What Adam Curry is reading

Tennessee General Assembly >> Legislation Dwarfisim Awareness Month
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:50
  Bill SummaryAbstract summarizes the bill.
  Fiscal NoteNo fiscal note for this bill.
  VotesNo Senate Votes on SJR0299No House Votes on SJR0299
  Bill HistoryAmendments on BillVideo Clips
  Bill HistoryActions Taken on SJR0299Action DateConcurred, Ayes 90, Nays 004/17/2013SJR placed on H. consent cal. 2 for 4/17/1304/17/2013Engrossed; ready for transmission to House04/17/2013Adopted, Ayes 32, Nays 004/17/2013Placed on Senate Consent Calendar cal. for 4/17/201304/15/2013P2C, ref. to S. Cal. Comm.04/11/2013Intro., P1C.04/10/2013Filed for intro.04/08/2013No amendments for SJR0299.
  No amendments for .
  Videos containing keyword: SJR0299
Activist Post: ALERT: Amendment Won't Stop Data Going to National Security Agency
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:36
  Rainey ReitmanEFFUpdate: Note that the Hill article referenced below was working with an earlier draft of the amendment. The version introduced today was different from the version made available to the Hill.
  An amendment to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was just adopted on the House Floor. See the text attached.
  Recent reporting of this amendment characterized it as a major privacy improvement, stating that this amendment "would ensure that the Homeland Security Department (DHS), a civilian agency, would be the first recipient of cyber threat data from companies."
  This is false.
  The amendment in question does not strike or amend the part of CISPA that actually deals with data flowing from companies to other entities, including the federal government.
  The bill still says that:Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a self-protected entity may, for cybersecurity purposes...share such cyber threat information with any other entity, including the Federal Government.
  The liability immunity provisions also remain.While this amendment does change a few things about how that information is treated within the government, it does not amend the primary sharing section of the bill and thus would not prevent companies from sharing data directly with military intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency if they so choose.
  The bill may be voted on at any time. This means there's little time left to speak out. Please tell your Representative to vote no on the bill:
  Call your Representative
  Tweet at your Representative
  Files:amendment-13.pdf
  BE THE CHANGE! PLEASE SHARE THIS USING THE TOOLS BELOW
'Daily News' doctored front-page photo from Boston bombing.
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  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:33
  The New York Post was derided Tuesday for apparent inaccuracies in its reporting on the bombing at the Boston Marathon. And now, its rival tabloid, the Daily News, is facing criticism over an apparent photo touch-up.
  On yesterday's cover wrap, the News ran a photo taken by John Tlumacki of The Boston Globe showing an injured woman lying in a pool of blood while being tended to by a civilian.
  It was one of many widely circulated images capturing the moments after explosives were detonated near the finish line of the marathon on Monday afternoon, killing at least three and wounding more than 170 in a likely terrorist attack about which police are still scrambling to scare up leads.
  But the version published by the News seemed to erase a gory wound to the woman's leg that was visible in other publications that used the photo. On Tuesday evening, a link to a blog post exposing the manipulation began circulating among News journalists, some of whom were none-too-pleased about the situation, multiple newsroom sources told Capital.
  "If you can't stomach the gore, don't run the photo. Period," wrote Charles Apple, the author of the blog post and an editor at the Orange County Register of Santa Ana, Calif. He also noted that Newark's Star-Ledger ran the same photo on page one exactly as it had been taken by the Globe photographer.
  In deciding to run the photo, the News was confronted with the same conundrum facing all news outlets covering the Boston tragedy, or any violent story for that matter: Whether or not certain images are simply too grisly for public consumption.
  But in altering it, the paper violated a basic journalistic principle.
  "Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images' content and context," according to the ethics code for the National Press Photographers Association, a professional society. "Do not manipulate images ... in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects."
  Several News insiders told Capital the decision to alter the photo came straight from the top of the masthead.
  "Photographers and editors are so embarrassed and saddened by this," said one source.
  Reached for comment this morning, a News spokesperson would only say: "The Daily News does not comment on its editorial decision-making."
  A spokesperson for the Globe also declined to comment.
  UPDATE, 11:56 A.M. - The News spokesperson, Ken Frydman, changed course on commenting.
  "The Daily News edited that photo out of sensitivity to the victims, the families and the survivors," he said. "There were far more gory photos that the paper chose not to run, and frankly I think the rest of the media should have been as sensitive as the Daily News."
  RELATED: From The Boston Globe, graphic footage from the scene at the marathon's finish line Monday afternoon.
A Closer Look At Today's German Stock Market Flash Crash
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  Source: Zero Hedge
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:32
  While most of the US was in deep REM sleep, the Germany stock index, the DAX, had a flashback to May 2010: starting at 3:44 am EDT, in the span of 6 minutes or much faster than the gradual drop that led to the US flash crash from three years ago, the DAX went from well and solidly-bid to having zero liquidity... and dumping nearly 200 points in the process. Whether it was rumors of a (subsequently validated) rating agency downgrade, or just an algo testing its quote stuffing ability, the moves showed vividly that when the current rosy paradigm shifts abruptly and violently, all those hoping to be the first out of the door and hit the sell button, simply won't be able to do so. Because sadly there is no such thing as a free "4 year long zero volume levitation" - one must always pay the piper in the end.
  Charts below from Nanex:
  1. June 2013 DAX Futures Depth of Book.
  Shouldn't demand increase as prices drop?Only if it is demand for physical gold it seems.
  2. June 2013 eMini Futures Depth of Book.
  eMini basically shrugs it off, DAX influence weak.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 5(3 votes)
Tylenol May Ease Anxiety of Death | Existential Dread & Pain
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  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:29
  Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in some pain relievers like Tylenol, may ease minor aches, reduce a fever, and apparently make you feel less weird after watching a David Lynch movie or thinking about your own death.
  New research shows Tylenol may have the unseen psychological side-effect of easing existential dread. The findings suggest anxiety about finding meaning in life and feeling physical pain may be rooted in the same part of the brain.
  "When people feel overwhelmed with uncertainty in life or distressed by a lack of purpose, what they're feeling may actually be painful distress," said study researcher Daniel Randles, a doctoral student in psychology the University of British Columbia. [10 Weird Ways We Deal With Death]
  "We think that Tylenol is blocking existential unease in the same way it prevents pain, because a similar neurological process is responsible for both types of distress," Randles wrote in an email to LiveScience.
  What happens when you die?
  For their first experiment, Randles and his colleagues recruited more than 120 college students, who were randomly assigned to take either 1,000 mg of Tylenol-brand acetaminophen or a placebo (sugar pill), considered the control group. (Extra strength Tylenol contains 500 mg of acetaminophen in each tablet.)
  One group of participants was instructed to write two paragraphs about what would happen to their body after they die and how they would feel about it. The others were asked to write about dental pain, which would be unpleasant, but likely wouldn't invoke any existential anxieties. All of the students then had to read a hypothetical arrest report about a prostitute and set the amount for bail on a scale of $0 to $900.
  In this type of setup, researchers typically expect people to set higher bonds after faced with existential thoughts, suddenly feeling a need to assert their values. As anticipated, those who took the sugar pill and were forced to think about their own death tended to set bail over $500.
  Meanwhile, the control group that wrote about dental pain set relatively low bail amounts, hovering around $300, Randles and his team found. The same was true for those who took Tylenol and wrote about what would happen to their body when they die, suggesting acetaminophen may numb worries about death.
  David Lynch-induced dread
  The team confirmed the results in a second test where they made some students watch either a four-minute clip from "The Simpsons" or a clip from "Rabbits," a 2002 series of short films by director David Lynch that puts a surreal spin on familiar sitcom clich(C)s.
  "Rabbits" doesn't have explicitly disturbing content, but its three characters look like humans with rabbit heads and they move aimlessly in and out of a badly lit suburban living room. Instead of conversation, they make non-sequitur statements like "There have been no calls today" and "I have a secret," often incongruously followed by a laugh track or applause. And similar to Lynch's better-known works like "Twin Peaks" and "Mulholland Drive," "Rabbits" is set to an eerie, dread-inducing soundtrack.
  After watching this clip, the students looked at footage from the 2011 Vancouver hockey riots, sparked by the Canucks' loss in their bid for the Stanley Cup, and were asked how harshly the rioters should be punished for vandalism. Those who took the sugar pill and watched the clip of "Rabbits" were much more punitive, on average saying the rioters should be fined more than they normally would for an act of vandalism. Those who took Tylenol before they watched "Rabbits" seemed to feel more lenient, as did all of the students who watched "The Simpsons."
  Previous studies have shown that acetaminophen may also ease the blow of social snubs, and some researchers have argued that both physical pain and feelings of rejection are caused by activation in the brain's dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.
  "We've suspected that this brain region also is central in managing violations of expectations and errors, and as such predicted Tylenol would have the same effect on manipulations of uncertainty or existential unease that it has on headaches or ostracism," Randles said in an email.
  As for clinical applications of the findings, the researchers say their work could shed light on how to allay the symptoms of people who suffer from chronic anxiety.
  The new findings were detailed on April 11 in the journal Psychological Science.
  Follow Megan Gannon onTwitterandGoogle+.Follow us@livescience,Facebook&Google+. Original article onLiveScience.com.
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US to deploy 200 troops to Jordan to curb Syria violence
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  Source: Gitmo Nation News
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:27
  ''The US will deploy 200 troops to Jordan in the coming weeks in a bid to support that country's defenses, Washington says, as the Syrian crisis escalates.
  The Wednesday statement came from US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Congress. He said the deployment will assist the efforts to contain violence on the Syrian border, as well as set the groundwork for combating any perceived threats of chemical weapons use in Syria.
  The troops of the 1st Armed Division will arrive to replace the US forces already stationed in the country for a few months. The new deployment will now also include specialists in the fields of intelligence, operations and logistics. It has also been said the troops will include commanding officers to lay the future groundwork for coordinating a larger deployment, if the need arises.
  ''Currently, the U.S. forces assisting Jordan now are troops pulled from various units and places,'' Hagel said at the Senate Armed Service Committee meeting. He explained that deploying troops that had previously worked together will enhance the unit's teamwork.''
  Read more here: US to deploy 200 troops to Jordan to curb Syria violence '' Hagel '-- RT News.
VIDEO-New Zealand House of Reps bursts into song after legalizing same-sex marriage - Need to know - Macleans.ca
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:26
  Supporters serenade MPs with 'Pokarekare Ana' love song
  Here at Maclean's, we appreciate the written word. And we appreciate you, the reader. We are always looking for ways to create a better user experience for you and wanted to try out a new functionality that provides you with a reading experience in which the words and fonts take centre stage. We believe you'll appreciate the clean, white layout as you read our feature articles. But we don't want to force it on you and it's completely optional. Click "View in Clean Reading Mode" on any article if you want to try it out. Once there, you can click "Go back to regular view" at the top or bottom of the article to return to the regular layout.
  New Zealand lawmaker Louisa Wall. (Nick Perry/AP)
  New Zealand passed a bill allowing legal same-sex marriage Wednesday, prompting a jubilant celebration in the House of Representatives.
  The bill passed with 77 in favour and 44 against, making New Zealand the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage, reports BBC News.
  As the speaker read out the votes, noting that the bill had passed, spectators watching in gallery started singing the New Zealand love song ''Pokarekare Ana.'' Below, MPs hugged Louisa Wall, who sponsored the bill.
  New Zealand has allowed civil unions between same-sex couples since 2005. This new law will allow same-sex couples to enjoy all the same rights as any married couple. This includes adoption and having the marriage recognized in other countries, reports The Associated Press.
  In other news:
VIDEO-Greek protests against public sector cuts | euronews, world news
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:24
  In Greece, public sector workers have taken to the streets again in protest, after the government agreed to more cuts in return for bailout funds. The cuts are widely rumoured to include up to 15,000 job losses in the public sector, including workers in the health care system. Unemployment in the country is already running at 26%
  More about:Greece, Health, Protests in GreeceCopyright (C) 2013 euronews
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US Drone Strike Kills Five AQAP Suspects in Yemen
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  Source: News From Antiwar.com
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:23
  US drones attacked a vehicle in Yemen's Dhamar Province today, killing five people, one of them identified as a local al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader by the Yemeni government.
  The identified victim was Hamid al-Ramdi, while Yemeni officials say they aren't sure who the other four are, but speculated that they are ''followers'' of Ramdi's. He is considered a leader in the small village the attack took place in.
  AQAP officials have been making much of the drone strikes in recent days, particularly of the number of civilian bystanders slain in the attacks, and the reports that the drones are being flown out of a Saudi base. AQAP has urged Saudis to rebel against the king for allowing US drones in their territory.
  Unlike Pakistan, which has protested against the US strikes, the Hadi government has praised the US for launching such strikes, and told protesting Yemenis that 9/11 obliges their government to allow the US to launch attacks indefinitely.
  Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
Boston Marathon Bombings: Pressure Cooker Lid Found On Building Roof CBS Boston
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:14
  Evidence from Boston Marathon bombing. (Photos from FBI via AP)
  BOSTON (CBS/AP) '-- Authorities investigating the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon have found the lid of a pressure cooker that apparently was catapulted onto the roof of a nearby building, CBS News reported Wednesday.
  According to the Associated Press, investigators also recovered a piece of circuit board that they believe was part of one of the explosive devices.
  Photos: Boston Marathon Bomb Evidence
  A person close to the investigation previously told the AP the bombs consisted of explosives put in 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails.
  Investigators in white jumpsuits fanned out across the streets, rooftops and awnings around the blast site in search of clues on Wednesday.
  Investigators in white jumpsuits fanned out across Boylston Street in search of clues on Wednesday. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
  They combed through debris amid the toppled orange sports drink dispensers, trash cans and sleeves of plastic cups strewn across the street at the marathon's finish line.
  Also Wednesday, a doctor at Boston Medical Center said two patients, including a 5-year-old child, remain in critical condition there. Dozens of others have been released from hospitals around Boston.
  The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, of Medford. The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, identified the third victim as Lu Lingzi. She was a graduate student at Boston University.
  (TM and (C) Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Statement by the President
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  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:10
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 17, 2013
  Rose Garden
  5:35 P.M. EDT
  MR. BARDEN: Hello. My name is Mark Barden. Just four months ago, my wife Jackie and I lost our son, and our children, James and Natalie, they lost their little brother Daniel. Daniel was a first-grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our sweet, 7-year-old Daniel was one of 20 children, six adults lost on December 14th. I have to say it feels like it was just yesterday.
  In our deepest grief, we were supported by the love of our families and comforted by the love and prayers we received from millions of America, from every corner of the country.
  What happened in Newtown can happen anywhere. In any instant, any dad in America could be in my shoes. No one should feel the pain. No one should feel our pain or the pain felt by the tens of thousands of people who've lost loved ones to senseless gun violence.
  And that's why we're here. Two weeks ago, 12 of us from Newtown came to meet with U.S. senators and have a conversation about how to bring common-sense solutions to the issues of gun violence. We came with a sense of hope, optimistic that real conversation could begin that would ultimately save the lives of so many Americans. We met with dozens of Democrats and Republicans and shared with them pictures of our children, our spouses, our parents who lost their lives on December 14th.
  Expanded background checks wouldn't have saved our loved ones, but still we came to support the bipartisan proposal from two senators, both with ''A'' ratings from the NRA -- a common-sense proposal supported by 90 percent of Americans. It's a proposal that will save lives without interfering with the rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners.
  We'll return home now, disappointed but not defeated. We return home with the determination that change will happen -- maybe not today, but it will happen. It will happen soon. We've always known this would be a long road, and we don't have the luxury of turning back. We will keep moving forward and build public support for common-sense solutions in the areas of mental health, school safety, and gun safety.
  We take strength from the children and loved ones that we lost, and we carry a great faith in the American people.
  On behalf of the Sandy Hook Promise, I would like to thank President Obama, Vice President Biden for their leadership and for standing strong and continuing to fight for a safer America. I would like to thank Senators Toomey, Manchin, Schumer and Kirk on coming together to seek common ground on legislation that would keep guns out of the hands of criminals and save lives.
  And I would like to thank Connecticut's Senators Blumenthal and Murphy. They've been right with us. They stood by us right from the very beginning. From the first few hours after this tragedy they were with us.
  We will not be defeated. We are not defeated, and we will not be defeated. We are here now; we will always be here because we have no other choice. We are not going away. And every day, as more people are killed in this country because of gun violence, our determination grows stronger.
  We leave Washington hoping that others, both here and across the country, will join us in making the Sandy Hook Promise, a pledge that we'd had great hope that more U.S. senators would take literally. I'd like to end by repeating the words with which the Sandy Hook Promise begins: Our hearts are broken. Our spirit is not.
  Thank you. It is now my great pleasure to introduce the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
  THE PRESIDENT: A few months ago, in response to too many tragedies -- including the shootings of a United States Congresswoman, Gabby Giffords, who's here today, and the murder of 20 innocent schoolchildren and their teachers ''- this country took up the cause of protecting more of our people from gun violence.
  Families that know unspeakable grief summoned the courage to petition their elected leaders ''- not just to honor the memory of their children, but to protect the lives of all our children. And a few minutes ago, a minority in the United States Senate decided it wasn't worth it. They blocked common-sense gun reforms even while these families looked on from the Senate gallery.
  By now, it's well known that 90 percent of the American people support universal background checks that make it harder for a dangerous person to buy a gun. We're talking about convicted felons, people convicted of domestic violence, people with a severe mental illness. Ninety percent of Americans support that idea. Most Americans think that's already the law.
  And a few minutes ago, 90 percent of Democrats in the Senate just voted for that idea. But it's not going to happen because 90 percent of Republicans in the Senate just voted against that idea.
  A majority of senators voted ''yes'' to protecting more of our citizens with smarter background checks. But by this continuing distortion of Senate rules, a minority was able to block it from moving forward.
  I'm going to speak plainly and honestly about what's happened here because the American people are trying to figure out how can something have 90 percent support and yet not happen. We had a Democrat and a Republican -'' both gun owners, both fierce defenders of our Second Amendment, with ''A'' grades from the NRA -- come together and worked together to write a common-sense compromise on background checks. And I want to thank Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey for their courage in doing that. That was not easy given their traditional strong support for Second Amendment rights.
  As they said, nobody could honestly claim that the package they put together infringed on our Second Amendment rights. All it did was extend the same background check rules that already apply to guns purchased from a dealer to guns purchased at gun shows or over the Internet. So 60 percent of guns are already purchased through a background check system; this would have covered a lot of the guns that are currently outside that system.
  Their legislation showed respect for gun owners, and it showed respect for the victims of gun violence. And Gabby Giffords, by the way, is both -- she's a gun owner and a victim of gun violence. She is a Westerner and a moderate. And she supports these background checks.
  In fact, even the NRA used to support expanded background checks. The current leader of the NRA used to support these background checks. So while this compromise didn't contain everything I wanted or everything that these families wanted, it did represent progress. It represented moderation and common sense. That's why 90 percent of the American people supported it.
  But instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. They claimed that it would create some sort of ''big brother'' gun registry, even though the bill did the opposite. This legislation, in fact, outlawed any registry. Plain and simple, right there in the text. But that didn't matter.
  And unfortunately, this pattern of spreading untruths about this legislation served a purpose, because those lies upset an intense minority of gun owners, and that in turn intimidated a lot of senators. And I talked to several of these senators over the past few weeks, and they're all good people. I know all of them were shocked by tragedies like Newtown. And I also understand that they come from states that are strongly pro-gun. And I have consistently said that there are regional differences when it comes to guns, and that both sides have to listen to each other.
  But the fact is most of these senators could not offer any good reason why we wouldn't want to make it harder for criminals and those with severe mental illnesses to buy a gun. There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics -- the worry that that vocal minority of gun owners would come after them in future elections. They worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment.
  And obviously, a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they caved to the pressure, and they started looking for an excuse -- any excuse -- to vote ''no.''
  One common argument I heard was that this legislation wouldn't prevent all future massacres. And that's true. As I said from the start, no single piece of legislation can stop every act of violence and evil. We learned that tragically just two days ago. But if action by Congress could have saved one person, one child, a few hundred, a few thousand -- if it could have prevented those people from losing their lives to gun violence in the future while preserving our Second Amendment rights, we had an obligation to try.
  And this legislation met that test. And too many senators failed theirs.
  I've heard some say that blocking this step would be a victory. And my question is, a victory for who? A victory for what? All that happened today was the preservation of the loophole that lets dangerous criminals buy guns without a background check. That didn't make our kids safer. Victory for not doing something that 90 percent of Americans, 80 percent of Republicans, the vast majority of your constituents wanted to get done? It begs the question, who are we here to represent?
  I've heard folks say that having the families of victims lobby for this legislation was somehow misplaced. "A prop," somebody called them. ''Emotional blackmail,'' some outlet said. Are they serious? Do we really think that thousands of families whose lives have been shattered by gun violence don't have a right to weigh in on this issue? Do we think their emotions, their loss is not relevant to this debate?
  So all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington.
  But this effort is not over. I want to make it clear to the American people we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence, so long as the American people don't give up on it. Even without Congress, my administration will keep doing everything it can to protect more of our communities. We're going to address the barriers that prevent states from participating in the existing background check system. We're going to give law enforcement more information about lost and stolen guns so it can do its job. We're going to help to put in place emergency plans to protect our children in their schools.
  But we can do more if Congress gets its act together. And if this Congress refuses to listen to the American people and pass common-sense gun legislation, then the real impact is going to have to come from the voters.
  To all the people who supported this legislation -- law enforcement and responsible gun owners, Democrats and Republicans, urban moms, rural hunters, whoever you are -- you need to let your representatives in Congress know that you are disappointed, and that if they don't act this time, you will remember come election time.
  To the wide majority of NRA households who supported this legislation, you need to let your leadership and lobbyists in Washington know they didn't represent your views on this one.
  The point is those who care deeply about preventing more and more gun violence will have to be as passionate, and as organized, and as vocal as those who blocked these common-sense steps to help keep our kids safe. Ultimately, you outnumber those who argued the other way. But they're better organized. They're better financed. They've been at it longer. And they make sure to stay focused on this one issue during election time. And that's the reason why you can have something that 90 percent of Americans support and you can't get it through the Senate or the House of Representatives.
  So to change Washington, you, the American people, are going to have to sustain some passion about this. And when necessary, you've got to send the right people to Washington. And that requires strength, and it requires persistence.
  And that's the one thing that these families should have inspired in all of us. I still don't know how they have been able to muster up the strength to do what they've doing over the last several weeks, last several months.
  And I see this as just round one. When Newtown happened, I met with these families and I spoke to the community, and I said, something must be different right now. We're going to have to change. That's what the whole country said. Everybody talked about how we were going to change something to make sure this didn't happen again, just like everybody talked about how we needed to do something after Aurora. Everybody talked about we needed change something after Tucson.
  And I'm assuming that the emotions that we've all felt since Newtown, the emotions that we've all felt since Tucson and Aurora and Chicago -- the pain we share with these families and families all across the country who've lost a loved one to gun violence -- I'm assuming that's not a temporary thing. I'm assuming our expressions of grief and our commitment to do something different to prevent these things from happening are not empty words.
  I believe we're going to be able to get this done. Sooner or later, we are going to get this right. The memories of these children demand it. And so do the American people.
  Thank you very much, everybody.
  END 5:55 P.M. EDT
QRSS VD '' The Free, Open-Source, Cross-Platform QRSS Spectrograph by AJ4VD >> SWHarden.com
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:52
  QRSS VD quick links:> Screenshots> Video Demonstration> Download QRSS VD> Quick Start Guide> Full Documentation> Programmer's Notes
  QRSS VD is a free, open-source, cross-platform QRSS spectrograph and spectrogram analyzer written entirely in Python (distributed as source .py's or compiled .exe's) by Scott Harden, AJ4VD. I wrote this software because I wanted to build a 30m QRSS grabber for weak signal extraction experimentation but was dissatisfied by the limitations placed on my creativity by currently-available spectrograph software commonly used for QRSS. While I greatly admire and respect the makers of SpectrumLab and Argo, I simply wanted the flexibility of an open source option.
  Why shouldn't I be able to create spectrograms spanning thousands of hertz (several kilohertz) instead of just 100 hertz? Why shouldn't I be able to automatically stitch together hundreds spectrogram images so I can browse through them as a single, giant image thousands of pixels in size in each directions? Why shouldn't I be able to run the spectrograph on Linux, Mac, or Windows, with or without a gui? While questions like these are frustrating to many, I saw these challenges as an opportunity to write some profound code. It was from my deepest frustration that QRSS VD was born!
  What does QRSS VD do?QRSS VD visualizes sounds in such a way that you can visually see unique properties of the audio that you could never notice by listening to it directly. As far as its application to amateur (ham) radio goes, QRSS VD allows you to visually distinguish between frequencies (along a vertical axis) with extremely high resolution. Additionally, by averaging the frequency readings several-fold with respect to time, extremely weak signals (normally far below the noise level) begin to emerge. By sending data extremely slowly (the Morse code Q-code for ''slow down'' is QRS, and QRSS implies incredibly slow transmission of information), low power transmitters (perhaps running only a few milliwatts) can be detected thousands of miles away!
  This is an image created by QRSS VD. On the vertical axis we have frequency (with respect to my radio's frequency at the time, 10.140mHz), and on the horizontal axis we have time (about 2 and a half minutes worth). The signals are from QRSS transmitters around the world. Whether or not we see certain transmitters depends on many things, especially atmospheric conditions which affect propagation. In the image above we see the ''flying W'' from W1BW in MA, USA some letters below the W which are from IW4DXW in Italy (putting out a quarter of a watt!), and the dashed line below that shifts only a few Hz is AA5CK running a 122mW transmitter in OK, USA, and the two lines which shift up and down by ~10Hz are KC7VHS and WA5DJJ in NM, USA running ~250 milliwatts. These signals are interpreted by Morse code, and take a long time to come across (about 1 letter per minute). Here's an example:
  However, the image above is only a small, teeny, tiny part of the radio spectrum. It goes on far in all directions (along both the frequency and time axis). Although QRSS VD did create the images above, here's the same audio processed by QRSS VD differently, allowing the creation of a much larger image. The blue square represents the region where the green image above (with the flying W) was taken. The quality of this image was greatly reduced to make it web-friendly. It's over 8,000 pixels wide and over 1,000 pixels high!
  Note that as large as that image is, it could have been much larger. QRSS VD has the capability (and yes, I've tried it) to generate spectrograms over 8,000 pixels high (spanning ~4kHz) and many thousands of pixels wide. I intentionally chose a smaller region to display for the website, and that's okay! The beauty of QRSS VD is that it lets you make these decisions later, without having to destroy any data. While QRSS VD is recording you can scroll up, down, left, and right without messing-up any of the images.
  How does it to everything? It listens to you! You tell it how much audio to record, how much to analyze, what region of the band (or the whole thing!), low pass filters, high pass filters, Fourier transformation methods, frequency-domain smoothing methods, time-domain smoothing methods, colors, intensity adjustments, etc. (don't worry, they're all preset for common QRSS use!). While you analyze, you can adjust most of these settings in real time. The GUI is seen on the right.
  While it runs, QRSS VD generates and saves spectrograms in ~10 minute chunks.Note that you can make it save each chunk as the same filename (good for a web server QRSS grabber), or you can have it save them all consecutively with timestamps (seconds since epoch) in the filename. The result is a folder full of BMP files! (pictured on the left) QRSS VD viewer can then open a folder filled with these BMP files, assemble them as a giant map, and let you scroll around in all directions (somewhat like Google maps!, pictured below).
  If you see a cool region you want to extract, Just click on the top left side of the region, then the bottom right side. The QRSS VD Viewer automatically makes a new, cropped image, adds scale bars, and opens it for you to save! How convenient is that?
  Selecting larger regions creates bigger images, such as:Here we've captured several QRSS signals. From top to bottom:
  IQ4DJ (straight CW)G6AVK (Triangles, up is a dot down is a dash)G3ZJO (mountains)AA5CK (3 Hz frequency shift)??? (10 Hz frequency shift, too weak to copy)WA5DJJ(10 Hz frequency shift)Screen shots of QRSS VD in action!At the UF ARC station QRSS VD is often on a Flex 5000a software-defined radio. Here you can see two instances of QRSS VD Spectrograph running, one of them set to low resolution (bitrate power set to 2^10) for fast-update larger-spectrum viewing while the other is configured to record slow, high quality images of the small QRSS region (note the differences in scale of the vertical axis of each instance).
  I use Argo as the ''golden standard'' to assess the quality of the spectrograms produced by QRSS VD. Here you can see the two being run simultaneously. The output on both is similar (score!) but with QRSS VD, you can scroll up and down without affecting the incoming image. See the cool straight-line morse code above the rest of the QRSS, even above the letters? With Argo, you'd never even know that was there, and even if you tried you couldn't record it and the text and the lines at the same time. I love Argo, and it's great at what it's designed to do, but it just doesn't meet all of my needs for a QRSS grabber.Here you can see me during the early development of QRSS VD. I've got Argo running to compare its output to mine, and you can see the code (being edited in Notepad++ for Windows) being edited on the right. As a personal note, at home I use exclusively Linux, but a lot of the work for this project was done at the University of Florida Gator Amateur Radio Club Sataion, W4DFU and all of their PCs run Windows. I can't complain '' it just further solidifies the need for cross-platform software.
  Here's an awesome 3am capture showing propagation rolling in for about 30 minutes. One advantage of QRSS VD is that it's easy to make fancy image captures like this spanning large amounts of time!
  Here's a video of Jeremy Zunker, N5HIM (who runs ZunkWorks.com) using an OpenBeacon kit to transmit frequency Sequential Multi-Tone Hellschreiber (S/MT Hell). Look around the 1:45 mark
  Current Version: 1.05 (Mar 13, 2010)Setup: qrss_vd_1.05_setup.exe (12.8 MB, Windows only)
  Source: qrss_vd_1.05.tar.gz (21 Kb, any OS)
  New features in this version: sound card selection, non-crashing image viewer, web-friendly QRSS grabber, and more'...
  older versions:(changelog)Version 1.04 (Mar 12, 2010)qrss_vd_1.04_setup.exeqrss_vd_1.04.tar.gz
  Sample FilesAudio: qrss.mp3 is 1hr of QRSS (3.4 Mb centered at 10.140 MHz) if you don't have a radio
  Linux NotesThe source package is a collection of two python scripts. They should work on virtually any operating system. To run them you need to install Python 2.6, Matplotlib for Python 2.6, PyAudio for Python 2.6, the Python Imaging Library (PIL) for Python 2.6, Numpy for Python 2.6, and Scipy for Python 2.6.
  UPDATE: I found an easy way to get PyAudio on my current version of ubuntu. According to this page, I just added the lines deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/gezakovacs/pyaudio/ubuntu lucid maindeb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/gezakovacs/pyaudio/ubuntu lucid main to /etc/apt/sources.list then ran sudo apt-get update then installed it with sudo apt-get install python-pyaudio and it works!
  For Ubuntu:I run Ubuntu 9.10 at home and QRSS VD runs fine for me, but Michael (DL4MGM) reported that he got it running successfully on Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.10 as well. He made a list of the packages required for this software. To install all of the required packages on an Ubuntu system, run the following command:sudo apt-get install python-matplotlib python-imaging python-imaging-tk python-numpy python-scipy python-pyaudio. Next, install PyAudio from the PyAudio website using their instructions (add the repository to the Ubuntu sources file and apt-get install it). Once installed, launch the spectrograph by navigating to the program folder in the console and typing python *spectrograph.py
  Fire-up some QRSS audioThe most commonly-used QRSS frequency is 10.140 MHz. Set your radio to CW mode and listen-in on that frequency. If you don't have a radio or the band isn't very active, you can download a 1 hr audio file (mp3 format) of QRSS audio from the QRSS VD downloads section.
  Create some spectrogramsLaunch QRSS VD Spectrograph (through the start menu). Marvel at the dynamically-generated splash screen which changes every time you load the program. Next, right-click on the body of the program and select '' >> RESUME'' to begin generating data. The program will slowly create a large green image which will eventually fill the entire window. If you don't see what you think you should be seeing, try using different sound card selection settings by selecting ''Set Sound Card'' from the right-click menu.
  If the image is too dark or light, you may have your sound card settings wrong. Double-check to make sure your default recording device is properly set. Then you can adjust the intensity of the image by adjusting the gain. Right-click the spectrogram, select ''general settings'', and change the ''Auto Gain'' value up or down (lower makes it brighter, higher makes it darker, it's weird I know '' I like 7) and press SET afterwords.
  Select spectrograms to viewOnce several minutes have gone by, QRSS VD should have begun generating images. Right-click on the spectrogram and select ''Program Statistics'' to see the number images captures on the top line. Once you have several images captured, you can view them by opening the ''QRSS VD Viewer'' (from the start menu). When it opens, you'll see a screen similar to this one:
  Explore large spectrograms with QRSS VD ViewerWithout clicking anything else, select BROWSE THESE IMAGES. The QRSS VD Spectrogram Viewer will then launch, showing you a single ''map'' of all the data you've collected so far.
  Create a snapshot of a region of interestLet's find an interesting region that we want to isolate. The cursor should be an ''upper-left'' cursor, so click on the upper-left of the interesting area. The cursor will change to a ''lower-right'' cursor, allowing you to click on the lower-right of the interesting area. When you do this, QRSS VD will automatically make a copy of this region, add scale bars, and open it in your default image viewing program so you can save it in the format you desire. Note that the right-click options menu in the QRSS VD Spectrogram Viewer allows you to set a custom message to be displayed on the generated image.Since it's so easy to do, I encourage you to E-mail QRSS beacon owners nice, clean, neat, well-labled QRSS captures '' they're much more informative than numerical signal reports!
  Explore QRSS VD!There are a lot of options in the right-click menus. For a start, you can expand the vertical view of QRSS VD far beyond what the default region is using the bandpass options. You can adjust the color of the spectrum, or the intensity using many different means. The documentation further down the page may be helpful.
  IMPORTANT POINTS:Adjust brightness and contrast by right-clicking, selecting ''general settings'', entering a new value for ''auto gain'', and clicking ''SET''. Changes are reflected immediately on new, incoming data.After capturing a long series of images, keep them organized by moving them into a subfolder you create within ./output/ and move the ''scale_info.txt'' file too! That scale_info.txt file is required to recreate scalebars and must be kept with those images or it will be over-written when you begin saving new images with different settings!QRSS VD Spectrograph: Right-Click MenuRight-click on the spectrograph to display the following menu'...Return '' does nothing, exits menu immediately (often clicked accidentally)Launch Viewer '' executes ''QRSS_VD_Viewer.exe'' for quick access|| Pause '' prevents the recorder from launching new threads>> Resume '' allows the recorder to poll the sound card() Capture Now '' takes an image capture of the spectrograph immediatelySet Sound Card '' displays all sound input devices on your system and allows you to switch between them in real time, without restarting your program.General Settings '' math configuration (details)Autosave Options '' customize how QRSS VD saves images automatically (details)Set Base Frequency '' allows you to tell QRSS VD what frequency your radio is tuned to and adjusts the scale bar accordingly. You can use this option to fine-tune the calibration as well.Set as Default '' saves the current settings in a file so when you launch the program again they're restoredReload from Default '' loads settings from the saved file (similar to closing and re-opening the program)Factory Reset '' deletes the default configuration file to force QRSS VD to create a new one from scratchProgram Statistics '' Displays long-running information (details)Development Console '' Displays immediate information, TONS if debug mode is enabled (details)Open Program Folder '' Launches the folder where QRSS VD is installedOpen Output Folder '' Launches the folder where QRSS VD saves imagesThe rest '' are just links to various portions of this website.
  QRSS VD Spectrograph: General SettingsBitrate '' This relates to the vertical resolution of the image, a.k.a. how good QRSS VD is at discerning between frequencies. The lower the number is, the less information QRSS VD uses to make the spectrograph, so it makes it faster with less CPU load but at a lower quality. A high value produces EXTREMELY (virtually uselessly) high resolution images, with each Hz being several pixels, takes a HUGE amount of CPU to compute, and crawls along at a few horizontal pixels a minute. I recommend capturing QRSS at 13 (2^13=8,192 samples), and casual browsing at 10 (2^10=1,024 samples). I often run both simultaneously, allowing me to view the entire band at low resolution, and focus on an important region at high resolution.Window width (px) '' the width of the spectrograph window. A smaller window takes slightly less CPU and produces narrow image captures.band pass low/high '' allows QRSS VD to concentrate its efforts on only analyzing a specified region of frequencies. If you're doing exclusively QRSS work and only looking in a 200 hz window, setting this to a narrow pass band will improve CPU usage and dramatically reduce the size of the output files. Conversely, large images are great for monitoring entire chunks of radio bands. Running a narrow filter risks missing something exciting on the air!Colormap '' changes the color of the spectrograph. Currently only 3 options are available, but they're relatively easy to generate yourself for implementation at the python code level.Gain type '' Automatic is the most intelligent to use in most cases.- '' Automatic Gain '' The brightest pixel your value times the mode (most common value) of the data. Lowering the automatic gain value increases brightness of the image. Because this is based on the mode (~average values) of the data, changes in the audio level, noise level, or band are automatically compensated for to produce images of uniform intensity (and sensitivity) over time. The downside is that extremely strong signals in the passband may cause a darkening of the weak signals in the image.- '' Simple Gain '' The maximum pixel intensity is set as the maximum value of the FFT data. Because the value of the maximum FFT data point varies greatly, the images created in this mode are very fluttery. It's virtually useless.- '' Manual Gain '' In cases of scientific analysis where you want to measure and compare signal strength between two time points, you want to manually set the gain to keep everything consistent. The value is simply the value of the FFT data which will be converted to maximum pixel intensity. The higher the number, the darker the image. ~1700 is a good value.Transformation '' FFT () should be used, but for completeness I provided an earlier version of this method ''Real FFT'' which discards the imaginary component of the transformation. That's like throwing the baby out with the bath water. If we hold on to the imaginary component, we get twice as much data to work with, and produce far superior spectrograms.Time-domain smoothing '' Probably should be set to 0, but if you want to further reduce noise by averaging FFT values in the dime domain, set this to the number of FFTs (vertical columns of pixels) to save in memory. Smoothing is performed at the FFT level BEFORE normalization, not at the pixel-intensity level after normalization, so it is very different than just loading an image and applying a ''wind-blow'' type of effect, even though the output looks similar. The following photo demonstrates the same audio (music!) being processed without and with smoothing (value: 15)NOTES ON GAIN: You can mathematically tell how your gain is affecting the values of the FFT by viewing the before and after normalization values in the statistics window in real time.
  QRSS VD Spectrograph: Autosave OptionsImage Capture '' If it's automatic, it captures images and saves them in ./output/ automatically. If set to manual, images are only saved with you manually right-click and select ''capture now''.File Type '' Currently supports BMP, PNG, and JPG output. JPG is intentionally compressed at low quality to minimize file size (I figured it'd be for web server use). If space is an issue, consider PNG format. It's lossless (like BMP) but usually smaller.Filename prefix '' This string is appended to the beginning of your saved image files. IT MUST CONTAIN AN UNDERSCORE IF IT IS TO BE READ BY THE QRSS VD VIEWER PROGRAM! That might change in the future, but for now it's true. You've been warned!!Resize Output '' If enabled, the image (which could be HUGE) will be resized to dimensions of your choice. The algorithm used for downscaling is bilinear (not nearest neighbor) so they're very smooth looking.CLICK TO APPLY ALL '' must be pressed for any of these setting changes to take effect
  QRSS VD Spectrograph: General SettingsThe stats window was designed to give you a peek at information which you may find useful. It shows how many images have been saved and some other info. Of particular interest is the values of the FFT before and after normalization. Remember how our gain controls work? This is how you can tell numerically where you stand. If your average value is 1330, it makes sense that 1700 might be your maximum value for your manual gain setting.
  QRSS VD Spectrograph: Developer ConsoleThe developer console is only for developers. Are you a developer? Didn't think so. It's more useful if you're working on the code at the Python script level. Its default state is to show realtime configuration information. If you manually open-up the ''qrss_vd.cfg'' file and change 'logAll': False, to 'logAll': True, (caps are important), it displays min/max/avg information for EVERY row of pixels in realtime (too processor intensive to leave on by default). It's set to only display the last 5 events so it isn't very functional in that way.
  QRSS VD Viewer Right-Click Menuset custom message '' CURRENTLY BROKEN! D'OH!!! It's supposed to let you add a message (like your own callsign) to the saved images. It's on my todo list to fix it.save ENTIRE image '' does what it says, but adds a special minimally-intrusive timestamp to the top of the image periodically. Wow, this would be a great thing to display live on a website'... [ponders]
  Important Files and Foldersthe following files are a few of the gajillion that come with QRSSVD'...C:\Program Files (x86)\QRSS VD\ is the base directory on Windows. Within this directory is a bunch of compiled junk which is a (likely vestigial) remnant of py2exe's glorious but awkward attempt to convert Python scripts into machine code for mass distribution.QRSS_VD_spectrograph.exe '' the main spectrograph programQRSS_VD_spectrograph.exe.log '' when it crashes, it logs why in this fileQRSS_VD_viewer.exe '' the spectrogram browser programQRSS_VD_viewer.exe.log '' when it crashes, it logs why in this fileTEMP.png '' the image the viewer creates when you crop a large image. This is what's opened in your default image viewer../output/ '' This is the folder that contains everything QRSS VD generates./output/capt_1268456622.42.bmp '' Filenames of captured images usually contain a prefix, underscore, timestamp, and extension. (details)./output/scale_info.txt '' This saves the scale OF YOUR MOST RECENT IMAGE CAPTURE ONLY. This is required to be in the same folder as collections of images which will be assembled by the QRSS VD Viewer. It contains information on how to redraw the vertical and horizontal axis labels../output/qrss_vd.cfg '' This is the default configuration file, saved when you right-click and select ''Set as Default''. The contents should not need to be edited directly, as most options either get overwritten automatically or can be set through the menus within the program. If your program crashes instantly upon loading, try deleting this file and QRSS VD will recreate it with factory defaults.
  QRSS VD IS CRASHING!!!Oh no! Don't panic, we've got options. If it crashes often (or every time you try to start it), try deleting the ./output/qrss_vd.cfg file and starting it again. Sometimes changing settings outside of the capabilities of the program will cause it to crash. I intentionally didn't limit a lot of the values. If you try to set the sample bitrate to 2^5423894, I'll bet it would let you try!
  Here are all the live grabbers I know of using QRSS VD:The Gator Grabber in Gainesville, FloridaBig Ears Grabber in Onslow, Nova Scotia, CanadaIf you set up a grabber, let me know about it!
  You might want to check out I2NDT's awesome collection of QRSS grabs all in one place (many of which use other software)
  QRSS VD Grabber.exe is a bare-bones preview of what's to come (a full-featured GUI-based app with FTP uploading capabilities), but for now it is what it is. Below is a screen-shot of me using QRSS VD Grabber.exe and in it you can see the highlighted image (grabber.jpg), which is an automatically-updated JPEG with scale bars ready for web-upload.To do this, I simply ran the spectrograph monitor (from start menu) and get it recording how you like, then I run the QRSS VD Grabber (from start menu). Boom! The QRSS VD Grabber will watch your output folder for new BMPs, and every time it sees one it will create a new JPEG (web-friendly) of the latest few (user-determinable) captures, add scale bars, and save it as a full size JPEG and a thumbnail JPEG automatically.
  Even though I refer to ''bitrate'', I really mean ''sample size''. Bitrate is defaulted to 5500 hz. You can change this if you're adventurous by manually editing the qrss_vd.cfg file and changing 'sampleRate': 5500 to something psychotic like 'sampleRate': 48100. Theoretically the software is only limited by your soudcard's ability to record that fast, and your CPU's ability to keep up with the FFT. Increasing this can help increase maximum displayable frequency, and should be played with if you have a wide-range software defined radio (SDR) with a fancy wide-receive highspeed soundcard.Colormaps can be edited by opening-up the Python sources. They're on the first few lines of the spectrograph code, and they're just arrays (256 in length, representing pixel intensities from 0 to 255) of RGB tuples. How easy is that? So easy to expand! I know!If you're a coder, let me have you look a look at the normalize() function. Heck, I'll post it here. It represents such potential! After the FFT values are calculated for a segment of sound, the array (ffty) is sent to normalize() so it can figure out what pixel intensity/values to assign to each y position in the single-pixel-wide band. This represents an AWESOME place for improvement. It's intentionally simple and modular. What about using special logarithmic, sinusoidal, sigmoidal, or creative combinations of these and other functions to help emphasize weak signals while still displaying, but not putting too much emphasis on the strong ones. At this level we could add moving window de-trending, smoothing, or other linear data manipulation techniques to help weak signals jump out of the noise! How cool would it be to be able to begin to see signals pop out of regions which look blank right now? Think about it '' that data could be there '' you just need to think of creative ways to extract it! Here's the normalize() function. Work with it!def normalize(ffty): #COULD USE TECHNIQUE WORK TO IMPROVE WEAKSIGNALS!!!! """Eats crazy large values and poops-out values 0 to 255.""" """This represents an area which could use GUI improvement. This function does everything to the FFT from the moment its created until it's given 8-bit pixel values. By adjusting how this works you can either hide accentuate weak signals. experiment!!!""" global fftmins,fftmaxs #fft=scipy.log(ffty+10)#log magnifies small peaks (weak signals) fftmin=ffty.min() fftmin=0 if config["gainType"]=="auto": fftmax=scipy.median(ffty) fftmax=(fftmax-fftmin)*config["gain"]+fftmin ffty=255.0*(ffty-fftmin)/(fftmax-fftmin) return ffty if config["gainType"]=="simple": fftmax=ffty.max() ffty=255.0*(ffty-fftmin)/(fftmax-fftmin) return ffty if config["gainType"]=="manual": fftmax=config["manGain"] ffty=255.0*(ffty-fftmin)/(fftmax-fftmin) return fftyFull source code has been posted in the download section. I encourage you to take a look at the sources.Please note that Python wasn't necessarily designed for or intended to be run as a GUI, and ESPECIALLY not as compiled .exe's for Windows-only distribution. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to run this script from the sources. It's cool, it's fun, if it crashes you get to see where and why, and you get to change up the code to make it fit your needs.If you're interested in getting started learning Python and you're already tech-savvy, I recommend you visit DiveIntoPython.org. It's an actual book that's been made available online. It's great! So clear, and it dives right in (it's meant for programmers to learn a new language).If you have feature requests, bug reports, suggestions, comments, or captured some really cool stuff with QRSS VD I'd love to hear about it! I encourage you to post these things on the QRSS VD Google Group.73! Scott Harden, AJ4VD
  COMMENTSCHANGELOG/*QRSS VD ChangelogWritten by Scott Harden, AJ4VDwebsite: http://www.SWHarden.com/qrssvd####################### VERSION 1.05 #######################Primary reasons for update: - added options (i.e., sound card selection) - prevented crashes - added qrss grabber programDetailed changes:Added a "launch viewer" button to the right-click menumade the "set message" option work on the viewer right-click menuadded sound card detection and selection optionsadded time domain smoothing capabilitiesprevented crashing from entering too-high bandpass filteradded open program / output buttons to right-click menuadded google group link to right-click menuspell correction for "transformation"added loading confirmation screenincluded new "qrss grabber" program to produce web-friendly graphics####################### VERSION 1.04 #######################Primary reasons for update: - first public releaseNotes:compiled at 5pm Friday afternoon (March 12, 2010), the last weekday of Spring break. Published online several hours later.*/
VIDEO- Farage EU Common Criminals - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:35
Half of Tamiflu prescriptions went unused during 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic, UK sewage study
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Set You Free News
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:16
  Half of Tamiflu prescriptions went unused during 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic, sewage study concludes
  CEH
  A new study concludes that approximately half of the prescriptions of Tamiflu during the 2009-10 influenza pandemic went unused in England. The unused medication represents approximately 600,000 courses of Tamiflu at a cost of around £7.8 million to the UK taxpayer. The novel scientific method used in the study could help measure and improve the effectiveness of future pandemic flu strategies.
  The finding, published online in the open access scientific journal PLOS ONE, comes from the first study of its kind to use sewage water to estimate drug compliance rates, the degree to which a patient correctly follows medical advice to take medication.
  The study estimated usage of pharmaceuticals from large populations by sampling sewage and recovering the active component of Tamiflu thus measuring drugs that were actually consumed by patients, rather than those that were flushed away without being consumed.
  The work was led by scientists at the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology working with colleagues at Uppsala, Linnaeus and Ume¥ Universities, Sweden, and the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic.
  Lead author Dr Andrew Singer, a Chemical Ecologist from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, says, ''Influenza pandemics are rare, making a study such as this a unique and important window into how people behave during a public health emergency such as a pandemic.
  This study sheds new light on people's willingness to follow medical advice on antiviral usage. Importantly, this method could be used to monitor how many people take certain kinds of medicine in real time and alert national health authorities to the need for stronger public information campaigns during pandemic emergencies.''
  The research highlights that despite the central role of antivirals in many nations' influenza pandemic preparedness plans, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding antiviral compliance rates. Poor compliance drains resources by diverting limited antiviral stocks from those who may need it most.
  Mis-used antivirals can lead to antiviral resistance and represents a significant financial cost and health risk. Previous research on antiviral compliance had focused on small populations, typically fewer than 200, and used survey-based analyses of drug compliance, which can be unreliable.
  Dr Singer adds, ''Our study was the first compliance study to utilise waste water as an evidence base for whether a population consumed Tamiflu or not. Because of this unique study design, we were able to examine populations orders of magnitude larger than previous studies.
  One population was just over 6,000 people and the second population was 208,000. Tamiflu gets transformed into the active antiviral only after being consumed, and is released into the sewage with every visit to the toilet. This waste water epidemiology approach is particularly robust for drugs such as Tamiflu and potentially more reliable than some survey based methods of assessing compliance.''
  Predictions of oseltamivir consumption from Tamiflu recovered in sewage were compared with two sources of national government statistics to derive compliance rates. Scenario and sensitivity analysis indicated an estimated compliance rate between 45-60%, (between 45 to 60 people out of every 100 people who received Tamiflu completed the antiviral course, as prescribed).
  Dr Singer says, ''With approximately half the collected antivirals going unused, there is a clear need to improve public health messages so that less antiviral is wasted and that the duration and severity of infection is reduced.
  Furthermore, we feel the waste water epidemiology approach undertaken can potentially help shape future public health messages, making them more timely, targeted, and population sensitive, while potentially leading to less mis- and un-used antiviral, less wastage and ultimately a more robust and efficacious pandemic preparedness strategy.''
How Congress Quietly Overhauled Its Insider-Trading Law : It's All Politics : NPR
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:58
  Vice President Biden and members of Congress watch as President Obama signs the STOCK Act on April 4, 2012. A year later, Congress moved to undo large portions of the law without fanfare.
  Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesVice President Biden and members of Congress watch as President Obama signs the STOCK Act on April 4, 2012. A year later, Congress moved to undo large portions of the law without fanfare.
  Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesThe legislative process on Capitol Hill is often slow and grinding. There are committee hearings, filibuster threats and hours of floor debate. But sometimes, when Congress really wants to get something done, it can move blindingly fast.
  That's what happened when Congress moved to undo large parts of a popular law known as the STOCK Act last week.
  A year ago, President Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act into law at a celebratory ceremony attended by a bipartisan cast of lawmakers.
  "I want to thank all the members of Congress who came together and worked to get this done," he said.
  The law wouldn't just outlaw trading on nonpublic information by members of Congress, the executive branch and their staffs. It would greatly expand financial disclosures and make all of the data searchable so insider trading and conflicts of interest would be easier to detect.
  But on Monday, when the president signed a bill reversing big pieces of the law, the emailed announcement was one sentence long. There was no fanfare last week either, when the Senate and then the House passed the bill in largely empty chambers using a fast-track procedure known as unanimous consent.
  In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., shepherded the bill through. It was Friday afternoon at 12:52. Many members had already left for the weekend or were on their way out. The whole process took only 30 seconds. There was no debate.
  "There weren't too many members of Congress who were aware of this legislation," says Craig Holman, the government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen. "And I suspect very, very few understood what a sweeping radical change it is to the STOCK Act."
  Records In The Basement
  To understand how the law changed, I asked Holman to meet me in the basement of the Cannon House Office Building.
  "This is where the public records are kept, for those who can handle traveling to Washington, D.C.," Holman explained.
  That's right. If you want to look up the financial disclosure forms filed by high-level congressional staffers '-- say, to find out whether they've been using the privileges of their positions to make well-timed stock trades '-- you have to come to this office.
  Holman showed me how it works. You have to enter your name and address into a computer, and then you can search. But you have to know the name of the person you are searching for. If he or she has filed a financial disclosure form, it will come up as a PDF, which you can print at a cost of 10 cents a page.
  "The database itself is almost meaningless," says Holman. He says the only option for those who want to get a comprehensive look at what some 2,900 staffers have filed is to review the cases one by one. "And that's just too big a job for anybody to do."
  The STOCK Act was supposed to make this task significantly easier. Records for members of Congress, the executive branch and their staffs were supposed to be posted online in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format.
  If you wanted to see who traded health care stock just before a committee acted on a health care bill, it would be easy. No trips to the basement required.
  But there were concerns, especially among the 28,000 executive branch staff who would be required to post their financial disclosures online.
  Going Too Far?
  "There were particular concerns about risks for those who either travel overseas on government business or work overseas," says Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association, who represents many of those executive branch employees.
  An independent study said there were also risks of identity theft, which she says the new law helps avoid.
  "What has been eliminated now is the ability of people to go phishing, if you will," she says.
  The White House cited the independent report in explaining why the president signed the bill. And a spokesman for Cantor said the House and Senate were simply following recommendations of the study. But Lisa Rosenberg, a lobbyist for the Sunlight Foundation, which advocated for the STOCK Act, says Congress went too far.
  "It's really shocking that they used basically the situation of questions about whether some language in the bill was overbroad to just gut the bill '-- to gut the transparency measures that apply to themselves," she says.
  Still, two major elements of the law remain. Insider trading is illegal, even for members of Congress and the executive branch. And for those who are covered by the now-narrower law, disclosures of large stock trades are required within 45 days. It will just be harder to get to them.
Boston Marathon explosions: Deaths, injuries reported - Chicago Tribune
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:42
  April 15, 2013|Reuters
  Two bombs ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people, maiming others and injuring more than 100 in what a White House official said would be treated as an "act of terror."
  It was the worst bombing on U.S. soil since security was tightened after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and President Barack Obama promised to hunt down whoever was responsible for the attack on a day when tens of thousands of spectators packed the streets to watch the world-famous race.
  No one has been arrested and the White House official said it would have to be determined whether the attack came from a foreign or domestic source.
  Investigators found what could be five additional, undetonated explosive devices around the Boston area, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two unnamed people briefed on the investigation. The evidence had yet to be fully analyzed, the Journal said.
  The blasts a few seconds apart knocked some runners off their feet and shattered what had been a resplendent spring day with the state of Massachusetts celebrating Patriots' Day, which commemorates the U.S. war of independence on the third Monday in April.
  April 15 is also the deadline for U.S. taxpayers to file their annual income tax returns.
  Many runners were heading for the finish when a fireball and smoke rose from behind cheering spectators and a row of flags representing the countries of participants, video from the scene showed.
  The cheers turned to screams and panic.
