I wrote:
    The Keystone XL Was Not Ever Going To "carry about 100,000 barrels of North Dakota crude" Per Day: It wasn't. You know what the commitment was from TransCanada? They said they would carry some Bakken Crude. Not 100,000 barrels. And not North Dakota Bakken crude. TransCanada said they'd carry 65,000 barrels from North Dakota, Montana and, possibly, Saskatchewan. Jim Fuglie wrote about this before, after he and I got all the Governor's records on this issue:
    There is an agreement between Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, negotiated in 2010, and announced jointly by Gov. Schweitzer and TransCanada officials on September 13, 2010, at a press conference in Billings, Montana, to ''construct onramps and offramps for the receipt and delivery of oil from Montana producers at points on the Keystone pipeline that had been announced by TransCanada.''
    That, of course, was the Montana Governor's take on the agreement, or at least his public proclamation. Read: This is a big deal for Montana.
    Except that it wasn't.
    TransCanada worded it a little differently. In a 2011 press release, TransCanada said ''In the fall of 2010, TransCanada went to the market with a proposal to move Bakken crude oil production by constructing a receipt facility at Baker, Montana. The open season was successful allowing TransCanada to sign firm contracts for 65,000 bpd of crude oil from the Bakken to key U.S, refining markets. The open season for this project closed on November 19, 2010. The Bakken Marketlink project will provide receipt facilities to transport up to 100,000 bpd of crude oil from the Williston Basin producing region inNorth Dakota and Montana . . .''
    If TransCanada says that's the deal, then that's the deal. They will let 100,000 barrels of crude oil, from somewhere in the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana (and possibly Saskatchewan), into the pipeline. Not, as Governor Schweitzer says, 100,000 barrels of Montana crude. Not, as Governor Dalrymple says, 100,000 barrels of North Dakota crude. Nice try guys.
    And note to Governor Dalrymple: TransCanada says there are contracts for only 65,000 barrels, not 100,000, and that those contracts are not all from North Dakota. Those numbers, Governor, come from documents provided to me and to a fellow blogger, who requested them, by your office.
    The Prairie Blog (Jim Fuglie) as crossposted on NorthDecoder.com
    Sorry, Tribune editors. No matter how many times you repeat a lie, or how hard you wish it to be true, the lie does not somehow magically become true.
    NorthDecoder.com (April 15, 2012) and click here for more on this.
    The facts have not changed since April 15th. There is still no commitment for 100,000 barrels of North Dakota bakken crude oil per day to go onto the Keystone XL. It continues to be pure fiction, and continues to be a fraud perpetrated on North Dakotans by corrupt government officials like Jack Dalrymple and incompetent and/or complicit corrupt "journalists" like those at the Bismarck Tribune and the Associated Press.
    Third, here's another excerpt from today's AP story:
    ''It's just a no-brainer,'' Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., told The Associated Press. ''Canada is going to export this oil. It's either going to come to the U.S. or it's going to go to Russia or China. Even Democrats that aren't really excited about oil and gas development generally can figure that out.''
    Associated Press
    Hate to point the finger at Senator Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana, but she's not telling the truth. She either doesn't know what she's talking about, or she's lying. Doesn't matter which it is, though. She's entitled to her opinion, of course, but she's not entitled to her own facts. The truth is that most of the Keystone XL oil from Canada will go to China. Don't take my word for it. Read "The Tar Sands Road to China" paper and explain why it's wrong. You can't. Your Fox News-driven fantasy world just isn't going to help you on this one. The bought-and-paid-for talking points from shills like John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer ain't gonna change the facts. Facts is facts.
    We've gone through all this before. North Dakota oil wouldn't be transported on the KXL. If it would, it wouldn't be much. The KXL, if built, wouldn't lower American gas prices; it would raise them. The KXL wouldn't provide enough jobs to justify the harm it will cause. It will cause harm.
    Again, I'm still ready for an intelligent conversation about the Keystone XL. I'm just tired of uninformed hacks like Hoeven, Cramer and the Associated Press spewing oil company talking points.
    We deserve better.
Agenda 21
  NOAA: '2012 was an active [hurricane] year, but not exceptionally so '...10 busier years in the last three decades' | Watts Up With That?
    Link to Article
    Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:59
    NOTE: see video below, where you can watch the entire 2012 hurricane season on satellite time-lapse, way cool. '' Anthony
    Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic
    Four U.S. land-falling storms include devastating Sandy and Isaac
    November 30 marks the end of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season, one that produced 19 named storms, of which 10 became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. The number of named storms is well above the average of 12. The number of hurricanes is also above the average of six, but the number of major hurricanes is below the average of three.
    Based on the combined number, intensity, and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes, NOAA classifies the season as above-normal. 2012 was an active year, but not exceptionally so as there were 10 busier years in the last three decades.
    This season marks the second consecutive year that the mid-Atlantic and Northeast suffered devastating impacts from a named storm. Sandy, and Irene last year, caused fatalities, injuries, and tremendous destruction from coastal storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, and wind. Storms struck many parts of the country this year, including tropical storms Beryl and Debby in Florida, Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, and post-tropical Cyclone Sandy in New Jersey.
    ''This year proved that it's wrong to think that only major hurricanes can ruin lives and impact local economies,'' said Laura Furgione, acting director of NOAA's National Weather Service. ''We are hopeful that after the 2012 hurricane season, more families and businesses all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts become more ''weather ready'' by understanding the risks associated with living near the coastline. Each storm carries a unique set of threats that can be deadly and destructive. Mother Nature reminded us again this year of how important it is to be prepared and vigilant.''