  "I saw people who looked like they had their legs blown off. There was a lot of blood over their legs. Then people were being pushed in wheelchairs," said Joe Anderson, 33, a fisherman from Pembroke, Massachusetts, who had just run the race holding a large U.S. flag.
  Many of the victims were gravely injured, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said.
  Some suffered shrapnel wounds and amputations and will require repeat operations in the coming days, said Peter Fagenholtz, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.
  Ambulances, fire trucks and dozens of police vehicles converged at the scene, and spectators could be seen crying and consoling each other.
  The dead included an 8-year-old boy, the Boston Globe reported, citing two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.
  A 2-year-old was being treated with a head injury at Boston Children's Hospital, the hospital said in a statement.
  "It sounded like a sonic boom. I haven't stopped shaking yet," said Melissa Stanley, who watched her daughter cross the finish line four minutes before the explosions.
  The blasts put police on alert in major cities across the United States, including in Washington, D.C. and New York City, sites of the Sept. 11 attacks.
  'POWERFUL DEVICES'
  Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis called them "powerful devices."
  Davis told a news conference at least three people died and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said more than 100 people were wounded.
  FBI Boston Special Agent In Charge Richard DesLauriers declined at the same news conference to comment on media reports that police found unexploded devices.
  In Washington, Obama told reporters, "Make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this and we will find out who did this."
  "Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice," he said.
  The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation took the lead on the investigation with help from several other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
  The two explosions at 2:50 p.m. (EST) were about 50 to 100 yards (metres) apart as runners crossed the finish line with a timer showing 4 hours and 9 minutes, some 9 minutes faster than the average finish time, as reported by Runner's World magazine.
  Spectators typically line the 26.2 mile race course, with the heaviest crowds near the finish line.
  Mike Mitchell of Vancouver, Canada, a runner who had finished the race, said he was looking back at the finish line and saw a "massive explosion."
  Smoke rose 50 feet in the air, Mitchell said. People began running and screaming after hearing the noise, Mitchell said.
  "Everybody freaked out," Mitchell said.
  The annual Boston Marathon, held since 1897, attracts an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants every year.
  Earlier on Monday, Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa and Kenya's Rita Jeptoo won the men's and women's events respectively, continuing African runners' dominance in the sport.
  The Boston Symphony Orchestra canceled Monday night's concert and the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins canceled their home game against the Ottawa Senators. The Boston Red Sox had completed their Major League Baseball game at Fenway Park before the explosions.
Deadly ricin: poisonous but clumsy weapon - Vitals
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:38
  By Maggie Fox, Senior Writer, NBC News
  Ricin is a deadly poison and fairly easy to make, but it's a crude and clumsy weapon, according to bioterror experts.
  A letter sent to President Barack Obama tested positive for ricin, officials said Wednesday, and it was sent by the same person who mailed a letter that tested positive for the poison to Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.
  Ricin is made from castor beans -- it's a natural byproduct of making castor oil. When purified using sophisticated methods, it can be lethal and hard to trace. It's best known as the poison used to kill Bulgarian journalist Georgi Markov in London in 1978 by an agent who poked him with an umbrella tipped with an injector.
  The U.S military also considered developing ricin as a biowarfare agent in the 1940s.
  Dr. Eric Toner of the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says he doubts anything this sophisticated is involved in the letters sent to Wicker and the White House.
  ''That is totally different from what we think is going on now, which is home-brewed ricin, not very potent,'' Toner told NBC News. And Markov was killed by an injected pellet -- a much more certain method than putting powder into a letter.
  ''It is not actually clear you can get anybody sick from ricin-containing letters,'' Toner added. "It is probably a crackpot. It certainly is unsophisticated.''
  Recipes for making ricin abound online. But fiction aside -- in an episode of AMC's "Breaking Bad," Walter White whips some up -- it's not a big threat.
  ''It's been used many times mostly by domestic terrorists and lone wolves,'' Toner said. ''It is easy to make some ricin. You get some castor beans, make it in your kitchen, you can produce a batch of stuff that has some ricin in it. It is not very pure. It is not very potent. As near as we can tell it has never actually made anyone sick.''
  This week's letters recall the anthrax attacks that killed five people and made 13 sick in October, 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. The anthrax attacks were very different, Toner says. They used highly purified anthrax spores -- living organisms that can get into the air and cover surfaces and that killed victims who breathed them in.
  When inhaled, anthrax spores can sprout in the lungs and pump out a poison. By the time victims start to become ill, it's almost always too late to save them. Two of those who died were postal workers In Washington D.C. who got infected after the spores got caught up in mail processing equipment.
  The attacks changed the way mail is processed in Washington and by some big companies -- media companies, including NBC, were also targeted by the attacks. Officials also installed "sniffers" around Washington, including in the Metro rail system and on the National Mall.
  ''The federal government now screens all mail that comes to certain high-value locations,'' Toner said.
  ''It is my understanding that the screening tests, like all screening tests, are designed to be very sensitive but not necessarily specific.'' That means that a false positive is possible, he said -- meaning the letters may not be tainted with ricin after all.
  Toner suspects more letters will turn up with the contamination. But unlike the anthrax spores, ricin powder isn't likely to spread in the mail and sicken people, he says. In theory, ricin could be used to attack people in this way, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can be injected, used to poison food, or spread in the air as a fine powder.
  ''Within a few hours of inhaling significant amounts of ricin, the likely symptoms would be respiratory distress (difficulty breathing), fever, cough, nausea, and tightness in the chest. Heavy sweating may follow as well as fluid building up in the lungs (pulmonary edema). This would make breathing even more difficult, and the skin might turn blue,'' the CDC says.
  ''If authorities suspect that people have inhaled ricin, a potential clue would be that a large number of people who had been close to each other rapidly developed fever, cough, and excess fluid in their lungs. These symptoms would likely be followed by severe breathing problems and possibly death.''
  There's no antidote for ricin. The CDC advises anyone who thinks he or she may have been exposed to ricin to wash off as quickly as possible, breathe fresh air and seek medical care. Doctors may give intravenous fluids and perhaps charcoal to help people vomit any ricin they may have eaten.
  Related:
I hate to make an accusation here, but'... Charles Apple copydesk.org
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:01
  A blog reader has pointed out a discrepancy between a jarring but important picture the Boston Globe's John Tlumacki shot in the aftermath of yesterday's Boston Marathon bombings and the version of that photo as used today by the New York Daily News.
  Here's the original photo, as posted last night by the Boston Globe's Big Picture blog'...
  '...and here it is as a wrap around today's Daily News. Pay attention to the leg of the woman in the background, just to the right of the man's foot.
  Can you see it. On the left, here, is the original image. On the right is a closeup from the Daily News' version.
  Looks to me like somebody did a little doctoring of that photo to remove a bit of gore. If you can't stomach the gore, don't run the photo. Period.
  The Newark Star Ledger used that same picture today on page one. But without the apparent manipulation.
  If anyone from the Daily News would like to contact me and try to explain this: I'm all ears.
  Thanks to a sharp-eyed Andy Neumann, a sports designer at Gannett's Louisville Design Studio, for making the catch.
  This entry was posted 3 p.m. April 16 and is filed under NYC tabloids, Photojournalism, Visual ethics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
CDC | Questions and Answers About Ricin
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:38
  (Updated March 5, 2008)
  What is ricin?Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans. It can be made in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.
  How toxic is ricin? How do people get sick from it?Ricin is very toxic. It works by getting inside the cells of a person's body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and may cause death.
  As with most chemicals, whether or not a person becomes ill after exposure to ricin depends on how much ricin the person was exposed to, how long the exposure lasted, what the exposure method was (inhalation, ingestion, or injection), and other factors. In general, when the dose is the same, being exposed to ricin by injection has the greatest potential for causing illness, followed by inhalation, and then ingestion.
  The purity of the ricin can also significantly affect the how sick someone becomes. For instance, ricin has greater potential for causing illness if it has been purified by special, technically difficult processes that are not readily available. In addition to the complexities involved in producing ricin that is highly purified, it is also very difficult to produce ricin that retains the physical properties which make it easy to inhale. These are just some examples of the more important factors that can help predict whether or not someone may get sick after being exposed to ricin.
  How might I be exposed to ricin?You can be exposed to ricin either by ingesting (swallowing) or inhaling (breathing) material containing ricin. In a few rare, past cases, injections of ricin have led to poisoning. This is a very unlikely method of exposure because it requires someone to actually inject the material into you
  What are the signs and symptoms of ricin poisoning?If ricin is ingested, initial symptoms typically occur in less than 6 -12 hours. These initial symptoms are most likely to affect the gastrointestinal system and include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. The symptoms of ricin poisoning are then likely to rapidly progress (generally over 12-24 hours) to include problems such as severe dehydration, and kidney and liver problems. This rapid progression of symptoms and illness is noticeably different than what typically occurs with most (but not all) commonly encountered infectious foodborne illnesses, which generally resolve within a day or two. Nevertheless, it is important to note that ricin is not the only potential cause of such symptoms, other illnesses due to chemicals and non-chemical causes (e.g., infectious) can also present with these signs and may be cause for concern.
  If ricin is inhaled, initial symptoms may occur as early as 4-6 hours after exposure, but serious symptoms could also occur as late as 24 hours after exposure. The initial symptoms are likely to affect the respiratory system and can include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough. The symptoms of ricin poisoning are then likely to rapidly progress (generally over 12-24 hours) to include problems such as worsening respiratory symptoms, pulmonary edema (fluid within the lungs), and eventually, respiratory failure. This rapid progression of symptoms and illness is noticeably different than what typically occurs with most common colds and cough-type illnesses. Nevertheless, it is important to note that ricin is not the only potential cause of such symptoms, other illnesses due to chemicals and non-chemical causes (e.g., infectious) can also present with these signs and may be cause for concern.
  Death from ricin poisoning can take place within 36 to 72 hours of exposure, depending on the route of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or injection) and the dose received.
  What should I do if I feel I'm experiencing symptoms of ricin exposure?Seek medical attention right away.
  Is it true that there's no cure/antidote for ricin? What can be done to help people who have been exposed to ricin? Are treatments available?It is true that no antidote exists for ricin. Because no antidote exists, the most important factor is avoiding ricin exposure in the first place. If exposure cannot be avoided, the most important factor is then getting the ricin off or out of the body as quickly as possible. Ricin poisoning is treated by giving victims supportive medical care to minimize the effects of the poisoning. The types of supportive medical care would depend on several factors, such as the route by which victims were poisoned (that is, whether poisoning was by inhalation, ingestion, or skin or eye exposure). Care could include such measures as helping victims breathe, giving them intravenous fluids (fluids given through a needle inserted into a vein), giving them medications to treat conditions such as seizure and low blood pressure, flushing their stomachs with activated charcoal (if the ricin has been very recently ingested), or washing out their eyes with water if their eyes are irritated.
  How are anthrax and ricin similar or different?Anthrax is the spore form of a bacterium (an organism) that can be dried, purified, and made into a powder that can be inhaled (breathed in). After anthrax spores are inhaled, they can become active, reproduce in the body, and cause disease. This process takes at least 24 hours but usually several days. However, the spore can stay in the body for weeks before becoming active and causing illness, which is why antibiotics to prevent anthrax are given for a long period (60 days) after a person has been exposed.
  Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans and then purified, and treated to form a powder that can be inhaled although this is a very technically difficult and complicated process. Most ricin poisonings have occurred when the ricin was injected or when the person swallowed the ricin. Symptoms of ricin poisoning are most likely to occur within 4 to 12 hours if the ricin was inhaled or swallowed.
  Is ricin poisoning contagious?No, ricin poisoning is not contagious. It cannot spread from person to person through casual contact.
  Can ricin be "aerosolized" like anthrax?Yes, ricin in the form of a fine powder can be suspended in air.
  Has anyone ever died after being exposed to ricin?Yes, several deaths have resulted after a victim was injected with ricin. People have been poisoned with ricin after eating castor beans, but most cases of eating castor beans do not result in poisoning, because it is difficult to release the ricin from castor beans. Also, ricin is not as well absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract when compared to injection or inhalation.
  Where can I find general information about ricin?See the ricin fact sheet.
  Where can I find general information about ricin in Spanish?See the ricin fact sheet in Spanish.
  Is there a TTY phone line available where I can get information about ricin?Yes, you can call the CDC TTY phone line at 888-232-6348.
  What form is ricin found in? Is it a powder?Ricin can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid (from the ricin fact sheet).
  Will the irradiation equipment used by the postal service have any effect on ricin?Postal irradiation may have some effect, but CDC still considers ricin to be fully functional and just as dangerous even after irradiation.
  Where can I find information about personal protective equipment and cleanup for ricin?See the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health emergency response card.
  If I was present where ricin was located, could I have carried it home? Is my house safe?If ricin was released into the air, some ricin might have gotten onto the clothing of people who were present and might have then been transported on the clothing to their homes. The likelihood is very low in this instance that enough ricin would have gotten onto your clothing and would have been transported home with you for your health to be threatened. However, any exposed clothing should be handled according to the general guidelines given in the ''Personal Cleaning and Disposal of Contaminated Clothes'' guidelines.
  How do I know my family is safe?Ricin poisoning is not contagious. People who were not present where the ricin was found are not likely to have been exposed at levels high enough to negatively affect their health.
  What are the long-term effects of ricin exposure?No long-term direct effects are known to exist from ricin exposure that did not result in symptoms. Following severe ricin poisoning, the damage done to vital organs may be permanent or have lasting effects.
  Are certain populations more vulnerable to the health effects of ricin exposure, such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, people who are immunocompromised, or people with respiratory or gastrointestinal (GI) tract illnesses?Although it is unknown whether these populations are at higher risk, the possibility of higher risk does exist. People who have existing illnesses of the respiratory or GI tract may have pre-existing tissue irritation or damage as a result of their illness. If this damaged or irritated tissue is exposed to ricin, the result may be further injury and greater absorption of the ricin toxin.
  Is it possible that health effects may not occur until more than 72 hours after exposure to ricin?The information that exists on ricin poisoning in humans is extremely limited. Much of what we know about ricin poisoning comes from animal studies and only a few human cases. Nevertheless, enough information exists on ricin poisoning by ingestion (swallowing) to say that it is extremely unlikely that the onset of signs and symptoms of ricin poisoning by ingestion would occur more than 10 hours after exposure. Much less information exists on ricin poisoning by inhalation (breathing in ricin), but initial poisoning symptoms are very unlikely to begin more than 24 hours after exposure.
  What will happen to personal belongings exposed to ricin?Personal belongings should be handled according to the ''Personal Cleaning and Disposal of Contaminated Clothes'' guidelines.
  What if an event involving ricin happens again?If there is another event involving ricin, the necessary steps to protect the public's health and assess for building contamination will be repeated.
  What tests are used to detect ricin?There are several tests used to detect ricin, including tests for environmental samples of suspicious materials, and for clinical specimens from human body fluids. Public health laboratories that are part of CDC's Laboratory Response Network (LRN) use rapid detection tests for environmental samples. Some LRN laboratories can test clinical urine samples for the presence of ricinine, an indicator of ricin exposure.
  What do the results of these tests tell us?The rapid tests indicate whether components of the castor bean are present in the environmental sample and whether ricin toxin is present. If both of these tests yield a ''positive,'' then the presence of ricin can be confirmed.
  Another assay for environmental samples measures the activity of the ricin toxin, since ricin toxicity can be affected by several factors including temperature. The toxin activity test tells officials whether the toxin is still dangerous.
  The presence of ricinine in urine helps to establish whether ricin exposure has occurred, and may help estimate the degree of exposure if the time of exposure is known.
  How long does it take for these tests to yield results?The rapid detection tests used by the LRN can be completed within 6-8 hours after receipt of samples. The toxin activity test takes about 48 hours to perform but the availability of cultured cells used in the test may delay testing.
  For a clinical urine specimen, measurement of ricinine can be completed within several hours after the samples are received.
  What is the difference between a preliminary test and a confirmatory test?A preliminary test result '' such as a positive for ricin components '' must be confirmed by a second LRN test, which detects ricin toxin. The ricin toxin test is considered the best test for determining the presence of ricin. A positive result for ricin components can be used in public health decision making while officials wait for confirmatory results from the ricin toxin test.
  NOTE: These Q & As are based on CDC's best current information. They may be updated as new information becomes available.
U.S. military to step up presence in Jordan in light of Syria strife - CNN.com
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:12
  By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
  April 17, 2013 -- Updated 1706 GMT (0106 HKT)
  STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel orders up to 200 troops to JordanThe deployment creates additional capability, potential to form task force if orderedTroops to include communications and intelligence specialists who will help JordaniansU.S. has reviewed military options for Syria although President Obama has not ordered any actionWashington (CNN) -- In a critical indication of growing U.S. military involvement in the civil war in Syria, CNN has learned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering the deployment of up to 200 troops to Jordan, according to two Defense Department officials.
  The troops, which will come from the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, "creates an additional capability" beyond what has been there, one official said.
  The group will give the United States the ability to "potentially form a joint task force for military operations, if ordered," he said.
  The new deployment will include communications and intelligence specialists who will assist the Jordanians and "be ready for military action" if President Barack Obama were to order it, the official said.
  This comes as the Pentagon has recently reviewed military options for Syria although Obama has not ordered any to be put into action.
  There have been several dozen American troops, mainly special forces, in Jordan for the past year assisting the Jordanians.
  But that group has been very ad hoc, the official said. This new deployment makes the U.S. military presence more official and is the first formalized ongoing presence of an American military unit in the Kingdom in recent years.
  Rebels in Syria are fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
  More than 450,000 Syrians are registered as refugees in Jordan.
VIDEO-"CIA Trained Afghans To Use Pressure Cookers Against The Soviet Army" CIA Agent Baer - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:08
Twenty-five hospitalised in German poison sandwich scare - Telegraph
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:58
  Police spokesman Frank Soika said that it was a tradition among employees of the firm to buy sandwiches for each other.
  An untouched roll was flown to a Berlin laboratory. Test results confirmed overnight that the free sandwiches had been sprinkled with rat poison, Mr Soika said.
  "We don't believe the amount of poison used would have been deadly, but it could have caused serious illness," he said.
  Police have launched an investigation and interviewed some of the affected workers, but have no indication yet of who left the poisoned sandwiches or why.
  The hospitalized workers are due to be kept under observation in hospital, the spokesman said.
  Helmut Kohake, managing director of Mueller Technik, told a press conference on Wednesday that there had been no problems with staff, and no-one had been made redundant.
  The firm would be looking at protection measures, which might include fencing off its premises, he said. Employees were upset after the incident, he added. "You don't know whether something like this could happen again," Mr Kohake said.
  Mueller Technik, which was founded in 1984 and makes plastic parts for use in cars, has 240 employees.
EU set to lift sanctions against Myanmar, except arms embargo
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  Archived Version
  Source: Reuters: World News
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:56
  TweetShare thisEmailPrintMyanmar's President Thein Sein speaks at the opening ceremony of the annual Boao Forum in Boao, in southern China's Hainan province, Sunday, April 7, 2013.
  Credit: Reuters/Alexander F. Yuan/Pool
  BRUSSELS | Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:43pm EDT
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is expected to lift all sanctions on Myanmar next week, except for an arms embargo, in recognition of the "remarkable process of reform" in the country, a document obtained by Reuters showed on Wednesday.
  The EU agreed a year ago to suspend most of its sanctions against Myanmar for a year, but it is now expected to go further by agreeing "to lift all sanctions with the exception of the embargo on arms," according to the document.
  The step - which was agreed by EU ambassadors on Wednesday, paving the way for ministerial approval on Monday - will allow European companies to invest in Myanmar, which has significant natural resources and borders economic giants China and India.
  The United States and other Western countries have been easing sanctions on Myanmar to reward a wave of political and economic reforms put in place since Myanmar's military stepped aside and a quasi-civilian government was installed in 2011.
  As a result, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is attracting a surge of interest from overseas businesses keen to enter one of the last untapped markets in Asia.
  The EU had frozen the assets of nearly 1,000 companies and institutions in Myanmar and banned almost 500 people from entering the EU. It also prohibited military-related technical help and banned investment in the mining, timber and precious metals sectors.
  (Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Writing by Adrian Croft; Editing by Jon Hemming)
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Cyberaanval op SNS
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  Archived Version
  Source: VK: Home
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:51
  17/04/13, 18:36 '' bron: ANP
  (C) epa. SNS Bank.
  UPDATESNS Bank is woensdagmiddag getroffen door een cyberaanval. Klanten konden hierdoor niet internetbankieren, mobiel bankieren en met iDeal betalen. De aanval werd in ongeveer een half uur succesvol afgeslagen, liet een woordvoerder van de bank weten. 'Alleen iDeal is nog niet volledig beschikbaar.'
  Betaalorganisatie Currence meldde dat ook klanten van andere banken problemen leken te ondervinden bij het afrekenen via iDeal.
  Het ging om een zogeheten Ddos-aanval. Daarbij wordt een grote hoeveelheid dataverkeer naar servers gestuurd, waardoor die tijdelijk onbereikbaar worden. Afgelopen maandag werd Rabobank nog door een dergelijke aanval getroffen.
Attacks on Bay Area Data and Electricity Transmission Infrastructure
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  Archived Version
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:51
  Source: CBS
  In apparent acts of ''sabotage'' in the South Bay early Tuesday, someone cut fiber optic cables, knocking out some 911 service, and then fired a rifle at a PG&E substation, Santa Clara County's sheriff said.
  The vandal's objective appears to have been ''shutting down the system,'' Sheriff Laurie Smith said at a news conference at the substation Tuesday afternoon.
  ''We don't have a suspect,'' she said. ''It seems like the same perpetrator or perpetrators to me.''
  Both incidents happened early Tuesday morning in the area of Metcalf Road and Monterey Highway, just southeast of San Jose city limits.
  The underground cables, protected by manhole covers, were cut shortly before 1:30 a.m. in two locations along Monterey Highway, Smith said.
  Some of the cables, comprised of bundled fiber optic cords, were cut near Monterey Highway and Coyote Ranch Road, AT&T spokesman George Ross said.
  He said the cables there are AT&T lines but that some other service providers piggyback off of them.
  A number of South Bay customers lost landline and cellphone service, and the damage also initially knocked out some 911 call systems in the area.
  >>Read More...Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Letter sent to Obama tests positive for ricin, officials say
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  Archived Version
  Source: Dave says...
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:50
  NBC News' Kristen Welker and WNBC's Jonathan Dienst discuss reports of a letter sent to President Obama containing a suspicious substance.
  By Pete Williams, Kristen Welker and Erin McClam, NBC News
  A letter addressed to President Barack Obama tested positive for the poison ricin and was from the same sender who mailed a letter to a senator that also tested positive, officials told NBC News on Wednesday.
  The letter to Obama was intercepted at an off-site White House mail facility and was being tested further, the FBI said. A federal law enforcement official said that the letter was ''very similar'' to one addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
  Federal officials told NBC News that they believe they know who sent the letters, but no arrest was made because authorities were waiting for further test results.
  Ricin is made from castor beans and can kill within 36 hours. There is no antidote. Some threatening letters simply contain ground castor beans, resulting in a positive field test for ricin without the concentrated poison. Results from full laboratory tests are expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.
  Filters at a second government mail screening facility also tested positive for ricin in preliminary screening Wednesday.
  An FBI official told NBC News that the agency did not initially believe the letters were related to the attack on the Boston Marathon on Monday.
  Authorities cleared the atrium of a Senate office building Wednesday and were investigating a suspicious package there. Capitol police were also investigating a suspicious package at the office of Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Shelby's staff had not been evacuated.
  The Wicker letter was postmarked Memphis, Tenn., and had no return address. The FBI confirmed the preliminary positive test on it Tuesday. That letter was intercepted at a postal facility in Maryland that screens mail sent to Congress, and never reached Wicker's office.
  Other senators were made aware of the Wicker letter during a briefing Tuesday evening on the bombing in Boston. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said that the person who sent Wicker the letter writes often to elected officials.
  People can be exposed to ricin by touching a ricin-laced letter or by inhaling particles that enter the air when the envelope is opened. Touching ricin can cause a rash but is not usually fatal. Inhaling it can cause trouble breathing, fever and other symptoms, and can be fatal.
  Field tests are conducted anytime suspicious powder is found in a mail facility, and the FBI cautioned that field tests and other preliminary tests can produce inconsistent results. When tests show the possibility of a biological agent, the material is sent to a laboratory for full analysis.
  Kasie Hunt, Kelly O'Donnell, Richard Esposito, Mike Viqueira and Dr. Kristina Krohn of NBC News contributed to this report.
  This story was originally published on Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:34 AM EDT
Activist Post: ACTION ITEM: CISPA Goes to The Floor for Possible Vote Within 24 Hours, Privacy Amendments Blocked
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:44
  Mark M. Jaycox, Kurt Opsahl, and Rainey ReitmanEFFYesterday, the US House prepared for the debate on the privacy-invading "cybersecurity" bill called CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The rules committee hearing was the last stop before the bill is voted on by the full House.
  In the hearing, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) was questioned about the core problems in the bill, like the broad immunity and new corporate spying powers. In response, he characterized users who oppose CISPA as "14 year olds'' tweeting in a basement.
  The bill may be voted on as early as Wednesday.
  This means there's little time left to speak out. Please tell your Representative to vote no on the bill:Call your Representative
  Tweet at your Representative
  Here are some of the takeaways from the hearing.
  Rep. Rogers Dismisses CISPA Opponents as Teenage Basement TweetersAfter a heated exchange about the overly broad legal immunity, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) noted the widespread opposition to CISPA by Internet users. In response, Rep. Rogers characterized opponents to CISPA as "14 year olds'' tweeting in a basement. See the video here.Of course, many people oppose CISPA -- several thousand of whom tweeted at Rogers after his remark.
  Internet companies like Mozilla, Reddit, NameCheap, Gandi.net, and other have also come out strong against the bill. And over 70 cybersecurity experts and academics sent a joint letter opposing CISPA last year, expressing their firm opposition to the dangers of Roger's approach to computer security:
  We have devoted our careers to building security technologies, and to protecting networks, computers, and critical infrastructure against attacks of many stripes. We take security very seriously, but we fervently believe that strong computer and network security does not require Internet users to sacrifice their privacy and civil liberties.
  Earlier this week, 34 civil liberties groups sent a letter opposing CISPA in its current form.And the newest addition to CISPA opposition? The White House, which issued a veto threat(PDF) yesterday.
  Rep. Rogers Makes The Case For Why Representatives Should Vote No
  Rep. Rogers is adamant that no sensitive personal information or email content will be collected under the bill and then sent to the federal government. Under questioning from Rep. Polis, Rogers said "Again, zeroes and ones, hundreds of millions of times a second, in patterns. It has nothing to do with content. Nothing."First of all, of course it's zeros and ones. That's how information is passed in the digital environment--whether it is content or not. If Rogers is going to propose fundamentally changing privacy on the Internet, he ought to know that the contents of email are transferred with zeros and ones in patterns.
  Second, if Rogers really meant this, there is an easy solution. Exclude the content of communications from the bill. Viola! Companies would not be able to transfer the content of anyone's email under the bill, whether in the form of zeros and ones, or by carrier pigeon.
  Reducing Confidence in the Internet
  Rep. Polis spoke candidly during the hearing about some of the detrimental effects CISPA could have on Internet users' trust in online services:This directly hurts the confidence of Internet users. Internet users - if this were to become law - would be much more hesitant to provide their personal information -even if assured under the terms of use that it will be kept personal because the company would be completely indemnified if they 'voluntarily' gave it to the United States government.
  Rep. Rogers was not convinced, asserting this would not be a problem. He's wrong. CISPA gives legal immunity to companies who share your information under the bill, with no exception for privacy policies or user agreements that promise to protect your privacy. Even worse, core privacy laws like the Privacy Act, Cable Communications Policy Act, the Wiretap Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act will be decimated by CISPA, robbed of their power to protect you when it comes to this so-called cybersecurity sharing.One amendment that could have helped to address this concern was a proposal by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) which would have made clear that a company can still make a legally-enforceable commitment to users via a contract (such as terms of use) that it will not share personally identifiable information with the federal government.
  However, this amendment was not allowed to proceed to the floor for a vote.
  Privacy Amendments Aren't Allowed to Proceed For A Full House Vote
  The hearing ended with the decision on which amendments would be allowed for consideration during the floor vote. In all, 42 amendments were submitted to CISPA - the majority of which dealt with privacy and civil liberties problems with the bill. Only 12 were allowed to go to the floor for a full vote.Among the amendments that will not move forward are forward-thinking proposals by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), both of whom suggested amendments that would address some of the core privacy concerns in CISPA. The first (PDF), championed by Rep. Schakowsky, would requires that the first point of sharing information with the federal government must be with a civilian agency, so that U.S. military or defense agencies won't directly collect or receive cyber information on American citizens.
  Another amendment (PDF) promoted by Rep Schiff, requires companies sharing information with the government or other private entities under the bill make ''reasonable efforts'' to remove personally identifiable information of individuals unrelated to the cyber threat.
  At first the chairmen didn't even allow a vote on whether or not these amendments could be presented to the full house for a vote. A vote on the amendments was held by the committee only after Democrats raised the issue.
  Unfortunately, both amendments were ruled out of order - along with many others that would have addressed civil liberties issues. This means that fixing the bill through floor amendments - which was always unlikely -is now clearly impossible. EFF is urging Representatives to oppose the bill in the upcoming vote.
  Say No To CISPA
  CISPA will likely be up for a vote in the next 24 hours. CISPA is still riddled with problems and must be stopped. Tell your Congressmen now to say no to CISPA.
  BE THE CHANGE! PLEASE SHARE THIS USING THE TOOLS BELOW
VIDEO-Rep Mike Rogers Claims that Opponents to CISPA are 14 Year Olds - YouTube
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:28
'Suspicious' letter sent to Obama
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  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:22
  17 April 2013Last updated at12:11 ETA letter addressed to US President Barack Obama containing a "suspicious substance" has been intercepted.
  The US Secret Service said the letter was identified at a remote facility where White House post is screened.
  It arrived at the facility on 16 April, the same day a letter intended for a US senator tested positive for the lethal toxin ricin.
  Areas in two senate office buildings have been cleared over suspicious letters, US Capitol police say.
  The letter addressed to the president has tested positive for ricin, according to US media reports, but the contents are being sent to an accredited laboratory for further analysis, as the preliminary results need further verification.
  All congressional mail has been sorted and tested off-site since Anthrax was posted to two senators in 2001.
  Continue reading the main storyCan be fatal when inhaled, ingested or - most dangerously - injectedOne to three castor beans chewed by a child, or just eight seeds chewed by an adult, can be fatalThe toxin is part of the waste produced when castor oil is madeA spokesman for the Secret Service, which protects the US president and his family, said it was liaising with the US Capitol Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to trace the origins of the letter.
  "This facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery," Edwin Donovan said.
  The letter intercepted on Tuesday was intended for Roger Wicker, a Republican senator representing Mississippi.
  Ricin, extracted from castor beans, is 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide.
  It can be fatal when inhaled, swallowed or injected, although it is possible to recover from exposure.
  Correspondents say there is a heightened sense of alert in the capital after the deadly bomb attacks at the Boston marathon but there is no indication so far of any connection between the two incidents.
DHUnplugged #178: House of Cards '' Gold Plunge
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  Source: DH Unplugged
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:35
  Now that was ''fun'' no? Gold plunged and we discuss the reasons and the rationale. What to do next? Bitcoin and many other topic that you will want to hear are explores in this episode.
  NEW! We are now tracking the idea stocks that Andrew and John highlight in each episode. Here is the link'...
  ______
  (Click the above for more information)
  ___
  Disclosure: Horowitz & Company clients may hold positions of securities mentioned as of the date published.
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MSNBC Brings On Harvard Professor To Suspect 'Far-Right' May Be Responsible For Boston Attack
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:29
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
Federal Register | 36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:57
  Ms. B. English, DSCA/DBO/CFM, (703) 601-3740.
  The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Transmittals 13-03 with attached transmittal, policy justification, and Sensitivity of Technology.
  Dated: April 11, 2013.
  Aaron Siegel,
  Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
  Transmittal No. 13-03Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended(i) Prospective Purchaser: Republic of Singapore
  (ii) Total Estimated Value:
  * As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act.Major Defense Equipment*$165 millionOther45 millionTotal210 million(iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or Services under Consideration for Purchase: 100 AIM-120C7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), AMRAAM Programmable Advanced System Interface Simulator (PASIS), 10 AMRAAM Spare Guidance Sections, 18 AN/AVS-9(V) Night Vision Goggles, H-764G with GEM V Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM), Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE-Plus) in support of a Direct Commercial Sale of new F-15SG aircraft. Also included: containers, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
  (iv) Military Department: Air Force (BAA)
  (v) Prior Related Cases, if any:
  FMS case SAA-$180M-24Mar06;
  FMS case SAC-$179M-02Nov09
  (vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed to be Paid: None
  (vii) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense Article or Defense Services Proposed to be Sold: See Attached Annex
  (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: 03 April 2013
  POLICY JUSTIFICATIONSingapore'--AIM-120C7 AMRAAM and Related SupportThe Government of Singapore has requested a possible sale of 100 AIM-120C7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), AMRAAM Programmable Advanced System Interface Simulator (PASIS), 10 AMRAAM Spare Guidance Sections, 18 AN/AVS-9(V) Night Vision Goggles, H-764G with GEM V Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM), Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE-Plus) in support of a Direct Commercial Sale of new F-15SG aircraft. Also included: containers, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $210 million.
  This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by increasing the ability of the Republic of Singapore to contribute to regional security. Its contributions to counter-piracy and counterterrorism efforts continue to stabilize a critical chokepoint where much of the world's goods and services transit en route to and from the Asia Pacific region. The proposed sale will improve the security of a strategic partner which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia Pacific region. Specifically, this proposed sale will improve the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) air to air capability and ability to defend its nation and cooperate with allied air forces
  The Republic of Singapore requires these missiles to meet current and future threats of enemy aircraft. Singapore is procuring, via Direct Commercial Sale, new F-15SG aircraft. The proposed sale will enhance RSAF's ability to operate with coalition forces in bilateral and multilateral exercises and potential air defense operations. Singapore will use these capabilities as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. Singapore will have no difficulty absorbing the AIM-120C7s into its armed forces.
  The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
  The prime contractors will be Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona; Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix, Arizona; ITT Night Vision in Roanoke, Virginia; and ATK Defense Electronic Systems in Clearwater, Florida. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
  Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Singapore.
  There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.
  Transmittal No. 13-03Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control ActAnnexItem No. vii(vii) Sensitivity of Technology:
  1. The AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is a supersonic, air launched, aerial intercept, guided missile featuring digital technology and micro-miniature solid-state electronics. The missile employs active radar target tracking, proportional navigation guidance, and active radio frequency target detection. It can be launched day or night, in any weather and increases pilot survivability by allowing the pilot to disengage after missile launch and engage other targets. AMRAAM capabilities include lookdown/shoot down, multiple launches against multiple targets, resistance to electronic countermeasures, and interception of high- and low-flying and maneuvering targets. The AMRAAM all-up-round (AUR) is classified Confidential, major components and subsystems range from Unclassified to Confidential, and technical data and other documentation up to Secret.
  2. The AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles (NVG) are 3rd generation aviation NVG offering higher resolution, high gain, and photo response to near infrared. The hardware and technical data and documentation to be provided are Unclassified.
  3. The Common Munitions Built-In-Test (BIT)/Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) is a piece of support equipment used to interface with weapon systems to initiate and report (BIT), results, and upload/download flight software. CMBRE supports multiple munitions platforms with a range of applications that perform preflight checks, periodic maintenance checks, loading of Operational Flight Program (OFP) data, loading of munitions mission planning data, loading of Global Positioning System (GPS) cryptographic keys, and declassification of munitions memory. CMBRE is a system that manages data and information classified up to Secret.
  4. If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the information could be used to develop countermeasures that might reduce weapon system effectiveness or be used in the development of a system with similar or advanced capabilities.
  [FR Doc. 2013-08949 Filed 4-16-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 5001-06-P
Gold's VIX Term Structure 'Most Inverted' Since Lehman | Zero Hedge
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:27
  While there are obviously sellers in the gold market, there is also a dramatic spike in demand for protecting what is still being held (remember there is a buyer for every seller). Gold's short-term VIX (implied volatility) has spiked to 18 month highs above 29% but it is the steepness of the term-structure of volatility that shows just how much protection is being sought. The difference between the one-month volatility and one-year volatility is almost 10 vols - the highest level of inversion (short-term risk higher than long-term) since Lehman. It seems the market is extremely fearful of further volatility in the short-term but less concerned longer-term. What is also worrisome is that the last two times that Gold's VIX was this much higher than the S&P's VIX was June 2006 (when the first hedge funds started to implode from Subprime) and Sept 2008 (Lehman). It appears that gold volatility is signalling counterparty risk concerns once again.
  Gold's short-term VIX is its highest relative to medium-term VIX since Lehman as protection is bid...
  and it seems the last two times that goldprotection was in such big demand relative to stocks was when counterparty risk was rising once again...
  Charts: Bloomberg
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 5(8 votes)
Gold and Stocks Crash '... Terrorist Attack In Boston? | Washington's Blog
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:26
  Something Wicked this Way Comes?Gold is crashing the most in 30 years.
  Zero Hedge notes:
  The rapidity of gold's drop is impressive, concerning, and disorderly. We have seen two other such instances of disorderly 'hurried' selling in the last five years. In July 2008, gold quickly dropped 21% '' seemingly pre-empting the Lehman debacle and the collapse of the western banking system. In September 2011, gold fell 20% in a short period '' as Europe's risks exploded and stocks slumped prompting a globally co-ordinated central bank intervention the likes of which we have not seen before. Given the almost-record-breaking drop in gold in the last few days, we wonder what is coming?
  Zero Hedge also points out that the extreme volatility in gold indicates counter-party risk concerns.
  Stocks '' and virtually all asset classes '' are currently down:
  In addition, 2 explosions at the Boston marathon today have killed several people and injured scores more.
  The explosions are reported to have come from a trash can.
  There is no indication yet whether this is a terrorist attack (or false flag), although there is panic like during 9/11. For example, the Boston Globe tweets.
  Finish line volunteers told to run. Describe fear ''like 9/11 or the tsunami.''
Gold Wipes $560 Billion From Central Banks as Equities Rally - Bloomberg
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:25
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  Play
  Would Cyprus Gold Sale Set Dangerous Precedent?
  Investors are dumping gold funds at the fastest pace in two years in favor of equities, compounding a slump that has wiped $560 billion from the value of central bank reserves.
  Exchange-traded products linked to gold dropped $37.2 billion in 2013 as the metal reached a two-year low yesterday. Gold funds suffered net outflows of $11.2 billion this year through April 10, the most since 2011, while global and U.S. equity funds had net inflows of $21.25 billion, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR Global.
  Central banks are among the biggest losers because they own 31,694.8 metric tons, or 19 percent of all the gold mined, according to the World Gold Council in London. After rallying for 12 straight years, the metal has tumbled 28 percent from its September 2011 record of $1,923.70 an ounce. Growing economies and corporate profits, along with slowing inflation, boosted global equities by $2.28 trillion this year at the expense of the traditional store of value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
  ''There's a perception that risk has been lessened, and with that, investors are looking for assets that either generate income or have growth potential, neither of which gold has,'' Anthony Valeri, a market strategist with LPL Financial Corp. in San Diego, which oversees $350 billion. ''We've seen a grab for yield, and without a yield, gold has been left out.''
  Bear MarketGold futures in New York slumped 17 percent this year, the worst start since 1981, after a 9.3 percent drop on April 15 that capped the biggest two-day decline since January 1980. The metal tumbled into a bear market on April 12, losing more than 20 percent since the record close in August 2011, the common definition of bear market.
  Bullion lost ground as the U.S. recovery gained momentum, the dollar rose and Federal Reserve policy makers signaled they may scale back on stimulus, curbing demand for gold as a haven. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said April 10 that the turn in the gold cycle was quickening and that investors should sell gold.
  The metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation has been eroded partly by the slowing rise in consumer prices even after five years of government stimulus. The cost of living in the U.S. fell 0.2 percent in March, the first drop in four months, as cheaper gasoline and clothing kept consumer prices in check, Labor Department data showed yesterday. Inflation expectations as measured by the break-even rate for five-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities reached the lowest since Jan. 2.
  Attractive EquitiesAt the same time, the S&P 500 has more than doubled from its 12-year low in 2009, helped by the Federal Reserve's unprecedented bond purchases, record-low interest rates and three straight years of profit growth.
  ''The equity trade is looking attractive because the fundamentals in the U.S. economy continue to improve,'' John Stephenson, a senior vice president and portfolio manager who helps oversee C$2.8 billion ($2.74 billion) at First Asset Investment Management Inc. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. ''It's been a great 12-year run, but there's increasingly less reason to be in gold.''
  Gold, which typically doesn't pay interest or generate profits on its own, has traditionally become more popular when investors are concerned that values of other assets will be eroded by inflation.
  'Bubble'''If you think about the intrinsic value of gold, there's not a lot,'' Guy Debelle, assistant governor at Australia's central bank, which owns 79.9 tons, said at a business lunch in Canberra on April 16. ''Gold often has a high price because people believe that other people believe that it's worth a lot. When you describe other markets like that, the word 'bubble' gets thrown about.''
  Individual investors added $19.5 billion this year to mutual funds holding U.S. equities, after removing $400 billion in the previous four years, according to the Washington-based Investment Company Institute.
  ''Since the opportunity cost to hold gold was very high, people moved to the more remunerative assets like equities and cash,'' said Walter ''Bucky'' Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion of assets at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
  Remaining BullishSome investors remain bullish.
  Billionaire John Paulson, 57, is sticking with his bet on higher prices. He started 2013 with about $9.5 billion invested across his hedge funds, of which about 85 percent is invested in gold share classes. This year's slump through April 15 erased $1.5 billion of his personal wealth, on paper. Paulson is sticking to the thesis that the metal is the best hedge against inflation and currency debasement as countries pump money into their economies, according to the New York-based firm that manages about $18 billion.
  ''The outlook for gold for us is really positive in the long term,'' Catherine Raw, a fund manager in London at BlackRock Inc., which oversees about $3.8 trillion globally, said in an interview yesterday on Bloomberg Television with Francine Lacqua. ''The probability of inflation over the next five years is higher, not lower, than it was last year. Other things, such as cash losing money, the Cyprus event, savings being targeted, means people are looking for alternatives.''
  Top HoldersBlackRock is the top holder in the iShares Gold Trust, with 5.9 percent, and the fifth-biggest in the SPDR Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund backed by the metal. Paulson & Co. is the largest investor in the SPDR at 5.7 percent, according to government filings. Holdings in that fund fell to 1,145.92 tons on April 16, the lowest since April 23, 2010.
  Global ETP holdings are down 9.7 percent this year. Assets reached a record 2,632.5 tons in December. The value fell on April 15 to $103.24 billion, the lowest since May 2011.
  Gold's slump has eroded the value of reserves held by the world's central banks and the International Monetary Fund to about $1.4 trillion from the record $1.96 trillion, based on World Gold Council data. Policy banks added 534.6 tons last year, the most since 1964, according to the group.
  The U.S. and Germany are the biggest holders, with the metal accounting for more than 70 percent of their total reserves. Russia, the seventh-biggest holder with 976.9 tons, boosted buying in the past seven years.
  The selloff was sparked by mounting concern that Cyprus would be forced to sell gold from its reserves and ''potentially reflecting a larger monetization of gold reserves across other European central banks,'' Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report yesterday. The island nation owns 13.9 tons, according to the council.
  'Extremely Concerning'The gold price decline is ''extremely concerning,'' South Africa Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus told reporters in Cape Town yesterday. The bank, which holds 125.1 tons, won't adjust its reserve policy following the slump, Marcus said.
  Sri Lanka's central bank governor said falling prices are an opportunity for nations to raise gold reserves and that the island will ''favorably'' examine buying more. The Bank of Korea said the plunge isn't a ''big concern'' because holding the metal is part of a long-term strategy for diversifying currency reserves.
  About $773 billion was wiped from the value of all gold holdings globally on April 15, to about $7.5 trillion from $8.3 trillion last week, based on futures and a 2011 estimate by the World Gold Council that 171,300 tons of the metal have been mined. The amount erased is greater than the market capitalization of all the stocks trading in Singapore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
  Investors Selling''People are moving to equities as it is the most remunerative asset,'' Jeffrey Sica, who helps oversee more than $1 billion as the president of SICA Wealth Management in Morristown, New Jersey, said in an interview yesterday. Sica said he cut his gold holdings to about 7 percent from 20 percent of assets on concern that the plunge may continue.
  Billionaire investor George Soros, who called bullion the ''ultimate asset bubble'' in 2010, reduced his stake in the SPDR gold fund by 55 percent in the fourth quarter.
  ''Gold has somehow lost the safe-haven status,'' said Robert Keck, the president of Princeton-based 6800 Capital LLC, which manages about $630 million. ''A lot of money has definitely flown into equities this year. While the economic data may have some hits and misses, equities are being clearly preferred over gold.''
  To contact the reporters on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net; Joe Richter in New York at jrichter1@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
  Enlarge imageGold Wipes $560 Billion From Central Banks as Equities RallyAthit Perawongmetha/Getty Images
  Exchange-traded products linked to gold dropped $37.2 billion in 2013 as the metal reached a two-year low yesterday.
  Exchange-traded products linked to gold dropped $37.2 billion in 2013 as the metal reached a two-year low yesterday. Photographer: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images
  3:31
  April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Dominic Schnider, head of commodity research at UBS AG's wealth-management unit in Singapore, talks about gold prices and demand. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
  6:04
  April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, talks about global commodity markets and investment strategy. Rogers also discusses the outlook for the U.S. dollar. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move." (Source: Bloomberg)
  8:30
  April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Catherine Raw, fund manager at BlackRock Inc., discusses the investment appeal of platinum and palladium, and the outlook for gold prices. She speaks with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move." (Source: Bloomberg)
  6:14
  April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Aspin, Singapore-based investment strategist at Standard Chartered Bank, talks about global stocks, commodities including gold, and his investment strategy. He also discusses the outlook for China and Japan's economies with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move." (Source: Bloomberg)
VIDEO-SSSS-Suspicious package at Mandeville post office removed, set to be destroyed | wwltv.com New Orleans
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:02
  WWLTV.comEmail: webteam@wwltv.com | Twitter: @WWLTV
  MANDEVILLE, La. - After a post office employee discovered a suspicious package stuffed inside a trash can Wednesday morning, St. Tammany Fire District 4, Mandeville police and St. Tammany deputies arrived at the office located on Highway 190, according to the Mandeville Police Department.
  Highway 190 East and West is shut down around the post office, between St. Joseph Street and Lonesome Road.
  The post office was evacuated when the suspicious package, a new briefcase, was found by the janitor, according to Lt. Gerald Sticker. A Walgreens and CVS were evacuated as well, while other businesses nearby told to stay put.
  Around 9:30 a.m., the briefcase was moved a safe distance away from the building after x-rays were inconclusive. Police plan on destroying it.
  The St. Tammany Sheriff's Office bomb squad is on scene, according to police.
  The call to authorities came in at 6:34 a.m.
  "Once we get a call, we evacuate the immediate area. We secure it. We have the fire department standing by with their trucks and HAZMAT units," Sticker said.
  Because Mandeville is a small department, there is not a bomb tech, Sticker said. In a situation like this, the MPD reaches out to the sheriff's office, state police or even federal agencies, he said.
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Modafinil Is Wall Street's New Drug of Choice -- New York Magazine
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:59
  (Photo: Trunk Archive)
  It took Peter Borden a while to come around to modafinil. He never takes prescription drugs. He doesn't drink to excess. He's into acupuncture and alternative medicine. But he was working two jobs'--by day, he does quantitative analysis and project management for a venture-capital-backed B2B start-up; by night, he's developing a proprietary high-­frequency trading system for a Wall Street start-up of his own'--and what he needed was more time to work.
  So a few months ago, Borden ordered a three-week supply by mail. (''It was a piece of cake,'' he says.) He popped his first pill'--''the maximum suggested dose'''--as soon as the package arrived, and within a few hours he started feeling a pleasant fuzziness. ''Not fuzzy-headed,'' he says, ''but crisp. A crisp softness to it.'' Soon he was experiencing a level of concentration he'd never imagined. ''My senses sort of shifted to the visual, and my auditory sense went down. Sounds didn't even register. It was like walking around on a winter day when it just snowed. It was very easy to stay visually focused.''
  Next came a head rush. ''I sensed it was blood actually moving to the optic nerve. Your eyes start to feel very sort of engorged, and your awareness comes to the front of your face, which is kind of a freaky sensation. I would describe it as being very much like Adderall, but without the speediness.''
  Tasks that were usually soul-crushing now had his undivided attention. He spent hours fine-tuning ad campaigns for his new business, and his output wasn't just faster and longer'--it was better. ''I didn't take as many breaks; I didn't get as frustrated; the stuff came out with fewer errors,'' he says. ''I never felt, Oh, let's just get it done. I polished things.'' As long as he kept taking the pill, his focus never wavered. ''Time took on an entirely different sort of quality.'' He was even happier. ''There were some very potent anti-anxiety effects. Which was strange. I didn't think I was an anxious person, but I guess I was.''
  Modafinil, which is marketed as Provigil in the United States, was first approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of narcolepsy, but since then it's become better known as a nootropic, a ''smart drug,'' especially among entrepreneurs. More recently, it has attracted traders like Borden who don't just need a pick-me-up to get through a deadline; they need to be on, without a break, for months, even years at a time.
  And that's modafinil's reputation. It is rumored to be the model for the fictional pills in the movie Limitless that allowed Bradley Cooper's character to use 100 percent of his brain. Timothy Ferriss, author of the best-selling The 4-Hour Work Week,recently dished about its effects with modafinil fan Joe Rogan, the former host of Fear Factor, on Rogan's popular podcast. Probably its biggest booster is Dave Asprey, founder of the Bulletproof Executive web forum, where he blogged about the drug's powers (headline: ''Why You Are Suffering From a Modafinil Deficiency''). Last summer, ABC News did a segment on Asprey in which he compared taking it to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where everything blossoms from black-and-white to color.
  Last month, modafinil's penetration into the culture was confirmed by the American Medical Association's journal Internal Medicine, which published a University of California, San Francisco, study reporting that U.S. prescriptions increased almost tenfold over the past decade. Far and away, most of those were for off-label use.
  In New York, Borden is hearing more chatter about it among traders and hedge-funders, though they don't tend to boast about it in the same way as the tech guys. ''There's something, I think, about guys who write code for a living that makes them very interested in hacking things'--finding shortcuts, stuff like that,'' he says. ''Whereas with guys on Wall Street, it's more testosterone-fueled; it's more just power through it.'' In a conversation on WallStreet­Oasis.com titled ''Viagra for the Brain,'' one commenter gushed, ''This is not like ­caffeine or 5 Hour Energy. This is the big leagues.''
  Unlike Ritalin or Adderall, modafinil isn't an amphetamine and doesn't flood the body with dopamine in the same way. For this reason, scientists originally believed it to be non-habit-forming, though some are beginning to doubt this claim. Users on message boards talk about how modafinil doesn't so much speed them up as clear their minds. ''Most of the drugs that people do in our society are things like alcohol that make you stupider instead of smarter,'' mobile-software entrepreneur Jesse Law­ler said in a recent podcast about modafinil for his website SmartDrugSmarts.com.
  The entrepreneur Daniel Tenner used modafinil to launch his first company while still working for the consulting firm Accenture. ''Every day,'' he wrote on swombat.com, a site for entrepreneurs, ''I would sleep at 11 p.m. sharp. I would then wake up at 4 a.m., work until 7 a.m., then nap for an hour before going to work at my day job. I then also worked weekends.''
  Of course, its ascendancy is also cause for some alarm. No scientist has conducted a study of its long-term effects on healthy brains yet. At the very least, doctors have warned that modafinil can bring about sleep deprivation (or, in the words of the Internal Medicine paper, ''hypersensitivity reactions and neuropsychiatric adverse effects''). The modafinil moment has even prompted a secondary conversation among sociologists and economists about the anxiety of staying ahead in today's competitive economy, and microeconomic predictions about a future in which everyone sleeps less: fewer mattress sales, more dollars spent at bars and nightclubs, more sex, and more children.
  For Borden, life on modafinil really did feel like a real-life (if somewhat toned-down) Limitless. Things get hairy for the character in the movie'--there's addiction and withdrawal and tragedy before the tidy Hollywood ending. The first downside Borden noticed was in line with the film: He couldn't drink. ''I went out for a drink, and then I had another drink. And because I was so energized and focused, I got drunk faster. It kind of freaked me out, because time would sort of fly by. I'd be here, and then I'd be here. Almost like mini-­blackouts. I very quickly cut out alcohol.''
  Then he ran into an even bigger problem: Skip a dose, and there would be hell to pay. ''I really would feel it. It was sort of like being thrust into dirty, messy reality, as opposed to a clean, neatly organized place. It was like crashing, and I actually found what would happen is the anxiety that got dialed down on the way in, when you were coming off it, all of a sudden you went through the reverse. So I got incredibly anxious. Eventually that concerned me.'' He stopped after three weeks. He says he's more comfortable trying to get the same effect through meditation and, of all things, getting a good night's sleep. He remains a little in awe of the pill, though. ''It's a great hack.''
Controversial NOAA report says climate change not responsible for 2012 drought | Science Recorder
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:54
  According to an Assessment Report of the NOAA Drought Task Force, the 2012 central Great Plains drought was not caused by climate change.
  In fact, the task force concluded that the drought resulted mostly from natural variations in weather and that human-induced climate change did not seem to play a significant role in the severe rainfall deficits that impacted the central Great Plains between May-August 2012.
  NOAA said that the 2012 central Great Plains drought was caused by the failure of moist Gulf of Mexico air to stream northward in late spring and the infrequent and dry nature of summertime thunderstorms.
  The report led to some controversy among climatologists.
  As noted by The New York Times, President Barack Obama said in his most recent State of the Union Address that the 2012 central Great Plains drought was an example of extreme weather resulting from climate change.
  The fact that the NOAA report contradicted the president's interpretation of the drought, as well as those of many climate change scientists, has confused those trying to understand the impact of human-induced climate change on the environment and weather.
  Thingprogress.org, for example, said the report is ''needlessly confusing, scientifically problematic, and already leading to misleading headlines.'' The website posted a Commentary from Dr. Kevin Trenberth, former head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
  Dr. Trenberth said that the report is ''incomplete'' in some areas and that it ''asks the wrong questions.''
  Dr. Trenberth, for instance, noted that the report failed to discuss the observed soil moisture conditions, snow cover, and snow pack during the 2011-2012 winter.
  According to the NOAA report, ''An Interpretation of the Origins of the 2012 Central Great Plains Drought,'' the drought was a ''discrete extreme event'' that was not a progression or a continuation of 2011'²s record drought event that took place over the southern Great Plains.
  NOAA also said that the extent and severity of the 2012 Central Great Plains Drought were not predicted. Though above normal temperatures were forecasted by climate models, the extreme heat wave was not.
  Was NOAA's report misleading? Did the report fail to answer some questions or take into account some data? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
IBM and the Holocaust - Home Page
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:42
  EXPLOSIVE AND STUNNING.An explosive book... Backed by exhaustive research, Black's case is simple and stunning: that IBM facilitated the identification and roundup of millions of Jews during the 12 years of the Third Reich ... Black's evidence may be the most damning to appear yet against a purported corporate accomplice.Michael HirshNewsweek
White House threatens Cispa veto
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  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Technology
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:36
  17 April 2013Last updated at08:25 ETThe White House has threatened to veto a controversial act due to go before the House of Representatives this week.
  The US government wants more privacy protections in the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa).
  After failing to pass through the Senate last year, the bill has already had several amendments.
  Intended to protect corporate networks from cyber-attacks, it allows private companies to share cybersecurity information with government agencies.
  Opponents say that this is creating a backdoor for governments to snoop on individuals' data, a point taken on board by the government.
  A White House statement said: "The administration remains concerned that the bill does not require private entities to take reasonable steps to remove irrelevant personal information when sending cybersecurity data to the government or other private sector entities."
  'Fatally flawed'Despite this, the bill has found many friends including large technology firms such as AT&T, Comcast, Intel and Oracle.
  This week IBM has sent 200 executives to Washington to lobby for the bill.
  In a statement the firm said: "IBM believes we can build stronger, more efficient defences against cyber-threats by enabling better information sharing and providing clear authority for the private sector to defend its own networks, as proposed in the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa)."
  But opponents remain concerned the bill allows a wide range of data to be shared with government. Last month a petition with 100,000 signatures was submitted to the White House.
  Opposition has been particularly vocal from privacy groups, with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) describing the latest iteration of the bill as "fatally flawed".
  The bill's sponsor, Republican Mike Rogers, caused anger on Twitter when he suggested in a speech that the typical opponent of the bill was "a 14-year-old tweeter in the basement".
UC Berkeley selected to build NASA's next space weather satellite
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  Archived Version
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:32
  This picture of Earth and the ionosphere, taken with a handheld camera by an astronaut on the International Space Station, shows a bright red wall of plasma near the equator. The ICON satellite will image this glowing plasma in order to connect Earth storms to ionospheric storms and better predict space weather. Though the glowing plasma looks like the aurora, it's much higher in altitude.Credit: NASA.
  (Phys.org) '--NASA has awarded the University of California, Berkeley, up to $200 million to build a satellite to determine how Earth's weather affects weather at the edge of space, in hopes of improving forecasts of extreme "space weather" that can disrupt global positioning satellites (GPS) and radio communications.
  The satellite mission, called the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), will be designed, built and operated by scientists at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. Scheduled for launch in 2017, ICON will orbit 550 kilometers (345 miles) above Earth in the ionosphere: the edge of space where the sun ionizes the air to create constantly shifting streams and sheets of charged particles. These charged particles can interfere with GPS signals and radio signals that travel through and bounce off the ionosphere.
  ICON will collect data needed to establish the connection between storms that occur near Earth's surface and space-weather storms, allowing scientists to better predict space weather. These results could help airliners, for example, which today cannot rely solely on GPS satellites to fly and land because signals from these satellites can be distorted by charged-particle storms in the ionosphere.
  "Ten years ago, we had no idea that the ionosphere was affected and structured by storms in the lower atmosphere," said the project's principal investigator, Thomas Immel, a senior fellow at the Space Sciences Laboratory. "We proposed ICON in response to this new realization."
  NASA announced the award last week, along with another mission called the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD), which will image Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere from a commercial geosynchronous satellite.
  "One of the frontier areas of heliophysics is the study of the interface between outer space and the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere," said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "These selected projects use innovative solutions to advance our knowledge of this relatively unexplored region. The two missions together will result in significantly more advances in our understanding of Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere than either would alone."
  Until recently, Immel said, the ionosphere was thought to be affected primarily by the solar wind, which consists of charged particles emitted from the sun. When the sun is active and firing bursts of charged particles toward Earth, the ionosphere erupts in chaotic storms. But a slew of satellites orbiting Earth to study the sun, solar wind and Earth's magnetic field have now shown that Earth's space environment, specifically activity in the ionosphere, can't be explained solely by particles streaming from the sun.
  The ICON satellite will orbit Earth at a 27 degree angle to the equator, pointing its MIGHTI imager and far and extreme ultraviolet sensors at ionospheric storms as on-board instruments measure the flow of charged-particles (guided by the arched magnetic field shown with blue lines) at the position of the satellite.
  "We know that the solar wind plays a big role in the ionosphere, but most of the time the sun is relatively quiet, and our space environment still varies quite a bit," he said. "We think that variability is coming from weather on our own planet, which can be very powerful."This can happen, Immel said, when surface storms compress and heat the atmosphere, driving huge waves upward into space and causing charged particles to move across magnetic fields in unpredictable ways. This can also lead to extreme fluctuations of temperature in the ionosphere.
  The ICON spacecraft, with blue solar panels and limb-pointing instruments to measure winds in the thermosphere (MIGHTI), far and extreme ultraviolet emissions (FUV and EUV) from the ionosphere and the in situ ion velocity meter (IVM).
  "There are huge waves at an altitude above 100 kilometers (63 miles), with amplitudes as large as 50 degrees Kelvin, where the average temperature is about 300 degrees Kelvin (77 degrees Fahrenheit) '' a 20-30 percent variation," he said. "That may sound small, but imagine a wave rolling through your neighborhood with a temperature swing of 100 degrees Kelvin, or 180 degrees Fahrenheit '' from freezing to boiling! These waves can change the composition of the upper atmosphere and how the ionosphere grows during the day."ICON will explore these and other processes that control the dynamics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. One question, for example, is why "North America is, in a way, like tornado alley for space storms," Immel said, where huge masses of ionized plasma roll over the country and disrupt GPS and other communications.
  "We want to understand where this plasma comes from '' Is it generated in situ? Does it grow in outer space? Or are we pulling plasma up from lower latitudes like the Caribbean?" he said.
  The satellite will operate in a circular orbit tilted 27 degrees from the equator and simultaneously map winds in the upper atmosphere and charged particle currents, called plasmas, in the ionosphere, a region that stretches from an altitude of about 85 to 600 kilometers (50 to 370 miles).
  The instrument called MIGHTI (Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging), which will be built by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory, will detect the aurora-like glow of air molecules and measure their temperature and speed via Doppler imaging. These winds routinely blow at 200 miles per hour in a part of the upper atmosphere called the thermosphere.
  Two other instruments built at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory will simultaneously image the upper atmosphere in the far and extreme ultraviolet, while a fourth instrument from the University of Texas, Dallas, will measure the charged particles and flowing plasma at the location of the satellite.
  "ICON's imaging capability, combined with its in situ measurements on the same spacecraft, gives a perspective of the coupled system that would otherwise require two or more orbiting observatories," he said.
  UC Berkeley will control the spacecraft from its Mission Operations Center at the Space Sciences Laboratory, which currently operates the satellite missions THEMIS, ARTEMIS, RHESSI and NuSTAR, all NASA Explorer missions, and recently operated the FAST Explorer.
  NASA is funding ICON through the Explorer program, the agency's oldest continuous program, designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for principal investigator-led space science investigations relevant to the heliophysics and astrophysics programs in NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
  More information:icon.ssl.berkeley.edu/
  Provided byUniversity of California - Berkeley
WTF! OM stuurt brief aan 06-lijst drugsdealer
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  Archived Version
  Source: GeenStijl
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:30
  Ah, post van het OM. Even kijken. WTF! In Woerden kregen 360 mensen een brief op de mat van het OM dat hun nummer in de telefoonlijst van een lokale drugsdealer staat. Minderjarigen die gekoppeld staan aan een telefoonnummer op de bellijst van de dealer kunnen bezoek van Bureau Jeugdzorg verwachten. Ding dong, niet schrikken, papa & mama, het is de antidrugsbrigade van Bureau Jeugdzorg. Holy privacyfucking balls. Deze hele actie is dus gebaseerd op (C)(C)n lijst uit de zomer van 2012 van (C)(C)n telefoon van (C)(C)n drugsdealer. Lekker bezig, OM. Iedereen schrikt zich een derde tepel op de rug. Quote van (C)(C)n der briefontvangers: "Ik ben jong geweest maar heb mijn wilde haren afgeschud. Nu ligt er een brief op de mat en is mijn vrouw overstuur. Ik heb al jaren een rustig leven en dan gebeurt er dit." Al die mensen sterven de schrikziekte vanwege een overdosis privacynaaierij van het OM. Die dit allemaal doen, daar komt 'ie, voor een stukje bewustwording en preventie. Oh, is dat het doel? Want dit lijkt meer op een kudde schapen affakkelen met napalmbommen omdat (C)(C)n lammetje een beetje mank loopt. Qua schijt hebben aan de privacy van de briefontvangers. Geen idee hoe het met u zit, maar wij vinden dit soort sinistere praktijken van de staat een beetje eng.
  Johnny Quid | 17-04-13 | 14:55 | Link | Reageer ookJe bent ingelogd als: (Uitloggen)
  Probeer trouwens eens de totaal officieuze niet-ondersteunde third-party GeenStijl extension die compleet niet door ons ondersteund wordt en volledig op eigen risico is.
  Je bent niet ingelogd, klik hier om dat wel te doen: login of doe een CookieSync.
'Bill Clinton tried to dismantle Israeli natural gas revenue committee'.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:17
  Former Israeli finance minister reveals how the former American president tried to influence Knesset legislation and committee hearings on behalf of U.S. energy corporations.
  President Barack Obama talks with former President Bill Clinton. Both tied to intervene on behalf of energy companies, but the White House disengaged from the issue towards the end of 2010 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
  Former Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz revealed that former U.S. President Bill Clinton tried to have the Sheshinski Committee for natural gas revenues dismantled. According to Steinitz, Clinton, along with several members of congress whose names weren't revealed, tried to stop the Israeli government's attempt to increase the tax burden on American corporations.
  Yair Lapid replaced Mr. Steinitz at the Finance Ministry when the new Netanyahu government was formed.
  Several years ago, the unexpected discovery of huge natural gas fields off Israeli shores led to a heated public debate '' which continues to this day '' regarding the relatively low tax burden on local energy companies and their international partners. The Sheshinski Committee, formed by the finance minister in 2010, was instructed to examine the contracts between the state and the energy companies and come up with a new tax policy. Its work was accompanied by an intense lobbying effort on behalf of the gas companies.
  At the time, sources in the Infrastructure Ministry claimed that former U.S. President Bill Clinton was hired by Noble Energy to raise the issue with the Israeli government.
  In an interview with Maariv earlier this month, Steinitz shed light on the former U.S. president's role on behalf of the international energy corporation:
  ''The '... scary moment was when pressure from the White House began. The energy companies hired American lobbyists, including former president Bill Clinton, who sent letters and led talks in order to dismantle the Sheshinsky Committee and stop the [new] tax bill. American Congress members asked me for clarifications. There was a sense of pressure, as if we are doing something wrong with regards to the commerce relations between the two states. I tried to explain that we are in the lowest rank in the world in terms of state profits from gas and oil discoveries, that we get nothing and that Israeli citizens have a moral right to benefit from resources just as much as private companies.
  The pressure went on, Steinitz says, until late 2010, when the Obama administration decided to stop its involvement in the issue, paving the way for the legislation of a new tax law in 2011. Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, introduced some changes to the Sheshinski Committee's recommendations in favor of the gas companies.
  For additional original analysis and breaking news, visit +972 Magazine's Facebook page or follow us on Twitter. Our newsletter features a comprehensive round-up of the week's events. Sign up here.
Could 89% of Landmark Cancer Research Be Untruthful?
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  Archived Version
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:15
  The last years several different studies investigating the objectivity of scientific research have shown that this quality of science may be seriously compromised by industrial funding. In fact, it looks like the scientific literature is contaminated with a growing number of tainted studies, which may reach 89%, the results of which are not reproducible by any means. This means that to an extent, we have based our healthcare and clinical guidelines on fake studies that reported untruthful results in order to accommodate the interests of industrial corporations.
  Cancer is a major killer in US. The American Cancer Society reports that in 2012, more than half a million Americans died from cancer, while more than 1.6 million new cases were diagnosed. Given the seriousness of these statistics and the necessity of evidence-based medicine, it would make sense to trust that honest, objective research is tirelessly trying to find the best cancer therapies out there. In March 2012, Nature, the famous high-impact factor scientific journal, published a shocking study. Glenn Begley and Lee Ellis double checked the results of 53 landmark studies in cancer research, but they were only able to reproduce the published results in 11% of them.
  There are two very worrying points here. First of all, the cross-checked studies were published in high-impact factor journals and secondly, they have served as the basis for the "state of the art" cancer therapies that millions of people are receiving this very moment. Unfortunately, the authors were not able to disclose these fake studies, because when they contacted the original authors and asked for details of the experiments, they had to sign an agreement that they would not disclose their findings or sources. This shows that the scientists, who published the tainted research, were all along, fully aware of the discrepancies of their articles and criminally conscious of the fact that they were misleading the medical and public opinion.
  The connection and support that many scientists enjoy from big pharmaceutical companies seems to be the core of this problem. Exposing such connections should be enough to either limit this situation or at least put the credibility of the study in question. However, most people involved in such interactions try to hide them as much as possible. While all authors are gently encouraged to sign the conflict of interest and funding statements prior to publication of their work, data show that only a small percentage of scientists publishing research on anticancer targeted therapies disclose potential sources of bias. A study from the University of Michigan has found that only 29% of cancer studies report conflict of interest.
  This situation is certainly not limited to the area of cancer research. In fact, clinical guidelines may be severely biased as well. While very few authors of clinical practice guidelines declare conflict of interest, a big percentage of those who do, have financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry that may range from consultancy, equity/stock ownership to old-fashioned research support. These reports paint a disturbing picture indeed and suggest that there is good chance that the greatest part of the clinical healthcare and medical system has slowly been established on corrupted foundations.
  ReferencesEleni Roumeliotou has trained as a geneticist, gaining a Master degree in Human Molecular Genetics by Imperial College London, UK. She left the academic research environment to focus on her true passion, which is evidence-based natural health and alternative medicine. She is currently working as a freelance writer.
  Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
U.S. Troops Faced Pressure Cooker IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 01:16
  The crude explosive devices used against runners and spectators at the Boston Marathon were similar to the kitchen pot bombs aimed at U.S. troops on foot patrol in Afghanistan, law enforcement and Congressional officials said Tuesday.
  For nearly 10 years, presidential directives, Homeland Security Department reports and local law enforcement officials have warned of the eventual threat within the U.S. of ''pressure cooker'' bombs developed by terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  After briefings from law enforcement and U.S. intelligence officials, Rep. Randy McCaul (R-Tex.) said that the two devices which detonated in Boston appeared to be ''pressure cooker'' bombs. Law enforcement officials later confirmed that the investigation was proceeding on the basis that the devices were ''pressure cooker'' bombs.
  But Rick DesLaurier, the FBI's special agent in charge in Boston, stressed that ''the investigation is in its infancy.'' At a news conference in Boston, DesLauriers said there had thus far been ''no claims of responsibility and the range of suspects and motives is wide open.''
  DesLauriers asked the public to contact authorities if they knew anyone who had recently expressed a special ''interest in research in how to create explosive devices.''
  In Afghanistan, Taliban operatives who lacked the wherewithal or expertise to build ''improvised explosive devices'' capable of destroying the huge, V-shaped hull MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles) turned to ''pressure cooker'' bombs as anti-personnel devices. They would be placed along paths expected to be used by U.S. troops on foot patrol.
  In the summer of 2011, explosives specialists from the 2nd Battalion, Eighth Marines, showed several of the devices they had found and defused to an embedded reporter. One of the devices had even been placed in a tree, the specialists said.
  The terrorists would take a simple kitchen pot, a pressure cooker was preferred, pack it with ammonium nitrate and metal filings, nails and even rocks to increase the lethality, and rig the device to detonate by wire or by a remote device, sometimes a garage door opener.
  When triggered, the blast would seek the path of least resistance and most of the force and the debris would blow out the top of the pressure cooker, in effect acting much like a military ''shaped'' charge that concentrates the force of an anti-tank shell.
  As far back as 2004, a Homeland Security Department memo warned of the pressure cooker bomb threat, calling it ''a technique commonly taught in Afghan terrorist training camps.''
  ''Typically, these bombs are made by placing TNT or other explosives in a pressure cooker and attaching a blasting cap at the top of the pressure cooker,'' the memo said.
  The attraction of the pressure cooker bomb for the terrorist is that they are cheap, relatively easy to make, and lethal.
  A presidential directive on homeland security in 2007 warned that ''The threat of explosive attacks in the United States is of great concern considering terrorists'ability to make, obtain, and use explosives, the ready availability of components used in IED construction, the relative technological ease with which an IED can be fashioned, and the nature of our free society.''
  In 2010, a joint FBI and Homeland Securty intelligence report issued in 2010 warned that ''Placed carefully, such devices provide little or no indication of an impending attack.''
  Two years ago, ''Inspire,'' the online magazine of Al Qaeda in the Arabian, published an article on how to make a pressure cooker bomb. The title of the article was ''How To Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom.''
  April 17th, 2013 | IED War | 199521 Commenthttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F2013%2F04%2F17%2Fu-s-troops-faced-pressure-cooker-ieds-in-iraq-and-afghanistan%2FU.S.+Troops+Faced+Pressure+Cooker+IEDs+in+Iraq+and+Afghanistan2013-04-17+04%3A10%3A15Richard+Siskhttp%3A%2F%2Fdefensetech.org%2F%3Fp%3D19952
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals who are screened against the terrorist watchlist and wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right, benefit, or privilege, and
  Link to Article
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:54
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  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to prevent terrorism, including terrorism associated with homegrown violent extremism and domestic violent extremism, and for other purposes. (H.R. 1584)
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:51
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
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  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
To affirm the policy of the United States regarding Internet governance. (H.R. 1580)
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  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:50
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
Ham Software Review by LX4SKY
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:18
  Ham software review
  After have reviewed more than fifty HF propagation prediction programs and associated tools, and close to seventy astronomy or imaging-oriented programs, it is time to review applications dedicated to radio amateur activities. They include spectrum analyzers, satellite tracking programs, Morse code trainers, DX atlases, CAT, multi-mode decoders, and other logging programs.
  Taking all categories together, there are not less than 153 programs reviewed on this site, something I hope to satisfy both the novice and the advanced amateur. All were tested with registered versions and in real working conditions. You will find additional reviews on eHam.net.
  SkySweeper Pro - Spectran - Spectrum Laboratory - Easygram - Hamscope - ChromaPix - Analyzer2000 - Audacity
  AVS Audio Utilities - MaxMSP - FFT Properties - FFTDSP - HamSphere - Echolink - DX4WIN - DX Atlas - MetaWrap
  NuMorse Pro - Java Morse Translator - TS570-RCP2 - EME by F1EHN - Orbitron - Nova for Windows - WinOrbit
  (c) 2001-2004
  SkySweep, 99-499 '‚¬
  SkySweeper Pro
  This is a signal analyzer and multi-mode decoder developed in Finland using an original graphic user interface, and powerful DSP functions. To not be intimidated by all its windows and functions, as soon as you launch the unregistered version, the system suggests you to run the built-in demo. Accept its proposal, because it will show you some 27 scenarii explaining each function of the program and the many decoders able to translate in clear text or image many "strange" sounds that you can hear on HF or VHF bands.
  The main screen is (off-)centered around the "Configuration Editor" window, in which the user selects and set the required functions (Analysis, Generic decoders, DSP filters, signal generator, RX/TX, etc). Each function calls new windows that pop up on the screen (IQ Constellation, Signal View, Eye diagram, signal statistics, 2 bit Analyzer, 3D-FFT, Spectrogram, Chat box for mode decoding, etc). SkySweeper Pro provides a high resolution phase analyzer (HFFT) up to 262144 point FFT with a frequency resolution up to 0.04 Hz able to detect any fast periodic signal or a weak signal lost in the noise. It provides a signal power/amplitude analyzer, FIR filters and different synchronization methods to decode less common modulations like DGPS, MPT-1327 or POCSAG.
  SkySweeper Pro is able to determine automatically the signal speed, to lock automatically to the signal, to remove RFI or AC hum from a signal, and to translate most coded messages transmitted on the air. A clock correction for SSTV is also provided in system settings. It decodes CW (speed between 10-80 WPM, tone between 300-2700 Hz), VHF packet (AX.25) or ACARS transmission, SSTV (in Scottie1, 2, DX and Martin M1, M2 modes), SYNOP, etc (this latter weather report is even translated in plain English) and many digital modes (Hellschreiber, PACTOR, SITOR-A/B, PSK31, PAM, 240 lpm HF Fax, etc) without problem. Fonts displayed in decoders are also well readable (Courier 10 or so).
  About limitations, I decoded successfully a CW message up to 60 WPM, SSTV and many other modulations when the signal was loud and clear. However a CW signal slower than 10 WPM is not correctly read and a CQ 30 dB stronger than the noise but associated to "shadow pulses" as strong as 24 dB like during an Aurora or EME traffic cannot be decoded. A weak SSTV signal is not clear either. A DSP helped a little (lowpass, bandpass, modifying pitch, decreasing noise, etc) but didn't permit to get the signal out. But don't worry, many other amateurs products can't extract such noisy signals either. If you want to read audio files stored on disk, SkySweeper does only supports .WAV in mono, 8 or 16 bits/sample and a sampling rate of 11025, 22050 or 44100 samples/s. Knowing that many files are saved in 8192 samples/sec or in stereo, these limitations should be lowered.
  Several modes work also in transmission connecting the PC serial port (or parallel) to the radio and using the Chat Box interface to work in CW, SSTV, RTTY, PSK31, Hell, MFSK16, PSK63, PSK125, QPSK31 or 4MFSK16. You can even receive and transmit over the Internet providing the correct IP address.
  In the next release of the program, the publisher, Mikko Huttunen, will try to change the minimum CW speed to 1 WPM, support more SSTV modulation modes, and audio formats like .MP3, maybe .RA.
  What is my final impression ? We cannot compare such a software with a hardware decoder like Klingenfuss' Wavecom for example that is practically able to decode anything. SkySweeper remains a software, and like all its competitors it is limited by the performance of its algorithms rather than by the hardware, in this case limited to the sound card. However, globally, with so many features gathered in an user-friendly interface it is one of my favorite programs to decode common modulations but not under too noisy conditions or too weak signals, what happens sometimes. The program provides an online manual describing each field while a tutorial is under development.
  SkySweeper runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card. A demo is available. It comes in three versions, the lastest (Professional v5.x) providing additional generic decoders and analyzers. The entry-level version 3.x Standard should already satisfy most amateurs and listeners. All versions can be upgraded.
  At last, there is a SkySweeper Yahoo Group.
  2000-2004
  PADAN Group, Freeware
  Spectran
  This is a spectrum analyzer written by Alberto, I2PHD and Vittorio, IK2CZL, members of the PAcket Digital Amateur Network group (PADAN), who created also other weak signal and QRSS programs for the amateur.
  The main screen is divided in two main parts. The upper window displays the signal strength expressed in dB which gain scale (amplification) and base are adjustable. The intantaneous peak is also displayed together with the time stamp of the spectrum. The lower window displays the waterfall with in addition the magnitude of the spectrum converted in arbitrary colors. Three main palettes are available, the Horne (Blue/white) palette used by default, and two full color palettes.
  Main settings are available in the "Controls" window that can be hide or remain visible on top of the screen. Depending the required sampling and resolution that goes down to 21 mHz for the slowest sampling and 23 Hz for the fastest, it provides a spectral range extending between 0-48000 Hz with a default value set on 11025 sample/sec and a resolution of 2.7 Hz. A good advice, if you need to increase the sampling over 40 kHz or the resolution, stop first the processing to avoid the program to hang, then resume. Decreasing the sampling the problem does not occur as less resources are required.
  Preset mode decoders are provided for NDB, QRSS3, QRSS10, QRSS30 with a special mode dedicated to WSJT program (Meteor Scatter) from Joe Taylor, K1JT.
  The water fall can be displayed in B/W or color, scrolling vertically (default) or horizontally, with time tick ranging between 1 and 60 seconds. The speed on the scrolling is adjustable, as well as the input volume and the gain. In addition several filters can be automatically set like a smoothing function (average) very useful to extract the signal from the background, a denoiser and a CW peak. At last an auto brightness control is provided if don't want to adjust the brightness and contrast manually.
  Input signal can be either the microphone input on the sound card via the DAC API of Windows or a .WAV file saved on disk. A signal received online can be recorded in a .WAV file.
  Spectran is now at version 2 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card. It comes with a very short manual in PDF format but it is not really useful as the program is intuitive.
  2003
  Wolfgang Buescher, DL4YHF
  Freeware
  Spectrum Laboratory
  This is in my humble opinion one of the best audio spectrum analyzer. It was programmed by Wolfgang Buescher, DL4YHF in company with some US and English amateurs.
  Like its competitors this digital signal processing (DSP) takes advantage of the computer's sound card but the author provides also an audio utility to create custom interface for any A/D converter.
  This product is able to analyse weak radio signals, including QRSS, voice, and natural sounds like auroras or "pings" of meteors. The interface is intuitive and without reading the manual, in less than one hour you can master its main functionalities.
  The main screen is divided in two windows. Like its competitors this program displays a spectrographic image of the sound in a spectrum ranging between 0-5512 Hz for weak signals and slow sampling, 0-22015 Hz for atmospheric noises and 0-11015 Hz for a fast sampling for a voice analysis for example with a frequency resolution for weak signals down to mHz, exceeding the stability of the sound card's clock generator. In addition, this program processes up to 200 waterfall lines per second, making it possible to decode high speed CW.
  I regret only that this program is not able to display the spectrum graph at high resolution or to center automatically the graph on the strongest signal.
  A decoder is provided for some time-code transmitters like MSF (60 kHz), HBG (75 kHz) or DCF77 (77.5 kHz) as well as digital amateurs modes like PSK31, BPSK, QPSK, FSK, HELL, etc.This program includes also signal generators with a selectable waveform, frequency, an optional modulation and noise generator.
  Very complete compared to its competitors, this program uses standard hams controls and can be connected to any transceiver or receiver via the serial port. These controls include an adjustable low-pass, FIR-filters (up to 128th-order filters), variable bandwidth and cutoff, peaking, a filter with FFT convolution, but there is no automatic notch or noise canceller, excepting a humb filter to remove 50 Hz (or 60 Hz) plus harmonics.
  A custom and adjustable waterfall color palette allows you to change the contrast of the waterfall display during or after have received a signal.
  In the same way the frequency range is adjustable during analysis, the old part of the waterfall display being automatically redrawn without stopping the audio processing.
  The audio sampling is ranging from 8000 to 44100 or even 96000 samples per second. The resolution is 16-bit ADC or about 90 dB of input range, quite impressive.
  At last this program is able to process online data or to load various audio files in format such as .wav, .mp3, .au, etc and save the captured audio files in wav, and images in jpg or bmp format. The program also provides a command line interpreter to schedule various tasks.
  Spectrum Laboratory is now at version 2.4 b1 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms. In standard mode it requires a 90 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM and a sound card but to analyze spherics or voice at the highest sampling rate, a 1 GHz CPU is warmly recommended with at least 256 MB RAM.
  A DSP tutorial is available on the author website.
  OK1FIG, Freeware
  Easygram
  Petr Maly, OK1FIG developed this very simple but performing interface (2.1 MB) around the spectrum.dll library created by R.S.Horne. This is a CW decoder displaying tunes (dit-dah) in graphical form. FFT can be set between 5512-44100 samples/sec, the power scale can be set at 30, 60 or 90 dB, the central frequency and bandwidth between 0 Hz and 20 kHz. Default values can be set using a FFT size of 512 bytes, a sampling of 5512 sample/sec, a 30 dB scale, 15 dB gain and a bandwidth of about 200 Hz or shorter. The signal moves from right to left and once it is well isolated in the middle on the screen and its power well adjusted, it becomes a very user-friendly tool to learn Morse code. I know some high speed CWers who always let this window open while working DX stations.
  However this small program is unable to extract a signal lost for example 10 dB down in the noise or to help you extracting very weak or very slow signals (e.g. QRSS). If it "sees" them well, there are mixed with the noise and indecipherable. For that purpose you should select a product more complete, supporting either powerful FFT functions or QRSS mode.
  Easygram is now at version 2.02 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card.
  KD5HIO, Freeware
  Hamscope
  Glen Hansen, KD5HIO, developed this application (2.2 MB) from WinPSK written by Moe Wheatley, AE4JY. This is a multi-mode decoder for CW, RTTY, PSK31, MFSK16, FEC, and packet. It comes with a complete help and can be interfaced with MMRTTY in option. It provides interfaces for several ICOM, Ten-Tec, Kenwood, and Yaesu transceiver and also decodes .WAV files stored on disk.
  The main screen is divided in three main panes, sent, receive and a scope showing either the spectrum, waterfall, input signal or data synch. You can automatically send a CQ sequence or a tune. You can manually set the decoding speed or ask the program to find it itself. You can also adjust the gain, the receive and transmit frequencies. Hamscope decodes well some QRM with the signal but globally you can work a station in CW via your keyboard without knowledge of the Morse code. It is of course better suited to digital modes that it decodes without the least error or almost.
  Only drawback, Hamscope is unable to extract a weak or a very slow signal lost in the noise and the decoded text is displayed with a small font (Arial size 8 or so).
  Hamscope is today at version 1.54 and is designed to run on Windows 98 and NT equipped with a sound card but it runs perfectly under Windows XP and ME as well.
  (c) 1997-2002
  Silicon Pixels, $120
  ChromaPix
  Written by James Barber and William Montgomery, ChromaPix is an SSTV application. Taking advantage of DSP functions, it is very powerful and should satisfy the most advanced users. It comes with a superb and user-friendly GUI and an excellent manual of 41 pages to download (PDF of 3.6 MB).
  The main screen is divided in 4 parts. At center is the main display where images are received and can be edited, Images controls are at left (image quality, filters, painting tools, etc), SSTV controls are displayed at right (transmit, receive, mode, tuning, etc), and Storage controls below (save, restore, print, etc).
  In Auto receive mode, if the signal is strong enough, ChromaPix can detect the transmission mode or you can set it manually selecting one of the 8 modes provided, including Martin M1, Scotty S1 or Robot 72 to name a few. You can also select in this scrolling menu the sizing of your interface (from a small GUI up to full screen).
  Before using ChromaPix it is warmy suggested to read the manual to understand how to configure settings and adjust images during reception thanks to SSTV controls (submenu SSTV, 1, 2, 3). This can be the case when image is tilted (slanted) due to a bad calibration of the sound card clock that creates oscillator errors. You can also rectify the image (received or to transmit) using the Dew-skew feature on the Image control.
  Among additional tools name the tuning spectral display (in the SSTV controls pane) that permits to adjust the SSTV signal to the correct frequency. After reception the image can be postprocessed, its brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, sharpness and colors can be adjusted, and, to some extent, the QRM can be removed as well. Digital images to transmit can be read in various formats among them BMP, JPG, GIF, TIF, PSD, etc. and saved manually or autosaved in the same formats as well.
  ChromaPix is now at version 1.6 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card. The Windows 95 version is sold $84. A demo is available running 30 minutes before shutting down. It also displays an "unregistered" in the upper right corner of the image in transmission.
  (c) 2002-2004
  Brownbear, 76 '‚¬
  Analyzer2000
  Written by Thomas Braunstorfinger and Martin Hisch, Analyzer2000 is a spectrum analyzer able of fast spectral analysis, displaying FFT from the line input or a .WAV file stored on disk. An online help is provided.
  FFT sizes is ranging between 256-16384 points, dynamic range up to 160 dB, base and zoom are adjustable, it supports transmission modes like PSK, CW and includes an universal FSK/F7B/FM demodulator able to decode SSTV and FAX modes.
  The main screen is divided in two panels, the top one showing menus and controls, the lower pane showing several windows : FFT, a scope with envelope, a waterfall (sonagraphic analysis), a CW decoder, and an interesting FSK or PSK phase analyzer (PSK and other modes are not decoded but analyzed only). In addition several measurement tools are provided like markers, frequency rulers, level rulers, time rulers and, more intresting, methods for determination THD, SNR (SINAD) and VCO phase noise (dBc/Hz). It also includes a test generator for sinewave and/or noise stimulation (full duplex mode). Spurs as weak as 50 nV can be detected.
  The CW decoder read almost error free a clear signal but has difficulties to decode it when there is noise, sferics or QRM in spite of the use of additional controls (Interference suppression, Sensitivity DX). In presence of noise the Automatic threshold must be desactived and in this case it is not easy to extract the signal and to find its correct speed, which is only labeled line/min (lmp) ranging between 14-1500. The HF Fax and SSTV decoders could be improved as they work essentially in auto mode and without fine tuning. So I only retain the product for its CW decoder. Analyzer2000 is now at version 5.04 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card. A demo is available running 30 minutes before shutting down.
  2004
  Audacity, freeware
  Audacity
  Developed by Dominic Mazzoni and his colleagues, Audacity is an audio editor with dedicated features that will please musicians as it includes a track editor.
  This is a freeware which interface is available in 20 languages, most European, including in katakana (japanese).
  Audacity is able to read and save audio files in WAV, MP3, AU, AIFF, OGG, VOX and a few other formats.
  Audacity can be quickly mastered as the interface is self-explanatory and very well designed. Most settings are set in Preferences. It samples an audio file between 8000 and 96000 Hz (default is 44100 Hz), in 16, 24 or 32-bit format, mono, stereo or up to 16 channnels. FFT size is ranging between 64 and 4096 (defaut is 256). You can also associate macros to keyboard keys or to the mouse click. At last, you can save a complete working session as it appears on screen as a "project".
  When you load an audio file, its audio track (spectrum) is displayed in a time window that can be reduced or expanded using the menu option or the mouse to fit in the bakground window. Its left part includes a pop-up menu to enable/disable some features (play in mono, stereo, mute, solo, gain control) and to select the type of display : as waveform, spectrum, pitch, etc. The View menu provides a very fast FFT tool (Plot Spectrum) that also export data in TXT file. Note that Audacity can also read raw TXT file (via Project, Import Raw Data...) and inverse FFT are not hard to achieve.
  Editor side, many effects are adjustable using cursors and include a "preview" mode. In all cases you have the possibility to roll back changes.
  Audacity doesn't require much ressources. It works well and fast on a 500 MHz PIII CPU with 196 MB RAM. Among some drawbacks, the online help is available but not contextual, and the Index is empty at first sight; ou must click on the "Show all" button to display items. If you don't hear the files you loaded, remember that all the audio device settings are under the Menu File, Preferences. At last, whether you select Open or New file, Audacity creates each time a new session.
  Audacity also imports files in MIDI format but as "project" and this is an experimental feature only. In the current version, this format is not editable and provided only for vizualisation purposes. Playing, recording and editing will be available in a next release. It includes in option several plugins like LADSPA and Nyquist programming language to write your own audio effects.
  Audacity is now at version 1.2.2 and runs on Windows 98, 2000, XP, and ME, Mac OS X, Linux and many Unix platforms equipped with a sound card.
  Audacity also provides a tutorial and a mailing list on its website.
  Note that its developers request your co-operation for translating the interface in other languages.
  (c) 2001-2003
  NCT Company Ltd, $30
  AVS Audio Utilities
  Audio Utilities is a very cheap but powerful audio utility that you can master in less than one hour. It is constitued of five products :
  "Audio Editor" allows you to edit your audio files (WAV, MP3, AU, etc), record your own music or voice, mix with other audio or musical parts, and add effects (like Reverb, Echo, etc). It comes with various preset filters (low pass, band pass, high pass, notch, ...), several levels of amplifications (3 dB, 6 dB, 10 dB, 60%, 200%, ...) and compressions (-20 dB, -40 dB, ...), the possibility to stretch time and pitch (0-400%), copy and paste parts of the file, and more.
  Windows size and color schemes can be modified as well the sampling frequency and the ouput file format. It is so simple that I use regularly to edit my radio astronomical recordings.
  "Audio CD Grabber" allows grabbing audio tracks from audio CDs, downloading and uploading disc from various sources and copying them on your local hard disk. An easy way to hear your favorites CDs from your computer.
  "Audio CD Writer" allows you to create audio CDs from MP3, WAV, OGG and other digital music files. As easy to use as its competitors (i.e. NERO).
  "Audio Recorder" allows recording audio data from various sources (mike, audio CD, etc) and create file in format such as PCM, PM3, ADPCM, WMA, etc.
  At last "Audio Converter" helps you converting one audio format in another one (MP3, WAV, OGG, ADPCM, WMA, etc).
  Using a PIII 500 MHz, 256 MB RAM computer, some heavy threads like the pitch or time increasing to 400% on stereo files longer than 30 sec have temporary hanged my system. Maybe it was my mistake trying to access too quickly to another submenu. But if you need to digitally process very long files I suggest you to work with at least a 1 GHz CPU and 500 MB RAM. The program uses also quite a lot your temporary directory (some hundreds MB during any process). So if your C: drive is nearly full (w 300 MB), either remove some documents or change its location before running it.
  AVS Audio Utilities is now at version 1.5 and runs only on the next 32-bit OS : Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 and XP, equipped with a sound card. A demo is available.
  Minus side : AVS is an "amateur" product in that sense that if it can help you to process ordinary audio files, during transformations it adds also unwanted artifacts (like generating "false" patterns when you process a very short period of time, etc). It is also unable to detect a weak signal lost in the noise. If you need a quality and powerful DSP software to process the voice signal for example, you must invest in more expensive products like Adobe Audition (ex-Cool Edit Pro, $170), Raven or even MatLab.
  1990-2004, Cycling'74, $495
  MaxMSP
  For short, MaxMSP is a development environment to create sound recordings based on inverse FFT. Based on C programming language, MaxMSP provides you with a high level, graphical programming language. Programs are "written" using graphical objects rather than lines of code in text mode. This reduces the learning time, providing a clear and intuitive way to write programs simply by connecting objects to each other.
  Events can be triggered at any arbitrary time in the future, interfaced to MIDI and other communication protocols, and logical operations can also be performed. Applications made with Max run in real time.
  Since its creation in 1986, MaxMSP evolved much and from a graphical music programming environment it has expanded to include audio data (with the introduction of MSP) and image/matrix data (with the introduction of Jitter).
  MaxMSP lets you control your equipment in any way you want. You can create applications for composing, improvising, and ordering or modifying media'--anything you can imagine doing with a computer using a graphical method. All control information is converted into a simple stream of numbers. Here are three examples of files processed with MaxMSP. These are short MP3 files recorded with the microphone outside the application : a custom APT signal (upper dump screen), a custom filter (drawing my name on screen, middle dump screen) and a custom doppler effect (lower dump screen, in edition mode).
  If you are a beginner in programming, there is no doubt that like all evolved programming tools, you will take a lot of time to master MaxMSP. You need to download and read all external manuals provided by the publisher (in PDF and html).As it the program does not provide any help file. All help functions are in fact accessible within the patcher, when you create or edit a file.
  The best way to quickly learn how it works is to load the examples included with the package (.pat for patcher) and to edit them (View, Edit). In this editing mode you can click on all objects displayed on screen and with the right-click get the help that will explain you how work the concerned object. In some examples it will suggest you to read some additional tutorials. This help is really well designed and complete. You only need time to master the package, for example in creating first a small application then a larger and more complex one.
  MaxMSP is now at version 4.5.2. and runs on all Windows 32-bit with a PIII CPU minimum, and Apple MacOS plateforms. A demo isavailable.
  (c) 1999-2004
  Janez Makovsek, $89
  FFT Properties
  FFT Properties is a PC-based spectrum analyzer, probably one of the less expensive and the most complete FFT tool available for the advanced amateur searching a product dedicated to DSP. FFT Properties is indeed based on the Basic Delphi Signal Processing Package, aka BDSPP.
  The objective of a FFT processing is to convert a signal in the time domain in the frequency domain. A FFT provides for example a mean to calculate the frequency of a fast pulsating signal or to evaluate the response of a signal converter like a sound card. It permit to check its frequency response and non-linearities. It can help you to tune a signal generator, an instrument or even your linear amplifier.
  FFT Properties provides hundreds of functions to name parametric windows, peak interpolation, online wavelets decomposition, higher order spectral analysis, cross and auto correlation, cepstral and cross spectral analysis, FIR filter designer, decimation and interpolation, without to forget peak marking features, quality charts and printing capabilities.
  FFT Properties is one of the few frequency analyzers able to measure with an extremely high accurate non-parametric phase angle of non-periodic signals and linear phase peak filtering. Taking advantage of multi-windowing and resource hungrier, it requires a fast PC if you want to avoid hanging.
  A version 5 is under development that will provide an ultra-fast sample rate converter with SNR of over 160 dB to allow resampling of 24-bit audio signals without loss of quality in real time among other new features.
  This program is now at version 3.5 and runs on all Windows 32-bit platforms equipped with a sound card. A demo is available. Without register all features will work excepted that the sampling rate is reduced to 512 samples/sec and thus will limit your ability to analyse pulsed signals. Several manual are also provided in PDF format.
  (c) 1998
  Mike Cook, AF9Y, $37
  FFTDSP
  Here is the most amazing amateur software I know dedicated to signal processing. If you have basic knowledges of propagation, signal/noise ratio and its meanings, traffic types and all that stuff defining the usual work of ham radios, and even if you are like me a short waves listener, this spectrum analyser can interest you.
  Peculiar it is really, reason I displayed dumps of spectrum graphs with legends for convenience as these real time displays are more than hermetics for most of us at first sight.
  Mike Cook, a long-time ham radio, call AF9Y, wanted an application able to detect weak radio signals in real time and even signals well below the noise level. Such applications do not exist in the amateurs world and therefore he designed himself this program. Its key features are a real time display of a color spectrum graph with 2 Hz filtering (using a 4096 point FFT), it uses an automatic color gradient to improve the visibility of signals vs the background noise, an integration mode to detect signal below the noise, it displays on screen Moon Az/El for moon bounce traffic as well as TOD and East/West sequences and more. FFTDSP displays also true S/N measurements and bar graph, smoothing filters (hamming, cosine, etc), has a built-in zoom in/out for narrow (1300 Hz) or wide (2500 Hz) display and it is able to track object by RA/Dec.
  I/O side, FFTDSP can not only record and playback waves for post spectrum analysis (using a sound card) but it can also save and load spectrum pictures.
  Of course, as we expected, last but not least FFTDSP supports SETI applications through an unattended data logging monitoring. A way to compete vs Seti@home...
  FFTDSP is at version 4.2 and runs in a DOS box under any Windows 32-bit platform, and requests at least a 80486 CPU with sound card. A demo is available.
  Back to Amateur radio activities
  Back to Reports & Comments
Syrian Pro-Government Hackers Strike NPR Website
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dave says...
  Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:03
  What's This?
  Marshall Honorof
  for TechNewsDaily 2013-04-17 02:01:48 UTCYou can't employ good journalists without making a few enemies along the way, as National Public Radio recently learned the hard way. After putting the violent situation in Syria under the microscope, NPR found its site on the receiving end of vandalism, courtesy of the Syrian Electronic Army.
  The SEA is a group of Middle Eastern hackers that acts as an attack dog for the current regime under President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government may back the SEA; at the very least, it offers no criticism for the group's illegal actions.
  Over the course of the last year, the SEA has attacked a variety of news organizations, ranging from the BBC to Al Jazeera. The group has hijacked Twitter feeds, launched denial-of-service attacks and left its calling card at any news organization that offers criticism of al-Assad.
  Its most recent attack appeared on the front of NPR's website around 11 p.m. EST on Apr. 15. A screenshot from security expert Brian Krebs shows that the SEA made two simple posts, both of which read, "Syrian Electronic Army was here." The site suffered no apparent damage, and neither its administrators nor its users were at risk of contracting malware.
  SEA claimed responsibility for the attack, but would not elucidate much beyond that. "We will not say why we attacked @NPR '... They know the reason and that (sic) enough #SEA #Syria," the organization tweeted.
  When pressed, the SEA revealed one more small reason behind its attack: "You can ask @deborahamos." Deborah Amos, an NPR reporter, has spent the better part of the last year providing hard-hitting coverage about the escalating violence in Syria '-- something that the brutal government would probably rather keep quiet.
  Whether or not the SEA is government-backed, the group boasts a number of talented hackers within its ranks. NPR is likely not its last target, so exercise skepticism if a favorite newsfeed suddenly takes a decidedly pro-al-Assad bent.
  Group pictured above is not affiliated with the Syrian Electronic Army. Image via FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
  This article originally published at TechNewsDaily here
  Topics: hackers, Media, NPR, Politics, Syria, syrian electronic army, US & World, WorldTechNewsDaily is a Mashable publishing partner that is an exciting new and accessible source of technology news and information for non-geeks seeking to learn about the cool gadgets, powerful software and unavoidable technologies of everyday life. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.
CW multi signal decoder
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:33
  To decode morse signals (often called "CW signals") Analyzer2000must be connected to the audio output of a HF receiver. In normal operation mode a human listener would decrease the bandwidth to the minimum value the receiver is capable of. This eliminates all unnecessary signals. Only the wanted signal passes the receivers bandfilter.
  Analyzer2000leads to another way of morse decoding. In a HF scenario, especially in middle europe, many CW stations can be detected in a small frequency range (e.g. 3 kHz). The idea is to decode all morse signals in this range simultaneously. To do that, the receiver bandfilter must be reasonable wide, for example the SSB filter which should be 2.4 to 3.1 kHz. The arising gain control problem can be eliminated by switching the receiver to MGC (manual gain control). Each Analyzer2000morse decoding window has its own gain control (either manual or automatic), by adjusting the threshold limit.
  A normal scenario may look like this:
  Decoding of morse signals is a job quite simple for a trained human brain. Decoding with a machine is almost as simple, if you help the machine in some aspects.
  First of all the update rate of the spectrum display should be greater than 30 frames/sec. For high speed morse decoding (speeds greater than 130 letters per minute) the update rate should be greater than 50 frames/sec. With the FFT control dialog box the update rate can be varied. On slow PCs the waterfall display should be freezed while decoding morse signals. Also the time domain window should be closed.
  If two signals lying close to each other, must be separated, the width of the rectangle must be decreased, simulating a smaller bandpass filter. If the signals interfere each other, FFT size, points and overlapping must be increased. That makes the signall peaks in the spectrum display sharper.
  A kind of noise reduction can be established by decreasing the spectrum displays level range coupled with varying the reference level.
  The second thing is to adjust the speed of the morse decoder. There are two automatic modes of operation (fast and slow). Fast mode tracks the speed of the morsing station very quickly. The disadvantage comes up, when the scenario is very bad (QSB, QRM, QRN). The interferences irritate the speed tracker and only rubbish is being printed. In that case, the slow tracker is better, but the best thing is to let the fast tracker measure the speed in a moment of good signal condition and to switch to the third speed mode called "fixed". In that mode the measured speed is held and can be manually varied with the arrow controls beside the speed display.
  The advantage of the slow speed tracker comes up, when a signal is constantly monitored over hours via the logfile option. In that case the morse speed is adjusted continuously to the correct value without any user interaction.
  A morse decoder window may look like this:
Same lady at Sandy Hook Shooting was at the Boston...
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Father of dead Marine won't be charged with setting fire to van
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  Father of dead Marine won't be charged with setting fire to vanSouth Florida Sun-SentinelAugust 27, 2004Father of dead Marine won't be charged with setting fire to van
  By Ken KayeEdgar Sandoval and Thomas Monnay Staff Writers
  Hollywood · Carlos Arredondo cried through the night on Wednesday. Then he cried through much of Thursday.
  His tears weren't so much the result of second-degree burns he suffered while torching a military van in a fit of anguish, but rather the agony of learning that his son had died in Iraq, family members said.
  "He can't stop," his wife, Melida Arredondo, 39, said after visiting him at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "He is grieving appropriately, as opposed to inappropriately, like he did yesterday."
  Doctors upgraded Arredondo's condition on Thursday, saying he was burned over 26 percent of his body, not 50 percent as first reported, mostly on his legs and left side of his body.
  But, family members said his spirit, not his flesh, is suffering most, and Arredondo finally turned to a priest and a counselor to ease his misery. His son, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, of Randolph, Mass., 20, was shot to death in combat near Najaf, Iraq, on Tuesday.
  Saying they understand his pain, Hollywood police and the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday said they would not seek any criminal or federal charges against Arredondo for destroying a 2004, nine-seat Chevrolet van, worth about $14,000-$16,000.
  "It would be insensitive for any law enforcement agency to do so, given the totality of the incident," said Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode.
  "That's out of compassion for the circumstances and sensitivity toward the family," said Marine Maj. Scott Mack. "However, this does not set a precedent for how we deal with destruction of government property. This is truly isolated to this incident and the terrible news Mr. Arredondo had to face."
  Friends and family said they know Carlos Arredondo, a self-employed handyman, to be charismatic and outgoing. He spent several years as a popular bullfighter in his native Costa Rica, nicknamed El Gringo, because of his light features, said family friend Hahiling Jobson, of Boston.
  Carlos Arredondo was proud of his son for becoming a Marine and fighting for his country. But he also was looking forward to spending time with his son, once he returned from Iraq, friends said.
  His son, who had lived near Boston, eventually was looking forward to going to college, getting married and having children.
  "He was the kind who could have done anything upon graduation," said Paul McDonald, a former teacher at Blue Hills Regional Technical School, in Canton, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo graduated in 2002.
  The funeral will be held in Norwood, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo grew up, in about two weeks, after the government releases the body.
  On Wednesday afternoon, three Marines, Gunnery Sgt. Syrill Melvin, Staff Sgt. Abraham Negr"n and 1st Sgt. Timothy Shipman, were given the grim task of notifying Carlos Arredondo that his son was dead.
  Arredondo went to his garage, picked up a propane tank, a can of gasoline and a blowtorch. Despite initial attempts to stop him, he smashed the van's window, got inside and set it ablaze, police said. In the process, he was set on fire as well.
  The Marines, based in Hialeah, said they pulled Arredondo from the van and patted him down to put out the blaze.
  Mack, the Marine major, said the three did not try to stop his attack on the vehicle because they were convinced he was not trying to hurt himself.
  He said they also stayed clear to avoid serious injury. In doing so, they likely prevented Arredondo from hurting himself even worse.
  "In a tackle scenario, there would have been a lot more gasoline involved on the individual, and we would have had two or three people in the hospital," he said. "My senior Marine on the scene made the decision not to intercede, and that was the absolute correct decision."
  Mack said Arredondo ended up suffering burns because the gasoline accidentally spilled on him as he splashed the fuel on the van parked in front of his house in the 5400 block of Tyler Street.
  In trying to explain the outburst, Melida Arredondo, Alexander's stepmother, said her husband was filled with such grief that he simply went into a rampage.
  Jobson, the family friend, said, "Carlos has always been very hyper. He is also the kindest person you can ever meet."
  The Marines might have helped set off Arredondo because "the presence of other men in uniform dis-inhibited him," said Diann Dee Michael, a Plantation psychologist. "It created a sense of the immediacy of the loss."
  His rage seemed to be an isolated case because most people are stunned by bad news and "don't act out immediately,'' she said.
  "But different people react differently. It is typical for men to act more physically and compulsively because they have more trouble expressing grief through talking," Michael said. "The loss of a child is something people have the most difficulty reacting to because it's not the natural order of things."
  Despite Carlos Arredondo's plight, family members spent Thursday remembering his son.
  Alexander's mother, Victoria Foley, of Bangor, Maine, said her son knew at age 16 that he wanted to be a Marine because "he wanted a challenge," and because his grandfather was a Marine.
  He joined shortly after graduating from a technical school in Canton, Mass., in 2002. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
  Alexander Arredondo served in Iraq for nine months until August 2003, and was called back to duty in May. Foley said her son was happy to return, believing in the cause of freedom. She spoke to him 12 hours before his death.
  "He said I love you. I'll be home sooner than you think," she said.
  Arredondo's girlfriend, Sheila Beverley, 17, of California, said he knew that soldiers risk dying on the battlefield.
  "Before he left, he said: `Sheila, you should know that I can die, but I'm prepared to do it," Beverley said. "It's hard, but I accept it because he told me multiple times that he loved his job."
  Copyright (C) 2004
  Father of dead Marine won't be charged with setting fire to vanSouth Florida Sun-SentinelAugust 27, 2004Father of dead Marine won't be charged with setting fire to van
  By Ken KayeEdgar Sandoval and Thomas Monnay Staff Writers
  Hollywood · Carlos Arredondo cried through the night on Wednesday. Then he cried through much of Thursday.
  His tears weren't so much the result of second-degree burns he suffered while torching a military van in a fit of anguish, but rather the agony of learning that his son had died in Iraq, family members said.
  "He can't stop," his wife, Melida Arredondo, 39, said after visiting him at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "He is grieving appropriately, as opposed to inappropriately, like he did yesterday."
  Doctors upgraded Arredondo's condition on Thursday, saying he was burned over 26 percent of his body, not 50 percent as first reported, mostly on his legs and left side of his body.
  But, family members said his spirit, not his flesh, is suffering most, and Arredondo finally turned to a priest and a counselor to ease his misery. His son, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, of Randolph, Mass., 20, was shot to death in combat near Najaf, Iraq, on Tuesday.
  Saying they understand his pain, Hollywood police and the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday said they would not seek any criminal or federal charges against Arredondo for destroying a 2004, nine-seat Chevrolet van, worth about $14,000-$16,000.
  "It would be insensitive for any law enforcement agency to do so, given the totality of the incident," said Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode.
  "That's out of compassion for the circumstances and sensitivity toward the family," said Marine Maj. Scott Mack. "However, this does not set a precedent for how we deal with destruction of government property. This is truly isolated to this incident and the terrible news Mr. Arredondo had to face."
  Friends and family said they know Carlos Arredondo, a self-employed handyman, to be charismatic and outgoing. He spent several years as a popular bullfighter in his native Costa Rica, nicknamed El Gringo, because of his light features, said family friend Hahiling Jobson, of Boston.
  Carlos Arredondo was proud of his son for becoming a Marine and fighting for his country. But he also was looking forward to spending time with his son, once he returned from Iraq, friends said.
  His son, who had lived near Boston, eventually was looking forward to going to college, getting married and having children.
  "He was the kind who could have done anything upon graduation," said Paul McDonald, a former teacher at Blue Hills Regional Technical School, in Canton, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo graduated in 2002.
  The funeral will be held in Norwood, Mass., where Alexander Arredondo grew up, in about two weeks, after the government releases the body.
  On Wednesday afternoon, three Marines, Gunnery Sgt. Syrill Melvin, Staff Sgt. Abraham Negr"n and 1st Sgt. Timothy Shipman, were given the grim task of notifying Carlos Arredondo that his son was dead.
  Arredondo went to his garage, picked up a propane tank, a can of gasoline and a blowtorch. Despite initial attempts to stop him, he smashed the van's window, got inside and set it ablaze, police said. In the process, he was set on fire as well.
  The Marines, based in Hialeah, said they pulled Arredondo from the van and patted him down to put out the blaze.
  Mack, the Marine major, said the three did not try to stop his attack on the vehicle because they were convinced he was not trying to hurt himself.
  He said they also stayed clear to avoid serious injury. In doing so, they likely prevented Arredondo from hurting himself even worse.
  "In a tackle scenario, there would have been a lot more gasoline involved on the individual, and we would have had two or three people in the hospital," he said. "My senior Marine on the scene made the decision not to intercede, and that was the absolute correct decision."
  Mack said Arredondo ended up suffering burns because the gasoline accidentally spilled on him as he splashed the fuel on the van parked in front of his house in the 5400 block of Tyler Street.