    An interesting aspect of the season was its early start, with two tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, developing in May before the season officially began. Also, this is the seventh consecutive year that no major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5) have hit the United States. The only major hurricane this season was Hurricane Michael, a Category 3 storm that stayed over the open Atlantic.
    Several storms this year were short in duration, weak in intensity, and went largely unnoticed by the general public because they stayed out over the Atlantic. A persistent jet stream pattern over the eastern portion of the nation helped steer many of this season's storms away from the United States. The number of named storms and hurricanes was higher than predicted in NOAA's pre-season outlook, in large part because El Ni±o '' which likely would have suppressed overall storm activity '' never materialized as predicted by many climate models.
    Hurricane forecasters remind us that a well-established climate pattern puts us in an ongoing era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995. Since that time, more than 70 percent of seasons have been above normal, including 2012. Historically, Atlantic high-activity eras have lasted 25 to 40 years, with the previous one occurring from the mid-1930s until 1970. Several inter-related atmospheric and oceanic factors contribute to these high activity years, including warmer Atlantic Ocean temperatures, an enhanced West African monsoon, and reduced vertical wind shear.
    NOAA will release its pre-season outlook for the 2013 hurricane season in May.
    NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. The National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Working with partners, the National Weather Service is building a Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather. Visit us online at weather.gov and on Facebook.
    NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels at http://www.noaa.gov/socialmedia/.
    2012 Atlantic hurricane season satellite loop:
    - 30 -
Vaccine$
  Paroxetine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Paroxetine (also known by the trade names Aropax, Paxil, Pexeva, Seroxat, Sereupin) is an antidepressant drug of the SSRI type. Paroxetine is used to treat major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder[1] in adult outpatients.
    Marketing of the drug began in 1992 by the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham, now GlaxoSmithKline. Generic formulations have been available since 2003 when the patent expired.[2]
    In adults, the efficacy of paroxetine for depression is comparable to that of older tricyclic antidepressants, with fewer side effects and lower toxicity.[3][4] Differences with newer antidepressants are subtler and mostly confined to side effects. It shares the common side effects and contraindications of other SSRIs, with high rates of nausea, somnolence, and sexual side effects. Paroxetine is associated with clinically significant weight gain.[5] Pediatric trials of paroxetine for depression did not demonstrate statistical efficacy better than placebo.[6][7][8]
    Discontinuing paroxetine is associated with a high risk of withdrawal syndrome.[9][10] Due to the increased risk of birth defects, pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant are recommended to consult with their physician.[11][12][13][14][15]
  Supreme Court Rules Paxil Lawsuit Can Go Forward - [VIDEO]
  Hoarding Now Classified As A Mental Disorder
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:25
VIDEO
  Dean: Everyone Needs to Pay More, That's Why the Cliff is Better | MRCTV
  CNN: "NBC: Syria Loads Chemical Weapons Into Bombs" - [VIDEO]
  NBC Uses Video Of Saddam Chemical Weapons Attack While Talking About Syria - [VIDEO]
  Supreme Court Rules Paxil Lawsuit Can Go Forward - [VIDEO]
  NBC Gushes Over Obama's 'Very Fashionable Decision' to Possibly Name 'Vogue' Editor as Ambassador | NewsBusters.org
  "Use Of Chemical Weapons Would Be Totally Unacceptable" (Unless Done To Peaceful Protesters By Cops)
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:38
  VIDEO-Only ABC Highlights Obama's Flip-Flop on a Budget Solution That Doesn't 'Hike Taxes' | MRCTV
    Link to Article
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:56
    One year ago, Barack Obama backed a budget solution that would not "hike" taxes. Now, the President rejects this plan. Only ABC's Jake Tapper reported the apparent flip-flop. On Wednesday's Good Morning America, Tapper reminded that "what the Republicans are offering sounds a lot like what the President wanted during last year's budget showdown." He then played a 2011 clip of Obama requesting, "Give us $1.2 trillion in additional revenues, which could be accomplished without hiking tax rates by eliminating loopholes, eliminating some deductions." CBS This Morning and NBC's Today both ignored this quote.
  Amnesty Report Calls Yemen "Human Rights Catastrophe" Detailing Crucifixtions & Executions
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:17
  VIDEO-About Noodles Kids
    Link to Article
    Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:13
    Wendy Mogel poignantly examines a rising generation of otherwise 'high achieving' students who are ''information rich, but experience poor'' and who, as new employees and interns, ''don't take initiative [and] are uncomfortable taking on challenges.'' She suggests that ''what [students] need most of all is the opportunity to play.'' Mogel confirms that ''imaginative play increases executive functioning [and] causes you to grow in maturity'... It is also hard work.''
    Further information and related resources are provided below the embedded video.
    Dr. Wendy Mogel is an internationally acclaimed clinical psychologist, and the bestselling author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus. She is frequently consulted by journalists, and publishes articles, on the dangers of overprotection, overindulgence and overscheduling of children. Quite some time ago, Dr. Mogel was our school's psychologist, and we have a little game around here guessing which perplexing anecdotes from Blessing of a Skinned Knee came from our teachers and parents. -CT
    RELATED RESOURCES:
  Hoarding Now Classified As A Mental Disorder
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:25
  A Shameful Day In The US Senate
    Link to Article
    Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
    Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:20
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