  In trying to explain the outburst, Melida Arredondo, Alexander's stepmother, said her husband was filled with such grief that he simply went into a rampage.
  Jobson, the family friend, said, "Carlos has always been very hyper. He is also the kindest person you can ever meet."
  The Marines might have helped set off Arredondo because "the presence of other men in uniform dis-inhibited him," said Diann Dee Michael, a Plantation psychologist. "It created a sense of the immediacy of the loss."
  His rage seemed to be an isolated case because most people are stunned by bad news and "don't act out immediately,'' she said.
  "But different people react differently. It is typical for men to act more physically and compulsively because they have more trouble expressing grief through talking," Michael said. "The loss of a child is something people have the most difficulty reacting to because it's not the natural order of things."
  Despite Carlos Arredondo's plight, family members spent Thursday remembering his son.
  Alexander's mother, Victoria Foley, of Bangor, Maine, said her son knew at age 16 that he wanted to be a Marine because "he wanted a challenge," and because his grandfather was a Marine.
  He joined shortly after graduating from a technical school in Canton, Mass., in 2002. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
  Alexander Arredondo served in Iraq for nine months until August 2003, and was called back to duty in May. Foley said her son was happy to return, believing in the cause of freedom. She spoke to him 12 hours before his death.
  "He said I love you. I'll be home sooner than you think," she said.
  Arredondo's girlfriend, Sheila Beverley, 17, of California, said he knew that soldiers risk dying on the battlefield.
  "Before he left, he said: `Sheila, you should know that I can die, but I'm prepared to do it," Beverley said. "It's hard, but I accept it because he told me multiple times that he loved his job."
  Copyright (C) 2004
Tax evasion on EU May summit agenda
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Greenspans Golden Secret!
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  Greenspan's Golden Secret!
  Bix Weir"This book is part detective story."
  Alan Greenspan -- First Line Back Cover of "The Age Of Turbulence"
  http://www.amazon.com/Age-Turbulence-Adventures-New-World/dp/1594201315
  No truer words have been spoken when examining this book or the rhyme and reason behind the life and career of Alan Greenspan. He is a "mystery wrapped in an enigma"'...or is he? A life long admirer, student and follower of Ayn Rand, Greenspan spent his early years as an economist trumpeting the virtues of sound money and value of a gold standard.
  http://www.321gold.com/fed/greenspan/1966.html
  Midway through his career, though, Greenspan abruptly pulls a 180 degree philosophical change of conviction to embrace the fiat money, welfare system that he so vehemently despised in earlier writings. Not only did he embrace fiat money, but he used and abused it to a degree which steered us down the path of irreversible self destruction. What came over him? How does such an intelligent and seemingly honest human being become so corrupt as to use and abuse the monetary system of the entire world further enriching the wealthy and abusing the poor? Or should I ask a deeper question'... Could he have done it all on purpose?
  I contend in this article that Alan Greenspan learned from ex Federal Reserve Chairman and mentor Arthur Burns how the banking cartel stole the global monetary system from the people. This knowledge has been his lifelong obsession and he has finally devised a way back to the Gold Standard by orchestrating the pending destruction of the fiat money system.
  THE ROAD TO ROOTA
  First, in order to fully understand what I am proposing you must fully understand the concepts in my first article: "The Original Road to Roota or The Implementation of the Gold Standard" that can be found here: http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/120.cfm.
  This article explores the meaning behind a very cryptic cartoon released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 1981 and then again in 2007. This articles shows how a small group of very influential insiders in the early 1970's devised a way to secretly return to a gold standard by running the printing presses of the fiat monetary system at full speed ultimately destroying the US Dollar.
  In this Federal Reserve cartoon "Wishes and Rainbows", there is a very important frame on page 5 that I believe sheds light on Alan Greenspan and his mission in life:
  http://www.bos.frb.org/education/pubs/wishes.htm
  Since I wrote this article I have discovered a few of the lingering questions that were posed at the end of Part I. I won't get into exactly how I came to these conclusions but it all fits with what I am about to examine in Part II. Here is the new information:
  1) Roota is Alan Greenspan (Due to timing & position as head of the CEA in the 70's)
  2) The mayor is Gerald Ford (based on Greenspan's description of him in his book)
  3) Grandma is Arthur Burns (Greenspan's mentor & Fed Chairman in 60's & 70's)
  4) The characters in the original comic are Asian because Japan/China had the lowest per capita GNP in the world in the 1970's and an altruistic decision was made to help them out of poverty.
  5) The Characters in the new comic are Hispanic and of (as I learned from a closely involved artist) "muddled ethnicity" to represent people from South America and Africa where resources have been systematically stolen by the Western banking cartel.
  6) The colored flowers "behind the rock" in Cobblestone Canyon, is referring to the gigantic secret gold deposits hidden in the Grand Canyon and awaiting the US return to the Gold Standard.
  Golden Secretshttp://www.roadtoroota.com/public/181.cfm
  and the most shocking of all'....
  7) GREENSPAN AND THE US FEDERAL RESERVE BANK ARE THE GOOD GUYS!
  Now before all you gold bugs start jumping up and down about how Greenspan rigs the gold markets and panders to the rich and has sold his soul to the devil, lets take a look at where he came from, what he's done and where it will lead us. We can start with his lifelong devotion to free markets, Objectivism and close connection to Ayn Rand and Arthur Burns.
  There is a very important page in his Greenspan's book that has pictures of Authur Burns, Ayn Rand, Adam Smith, John Locke and Joseph Schumpeter. These people shaped the mind of Alan Greenspan and this page alone can help decipher the "mystery" we are trying to solve here.
  Arthur Burns - Gold Standard advocate and a "disdain for unscientific data" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_F._Burns
  Ayn Rand - Novelist and philosopher, known for creating "Objectivism" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_rand
  Adam Smith -- Major contributor to the concept of free markets economics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_smith
  John Locke --Had a profound influence on philosophy and politics of US founding fathers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke
  Joseph Schumpeter - Credited with creating the economic theory of "creative destruction" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Schumpeter
  GREENSPAN IS JOHN GALT
  Ayn Rand once said Atlas Shrugged is a mystery story, "not about the murder of man's body, but about the murder--and rebirth--of man's spirit." Atlas Shrugged was her magnum opus and embodied her philosophic theory of Objectivism. She described Objectivism this way: "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged Although I could spend days talking about the book and the philosophy, I want to focus on the hero of the novel, John Galt, and why I think Alan Greenspan modeled himself, quite successfully, after this character.
  In short: Galt designed a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity with the potential to change the world. When the company owners decided to run the factory by the collectivist maxim, 'By each according to his ability, to each according to his need', Galt organized a successful labor strike, proclaiming his promise to stop the motor of the world. Galt gathers all the best thinkers in the world and begins his own society as the world crumbles under the weight of collectivism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Galt_%28Atlas_Shrugged%29
  GREENSPAN'S MOTOR
  No, Greenspan didn't invent a motor that ran off static electricity BUT he was instrumental in inventing something much more powerful in the world of monetary policy'...THE FINANCIAL COMPUTER! Alan Greenspan was what they call an "early adapter" in computers in the 1960's and 70's and actually was writing economic modeling programs in the early days on computer punch cards. (He even partially blamed himself for the Y2K issue, A.G. p204-205) Pierre Andr(C) Rinfret said of Greenspan's company "they specialized in what is known as an econometric model system of forecasting which is forecasting by mathematical equations (modeling)'....I have a mental picture of Alan at forums poring over his computer runs to evaluate whatever someone said and flipping the pages looking up numbers. I also remember him droning on reading the numbers off the spread sheets."
  Not only that but a childhood friend of Greenspan's was John Kemeny...the INVENTOR of one of the very first computer programing language called BASIC.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_George_Kemeny
  Here's what Greenspan had to say about Kemeny in his book (pg 24)
  "I remember sitting in math class with John Kemeny, a Hungarian refugee who would one day become Albert Einstein's mathematical assistant who would coinvent the BASIC computer language with Thomas Kurtz(and still later became president of Dartmouth College). John hadn't been in America long and spoke with a heavy accent, but he was brilliant at math. I wondered if this might be at least in part a result of superior schooling he'd received in Hungry. So I asked, "Is that because you're from Europe?" I hoped he'd say yes because that would mean his advantage wasn't innate and I could possibly catch him by studying hard. But the question just seemed to bemuse him. He shrugged and said, "Everybody is."
  It has been proven by Mike Bolser (www.interventionalanalysis.com) that the gold market is run off a computer program using the Dollar Index Value of Gold or "DIVG". GATA has shown this proof to the US authorities and no action has been taken so it can be assumed that the US regulators are protecting this illegal activity under the auspice of national security. It has also been suspected that many other markets such as oil, currencies, bonds, silver, natural gas, and the stock markets are also rigged by computer programs.
  I postulate that Alan Greenspan, Arthur Burns, Stephen Devaux and "The Group" discussed in Part I discovered that computers have the power to rig financial markets from both the buy and sell sides creating an artificial supply/demand dynamic that could be steered in any direction given enough volume to drive out real traders. This computer market rigging power was Greenspan's electric motor. Just as John Galt attempted to change the world with his invention, Greenspan tried to change the world with his. Of course we know the computer HAS changed the financial world as we know it'...but was it for the better or worse?
  ANOTHER COMIC OR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLD STANDARD?
  Let's look at where we left off in part 1 with the Federal Reserve Bank Boston cartoons. The other cartoon that was re-released on January 1, 2007 (a bank holiday by the way) was an educational booklet called "Banking Basics". This booklet was originally released in 1987, the same year Alan Greenspan was sworn in as Federal Reserve Bank Chairman. The first edition had no illustrations in it BUT the new one is full of very interesting cartoons FILLED WITH GOLD!
  Here are the two booklets:
  http://www.bos.frb.org/education/pubs/banking2.pdfhttp://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/ve/library/BASC.PDF
  See anything interesting in the update?
  Why in the world would a booklet from the Federal Reserve Bank have a picture of a person putting a GOLD coin into a piggy bank? Isn't that the opposite of where our banking system is today? So I opened the new booklet and look what the next full page was!
  Coincidence'...maybe'....but keep turning the pages and something else emerges. Look at the girl trading in gold for cash at a bank! Look at the picture on the wall of the bank. Looks a little like a gold chart with its ebbs and flows. Hugo Salinas Price would LOVE that! (http://www.plata.com.mx/plata/articulos/articlesFilt.asp?fiidarticulo=77) Also, look at the woman standing in back of the line at an ATM with GOLD in her hand. Can they make it more obvious? Get ready for the Gold Standard!
  Now this one is my favorites. I have been associated with the Gold Anti Trust Action Committee for 6 years and never have I fought harder for a cause in my life. It started as a hobby, it turned into an obsession and it is now a fight for the freedom of my country. (www.GATA.org) If you aren't involved in fighting the gold cabal you should take up the fight today!
  The booklet has a section called "Why Do Banks Fail" and has the story of 2 banks that fail. Here is the first one on page 31.
  Gusher National Bank Slips on Falling Oil Prices
  "Falling energy prices mean cheaper gasoline and lower home heating bills. So, falling oil prices must be good, right?"
  "Not for everyone! Take the case of Gusher National Bank. Gusher was very aggressive in making loans to oil and natural gas companies that had no problem repaying their loans when energy prices were high. The loans spelled big profits for Gusher, and everyone agreed that Gusher's executives were smart business people who really knew how to make money. Then the economy slowed down, and the demand for energy fell. Factories burned less oil and natural gas. Truck drivers, commuters, and vacationers drove fewer miles and burned less fuel."
  "As a result, energy prices dropped sharply, and many energy companies fell behind on their loan payments. Some even stopped making payments altogether. Months passed, oil prices remained low, and more energy companies fell behind on their payments. Finally, Gusher lost so much money to bad loans that government regulators had to step in and close the bank. Gusher had fallen victim to changing economic conditions--falling energy prices and a high concentration of loans to energy companies."
  This story falls right in line with my article entitled "The Oil Con" in which I point out the banking cartel needs high priced oil to rig the US Dollar as well as fill their pool of market manipulation
  money!http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/6.08/oilcon.html
  The falling oil price in this example will happen overnight if the US were to abandon the Dollar "Oil Standard" by finally tapping their hidden oil fields'...especially the Gull Island Oil Field in Alaska.
  Here is the second example on page 33 which is happening as we speak:
  Or take the case of Bedrock Bank . .
  Bedrock Bank Gets Too Big Too Fast
  "Bedrock Bank's new president was determined to turn his bank into the region's biggest lender. Bedrock's loan officers got the message and started making as many loans as they could for condominium developments, shopping centers, office buildings, and high-priced suburban housing developments. Loan applications were not always checked as closely as they had been in the past, and some of the loans were approved more quickly than they had been in the old days. But nobody seemed concerned because the local economy was strong and real estate values were rising rapidly."
  "Everything seemed fine; everyone was making money. But then the economy slowed down, and things took a turn for the worse. The weak economy forced many businesses to close, leaving lots of vacant office space. Real estate values plummeted, and many developers fell behind on their loan payments."
  "In the end, Bedrock Bank was losing so much money on bad real estate loans that government regulators were forced to step in and close it. The regulators tried to find a buyer for Bedrock, but no other bank wanted to get stuck with all the loans that had gone bad. Eventually, another bank agreed to buy Bedrock if the federal government would agree to keep many of the problem loans."
  Sound familiar? Does this sound like an exact description of what is happening today to the banks? This is no coincidence. As a matter of fact LOOK AT THE ILLUSTRATION OPPOSITE THE STORY! '...HELLO GATA!
  Doesn't this look like the GATA painting? Look at the sun FULLY shining on the Federal Reserve building. LOOK AT THE OPEN DOOR! If I were Alain Despert I would think about suing the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for copying his painting concept without his permission!
  As Jim Sinclair once proclaimed'....WE ARE THERE!
  TAKING DOWN THE BANKERS
  In his book Greenspan supports the theory that "creative destruction" is good for a society. "Creative destruction, introduced in 1942 by the economist Joseph Schumpeter (see above picture) describes the process of transformation that accompanies radical innovation. In Schumpeter's vision of capitalism, innovative entry by entrepreneurs was the force that sustained long-term economic growth, even as it destroyed the value of established companies that enjoyed some degree of monopoly power." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction
  It is no coincidence that the Fall 2007 edition of the Federal Reserve Bank Boston's magazine "The Ledger" is all about creative destruction and mapping out the progress during the Road to Roota implementation plan. http://www.bos.frb.org/education/ledger/ledger07/fall/index.htm
  In "Wishes and Rainbows" Roota (Greenspan) claims not to be afraid of the "big people" (Rothschilds, Military Industrial Complex, etc.) and states that she will find a way to Colorland (Gold Standard). Knowing that Greenspan and friends now control the financial markets via computers, how could he achieve his ultimate goal of eliminating the fiat money system that was the dream of so many people who he looked up to? (Ayn Rand, Arthur Burns, etc).
  WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO TAKE DOWN THE "BIG PEOPLE"?
  1) Destruction of the banking establishment -- $800 Trillion of worthless derivatives has put the banking establishment into insolvency'... they just haven't declared it yet. Greenspan was a big supporter of derivatives and non-regulation. He let them sow the seeds of their own destruction. Greenspan promoted unregulated derivatives and risky mortgages knowing the greed of the "big people" would destabilize their financial world.
  2) Destruction of the fiat money system -- In order to "save the banks" the Federal Reserve has fired up the helicopters to flood the system to the point that the US dollar will become worthless. You didn't think the US would allow Japan, China, Russia and all to cash in all those worthless dollars for real goods and resources did you? The US will default through the abuse of the printing presses. This is part of the plan. They will make it look like nobody had any control over the global destruction of the financial system.
  3) Complete buy-in by the public -- A new monetary system requires a complete buy-in by the people of the world. A collapse of the banking system where the rich and the poor lose their entire fortunes would surely accomplish a change in attitude towards our monetary system. Again'...creative destruction.
  4) Warn the banking cabal to stand down or else -- 911, Kennedy, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam'...you name it and it all comes back to the "big people". I believe this was their warning http://www.rense.com/general77/fulf.htm. I don't know whether or not this is real but I do know one thing'...the truth is coming out faster than they can control it and those big secrets are getting very hard to hide. Recently Mr. Fulford posted an interview that he conducted with David Rockefeller that is almost comical until you think about it'.... Mr. Rockefeller NEVER gives interviews. Especially with some hokey reporter in a cheap hotel room with a big orange microphone shoved in his face asking questions about his plan to take over the world!
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu6dWGfOy2k
  5) Remove cartel henchmen from the Government -- It's hard to count how many in the Bush Administration have been shown the door but one of most important was Alberto Gonzales being the head of the US Justice System. The CFTC board changes were also very telling removing ex Goldman Sachs man Reuben Jeffery III as Chairman. The most obvious culprits'...Bush, Cheney and Rice will be the last to go when the final cards are played http://benjaminfulford.com/secretgoverment.html
  6) Prepare for a new currency -- Look at all the new colored flowers:
  http://www.newmoney.gov/currency/default.htm
  And what about that NEW $100 BILL?!
  The Hidden Meanings in the New $100 Bill
  http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/261.cfm
  Can they make it more obvious?!
  Everyone should find it very interesting that the US $1 Bill with all its Illuminati references on the back is the only bill not to be changed'...there is now a $1 gold colored coin!http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/index.cfm. The US is also spending $90M to "renovate" the US mint in San Francisco which was the largest gold and silver mint in the world prior to closing. www.themintproject.org You may recognize these two'...
  Looks like some pretty high tech coining machines for the "historical renovation" of the Old Mint. Maybe Congress HAS been busy after all!
  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/28/BAG9IM1UTE1.DTL
  Diane Feinstein (D-California) and Nancy Pelosi (D- California) are leading the charge back to the gold standard along with many senior members of both parties.
  The CFTC held meetings on International Manipulation on October 16, 2007.
  http://www.cftc.gov:8765/query.html?qt=PUBLIC+HEARING+ON+EXEMPT+COMMERCIAL+MARKETS&search-site-submit.x=0&search-site-submit.y=0&rf=0&st=1&col=cftcnew&col=cftcnex&style=newsite&lk=1&nh=10&oq=&qc=&qm=0&qp=&qs=&rq=0&ws=0
  I was especially intrigued by the page 13 statement by the new Commissioner Chilton:
  "I was in Senator Feinstein's office not too long ago talking with her about this issue, and I have got to commend her for really having foresight on this issue years and years ago. The rest of us are merely trying to sort of catch up and get to where she's been."
  7) New law to change the current system -- I believe the there is a very sound law ready to be enacted overnight. Although this may not be what's on the table, it sure would be a good one! http://nesara.org/bill/index.htm
  8) The new monetary system -- Of course a gold and silver based monetary system would be acceptable but there are others that the Fed Boston has researched. Here is a land-backed system proposed by none other than our founding father Benjamin Franklin.
  http://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/ben-franklin-and-paper-money-economy.pdf
  It is interesting that this concept fits perfectly with Greenspan's proclamation that everyone should buy a house with an ARM. Was he trying to help in the redistribution of wealth?
  9) The Great Equalizer -- Greenspan states that the biggest problem of any monetary system on the back cover of his book is "the chronic concern over the justice of the distribution of its rewards". This is the core to the entire issue of an honest economic system. Why do the rich get more of the resources than the poor? Who made the bankers the deciders of how our global treasures get distributed? Fortunes will be lost but the destruction of the monetary system will bring a much more just playing field and will wipe away decades of misallocation.
  There must be more but you get the idea.
  THE END OF GLOBALIZATION and BEGINNING OF NATIONALIZTION
  I didn't really dwell on the teachers guide, "The Road to Roota" in Part I, but there are some very interesting questions. For example, here are three very important questions posed on page 6:
  #6 In what circumstances might the Pebblepeople consider exporting flowers to Gopher Junction and Bolder's Ridge? Will citizens of those towns have as great a demand for colored flowers as Pebblepeople have? Do you think that every resident of Pebbleton will own at least one flower before trade with other towns occurs?
  #7 What resources are scarce in the United States today? What happens to the price of scarce resources? What steps have been taken to address such scarcity?
  #8 What are some important resources whose introduction helped make our economy what it is today? What would happen if one of these resources (oil, steel, electricity, computers, airplanes, television, fish, cotton, maple syrup) could no longer be produced in this country? What substitutes might be found? What industries would disappear? What would happen to the value of such resources?
  Wow, these are some very scary issues if you figure out WHY they are being asked. Sounds to me like the Fed thinks global trade will STOP the moment we go on a gold standard. Where does that leave the multi-national corporations? Where does that leave the foreign mining companies? Could this be why the HUI is doing so poorly with gold above $900/oz? Is this why so many CEO's of major mining companies have left right at the moment gold is about to break above its historical highs?
  What about US mining company ownership by US citizens? Interesting to note the HUGE tax change levied on the US miners last year. Is the government preparing for the upside explosion of the price of commodities? I personally believe that US mining company investments will rocket to the upside as long as there is no one between you and your certificates. I believe the US will return to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It's all explained in the teachers guide. As for foreign mining properties'...you better run the scenarios for yourself because mine don't show much of a chance of the exporting of gold or silver out of any country.
  The Fed St. Louis put out an argument AGAINST confiscation in their Spring 2007 newsletter and also quotes Milton Freeman on how price controls don't work. http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/itv/2007/a/pages/lead_story.html "However, the greater economic costs of government intervention in private markets outweigh presumed immediate and tangible benefits from taking private property for economic development."
  http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/itv/2007/a/pages/qa.html "Price control by exhortation and threat and use of extra-legal powers never has worked and never will, except to disrupt the economy," Obviously, it is being discussed at the upper levels of government. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states that any confiscation must be paid with "just compensation". The very moment confiscation is announced in any country the global price of gold will skyrocket MANY multiples of today's suppressed value...maybe even much higher than the $60,000/oz postulated by those looking at the entire US dollar supply vs. the supposed amount of gold held by the US.
  Depending on what would replace the dollar as our currency, confiscation may be a HUGE windfall for holders of physical gold and US mining shares (if you are a US citizen).
  I believe that China has made a mistake by investing in foreign mines and resources. If the resources aren't inside your borders, I don't see any chance of getting them out.
  PROTECT YOURSELF
  Fed Boston released two booklets on banking failures. Read them to get a feel for what is about to happen.
  http://www.bos.frb.org/about/pubs/panicof1.pdf
  http://www.bos.frb.org/about/pubs/closed.pdf
  Here are my personal thoughts on what to expect:
  1) Bullion will be king. The more'... the better. Keep it out of the banking system.
  2) Gold may rise above $60,000/oz at the first shot'...overnight.
  3) Silver may rise much higher and faster due to its industrial and monetary components
  4) Banks will print money to buy gold
  5) Sellers will disappear at any price
  6) Comex, LME, GLD, SLV etc will all default and the metal inventories will stay in the countries they currently reside.
  7) Expect to lose everything held by a bank.
  8) Expect EVERY country to nationalize their gold and silver mines'....NO EXCEPTIONS!
  9) Hang onto your house and your mortgage (don't pay it off until after the collapse)
  10) Stay close to home over the next few months.
  11) Have a plan if there is a system melt down (ask your friends and family to have a plan also)
  12) Have enough cash (new bills only) to last a few months
  13) Have enough food and water to last a few months
  14) Although I hate this one'...get a gun to protect your family in case of civil unrest.
  I know'...sounds like "doom and gloom" but nobody knows how this will all go down and I'd rather be prepared than dazed and confused.
  CONCLUSION
  I don't think I can leave you with a conclusion. This will be an amazing transition and the radical changes that are about to be sprung upon us will change the world forever. Hopefully it will be peaceful and fill us full of hope for the future. Ultimately, I believe this "creative destruction" will be for the better.
  Personally, I would like to thank Chairman Greenspan. It took a truly brilliant and courageous man to take down the bankers that stole my country, and I believe he has succeeded.
  GOD BLESS AMERICA
  May the Road you choose be the Right Road.
  Bix Weir
  PS - Follow the bread crumbs... http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/261.cfm
CNN: Envelope Sent to Senator Tests Positive for Deadly Poison Ricin
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Activist Post
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:50
  Activist Post According to a report by CNN, an envelope sent to Republican Sen. Roger Wicker has tested positive for the deadly poison ricin.The letter was apparently tested three different times and each time it tested positive for the poison.
  Although very little information has been released, CNN has already speculated that this could be another act of terrorism, striking fear in the hearts of Americans still dealing with yesterdays horrific attacks at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
  Senators were briefed on the matter Tuesday evening and told the congressional post offices would be temporarily shut down. "It was caught in the screening facility. That's why we have an off-site screening facility for mail," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.
  Ricin is a highly toxic substance derived from castor beans.
  As little as 500 micrograms -- an amount the size of the head of a pin -- can kill an adult. There is no specific test for exposure and no antidote once exposed.
  It can be produced easily and cheaply, and authorities in several countries have investigated links between suspect extremists and ricin. But experts say it is more effective on individuals than as a weapon of mass destruction.
  Update: CNN is now reporting that officials are not fully sure that Ricin actually was detected.(which completely contradicts their original report which made it seem like yet another act of terrorism)Stay tuned as more information is released.
  BE THE CHANGE! PLEASE SHARE THIS USING THE TOOLS BELOW
After Gold Crash, Experts Point to Central Bank Manipulation
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:49
  In the wake of gold prices cratering in recent days, more than a few prominent experts have already started pinning the blame on Western central banks '-- especially the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB).
  According to numerous analysts, the central bankers are desperate to salvage their fiat currencies and eliminate competition as ''monetary authorities'' continue to create ever-greater quantities of euros and dollars out of thin air.
  Some experts, whistleblowers, traders, and former officials say the Fed dumped as much as 400 or even 500 tons of ''paper gold'' on the market '-- metals that it might not even have '-- as part of a naked short sale aimed at driving down the prices. Other analysts, especially among the establishment, pointed to the ECB chief's recent suggestion that struggling European authorities in countries such as Cyprus would have to sell their precious metals to keep receiving bailouts.
  Gold prices plummeted from above $1,550 an ounce on April 11 to below $1,400 by Tuesday, with April 15, seeing the biggest single-day drop in some three decades. Prices for silver witnessed similarly massive declines, dropping to below $24 from around $28 less than a week ago. Analysts referred to the plunges as a ''blood bath'' that triggered even more sell orders.
  However, all of the economic fundamentals that sent gold soaring from about $400 an ounce a decade ago to more than $1,900 an ounce '-- wild currency-printing binges by privately owned central banks such as the Fed, for example '-- remain in play. Indeed, monetary authorities in the West have actually expanded their unprecedented so-called quantitative easing (QE) programs in recent years amid a supposed effort to revive the economy.
  Economist Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, assistant treasury secretary during the Reagan administration and former editor of the Wall Street Journal, is one of many experts who argue that the recent collapse in gold and silver prices was carefully orchestrated by the Fed and a coalition of allied mega-banks. In a widely cited analysis of the recent plunge in precious metals entitled ''Assault On Gold Update,'' he said the U.S. central bank was ''rigging all markets'' '-- bond prices, interest rates, and of course, the bullion market.
  The purpose, Roberts argued, is to protect the value of the dollar while the Fed continues adding to the supply of fiat U.S. currency faster than demand increases. If the dollar's exchange rate were to fall, prices would rise, the Fed would lose control over interest rates, the bond market would collapse, and turmoil would reign in the financial system, Roberts noted. So, the U.S. central bank had to act. According to Roberts and other experts, it did so by selling ''paper'' gold that may not even really exist '-- naked short selling, in other words.
  ''Rapidly rising bullion prices were an indication of loss of confidence in the dollar and were signaling a drop in the dollar's exchange rate,'' Roberts explained. ''The Fed used naked shorts in the paper gold market to offset the price effect of a rising demand for bullion possession. Short sales that drive down the price trigger stop-loss orders that automatically lead to individual sales of bullion holdings once their loss limits are reached.''
  Ex-Goldman Sachs employee and veteran London metals trader Andrew Maguire, who soared to prominence after blowing the whistle on the Fed's manipulation of gold and silver prices, offered a stunning analysis of what happened in the bullion markets in recent days as well. In an interview with King World News, Maguire said that more than 500 tons of ''paper gold'' had been dumped on the market on April 12 '-- the day gold prices started dramatically tumbling.
  ''It just amazes me how people concentrate on what's happening in one paper market,'' Maguire explained, adding that he expected a rebound in prices as shortages develop in the physical gold market amid massive central bank purchases out of countries like China, Russia, Brazil, and India. ''I think we've reached a point of capitulation. I cannot see how the central bank buying cannot overwhelm all of these short sales, despite the leverage.''
  Former U.S. Treasury policy chief Roberts cited Maguire and agreed, pointing to ''powerful'' circumstantial evidence of Fed intervention in the gold market. However, despite dramatic central bank manipulation, the scam could be on the verge of coming apart at the seams, Roberts explained, citing strong signals that the Fed would not be able to come up with the physical supply on demand.
  ''Unless the authorities have the actual metal with which to back up the short selling, they could be met with demands for deliveries,'' Roberts noted, pointing to the Fed's bizarre decision not to send Germany's gold after it was formally requested. ''Unable to cover the shorts with real metal, the scheme would be exposed.''
  So what does it all mean? ''I see the orchestrated effort to suppress the price of gold and silver as a sign that the authorities are frightened that trouble is brewing that they cannot control unless there is strong confidence in the dollar,'' Roberts concluded. ''Otherwise, what is the point of the heavy short selling and orchestrated announcements of gold sales in advance of the sales?''
  Of course, Roberts is hardly the only prominent expert expressing deep suspicion about what is going on in the bullion markets. Robert Fitzwilson, founder of the investment management and financial advisory firm The Portola Group, argues that what is happening is essentially a heist aimed at looting the wealth of innocent people worldwide '-- indeed, an act of ''terrorism'' perpetrated by the establishment against unsuspecting victims.
  ''It is a robbery,'' he explained matter-of-factly. ''It is about taking that person's money or other valuable items. The purpose of Friday's mugging was not to send a message. It was about confiscating wealth through fear, and it worked beautifully. Untold billions of real wealth was forcibly transferred to concentrated positions at certain institutions and countries through this act of financial terrorism. It is not personal. It is simply about taking your wealth.''
  James West, publisher of the influential investment-focused Midas Letter, argued that the recent collapse in metals prices was actually the best example yet of how the Fed-sponsored ''American Syndicate of Collusion and Manipulation (AMSCAM)'' operates. ''It's as plain as the false U.S. economic recovery, and anybody who can't see it should consider a lobotomy,'' he wrote.
  Simplified, West said, the scam works through an unholy alliance of mega-banks such as Goldman Sachs building up massive short contract positions in the futures market without executing the trades, putting up only five percent of the cash for the contracts. The Fed-backed bankers then get the establishment press to encourage shorting gold, pointing to an alleged ''recovery'' in the U.S. economy. Finally, the trade is executed; sending prices plummeting and encouraging holders of physical gold to start selling while the bankers ''mop up'' as the market craters. ''Rinse and repeat,'' West wrote of the scam.
  ''The sheer intensity of the Friday gold assault is indicative of the depth of commitment by the members of AmScam's group to the destruction of gold's price correlation to economic and currency health,'' he added. ''This latest attack on gold is a direct response to the Japanese launch of its intensified $1.4 trillion asset purchase program. The move by the Japanese has notched up the currency devaluation competition, and AMSCAM realized that this move would drive investors away from currencies generally and into precious metals. This is a bald-faced attempt to destroy the appeal of gold as a safe haven against debased fiat currencies.''
  Even as much of the ''establishment'' gloats about the crashing of gold prices '-- The New York Times' discredited Keynesian ''economist'' Paul Krugman was quick to celebrate the news as a vindication of his radical theories '-- countless experts say now may be a good time to buy more physical metals at a discount. This writer attempted to purchase some today; the little store was packed and most of the bullion was sold out, including silver that had not even arrived yet. Indeed, the fundamentals have not changed: central banks are ramping up the currency printing, none of the systemic problems that led to the recent financial crisis has actually been addressed, and the economy has hardly entered a true, sustainable ''recovery.''
  ''It seems to me that what is intact at the moment is the determination of central banks to print their way out of trouble, which is terrifically bullish for gold over the long term,'' James Grant, publisher of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, told Bloomberg in a TV interview about the recent crash in prices. ''Gold is not so much a hedge against inflation as it is against monetary disorder.'... I am indeed bullish on the stuff '-- bullish but chagrined.''
  Citing a wide array of experts, The New American magazine explained in detail how the Fed was manipulating markets, including gold and silver prices, in a 2010 report about how monetary authorities have essentially rigged markets in everything from stocks and bonds to bullion. ''Central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities, should the price of gold rise,'' then-Fed boss Alan Greenspan told the House Banking Committee in 1998. In other words, if gold prices go up, the central bank will make sure they come back down. The Fed has publicly admitted as much.
  Even before Greenspan's infamous admission, a ''confidential'' Fed document dated April 5, 1961, available in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' archives, revealed the central bank's hand in the metals market. ''Monetary authorities in the United States '... have maintained the stability (and primacy) of the dollar in the international currency structure by standing ready to buy gold from, and sell it to, foreign monetary authorities who either need or acquire dollars for exchange purposes,'' reads the paper, entitled ''U.S. Foreign Exchange Operations: Needs and Methods.'' The minutes from Fed ''Open Market Committee'' meetings showed the central bankers jubilantly admitting that even mentioning a possible gold sale would drive the price down. The Fed, of course, also admits that it is a privately owned institution.
  As of noon Eastern Time on April 16, gold had rebounded by about $40, though even the most determined bulls say the price could go even lower. Still, numerous experts say it may be a good time to buy '-- especially if there really is a shortage in the physical market developing, as evidence and analysts suggest. Meanwhile, as The New American reported in February, 2012 saw a record demand for gold, with much of it coming from central bankers in BRICS countries.
  ''On the other end of this ripple [caused by the Fed dumping gold], almost the same amount of gold is being purchased by the Chinese,'' explained CEO Art Thompson with The John Birch Society, a conservative organization and affiliate of this magazine that follows the issue closely. ''Those that have the gold rule; that's the way it is. Follow the flow of gold, you can see the flow of power '-- that is an ancient reality.'' He added that the establishment media was also pumping out articles aimed at getting average people to sell their precious metals, but the reality of what is going on is not being addressed.
  The socialist and communist-minded regimes ruling the BRICS countries, meanwhile, recently signed their latest declaration calling for a global currencymanaged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would presumably replace the U.S. dollar as the world reserve eventually. They also called for Third World rulers to have a larger role in the international monetary system. As they continue gobbling up gold at what strongly appear to be artificially depressed prices, the BRICS rulers may ultimately get what they want '-- at least if and when the dollar finally loses its prized status as the global reserve, forcing a complete redesign of the global system. In the end, if nothing is done, Americans will likely end up among the biggest losers.
  '--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'---
  Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more.He can be reached at anewman@thenewamerican.com.
  Related articles:
  Fed Manipulations in the Crosshairs
  BRICS Regimes Forge New World Bank, Call for Global Currency
  Amid Record Demand in 2012, Central Banks Scramble to Buy Gold
  Arizona Legislature Approves Gold and Silver as Money
  Waking up to a World Currency
  The Emerging Global Fed
MSNBC Brings On Guest To Wonder About Bomber's Message: 'Abortion?' 'Taxes?' 'Tea Party?'
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:43
  If the player does not load, please check that you are running the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
  MSNBC brought featured author and professor Adam Lankford on Tuesday to wonder about the "message" of the Boston bomber. Was it to "complain about abortion, about taxes?" The guest, labeled a "MSNBC analyst," guessed, " This did happen on tax day in Boston, the place of the Tea Party." He continued the reckless speculation: " Or are they trying to protest, you know, foreign wars or something." Lankford, a professor at the University of Alabama, has written a book on what makes suicide bombers and rampage shooters do what do. He theorized, "The interesting thing is, this is someone on a stage trying to make a statement and that statement has been lost."
  Video cross-posted at NewsBusters.
TSA detains travelers for discussing sandwich '-- RT USA
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:43
  Using slang at an airport could get you in trouble with the TSA: after a 29-year-old airline passenger described his lunch as ''the bomb'' '' thereby indicating the deliciousness of his sandwich '' he was detained, questioned and missed his flight.
  His lunch was ''the bomb,'' but the security process was not: Jason Michael Cruz was at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport last Thursday when the Transportation Security Administration came after him.
  A TSA officer had overheard the young man talk to a friend and describe a deli sandwich he bought as ''the wrong kind of bomb.'' Cruz was referring to a 12-inch sandwich that a local Astoria deli calls ''The Bomb'' '' a slang term that indicates both the excellence of the sandwich and the 'explosively' jam-packed ingredients between the bread. The sandwich was fully packed with cold cuts, cheese and toppings, but a nearby TSA agent didn't know the context of the conversation between Cruz and his friend, Matthew Okumoto.
  Cruz said he wanted to bring ''The Bomb'' aboard the plane in his carry-on luggage, which a TSA official interpreted as a discussion about an explosive device, the New York Post reports. Paranoid that the men planned to detonate an explosive weapon on their plane to Los Angeles, the official reported the conversation to her supervisor, Robert Haddock.
  Officers then detained the pair at a security checkpoint, subjected them to questioning in a holding area, called the airport police and caused the men to miss their flight.
  ''The TSA clerk probably got a merit badge for her quick thinking in reporting the Scary Terroristy Threat to a supervisor, and that supervisor probably got promoted. Meanwhile, Cruz missed his flight,'' writes Lisa Simeone, a blogger for the TSA News Blog.
  Meanwhile, TSA agents fail to discover explosives going through airport security. Last month, an undercover TSA agent successfully bypassed security at Newark Liberty National Airport with a mock bomb. To test the effectiveness of the security screening procedures, the agent went through two screenings with an improvised explosive device-like contraption in his pants.
  TSA never discovered the device. Instead, agents have stopped passengers for describing sandwiches, removed the legs of a double-amputee, laughed at nude images of airline passengers, stolen expensive jewelry from travelers and arrested a man for carrying a jar of peanut butter.
  Travelers wishing to avoid arrest should refrain from describing their lunch items as ''the bomb'' '' even if they do provide an ''explosion'' of flavor. Speaking about contraptions at an airport may more quickly lead to an arrest than discretely bringing one.
THE PRICKER | http://thepricker.synthasite.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:28
  Figure 1: a simple pricker, enlarged two times. The clear back cover (B) holds the lead weight (W) down so the tip of the penetrating element (P) is just inside a tiny aperture (not shown) in the front plate (F). When the front plate strikes the target skin (T) the inertia of the lead weight drives the penetrating element through the front plate into the target skin. The springy reed (R) then draws the penetrating element back into the pricker. The pricker sticks to the palm of the assassin's hand (H) with double-sided tape. Glue (G) holds the reed and the back cover to the front plate. The penetrating element, a sharp spicule or tubule of glass, metal or plastic - like a wasp stinger - penetrates >1mm (1/25 inch) past the face of the front plate. You can use a 0.1mm (1/250 inch) bristle, from a fine stainless steel wire brush, honed to a point with a high-speed polishing wheel. Use a microscope to check your work. The front plate (about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long) and back cover are made from a thermoplastic peanut butter jar softened in boiling water. The lead weight, an air-gun pellet pressed flat on the end of the reed, is padded for silence. The reed is 2cm (0.8 inch) X 3mm (0.12 inch) X 0.3mm (0.012 inch) stiff plastic packaging material. Cover the front plate with flesh colored bandage. If the penetrating element passes through bandage that is wet with viral suspension it can pick up virus to strike a whole series of targets at one time. The professional pricker is smaller, spring powered and triggered by pressure.
  In a world of death squads, massacres, disappearances and genocides, is it reasonable to say that this highly efficient, economical and obvious weapon has not been used? If it were used only by other countries, US intelligence agencies would be aware of its use. Why then has the US Government not denounced the use of this weapon and warned potential victims of its presence? They don't do that because the US uses it too.
  I have had personal experience with both domestic and foreign operatives using prickers within the US, at the request of the US Government. The rationale stated here should give you a reasonable indication that prickers are used in this country, but it is not an absolute proof. The diseases of the ex-spouses, which I will describe, provide a proof so strong that some of these attacks will have to stop.
  Governments need to keep using natural looking diseases for assassination, they are addicted. If they quit 'cold turkey' then the cause of death of many of their previous victims would be known too plainly. Some diseases are caused mainly, or exclusively by intent. Have you heard of the meningococcus strain that is covered with human protein? It is easy to see that such a bacterium would be highly lethal, but where does it come from? It has no evolutionary advantage. It immediately kills its only host. It has no natural reservoir. Its origin was a bioweapons lab. The so-called 'flesh eating' bacterium is the same way; every victim is promptly cured or killed.
  The disease most commonly thought of in relation to the pricker is AIDS. That is because people have always suspected that AIDS was deliberately engineered. The AIDS virus is wholly dependant on the reverse transcriptase molecule, which is not needed by human cells. This presents an important target for AIDS drugs. The AIDS virus is able to develop new reverse transcriptase molecules so as to be resistant to any one drug. It has been described as a 'smart virus'. I concur; it has actual intellect behind it. In Africa AIDS strikes heterosexuals. It is revealing that this more contagious strain remained confined to Africa, while the less contagious variety, which depends primarily on anal intercourse, was able to come to America. This is fortunate for Americans who do not have anal intercourse, but hate those who do. There is no real evidence that AIDS is ever transmitted sexually. There is a correlation with sexual activity, but that is because the people who use prickers know the sexual activities of their victims. Some diseases are used to establish a history of illness, without disabling or killing immediately. AIDS, Hepatitis C, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis (MS) are common ones.
  MS is an autoimmune degenerative disease of the central nervous system. It afflicts over 100,000 people in this country alone. It has a remarkable latitude related distribution. Sometimes it is used to debilitate, as in the case of Senator Paul Wellstone. He died in a plane crash shortly after I published this description of how to cause MS. The term 'multiple sclerosis' was coined around 1880-1885. It is now six times as common as it was a hundred years ago. That is because the pricker is now six times as common. Medical science says the cause is unknown, but an immunologic mechanism is suspected. Everything about MS says it is a well understood autoimmune disease. The blood brain barrier normally isolates the myelin of the central nervous system, so the immune system does not recognize it as 'self'. There is antimyelin antibody in the MS victim's blood. Progressive lesions are inflamed as an autoimmune lesion would be. The disease is induced experimentally in animals by inoculating myelin proteins. There are even bacteria, genetically engineered to carry human myelin protein on their surface, which induce MS after infecting an animal. Yet the medical profession can not be quite sure. It is as if a car smashed into your house, but the police could not quite prove that the car was not an elephant, or a tree, or a meteor shaped like a car. The medical profession doesn't know what causes MS because their leaders know full well what, and who, causes it. I have presented something that really does cause MS as often as anyone wants to use it. If our adversaries say there is some other cause, let them show us what it is.
  It may be that the government is already preparing explanations for the missing diseases. In 2002 there was an ad on PBS's News Hour where ADM 'supermarket to the world' said ''Imagine a world where health problems are prevented before they even start; is the answer natural food supplements called 'nutriceuticals'? We're finding out. ADM '' the nature of what's to come.'' The point of this ad was that if the government stops using natural looking diseases, the cessation of new cases of some of them would demand explanation. We could then have been told that ADM had been finding out about 'nutriceuticals' by adding them to the world's food supply, and that 'they must be working!' When I asked what they were doing to 'find out' if 'nutriceuticals' were 'the answer', ADM management was deceptive and highly evasive.
  Spousal Disease: Many years ago I met a woman who had just divorced a government agent. She had also just had a radical mastectomy. She was afraid of her ex-husband, afraid for her life. That a woman should have to live (and die) in fear of this 'public servant' struck me as very wrong. Since then I have met a couple of other women who have broken off marriages with government agents. In each case the woman was diagnosed with cancer within a year of breaking up.
  This was not a natural occurrence. According to the California Cancer Registry, January 1991 the cancer rate for women of all races, aged 35-39 was 1/680 in 1988. The combined probability that all three young women that I had met, at random, from these marriages would have cancer within one year is then on the order of 1:680 X 680 X 680 or 1:314,432,000 by chance alone.
  These women didn't get cancer because divorce and mortal fear are stressful. Emotional stress as a factor in carcinogenesis can account for a few percentage points at most. That is too small an influence to be reliably detectable. This is a cancer rate that is thousands of percent too high. Among other things, several attempts on my own life have confirmed to me that these cancers are intentional assaults.
  Viruses are not the only way to cause cancer. Breast cancer, for example, can first be simulated by drugging the victim and injecting foreign material. The victim's body then slowly, apparently naturally, forms a fibrous mass that suggests malignancy. On biopsy, only the pathologist (from the agent's healthcare provider) would know the difference. Once a person has a cancer in their medical history, they can be killed at any time without suspicion. For example, it may be desirable to wait until the children graduate from high school. Breast cells, transformed in vitro by inserting oncogenes, can be cultured and stored. Injected in suspension back into the victim, these cells can produce widespread deadly disease on demand.
  That is a slow, calculated approach to murder; what if the heat of passion just won't wait? ''Turn her head slowly a little way one way, then quickly a long way the other way.'' I am quoting a federal agent who was joking with an assassin about killing the assassin's wife. The kind of hyper-rotation he was talking about results in a dislocation of the atlanto-axial joint. That is the connection between the top two neck bones. To make a broken neck look like an act of God, the victim is ventilated and taken to a special surgeon/assassin. The victim is then diagnosed with rising intracranial pressure due to brain cancer. The base of the skull and part of the top neck bone are removed, supposedly to remove the tumor and relieve the pressure, obscuring the real cause of collapse. The rumor was spread that perhaps cell phones caused cancers.
  I think the justification that is used is that these spouses could pose a threat to national security. Section 412 in chapter 15 (national security) of title 50 (war and national defense) of the US code begins with ''All laws, orders, and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this title are repealed insofar as they are inconsistent with the powers, duties, and responsibilities enacted hereby'''... [Except spending and financial reporting]. So Congress has repealed all laws against killing your spouse insofar as they are inconsistent with your duty to protect national security. The perpetrators find it necessary to violate the one law that they have sworn to defend and uphold '' the Constitution. They also know this argument can hold only as long as outsiders do not hear about it.
  The real threat to the national security establishment is the exposure of all the criminal activity of agents perpetrated under cover of title 50. These spouses have been in a position to witness and hear about many crimes. That position is a matter of public record and gives them some immediate credibility. The acrimony that often follows matrimony, or feelings of social responsibility, may motivate them to talk. Agents also have such usual motives as money, child custody, love, hate, anger, jealousy and power. They have the unusual temptations of convenience and invulnerability.
  There are a few different statistical approaches to demonstrate this use of cancer. You could use a random sample of agent ex-spouses, under age 40. In a sample numbering 34 or less, a single cancer, within one year of divorce, represents a positive test result to the 95% confidence level, that this population is under some extraordinary influence. There is actually more than one in random sample that size.
  I launched a Program to Uncover Regular Government Executions (PURGE). This program avoids the possibility of sampling error and fraud by using the entire population of the FBI and other agencies for which the number of agents is known. It will overcome the uncertainties of divorce rates and ages by showing that there are too many victims to be accounted for by chance even if every agent divorces a young spouse. If all 11,000 agents of the FBI divorce a young spouse every ten years they should have ((11000/10)/680)=1.62 of these cancers per year. Because these assumptions are extremely conservative, and we cannot identify more than a fraction of actual cases, identification of more than 16 cases from the years 1991-2000 is strong evidence. That is less than one case for every three states in the union.
  By publishing this I have created another interesting proof. It applies to governments around the world, so do not call me 'anti-American'. Look at the health histories of all the spouses of all the public officials who have left office between 4/31/2001 and 10/13/2004. Get your newspaper to publish lists of all those departed officials from your state and country, and all of their ex-spouses status (alive, dead, known illness). Your newspapers work to suppress the relevant data, so a complete listing will allow you to identify specific omissions and falsifications. Since no newspaper will publish such data, we can already recognize the extreme corruption of the world. That those people have left offices around the world will tell you that a very large number of other people have also been aware of my work, and said nothing. The ways some of them have left office may also be revealing. Some US representatives, for example, have lost their congressional districts. This will show that these criminal conspirators controlled the redistricting process.
  The CIA, among other agencies, maintains a propaganda office. One technique is to keep long, carefully researched book manuscripts on hold so that in an emergency something can be written, inserted into the manuscript, printed and delivered the next day as if they had been written months or years earlier. This changing the record of what happened before or after another event is typical of government disinformation. Book reviews from prominent people bolster the impression of long preparation. One subject the CIA is most prepared to deal with in this way is the CIA itself. In his book Bombs, Bugs, Drugs and Thugs ((C)2000, but received by my library the month after the 2001 radio broadcast mentioned in 'reactions', below) Loch Johnson describes that propaganda office (p. 101). A review of this book by former vice president Walter Mondale is printed on the jacket. This book also mentions that CIA lie detectors caught one of their people who had killed his wife (p. 104), the message being that this was an aberration that was appropriately dealt with.
  On page 182 there is a quote, often used in government propaganda, from an executive order 'prohibiting' assassination. He is referring to Executive Order 12333, section 2.11. What he doesn't point out is that section 3.5 of that 'order' says that it is only a guideline and has no force '' 'Don't assassinate, but it's OK if you do.' The same executive order applies the same (non)prohibition to human experimentation and domestic infiltration, which also happens on a very large scale.
  On page 103 he says the CIA developed an 'undiscernable microbioinoculator' for assassination. The intended message is that this is old news, not secret, and not worthy of any discussion. The point I take from this is that Mr. Johnson, a former senior congressional staffer for both house and senate intelligence committees, has published acknowledgement that the US Government developed such a weapon.
  On page 216 Mr. Johnson describes the creation of a joint presidential-congressional commission to reform the intelligence community. He says the final factor in initiating the reforms was the revelation of the Aldrich Ames spy case. He should know; he was special assistant to the chair of that commission (p. 298). Aldrich Ames pleaded guilty in April, 1994. The CIA knew it would have to negate those reforms. Whatever tactic was used would work best if the public were not watching too closely. In June 1994 Nicole Brown-Simpson was killed. A rumor was circulated at the outset that Mrs. Simpson's murder was part of a government plot so as to make the idea seem silly and pointless '' the point of the plot was still many months away. Telling the public that a well loved sports hero had brutally murdered his ex-wife served to distract them. A year later, at the height of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the chairman of that commission ate lunch with the director of the CIA at the CIA. The next morning he was hospitalized. The day after that, 5/21/1995, Chairman Les Aspin, age 56, died of a 'stroke'. In the 'media whiteout' of the Simpson trial, no one commented on the circumstances of the death of the man who was to reform the intelligence community. The commission became the Aspin-Brown Commission and, according to Mr. Johnson, did little but affirm the integrity of US intelligence.
  While this explanation may make a lot of sense, it is hard to prove. There were different directors at the CIA for the two killings. The Simpson trial lasted a long time, and a lot of things happened in that time. Mr. Simpson once said that the people who killed Nicole would probably get caught because of something else they did '' he was right. There is another case where the same people did the same thing for the same purpose. The difference is, this other case was in response to an unexpected crisis, and happened the day after the crisis hit. I am referring to the disappearance of Washington Intern Chandra Levy (see 'Reactions' below). I don't prove it, but getting 'caught', for these people, is more a matter of public perception than absolute proof.
  Some people reject my observations on the grounds that our 'public servants' would not or could not do such things. We pay these 'servants' to lie, steal and kill in the most hostile places on earth. Why would they stop here, where they are most secure to act, but politically vulnerable? Another objection is that the government has been caught red handed doing worse things than this and never had a major purge. Interestingly this objection, mutually exclusive to the last one, usually comes from the same people. I think they simply don't want to believe it.
  In some ways, this is the most shameful, noxious, malevolence in human history. There has been genocide (like giving smallpox to the Indians), but that is something that is done to groups that are alien in some way. There have been assassinations of and by members of royal families. People in all walks of life have always been known to kill their individual spouses. But there has never been an irrefutable proof, of broad conspiracy, among the most powerful people, in governments all over the world, to use their positions of trust, to murder defenseless women, the mothers of their own children, whom they have personally sworn to love and protect, over a period of decades, by the most agonizing possible means, and lay the blame on God. Never.
  Reactions: On April 30, 2001, I briefly '' and unexpectedly '' outlined my thoughts on these spousal cancers in a live radio broadcast, before being cut off. The next day FBI Director Louis Freeh met with his entire senior staff and then announced his resignation. He gave no reason. That same day, 5/1/01, Washington Intern Chandra Levy disappeared. The 'media whiteout' from her case lasted until 9/11/01. Her one-time lover, Gary Condit, sat on the House Intelligence Committee. Ms Levy reportedly aspired to be an FBI agent, and had an unidentified FBI boyfriend.
  On August 8 I notified Congressman Rohrabacher's office in writing. Later that month I delivered about two hundred copies of that letter to attendees of five of his 'town hall meetings'. He has never responded. On August 29 I notified the offices of Senators Feinstein, Boxer and some foreign consulates '' including the Chinese Consulate on Shatto Place in Los Angeles.
  The Chinese could use my ideas with their data about US agents to produce blackmail. They could only use it as a doomsday weapon because of the damage it would do to their own government. The way to remove that blackmail (to the extent that they now have that hold over the US), is to make it completely public. I think President Bush's secret agenda included the destruction of China. In order to do so he would have to implement the plan ahead of schedule, before the Chinese realized what I had given them. To destroy the nuclear arsenal of China it would be best to make a surprise attack. The plan has failed, but here is how it would have been possible to attack China, on the other side of the world, with its spies, and its satellite surveillance technology, by surprise.
  I visited the Chinese Consulate 13 days before the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The September 11 attacks provided a reason for the US to prepare for war on an unspecified enemy, move a fleet of ships to the Indian Ocean and actually fire missiles to the north without objection from the Chinese (Afghanistan borders on Western China). The US was able to occupy bases in the central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. Those bases would have enabled strikes as deep into Western China as those from the Pacific in the East.
  President Bush said we had to keep our target completely secret while openly threatening the Taliban. These juxtaposed statements imply the Taliban was not the target. Ordinarily a surprise war would be unconstitutional but in this case Congress had authorized the use of force against those nations ''he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided'' the 9/11 attacks. President Bush would have justified this attack by claiming China was behind the September 11 attacks.
  Here are some of the background events intended to make the case that China was secretly attacking the America:
  · When Osama bin Laden was blamed for destroying the US embassies in Africa, it made me think he was either totally ignorant of what was going on in the United States, or he is a secret friend of the CIA. Those attacks helped President Clinton obtain acquittal when he was impeached on charges of obstruction of justice. Mr. bin Laden's background of being trained by the CIA and supplied by the CIA adds to the impression that he is a secret friend. The years of building him up as the fanatical enemy of the US may all have been to create this one great surprise for China, the US's only remaining contender for world power. No one has ever published any evidence that Mr. bin Laden has ordered any attack on the US. The CIA would have claimed that they did not make any open response to the African embassy bombings, because they didn't want to reveal their source of information. They would have claimed they made a 'cold war' response instead. They would have said they sent a message (a message the Chinese could not understand) by bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
  · That attack (attributed to a mapping error) took place nine months after the US Embassy bombings in Africa. The CIA doesn't usually nominate bombing targets for the military. On 7/22/1999 CIA Director Tenet testified before Congress that what turned out to be the Chinese Embassy was the only target developed by the CIA, struck in the Kosovo war. NATO sources have already told some European newspapers that the Chinese had been deliberately targeted.
  · The latest open hostility of China toward the US was clearly initiated by an officer of the Chinese military. On April-Fool's-Day 2001 a Chinese jet-fighter collided with an unarmed, propeller driven American surveillance plane. There was, however, no way for China to find out if that officer was really working for the US. After damaging the American plane he disappeared into the warm, tropical ocean. This was presented as a hostile attempt to menace the Americans, resulting in an accidental collision. After destroying China the US would have 'discovered' the Chinese pilot (American agent), and had him describe a Chinese plan to deliberately down the technology laden American plane by crashing into it. The crash occurred in the most controlled possible way '' by inserting the upright part of the tail of the fighter into the propeller of the far left engine of the American plane, from below. Fighters fly in pairs, so if this were the US plot I perceive, this crash would have to happen on the last available fuel because the downed pilot would need to be alone to meet his US extraction team. If it were really an accident it would have happened anytime in the flight. In the event it happened at the last possible minute. The wingman just had time to fix the location of the parachute '' he couldn't even wait for his partner to hit the water before he had to leave. For last minute coordination it would be desirable to be able to exchange code words with that pilot when he was at home or at work. The US was able to do that openly with e-mail. They claim (4/6/2001 New York Times) to have a picture of him in flight displaying his e-mail address. The largest search in China's naval history (4/10/2001 New York Times), under clear skies, for a man with a life raft, radio, signal flare, and wearing a brightly colored life-vest, failed to find him. There was a report in the American press, from an unnamed Chinese military official, of him being picked up at specific coordinates at 2:00 p.m. the day of the crash. The fighter pilot was Wang Wei. In China the family name comes first '' Wang. Does that name sound familiar?
  · In 1994 the US suffered what was billed as the worst incident of 'friendly fire' in its recent military history. Two Blackhawk helicopters were destroyed over an Iraqi no-fly zone, killing all 26 on board. The only person court-martialed was an AWACS radar operator. His testimony was directly contradicted by a recording of the screen he had supposedly been using, but he was acquitted. His name was Captain Wang (both Jim and Michael were reported first names).
  · Big budget Hollywood movies can be used to shape public perceptions and expectations. The one that depicted Arabs trying to blow up New York was the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, appropriately named True lies ((C)1994). In it we see that behind the Arab terrorist we can expect to find an agent of China.
  A real Chinese plot would make sure their Arab surrogates did all their own preparation, communication, command and control on 9/11/2001. A plot to fraudulently incriminate China, on the other hand, would want to have ethnic Chinese directly involved. Aircrews are subject to security checks (then and now) only when they are in public view. Smuggling blades aboard American Airlines Flight 77 would have been ascribed to Bill Cheng, a regular pilot on that rout, who took that Tuesday off 'to go camping' (9/13/2001 New York Times). Dong Lee, a 48-year old engineer, was a passenger on that flight who could later have been called a spy. Mr. Lee worked for Boeing, where some airliners were found to have been sabotaged a few years ago. American Airlines Flight11 had Flight Attendant Betty Ong on board.
  The two United flights that day have a less direct, but still compelling clue. UA-93 lost 45 people and UA-175 had 65 deaths. When you add up the names of all the people identified from those flights '' passengers, crew and terrorists '' the total is one less than the number reported dead, on each flight.
  United's management has been extremely deceptive and evasive on this question. The last lie I had from Manager of Information Security Tom Kayser, after months of looking, was that United no longer had the passenger manifests from those flights. When I first wrote about this in the 4/21/2003 edition of The Pricker I said I thought United would respond to me by claiming the original death toll had been overstated. On 5/13/2003 that happened when Mr. Kayser told me a fat lady on flight 93 had booked two seats '' he was unable to name her and unable to recall who told him that. I am not even sure that Mr. Kayser works for United, but their public relations staff was just as blatantly deceptive. The FBI kept these two United identities secret because having Chinese crewmembers associated with all four flights could have alerted China. United subsequently entered bankruptcy so everyone who knew the two unnamed dead could be laid off, dispersed, and quietly killed.
  When the second airplane hit the WorldTradeCenter at 9:03, the whole world knew the US was under airborne attack. It was another 42 minutes before the Pentagon was hit. During this interval none of the fighter aircraft of any of the armed services from any of the airbases in the area defended the capital. The DC Air National Guard '' 'The Capital Guardians' '' and their squadron of F-16s, for example, are based just one minute away from the Pentagon. This is an indication of intent, in multiple military organizations, to allow further attacks. The official explanation is that it took too long to arm and launch such aircraft. Any one aircraft or any one base armory could have some sort of problem that could make this a plausible explanation, but not several bases, at 9:03 am on a clear weekday. That day NORAD had no alert aircraft within a hundred miles of the District of Columbia. Since when have Washington bureaucrats ever put their own security in second place?
  The FAA waited unbelievably long times to call NORAD for each hijacking. The flight that hit the Pentagon reversed course at 8:55 and the FAA waited until 9:24 to call NORAD. NORAD decided to wait for an official invitation to intercept each individual attacker before ordering any of its alert aircraft aloft. Major Edward Thomas from NORAD public affairs, tells me they could not attack domestic civilian targets without permission, but that is no excuse for not getting into position.
  The F16s that lifted off from Langley Air Force Base at 9:30 somehow managed not to go to the capital before 9:45. The NORAD news release of 9/18/2001, while worded to conceal, reveals some details. The units of distance, ''miles'', in that document are seen to be 1852-meter-long international nautical miles by their specification that it was 153 miles from Otis ANG Base to the first crash site (this is the distance from the base to the New York city limit '' 153 statute miles won't even reach that far). It states that the F-16s that left Langley AFB (113 miles from the Pentagon) at 9:30 were 105 miles from the crash site at 9:37. So these supersonic fighters were closing on the capital at a speed you can drive your car (presumably by an indirect rout). The 9/13/2001 New York Times reported that the Pentagon was hit at 9:45 am. NORAD 'estimates' the crash time was 9:37, based on the loss of signal from some unspecified radar facility, because the longer this indirect approach goes on the worse it looks. Major Tomas said my words are 'not helpful', but offers no substantial rebuttal. The real cover for this absurdity is people's urge to believe that defenders will defend.
  In order to have the desired psychological impact, the plot would call for the 9/11 attacks to kill many more people on the ground, than died in the airplanes themselves. The sudden, complete destruction of a major metropolitan landmark would have been preferred to mere damage and defacement. To achieve these objectives the twin towers would have to come down. The problem was that they were built to withstand the impact of airliners. Ensuring the fall of the towers would require explosive charges, placed just below the damage from the aircraft. The demolition teams would require elevators to get in and out before the firefighters could climb the stairs. That complex elevator system was such that every floor was near the top of some elevator shafts. Photos and witnesses say that floors beneath the crash sites still had electricity, so the lower elevators were operable.
  On page 28 of his Report From Ground Zero (Viking, 2002) Denis Smith reports Deputy Chief Hayden saying the firefighters at the elevator control panel in the lobby of tower one did not have control of the elevators. The demolition teams would want to appear as police, so no one would give them orders, but have air tanks to get close to the damaged floors. On page 38 Mr. Smith describes a group of police with masks, blue hardhats, air tanks, and large black nylon satchels. They passed through the lobby of building one and into a stairwell just before the other building was hit. These may have been some of the 14 NYPD Emergency Services Officers lost that day, but it was just that easy for anyone to carry anything into those buildings.
  In order to control the movements of elevators and security personnel the perpetrators would have to control the WTC security department. That control took the form of Chief of Security John O'Neill. This man (nicknamed 'The Count', 'The Prince of Darkness' and 'Satan') was a senior FBI agent. He spent the last several years heading major investigations of Osama bin Laden. To stifle conspiracy theorists it would be desirable to claim to find his lifeless body. The body identified as his was found just ten days after the attacks in a collapsed stairwell '' a remarkably short time since he should have been below most of the other bodies in the wreckage. The stairwells were in the building core and he was last seen alive outside that building after the second crash. Most of the other bodies had not been recovered by June 2002. Under the circumstances any similar body found in his clothes would be identified as John O'Neill.
  Evidence of foreknowledge of a crime is usually used to convict criminals, but in his case it has been cited to praise how smart he was (Frontline, 'The man who knew', PBS, etc.). O'Neill has been quoted as saying, in the weeks and within hours before the attacks, that ''Something big is going to happen.'' Not saying that terrorists would try something big, but that it 'would happen'. John O'Neill was married but in the weeks before the attacks he talked of marrying two other girlfriends. Such conflicting commitments might not bother someone who was planning to vanish forever. He made good money and lived with a working woman, but ran his credit up to the limit, even taking personal loans. There are conflicting reports about whether Agent O'Neill started that job before or after my first visit to the Chinese Consulate, but this point is not critical to my model of his mission. The fact that there are conflicting reports is, in itself, suggestive but I think my actions only accelerated a plot that was already going forward.
  The afternoon of October 5, 2001 I tried to interfere with this plan by telling the Chinese why I thought this was happening. In Afghanistan that was the morning of October 6. The next day the US began bombing there. Starting on 10/9/2001 I delivered a written description of my interpretation to several hundred people. If that interpretation were correct, the administration would want to make some excuse to explain my knowledge that China had been our target. That same day President Bush made such an excuse by complaining of information leaking from congress.
  These crimes are bad for stock markets. Sharp declines in stock markets around the world from the previous week, and from the previous day, made newspaper headlines on 9/11/2001. That decline was the result of the withdrawal of vast capital '' far more than the value of stocks under the influence of Osama bin Laden.
  Lies: The plot to destroy China was only a part of a much greater overarching conspiracy. I will describe it to you. There are lies all around us. Not exaggerations, or mistakes, or alternative interpretations; I mean deliberate, carefully crafted deceptions, from the trivial to the very foundations of our perceived reality. I want to demonstrate these lies to you in a convincing way, so I will give you some examples. People expect to be lied to for money, murder, politics, military and technological things, so I will not use those lies as examples here. I will start with something far removed from our daily struggles. There is nothing farther from us than astronomy. In astronomy, the thing that is farthest is the big bang.
  The big bang does not seem to have much use in getting anything for anybody, so people assume that analysis of it, while perhaps flawed, is generally honest. It is not. This overwhelmingly dominant idea about the origin and structure of the universe is false. It may have started as a misinterpretation, but over most of its history it has been promoted as a deliberate lie. I have already described how the biggest sociopolitical events of today have been fabrications. Now, by showing that the biggest thing in physical science has been falsified for decades, I will show that there is no field of inquiry that should not be suspect.
  The big bang theory says that all matter in the universe started in one place billions of years ago, and expanded to the way we see it now. The origin and basis of this theory is the observation that everything now seems to be moving away from us. Galaxies seem to be moving away from us because light from them has shifted to greater wavelengths than it was emitted at. It is called a 'redshift'. ''For some years after Hubble demonstrated the law of redshifts and tied it to the expanding universe, attempts were made to reinterpret the redshifts as resulting from other causes '' for example, the tired light phenomenon '' but gradually these ideas died away.'' '' Arp, et al, nature, vol. 346, p. 807. As Mr. Arp knows very well, those ideas did not all die a natural death. Light traveling many millions of years in this universe really does lose energy, here is how; I will break it down to two separate ideas for explanation.
  First, there is a relativistic effect called 'transverse redshift'. When an object moves at speeds near the speed of light, without approaching or receding from an observer, but across the observer's line of sight, light from that object appears to be redshifted. At ordinary speeds the effect is too small to be noticed, but it is still there '' it is inherent in the relative motion.
  Second, light interacts gravitationally. Light passing a heavy mass, like the sun or a galaxy, changes course slightly. By placing one stellar mass after another in a ring, it would be theoretically possible to send photons back in the direction from which they came, using gravity alone. If the ring of masses we use to do this were moving away from the source of the photons, the reflected photons would be redshifted, by this purely gravitational interaction with these moving masses along their path. Now combine the two explanatory ideas. If the hypothetical ring of masses has only transverse motion, the reflected photons would be redshifted. This process also stretches out the space between photons. This can produce an apparent paradox analogous to the special relativistic case where two observers in relative motion each see the other's clock moving slower than their own.
  Out in the real universe there are countless masses moving in all directions. For each mass moving toward us there is another moving away, so any Doppler shifts from these motions tend to cancel each other. But virtually all mass has some transverse component to its motion. The transverse motion may be small, but it is not exactly zero. The mass may be small, but it is not exactly zero. The distance from passing photons may be great, but it is finite. Over millions of years, even the smallest effect may become measurable, if it is not exactly zero.
  Now we can see that some or all of the distance related redshift of galaxies is not due to the recessional velocity of those galaxies. Some or all of it is due to interactions the light has along the way. There is no particular reason to think that any of it is due to an overall expansion of the universe. There is no other substantial evidence that the universe is expanding, so the big bang theory is really just a big bluff. Leading big bang opponents, like Halton Arp position themselves to keep the truth from coming out, and to take credit when it does come out.
  Here is another lie. This one is at the roots of physical chemistry: 'At any temperature above absolute zero, hydrogen has some vapor pressure.' At about 14° Kelvin liquid hydrogen freezes. Below that temperature it is a solid or a gas, depending on pressure. At 4° K our experts claim that vapor pressure is too low to be measured, but ever-so-slightly more than zero. The truth is, it is not more than zero. They claim to know there is an extremely small vapor pressure at this temperature because someone calculated it, without measurement.
  This lie tries to present hydrogen as a sort of ideal gas, but only after the pressure drops too low to be measured. Any chemistry textbook can tell you that all real gasses vary from the ideal gas law to become a liquid, or a solid, before they reach absolute zero. Apparently, common sense makes those authors forget the lie about hydrogen. Hydrogen gas is far from ideal. It does not even have spherical symmetry; there are two atoms in each molecule (H2). This could not be a mistake, it can only be fraud.
  To understand the significance of this lie, look in places where temperatures and pressures are always that low, all around us. Think of the average space in the universe. The average space in the universe is not in some tiny planet, star, galaxy or galactic cluster. No, the spaces you will hit in the universe if you choose at random are in the vast intergalactic voids. If you were there, you would see absolutely nothing, in all directions. The nearest galaxy would be too far away to see. The temperature in the average space in the universe is 2.7° K. The matter in the average space in the universe is made of the simplest of elements '' hydrogen.
  According to government experts there is not much hydrogen in those voids, because if there were it would be a gas, and we would see the tell-tale absorption spectra in light passing through the voids. It is there. It is not a gas. At 2.7° K it has condensed into a solid. Like any other solid, it glows with a light characteristic of its temperature.
  So we come to another huge lie: 'The 2.7° thermal cosmic background radiation is the afterglow of the big bang.' And another huge lie: 'The universe is full of cold dark matter, but we don't know what it is.' If you could take a single stellar mass and divide it into masses the size of snowflakes, it would have the surface area of a whole galaxy of stars. The cold dark hydrogen is more massive than all the stars in the universe, and it is divided into smaller masses. It has many, many times the surface area.
  The surface area of these solid particles of hydrogen is so great that it obscures our view of distant objects. In the last few years, the apparent brightness of type 1a supernovae with known luminosity has been observed to be lower than expected, when the redshift is great. That has been cited as evidence that the expansion of the universe is speeding up. That has, in turn, lead to talk about the 'dark energy' that powers the expansion. All of which is just smoke and mirrors. The brightness of those supernovae is lowered by obscuring particles of hydrogen between there and here. Microwaves are absorbed earlier than visible light because hydrogen vapor condenses into slender needles.
  Olbers' paradox says that if there are an infinite number of stars spread throughout the universe, then every line of sight must meet a star and the night sky must glow uniformly, which observation shows not to be true. Now we know that every line of sight does meet a solid mass. The night sky does glow uniformly. It glows at the temperature of those masses, not white hot, but cold black. 'Olbers' glow' would be a more appropriate term than 'cosmic background radiation'.
  Most people would not think that anyone would even want to lie about cosmology, let alone do it on such an extraordinary scale. What is there to gain or lose? These lies have been created especially because there is no apparent reason to lie about these subjects. The purpose for these lies is the establishment of a permanent and total, global despotism.
  'The Enterprise': An alien race is here on earth. It is not real, it is a government fraud. The idea was that a fake alien space ship would come to earth. It is a colossal metallized balloon, to be inflated with a puff of gas. Its orbit would be low enough to show off its size, but high enough that only our trusted experts could make a direct inspection. The inside of the ship is actually buried underground. It is a sort of giant simulator, intended to convince passengers that they are out in space '' space with earth-like gravity. Many elements of StarTrek were intended to shape our thinking about such things. The televised voyages of the starship 'Enterprise' were designed by the CIA. 'The Enterprise' is a well known slang reference to the CIA.
  A 'transporter' is used to 'beam' passengers (under anesthesia) to some of the planets they visit. The forest planets, desert planet, water world, etcetera, look a lot like earth, except for the strange (genetically and surgically altered) creatures. The ice planet looks like Antarctica in winter, except it has a tiny 'sun' (carried by a helicopter with quiet, oversized rotors). They can even visit real spacecraft fitted with digital (false) view screens. Earth's distinctive moon is avoided with timing and terrain.
  An alien spaceship would have to come from an alien civilization, so where is it? The answer to this question would be to point to the sources of intelligent signals that are already known, but that would be claimed to be new communications with the spaceship. To make this seem possible, they would claim to be communicating faster than light, which is really not possible at all. They would say their home world is sending a modulated beam of particles (tachyons) which travel faster than light, and give off photons as they go. Continuing observations from around the world would prove conclusively that the signals originate from a star beyond the reach of any human influence, so these lies would seem to be irrefutable. This plot was the purpose for which the existence of tachyons was originally hypothesized back at the same time the original StarTrek series was televised. The lie that 'wormholes' can provide shortcuts from place to place is used to explain their physically impossible travel.
  A race capable of such things would have to be far more advanced than our own and it would show. They would have to know many things that we do not know. Cures for our major diseases have been suppressed so these aliens can cure them, either by telling us how, or by using alien 'magic'. The alien 'magic', like ADM 'nutriceuticals', would really just be the cessation of certain types of assassination. Our sciences have been peppered with falsehoods deliberately, so the fraudulent aliens could show their superior knowledge. They were going to show us how distance related redshifts really happen, and how cold, dark hydrogen shapes the universe. They would have kept from us the truth about matter and space-time, because that truth would show their claims to be impossible. Our greatest experts would have assured us that the alien's knowledge cold not have come from here.
  Real aliens have alien physiology. Most of the fake aliens who were to be in direct contact with us are cosmetically altered humans, like the races of StarTrek. To explain their clearly human structure, the plan was to say that the aliens serving as liaisons with earth are descendants of earthlings, taken away thousands of years ago.
  As a dazzling display of alien powers, the volunteers transported to the alien mother ship with the passage of comet Hale-Bopp were to be presented alive and well. At the time they were taken, 1997, they were presented as delusional kids committing suicide to follow the charismatic leader of the 'Heaven's Gate' cult. Those kids did not commit suicide. They were cloned, identical twins, and they were murdered. If the government has to deny this allegation it may now be considered necessary to kill the original cult members, and their fake alien hosts. It is desirable for us to get them back alive because of what they might tell us about real government science, technology, and fraud. Government's refusal to release them will indicate their continuing intent to deceive.
  The acronym 'SETI' stands for 'Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence'. It is also partly a play on words because a prime example of what they are supposedly searching for is Ceti '' 18 Ceti in the constellation Cetus, the whale. This star, spectral type G2, visual magnitude 6.15, is at (J2000) right ascension 0h 45m 28.s, declination -12° 52m 50s. It is the home of a real, live, alien civilization. One transmitter, in the 1-3 GHz band, is clearly detectable with a 50 meter telescope. You might think you could prove this assertion at once. Keep in mind, however, that radio telescopes have examined that star before, and usually find nothing. What people fail to take into account is that governments already know where these sources are, and actively conceal them. We have the colleagues and the equipment that serve government.
  The supposed beam of tachyons for communicating with the ship would have to be nearly instantaneous to function across many light-years. To show that tachyons are real, the fake aliens would have 18 Ceti use tachyons to return to us Morse code radiotelegraph signals we transmitted 104 years ago. Our first regular transatlantic radiotelegraph service in 1903 was strong enough to be detectable at 18 Ceti. They claim 18 Ceti is 104 light-years away, so it would require an almost instantaneous response for the signals to return here, when they should only now be arriving there. The trick is that 18 Ceti is really only 52 light-years away, and those Morse code signals are the expected form of the first hailing from the real aliens of 18 Ceti, sent 50 years ago. Hailing signals should be much stronger than previous signals from 18 Ceti, and are expected to arrive here around 2007.
  The Hipparcos satellite, of the European Space Agency, reported the parallax of 18 Ceti to be 31.39 miliarc-seconds. To demonstrate the actual 62 miliarc-seconds of parallax, you may need to retrofit your observatory's telescope with an old-fashioned photographic plate. That is because it is too easy to alter modern digital images before you see them, in the same way that radio telescope signals are substituted before the honest observer sees them. If you are honest, you may get fired or killed before you can finish the job. In the safety of a group you should realize that some of your group, especially the leader, may serve the government. All antigovernment groups, even the small ones, end up being controlled by the government.
  Another fake alien power is the use of tachyons to cause earthquakes. It is really done with explosives planted in the ground or underwater. Large hydrogen bombs release energy comparable to the energy of major earthquakes. To make the largest quakes, a line of bombs is used. Moment magnitude is different from the Richter scale, in that it depends on the length of the fault that moves, rather than the amplitude of the shaking. Because of the move to describing great quakes in terms of this new scale, an earthquake can be made arbitrarily great by lengthening its line of bombs. A mix of bomb sizes conceals the characteristic motion from a big bomb.
  To make an earthquake really memorable, it must have deadly consequences. A very damaging product of earthquakes is tsunamis. To make a tsunami, detonate one or more of your earthquake bombs in deep water. Governments have done underwater nuclear tests. Did you ever wonder why we were never shown the effects of such tests where the water was deep enough to contain the blast? To explain the dead fish it has been published that strong quakes sometimes kill fish.
  A geologically active area, near a populated shore, would be chosen. Targeting people who are rebellious would also be desired. It would happen in daylight to hide the flashes, and so government sympathizers could be called out of danger, with their families, on ordinary business. It appears that one of these artificial quakes produced the deadliest tsunami in history, at 0:58:53 UTC (7:00 am, local time), on 12/26/04.
  The fake aliens would have claimed that was one of the earthquakes that they had caused. They would say 18 Ceti had used a tachyon pulse to release forces building up in the earth's crust. By releasing those forces early, they would say, they saved us from an even greater catastrophe later. They would say that the earth's crust is most affected by tachyons moving perpendicular to the surface of the earth. The purpose for this claim would have been to use the position of 18 Ceti to substantiate their claim to be the source of the tachyons. On 12/26/04, 18 Ceti passed over the point on the earth opposite the site of the tsunami about an hour before the event.
  They would say their tachyon pulses needed to be applied at the time that 18 Ceti is at right angles to the sun. That way, the tachyons have a minimum risk of hitting the sun, or of altering our orbit with the 'gravitons' stimulated by the passing tachyons. The winter day for this orientation is December 26. They would also have claimed to utilize the tidal forces of the sun and moon to help release the fictitious tectonic energy, and make the tsunami at the lowest possible ocean tide. So they chose a year when the full moon fell on December 26, namely, 2004. Meanwhile the young members of the 'Heaven's Gate' cult are there to witness everything and, later, tell us it was all true.
  It is said that land masses have shifted, but that is only detected with government satellites. Bombs would not make a shoreline rise, so the perpetrators have added pictures of raised shoreline to their evidence. Page 574 in volume 434 of Nature (3/31/05, a month after I first made this allegation) has a fine example. Kerry Sieh shows us hundreds of meters of curved shoreline 1.5 meters below a slender beach on the Southwest coast of Simeulue. He describes it as evidence of uplift. By now you probably think I would turn their own photographic evidence against them, so I will not disappoint you. That picture clearly shows 10-20 cm (4-8 in) high ridges extending from the land into the water. Those ridges, common to hard coral shores around the world, take many years to form, and prove the shoreline has not changed at that site. The 1.5 meter high slope between the water and the narrow beach looks as if it had had the sand swept off it with a fire hose. An inset picture shows coral heads left high and dry on a neighboring reef. Since we know the water level has not changed at that site, the explanation is clear; fraud. The meter high coral heads must have been placed there by people. This is not some petty fraud for more aid money, Mr. Sieh is a professor at the renowned 'Cal. Tech.', Nature is the world's most prestigious scientific journal, and the 'uplift' did not appear to hurt anything. Mr. Sieh acknowledges to me that the present water level is the same as it previously was, but explains that the land had subsided for years and has now by extraordinary coincidence (transparent lie), sprung back up to the same level. Nature refused to print a retraction.
  Government voices may claim that the radioactive residue of these bombs would leave such a strong signature that it could not be hidden. Governments know, having detonated hundreds of these bombs, that ocean currents rapidly disperse entrained radioactive material. They also know that the most radioactive isotopes have a short half-life and have, by now, already decayed. They also know that virtually all Geiger counters on Sumatra are controlled by governments. They also know that the sea-bed in that area is not easy to sample, because it is thousands of feet from the surface. They can complain any time about 'illegal dumping' of radioactive waste there. I have learned personally that regardless of what kind of incriminating evidence is found, there is no one to report it to. No newspaper would publish it, and no broadcaster would broadcast it, even in California. For example, my proof of the existence of the pricker is absolute. In Indonesia that situation may be even worse. Just staying alive with such information can be nearly impossible.
  Another passenger on the fake alien ship is an imposter of Jesus of Nazareth. His knowledge of languages, people and things is enhanced by a radio transceiver implanted in his ear. If killed he is able to resurrect himself, with a little help from some identical twins, waiting in reserve. The 'Heaven's Gate' cult members were to be presented as some of those who had experienced the 'rapture' of rising to meet Christ on his return to earth. The highly promoted pseudo prophetic Left Behind series of books were intended to explain the bad things we experienced here. Those bad things (including nuclear war with China, SARS, the tsunami, the Danube flood, Africa's famine, America's drought, forest fires, terrorist attacks, war with Iraq, West Nile virus, etcetera), were to make us rejoice that Jesus was here to make it all better.
  These aliens would have shown us a world where anything was possible. Any fantasy that the government wanted would have been achievable. Rather than fantasy terrorists, we could have been attacked by the 'Borg (StarTrek cyborgs). By pitting 'protective' implants against 'Borg implants, we could all end up with motivational implants. Whatever scenario they chose would have enabled a permanent and absolute enslavement of all people on this planet. Even the people planning to be in command would have become efficient, computer controlled things. That was the purpose of UFOs, area 51, Chariots of the Gods, string theory, wormholes, tachyons, alien abductions, the big bang and countless other lies for the last 60 years. It has been the purpose for millions of deaths by prickers, poisons, and natural, but curable diseases.
  This plot was a foremost consideration in the formation of the CIA. Governments around the world have cooperated in its development, and it appears that China and the US are still working together on it. In the last days of 2004, it appears to me, they murdered hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting men, women, and children, just to add a little more credibility to their lies. They must bring it to completion by 2007, because those strong hailing signals are coming from 18 Ceti, whether they like it or not. But now they can not complete it because someone has read about it in advance. That is you. You may say it is farfetched now, but when those hailing signals get here from 18 Ceti, there won't be any doubt, and you will know it.
  Since 2/27/05, this publication may have destroyed this specific plot, but it has also destroyed government's ability to acknowledge the truth about our sciences and diseases, without acknowledging their guilt in causing these things. The technology, bureaucracy, and intent to enslave and destroy us remains intact, and continues to grow stronger. Their capacity to strike us with terrorists or plagues like SARS or 'avian flu' is impaired for the moment, but we must press this advantage.
  Cloaks and Daggers: I have delivered The Pricker to the homes of people who subsequently died in 'accidents' which came to my attention. 'Accidents' are caused in a variety of ways, often through the deliberate actions of another vehicle operator. Among the mechanical 'failures' are the blowouts popularized by Firestone tires a few years ago. They are caused with an infrared laser. In rural areas, deer, moose, and cattle can be trained to run in front of a car.
  The 'accident' itself is often not lethal. It is used as an excuse to get the victim alone in an ambulance. Pure nitrogen, without oxygen, can cause coma or brain death. Breaking the skull completes the picture of an accidental injury. A controlled blow to the chest can damage the heart beyond repair. Injected clotting agent or air causes pulmonary embolism. This is often where strokes are induced (Chairman Aspin lived alone, so no ambulance was required in his case). Strokes are induced by injecting clotting agent into the internal carotid artery of a drugged victim. The needle wound is hidden in the pharynx, behind the posterior tonsillar pillar. Note that most natural strokes do not start by making the victim unconscious. All these things seem beyond suspicion because the ambulance attendant could not have caused the original event that brought the victim to them. The original event seems beyond suspicion because it could not have been reliably lethal. Accidents are chaotic unpredictable events. Drugged food can not cause a stroke. In all these cases the ambulance can deliver the victim alive.
  If you have a live broadcast on these matters, you can start by saying the word 'pricker', that way at least a few listeners will understand why you got cut off. Once a person is publicly associated with this keyword, doing anything to them would tend to draw attention to the keyword, which is the last thing the government wants. The 7/10/03 San Francisco Chronicle describes a huge fire at Duke Energy's Moss Landing power plant, starting in the evening on 7/8/03 (p. A19). That fire would have made a fine excuse for turning off the electricity on the morning of 7/9/03. At my house the power was out for an hour and a half that morning but the power stayed on for Moss Landing. Anyway, a couple of pages further on, the Chronicle obituaries tell of the death of KPFA's morning news anchor on the afternoon of 7/9/03. Chris Bruney was 44 years old, and died of an apparent heart attack in his car. A fake heart attack can be induced with an oral poison or, in Mr. Bruney's case, by spraying a toxin in the victim's face. The last time someone tried that with me, it was a sewer snake from a neighbor's house up to my kitchen sink. Mr. Bruney graduated from El Modena High School, in the City of Orange where I had delivered hundreds of copies of The Pricker. KPFA is the San Francisco affiliate of the Pacifica Radio Network.
  On 8/14/03 the Northeast was struck by the largest blackout in US history. I found that Pacifica station WBAI in New York had a weekly program on 'political prisoners and police oppression'. One of the hosts, Safiya Bukhari could not do the program on 8/14 because of the blackout. She could not do the program the next Thursday night because she was hospitalized. She could not do it the week after that because she was dead. Government operatives often team-up with radicals. Ms Bukhari's co-host Sally O'Brien told me Safiya died of a prolonged illness (by which she meant natural ), but refused to specify the cause of death. After asking who I was, she declined to talk at all. Ms Bukhari's sister said it was a heart attack. A heart attack is a plausible fit for an obese 53-year-old diabetic, but it wasn't a 'prolonged illness' '' Ms Bukhari was working on the day of the blackout. Although she was a Muslim her funeral was held at the church of, and attended by, the only person in New York City to whom I had confirmed delivery of The Pricker by reading out loud over the telephone.
  If you appear in person, you can address a large audience even in a blackout, if you have a backup power supply. The Righteous Brothers lived in Newport Beach where I had delivered thousands of copies of this document. Their song 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'' is the most played single ever on American radio. On11/5/03 Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room, even as the crowd gathered for the first show of their latest tour. The medical examiner told me his cause of death was myocardial infarction, due to severe atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. A month later I raised the possibility that he was assassinated with a toxin, in the 12/7/03 edition of The Pricker. If correct another autopsy might find clean coronary arteries in this 63-year-old victim. After a few more weeks, while it was still said the coronary arteries were in bad shape, the death certificate was amended to change the cause of death to 'acute cocaine toxicity'. His friends said he didn't use cocaine, none was found at the scene, and he 'died in his sleep'. The medical examiner said she told Mrs. Hatfield about this at about the same time Mrs. Hatfield was hospitalized with a couple of stokes.
  On 12/8/04, thirty seconds after the heavy metal band 'Damageplan' came on stage, a gunman killed one of them. The victim, Darrell Abbott was a former member of 'Pantera'. While he may have never heard of The Pricker, this kind of crime can be used to send a powerful message; 'Even in America, even in front of a crowd of fans, you are vulnerable, keep quiet.'
  Perhaps this story would interest an author like Gary Web. He's the reporter who wrote about the CIA involvement in America's crack cocaine epidemic. He was found shot in the head on 12/10/04. A suicide note was on his door. His obituaries said his CIA story had been discredited but, by their own description, the 'discredit' consisted of failures to corroborate. That kind of 'discredit' might befall any true story.
  A famous counter-culture figure like Hunter Thompson might be interested. He was found shot in the mouth on 2/20/05. More care is taken to prepare the 'suicide' of a famous person like Mr. Thompson. He married a woman (after 2001), who could poison him to induce chronic pain, drug him for the 'suicide', and afterward say he planned it. She says he was awake at the time of his death '' she talked to him on the phone. It is very unlikely that any recording of that conversation would exist (on an answering machine, for example), unless it was faked to corroborate her story. These shootings, usually with the victim's own gun, look like suicide because anyone else present would disturb the spray of blood. They are done with special 'RC' ammunition. An empty shell casing is reloaded, without replacing the primer, bearing the impression of the firing pin. A radio controlled igniter is packed into the propellant charge. It is made of nitrocellulose and metal foil that is consumed with the propellant. RC rounds can also be used to make 'accidents' happen. In Mr. Thompson's case, a video camera built into his home electronics would monitor him. That way his assassins could leave the house to wait for Mr. Thompson's son to come and hear the shot, and witness no one else at the scene.
  I am not trying to prove anything with these deaths, or the many others I have noted. I haven't yet been told these people have even seen my work, let alone planned to talk about it. I mention them to warn you, and help you to make sense of this situation. If you are one of the few people who ever address a large live audience, and have now read this, you will be subject to extraordinary surveillance to determine your intent. Surveillance technology is now much more invasive, and pervasive than most people realize. In order to help you keep your intentions secret, I outline some spy techniques:
  · It is said that the National Security Agency uses 'radio telepathy' to send thoughts, or eavesdrop on them. It is true. It is described in these outlandish terms in order to make it sound foolish and impossible. It sounds impossible because they don't tell you what can be implanted in the target. An antenna of just the right length will selectively reflect radio waves of a given wavelength. That is how the security device at your library detects books which have not been detuned with a magnet. If the end of the antenna is contained in a conductive cavity, the capacitance of the cavity alters the frequency of the reflected radio waves. If sound waves change the shape of a part of the cavity, made of foil, then the capacitance of the cavity, and the frequency of the reflected radio waves, will be modulated by the sound waves. This type of listening device was widely publicized several years after one was found in the US embassy in Moscow, in 1952. It was called a 'passive cavity transmitter'. In 1952 it had a 0.775 inch (20 mm) diameter cavity and a 9 inch (¼ meter) antenna, for use with 330 MHz (36 inch, 1 meter) radio waves (see CIA Special Weapons & Equipment, (C)1993, H. Keith Melton, appendix). In order to trade the ¼ meter antenna for a ¼ centimeter (1/10 inch) one you simply have to shorten the radio wavelength from 1 meter to 1 centimeter (2/5 inch). The result is a device that is tiny enough for your dentist to implant in your mouth. That is close enough to pick up your most intimate whisper. There is no battery to change, so it will last forever. If you have ever had any position of influence, or any political, financial, scientific, or government interests, you can assume that you have one of these. They come in a variety of frequencies and are active only when energized by the incident beam, so interference from other passive cavities is not a big problem. Metal structures tend to block their connection. Until we can obtain a suitable political resolution of this problem, I suggest you be aware of what passes your lips.
  · The same type of device is also used as an implantable receiver. The original beam is modulated with the desired sound wave, which varies the electrostatic force in the cavity, which moves the foil, producing sound. The sound is tiny but audible if it is inside your ears. The devices are implanted with a needle. Even the lay public knows that hearing voices in your head is a symptom of schizophrenia. It is so well publicized because it is a lie. The voices may tell the victim that there is a microchip in their brain, or other nonsense, but the voices are real. A voice may claim to be God. It can clearly demonstrate a superior knowledge of, and control over events around the victim. Suitable victims can be trained to kill people like Darrell Abbott, Princess Dianna, John Lennon, or destroy the world trade center. This is how commands are sent to trained animals.
  · The same devices serve to track the victim when they are out of sight. They can also track money, guns, drugs, or other objects. This technology could even track wild flies if necessary '' entomologists have published reports of doing exactly that.
  · Most telephones are manufactured in such a way as to allow line current to energize the microphone even when the hook switch is depressed. Different model telephones require different techniques to activate, but they are observable in the same way. When they are active, you can measure the voltage on the microphone. Modern telephones have good, sensitive microphones, suitable for room monitoring.
  · Telephones which work against you may not work for you. I am sorry you can not 'cold call' my telephone. I have had some blocked calls and one apparent impersonation. A friend told me that she called my house and spoke to my mother, who said dreadful things about me. Neither my mother, nor anyone else, has been in my house in years. This is an application of call forwarding '' away from my house, or some other telephones where it is known I will call. 'Harmless' calls are routed back to me.
  · The flow of information in ordinary telephone traffic would be enough to overwhelm all the spies in the country if they had to sit and listen to it all. When the murmurs of passive cavities and unused telephones are added, how can it all be overheard? Microcomputers understand human speech, and recognize human speakers. They are cheap enough to have one for every phone line, or even every person, in the country. They do not sleep, or forget, or betray their masters. They can be distributed so the raw data doesn't have to go too far.
  · Video cameras have been hidden in innocuous equipment for years. They are now small and cheap enough to be built into home electronics regularly in some models. The cost is so low that it doesn't matter if many of them are not useful. Even the people on the assembly line don't have to know what they are making. The transmissions are turned off most of the time. To avoid missing anything, but not clog the lines of communication, the first bit of analysis can be done at the camera. Nothing I can say will establish how common or rare these things are. If you are concerned, plug your TV into the electrical outlet controlled by the wall switch, that way the lamp on that circuit can serve to remind you that your TV is active.
  · Computers also see mail. The first person I mailed this to was a talk radio personality. When I called to ask him what he thought he seemed to think my ideas ''about breast cancer'' were foolish. He refused to consider that anyone would have substituted a forgery for this mail, but denied recognizing the word 'pricker' (my previous writing had been about cancers, but no prickers). Such tampering was fully enabled by the 'terrorist' anthrax mailings. It is easier to monitor and tamper with e-mail, so you may want to read a sample of this document out loud over the telephone if you want to assess its arrival, as sent.
  · Computers also see vehicle license plates. In the past, recording and recalling every vehicle passing a camera required tremendous data handling capacity. By today's standards that much data is trivial. Most street cameras are not visible.
  · These technical advances have freed an army of government spies from their offices. They spend careers socializing and making false friendships. It has been said that in communist countries, such spies make up a significant fraction of the population. In the US, where the government is more capable of fielding such an army, the idea is dismissed as a paranoid delusion. Any honest person who has access to large, live audiences may be certain that such spies are close to them.
  · It has been reported that the KGB used short half-life radioisotopes to contaminate surveillance targets. A Geiger counter is then used to identify things the target has touched. The target may be handed something (like money) or have the isotope sprayed directly on them. I have been anointed in this special way by Americans '' it gave me a burn.
  · Criminal law is a major tool in recruiting new spies, ensuring their loyalty, and generally increasing the power of governments. The more criminal activity there is the more power governments are justified in exerting. They recognize this, and secretly promote crime. Government's first choice for getting a coercive hold on someone is to exploit the target's own predilections and behaviors. If you can not be coaxed to do something illegal, they may try to frame you in such a way as to suggest you were caught by an honest mistake. Failing that, a frank, direct frame-up may be used.
  · Hospital operating rooms are used to torture unsuspecting victims. Amnesic drugs are used to keep the victim from remembering their torture. Surgery provides access to people who live and sleep with others. It also provides an excuse for the immediate killing, or crippling of the victim, depending on what the torture reveals.
  · Sensors placed on the head can detect electrochemical activity in the brain. There is a particular pattern of activity when the brain recognizes something it has encountered before. The production of that pattern is instantaneous, and involuntary. Recording this brain activity is called 'brain fingerprinting', and has been publicized as a crime-fighting tool. It can tell whether the target has read The Pricker.
  Given the kind of technical capabilities I describe in this document, it should be clear that any effective resistance in Iraq must have a government behind it. The government behind the Iraqi resistance must be known to US intelligence. The government behind the Iraqi resistance is the US Government. Just as the American puppet Ayatollah Khomeini helped American fascists to neutralize and oust President Carter, Islamic fundamentalists served as our fake enemies in the Taliban, and Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network serve as our enemies in the 'war on terror', we also face the American puppets of the Iraqi resistance. If they were real enemies they would draw attention to The Pricker and send the Americans home without a fight. But they are controlled by the US, and are primed to slaughter young Americans until you can think of nothing else. When clever Nazis run your country, a phrase like 'support our troops' translates to 'sacrifice our soldiers'.
  Because people in Iraq are likely to show more interest in this than Americans, the army would attack and kill those who had heard of it. Those who surrendered would also be killed. Because soldiers sometimes talk about such things, they have to be discredited as 'nuts'. 60 Minutes (2/27/05, CBS), and Frontline (3/1/05, PBS) have aired segments on 'combat stress teams' to publicize how insane our soldiers are. Frontline specifically described the case of a soldier (Jeff Lucey) who said he had been ordered to shoot prisoners. Mr. Lucey was subsequently found hanging by his neck. This kind of 'insanity' can be created by having wild women ply the target with crack cocaine, alcohol and (without his knowledge) steroids. He may then display emotional lability and break up with his girlfriend. Before and after all kinds of covert attacks, the victims are commonly drugged to induce various psychiatric conditions. A powerful hallucinatory or anxiety episode can undermine the victim's credibility.
  We should not expect 'the media' to address these problems until many people have already heard about them. Most have done a fine job of ignoring these facts so far. When the story does catch on we can expect extreme distortion and 'spin'. I have never seen or heard of any published or broadcast references to The Pricker. The internet is an excellent environment for disinformation. What people see there can be tailored for each viewer. Your service provider's assurances of security are entirely empty where the government is concerned. My Google searches reveal no references to The Pricker, but I suspect other people can see it thoroughly debunked there. I can not respond to such hidden critics, except to point out that they haven't put their criticisms any place where I can see them.
  If our media, and police, and courts, and special prosecutors were equal to the task of Watergate, then surely they would attack these much greater crimes, right? The problem with that idea is that we were deceived about Watergate. In Watergate, a trivial bit of political espionage was used to eject a president who had committed an unforgivable sin. President Nixon ordered the assassination of America's permanent bureaucratic ruler, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. No one wanted to drag that out in public, so something harmless was used to dump Nixon.
  Six weeks after Hoover's 'heart attack' the five burglars were arrested at the Watergate. In his book All the president's men ((C)1974, Simon & Schuster), Bob Woodward tells us that at the first court appearance of burglar James McCord, he was asked his occupation, to which he responded ''Security consultant''. The judge asked where. Rather than give the innocuous and correct answer, 'McCord Associates', McCord chose to shock everyone by saying he had recently retired from the CIA. This was something he was not asked, and did not have to say. McCord said that, because before the CIA, he was an FBI agent like his boss G. Gordon Liddy. They scrupulously chose to go to prison because their crimes were not sanctioned under Title 50.
  Bob Woodward, America's greatest hero of the free press has had a long and successful career of disinformation. That book repeatedly mentions the perception at the FBI, that his newspaper stories on Watergate had been written from FBI reports ''almost verbatim'', or ''90 percent''. He published that because he didn't want people to hear it someplace else. He also serves to draw out whistle-blowers, so they can be identified and eliminated.
  [I distributed hundreds of preliminary draft copies, including the last three paragraphs, on 5/26 and 5/27/2005(including one to each apartment on Coriander, Caraway, Wintergreen, Cassia, Ginger and Mace streets in Costa Mesa). On 5/31/2005 Mr. Woodward confirmed that the identity of Deep Throat was FBI Assistant Director W. Mark Felt. That announcement was made to predate mine by saying it has been prepared (in secret) for years. Perhaps they will now try to present Mr. Woodward as a dupe of the FBI. In his position, he could not be a dupe. If you prefer to think of Mr. Woodward and his ilk as slack-jawed fools, rather than knowing collaborators, that still does not deflect the point that they have not done, and will not do, their duty.]
  In the same role on the radical left is Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman, whom I met on 3/10/2002. I gave her the written description of spousal cancers and 9/11 which I had at that time. A similar firebrand, who came to local Pacifica station KPFK after 2001, was Sonali Kolhatkar. She does the morning show Uprising and is very convincing. I handed her a copy of the 3rd edition of The Pricker on 9/8/2002. Later she told me that anyone could make some little device to induce unlimited disease and death, and it was therefore unimportant. This sounds highly irrational, only if you think she is honest. It is said that the things I have described could not happen because honest members of our media would expose them. I agree with this reasoning, and conclude that there are not many honest commentators on live broadcasts in our national media.
  I don't expect police to do anything helpful; they stop me often but never to offer assistance. I have even been cited and convicted for ''offering or providing information'' '' those were the words of the trial judge describing my 'illegal' behavior, in the settled statement on appeal. The court sought to obstruct and delay the appeal process indefinitely, in violation of the California Rules of Court, because there was no way to uphold that verdict. That conviction was eventually overturned.
  I would expect corruption to be worse in higher courts. There is an American citizen named Juan Padilla imprisoned without any observable cause. The administration has no way of justifying this in court. This situation has been painfully clear to everyone, but the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case. The support of four justices was all that was required to bring the case before the court. No honest justice could have avoided hearing the case. Therefore, we can see there are no more than three honest justices of the Supreme Court. When the reason for Mr. Padilla's imprisonment, and the court's refusal to hear the case, becomes known, at least six of the nine justices will have to resign. Those who have left the court since then have not helped the situation, because their replacements are being chosen by President Bush, a prime conspirator.
  I have delivered copies of The Pricker to staff in the offices of representatives Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez, Christopher Cox, Edward Royce, Maxine Waters, Grace Napolitano, and Gary Miller, they have not responded. On 8/6/05 I revisited Dana Rohrabacher by handing him a copy of this. He is now Chairman of the International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Ordinarily, when you write to a legislator about anything, you can expect a response. I've never had any response from any legislator on any of these issues. That is because if they respond, they will have acknowledged receiving this information. If they acknowledged receiving this, they would have to act on it. While it is possible that some are actually unaware of my work, I think most simply don't want to act. Their predecessors would not have passed a law repealing all other laws (50 USC 412) if they had not intended to wield unconstitutional power.
  I have heard speculation that the things I have described here are the actions of rogue elements within the FBI, CIA and administration. I think that is plausible only to the extent that you consider entire governments to be 'rogue elements'. I have personally distributed 72,000 copies of The Pricker, mostly to single family homes, in one of this nation's wealthiest counties. So the leadership of every large intelligence, military, and law enforcement agency in the world is aware of it (earlier editions did not describe the alien spaceship plot).
  By now even the impoverished, isolated government of Iraq would have heard of it. That is one of the reasons it had to be destroyed, no matter how flimsy the excuse. Saddam Hussein had a penchant for publicizing American plots. You already know some of the reasons he was an enemy. The reason that attacking him became urgent was the 12,000 copies of The Pricker that I had distributed at that time. You now hold in your hands the 'super weapon' he was about to obtain '' this little treatise.
  By the same reasoning, the leadership of large religious institutions, political parties, corporations and charitable organizations will have encountered this, but failed to do anything about it (nothing helpful, anyway). I have talked to people who recognize The Pricker, but deny ever having seen it. It's been said this is because they are afraid. They wouldn't be afraid if they thought none of these concerns were valid. So later, when it comes time for our biggest leaders to explain their silence now, what will they say? They didn't know? You can't prove their subordinates told them? They thought this was all a mistake, even though ordinary folks recognized valid concerns? They did not talk about this because nobody else was talking about it? Is it just too ugly? For a failure of this magnitude, and duration, I don't think it will suffice to say 'Oops, sorry'.
  Some of the most powerful servants of government have enslaved themselves willingly. If you want to rule over a major organization or government, and need the support of the US Government to do it, you should prove your irreversible loyalty ahead of time. One technique is to give the candidate a camcorder and a young woman, or child, in a locked room. He must then produce a recording of himself raping, torturing, and killing this defenseless victim. He must leave his DNA in the victim's body. He can then be trusted in the most powerful positions, because he will always be vulnerable to the holder of that recording. He doesn't even have to know who holds the recording. On the Texas/Mexico border, the city of Ciudad Juarez alone has had hundreds of these killings. They have helped our biggest super-criminals dominate every part of our lives.
  What's Next: Without the media, or the internet, or politicians, or bureaucracies, or clergy, or corporations, or entertainers, or other 'leaders', where can we turn? It appears that the issues I had raised in earlier editions were insufficient to inspire the kind of universal rejection we have been led to expect for such things. I can see that there are a few people who will stand against serial murder, mass murder, and treason, but many of us say we can do nothing, and then actually do nothing.
  Let's not fool ourselves; these are not small problems. They are dominant factors in populations around the world. This is the long term failure of democracy, and every other known form of government. Our social structures serve purposes diametrically opposed to their stated purposes. Rather than defend and uphold the Constitution, officers of government undermine and attack it. Rather than suppressing murder, it is inflicted on an industrial scale. Rather than preserve and disseminate information, disinformation is disseminated and information is suppressed. Rather than protect society, its destruction is sought.
  I have destroyed the alien spaceship plot, but there are more plots coming, more subtle and powerful motivational implants, robot weapons, biological weapons, and colossal deceptions. We all need to realize that if we do not get this situation under control (or out from under control), that our entire species will perish. At the end there will be only one of us left. One person who has enslaved or killed all others. All of the billions of people, with thousands of languages, cultures, and civilizations of history, with only one person left, very soon.
  That sounds like a description of the TV show Survivor. The resemblance may not be unintentional. That show presents an experiment in sociology in which all players are enemies who are dependant on those they seek to destroy. The show was produced to sell us the idea that this is how we live. It is how they think we should live, working cleverly for those who will destroy us. The twisted artificiality of that show is made to seem more real by calling it reality TV. In real reality, people trapped in a difficult situation consider themselves successful when everyone gets along, rather than when everyone destroys each other. I propose we seek that reality for ourselves rather than the insane artifice of Survivor.
  To that end we need some reliable people to come and help us out of this situation. Unfortunately all we have is us, and we know that we are not reliable. Most of us are greedy foolish cowards to begin with. If we are not that way at first, then we usually become that way under sufficient deception, temptation, or threat. Those who cannot be fooled, tempted or intimidated are killed, crippled, or jailed. Until such a resolution can be arranged, they are outwardly ignored. I have been looking for people who understand what is at stake; people who are not fakes, have not been fooled, tempted, intimidated, killed, crippled, or jailed, and who can not be ignored. I have come to understand that the enemies we face can not tolerate such people because they know that just one such person could disrupt the growth of their power. Because I have not found such a person, I have had no choice; I have had to become such a person.
  I have heard it said that we should resolve these issues with forgiveness, and follow the example of the South African 'truth and reconciliation'. The understanding that all AIDS is deliberate allows us to recognize that all South African AIDS is inflicted by the old South African Government and their American masters. They knew that under apartheid, blacks would blame whites for AIDS. To shed that open responsibility, the whites had to put black faces in the front offices of government agencies. They had to employ trusted black leaders. 'Truth and reconciliation' was intended to enable a spectacular new genocide, which continues to this day. When everyone understands this, will they again ask for 'truth and reconciliation'? Will they say this time is different because they really mean it? If they really mean it, then why are they killing the only person on earth who can credibly assess and report whether they mean it or not? Why do they want to hold the power of life and death over me? Absolute despotism is coming, and the people who are bringing it have no intention of quitting. When they are well and truly caught, they may say that this exposure has fixed everything. It would be the same old lies, with a new bunch of fake reformers and watchdogs.
  They have always recognized the vulnerability of the alien spaceship plot, and have taken it into account. They have amplified the idea of the Antichrist, so as to be able to focus all the blame on one person, if they get caught (their supreme leader is unlikely to be the one identified). The person who exposes their fake Jesus can then be hailed as the real Messiah. That person would have the moral authority to pardon the unspeakable brutality of these criminals. They will make sure that person works for them '' If they can eliminate me.
  I am at 3152 Bermuda Dr., Costa Mesa, CA, USA. You can tell it's me because I am the only one who can get into my house. I think it may be dangerous for you to come to my house alone. My only reader to come alone lives nearby, and so, would have been hard to identify as a visitor.
  You could not be more loyal to government than most government spouses are. They are smart women who choose to show their loyalty by being good, and keeping quiet. Do not repeat their mistake. You now know far more about the abuses of government than most of those spouses ever did. Like them, you can never unlearn the things you now understand. There is stronger motivation to eliminate you than there ever was to eliminate them. Done slowly, for years, no one will ever prove that many people from your neighborhood die or move away (and die). Since 2001 it has become illegal for your county to display your death certificates. The passage of those laws was the purpose for the massive promotion of identity theft. Since people have been unwilling or unable to stand up for those spouses, we can be sure they will not stand up for us. The best way to motivate them to do so, is to put them in our position. We must spread this information until it is all openly discussed. Reproduce and distribute this information as soon as you get it, that way there is no time to plan nasty surprises for you. Limit yourself to as many copies as you can make at one time. Deliver wherever the copies are made. Do not drive. Once you start handing this out, the police can not afford be seen suppressing it.
  If just 2% of the recipients pass on 100 copies, then the number of copies will double with each cycle. After a few cycles it will have to be retyped. If you use a computer for this, disconnect the modem until your copies are delivered, so it can not notify anyone. The illustration will have to be retouched. Look at it this way; you and I have a society with a disease that will kill us. The treatment is just a few hours of hard work.
  For thousands of years people have observed the corruption of their leaders. The leaders I have described here betray everything that is sacred. Sacred, not in someone else's terms, but by their own definition. Truth, justice, human life, God, country, friends and family are all expendable commodities to them. Think of this treatise as a test of character. What do you do when you are presented with reasonable indications of unreasonable betrayal and abuse? If we can hear of these things, and remain silent, then we should not, and will not be allowed to remain as entities with free will. If we want to change the way things will be we can start by exposing the way things are. This is our last opportunity, don't let it slip away.
  Your neighbor, Kevin, October, 2005. First edition May 31, 2002.
  Draft of work in progress, for the ninth revised edition. Copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2005, Kevin Harris. Permission is granted to reproduce this document only on the condition that it be copied in full.
  Site created 2/21/2009, search engines notified 2/27/2009.
  Additional keywords for search engines:
  Uxoricide, mariticide, homicide, cerebrovascular accident, pulmonary embolus, malignant disease, SLE.
Man who died in blast lived in foil-wrapped home, filmed neighbors - latimes.com
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:28
  A man who apparently blew himself up with explosives in his Costa Mesa home was known to record video of his neighbors from his property, prompting calls to police from residents, authorities said Monday.
  Neighbors described Kevin Harris, 52, as odd but harmless with a history of mental illness. They made a point to walk at a brisk pace past his house, which was wrapped in foil, neighbors told The Times. Cryptic notes would appear, taped to a tree in the front yard.
  A neighbor showed The Times one such note taped to the tree Saturday morning. It read: ''For your information: My introspection and my adversaries behavior have convinced me that electronic mind reading is now reality.''
  The note is signed by Harris and points people to a rambling, 17,000-word essay titled ''The Pricker.''
  The essay warns of dangers inside the home.
  ''I am at 3152 Bermuda Dr., Costa Mesa, CA, USA. You can tell it's me because I am the only one who can get into my house,'' the document reads. ''I think it may be dangerous for you to come to my house alone.''
  The essay, entitled ''The Pricker: A True Story of Assassination, Terrorism And High Treason,'' includes references to aliens, the O.J. Simpson trial, the U.S. government and ''the pricker,'' which the author describes as ''an assassin's weapon that deposits biological agents into a victim's skin, on contact, without their knowledge.''
  The document appears to have been first written in 2002 and updated in 2005. The website labels it a ''draft of a work in progress.''
  Neighbors said Harris would sit in a chair in his yard and never let anyone inside his home. There were cameras outside his house, neighbors said, but they never knew if they were working.
  About 5:45 p.m. Sunday, Costa Mesa police were called to Harris' home for a report of a man down. When they got there, Harris got up and went back inside. He told police he was fine, and he was wearing a hat that said in effect, ''I don't need any help,'' said Sgt. Jerry Hildeman.
  Two hours later, police were back and Harris was dead from apparently blowing himself up. Three explosive devices were found inside the home. Two of them were crudely made, authorities said, so they were detonated.
  Some 16 homes in the neighborhood were evacuated and multiple agencies -- including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Costa Mesa police and the Orange County Fire Authority -- remained on the scene Monday morning.
  ALSO:
  Alleged attackers wrote on Audrie Pott's body, lawyer says
  Police seek motive in burning of man in SUV at Long Beach 7-Eleven
  Boston Marathon blasts prompt LAPD to beef up sports-event security
  lauren.williams@latimes.com
  joseph.serna@latimes.com
US court pays $6 million to Gardasil victims - BlackListedNews.com
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:21
  Gardasil, the vaccine for HPV (human papillomavirus), may not be as safe as backers claim.
  Judicial Watch announced it has received documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealing that its National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has awarded $5,877,710 dollars to 49 victims in claims made against the highly controversial HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines. To date 200 claims have been filed with VICP, with barely half adjudicated.
  ''This new information from the government shows that the serious safety concerns about the use of Gardasil have been well-founded. Public health officials should stop pushing Gardasil on children.'' said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
  The CDC recommends the Gardasil vaccine, made by Merck Pharmaceuticals, for all females between 9 and 26 years to protect against HPV. Furthermore, the CDC says Gardasil is licensed, safe, and effective for males ages 9 through 26 years.
  The facts appear to contradict the FDA's safety statements. The adverse reaction reports detail 26 new deaths reported between September 1, 2010 and September 15, 2011 as well as incidents of seizures, paralysis, blindness, pancreatitis, speech problems, short term memory loss and Guillain-Barr(C) Syndrome. The documents come from the FDA's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which is used by the FDA to monitor the safety of vaccines.
  That's 26 reported deaths of young, previously healthy, girls after Gardasil vaccination in just one year.
  In response to the concern about death reports among those who received Gardasil, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) insists ''there was no unusual pattern or clustering to the deaths that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine.''
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Bombing of Pakistan Politician Raises Security Fears Before Poll - Bloomberg
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:20
  Bombing of Pakistan Politician Raises Security Fears Before Poll
  By Augustine AnthonyApril 16, 2013 8:08 AM EDT
  A roadside bomb targeting a regional chief of Pakistan's main opposition party killed at least four people today, including the man's son and brother, in the latest attack on political activists ahead of next month's general election.
  Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, the Baluchistan provincial president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, escaped unhurt in the attack in Khuzdar district of the southwestern region, police official Kaleem Ullah said by phone. Also among the dead were Zehri's nephew and a guard.
  The attack is the latest violence targeting politicians across Pakistan, and will heighten security concerns in the South Asian nation ahead of the parliamentary ballot scheduled for May 11. The PML-N leads in opinion polls. The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government of President Asif Ali Zardari in March became the first civilian administration in the country's history to complete its full term.
  No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Baluchistan today. The region, rich in natural resources including gas assets, is roiled by a separatist insurgency and sectarian violence.
  ''Baluch separatists could be involved,'' Muhammad Amir Rana, director of Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said by phone. ''The intention could be to disrupt the political process there.''
  There have been several attacks on political activists in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in recent weeks, most of them on supporters of the Awami National Party, the dominant regional party which headed the previous regional coalition government.
  ANP supporters have been attacked at least five times, strikes which are affecting the party's electoral campaign, its provincial president Afrasiab Khattak said by phone from the provincial capital of Peshawar.
  ''It is the responsibility of the government to provide security and a level-playing field,'' he said.
  Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks on the ANP, according to news reports. The insurgents oppose the party for its secular views, the reports said.
  To contact the reporter on this story: Augustine Anthony in Islamabad at aanthony9@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net
VIDEO-Boston Doc: 'We Were Ready For This'
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:17
  Boston Doc: 'We Were Ready For This'Jason Carroll talks with Dr. Ron Walls of Brigham and Women's Hospital about what is being done for the the injured.16 Apr 2013, 11:35 AM PDTpost a comment16 Apr 2013, 3:51 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:30 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 2:59 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 2:27 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 2:20 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 2:55 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 2:37 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 1:27 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 1:19 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 1:17 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:22 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:16 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:15 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:06 PM PDT16 Apr 2013, 3:04 PM PDT
Researchers Finally Replicated Reinhart-Rogoff, and There Are Serious Problems. | Next New Deal
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:15
  In 2010, economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff released a paper, "Growth in a Time of Debt." Their "main result is that...median growth rates for countries with public debt over 90 percent of GDP are roughly one percent lower than otherwise; average (mean) growth rates are several percent lower." Countries with debt-to-GDP ratios above 90 percent have a slightly negative average growth rate, in fact.
  This has been one of the most cited stats in the public debate during the Great Recession. Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity budget states their study "found conclusive empirical evidence that [debt] exceeding 90 percent of the economy has a significant negative effect on economic growth." The Washington Post editorial board takes it as an economic consensus view, stating that "debt-to-GDP could keep rising '-- and stick dangerously near the 90 percent mark that economists regard as a threat to sustainable economic growth."
  Is it conclusive? One response has been to argue that the causation is backwards, or that slower growth leads to higher debt-to-GDP ratios. Josh Bivens and John Irons made this case at the Economic Policy Institute. But this assumes that the data is correct. From the beginning there have been complaints that Reinhart and Rogoff weren't releasing the data for their results (e.g. Dean Baker). I knew of several people trying to replicate the results who were bumping into walls left and right - it couldn't be done.
  In a new paper, "Does High Public Debt Consistently Stifle Economic Growth? A Critique of Reinhart and Rogoff," Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash, and Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst successfully replicate the results. After trying to replicate the Reinhart-Rogoff results and failing, they reached out to Reinhart and Rogoff and they were willing to share their data spreadhseet. This allowed Herndon et al. to see how how Reinhart and Rogoff's data was constructed.
  They find that three main issues stand out. First, Reinhart and Rogoff selectively exclude years of high debt and average growth. Second, they use a debatable method to weight the countries. Third, there also appears to be a coding error that excludes high-debt and average-growth countries. All three bias in favor of their result, and without them you don't get their controversial result. Let's investigate further:
  Selective Exclusions. Reinhart-Rogoff use 1946-2009 as their period, with the main difference among countries being their starting year. In their data set, there are 110 years of data available for countries that have a debt/GDP over 90 percent, but they only use 96 of those years. The paper didn't disclose which years they excluded or why.
  Herndon-Ash-Pollin find that they exclude Australia (1946-1950), New Zealand (1946-1949), and Canada (1946-1950). This has consequences, as these countries have high-debt and solid growth. Canada had debt-to-GDP over 90 percent during this period and 3 percent growth. New Zealand had a debt/GDP over 90 percent from 1946-1951. If you use the average growth rate across all those years it is 2.58 percent. If you only use the last year, as Reinhart-Rogoff does, it has a growth rate of -7.6 percent. That's a big difference, especially considering how they weigh the countries.
  Unconventional Weighting. Reinhart-Rogoff divides country years into debt-to-GDP buckets. They then take the average real growth for each country within the buckets. So the growth rate of the 19 years that the U.K. is above 90 percent debt-to-GDP are averaged into one number. These country numbers are then averaged, equally by country, to calculate the average real GDP growth weight.
  In case that didn't make sense, let's look at an example. The U.K. has 19 years (1946-1964) above 90 percent debt-to-GDP with an average 2.4 percent growth rate. New Zealand has one year in their sample above 90 percent debt-to-GDP with a growth rate of -7.6. These two numbers, 2.4 and -7.6 percent, are given equal weight in the final calculation, as they average the countries equally. Even though there are 19 times as many data points for the U.K.
  Now maybe you don't want to give equal weighting to years (technical aside: Herndon-Ash-Pollin bring up serial correlation as a possibility). Perhaps you want to take episodes. But this weighting significantly reduces the average; if you weight by the number of years you find a higher growth rate above 90 percent. Reinhart-Rogoff don't discuss this methodology, either the fact that they are weighing this way or the justification for it, in their paper.
  Coding Error. As Herndon-Ash-Pollin puts it: "A coding error in the RR working spreadsheet entirely excludes five countries, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, and Denmark, from the analysis. [Reinhart-Rogoff] averaged cells in lines 30 to 44 instead of lines 30 to 49...This spreadsheet error...is responsible for a -0.3 percentage-point error in RR's published average real GDP growth in the highest public debt/GDP category." Belgium, in particular, has 26 years with debt-to-GDP above 90 percent, with an average growth rate of 2.6 percent (though this is only counted as one total point due to the weighting above).
  Being a bit of a doubting Thomas on this coding error, I wouldn't believe unless I touched the digital Excel wound myself. One of the authors was able to show me that, and here it is. You can see the Excel blue-box for formulas missing some data:
  This error is needed to get the results they published, and it would go a long way to explaining why it has been impossible for others to replicate these results. If this error turns out to be an actual mistake Reinhart-Rogoff made, well, all I can hope is that future historians note that one of the core empirical points providing the intellectual foundation for the global move to austerity in the early 2010s was based on someone accidentally not updating a row formula in Excel.
  So what do Herndon-Ash-Pollin conclude? They find "the average real GDP growth rate for countries carrying a public debt-to-GDP ratio of over 90 percent is actually 2.2 percent, not -0.1 percent as [Reinhart-Rogoff claim]." [UPDATE: To clarify, they find 2.2 percent if they include all the years, weigh by number of years, and avoid the Excel error.] Going further into the data, they are unable to find a breakpoint where growth falls quickly and significantly.
  This is also good evidence for why you should release your data online, so it can be properly vetted. But beyond that, looking through the data and how much it can collapse because of this or that assumption, it becomes quite clear that there's no magic number out there. The debt needs to be thought of as a response to the contingent circumstances we find ourselves in, with mass unemployment, a Federal Reserve desperately trying to gain traction at the zero lower bound, and a gap between what we could be producing and what we are. The past guides us, but so far it has failed to provide evidence of an emergency threshold. In fact, it tells us that a larger deficit right now would help us greatly.
  [UPDATE: People are responding to the Excel error, and that is important to document. But from a data point of view, the exclusion of the Post-World War II data is particularly troublesome, as that is driving the negative results. This needs to be explained, as does the weighting, which compresses the long periods of average growth and high debt.]
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Reinhart-Rogoff coding error: Austerity policies founded on bad coding.
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:14
  The board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) shows a sea of red in Melbourne on November 10, 2011, as Australian shares closed down 2.35 percent but off their lows after Italian debt yields spiked to levels judged to be unsustainable in the longer term. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 102.0 points to 4,244.1, tracking big falls on global markets, but they recovered slightly from a dive of more than three percent in morning trade. AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images
  So this is huge. Or, rather, it won't matter even a tiny little bit but it ought to be a big deal anyway. You've probably heard that countries with a high debt:GDP ratio suffer from slow economic growth. The specific number 90 percent has been invoked frequently. That's all thanks to a study conducted by Carmen Reinhardt and Kenneth Rogoff for their book This Time It's Different. But the results have been difficult for other researchers to replicate. Now three scholars at the University of Massachusetts have done so in "Does High Public Debt Consistently Stifle Economic Growth? A Critique of Reinhart and Rogoff" and they find that the Reinhart/Rogoff result is based on opportunistic exclusion of Commonwealth data in the late-1940s, a debatable premise about how to weight the data, and most of all a sloppy Excel coding error.
  Read Mike Konczal for the whole rundown, but I'll just focus on the spreadsheet part. At one point they set cell L51 equal to AVERAGE(L30:L44) when the correct procedure was AVERAGE(L30:L49). By typing wrong, they accidentally left Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Austria, and Australia out of the average. When you fix the Excel error, a -0.1 percent growth rate turns into 0.2 percent growth.*
  This is literally the most influential article cited in public and policy debates about the importance of debt stabilization, so naturally this is going to change everything.
  Or, rather, it will change nothing. As I've said many times, citations of the Reinhart/Rogoff result in a policy context obviously appealing to a fallacious form of causal inference. There is an overwhelming theoretical argument that slow real growth will lead to a high debt:GDP ratio and thus whether or not you can construct a dataset showing a correlation between the two tells us absolutely nothing about whether high debt loads lead to small growth. The correct causal inference doesn't rule out causation in the direction Reinhart and Rogoff believe in, but the kind of empirical study they've conducted couldn't possibly establish it. To give an example from another domain, you might genuinely wonder if short kids are more likely to end up malnourished because they're not good at fighting for food or something. A study where you conclude that short stature and malnourishment are correlated would give us zero information about this hypothesis, since everyone already knows that malnourishment leads to stunted growth. There might be causation in the other direction as well, but a correlation study woudn't tell you.
  The fact that Reinhart/Rogoff was widely cited despite its huge obvious theoretical problems leads me to confidently predict that the existence of equally huge, albeit more subtle, empirical problems won't change anything either. As of 2007 there was a widespread belief among elites in the United States and Europe that reductions in retirement benefits were desirable, and subsequent events regarding economic crisis and debt have simply been subsumed into that longstanding view.
  *Correction, April 16, 2013: This post originally conflated the impact of the Excel error with the two other objections raised by the University of Massachusetts researchers.
Hagel: Pentagon ready to assist civil authorities in Boston - News - Stripes
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:11
  WASHINGTON '-- The U.S. military is ready to assist after what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a ''cruel act of terror'' in Boston.
  Testifying on Capitol Hill, Hagel said Tuesday that the attack on the Boston Marathon was terrorism, and that the Pentagon is prepared to respond quickly to any request from domestic law enforcement.
  ''(The attack) is clearly an act of terror and will be approached as an act of terror,'' Hagel said.
  The bombs, said by authorities to have been made of 6-liter pressure cookers filled with nails and ball bearings and placed in black duffel bags, killed at least three and wounded more than 170.
  Hagel noted in the hearing that a decision last month to disestablish two National Guard civil support teams, including the one that responded to the bombing in Boston, has been reversed.
  The U.S. Northern Command, which coordinates the military response to any attacks on the homeland, decided Monday night not to change security levels at military installations in the U.S., a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.
  More than 400 Massachusetts National Guardsmen remain on duty to continue to assist local authorities, according to a news release from the Guard.
  The 211th Military Police Battalion has been called upon to provide security. The Guard is also staging transportation assets such as buses and helicopters, according to the release.
  Additionally, the Massachusetts National Guard's 387th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) has been activated; and the 267th Combat Communications Squadron is headed to Boston to assist with interagency communication.
  Additionally, the Navy sent one of its bomb-disposal units to Boston to assist local authorities as needed in the aftermath of the explosions.
  The three-member explosive ordnance disposal team based at Naval Station Newport, R.I., was sent to Massachusetts after state officials asked for help.
  Hagel, whose statement had been the strongest yet by any Cabinet-level official until President Obama spoke late Tuesday morning, told members of the House that the Pentagon was ready to respond to any request.
  ''I will continue to consult closely with DOD senior leaders and my counterparts in other agencies,'' Hagel said, ''on how we can best support the government's response and investigations.''
  Stars and Stripes reporter Chris Carroll contributed to this report.
  dickson.patrick@stripes.com
Boston Marathon bombs packed with gunpowder, shrapnel | Reuters
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:49
  1 of 25. People embrace during a vigil honoring the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts April 16, 2013. A pressure cooker stuffed with gunpowder and shrapnel caused at least one of the blasts at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured 176 others in the worst attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement sources said on Tuesday.
  Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
  Tue Apr 16, 2013 6:46pm EDT
  (Editor's Note: Please be advised this story contains graphic material that may upset some readers)
  By Genevra Pittman and Svea Herbst-Bayliss
  BOSTON (Reuters) - A pressure cooker stuffed with gunpowder and shrapnel caused at least one of the blasts at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured 176 others in the worst attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, law enforcement sources said.
  Investigators who found pieces of black nylon at the scene suspect the bombs used in Monday's attack were in dark-colored bags that would have been heavy to carry, FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers said at a news conference on Tuesday.
  DesLauriers said the investigation is in its infancy and "at this time there are no claims of responsibility. The range of suspects and motives remains wide open."
  President Barack Obama, who will travel to Boston on Thursday for a memorial service, called the two bombings at the marathon finish line an "act of terror" and police said parts of central Boston could be closed for days as they investigated the blasts that maimed several people who lost legs above the knee.
  "When these kids came in ... they were just so badly hurt, just covered with singed hair and in so much pain, it was just gut-wrenching," said David Mooney, the director of the trauma program at Boston Children's Hospital. "Pulling nails out of a little girl's flesh is just awful."
  At least 10 people had limbs amputated as a result of their injuries, officials at hospitals said.
  "Some of them woke up today with no leg and they told me that they are happy to be alive. They told me they thought they would die as they saw the blood spilling out," George Velmahos, chief of trauma surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, told reporters.
  The decision to amputate was easy, he said: "We just completed the ugly job that the bomb did."
  The youngest to die was an 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, who lived in the city's Dorchester neighborhood. Outside the family's home, sympathizers created a makeshift memorial of flowers and "Peace" was written in chalk on the sidewalk.
  Officials identified a second person killed as Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford, Massachusetts. She was "the daughter that every father dreams to have," said Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, who said he had confirmed the death with Campbell's father, William Campbell.
  "She had a great sense of humor and freckles and red hair that brought her right to her Irish roots," McGlynn said.
  The identity of the third person killed in the attack has not been released by officials.
  An early lead in the investigation and an apartment search ended with law enforcement sources saying a Saudi Arabian student injured in the blast was likely to be cleared of suspicion. Neighbors in the man's apartment complex, who asked not to be identified, said FBI agents took boxes from the building.
  No one has been arrested, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told reporters on Tuesday morning.
  Later on Tuesday in Washington, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said there was no indication that the bomb blasts were part of a broader plot.
  Officials in Britain and Spain said the London and Madrid marathons would go ahead on Sunday, but security plans for both races were under review.
  PRESSURE COOKER BOMB
  At least one bomb and possibly both were built using pressure cookers as the superstructure, black powder or gunpowder as the explosive and ball bearings as additional shrapnel, according to current and former counterterrorism officials briefed on the matter.
  The sources, who asked not to be identified, said instructions on how to design such bombs are available on the internet.
  At the news conference on Tuesday afternoon, the FBI's DesLauriers said investigators had recovered fragments of ball bearings and nails from the scene and that the devices may have been constructed from pressure cookers.
  Officials in cities across the United States were watchful and several had security scares on Tuesday, although no injuries were reported.
  Dispelling earlier reports of as many as seven devices being found around Boston, Gene Marquez, assistant special agent in charge for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said authorities had determined that the only bombs deployed in the attack were the two that detonated shortly before 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Monday.
  Any unexploded device might have provided a clearer picture of what materials were used and how the bomb was assembled, furnishing leads in the case.
  Trauma surgeons at several Boston hospitals told reporters a number of victims had metallic shrapnel material removed during surgery, including pellets and what appeared to be nails, which would make the device reminiscent of the 1996 bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, which killed two people and injured about 150 others. Anti-abortion activist Eric Rudolph, who eluded capture for years, pleaded guilty to that attack and is serving consecutive life sentences.
  (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Steve Holland and Mark Felsenthal in Washington and Tim McLaughlin and Stephanie Simon in Boston; Writing by Scott Malone and Dan Burns; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Grant McCool)
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VIDEO-Boston Amputee CUT - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:47
VIDEO-Boston Blood Retreats - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:47
Obama threatens veto of CISPA database-sharing bill
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  Archived Version
  Source: CNET News
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:17
  White House veto threat says CISPA legislation does not adequately protect Americans' privacy, raising the odds that controversial data-sharing bill is doomed this year.
  President Obama has threatened to veto CISPA because it may not "safeguard personal information adequately."
  (Credit: Getty Images)The White House today delivered a formal veto threat against a controversial data-sharing bill called CISPA that would allow intelligence agencies to collect personal information about Americans from private companies.
  In a statement this afternoon, President Obama's aides said they "would recommend that he veto the bill," which is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote this week.
  A House committee approved CISPA last week without four key privacy amendments sought by opponents that would have curbed the National Security Agency's ability to collect confidential data. (See CNET's CISPA FAQ.)
  The White House had threatened a CISPA veto last year, but its backers had hoped that some changes they made, coupled with a related presidential executive order in January, meant the veto threat would not be renewed. Today's statement says:
  The Administration, however, remains concerned that the bill does not require private entities to take reasonable steps to remove irrelevant personal information when sending cybersecurity data to the government or other private sector entities. Citizens have a right to know that corporations will be held accountable - and not granted immunity - for failing to safeguard personal information adequately...
  The Administration supports incentivizing industry to share appropriate cybersecurity information by providing the private sector with targeted liability protections. However, the Administration is concerned about the broad scope of liability limitations in H.R. 624. Specifically, even if there is no clear intent to do harm, the law should not immunize a failure to take reasonable measures, such as the sharing of information, to prevent harm when and if the entity knows that such inaction will cause damage or otherwise injure or endanger other entities or individuals.
  House Intelligence chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), CISPA's primary author, described the veto threat as "flabbergasting."
  "I do not believe the administration knows how to work with a legislative body," Rogers said during a meeting of the House Rules committee. "We have come a long way on some of their points."
  CISPA's advocates say it's needed to encourage companies to share more information with the federal government, and to a lesser extent among themselves. A "Myth v. Fact" paper (PDF) prepared by the House Intelligence committee says any claim that "this legislation creates a wide-ranging government surveillance program" is a myth.
  Critics of CISPA are hoping for a second chance during this week's floor debate to offer their privacy-protective amendments.
  Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who voted against the bill during last week's House Intelligence meeting, said at the time he was "disappointed" that his proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by his colleagues.
  "It is not too much to ask that companies make sure they aren't sending private information about their customers, their clients, and their employees to intelligence agencies," Schiff said.
  Unlike last year's Stop Online Piracy Act outcry, in which Internet users and civil liberties groups allied with technology companies against Hollywood, no broad alliance exists this time. Companies including AT&T, Comcast, EMC, IBM, Intel, McAfee, Oracle, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon have instead signed on as supporters.
  There are some exceptions. As CNET reported last month Facebook has been one of the few companies to rescind its support. Microsoft has also backed away. Google has not taken a public position.
  CISPA is controversial because it overrules all existing federal and state laws by saying "notwithstanding any other provision of law," companies may share information "with any other entity, including the federal government." It would not, however, require them to do so.
  That language has alarmed dozens of advocacy groups, including the American Library Association, the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Reporters Without Borders, which sent a letter (PDF) to Congress last month opposing CISPA. It says: "CISPA's information sharing regime allows the transfer of vast amounts of data, including sensitive information like Internet records or the content of e-mails, to any agency in the government."
  A similar coalition mounted an attempt to defeat CISPA last year. It failed: despite a presidential veto threat and criticism from Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Ron Paul (R-Tex.), the House of Representatives approved the measure by a largely party line vote of 248 to 168. The bill did not, however, receive a vote in the Senate, and never became law.
Terror in Boston: Hagel Says Pentagon Ready to Violate Posse Comitatus
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  Archived Version
  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:08
  Kurt NimmoInfowars.comApril 16, 2013
  During testimony on Capitol Hill, Chuck Hagel characterized the attack in Boston as terrorism and said the Pentagon is prepared to respond quickly to any request from domestic law enforcement, according to Pentagon's propaganda newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
  ''(The attack) is clearly an act of terror and will be approached as an act of terror,'' Hagel said.
  ''I will continue to consult closely with DOD senior leaders and my counterparts in other agencies,'' Hagel added, ''on how we can best support the government's response and investigations.''
  The event in Boston has provided the Department of Defense with a handy excuse to reverse the disestablishment of two National Guard civil support teams, including one currently responding to the bombing in Boston.
  Over 400 Massachusetts National Guardsmen ''remain on duty to continue to assist local authorities,'' the newspaper reported, citing a press release from the Guard.
  The 211th Military Police Battalion was deployed to provide security, the Massachusetts National Guard's 387th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) has been activated, the 267th Combat Communications Squadron was sent to Boston, and the Navy sent a bomb-disposal unit ''to assist local authorities as needed in the aftermath of the explosions.'' In addition, the U.S. Northern Command on Monday decided not to change security levels at military installations in the U.S.
  Under the Posse Comitatus Act passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction, the military is prohibited from involvement in such activity as the supply of support, training, intelligence and equipment to civilian law enforcement. Because the federalized National Guard is part of either the Air Force or the Army, it is covered by the Act, according to Seattle attorney Lynne Wilson.
  This article was posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 1:12 pm
  Tags: constitution, domestic news, terrorism
Joint Statement by the United States and the United Arab Emirates
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:07
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 16, 2013
  In their meeting today at the White House, President Obama and the UAE's Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reaffirmed their commitment to the strong partnership and friendship between their two countries.
  The Crown Prince expressed his condolences for those who were affected by yesterday's attack in Boston.
  The two leaders highlighted the expanding ties between the United States and the UAE, reflecting common strategic interests. The Crown Prince thanked President Obama for the United States' leadership in the region, including the President's efforts to advance peace, security, and opportunity in the Middle East.
  The President and Crown Prince pledged to sustain the expanding economic ties between the United States and the UAE, noting that the UAE remains the United States' largest export market in the Middle East and a significant investor in the United States. The President commended the UAE for hosting the successful Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Dubai last December, and both leaders highlighted the importance of fostering broad-based economic opportunity in the region, particularly for young people. They also discussed the relationships the UAE is building with leading U.S. institutions, including in education, health care, and the arts.
  The President and Crown Prince also reaffirmed their shared commitment to close defense and security cooperation, including joint training exercises, counterterrorism cooperation and the deployment of interoperable U.S. defense systems. The President expressed appreciation for the UAE's contributions to NATO missions in Afghanistan and Libya. The President and the Crown Prince also discussed a range of regional challenges, including the need for Iran to meet its international obligations with respect to its nuclear program, the ongoing conflict in Syria, and countering the threat of violent extremism.
  The President and Crown Prince pledged to continue to deepen the U.S.-UAE partnership through close and regular consultations between the two countries. A photo of the meeting can be found HERE.
The truth comes out: Harry Reid accidentally calls his background check bill "Anti-gun legislation"
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:39
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
Three Mile Island emergency drill to be held today
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:01
  Do not be alarmed if you see a lot of emergency vehicles setting up at Three Mile Island Tuesday afternoon.
  Also, don't be concerned if you hear announcements from the nuclear power plant's public address system. It's all part of a drill.
  Counties, municipalities and school districts within a 10-mile radius of the plant will take part in the drill, which simulates a variety of emergency scenarios. It's part of a plan to ensure emergency workers on and off site can be ready to respond in the event of a real emergency.
  Federal officials will evaluate the responders' performances.
  The offsite emergency sirens will not be used during the drill. If you hear them, pay attention.
H.R.756
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  Source: House Floor Today
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:53
  NEW SEARCH | HOME | HELP{link: 'http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.113hr756',title: 'THOMAS - Bill Summary and Status - H.R.756' }
  H.R.756Latest Title: Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013Sponsor:Rep McCaul, Michael T. [TX-10] (introduced 2/15/2013) Cosponsors (13)Latest Major Action: 4/11/2013 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 19.House Reports:113-33
H.R.1163
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  Source: House Floor Today
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:52
  NEW SEARCH | HOME | HELP{link: 'http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.113hr1163',title: 'THOMAS - Bill Summary and Status - H.R.1163' }
  H.R.1163Latest Title: Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013Sponsor:Rep Issa, Darrell E. [CA-49] (introduced 3/14/2013) Cosponsors (5)Latest Major Action: 3/20/2013 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
President Obama Speaks on Attacks in Boston
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  Source: White House.gov Video Feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:48
  April 16, 2013 | 4:37 | Public Domain
  President Obama says that the FBI is investigating the two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon as acts of terror.
  Download mp4 (168MB) | mp3 (11MB)
ABC Speculates: Was Boston 'Homegrown Terror?' Features Mark Potok on 'Extreme Right'
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:46
  If the player does not load, please check that you are running the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
  The hosts of Good Morning America on Tuesday pointed a speculative finger in the wake of the bombing in Boston. An ABC graphic wondered, "could this be homegrown terror?" In a segment full of guesses, reporter Pierre Thomas featured leftist Mark Potok, the man who labeled the Family Research Council a "hate group." Regarding the date that the explosion occurred on, Potok linked, "The real Patriots Day is April 19th. That is the date that counts for people on the extreme right in the United States." Other than Potok, no other expert voices were featured in the segment. News anchor Josh Elliott backed up Potok's assertions, theorizing, " One big clue could be Monday's date, April 15th. The anniversaries of some of the most harrowing incidents in domestic terror are coming this week." Thomas then went on to highlight David Koresh and the Oklahoma City bombing. His justification? They also happened in April.
TV Ratings Monday: 'The Voice' Hits a High, 'Dancing With the Stars' Up; 'How I Met Your Mother', '2 Broke Girls', 'Castle' & 'Hawaii Five-0'² Down - Ratings
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:41
  ScoreboardNBCABCCBSFOXUNICWAdults 18-49: rating/Share4.5/122.2/62.1/62.0/51.5/40.3/1Adults 18-34: Rating/Share3.4/101.3/41.5/51.5/41.2/40.3/1Total Viewers (million)12.47812.4067.1796.0593.4990.822-
  Note: There were numerous local market preemptions Monday night due to coverage of the Boston bombings. Ratings may be subject to more than typical adjustment in the finals.
  NBC was number one with adults 18-49 and with total viewers.
  On NBC, The Voice earned a season high 5.1 adults 18-49 rating, up 2 percent from last week's 5.0 adults 18-49 rating. It was the show's best 18-49 numbers since March 12, 2012. The news special Terror In Boston scored a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating, up 41 percent from Revolution's 2.2 in the time period last week.
  On CBS, How I Met Your Mother scored a season low 2.6 adults 18-49 rating down 4 percent from a 2.7 on March 25. Rules of Engagement earned a season low 2.0 among adults 18-49 down 9 percent from a 2.2 on March 25. 2 Broke Girls garnered a series low 2.3 adults 18-49 rating down 23 percent from a 3.0 on March 25. Mike & Molly notched a series low 2.2 among adults 18-49 down 15 percent from a 2.6 on March 25. Hawaii Five-O tied its series low with a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating down 14 percent from a 2.1 on March 25.
  On ABC, Dancing with the Stars scored a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating up 5 percent from last week's 2.1. Castle earned a 2.1 down 5 percent from a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating on April 1.
  On FOX, Bones garnered a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating down 5 percent from a 2.0 on April 1. The Following earned a series low 2.1 down 5 percent from last week's 2.2 adults 18-49 rating.
  On the CW, the season premiere of Oh, Sit notched a 0.4 adults 18-49 rating down 20 percent from a 0.5 for the series premiere on Wednesday, August 15, 2012. 90210 earned a 0.2 adults 18-49 rating matching its last original on March 11.
  Broadcast primetime ratings for Monday, April 15, 2013:
  -Late Night Ratings:
  In Late-Night Metered Markets Monday night:
  In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.7/7 with an encore telecast; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6 with an encore; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.9/8.In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 Wednesday results were: ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,'' 1.0/5 with an encore; "Late Show," 0.7/3 with an encore; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.9/5.From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET Wednesday night, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.8/6 in metered-market households and a 0.6/4 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.3/5 in metered-market households with an encore) beat CBS's first-run "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49 with an encore) topped "Late Late Show" (0.4/3).At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.9/4 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.4/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.Definitions:
  Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live football game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as live award shows and breaking news reports.
  Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.
  Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.)
  Time Shifted Viewing '' Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data '' Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+Same Day (Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.
  For more information see Numbers 101 and Numbers 102.
Soldier faces next stage of recovery after double amputation | Article | The United States Army
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:33
  Second Lt. Nick Vogt, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, takes a moment in between doctor visits to smile for the camera. Vogt lost both of his legs after being struck by an IED while on...
  Army 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and his mom, Sheila Vogt, enjoy a breath of fresh air outside a Veteran Affairs Clinic in Richmond, Va.
  Maj. Gen. Raymond Palumbo, commanding general for U.S. Army Alaska visits with 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt, platoon leader, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Richmond, Va., in April. Vogt lost both...
  When 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt stepped on an IED, while leading a patrol through the streets of southern Kandahar, Afghanistan, doctors at the nearby hospital weren't sure he would live.
  Sheila Vogt, Nick's mother, remembers the grim details regarding his initial diagnosis.
  "Nick was injured on November 12, 2011, and did not arrive in Germany until November 15th due to the fact he was very critical and was not stable enough to fly," Sheila recalls. "My husband and I were instructed that we would fly to Germany on November 17th to be with Nick. When we arrived at Landstuhl, the doctors sat us down and said, 'Mr. and Mrs. Vogt, your son is very critical. He is hour by hour."
  Nick had suffered such traumatic injuries that he had to undergo double amputations of both legs. Because of the amount of blood lost, the hospital on Kandahar Air Field called for an emergency blood draw.
  "Complete shock, sadness, disbelief, but most of all the immediate need for prayer," said Mrs. Vogt, remembering her initial reaction to the news.
  Within hours service members from many different nations came to the rescue and provided the blood necessary.
  With blood stockpiled, Nick made it through the first batch of surgeries and was later evacuated to Germany for further care.
  What the future had in store for Nick's health was unknown, but after five months of extensive surgeries and daily rehabilitation, the outlook on his future and health has improved and the Vogt family now has its sights set on a successful recovery.
  A posting on the Vogt family's social media website highlighted how far he has come since the tragic day in Afghanistan. It reads; 'Nick has left the hospital' and describes a short lunch trip Nick and his family enjoyed outside and away from the confines of the hospital.
  In early April, the West Point graduate and platoon leader with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was moved to a Veterans Affairs clinic in Richmond, Va., where he conducts four separate therapies a day; kinesiotherapy, occupational, physical and speech therapy.
  "Nick is starting to look like his old self - getting some meat on his bones, smiling, laughing and being ornery," Sheila said.
  In addition to the prayers Nick gets from his friends and family, he also receives support from his "battle buddies" throughout his unit.
  Shortly after being transferred to Richmond, 2nd Lt. Vogt received a surprise visit from Maj. Gen. Raymond Palumbo, commanding general for U.S. Army Alaska.
  During his visit Maj. Gen. Palumbo presented the 24-year-old Vogt with a commander's coin and clothing to help with his rehabilitation.
  In addition to the commanding general, members of Nick's unit have also made the trip to visit their comrade.
  "I think every one of Nick's chain of command has been to visit him at least once at Walter Reed and/or the VA Hospital in Richmond," said Nick's mom. "Neither my husband nor I have any military background, but it is wonderful to see just how close the military family really is."
  With the support of his family, his unit and his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, Mrs. Vogt said Nick is remaining positive and is looking forward to returning to Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he is scheduled to begin rehab with fitted prosthetics.
  Sheila, speaking on behalf of her injured son, said Nick is still pondering his future and is trying to figure out the steps to accomplish all of his goals.
  She said he is still considering furthering his future in the military.
  While Nick thinks of his future and struggles with recovery, supporters have come together to make the recovery as painless as possible.
  A 5K run will be held May 5, in the city of Crestline, Ohio to help raise money.
  According to a recent interview published with the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum.com, race organizer Matt Bickert said, "People are sending us checks and messages. We never expected this sort of response. It's been great."
  More than 600 people have already pre-registered, according to the site.
  "We could never find the words to express our appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of people who have helped Nick survive his injuries," Sheila said. "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Had it not been for you, we would not have been able to tell the story of Nick's survival. He has a very bright future, and we are so glad that God put you into Nick's life."
  Nick has also been cleared to travel back to Alaska and has plans to rejoin his unit for a special celebration this month.
  The Vogt family has created a Facebook page to help supporters follow Nick's recovery. (For more information check out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nick-Vogt-Family/178392405583759?ref=ts)
Presidential Proclamation -- Honoring the victims of the tragedy in Boston, Massachusetts
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:16
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 16, 2013
  HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE TRAGEDY IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
  - - - - - - -
  BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
  A PROCLAMATION
  As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on April 15, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, April 20, 2013. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
  BARACK OBAMA
David Axelrod: Obama thinks Boston terror attack could have been because of "tax day"
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:11
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
China Says US 'Pacific Pivot' Destabilizes Region
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:28
  BEIJING - In its latest account of national defense efforts, China said Tuesday that the United States is destabilizing the Asia-Pacific region by strengthening its military alliances and sending more ships, planes, and troops to the area.
  The U.S. policy known as the "pivot" to Asia runs counter to regional trends and "frequently makes the situation tenser," the Defense Ministry said in its report on the state of China's defense posture and armed forces.
  "Certain efforts made to highlight the military agenda, enhance military deployment and also strengthen alliances are not in line with the calling of the times and are not conducive to the upholding of peace and stability in the region," spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters at a news conference marking the report's release.
  "We hope that the relevant parties would do more to enhance the mutual trust between countries in the region and contribute to peace and stability," Yang said.
  China has consistently criticized Washington's deployment of additional ships and personnel to Asia, along with increasing cooperation both with treaty partners, including Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, as well other countries such as Vietnam that aren't traditional allies.
  The U.S. is winding down its fighting in Afghanistan and calls the restructuring a natural reallocation of resources to the world's most economically dynamic region.
  Beijing, however, sees it as specifically designed to contain China's diplomatic, military, and economic rise, and has sought to reassure Asian nations that China poses no threat to them. Despite that, China's fast-growing military and increasingly firm assertions of its territorial claims have concerned many countries, pushing them to seek stronger relations with the U.S., the region's traditional military superpower.
  The pivot will see 60 percent of the Navy's fleet be deployed to the Pacific by 2020. Singapore will be home to four new U.S. Littoral Combat Ships designed to fight close to shorelines, while Indonesia is looking to buy a broad range of American hardware and take part in joint maneuvers. The Philippines is seeking to host more U.S. troops on a rotating basis and Australia has agreed to allow up to 2,500 Marines to deploy to the northern city of Darwin.
  Meanwhile, in the face of natural disasters and North Korean threats, U.S. military relations with treaty partners South Korea and Japan are closer than ever.
  In its report, the Defense Ministry again sought to assuage concerns about its more than 500 percent increase in defense spending over the past 14 years. China's defense budget is now the second largest in the world after the U.S., allowing it to acquire everything from better submarines and missiles to state-of-the-art fighters, aircraft carriers and electronic warfare systems, and helping spawn an arms race across Asia.
  Much of the report was devoted to the military's contribution to U.N. peacekeeping efforts and disaster relief, portraying the People's Liberation Army as a force for regional and global stability.
  Yet it also asserted the PLA's role as a guarantor of China's core interests, vowing to tolerate no violation of those.
  "'We will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked. Following this principle, China will resolutely take all necessary measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the report said.
  (C) Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Federal Register | Presidential Determination on Eligibility of the Federal Republic of Somalia To Receive Defense Articles and Defense Services Under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended, and the Arms Export Control Act, as Amended
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:32
  Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 503(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and section 3(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and defense services to the Federal Republic of Somalia will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace.
  You are authorized and directed to transmit this determination, and attached memorandum of justification, to the Congress and to arrange for the publication of this determination in the Federal Register.
  THE WHITE HOUSE,Washington, April 8, 2013
  [FR Doc. 2013-09106Filed 4-15-13; 11:15 am]
  Billing code 4710-10
Federal Register | Generic Drug Facilities, Sites, and Organizations
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:37
  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that the generic drug facility self-identification reporting period for fiscal year (FY) 2014 will begin on May 1, 2013, and close on June 1, 2013. Generic drug facilities, certain sites, and organizations identified in a generic drug submission are required by the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2012 (GDUFA) to submit, update, or reconfirm identification information to FDA annually.
  For FY 2014, identification information must be submitted, updated, or reconfirmed between May 1, 2013, and June 1, 2013.
  Electronic tools for submitting the required information may be found on FDA's Web site at the following addresses:
  Other applications are available commercially.
  Jaewon Hong, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10001 New Hampshire Ave., Rm. 4145, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-6707, AskGDUFA@fda.hhs.gov.
  GDUFA (Pub. L. 112-144, Title III) was signed into law by the President on July 9, 2012, as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. GDUFA is designed to speed the delivery of safe and effective generic drugs to the public and reduce costs to industry. GDUFA enables FDA to assess user fees to fund critical and measurable enhancements to FDA's generic drugs program. GDUFA will also significantly improve global supply chain transparency by requiring owners of facilities producing generic drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients and certain other sites and organizations that support the manufacture or approval of these products to electronically self-identify with FDA and update that information annually.
  Annual self-identification is required for two purposes. First, it is necessary to determine the universe of facilities required to pay user fees. Second, self-identification is a central component of an effort to promote global supply chain transparency. The information provided through self-identification enables quick, accurate, and reliable surveillance of generic drugs and facilitates inspections and compliance.
  Persons who self-identified for FY 2013 must self-identify again for FY 2014 between May 1, 2013, and June 1, 2013. Additional information including who is required to self-identify, how the information is submitted to FDA, the penalty for failure to self-identify, and the technical specifications are available on http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/UserFees/GenericDrugUserFees/default.htm.
  Please note that registration and listing under section 510 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360) is a different process than self-identification under GDUFA. Many persons will thus be required to submit information separately to the respective systems. Each system populates its own database to meet unique requirements and deadlines. Both, however, are built on the same platform and based on the same technical standards.
  Dated: April 10, 2013.
  Leslie Kux,
  Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
  [FR Doc. 2013-08806 Filed 4-15-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 4160-01-P
Statement by the President
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:55
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 16, 2013
  James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
  11:30 A.M. EDT
  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I've just been briefed by my national security team, including FBI Director Mueller, Attorney General Holder, Secretary Napolitano, and my Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco, on the attacks in Boston. We continue to mobilize and deploy all appropriate law enforcement resources to protect our citizens, and to investigate and to respond to this attack.
  Obviously our first thoughts this morning are with the victims, their families, and the city of Boston. We know that two explosions gravely wounded dozens of Americans, and took the lives of others, including a 8-year-old boy.
  This was a heinous and cowardly act. And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror. What we don't yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual. That's what we don't yet know. And clearly, we're at the beginning of our investigation.
  It will take time to follow every lead and determine what happened. But we will find out. We will find whoever harmed our citizens and we will bring them to justice.
  We also know this -- the American people refuse to be terrorized. Because what the world saw yesterday in the aftermath of the explosions were stories of heroism and kindness, and generosity and love: Exhausted runners who kept running to the nearest hospital to give blood, and those who stayed to tend to the wounded, some tearing off their own clothes to make tourniquets. The first responders who ran into the chaos to save lives. The men and women who are still treating the wounded at some of the best hospitals in the world, and the medical students who hurried to help, saying ''When we heard, we all came in.'' The priests who opened their churches and ministered to the hurt and the fearful. And the good people of Boston who opened their homes to the victims of this attack and those shaken by it.
  So if you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil -- that's it. Selflessly. Compassionately. Unafraid.
  In the coming days, we will pursue every effort to get to the bottom of what happened. And we will continue to remain vigilant. I've directed my administration to take appropriate security measures to protect the American people. And this is a good time for all of us to remember that we all have a part to play in alerting authorities -- if you see something suspicious, speak up.
  I have extraordinary confidence in the men and women of the FBI, the Boston Police Department, and the other agencies that responded so heroically and effectively in the aftermath of yesterday's events. I'm very grateful for the leadership of Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino. And I know that even as we protect our people and aggressively pursue this investigation, the people of Boston will continue to respond in the same proud and heroic way that they have thus far -- and their fellow Americans will be right there with them.
  Thank you very much. And you can expect further briefings from our law enforcement officials as the day goes on. When we have more details, they will be disclosed. What I've indicated to you is what we know now. We know it was bombs that were set off. We know that obviously they did some severe damage. We do not know who did them. We do not know whether this was an act of an organization or an individual or individuals. We don't have a sense of motive yet. So everything else at this point is speculation. But as we receive more information, as the FBI has more information, as our out counterterrorism teams have more information, we will make sure to keep you and the American people posted.
  Thank you very much, everybody.
  END
  11:35 A.M. EDT
Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624)
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:40
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
Quake Hits Iran, Pakistan; Death Toll in Question - ABC News
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:44
  A major earthquake flattened homes and offices on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border Tuesday, rattling buildings as far away as New Delhi and Dubai. Iranian state media said at least 46 people died, but later Iranian reports offered a far milder picture.
  The discrepancies and apparent backtracking in the Iranian reports could not be immediately reconciled, but Iran has faced two large quakes in less than week and authorities could seek to downplay casualties.
  Iran's state-run Press TV initially said at least 40 people were killed on the Iranian side, but later removed the figure from its website and news scroll. Other state-controlled outlets, including the official IRNA news agency, mentioned no deaths and only injuries, quoting a local official.
  The website of Tehran Geophysics Center said the quake, measured at least magnitude 7.7, lasted 40 seconds and called it the strongest in more than 50 years in one of the world's most seismically active areas. Press TV called it "massive."
  It also was the second deadly quake to hit Iran in less than a week after a magnitude 6.1 temblor struck near Bushehr, on Iran's Persian Gulf coast, killing at least 37 people and raising calls for greater international safety inspectors at Iran's lone nuclear reactor nearby.
  Press TV said the quake was centered near Saravan, about 50 kilometers (26 miles) from the Pakistani border. The U.S. Geological Survey put the preliminary magnitude at 7.8 and at a depth of 15.2 kilometers (nine miles).
  Press TV said least 40 people were killed, but gave no other immediate details on the extent of damage or casualties. Later, the reference to the death toll was dropped from Press TV's website and the news agency IRNA said only that at least 27 people were injured.
  State-run Pakistan Television, meanwhile, said at least six people were killed on its side of the border and at least 47 others were injured. Up to 1,000 mud homes were damaged, it added.
  A Pakistani police officer, Azmatullah Regi, said nearly three dozen homes and shops collapsed in one village in the Mashkel area, which was the hardest hit by the quake. Rescue workers pulled the bodies of a couple and their three children, aged 5 to 15, from the rubble of one house, he said.
  The Pakistani army ordered paramilitary troops to assist with rescue operations and provide medical treatment. Additional troops are being moved to the area, and army helicopters were mobilized to carry medical staff, tents, medicine and other relief items.
  In Iran, the Red Crescent said it was facing a "complicated emergency situation" in the area with villages scattered over desolate hills and valleys.
  The quake was felt over a vast area from New Delhi '-- about 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from the epicenter '-- to Gulf cities that have some of the world's tallest skyscrapers, including the record 828-meter (2,717 -foot) Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Officials ordered temporary evacuations from the Burj Khalifa and some other high-rises as a precaution.
  A resident in the quake zone in Iran, Manouchehr Karimi, told The Associated Press by phone that "the quake period was long" and occurred "when many people were at home to take a midday nap."
  Pakistani news channels showed buildings shaking in the southern city of Karachi, where people in panic came out from offices and homes.
  In a message posted on Twitter, British Foreign Secretary William Hague sent condolences to families of those lost in the Iran earthquake.
  In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude 6.6 quake that flattened the historic southeastern Iranian city of Bam.
  '--'--'--
  Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, contributed to this story.
Germany 'may buy weaponised drones from Israel' - FRANCE 24
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:43
  A Heron TP surveillance drone at Israel's Tel Nof Air Force base in 2010. Germany is in talks with Israel to buy weaponised drones for its military that are seen as more technologically advanced than US ones, the weekly Der Spiegel says.
  AFP - Germany is in talks with Israel to buy weaponised drones for its military that are seen as more technologically advanced than US ones, the weekly Der Spiegel reported.
  The news magazine's Monday edition said the German defence ministry had already held two meetings with Israeli military officials, in November 2012 and February 2013, on the proposed purchase.
  The chief of Germany's air force, Lieutenant General Karl Muellner, was said to have recently gone to Israel to attend a presentation of Israel's Heron TP drone, Der Spiegel said.
  Berlin was believed to favour the Heron over the US-made Predator drones because it was seen as more cutting-edge, the magazine said.
  Germany's defence minister, Thomas de Maiziere, in February called for combat drones to be incorporated into the air force, saying their lack created a disadvantage.
  At the time, he made no mention about which drones Germany would be interested in.
  But Germany had expressed an interest in jointly developing drone technology with France, to avoid becoming dependent on US or Israeli drones.
  The issue of drones has generated an ethical debate in Germany, which does not use unmanned aircraft to fight battles but only for surveillance and reconnaissance missions in places such as Afghanistan.
FEMA BO Training
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:42
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Hacktivists as Gadflies - NYTimes.com
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:38
  The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless.
  Around 400 B.C., Socrates was brought to trial on charges of corrupting the youth of Athens and ''impiety.'' Presumably, however, people believed then as we do now, that Socrates' real crime was being too clever and, not insignificantly, a royal pain to those in power or, as Plato put it, a gadfly. Just as a gadfly is an insect that could sting a horse and prod it into action, so too could Socrates sting the state. He challenged the moral values of his contemporaries and refused to go along with unjust demands of tyrants, often obstructing their plans when he could. Socrates thought his service to Athens should have earned him free dinners for life. He was given a cup of hemlock instead.
  The government is treating hackers who try to make a political point as serious threats.We have had gadflies among us ever since, but one contemporary breed in particular has come in for a rough time of late: the ''hacktivist.'' While none have yet been forced to drink hemlock, the state has come down on them with remarkable force. This is in large measure evidence of how poignant, and troubling, their message has been.
  Hacktivists, roughly speaking, are individuals who redeploy and repurpose technology for social causes. In this sense they are different from garden-variety hackers out to enrich only themselves. People like Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Bill Gates began their careers as hackers '-- they repurposed technology, but without any particular political agenda. In the case of Mr. Jobs and Mr. Wozniak, they built and sold ''blue boxes,'' devices that allowed users to defraud the phone company. Today, of course, these people are establishment heroes, and the contrast between their almost exalted state and the scorn being heaped upon hacktivists is instructive.
  For some reason, it seems that the government considers hackers who are out to line their pockets less of a threat than those who are trying to make a political point. Consider the case of Andrew Auernheimer, better known as ''Weev.'' When Weev discovered in 2010 that AT&T had left private information about its customers vulnerable on the Internet, he and a colleague wrote a script to access it. Technically, he did not ''hack'' anything; he merely executed a simple version of what Google Web crawlers do every second of every day '-- sequentially walk through public URLs and extract the content. When he got the information (the e-mail addresses of 114,000 iPad users, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rahm Emanuel, then the White House chief of staff), Weev did not try to profit from it; he notified the blog Gawker of the security hole.
  For this service Weev might have asked for free dinners for life, but instead he was recently sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of more than $73,000 in damages to AT&T to cover the cost of notifying its customers of its own security failure.
  When the federal judge Susan Wigenton sentenced Weev on March 18, she described him with prose that could have been lifted from the prosecutor Meletus in Plato's ''Apology.'' ''You consider yourself a hero of sorts,'' she said, and noted that Weev's ''special skills'' in computer coding called for a more draconian sentence. I was reminded of a line from an essay written in 1986 by a hacker called the Mentor: ''My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.''
  When offered the chance to speak, Weev, like Socrates, did not back down: ''I don't come here today to ask for forgiveness. I'm here to tell this court, if it has any foresight at all, that it should be thinking about what it can do to make amends to me for the harm and the violence that has been inflicted upon my life.''
  He then went on to heap scorn upon the law being used to put him away '-- the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the same law that prosecutors used to go after the 26-year-old Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in January.
  The law, as interpreted by the prosecutors, makes it a felony to use a computer system for ''unintended'' applications, or even violate a terms-of-service agreement. That would theoretically make a felon out of anyone who lied about their age or weight on Match.com.
  The case of Weev is not an isolated one. Barrett Brown, a journalist who had achieved some level of notoriety as the ''the former unofficial not-spokesman for Anonymous,'' the hacktivist group, now sits in federal custody in Texas. Mr. Brown came under the scrutiny of the authorities when he began poring over documents that had been released in the hack of two private security companies, HBGary Federal and Stratfor. Mr. Brown did not take part in the hacks, but he did become obsessed with the contents that emerged from them '-- in particular the extracted documents showed that private security contractors were being hired by the United States government to develop strategies for undermining protesters and journalists, including Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for Salon. Since the cache was enormous, Mr. Brown thought he might crowdsource the effort and copied and pasted the URL from an Anonymous chat server to a Web site called Project PM, which was under his control.
  Just to be clear, what Mr. Brown did was repost the URL from a Web site that was publicly available on the Internet. Because Stratfor had not encrypted the credit card information of its clients, the information in the cache included credit card numbers and validation numbers. Mr. Brown didn't extract the numbers or highlight them; he merely offered a link to the database. For this he was charged on 12 counts, all of which pertained to credit card fraud. The charges against him add up to about 100 years in federal prison. It was ''virtually impossible,'' Mr. Greenwald, wrote recently in The Guardian, his new employer, ''to conclude that the obscenely excessive prosecution he now faces is unrelated to that journalism and his related activism.''
  Other hacktivists have felt the force of the United States government in recent months, and all reflect an alarming contrast between the severity of the punishment and the flimsiness of the actual charges. The case of Aaron Swartz has been well documented. Jeremy Hammond, who reportedly played a direct role in the Stratfor and HBGary hacks, has been in jail for more than a year awaiting trial. Mercedes Haefer, a journalism student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, faces charges for hosting an Internet Relay Chat channel where an Anonymous denial of service attack was planned. Most recently, Matthew Keys, a 26-year-old social-media editor at Reuters, who allegedly assisted hackers associated with Anonymous (who reportedly then made a prank change to a Los Angeles Times headline), was indicted on federal charges that could result in more than $750,000 in fines and prison time, inciting a new outcry against the law and its overly harsh enforcement. The list goes on.
  In a world in which nearly everyone is technically a felon, we rely on the good judgment of prosecutors to decide who should be targets and how hard the law should come down on them. We have thus entered a legal reality not so different from that faced by Socrates when the Thirty Tyrants ruled Athens, and it is a dangerous one. When everyone is guilty of something, those most harshly prosecuted tend to be the ones that are challenging the established order, poking fun at the authorities, speaking truth to power '-- in other words, the gadflies of our society.
  Peter Ludlow is professor of philosophy at Northwestern University. His most recent book is ''The Philosophy of Generative Linguistics.''
  A version of this article appeared in print on 04/14/2013, on page SR5 of the National edition with the headline: Hacktivists As Gadflies.
Retreat of antarctic glaciers not attributable to human-caused warming - UPI.com
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:35
  SEATTLE, April 15 (UPI) -- Recent melting of antarctic glaciers, while dramatic, is within normal ranges and cannot be attributed to human-caused global warming, a U.S. scientist says.
  In the last few decades glaciers at the edge of the icy continent have been thinning, and research has shown the rate has accelerated and contributed significantly to sea level rise.
  However, Eric Steig, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences, says the thinning is at the "upper bound" of normal that could be attributed to natural climate variations.
  The majority of recent antarctic warming came during the 1990s in response to El Nino conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, Steig said, when conditions were not greatly different from some other decades -- such as the 1830s and 1940s -- that also showed marked temperature spikes.
  "If we could look back at this region of Antarctica in the 1940s and 1830s, we would find that the regional climate would look a lot like it does today, and I think we also would find the glaciers retreating much as they are today," he said.
  The implication is that rapid ice loss from Antarctica observed in the last few decades, particularly the '90s, "may not be all that unusual," he said in a university release.
  While changes in recent decades have been at the "upper bound of normal," Steig said, they cannot be considered exceptional and cannot with confidence be blamed on human-caused warming.
  "The magnitude of unforced natural variability is very big in this area," he said, "and that actually prevents us from answering the questions, 'Is what we have been observing exceptional? Is this going to continue?'"
VIDEO-Tough Sandy Hook kids and the loudspeaker - YouTube
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:34
NRL Scientists Produce Densest Artificial Ionospheric Plasma Clouds Using HAARP - U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:02
  U.S. Naval Research Laboratory research physicists and engineers from the Plasma Physics Division, working at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) transmitter facility, Gakona, Alaska, successfully produced a sustained high density plasma cloud in Earth's upper atmosphere.
  "Previous artificial plasma density clouds have lifetimes of only ten minutes or less," said Paul Bernhardt, Ph.D., NRL Space Use and Plasma Section. "This higher density plasma 'ball' was sustained over one hour by the HAARP transmissions and was extinguished only after termination of the HAARP radio beam."
  Sequence of images of the glow plasma discharge produced with transmissions at the third electron gyro harmonic using the HAARP HF transmitter, Gakona, Alaska. The third harmonic artificial glow plasma clouds were obtained with HAARP using transmissions at 4.34 megahertz (MHz). The resonant frequency yielded green line (557.7 nanometer emission) with HF on November 12, 2012, between the times of 02:26:15 to 02:26:45 GMT.(Photo: SRI International'--Elizabeth Kendall)These glow discharges in the upper atmosphere were generated as a part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored Basic Research on Ionospheric Characteristics and Effects (BRIOCHE) campaign to explore ionospheric phenomena and its impact on communications and space weather.
  Using the 3.6-megawatt high-frequency (HF) HAARP transmitter, the plasma clouds, or balls of plasma, are being studied for use as artificial mirrors at altitudes 50 kilometers below the natural ionosphere and are to be used for reflection of HF radar and communications signals.
  Past attempts to produce electron density enhancements have yielded densities of 4 x 105 electrons per cubic centimeter (cm3) using HF radio transmissions near the second, third, and fourth harmonics of the electron cyclotron frequency. This frequency near 1.44 MHz is the rate that electrons gyrate around the Earth's magnetic field.
  The NRL group succeeded in producing artificial plasma clouds with densities exceeding 9 x 105 electrons cm3 using HAARP transmission at the sixth harmonic of the electron cyclotron frequency.
  Optical images of the artificial plasma balls show that they are turbulent with dynamically changing density structures. Electrostatic waves generated by the HAARP radio transmissions are thought to be responsible for accelerating electrons to high enough energy to produce the glow discharge in the neutral atmosphere approaching altitudes of nearly 170 kilometers.
  The artificial plasma clouds are detected with HF radio soundings and backscatter, ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radar backscatter, and optical imaging systems. Ground measurements of stimulated electromagnetic emissions provide evidence of the strength and frequency for the electrostatic waves that accelerated ambient electrons to ionizing velocities.
  The NRL team is working with collaborators at SRI International, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Florida, and BAE Systems on this project to synthesize the observations with parametric interactions theory to develop a comprehensive theory of the plasma cloud generation. The next HAARP campaign, scheduled for early 2013, will include experiments to develop denser, more stable ionization clouds.
  About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
  The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space Rocks Now Classified | Space.com
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:01
  For 15 years, scientists have benefited from data gleaned by U.S. classified satellites of natural fireball events in Earth's atmosphere '' but no longer.
  A recent U.S. military policy decision now explicitly states that observations by hush-hush government spacecraft of incoming bolides and fireballs are classified secret and are not to be released, SPACE.com has learned.
  The satellites' main objectives include detecting nuclear bomb tests, and their characterizations of asteroids and lesser meteoroids as they crash through the atmosphere has been a byproduct data bonanza for scientists.
  The upshot: Space rocks that explode in the atmosphere are now classified.
  "It's baffling to us why this would suddenly change," said one scientist familiar with the work. "It's unfortunate because there was this great synergy'...a very good cooperative arrangement. Systems were put into dual-use mode where a lot of science was getting done that couldn't be done any other way. It's a regrettable change in policy."
  Scientists say not only will research into the threat from space be hampered, but public understanding of sometimes dramatic sky explosions will be diminished, perhaps leading to hype and fear of the unknown.
  Incoming!
  Most "shooting stars" are caused by natural space debris no larger than peas. But routinely, rocks as big as basketballs and even small cars crash into the atmosphere. Most vaporize or explode on the way in, but some reach the surface or explode above the surface. Understandably, scientists want to know about these events so they can better predict the risk here on Earth.
  Yet because the world is two-thirds ocean, most incoming objects aren't visible to observers on the ground. Many other incoming space rocks go unnoticed because daylight drowns them out.
  Over the last decade or so, hundreds of these events have been spotted by the classified satellites. Priceless observational information derived from the spacecraft were made quickly available, giving researchers such insights as time, a location, height above the surface, as well as light-curves to help pin down the amount of energy churned out from the fireballs.
  And in the shaky world we now live, it's nice to know that a sky-high detonation is natural versus a nuclear weapon blast.
  Where the space-based surveillance truly shines is over remote stretches of ocean '' far away from the prospect of ground-based data collection.
  But all that ended within the last few months, leaving scientists blind-sided and miffed by the shift in policy. The hope is that the policy decision will be revisited and overturned.
  Critical importance
  "The fireball data from military or surveillance assets have been of critical importance for assessing the impact hazard," said David Morrison, a Near Earth Object (NEO) scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center. He noted that his views are his own, not as a NASA spokesperson.
  The size of the average largest atmospheric impact from small asteroids is a key piece of experimental data to anchor the low-energy end of the power-law distribution of impactors, from asteroids greater than 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter down to the meter scale, Morrison told SPACE.com.
  "These fireball data together with astronomical observations of larger near-Earth asteroids define the nature of the impact hazard and allow rational planning to deal with this issue," Morrison said.
  Morrison said that fireball data are today playing additional important roles.
  As example, the fireball data together with infrasound allowed scientists to verify the approximate size and energy of the unique Carancas impact in the Altiplano -- on the Peru-Bolivia border -- on Sept. 15, 2007.
  Fireball information also played an important part in the story of the small asteroid 2008 TC3, Morrison said. That was the first-ever case of the astronomical detection of a small asteroid before it hit last year. The fireball data were key for locating the impact point and the subsequent recovery of fragments from this impact.
  Link in public understanding
  Astronomers are closing in on a years-long effort to find most of the potentially devastating large asteroids in our neck of the cosmic woods, those that could cause widespread regional or global devastation. Now they plan to look for the smaller stuff.
  So it is ironic that the availability of these fireball data should be curtailed just at the time the NEO program is moving toward surveying the small impactors that are most likely to be picked up in the fireball monitoring program, Morrision said.
  "These data have been available to the scientific community for the past decade," he said. "It is unfortunate this information is shut off just when it is becoming more valuable to the community interested in characterizing near Earth asteroids and protecting our planet from asteroid impacts."
  The newly issued policy edict by the U.S. military of reporting fireball observations from satellites also caught the attention of Clark Chapman, a planetary scientist and asteroid impact expert at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
  "I think that this information is very important to make public," Chapman told SPACE.com.
  "More important than the scientific value, I think, is that these rare, bright fireballs provide a link in public understanding to the asteroid impact hazard posed by still larger and less frequent asteroids," Chapman explained.
  Those objects are witnessed by unsuspecting people in far-flung places, Chapman said, often generating incorrect and exaggerated reports.
  "The grounding achieved by associating these reports by untrained observers with the satellite measurements is very useful for calibrating the observer reports and closing the loop with folks who think they have seen something mysterious and extraordinary," Chapman said.
  Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than four decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for SPACE.com since 1999.
VIDEO-Secret Asteroid Threat ~ Near Final Phase O' DECEPTION TO END ALL DECEPTIONS - SPACE WEAPONS PROGRAM - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:57
Legislator Suspends Aide Who is Facing Charges | The Texas Tribune
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:43
  John Higgins, chief of staff to state Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt, can be seen on the far left of this photo with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. The Travis County District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit is investigating Higgins in relation to alleged improprieties involving travel reimbursements.
  Updated, Friday, 6:50 p.m.:
  State Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt, R-Lexington, said Friday that he has suspended his chief of staff, John Higgins, who was indicted this week on 12 felony charges stemming from allegedly improper travel reimbursements.
  "I am saddened by the announcement charging John Higgins Jr., but our justice system provides a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise," Kleinschmidt said. "My office will continue to fully cooperate with authorities in the interest of determining all the facts and a swift, fair conclusion."
  Kleinschmidt said he was "supportive of John's position of innocence concerning the charges" but decided to suspend him until the "outcome of this case becomes clear."
  Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said that Higgins turned himself in Friday and was released after posting a $10,000 bond. Her office said Higgins was indicted by a grand jury on 11 counts of tampering with a governmental and a single count of securing execution of a document by deception.
  Higgins' defense lawyer, Sam Bassett of Austin, said his client acted without criminal intent. Higgins has said previously that he had nothing to hide and did nothing illegal.
  ''We look forward to a full and fair opportunity to evaluate the evidence in the case. Though mistakes may have been made in certain entries in the records, Mr. Higgins maintains there was no intent to mislead anyone," Bassett said. "Many of the documents were prepared by persons other than Mr. Higgins. It is my further understanding that many travel expense reimbursements he could have requested were not requested.''
  Original Story:
  John Higgins, a top aide to state Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt, R-Lexington, has been indicted on felony charges stemming from allegations of improper state travel reimbursements, his lawyer said Wednesday.
  Higgins, Kleinschmidt's chief of staff, was indicted by a Travis County grand jury Wednesday, according to his defense lawyer, Sam Bassett of Austin.
  Bassett said he and his client are eager to "get the case resolved without a trial." He said Higgins had met with the district attorney's office about the allegations and is open to meeting again in order to accomplish that.
  "The dispute between the district attorney's office and me right now is any kind of criminal intent," Bassett said. "There may have been mistakes made but we don't believe there was any criminal intent."
  Bassett said he wanted to "get this case worked out without any kind of felony conviction of any sort."
  Travis County Assistant District Attorney Gregg Cox said last year it had launched an investigation of Higgins after the state auditor's office alerted him to "some irregularities with his travel reimbursement forms."
  Higgins, in an interview last summer with The Texas Tribune, denied any wrongdoing and distanced himself from the documents at question, saying that former employees had signed his name to the travel documents.
  "I've got nothing to hide," he said at the time. "I think this whole thing is an ambush and it doesn't have any legs."
  Kleinschmidt said then that he he had full confidence in Higgins and predicted that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing once prosecutors were able to review all the records. He was expected to release a new statement about the matter Wednesday.
  Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
GOP donor Bob Perry: Republican mega-donor died 'peacefully in his sleep' at 80
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:42
  AUSTIN, TX - Republican mega-donor Bob Perry never cared for the spotlight. But writing big checks and financing one of the most famous television ads ever in a presidential campaign made the Texas millionaire famous nonetheless.
  A wealthy Houston homebuilder who shunned publicity while generously bankrolling GOP candidates -- and becoming a force in a new era of lavish spending in American politics -- Perry died over the weekend, said former Texas state Rep. Neal Jones, a close family friend.
  Jones said late Sunday that Perry, 80, died "peacefully in his sleep" Saturday night. He did not offer further details.
  "Mr. Perry was a wonderful friend to many all around the United States," Jones said. "With his passing we've lost a great patriot who has made a great difference in the lives of people all across the land. He will be sorely missed."
  Perry was a fixture of GOP fundraising in Texas -- and nationally -- dating back to former President George W. Bush's Texas gubernatorial races in the mid-1990s. His largesse included giving $4.4 million in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans campaign that sought to discredit then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.
  Perry spent prolifically on politics but did so from a distance. He rarely gave interviews, skipped fancy fundraisers and was a mystery to even many of his benefactors.
  Yet Perry couldn't avoid attention following his financing of the Swift Boat ads, which challenged Kerry's wartime service in Vietnam for which he received five medals. Some Democrats blamed Kerry's slow response to the criticism for sinking his candidacy.
  Perry donated money to help start the veterans group at the urging of his friend John O'Neill, a Houston attorney who co-wrote "Unfit for Command," a book that questions Kerry's military service.
  Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist who Perry hired as a spokesman when scrutiny surrounding the ads erupted, said in 2004 that Perry's donation to the Swift Boat Veterans reflected his belief in the group's message.
  "In my conversations with Bob, he just said, `John contacted me, told me what he was trying to do, and it sounded good to me.' That's really the way he does it," Miller said in 2004. "People call him and pitch him, and if he likes what he hears, he'll write a check."
  Perry was also a prominent financial supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but was not related. He was the founder of Houston-based Perry Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Texas.
  Last year alone, Bob Perry gave more than $18 million to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and organizations that backed his candidacy. That ranked him third among all Romney donors, behind only Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons.
  Perry was also involved in state politics. Late last year, he gave $45,000 to George P. Bush, the 36-year-old nephew of former President George W. Bush who is now running for Texas Land Commissioner in his first bid for public office.
  Perry's generosity extended to other statehouses, included in Wisconsin last year as Republican Gov. Scott Walker fought efforts for a recall. Perry donated at least $250,000 to help Walker keep his job, making Perry among the largest out-of-state donors.
  Raised by a father who was a teacher and later became dean of students at Baylor University, Perry started his career as a high school teacher after college. But he switched professions in 1968 and established Perry Homes, where he made his fortune.
  Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VIDEO-Family Guy boston bombing - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:40
VIDEO-US Government Prevents 75 MPG Cars From Being Sold! - Nsearch Radio - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:38
VIDEO-Boston Weird Movie - YouTube
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:34
Beleaguered ATF Still Has No Director, Suffers Layoffs
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  Archived Version
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:42
  Just after news broke of the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, New York Times columnist Nick Kristof sent out this tweet:
  The reaction was swift and severe. Ultimately, he "took it back", saying it was a "low blow."
  But was it really a low blow? The ATF has long been a target of the right wing servants of the NRA. From their hysteria over "Fast and Furious" to Senate Republicans blocking any nominee to be director, the ATF is an agency the NRA very, very much wants to destroy.
  Last week, 98 contractors in the gun division of the NRA were laid off in West Virginia as a result of the sequester. That number could climb to 160 if Congress cannot resolve the budget problems.
  This isn't an exercise in opportunism. Everyone should be concerned that an agency with primary responsibility for regulating the flow of guns and explosives in this country is being gutted with every budget resolution passed.
  President Obama's current nominee, B. Todd Jones, is currently working as a US Attorney in the District of Minnesota while also serving as acting director of the ATF. One might surmise that there is no real motive for anyone concerned with national security to block such a nomination. The only ones who stand to benefit are the ATF.
  Back in the beginning of this month, the Daily Beastreported:
  For the last quarter century, the NRA's lobbyists have been working the shadowy corners of the congressional budgeting and appropriations process to insert ''riders'''--restrictions on how federal funds can be spend'--that target the enforcement powers of the federal government.
  Media Matters also warned about their efforts:
  The NRA also routinely blocks efforts to appoint a permanent ATF director. According to a report by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there has not been a full-fledged ATF director since 2006, when Congress, at the behest of the NRA, changed federal law to require ATF directors to be confirmed by the Senate. Since 2006, the post has been held by a series of acting and interim directors.
  As the Brady Center notes, "without a leader, ATF's ability to stop gun trafficking by corrupt gun dealers is significantly curtailed. As a body without a head, ATF lacks a leader who can decide on strategic plans and broad strategies, who can marshal the agency's resources to achieve its objectives, and who can fight to obtain the resources it needs." In 2010, President Obama nominated ATF Denver division director Andrew Traver for the position of ATF director, but because of NRA opposition, Traver remains unconfirmed.
  I don't know if the lack of funding and a director would have made a difference in Boston yesterday, but an effectively staffed and funded agency would have had more of an ability to focus on prevention rather than reacting after the fact. By weakening them, the overall message is that the one agency responsible for tracking and investigating firearms, including explosives, is leaderless and toothless, thanks to the right wing, in service to the NRA.
  I wonder if they'd feel the same way if foreign nationals are found to be responsible for these explosions. They seem to be willing to blame Muslim extremists, but unwilling to actually fund the agencies necessary to investigate them for fear that the militias will somehow be persecuted.
Obama Will Not Send Member of His Administration to Margaret Thatcher's Funeral
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  Archived Version
  Source: Patterico's Pontifications
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:41
  Obama Will Not Send Member of His Administration to Margaret Thatcher's FuneralDaily Mail:
  Friends and allies of Baroness Thatcher expressed 'surprise and disappointment' last night as it emerged President Obama is not planning to send any serving member of his administration to her funeral.
  Whitehall sources have revealed that the US delegation at tomorrow's service in St Paul's Cathedral will be led by two Reagan era secretaries of state: James Baker and George Shultz.
  The article reports that the decision was made before yesterday's bombings in Boston.
Witness speaks about Boston Marathon explosion
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  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:57
"The dead. The injured. The anguish. All the result of bombs that were set to explode at the finish..."
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  Archived Version
  Source: oswald of guadalupe
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:23
  The dead. The injured. The anguish. All the result of bombs that were set to explode at the finish line just over four hours after the start of the Boston Marathon. Right now the sane among us will suggest caution. We'll suggest restraint. We'll suggest the giving of blood. There will be time to mourn. We will mourn the dead and injured. I also mourn the Boston Marathon and how it's now been brutally disfigured.
  The Boston Marathon matters in a way other sporting events simply do not. It started in 1897, inspired by the first modern marathon, which took place at the inaugural 1896 Olympics. It attracts 500,000 spectators and over 20,000 participants from ninety-six countries. Every year, on the big day, the Red Sox play a game that starts at the wacky hour of 11:05am so people leaving the game can empty onto Kenmore Square and cheer on the finishers. It's not about celebrating stars but the ability to test your body against the 26.2 mile course, which covers eight separate Massachusetts towns and the infamous ''Heartbreak Hill'' in Newton. It's as much New England in spring as the changing of the leaves in fall. It's open and communitarian and utterly unique. And today it was altered forever. I spoke to my friend Jim Bullington who has ran in four Boston Marathons. He said,
  For me and to any serious marathoner the Boston Marathon will always be the runner's Holy Grail. Runners train and train and train for this race. If you qualify for the marathon you get the honor of running through all the beautiful outlying towns, you get to temporarily loose your hearing as you run by what seems to be thousands of deafening screaming women at Wellesley, you climb Heartbreak Hill, you run by all the college parties, you pass the CITGO sign and know you have one mile left, and finally when you make the final turn, you sprint by thousands of cheering people towards the finish line. Nothing is like it. Nothing. I just can't imagine this. What is the most joyous occasion has turned into a tragedy of epic proportions'....
Major earthquake strikes southeast Iran near Pakistan border
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  Archived Version
  Source: DEBKAFile
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:22
  The epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake Tuesday was near the cities of Khash and Sarafan in the southeastern province of Baluchistan. Iran state TV reported 40 dead, but hundreds are feared to have lost their ives. Tremors were felt across Pakistan in Karachi and Quetta, in India and the Gulf. Offices were evacuated in Abu Dhabi and Delhi.On April 10, at least 37 people were killed and 850 wounded in the earthquake that struck near Iran's only nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
How Did Walt Disney Just Double on the Stock Market?
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  Source: Stock Market News, Stock Market Advice, Economic Analysis, Investing In Real Estate and Gold
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:19
  Tuesday, April 16th, 2013By Mitchell Clark, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
  The Walt Disney Company (NYSE/DIS) has been doing exceedingly well operationally and on the stock market over the last few years.
  Disney's annual sales and earnings growth have been very good and consistent. The position just doubled on the stock market over the last 18 months, which is truly amazing.
  The company's latest quarterly earnings actually fell six percent to $1.4 billion, but revenues grew five percent to $11.3 billion, with particular strength in its U.S. theme park business.
  Earnings on an unadjusted basis handedly beat Wall Street consensus. Company management expects continued strength and margin improvements from its theme parks this year. A new set of Star Wars films are expected to start in 2015.
  Disney's fiscal 2013 first quarter saw a seven-percent improvement in media networks, parks and resorts, and consumer products sales. The laggard in its latest quarterly earnings was studio entertainment, which fell about five percent to $1.6 billion.
  Growth at the company's theme park and resorts division is being driven by domestic demand and rising prices. International theme parks are still soft.
  Management cited increased guest spending at theme parks combined with higher occupancy rates for the boost in this division. In its first quarter, Disney incurred higher costs and lower average cruise ticket prices for its ''Disney Magic'' ships. Disney's stock chart is featured below:
  Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com
  Last year was a record year for the company in terms of revenues, earnings, and earnings per share. Get ready for a Star Wars media blitz in a couple of years. Disney plans to cross-sell the brand in all its businesses.
  Considering the stability and consistency of Disney's growth in terms of revenues and earnings over the last three years, it's understandable why it's a stock market favorite.
  Big investors have been buying mostly the safest stock market names. Since the beginning of the year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been the strongest stock market index, compared to the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite.
  The lack of leadership in technology is a problem, so far. It's going to be difficult for this rally to be sustainable without a broadening of the stock market's performance. Only earnings will tell.
  Optimism for Disney's theme park business is good, but the numbers also showed continuing weakness outside of the U.S. market. (See ''Breakouts All Around: Final Countdown or the Beginning of a New Cycle?'')
  Weakness in Europe and Japan, and slower growth in China should be noticeable once again this earnings season.
  The good news from Disney was that four out of five of its main operating divisions showed solid growth last quarter.
  Now at an all-time high on the stock market, Disney should report another solid quarter again in early May.
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Bow to the Chef: CNN's Anthony Bourdain Show Debuts Big
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  Source: Tim Graham's blog
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:18
  Washington Post TV reporter Lisa de Moraes joked in Tuesday's paper: ''CNN may have figured its way out of its ratings problem. Dump news.''
  The debut of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain's show ''Parts Unknown''attracted 747,000 viewers at 9 p.m. Sunday '-- ''282,000 of them aged 25-to-54 years, the age group that's the currency of news programming ad sales.''
  In that key demographic, Bourdain finished 106 percent ahead of cable news rival Fox News Channel and 65 percent ahead of MSNBC in the Sunday night slot. CNN noted that its new Bourdain show clocked 32 percent more viewers than did last April's premiere of Bourdain's Travel Channel series ''No Reservations'' (567,000 viewers).
  CNN announced last May it had ordered the new Bourdain series, with a mandate that old CNN boss Ted Turner, the man who tried to ban the word ''foreign'' from his network. It looks at ''cultures worldwide through their culinary and travel rituals.'' The first episode explored the remote Asian country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).
Official story unraveling for Boston marathon bombing
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  Archived Version
  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:14
  Clear evidence points to bomb squad's prior knowledge
  Mike AdamsNatural NewsApril 16, 2013
  It's now becoming clear that members of the Boston bomb squad had advanced notice of the horrific bombing that took place at the marathon today. As an eyewitness reports, once the bombs went off, officials began announcing, ''this is just a drill!'' This logically means they were all informed of the ''bomb drill'' beforehand. Otherwise, why would they respond with, ''this is just a drill'' ?
  According to Local15TV.com, a University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach said there were bomb-sniffing dogs at both the start and finish lines, long before any explosions went off. He said:
  ''They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.''
  The official story of the bombing is that terrorists detonated two bombs at the marathon finish line and that the Boston bomb squad magically located a third bomb one mile away, identified the bomb, rigged it with explosives and initiated a ''controlled explosion'' all in less than an hour! (Absurd.)
  The official story sounds like nothing more than a cover story.
  Here are some of the facts we know so far
  1) Bomb-sniffing dogs were present at the start of the race and the finish line, even before bombs went off.
  2) The reported arrest of a ''Saudi national'' has now been retracted. Apparently that was a mistake published by the NY Post.
  3) Instead, the mainstream media is pushing a new narrative that blames ''right-wing extremists'' for the bombing, even without a shred of evidence to back that up.
  4) It is impossible for a bomb squad to have located, analyzed, rigged and detonated the third bomb in under an hour, especially when it was located one mile away, at the Kennedy Presidential Library.
  See the map, below:
  Why did the Boston bomb squad know all this in advance?
  Given these facts, ask yourself: Who is the most likely culprit in the bombing?
  The Boston bomb squad clearly had advanced notice of the presence of the bombs at the marathon, and they also had advanced notice of the location of the bomb at the Kennedy Presidential Library.
  There are two reasonable explanations for this:
  1) Someone called in a warning and threatened to bomb the event, which is why the bomb squad was on scene.
  2) The bomb squad carried out the bombing as a false flag operation to achieve a political goal (unleashing TSA on the streets, blaming right wingers, increasing the bomb squad budget, etc.).
  For explanation number one: If a credible threat had been called in, why didn't the Boston police cancel the marathon or try to warn runners about the security threat? Is it their policy to allow people to jog right into a massacre they've already been warned about?
  For the second explanation, there are all sorts of reasons why the Boston bomb squad might have placed the bombs at the marathon. It could have been a drill that went terribly wrong (i.e. no explosions were planned but they accidentally went off), or it could have been a deliberate attempt to terrorize the American people and justify armed TSA agents on the streets for all future sporting events.
  This looks more and more like a planned event to justify a TSA lockdown
  Although it's still a bit early to know for certain, this looks more and more like a planned event that was deployed by the Boston bomb squad, called a ''drill,'' then used as a pretext for the President to call for TSA agents to be on the streets at all future sporting events.
  And that, in turn, is the run-up to the TSA occupation of America, which has always been the goal of Obama. Remember that back on the campaign trail, he announced he wanted to build a ''civilian national security force.''
  Click here to watch the video where Obama says:
  ''We've gotta have a civilian national security force that's just a powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded'...''
  The fastest way to build a domestic national security force is to stage domestic bombings as a pretext. More and more, that seems to be what unfolded today in Boston.
  Remember, too, that DHS has now purchased over 2 billion rounds of ammunition to be used domestically, against the American people. (The number was 1.6 but has now been upgraded to over 2 billion.)
  The real proof is in what happens next
  Regardless of what you might think is behind this right now, the real proof will be found in what Obama calls for in response to the bombings.
  If he calls for TSA on the streets of America to ''keep everybody safe'' at sporting events, then it's all clearly a false flag rolled out for a political purpose. It was all a pretext to justify a TSA lockdown.
  If the bombing is used to frame and blame veterans, patriots or ''right-wing extremists,'' then it's clearly a false flag, too. Veterans and patriots have been severely demonized by the Obama administration as well as the leftist media.
  If the administration avoids using the bombings to roll out its political agenda, then it might have legitimately been a random terrorist attack by a deranged individual. We'll have to wait and see what Obama calls for in reaction to the attacks in order to know their true political purpose.
  This article was posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 6:15 am
  Tags: domestic news, terrorism
Chris Matthews: Bombing might be domestic attack in response to Tax Day
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  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:14
  Alex PappasWashington ExaminerApril 16, 2013
  MSNBC's Chris Matthews theorized this evening that the bombing in Boston today might be the result of a Tax Day protest '' as it occurred on the deadline date for filing federal income taxes.
  ''As you point out, and I just forgot, I filed already. It's filing day for the federal income tax, which does cause some emotions around the country '' sometimes in the wrong parts of the brain anyway,'' Matthews said during his show.
  Full article here
  This article was posted: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 6:14 am
  Tags: domestic news, terrorism
IBM executives head to Washington to press lawmakers on cybersecurity bill
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  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:12
  Nearly 200 senior IBM executives are flying into Washington to press for the passage of a controversial cybersecurity bill that will come up for a vote in the House this week.
  The IBM executives will pound the pavement on Capitol Hill Monday and Tuesday, holding nearly 300 meetings with lawmakers and staff. Over the course of those two days, their mission is to convince lawmakers to back a bill that's intended to make it easier for industry and government to share information about cyber threats with each other in real time.''We're going to put our shoe leather where our mouth is,'' Chris Padilla, vice president of governmental affairs at IBM, told The Hill.
  ''The message we're going to give [lawmakers] is going to be a very simple, clear message: support the passage of CISPA,'' he later added.
  The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), passed out of committee on an 18-2 vote last Wednesday and is expected to come to the floor for a vote as soon as mid-week.
  While the bill enjoys strong backing from industry, privacy advocates warn the bill lacks sufficient protections for people's information online. The White House issued a veto threat against the first iteration of CISPA last year, due in part to privacy concerns.
  Despite the opposition, CISPA safely passed the House last year on a bipartisan vote'--and IBM intends to make sure it does again this week.
  The technology services company runs the information technology networks of major hospitals, banks and electric companies'--key infrastructure that lawmakers and security officials warn are top targets for hostile actors to launch a cyberattack.
  Big Blue is also the top recipient of U.S. patents and owns a trove of valuable intellectual property that would be enticing to probing hackers looking to siphon valuable proprietary information. A report published by computer security firm Mandiant this year concluded that an elite military unit of Chinese hackers has allegedly cracked into the computer systems of more than 100 U.S. companies and stolen intellectual property.
  The company believes the best way to thwart a cyberattack is to encourage companies to share more data about malicious source code and other online threats with the government and their private-sector peers so they can take steps to address it, according to Padilla.
  ''It's our experience that the most effective thing you can do when a cyberattack occurs is to share information quickly between government and industry and between industry actors in real time in order to find where the attack is coming from and to shut it down,'' he said.
  "The key really is when an attack happens'--and they will happen'--is detecting it, and shutting it down and preventing the loss of data as quickly as possible. That's a question of information and it's a question of speed," Padilla said. "And often, the government will have very timely and critical information that banks or telecommunications companies need to know that there is an attack. Other times, we detect it first and sharing [information] with the government could serve to warn others that there may be an attack."
  But companies are currently hesitant to share information about cyber threats they spot on computer networks with the government because they fear it may put them at risk for being sued. CISPA would address that concern, Padilla said, by granting companies liability protection from lawsuits if they share threat information with the government, allowing firms to get the assistance and data they need faster.
  If a cyberattack is launched against a key piece of infrastructure, ''you don't want a bunch of lawyers sitting in a room arguing whether to tell the government,'' he said. ''You want there to be clear and established procedures. CISPA will help facilitate that.''
  But the cyber information-sharing bill has rankled privacy advocates from Washington to Silicon Valley. One of their chief concerns with the bill is that it would allow companies to share threat information directly with the military, including the National Security Agency, without being required to take steps to remove personally identifiable information from that data. Privacy advocates warn that could lead to people's email and IP addresses, names, and other personal information being inadvertently passed on to the NSA without their knowledge.
  The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy and Technology and Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that a civilian agency, namely the Homeland Security Department (DHS), should be the first recipient of cyber threat data from companies. DHS would then pass on that data with other government agencies and departments.
  Privacy advocates argue that a civilian agency is subject to more oversight relative to the secretive spy agency.
  Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) proposed a set of privacy-focused amendments during the markup of CISPA last week, which did not receive enough votes to be adopted into the bill. One of the amendments by Schakowsky would have ensured that DHS is the first recipient of threat data from companies and would relay that information to other agencies.
  "I think if you're looking just to maximize efficiency and you don't care about anything else, then we should give the job to NSA. But we have a separation of civilian and military in this country when you're talking about domestic cyber information," Schiff said at a press conference after the House Intelligence panel's markup of CISPA. "If we wanted efficiency only, then we wouldn't have a Fourth Amendment."
  CISPA would ''shift the control of the cyber program from civilian hands to a secretive military agency," said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, last week. "It'll be very difficult for there to be any transparency or any accountability if that shift happens."
  Padilla, however, says companies need to be able to share threat data directly with the NSA ''because that's where the expertise is.''
  ''It really is a simple matter. The expertise in the U.S. government on cybersecurity largely rests in one place, and that's the National Security Agency,'' he said. ''They tend to know the most, the soonest about cyber threats and I think, frankly, there is a certain amount of feeling in the business community that you should be able to work directly and share information directly with the agency that has the most expertise.''
  He said that IBM is open to working with DHS and other civilian agencies on the company's cybersecurity efforts, but it believes the NSA has the most expertise at this point.
  ''We don't have a bias. We just want to work with who's got the expertise,'' Padilla said.
  During their fly-in trip, the executives also plan to press lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would include measures aimed at raising the cap for H-1B visas for skilled workers and freeing up more green cards.
ObamaCare Imploding | Peace . Gold . Liberty
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Dave says...
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:11
  Here is what Investors Business Daily has to say about Obamacare.
  http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/041113-651603-obama...
  Okay folks, I know you think the C-Span Channel that broadcasts all those Congressional hearings is boring, but, really, you should have been around to watch the Senate Finance Committee's hearing Wednesday on the Affordable Health Care Insurance Oversight.
  Folks, you haven't seen so many faces of misery since you watched Les Miserables for three and a half hours...and they were all Democrats. And one of them, Senator Max Baucus, was the primary sponsor of Obamacare in the Senate!
  Now, try to follow me here because this gets pretty complicated. (It seems that Nancy Pelosi was right; you DO have to pass Obamacare to find out what's in it...and the Democrats are now learning what the Republicans warned them about. It's an unworkable mess that is throwing millions of Americans off the health care rolls!)
  Okay, apparently, tens of thousands of American employers began throwing workers off their health care plans and opting to pay the much lower federal fine for not offering health care for their workers. Thousands more are even now converting their full time workers to part time workers by limiting working hours per week to less than 30, in compliance with Obamacare rules. (Remember when Paul Ryan and the Republicans predicted employers would do this? Remember when Democrats were warned that employers would move to save operating expenses by moving their entire work force into federal healthcare exchanges?)
  Now, these workers who have lost their health care benefits are busy trying to sign up for state health care exchanges. (There are Internet sites available if your state has agreed to sign up to Obamacare). However, when these American workers, soon to be without employee provided health care, go to the Health Exchange to sign up, they are finding they are not qualified! It seems that during the signup process, applicants are required to fill in various income and benefit data, which then flows over to IRS computers who then are to spit out what your premium costs will be and how much federal tax credits you'll receive in order to receive subsidies to help you afford health care premiums that are as much as 30% more than you were paying under your employer's plan!
  Big Problem! The IRS is only allowing somewhere around 9% subsidy support for Obamacare Health care Exchange premiums that are priced so much higher than the worker was paying under his employer plan! (Surprise, Surprise! Remember Republicans warning that forcing working Americans to pay for the 30 million leaches who pay nothing for their health care under Medicaid would drive the premiums of working Americans higher?)
  Continue:
  http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/041113-651603-obama...
James Harding named BBC News chief
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:08
  James Harding: the former Times editor will be paid £340,000 a year as director of BBC News. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
  James Harding, the former Times editor, has been confirmed as the BBC's director of news and current affairs, and will be paid £340,000 a year.
  The corporation said on Tuesday morning that Harding will replace Helen Boaden, who becomes director of radio.
  The ex-Times editor will take up his post in August, the corporation said. He will visit the BBC's New Broadcasting House in central London later on Tuesday.
  Harding said in a statement: "The BBC's newsroom strives to be the best in the world, trusted for its accuracy, respected for its fairness and admired for the courage of its reporting. I am honoured to be a part of it."
  The BBC said Harding's salary would be £340,000 and that his appointment followed an open recruitment process. His basic salary is the same as his predecessor, Boaden, but taxable benefits took her total income up to £354,000.
  The Guardian revealed in February that the new BBC director general, Tony Hall, was talking to Harding about a role in news '' and the move was all but confirmed late on Monday night.
  Hall said: "I am delighted that James will be joining as the new director of BBC News and Current Affairs. High quality journalism sits right at the heart of the BBC making this is an absolutely critical role.
  "James has a very impressive track record as a journalist, editor and manager. I believe he will give BBC News a renewed sense of purpose as it moves away from what has been an undeniably difficult chapter. As an organisation, the BBC will also benefit from his external perspective and experience which he will share as a member of the BBC's executive team."
  ' To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
  ' To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
Boston Bomber Beans
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:01
  Another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter an anti matter........
  First off, SMEG OFF to those of you who could donate 10,000 dollars, 100,000 dollars and a million dollars, and you come on this page and just feed here like a cancer. You can't be polite about it, as you then go off acting like you know things and pick and choose what you "think" in your unInspired souls as you can not fathom anything beyond what Limbaugh programmed into your skulls.You wouldn't miss that money, but it is people who should be spending 25 dollars on their daughters or it is people who donate 100 dollars as they appreciate what goes on here, as even if they do not comprehend everything in this parable, they at least have a CONSCIENCE they can hear when they should not be feeling any guilt at all.
  So you gold plunging rich beyond most people's dreams, smeg off. Get of this page and go back to your outer darkness where your dullness reflects what Mockingbird dims your bulb at.I have had it with your lurking and your Commandment breaking in false witness against the Lame Cherry. I know you are there with your cash wads and God knows your hell grip on it, so be gone, be off, and do not add to your sins as I only have place for those the Lord brought here, so smeg off as things here will be revealed......go listen to the sound of your money as that is your god.
  Apologies to my children for that, but I will not allow this ilk to benefit from your Lazarus donations while they toss crumbs to you and expect dog's tongues to be your doctors.
  There will not be much prose in this Boston bombing. It is one of the most one dimensional and non emotional of things.This is another manufactured crisis from the Holder cell. They knew from the start as it has been in the planning for months.
  The bomb was made in Massachusetts as the explosive originated in sales there. I have gone into enough detail here, in the Boston Bomb Party, to deal with bomb make up and why all of this points to a regime constructed event.This appears a "kinder and gentler" faux terrorism as they just desired to face punch people with a bomb concussion instead of shrapnel mauling hundreds to death.
  As this blog early questioned the shrapnel lack, the media and hospitals then started reporting digging ball bearings out of the injured. After Sandy Hook, I trust no media or medical reports, especially when the life digitals reveal no "buckshot" type injuries in anyone being shot by steel pellet.The numbers of dead were not what a typical bomb would be with shrapnel, in addition to the puzzling thing of bearings pulled out of bodies as at his range the metal balls should have passed through.
  The trash cans should have not been there and metal bits should of. One does not find individuals who build multiple bombs to overlook shrapnel in being concerned about murdering the Obama voter mob, unless of course those behind it desire effect in another liberal Connecticut state where some new law can be pushed through to maul Congress into action......one gets that by keeping the trash cans on streets where no security would ever allow it unless they desired an event to take place.
  It is in the smoke and the fire. Those bombs went vertical and not horizontal. They were meant to manufacture living victims as dead Sandy Hookers lose public sympathy appeal.
  Look for the BATF in this like Hutatree and Obama's space aliens from 2008 confessing to white's hating blacks to garner vote margin support.
  That explosive in that bomb, as first assessed here, looked to not be Anders Breivik in self manufacture, but appeared to be a manufactured powder, black powder.For a refresh in this, Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing, which has been proven to be a government run operation with moles supplying bomb parts, focused on "tagging all powders" with markers to make them trackable.
  Chandra (Levy) would easily be able to obtain this information pertaining to McVeigh, and more importantly, related inside information to the impending 9-11 attacks. Information such as the 1993 WTC bombing materials having been purchased with the credit card of a US Muslim and an FBI provocateur named Melvin Lattimore. Melvin Lattimore was seen by 4 witnesses in McVeigh's car at the OKC Travelers Aid office adjacent to the Murrah federal building just ONE DAY before the OKC bombing. Six FBI agents spent 9 months browbeating the 4 witnesses, trying to make them change their story about seeing Lattimore at the Travelers Aid. Lattimore was the roommate of the 20th 9/11 hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui while he attended the Airman flight school in Norman Oklahoma in 2000 and 2001. Lattimore was also the roomate of 9/11 hijackers Al Hazmi and Al Shehhi in Norman Oklahoma. At McVeigh's trial his sister read a letter from him to the grand jury in which he told her he was going into the Special Forces Covert Tactical Unit.
  To explain this....Janet Napolitano has been buying ammunition like she plans to start half a dozen wars in America. She is depleting ammunition stores in America and driving up prices. It is an ammunition grab in plain sight.
  There is a segment of people not yet touched by the Obama cartel gun grab, and this reloaders, who stockpile bullets, primers, ammuntion and cases. A smaller segment are the muzzle loader groups how have no ammunition as they pour powder and bullet into the barrel in that original way guns were built like cannons.
  This Boston Bomber Beans appears to be a source for coming legislation already written to cut off ALL powder to reloaders and shooters, as of course the propaganda will be how dangerous it is, and why does anyone need pounds of powder.
  There will probably be some Bob Orr at CBS blowing up some Toyota with a pound of powder as Bob seems to have been at Ground Zero reporting......so he was either a target which might sour him on Obama, or he was just one of those people who happened to be there like the CAMERAMAN WHO RAN TOWARD THE BLASTS INSTEAD OF AWAY.Interesting was that what not eh?
  So this event is cover for something else, but in interesting psychopathy the event was tailored to create walking liberal wounded, who are dumb as posts and of course are all liberals, as no normal person focuses on running themselves to death or enjoys standing for hours to see the abnormal coughing up cooties and pieces of lung on the finish line.
  The only interesting part of this is........
  I suspect that "things" found here are making too much sense to the monitors, and "they" have pulled out the directional beam ware.....meaning there is not any clutter or residuals laid except Boris and Natasha......real black and white one dimensional stuff to mirror the emotards who laid the trail in Boston.Still can be read, and the kids in the hall are a boy and girl programmer who put the wave out there for the boss looking over things. They were seen as they never comprehended from some arrogant reason that the matrix would show them at work.That part is interesting......not the fag boy, but the comp skirt as she is so dull. At least, the Fraulein liked Gothe and was a fan.
  Enough of this as dictators murdering the masses in endless Stalin burning down the city is just repeats. After all, Obama is offering to Bostonians who had a bad Obama day, a chance to touch his breasts......
  Amazing how it all broke just in time for the east coast news cycle.........
  Shhhh, you are not supposed to notice those things.
  agtG 235 signature 4, 234
A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require a provider of a commercial mobile service or an IP-enabled voice service to provide call location information concerning the user of such a service to law enforcement agencies in order to respond t
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:45
  GovTrack's Bill SummaryWe don't have a summary available yet.
  Library of Congress SummaryThe summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
  No summary available.
  House Republican Conference SummaryThe summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
  No summary available.
  House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
  So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
  We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
Drug Makers Use FDA Safety Rule to Block Generics
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: bertb news feed
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:18
  For decades, pharmaceutical companies have deployed an array of tactics aimed at preventing low-cost copies of their drugs from entering the marketplace.
  But federal regulators contend the latest strategy '-- which relies on a creative interpretation of drug safety laws '-- is illegal.
  The Federal Trade Commission recently weighed in on a legal case over the tactic involving the drug maker Actelion, and earlier this month a federal suit was filed in another case in Florida.
  ''We definitely see this as a significant threat to competition,'' said Markus Meier, who oversees the commission's health care competition team.
  The new approach is almost elegant in its simplicity: brand-name drug makers are refusing to sell their products to generic companies, which need to analyze them so they can create the copycat versions. Traditionally, the generic drug makers purchased samples from wholesalers. But because of safety concerns, an increasing number of drugs are sold with restrictions on who can buy them, forcing the generic manufacturers to ask the brand-name companies for samples. When they do, the brand-name firms say no.
  Brand-name companies say they are protecting themselves '-- and patients '-- in case the drugs are somehow used improperly. They say no law requires one company to do business with another.
  Advocates for generic drugs say the practice could limit access to the low-cost drugs, which they say have saved more than a trillion dollars over the last decade. They say the companies that have most aggressively pursued the tactic tend to be those with drugs that are nearing the end of their patent life.
  Actelion, a Swiss company, is withholding samples of its flagship product, Tracleer, which treats a lung disorder. Its patent is set to expire in 2015. The company's other product in question, Zavesca, has a patent that expires later this year. Tracleer costs about $79,000 a year, while Zavesca costs about $229,000.
  The issue has its roots in a 2007 law that allowed the Food and Drug Administration to require detailed safety programs for drugs with serious side effects or the potential for abuse. In many cases, those programs simply direct the company to educate doctors or patients about risks. But in other cases, they require that distribution be limited to approved pharmacists and health care providers.
  About 70 drugs carry mandatory drug safety plans, and of those, 34 have more restrictive requirements, according to the F.D.A.
  Although the 2007 law said the programs should not be used to block development of generic drugs, brand-name companies said the language was vague and began restricting access to drug samples soon after it was passed.
  In 2009, generic companies began complaining that Celgene had refused to sell them samples of Thalomid, the drug better known as thalidomide that is now used to treat cancer and leprosy, and a related drug, Revlimid. Lannett, a generic company, sued Celgene, claiming its practices were anticompetitive, and the case was settled. The trade commission and the Connecticut attorney general started investigations, which Celgene has said are still under way.
  At least one company, Gilead Sciences, explicitly restricts access to samples. Pharmacies and other institutions that buy its drug Letairis, which treats a serious lung condition, must agree not to ''use product in clinical trials or other studies without the prior written consent of Gilead Sciences,'' according to an order form sent to customers by Accredo, a specialty pharmacy that distributes Letairis for Gilead. A spokesman for Gilead declined to comment.
  Brand-name manufacturers are also limiting access to drugs even when the government does not require it. In a federal lawsuit filed April 1 in Florida, Accord Healthcare, an Indian generics manufacturer, said the drug company Acorda refused to turn over samples of its multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra, even though there are no restrictions on its distribution.
  In a letter to Accord from Acorda that was submitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in Fort Lauderdale, Acorda echoed other companies' positions and said it was under no obligation to sell its products to another manufacturer.
  Apotex, a Canadian company, said the drug maker Novartis denied it access to Tasigna, a leukemia drug, until Apotex threatened to sue. Another company, Lundbeck, has so far declined to provide Apotex with samples of the drug Xenazine, which treats a movement disorder caused by Huntington's disease.
  Julie Masow, a spokeswoman for Novartis, said Apotex ultimately purchased samples of Tasigna through the drug's sole distributor. She said the delay was the result of a misunderstanding, adding ''generic companies are free to buy Novartis products through distribution channels.''
  Representatives of brand-name manufacturers say there are good reasons to restrict drugs to approved pharmacies or health care providers. Lundbeck said it sells Xenazine, also known as tetrabenazine, to a limited network of specialty pharmacies because it treats fewer than 25,000 people nationwide.
  ''Not many retail pharmacies would stock the product for so small a patient population,'' said Sally Benjamin Young, a spokeswoman for Lundbeck.
PSKmail '¹ SPARKY's Blog
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:07
  The history of the project
  The PSKmail project was started by Rein Couperus, PA0R early 2005. The baby steps were taken with a modification of gMFSK, the mode of choice was PSK63 and traffic was handled by the one and only server (PI4TUE) that existed. Soon another server joined the effort, SM0RWO in Stockholm, and suddenly the project had ''multiple'' users (two) and had to evolve. For a time there was only the server in Stockholm and two clients (PA0R and SM0RWO) and the project made necessary adjustments for the hf environment. Soon more servers started to appear, IS0GRB/Roberto, added a much needed server in the Mediterranean. Then more and more servers joined, such as WB5CON/Fred and DL9YCS/J¶rg. The Intermar group then followed with several servers. At the start only email traffic was handled and, as stated earlier, only done so using PSK63. Soon more services were added, web browsing was one of those. One of the more important additions was APRS.
  Traffic was handled nicely by PSK63 but yours truly, SM0RWO, felt the need for speed and noticed that the Fldigi project offered PSK125. Quickly Fldigi was integrated and PSK125 was the mode of choice for a long time. That urge for faster modes resulted in a move to PSK250 which is an excellent mode, it is of course faster and thus wider (abt 250 Hz). Wait a second, we almost always use 500 Hz filters in our rigs. Why not aim for a 500 Hz wide mode then? That mode was PSK500 and we moved there around summer of 2009. Lengthy discussions within the group resulted in the consensus that it was time to break free from the chains of the old PSK31 keyboard to keyboard concept. PSK31 was indeed a fine idea but it had to make some sacrifices in order to reach its goal of being a suitable successor to rtty. Processing times could not be long, it had to deliver data pretty much in a similar way that the rtty operators were used to and one apparent problem was a lack of forward error control. A missing character here and there can mostly be handled by the human brain, not so by a computer with checksum control of received frames.
  VK2ETA, John Douyere, made it his task to create the more robust modes where FEC and an interleaver net was added to the PSK modes, the new mode is designated as PSKRobust 500/250/125 and has been a real success. In fact PSK robust 500 has been the default EU mode ever since. Mode profiles were added by Rein, these control the server speed and mode that can be adapted by the server. The server can move a connected session to a faster mode when the conditions are right and can of course select a more robust mode when the conditions deteriorate. While writing this asymmetric linkup has been implemented. By that we refer to a connection that does not use the same mode and speed in both directions. For instance its now possible to have a weak client use a slow and robust mode while the server uses a very fast one. The mode scope now ranges from THOR4 to PSK500, using PSK, MFSK and THOR modes to cater for differing adverse conditions, including polar flutter, multipath, Doppler and QRN.
  Introduction
  How much bandwidth does the mobile ham really need?Like most questions, there are several answers to this. The best one probably being ''it depends on your lifestyle''. If you are used to broadband internet access and don't want to give that up when you are en route, you are a potential candidate for internet access via satellite, and you will have to bear the cost of that luxury. If on the other hand you are en route to relax, and you don't need instant information, you could try PSKmail for bare bones information delivery. Pskmail gives you a 500 Hz wide channel to the internet. This is enough to get the most important email, the weather forecast and the daily update on the sunspots. Being nomadic, we live on a boat during summer and in a camper during winter, I get by with 200 Hz and a half hour session with the server most of the time. How much email do you really need daily to keep up to date?Of course we combine daily PSKmail with a webmail session once a week, to get the 'picture ' if you know what I mean. And to get the non-ham stuff.But I can upload software patches to the internet on a daily basis while living on a Mediterranean beach which does not have a ADSL socket.
  What is PSKMail?
  PSKmail is a narrow band arq system for use by amateur radio hams via short wave (HF) communication. It does not use a special controller, you just need a computer with a sound card.The PSKmail server uses the fldigi program as a modem, and can use PSK, MFSK and THOR modes, including the new robust PSK modes which include soft viterbi decoding and interleave to increase immunity to qrm and qrn. The client is written in java, and has the modems built in. The operator can choose several modes and speeds when starting a connection, to match channel conditions.
  The main characteristics of PSKmail can be summed up as:
  '—� A semi duplex ARQ Chat client capable of transferring files'—� A full fledged solution for HF APRS, including integration with the map clients'—� An internet connection that can be used where there is no internet connection. Such as from a boat at sea or a cottage somewhere or on expedition or'...'—� Narrow, efficient, data modes are used. Thus enabling even the most modest setup.'—� Servers on short wave provide long range connectivity'—� No expensive and bulky modem, all you need is a PC, a transceiver and an antenna'—� Available on multiple operating systems (Linux and Windows, MacOS and FreeBSD)
  PSKmail Manual (PDF File)
  PSKmail WiKi
  PSKmail downloadsLink
Society for Neuroscience quashing dissent on BRAIN Initiative, critic complains
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:00
  NIH Director Francis Collins and President Barack Obama announce the ''BRAIN'' initiative at the White House on 2 April.
  Chuck Kennedy/White House
  Fresh from attending President Barack Obama's announcement of the BRAIN Initiative at the White House on April 2nd, Society for Neuroscience president Larry Swanson, a neurobiologist at the University of Southern California, composed this letter to SFN's nearly 42,000 members.
  In the 5 April missive, Swanson, writing on behalf of SFN's executive committee, calls the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative ''tremendously positive'' for neuroscience. Its aim is to let scientists examine and record the activity of millions of neurons at they function at the speed of thought; ultimately, applications to several human diseases are hoped for.
  The project comes at a critical time in neuroscience, Swanson writes: a time of huge new opportunities coupled with stagnant or slumping government budgets for basic science research. (In the budget he released last week,Obama asked Congress to provide about $100 million to launch the BRAIN Initiative in 2014.)
  But the SFN letter makes it clear that Swanson wants a lid put on public criticism of the nascent project, which is expected to last more than a decade and ultimately cost several billion dollars. ''It is important that our community be perceived as positive about the incredible opportunity represented in the President's announcement,'' Swanson wrote. ''If we are perceived as unreasonably negative or critical about initial details, we risk smothering the initiative before it gets started.''
  In case anyone missed the point, he adds that he encourages ''healthy debate'' and ''rigorous dialogue'' but urges SFN members to ''bring all this to the table through our scientific communications channels and venues.'' He also notes that the National Institutes of Health has enlisted a team of ''distinguished'' neuroscientists to conduct a ''rigorous'' planning process.
  The letter's admonitions did not sit well with some in the neuroscience community, and on Friday, Avery Gilbert, an olfactory psychologist and author who writes the blog First Nerve posted an entry entitled ''Society for Neuroscience President: Shut Up, He Explained.''
  Gilbert introduced Swanson's letter, which he posted in its entirety, as follows: ''This disgraceful note is what passes for science advocacy today.'' He complains that the letter and the views it represents amount to a blatant grab for money: ''Swanson wants to suppress open dissent so as not to jeopardize SFN's rent-seeking activities.''
  Today, Nature asked Gilbert, who consults for scent-sensitive industry clients including Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble as president of Synesthetics, Inc., what he objects to in the BRAIN Initiative itself. He said: ''The BRAIN project typifies this Administration's predilection for big government ''solutions'' flavored with Chicago-style politics. Central planning rarely works out well, especially not in science.''
  Several on-line commenters agreed with Gilbert's critique. ''[Swanson] writes a long letter without any real justification for why the money is needed. How about some results?'' Anonymous commented.
  But Larry Goldstein, a prominent Alzheimer's researcher at the University of California, San Diego, disagrees. ''I thought Swanson's letter was fine,'' he says. ''Thoughtful, constructive, and optimistic. If we want to see long-term support of scientific initiatives, I think this is the kind of tone that will make the most difference with those who pay the bills, that is, taxpayers.''
  Today, Swanson himself told Nature: ''My point in the letter was that this project '-- still very much in its early formative stages '-- represents a remarkable and perhaps fleeting opportunity'... . It is my continuing hope that we all reserve judgment on the merits of the broader project until we first learn more about what it will prioritize and fund, and that is going to take some time. If we condemn such a promising investment in neuroscience prematurely, before its focus is known and without engaging scientifically, I firmly believe we will have missed a tremendous chance to advance the field.''
Boston Marathon very graphic pictures
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:40
  Warning - Item Boston Marathon very graphic pictures might contain content that is not suitable for all ages.By clicking on CONTINUE you confirm that you are 18 years and over.
  Note: to turn off these warnings you need to set the 'safe mode' to OFF (on the top right)
55 killed, 200 wounded as deadly car bombs rock Iraq
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WTF RLY REPORT
  Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:02
  Arabs Today
  Fifty-five Iraqis were killed and at least 200 others wounded in several car bomb attacks across Iraqi provinces, and the capital Baghdad on Monday. The blasts rocked the country just days before local elections, scheduled for April 20.A senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official told Arabstoday that 18 people had been killed, and 45 wounded in five separate bombing incidents in Baghdad, with the death toll likely to increase.
  The source claimed that two explosions happened in the courtyard of the Abbas Ibn Firnas entrance to Baghdad International Airport, west of Baghdad. ''Five people were killed and nine others injured because of the burning of a number of vehicles,'' the source added.
  The government official explained that security forces had been deployed around the area of the explosion, and the main road leading to the airport had been closed. A separate car bomb exploded in the area of Karrada, central Baghdad, killing four people and injuring 13 others. Three other car bombs rocked Baghdad on Monday afternoon. A vehicle blew-up near the fifth police area, western Baghdad, killing four people and wounding eight others. In eastern Baghdad, three civillians were killed and eight wounded when a car bomb exploded in the Kamaliya area. Witnesses also claimed that an explosion in the area of Umm Maalif, western Baghdad, killed two people and injured seven others.
  Read more
VIDEO: European Parliament
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Europe
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:55
  We are unable to provide the video for this debate, but the speeches may be viewed atthe website of the European Parliament.
  MEPs have been urged to back a change to laws on the trading of carbon emission quotas.
  In a debate on 15 April 2013, Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the proposal to introduce "backloading" - whereby the Commission could intervene in CO2 emissions trading - could mitigate the recent fall in carbon prices.
  The auction of carbon emissions quotas are a key part of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and Ms Hedegaard said that setting carbon prices or freezing some of the auctions could help boost green investment.
  She said there was a current unexpected build-up of allowance surpluses, due to a fall in industrial activity as a result of the economic crises.
  At committee stage, MEPs were deeply divided with the Environment Committee narrowly supporting the plans, and the Industry Committee opposing the Commission.
  Speaking on behalf of the Industry Committee, Italian centre-right MEP Amalia Sartori said the Commission should back away from intervening in carbon markets, saying there should be more of a focus on supporting European industry.
  But Ms Hedegaard said that the Commission had a "duty to act when assumptions on which the initial legislation was based have fundamentally changed".
  Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout said that many major corporations, including some large energy companies, were supporting the Commission as "they see their innovation in green technology being killed in Europe".
  He also criticised the fact that coal-fired power stations were now expanding in the EU and that coal was now the cheapest way to produce energy.
  But Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom criticised the whole ETS system, arguing it is "based on a hypothesis of global warming that is dead in the water".
  "It is a complete money-making nonsense," he concluded.
  The vote will take place during the daily voting session from 11am on 16 April 2013.
  Useful links.
  The European Parliament's disclaimer on the use of simultaneous interpretations can be foundhere.
  Read Democracy Live's guide to how the plenary sessions workhere.
EU horsemeat test results expected
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:54
  16 April 2013Last updated at00:08 ETResults of random tests for horse DNA in processed beef products are being published by the European Commission.
  The three-month programme of checks was agreed by the 27 EU member states in February after horsemeat had been found in a batch of Findus frozen lasagne.
  National food inspectors were also asked to test horsemeat in the food chain for the banned anti-inflammatory horse drug phenylbutazone, or "bute".
  The UK has announced a "wide-ranging" strategic review of its food chain.
  Corned beefThe tests were commissioned by the EU amid concerns about possible fraudulent attempts to sell horsemeat as processed beef in a number of member states.
  The tests will not be conclusive - they may only amount to about 2,000 so far - but they will provide a snapshot of the scale of the problem and have already had an effect.
  Last week the Dutch government announced that, as part of its investigations, it had identified two processing plants that might have supplied horsemeat as beef since January 2011.
  The UK's Food Standards Agency has conducted 150 tests for the commission, but separate to that there have been 6,000 tests carried out by the industry and local councils in the UK.
  So far 24 have shown the presence of horsemeat in a range of food.
  One product, Asda's Smart Price Corned Beef, contained a very low level of bute.
  Ripple effectBBC European correspondent Christian Fraser, in Brussels, said the commission believed the EU had one of the best food safety systems in the world but it relied on a complex web of suppliers.
  In a food chain that might stretch from Romania to the Netherlands, the south of France and Britain, pinning down where the system had gone wrong had proved difficult, he added.
  Our correspondent said the food companies across the EU were so interwoven that one fraud could have a serious ripple effect across a number of countries.
  The results are expected to be revealed in Brussels at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST).
  In the UK, Food Minister David Heath said the government's review would look for any vulnerabilities in the food chain that could be exploited by fraudsters.
  Consumers "must have confidence in the food they buy", he said.
Chris Matthews: Did Boston Bombing Have Anything To Do With Tax Day?
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:53
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Chris Matthews: 'Normally' Domestic Terrorists 'Tend to Be on the Right'
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:53
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The Boston Bomb Party
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  Archived Version
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:52
  As an assessment of the Boston bombings as a Lame Cherry matter anti matter exclusive.
  These bombs were not anti personell bombs, in they were not meant to kill people. Look at the footage my children in there was an 8 foot fire ball, and then the large cloud of smoke.Look at what I teach you in observing things always and what you are seeing, and ask yourself, "WHY?"
  What is this telling you?
  It informs you in forensics, that if metal bits were put in these bombs, the numbers would have approached 200 dead. There is not one subversive or terrorist who does not know that just a bomb does little damage, as a bomb is just a rapid expansion of fuels at a volatile rate.
  The limbs blown off or torn off, were proximity deaths. The few wounded were from metal from the trash cans. The majority of injuries were eardrums, and that comes from loud sounds.
  The smoke tells you things about the explosive in it was not smokeless in nitrocellous powder nor was it plastic, or any form of clean burning propellents.
  First assessment is this was black powder or a derivative of that in the citrus based or pyrodex based muzzleloading poweders which are available in bulk.
  A black smoke would be a witch's brew of petrol chemcials of low grade burn rate. This was white grey smoke and that points to a simple "dynamite" type bomb which is the same smoke you see in fireworks, and the same construction.
  The bomb detonation structure appears to be individual timers and not cell phone activated. That is rudimentary in a timing switch of a clock that either activates an electronic or chemical spark by physical action or a electronic pulse.
  Do not miss this, that the 3rd bomb not going off, might have been constructed in that manner to lead the authorities back to whoever triggered this, meaning with the BATF on record of having hundreds of moles following Hutatree types around for triggering and Faisal Shazzad allowed to drive around with weapons and enter an airport by Eric Holder, after his New York bombing, that a bomb unexploded might be a drama to be played out as in Terry Nichols having bomb making materials provided him by a government mole in the Holder Reno Clinton era.
  Think my children, as this is Boston, one of the most heavily policed state in America. Yet someone was able to in a busy route area, was able to plant multiple explosives with all of those police, cameras and public awareness on that street.Those garbage bins are also suspect as why would such things be left at the end of a race route, when any police training would tell you that is the first thing to clear out.
  That looks like a coordinated event in the analysis.
  In review, one has a Bostonian chasing a Saudi National and tackled, now cooperating with the police. One has a white smoke cloud, pointing to a pyrotechnic of sulfur, potassium nitrate and charcoal, available in quantity. One has NO anti personnel shrapnel as should be the case of an attack which of course makes absolute no forensic sense.
  With the surveillance taking place on information in how to construct bombs and watch lists for Americans, this event could not take place as one has to acquire said components and construction.
  Preliminary indications are there is much more to this story already as parts of this are missing if one was designing this to murder people in mass. Someone who is this adept to creating a series of bombs is going to include this in their protocols.
  Why was it left out, that is the evidence in this.
  Why go through the effort to set off bombs not to kill large numbers of people and why did Boston have these areas available to place the bombs in when operational procedures would require the trash bins to be not on location for a major event.
  The way this is playing coy in the media points to this was cover for another event.
  agtG 272Y
  *Additoinal note: Orange flame concludes low grade fire compared to a blue flame. Assessment is correct.
Newtown families had VIP seats near Boston Marathon blasts as race honored Sandy Hook victims
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  Source: USA RSS
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:44
  Family members of those killed in the massace at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year were seated near the site of the first of the two coordinated explosions at the Boston Marathon Monday, adding more heartbreak to the already tragic day.
  None of the relatives are reported to have been injured, but their presence was notable because each mile in this year's race was dedicated to an individual killed on December 14, 2012. The final leg of the marathon also held a tribute to those killed in Newtown, Connecticut.
  Before the race Boston Athletic Association President Joanne Flamino said it was of ''special significance'' that the marathon is 26.2 miles long and 26 people died in the mass shooting.
  There was a 26-second moment of silence for the Sandy Hook victims, and a group of Newtown parents were among the nine community members running in the race.
  ''In the first twenty miles we're honoring the twenty Sandy Hook first graders,'' Laura Nowaci, a spokeswoman for the Newtown Strong Fund, which fundraises for those affected by the shooting, told WBUR in Boston. ''When we crest Heartbreak Hill, and we're coming back towards Boston, we run the final six for our six fallen educators, including their lives, to protect our children.
  ''It's just running, but we want our steps to count,'' she added.
The face of a hero. Cowboy hero seen pinching off the veins of the man with his legs blown off. Lets make sure this guy gets the recognition he deserves. : pics
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UM Coach: Bomb Sniffing Dogs, Spotters on Roofs Before Explosions | Mobile AL, Pensacola FL News, Weather, Sports | WPMI-TV
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:56
  University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.ã"They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before.ã"Evidently, I don't believe they were just having a training exercise," Stevenson said. "I think they must have had some sort of threat or suspicion called in."Stevenson had just finished the marathon before the explosions. Stevenson said his wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.
  "We are just so thankful right now," Stevenson said.
BREAKING!! Two explosions, casualties at Boston Marathon - Page 5
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:50
  Re: BREAKING!! Two explosions, casualties at Boston Marathon
  Quote:
  In other news, #benghazi trending on Twitter.Idiots.
  I'm at work and don't have time to read the entire thread, but I was curious how many members of Tardforge would be trying to turn this into another Benghazi.Oh, and has Black Dove claimed it's a false flag operation by the gun-grabbers yet?
  __________________My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. - Jack Layton
Cordite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:47
  UK Government factoriesIn Great Britain cordite was developed for military use at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, and at the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills from 1889 onwards.
  In World War I a great cordite factory, HM Factory, Gretna, which straddled the Scotland-England border at Gretna was opened to manufacture cordite for the British Army and for British Commonwealth forces. A separate factory, The Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath, was opened to manufacture cordite for the Royal Navy. Both the Gretna and the Holton Heath cordite factories closed at the end of World War I; and the Gretna factory was demolished.
  By the start of World War II Holton Heath had reopened, and an additional factory for the Royal Navy, The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, opened at Caerwent in Wales. A very large Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Bishopton, was opened in Scotland to manufacture cordite for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. A new cordite factory at Waltham Abbey and two additional ROF's'--ROF Ranskill and ROF Wrexham'--were also opened. Cordite produced in these factories was sent to Filling Factories for filling into ammunition.
  MoS Agency Factories and ICI Nobel in World War IIThe British Government set up additional cordite factories, not under Royal Ordnance Factory control but as Agency Factories run on behalf of the Ministry of Supply (MoS). The company of ICI Nobel, at Ardeer, was asked in 1939 to construct and operate six factories in southern Scotland. Four of these six were involved in cordite or firearm-propellant manufacture. The works at MoS Drungans (Dumfries) produced guncotton that was converted to cordite at MoS Dalbeattie (triple-base cordite) and at MoS Powfoot (monobase granulated guncotton for small-arms). A smaller site at Girvan, South Ayrshire, now occupied by Grant's distillery, produced cordite and TNT.[9] The ICI Ardeer site also had a mothballed World War I Government-owned cordite factory.[10]
  35% of British cordite produced between 1942 and 1945 came from Ardeer and these agency factories.[11] ICI ran a similar works at Deer Park near Melbourne in Australia and in South Africa.[11]
  Overseas suppliesAdditional sources of propellant were also sought from the British Commonwealth in both World War I and World War II. Canada, South Africa and Australia, had ICI-owned factories that, in particular, supplied large quantities of cordite.
  World War ICanadian Explosives Limited was formed in 1910 to produce rifle cordite, at its Beloeil factory, for the QuebecArsenal. By November 1915 production had been expanded to produce 350,000 lb (159,000 kg) of cordite per month for the Imperial Munitions Board.[12]
  The Imperial Munitions Board set up a number of additional explosives factories in Canada. It built The British Cordite Ltd factory at Nobel, Ontario, in 1916/1917, to produce cordite. Production started in mid-1917.[12]
  Canadian Explosives Limited built an additional cordite factory at Nobel, Ontario. Work stated in February 1918 and was finished on 24 August 1918. It was designed to produce 1,500,000 lb (681,000 kg) of cordite per month.[12]
  Factories, specifically ''heavy industry'' (Long, and Marland 2009) ones, were very important to war and were a large source of the creation of munitions that soldiers needed during the war. Cordite factories were typically employed by women and this presented women's involvement in the war effort (Cook 2006). The cordite factory workers put their life in danger every day they packed the shells but regardless of the risks they continued their work. Cordite factories and the dangerous work which was done inside improved and excelled the direction of war and the munitions soldiers had available to them.
  World War IIThe United States did not use cordite, however, several ammunition filling factories were set up in Canada in World War II to fill American propellant supplied by the USA under Lend-Lease. India, Pakistan and Australia were also approached. Cordite was used in "Little Boy", the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. A modified anti-aircraft cannon barrel using cordite fired one subcritical piece of U-235 at another to form a supercritical mass.
Whistler Question Mobile
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:46
  Heiliger 'stunned' by explosions, but escapes injury in marathon finish-line blasts
  Runners getting set to take part in the Boston Marathon were warned beforehand that they were going to die, said a Squamish resident who took part in the race.
  Mike Heiliger, 59, said a woman holding several bags was telling runners who were picking up their pre-race packages in downtown Boston on Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die if they participated in the event.
  ''I was downtown on Saturday and you know, you see these people on the street and think it's just some nutbar,'' he told The Chief from his Boston hotel on Monday (April 15). ''It was a little creepy because you can identify who the runners are and I heard her say to this runner two feet away from me that, 'If you run tomorrow you're going to die.'''
  Heiliger said he thought about telling the woman that the race was Monday, but decided not to correct her.
  Heiliger was in the process of calling the police after his conversation with The Chief.
  ''I thought it was just a nut and maybe she was a nut but she was holding a couple of bags like she just got off a plane and was accosting runners on Saturday,'' he said.
  The Squamish resident was one of a group of about 15 runners from the North Shore and he said they're all fine.
  ''We all run in a run club and as far as I know all of our people are OK,'' he said. ''Some of them didn't get to finish, unfortunately, because when the bomb went off '-- that was it. They [race officials] stopped everybody.''
  Heiliger finished the race in 3:29:51 and was making his way back to his hotel when the explosions went off.
  ''I was just coming to the hotel and I heard all these sirens,'' he said. ''But you're in a big city and when you hear sirens you think nothing of it.''
  It was the fourth time Heiliger had raced in Boston and said the scene was disturbing.
  ''I'm just stunned right now,'' he said. ''It's a terrible situation. Boston has really embraced this race, they really get up for this thing and they're so friendly. For something like this to happen it's mind boggling.''
  He said whoever set up the explosions had put some thought into it.
  ''Whoever did this knew what they were doing,'' he said. ''They knew where to put where the most people were.''
  Despite the disastrous day, Heiliger said the tragedy will not dampen his enthusiasm for the race.
  ''I think I would still come back to Boston,'' he said. ''I bet security will be insane from here on in but I take the attitude that if you stay away, you let the crazies win. Time will tell what comes of this. This is huge. They [locals] want to hang someone out on the streets.''
  For updates on this developing story, check back with www.squamishchief.com or see this week's print edition of The Chief.
  Listen to interview
Boston to Deploy Mass-Casualty Tablet Device During Marathon
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:09
  Press ReleaseCreated: April 12, 2013
  Related ContentResources
  Related Terms
  MoreBoston EMS is deploying a new, off-the-shelf, lightweight mobile device for the first time at the Boston Marathon on April 15.
  The platform, from SafetyPAD, is intended for use in mass-casualty situations gives EMS personnel the ability to carry into crowds and assess a patient upon arrival, document in realtime, transmit data to transport units before they arrive, and other features.
  Boston EMS will utilize the new Android-based program for bike and gator teams along race route.
  Do you recommend this Press Release?Read More:Software, EMS, Emergency Medical ServicesFollow us on:Sign upfor FREE newsletters
Eyewitness: Authorities Announced ''Drill'' Before Boston Explosions
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  Archived Version
  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:06
  UM coach ''thought it was odd'' bomb sniffing dogs were at start and finish lines
  Paul Joseph WatsonInfowars.com April 15, 2013
  An eyewitness to the two explosions at the Boston Marathon today said that a ''drill'' was repeatedly announced before the bombs exploded and that he ''thought it was odd'' bomb sniffing dogs were in place before the blast.
  Image: Twitter
  University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15 News, ''They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. ''It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.''
  The news station also reports that Stevenson ''thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.''
  Stevenson then describes hearing the explosions as he ran away from the scene, having just completed the marathon.
  If this report is accurate, it clearly suggests there could have been some degree of prior knowledge of the bombing, which killed two people and injured at least 23.
  The fact that the explosions were preceded and overlapped by a''drill'' of an almost identical nature mirrors other major terror attacks, such as the 7/7 bombings in London.
  It is important to emphasize that the New York Times recently reported that most of the recent domestic terror plots in the United States ''were facilitated by the F.B.I.,'' suggesting that today's incident in Boston may have been part of such an operation.
  It remains to be seen how the media and the Obama administration will exploit this incident depending who gets the blame, but Rahm Emanuel's ''never let a serious crisis go to waste'' advisory is sure to be in play.
  More on this story as it develops'.....
  *********************
  Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
  This article was posted: Monday, April 15, 2013 at 4:22 pm
UM Coach: Bomb Sniffing Dogs Were at Start, Finish Lines for ''Drill''
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  Archived Version
  Source: Infowars » Featured Stories
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:06
  Local 15 TVApril 15, 2013
  [Editor's Note: Just as with the Madrid bombing and 7/7 bombings in London and countless others, a drill coincides with the real event. This is done so that if the compartmentalized operation is exposed the operatives executing the attack can simply claim they were part of the drill.]
  University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.
  ''They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about,'' Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. ''It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.''
  Stevenson had just finished the marathon. His wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.
  ''There was just smoke, another explosion went off,'' Stevenson said. ''We all started running. There were people crying.''
  Stevenson said there was no question in his mind that this was an intentional act.
  Local 15 News is talking with more locals who were taking part in the run.
  This article was posted: Monday, April 15, 2013 at 4:12 pm
  Tags: terrorism
Why Is Gold Crashing?
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  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:01
  Source: Washington's Blog
  Gold has fallen off a cliff. It has fallen faster than at any time in the last 30 years.
  Zero Hedge notes:
  Adding insult to injury, the Shanghai Gold Exchange overnight announced that following the tumbling precious metal prices and limit down drop in early trading, it may raise trading margins for its gold and silver forward contracts.
  (Margin calls tend to trigger further selling.)
  Some Say It Is a Good Time to Buy
  While most financial advisers are screaming ''sell!'', there are some well-known contrarians.
  For example, Bill Gross still recommends buying gold.
  Marc Faber says:
  ''I love the fact that gold is finally breaking down because that will offer an excellent buying opportunity'' '.... ''The bull market in gold is not completed.''
  John Hathaway of Tocqueville Funds (with $10 billion under management) says that the selloff in gold is ''a contrarian's dream scenario'':
  The evidence shows strong macro fundamentals for gold, investor sentiment at a negative extreme and compelling valuations in the mining shares. It seems like a contrarian's dream scenario to us.
  And Zero Hedge notes that '' from the perspective of technical analysis '' gold is the most oversold it has been in 14 years.
  The Bearish Explanation
  But why has gold crashed?
  Bloomberg blames:
  ''Optimism that a U.S. recovery will curb the need for stimulus''; and''The prospect that beleaguered members of the euro zone might be forced to sell gold to raise part of the funding, and there are much bigger holders in that category than Cyprus.''Citigroup opines:
  Gold decline may have been related to some break in technical levels and the general improvement in global risk appetite.
  Larry Edelson writes:
  You have to realize that sometimes gold is money '... and sometimes it's not.
  Right now, gold is not money. Just consider what's happening in Japan. The wicked and aggressive devaluation of the Japanese yen is setting off a massive stampede OUT of gold and into cash and other assets.
  ***
  Why are the Japanese dumping gold, especially when their currency is being devalued?
  It's simple. The fall in the Japanese yen caused the price of gold in yen to spike sharply higher. So Japanese investors are cashing in their profits.
  In addition, Japanese investors want to either spend their gold proceeds, or move it into other assets. They need liquidity. And holding on to gold is not a liquid situation.
  It's very easy to understand. This sort of thing is also happening in Europe, where gold demand is also down.Why? Because if you have money in a bank, Cyprus has proven that European leaders will stop at nothing to try to solve Europe's crisis, even if it means confiscating your money from your bank.
  Gold's not going to do you much good in that situation. If you take your money out of the bank and buy gold, how are you going to pay for the basic necessities in life?
  Moreover, how are you going to move your gold out of the country, if that's what you wish to do (which many Europeans are indeed doing)?
  Moving physical gold around isn't so easy either. It takes time and money to move your gold. And even then, you won't know how safe it is, because in the back of your mind there's always that fear that your gold could be confiscated.
  The bottom line: While gold is indeed the ultimate long-term store of value against depreciating currencies and failing governments, there are times when forces that are seemingly bullish for gold are actually bearish.
  Business Insider argues:
  [Gold's price collapse] vindicates the economic ideas of the economic elites.
  ***
  To respond to the economic crisis, economists and mainstream policy makers have favored highly unusual policy measures (massive Fed balance sheet expansion, massive stimulus, etc.). These ideas are usually based on years of traditional economic research (Keynesianism, monetarism, etc.).
  All of these ideas have been slammed by heterodox types like Austrian economists, who have warned of hyperinflation, and gold going to $10,000.
  So the collapse in gold is not about gold, but about vindication for a large corpus of belief and economic research, which has largely panned out. It's great that our economic elites know what they're talking about, and have the tools at their disposal to address crises without creating some new catastrophe.
  Things aren't great in the economy, but the collapse/hyperinflation fears haven't panned out, and the decline in gold is a manifestation of that.
  Barry Ritholtz writes:
  History shows Gold trades differently than equities. Why? It comes back to those fundamentals.
  It has are none.
  This is not to say gold is not affected by Macro issues. But that is very different than saying Gld has a fundamental value, an intrinsic worth. It does not. That led to this heretical advice: Gold is not, and can never be, an investment. It has no true intrinsic value, no cash flow, no earnings, no coupon. no yield. What people call fundamentals are nothing more than broad macro analysis (and how have your macro funds done lately?). Gold is the ultimate greater fool trade, with many of its owners part of a collective belief theory rife with cognitive errors and bias.
  I do not want to engage in Goldenfreude '-- the delight in gold bugs' collective pain '-- but I am compelled to point out how basic flaws in their belief system has led them to this place where they are today.
  Gold does trade technically, and is especially driven by the collective belief system of the crowd. When that falter, well, you know what happens . . .
  Gold Bug View
  Gold bugs, on the other hand, see things quite differently.
  Andrew Maguire says that the crash is solely in the paper gold market '... and that there is actually a shortage of physical gold. Many other sources make the same claim.
  Egon von Greyerz '' founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management '' argues:
  They shouldn't be concerned about the temporary pressure on gold. This decline has nothing to do with the physical market because enormous demand for gold continues.
  The paper market in gold is not a real market, and at some point in the near future paper gold holders will wake up and realize they are holding are worthless pieces of paper. This is when the world will witness one of the greatest short squeezes in history as investors panic in to physical and the price of gold explodes to the upside.''
  London bullion dealer Sharps Pixley thinks that the crash was largely initiated by a single entity:
  The gold futures markets opened in New York on Friday 12th April to a monumental 3.4 million ounces (100 tonnes) of gold selling of the June futures contract in what proved to be only an opening shot. The selling took gold to the technically very important level of $1540 which was not only the low of 2012, it was also seen by many as the level which confirmed the ongoing bull run which dates back to 2000. In many traders minds it stood as a formidable support level'... the line in the sand.
  Two hours later the initial selling, rumoured to have been routed through Merrill Lynch's floor team, by a rather more significant blast when the floor was hit by a further 10 million ounces of selling (300 tonnes) over the following 30 minutes of trading. This was clearly not a case of disappointed longs leaving the market '' it had the hallmarks of a concerted 'short sale', which by driving prices sharply lower in a display of 'shock & awe' '' would seek to gain further momentum by prompting others to also sell as their positions as they hit their maximum acceptable losses or so-called 'stopped-out' in market parlance '' probably hidden the unimpeachable (?) $1540 level.
  The selling was timed for optimal impact with New York at its most liquid, while key overseas gold markets including London were open and able feel the impact. The estimated 400 tonne of gold futures selling in total equates to 15% of annual gold mine production '' too much for the market to readily absorb, especially with sentiment weak following gold's non performance in the wake of Japanese QE, a nuclear threat from North Korea and weakening US economic data.
  ***
  By forcing the market lower the Fund sought to prompt a cascade or avalanche of additional selling, proving the lie \; predictably some newswires were premature in announcing the death of the gold bull run doing, in effect, the dirty work of the shorters in driving the market lower still.
  Gold Core's Mark O'Byrne agrees.
  James Rickards thinks the Fed is manipulating the gold market (and every other market).
  Former assistant Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts says:
  Rapidly rising bullion prices were an indication of loss of confidence in the dollar and were signaling a drop in the dollar's exchange rate. The Fed used naked shorts in the paper gold market to offset the price effect of a rising demand for bullion possession. Short sales that drive down the price trigger stop-loss orders that automatically lead to individual sales of bullion holdings once their loss limits are reached.
  ***
  According to Andrew Maguire, on Friday, April 12, the Fed's agents hit the market with 500 tons of naked shorts. Normally, a short is when an investor thinks the price of a stock or commodity is going to fall. He wants to sell the item in advance of the fall, pocket the money, and then buy the item back after it falls in price, thus making money on the short sale. If he doesn't have the item, he borrows it from someone who does, putting up cash collateral equal to the current market price. Then he sells the item, waits for it to fall in price, buys it back at the lower price and returns it to the owner who returns his collateral. If enough shorts are sold, the result can be to drive down the market price.
  ***
  Bullion dealer Bill Haynes told kingworldnews.com that last Friday bullion purchasers among the public outpaced sellers by 50 to 1, and that the premiums over the spot price on gold and silver coins are the highest in decades. I myself checked with Gainesville Coins and was told that far more buyers than sellers had responded to the price drop.
  ***
  In addition to short selling that is clearly intended to drive down the gold price, orchestration is also indicated by the advance announcements this month first from brokerage houses and then from Goldman Sachs that hedge funds and institutional investors would be selling their gold positions.
  ***
  I see the orchestrated effort to suppress the price of gold and silver as a sign that the authorities are frightened that trouble is brewing that they cannot control unless there is strong confidence in the dollar.
  Roberts also says:
  This is an orchestration (the smash in gold). It's been going on now from the beginning of April. Brokerage houses told their individual clients the word was out that hedge funds and institutional investors were going to be dumping gold and that they should get out in advance. Then, a couple of days ago, Goldman Sachs announced there would be further departures from gold. So what they are trying to do is scare the individual investor out of bullion. Clearly there is something desperate going on'....
  Indeed, this may tie into the Federal Reserve leak of insider information. Specifically, Roberts writes:
  The Federal Reserve began its April Fool's assault on gold by sending the word to brokerage houses, which quickly went out to clients, that hedge funds and other large investors were going to unload their gold positions and that clients should get out of the precious metal market prior to these sales. As this inside information was the government's own strategy, individuals cannot be prosecuted for acting on it. By this operation, the Federal Reserve, a totally corrupt entity, was able to combine individual flight with institutional flight. Bullion prices took a big hit, and bullishness departed from the gold and silver markets. The flow of dollars into bullion, which threatened to become a torrent, was stopped.
  As Congressman Grayson pointed out in a recent letter, right after the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee leaked valuable inside information to big banks, Goldman told its clients:
  We recommend initiating a short COMEX gold position '....
  Background on gold manipulation.
Gold Plummets By Most In 30 Years, Stocks Have Biggest Drop Of 2013
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:58
  A bad day all around. Liquidation continued from Asia and commodities were Baumgartner'd - especially gold and silver, suffering their biggest single-day drop in 30 years. Weak NAHB data stalled any BTFD in stocks and despite a couple of tries at EUR ramps, stocks had their biggest drop in 5 months. The horrible acts in Boston seemed a catalyst for late-day weakness in stocks but there was no bid and heavy volume as homebuilders were hit their hardest in 10 months and US equity indices plunged into the close. Dow Transports had its worst day in 17 months. Away from stocks, FX markets were just as volatile with JPY's 2-day rally the biggest in 35 months (and AUD the biggest down day in 5 months). Swiss 2Y rates dropped to their lowest of the year and US Treasuries were relatively calm (though bid) until Boston hit and then dropped 3-4bps on the day. VIX also surged higher by 5.2 vols to 17.25% (its highest since the Italian elections).
  S&P futures ended at the lows...
  and VIX surged...
  which took everything but the magic Dow below Cyprus levels...
  As FX Carry was dumped in a hurry... AUDJPY especially...
  And commodities were slammed...
  But some other markets had seriously bad days...
  and Gold broke all kinds of records...
  after-hours gold dropped more and S&P futures also followed...
  Charts: Bloomberg
  Bonus Chart: Despite the day's chaos - risk-assets led stocks lower all day and the algos would not beat the real selling pressure for once...
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.9(7 votes)
Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act marked up in secret
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Set You Free News
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:57
  By Nadia Kayyali | Constitution Campaign
  The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is continuing to move through Congress despite major, unresolved privacy issues.
  Several weeks ago, privacy advocates, consumers associations, and technology companies all worked together during the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) Week of Action to address the major privacy flaws in CISPA, H.B. 624.
  The week of action was a major success, with companies such as Craigslist and Firefox taking part and thousands of people contacting their representatives in Congress to express their concern around CISPA. However, the fight over CISPA is just beginning. Last week, CISPA passed out of the House Intelligence Committee by a vote of 18-2.
  The sponsors of the bill, Representatives Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), have maintained that there is no reason for concern, making inaccurate and misleading claims about the bill. They have argued that the bill does not contain overbroad provisions or definitions. Yet as EFF's Mark Jaycox correctly notes:
  The best example of a dangerous undefined term in the bill is found within the overly broad legal immunity for companies. The clause grants a company who acts in 'good faith' immunity for 'any decisions made' based off of the information it learns from the government or other companies. . . Companies should not be given carte blanche immunity to violate long-standing computer crime and privacy law. And it is notoriously hard to prove that a company acted in bad faith, in the few circumstances where you would actually find out your privacy had been violated.
  The bill was marked up in a closed session on Thursday, April 10th, despite urgings from the privacy and civil liberties community to the contrary. BORDC, along with 40 other organizations, signed a letter urging an open and transparent markup. The closed markup begs the question: if the bill presents no privacy concerns, why not move it forward in a transparent and open way?
  Unsurprisingly, the markup did not yield a significantly improved version of the bill. The committee voted down four amendments that would have significantly increased privacy protections.
  Three of these amendments were offered by Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The first amendment would have limited the sharing of corporation's data to civilian agencies. More specifically, agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security could have obtained ''cyberthreat'' data, but the Defense Department and the NSA would not have been able to. This amendment would have addressed the concern of military agencies engaging in surveillance on U.S. soil.
  The second rejected amendment from Rep. Schakowsky would have required the President to designate an individual to work with stake holds in ''developing privacy and civil liberties policies and procedures.'' Her third amendment would have ''[e]liminat[ed] vague language that grants complete civil and criminal liability to companies that ''obtain'' information about vulnerabilities or security flaws and make ''decisions'' based on that information. ''
  The fourth fourth rejected amendment from Rep. Schackowsky and co-sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), would have required companies sharing information to make reasonable efforts to delete the personally identifying information of individuals. While the helpful amendments were rejected, others did pass. Some of them make CISPA even worse.
  An amendment from the bill sponsors prohibits companies that share information with the federal government from placing limits on the sharing of that information with other government agencies. That means that a company that wants to share information with only civilian agencies such as the FBI could not ask the FBI to not share that information with the NSA.
  The same amendment defines the good faith requirement for immunity, a change that does not narrow the broad protection of the original bill. This change in particular seems targeted at creating an illusion that the bill has been amended in response to privacy concerns. Similarly, one of the amendments created an annual report requirement with little specificity or transparency requirements.
  Fortunately, CISPA is still in its early stages. Although Rep. Rogers claims he changed CISPA to address White House concerns, at this point it appears that the President is not supporting the bill. In fact, he has made it clear that the current amendments ''have addressed some outstanding fundamental priorities.''
  Last year, the President threatened to veto the first version of CISPA. The version introduced this year was the same as last year's. The bill is now facing a full vote from the House of Representatives, and you can still tell your Representative what you think about it.
Stunning Video: Massive Fireball in the Sky Over Madrid, Spain
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Conscious Life News
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:55
  Posted by clnews_Featured_, Videos, World NewsMonday, April 15th, 2013A brilliant ball of flame streaked across the sky above the Spanish capital Madrid, dazzling stargazers and astronomers alike. The celestial display was so bright it could be seen across the entire country. The eye-popping moment was caught on camera by the Hita Observatory at the University of Huelva at around 11:45pm local time (21:45 GMT). The object struck the atmosphere above the Villamuelas district in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid.
  READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/ldjs53
Jackassery: NYT's Nick Kristof can't wait to politicize Boston Marathon bombing; Update: 'I take it back'
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Twitchy » US Politics
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:54
  Who looks at a horrific event like the Boston Marathon bombing and thinks, ''Hey, this would be a great opportunity to blame the GOP''?
  This assclown:
  Oh yes he did.
  Unbelievable.
  Why not?
  What a colossal schmuck.
  ***
  Update:
  We completely agree.
Text of H.R. 756: Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013 (Reported by House Committee version) - GovTrack.us
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:40
  HR 756 RH
  To advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards, and for other purposes.
  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  February 15, 2013
  Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. HALL, and Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  April 11, 2013
  Additional sponsors: Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. STEWART, and Ms. ESTY
  April 11, 2013
  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
  [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
  [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 15, 2013]
  To advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards, and for other purposes.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
  SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.This Act may be cited as the 'Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013'.
  TITLE I--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
  SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.In this title:
  (1) NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE- The term National Coordination Office means the National Coordination Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program.
  (2) PROGRAM- The term Program means the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program which has been established under section 101 of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511).
  SEC. 102. FINDINGS.Section 2 of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7401) is amended--
  (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
  '(1) Advancements in information and communications technology have resulted in a globally interconnected network of government, commercial, scientific, and education infrastructures, including critical infrastructures for electric power, natural gas and petroleum production and distribution, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, banking and finance, and emergency and government services.';
  (2) in paragraph (2), by striking 'Exponential increases in interconnectivity have facilitated enhanced communications, economic growth,' and inserting 'These advancements have significantly contributed to the growth of the United States economy,';
  (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
  '(3) The Cyberspace Policy Review published by the President in May, 2009, concluded that our information technology and communications infrastructure is vulnerable and has 'suffered intrusions that have allowed criminals to steal hundreds of millions of dollars and nation-states and other entities to steal intellectual property and sensitive military information'.'; and
  (4) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows:
  '(6) While African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans constitute 33 percent of the college-age population, members of these minorities comprise less than 20 percent of bachelor degree recipients in the field of computer sciences.'.
  SEC. 103. CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN.(a) In General- Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the agencies identified in subsection 101(a)(3)(B)(i) through (x) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(3)(B)(i) through (x)) or designated under section 101(a)(3)(B)(xi) of such Act, working through the National Science and Technology Council and with the assistance of the National Coordination Office, shall transmit to Congress a strategic plan based on an assessment of cybersecurity risk to guide the overall direction of Federal cybersecurity and information assurance research and development for information technology and networking systems. Once every 3 years after the initial strategic plan is transmitted to Congress under this section, such agencies shall prepare and transmit to Congress an update of such plan.
  (b) Contents of Plan- The strategic plan required under subsection (a) shall--
  (1) specify and prioritize near-term, mid-term and long-term research objectives, including objectives associated with the research areas identified in section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) and how the near-term objectives complement research and development areas in which the private sector is actively engaged;
  (2) describe how the Program will focus on innovative, transformational technologies with the potential to enhance the security, reliability, resilience, and trustworthiness of the digital infrastructure, and to protect consumer privacy;
  (3) describe how the Program will foster the rapid transfer of research and development results into new cybersecurity technologies and applications for the timely benefit of society and the national interest, including through the dissemination of best practices and other outreach activities;
  (4) describe how the Program will establish and maintain a national research infrastructure for creating, testing, and evaluating the next generation of secure networking and information technology systems;
  (5) describe how the Program will facilitate access by academic researchers to the infrastructure described in paragraph (4), as well as to relevant data, including event data;
  (6) describe how the Program will engage females and individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) to foster a more diverse workforce in this area; and
  (7) describe how the Program will help to recruit and prepare veterans for the Federal cybersecurity workforce.
  (c) Development of Roadmap- The agencies described in subsection (a) shall develop and annually update an implementation roadmap for the strategic plan required in this section. Such roadmap shall--
  (1) specify the role of each Federal agency in carrying out or sponsoring research and development to meet the research objectives of the strategic plan, including a description of how progress toward the research objectives will be evaluated;
  (2) specify the funding allocated to each major research objective of the strategic plan and the source of funding by agency for the current fiscal year; and
  (3) estimate the funding required for each major research objective of the strategic plan for the following 3 fiscal years.
  (d) Recommendations- In developing and updating the strategic plan under subsection (a), the agencies involved shall solicit recommendations and advice from--
  (1) the advisory committee established under section 101(b)(1) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)); and
  (2) a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, academia, including representatives of minority serving institutions and community colleges, National Laboratories, and other relevant organizations and institutions.
  (e) Appending to Report- The implementation roadmap required under subsection (c), and its annual updates, shall be appended to the report required under section 101(a)(2)(D) of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(2)(D)).
  (f) Cybersecurity Research Database- The agencies involved in developing and updating the strategic plan under subsection (a) shall establish, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, a mechanism to track ongoing and completed Federal cybersecurity research and development projects and associated funding, and shall make such information publically available.
  SEC. 104. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN CYBERSECURITY.Section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) is amended--
  (1) by inserting 'and usability' after 'to the structure';
  (2) in subparagraph (H), by striking 'and' after the semicolon;
  (3) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end and inserting '; and'; and
  (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
  '(J) social and behavioral factors, including human-computer interactions, usability, and user motivations.'.
  SEC. 105. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.(a) Computer and Network Security Research Areas- Section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(1)) is amended--
  (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting 'identity management,' after 'cryptography,'; and
  (2) in subparagraph (I), by inserting ', crimes against children, and organized crime' after 'intellectual property'.
  (b) Computer and Network Security Research Grants- Section 4(a)(3) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(a)(3)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
  '(A) $119,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
  '(B) $119,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
  '(C) $119,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.'.
  (c) Computer and Network Security Research Centers- Section 4(b) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7403(b)) is amended--
  (1) in paragraph (4)--
  (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 'and' after the semicolon;
  (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and inserting '; and'; and
  (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
  '(E) how the center will partner with government laboratories, for-profit entities, other institutions of higher education, or nonprofit research institutions.'; and
  (2) in paragraph (7) by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
  '(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
  '(B) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
  '(C) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.'.
  (d) Computer and Network Security Capacity Building Grants- Section 5(a)(6) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)(6)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
  '(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
  '(B) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
  '(C) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.'.
  (e) Scientific and Advanced Technology Act Grants- Section 5(b)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
  '(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
  '(B) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
  '(C) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.'.
  (f) Graduate Traineeships in Computer and Network Security- Section 5(c)(7) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(c)(7)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
  '(A) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
  '(B) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
  '(C) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.'.
  (g) Cyber Security Faculty Development Traineeship Program- Section 5(e) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(e)) is repealed.
  SEC. 106. FEDERAL CYBER SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE PROGRAM.(a) In General- The Director of the National Science Foundation shall continue a Scholarship for Service program under section 5(a) of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)) to recruit and train the next generation of Federal cybersecurity professionals and to increase the capacity of the higher education system to produce an information technology workforce with the skills necessary to enhance the security of the Nation's communications and information infrastructure.
  (b) Characteristics of Program- The program under this section shall--
  (1) provide, through qualified institutions of higher education, including community colleges, scholarships that provide tuition, fees, and a competitive stipend for up to 2 years to students pursing a bachelor's or master's degree and up to 3 years to students pursuing a doctoral degree in a cybersecurity field;
  (2) provide the scholarship recipients with summer internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal information technology workforce; and
  (3) increase the capacity of institutions of higher education throughout all regions of the United States to produce highly qualified cybersecurity professionals, through the award of competitive, merit-reviewed grants that support such activities as--
  (A) faculty professional development, including technical, hands-on experiences in the private sector or government, workshops, seminars, conferences, and other professional development opportunities that will result in improved instructional capabilities;
  (B) institutional partnerships, including minority serving institutions and community colleges;
  (C) development and evaluation of cybersecurity-related courses and curricula; and
  (D) public-private partnerships that will integrate research experiences and hands-on learning into cybersecurity degree programs.
  (c) Scholarship Requirements-
  (1) ELIGIBILITY- Scholarships under this section shall be available only to students who--
  (A) are citizens or permanent residents of the United States;
  (B) are full-time students in an eligible degree program, as determined by the Director, that is focused on computer security or information assurance at an awardee institution; and
  (C) accept the terms of a scholarship pursuant to this section.
  (2) SELECTION- Individuals shall be selected to receive scholarships primarily on the basis of academic merit, with consideration given to financial need, to the goal of promoting the participation of females and individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b), and to veterans. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'veteran' means a person who--
  (A) served on active duty (other than active duty for training) in the Armed Forces of the United States for a period of more than 180 consecutive days, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable; or
  (B) served on active duty (other than active duty for training) in the Armed Forces of the United States and was discharged or released from such service for a service-connected disability before serving 180 consecutive days.
  For purposes of subparagraph (B), the term 'service-connected' has the meaning given such term under section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
  (3) SERVICE OBLIGATION- If an individual receives a scholarship under this section, as a condition of receiving such scholarship, the individual upon completion of their degree must serve as a cybersecurity professional within the Federal workforce for a period of time as provided in paragraph (5). If a scholarship recipient is not offered employment by a Federal agency or a federally funded research and development center, the service requirement can be satisfied at the Director's discretion by--
  (A) serving as a cybersecurity professional in a State, local, or tribal government agency; or
  (B) teaching cybersecurity courses at an institution of higher education.
  (4) CONDITIONS OF SUPPORT- As a condition of acceptance of a scholarship under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the awardee institution with annual verifiable documentation of employment and up-to-date contact information.
  (5) LENGTH OF SERVICE- The length of service required in exchange for a scholarship under this subsection shall be 1 year more than the number of years for which the scholarship was received.
  (d) Failure To Complete Service Obligation-
  (1) GENERAL RULE- If an individual who has received a scholarship under this section--
  (A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing in the educational institution in which the individual is enrolled, as determined by the Director;
  (B) is dismissed from such educational institution for disciplinary reasons;
  (C) withdraws from the program for which the award was made before the completion of such program;
  (D) declares that the individual does not intend to fulfill the service obligation under this section; or
  (E) fails to fulfill the service obligation of the individual under this section,
  such individual shall be liable to the United States as provided in paragraph (3).
  (2) MONITORING COMPLIANCE- As a condition of participating in the program, a qualified institution of higher education receiving a grant under this section shall--
  (A) enter into an agreement with the Director of the National Science Foundation to monitor the compliance of scholarship recipients with respect to their service obligation; and
  (B) provide to the Director, on an annual basis, post-award employment information required under subsection (c)(4) for scholarship recipients through the completion of their service obligation.
  (3) AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT-
  (A) LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE- If a circumstance described in paragraph (1) occurs before the completion of 1 year of a service obligation under this section, the total amount of awards received by the individual under this section shall be repaid or such amount shall be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subparagraph (C).
  (B) MORE THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE- If a circumstance described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (1) occurs after the completion of 1 year of a service obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service completed divided by the number of years of service required, shall be repaid or such amount shall be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subparagraph (C).
  (C) REPAYMENTS- A loan described in subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a and following), and shall be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Director (in consultation with the Secretary of Education) in regulations promulgated to carry out this paragraph.
  (4) COLLECTION OF REPAYMENT-
  (A) IN GENERAL- In the event that a scholarship recipient is required to repay the scholarship under this subsection, the institution providing the scholarship shall--
  (i) be responsible for determining the repayment amounts and for notifying the recipient and the Director of the amount owed; and
  (ii) collect such repayment amount within a period of time as determined under the agreement described in paragraph (2), or the repayment amount shall be treated as a loan in accordance with paragraph (3)(C).
  (B) RETURNED TO TREASURY- Except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, any such repayment shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States.
  (C) RETAIN PERCENTAGE- An institution of higher education may retain a percentage of any repayment the institution collects under this paragraph to defray administrative costs associated with the collection. The Director shall establish a single, fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities.
  (5) EXCEPTIONS- The Director may provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any service or payment obligation by an individual under this section whenever compliance by the individual with the obligation is impossible or would involve extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such obligation with respect to the individual would be unconscionable.
  (e) Hiring Authority-
  (1) APPOINTMENT IN EXCEPTED SERVICE- Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, an agency shall appoint in the excepted service an individual who has completed the academic program for which a scholarship was awarded.
  (2) NONCOMPETITIVE CONVERSION- Except as provided in paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted noncompetitively to term, career-conditional or career appointment.
  (3) TIMING OF CONVERSION- An agency may noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed under paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or career appointment before the term appointment expires.
  (4) AUTHORITY TO DECLINE CONVERSION- An agency may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or appointment under paragraph (2) for cause.
  SEC. 107. CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT.Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act the President shall transmit to the Congress a report addressing the cybersecurity workforce needs of the Federal Government. The report shall include--
  (1) an examination of the current state of and the projected needs of the Federal cybersecurity workforce, including a comparison of the different agencies and departments, and an analysis of the capacity of such agencies and departments to meet those needs;
  (2) an analysis of the sources and availability of cybersecurity talent, a comparison of the skills and expertise sought by the Federal Government and the private sector, an examination of the current and future capacity of United States institutions of higher education, including community colleges, to provide current and future cybersecurity professionals, through education and training activities, with those skills sought by the Federal Government, State and local entities, and the private sector, and a description of how successful programs are engaging the talents of females and individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b);
  (3) an examination of the effectiveness of the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, the Centers of Academic Excellence in Research, and the Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service programs in promoting higher education and research in cybersecurity and information assurance and in producing a growing number of professionals with the necessary cybersecurity and information assurance expertise, including individuals from States or regions in which the unemployment rate exceeds the national average;
  (4) an analysis of any barriers to the Federal Government recruiting and hiring cybersecurity talent, including barriers relating to compensation, the hiring process, job classification, and hiring flexibilities; and
  (5) recommendations for Federal policies to ensure an adequate, well-trained Federal cybersecurity workforce.
  SEC. 108. CYBERSECURITY UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY TASK FORCE.(a) Establishment of University-Industry Task Force- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall convene a task force to explore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative research, development, education, and training activities for cybersecurity through a consortium or other appropriate entity with participants from institutions of higher education and industry.
  (b) Functions- The task force shall--
  (1) develop options for a collaborative model and an organizational structure for such entity under which the joint research and development activities could be planned, managed, and conducted effectively, including mechanisms for the allocation of resources among the participants in such entity for support of such activities;
  (2) identify and prioritize at least three cybersecurity grand challenges, focused on nationally significant problems requiring collaborative and interdisciplinary solutions;
  (3) propose a process for developing a research and development agenda for such entity to address the grand challenges identified under paragraph (2);
  (4) define the roles and responsibilities for the participants from institutions of higher education and industry in such entity;
  (5) propose guidelines for assigning intellectual property rights and for the transfer of research and development results to the private sector; and
  (6) make recommendations for how such entity could be funded from Federal, State, and nongovernmental sources.
  (c) Composition- In establishing the task force under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall appoint an equal number of individuals from institutions of higher education, including minority-serving institutions and community colleges, and from industry with knowledge and expertise in cybersecurity.
  (d) Report- Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit to the Congress a report describing the findings and recommendations of the task force.
  (e) Termination- The task force shall terminate upon transmittal of the report required under subsection (d).
  (f) Compensation and Expenses- Members of the task force shall serve without compensation.
  SEC. 109. CYBERSECURITY AUTOMATION AND CHECKLISTS FOR GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS.Section 8(c) of the Cyber Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7406(c)) is amended to read as follows:
  '(c) Security Automation and Checklists for Government Systems-
  '(1) IN GENERAL- The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall develop, and revise as necessary, security automation standards, associated reference materials (including protocols), and checklists providing settings and option selections that minimize the security risks associated with each information technology hardware or software system and security tool that is, or is likely to become, widely used within the Federal Government in order to enable standardized and interoperable technologies, architectures, and frameworks for continuous monitoring of information security within the Federal Government.
  '(2) PRIORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT- The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall establish priorities for the development of standards, reference materials, and checklists under this subsection on the basis of--
  '(A) the security risks associated with the use of the system;
  '(B) the number of agencies that use a particular system or security tool;
  '(C) the usefulness of the standards, reference materials, or checklists to Federal agencies that are users or potential users of the system;
  '(D) the effectiveness of the associated standard, reference material, or checklist in creating or enabling continuous monitoring of information security; or
  '(E) such other factors as the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology determines to be appropriate.
  '(3) EXCLUDED SYSTEMS- The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology may exclude from the application of paragraph (1) any information technology hardware or software system or security tool for which such Director determines that the development of a standard, reference material, or checklist is inappropriate because of the infrequency of use of the system, the obsolescence of the system, or the inutility or impracticability of developing a standard, reference material, or checklist for the system.
  '(4) DISSEMINATION OF STANDARDS AND RELATED MATERIALS- The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall ensure that Federal agencies are informed of the availability of any standard, reference material, checklist, or other item developed under this subsection.
  '(5) AGENCY USE REQUIREMENTS- The development of standards, reference materials, and checklists under paragraph (1) for an information technology hardware or software system or tool does not--
  '(A) require any Federal agency to select the specific settings or options recommended by the standard, reference material, or checklist for the system;
  '(B) establish conditions or prerequisites for Federal agency procurement or deployment of any such system;
  '(C) imply an endorsement of any such system by the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; or
  '(D) preclude any Federal agency from procuring or deploying other information technology hardware or software systems for which no such standard, reference material, or checklist has been developed or identified under paragraph (1).'.
  SEC. 110. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.Section 20 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g-3) is amended by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f), and by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
  '(e) Intramural Security Research- As part of the research activities conducted in accordance with subsection (d)(3), the Institute shall--
  '(1) conduct a research program to develop a unifying and standardized identity, privilege, and access control management framework for the execution of a wide variety of resource protection policies and that is amenable to implementation within a wide variety of existing and emerging computing environments;
  '(2) carry out research associated with improving the security of information systems and networks;
  '(3) carry out research associated with improving the testing, measurement, usability, and assurance of information systems and networks;
  '(4) carry out research associated with improving security of industrial control systems; and
  '(5) carry out research associated with improving the security and integrity of the information technology supply chain.'.
  SEC. 111. RESEARCH ON THE SCIENCE OF CYBERSECURITY.The Director of the National Science Foundation and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall, through existing programs and activities, support research that will lead to the development of a scientific foundation for the field of cybersecurity, including research that increases understanding of the underlying principles of securing complex networked systems, enables repeatable experimentation, and creates quantifiable security metrics.
  TITLE II--ADVANCEMENT OF CYBERSECURITY TECHNICAL STANDARDS
  SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.In this title:
  (1) DIRECTOR- The term 'Director' means the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  (2) INSTITUTE- The term 'Institute' means the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  SEC. 202. INTERNATIONAL CYBERSECURITY TECHNICAL STANDARDS.(a) In General- The Director, in coordination with appropriate Federal authorities, shall--
  (1) as appropriate, ensure coordination of Federal agencies engaged in the development of international technical standards related to information system security; and
  (2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, develop and transmit to the Congress a plan for ensuring such Federal agency coordination.
  (b) Consultation With the Private Sector- In carrying out the activities specified in subsection (a)(1), the Director shall ensure consultation with appropriate private sector stakeholders.
  SEC. 203. CLOUD COMPUTING STRATEGY.(a) In General- The Director, in collaboration with the Federal CIO Council, and in consultation with other relevant Federal agencies and stakeholders from the private sector, shall continue to develop and encourage the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for the use and adoption of cloud computing services by the Federal Government.
  (b) Activities- In carrying out the strategy developed under subsection (a), the Director shall give consideration to activities that--
  (1) accelerate the development, in collaboration with the private sector, of standards that address interoperability and portability of cloud computing services;
  (2) advance the development of conformance testing performed by the private sector in support of cloud computing standardization; and
  (3) support, in consultation with the private sector, the development of appropriate security frameworks and reference materials, and the identification of best practices, for use by Federal agencies to address security and privacy requirements to enable the use and adoption of cloud computing services, including activities--
  (A) to ensure the physical security of cloud computing data centers and the data stored in such centers;
  (B) to ensure secure access to the data stored in cloud computing data centers;
  (C) to develop security standards as required under section 20 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g-3); and
  (D) to support the development of the automation of continuous monitoring systems.
  SEC. 204. PROMOTING CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS AND EDUCATION.(a) Program- The Director, in collaboration with relevant Federal agencies, industry, educational institutions, National Laboratories, the National Coordination Office of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program, and other organizations, shall continue to coordinate a cybersecurity awareness and education program to increase knowledge, skills, and awareness of cybersecurity risks, consequences, and best practices through--
  (1) the widespread dissemination of cybersecurity technical standards and best practices identified by the Institute;
  (2) efforts to make cybersecurity best practices usable by individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, State, local, and tribal governments, and educational institutions;
  (3) improving the state of cybersecurity education at all educational levels;
  (4) efforts to attract, recruit, and retain qualified professionals to the Federal cybersecurity workforce; and
  (5) improving the skills, training, and professional development of the Federal cybersecurity workforce.
  (b) Strategic Plan- The Director shall, in cooperation with relevant Federal agencies and other stakeholders, develop and implement a strategic plan to guide Federal programs and activities in support of a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness and education program as described under subsection (a).
  (c) Report to Congress- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, the Director shall transmit the strategic plan required under subsection (b) to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
  SEC. 205. IDENTITY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.The Director shall continue a program to support the development of technical standards, metrology, testbeds, and conformance criteria, taking into account appropriate user concerns, to--
  (1) improve interoperability among identity management technologies;
  (2) strengthen authentication methods of identity management systems;
  (3) improve privacy protection in identity management systems, including health information technology systems, through authentication and security protocols; and
  (4) improve the usability of identity management systems.
  SEC. 206. AUTHORIZATIONS.No additional funds are authorized to carry out this Act, and the amendments made by this Act. This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized or appropriated.
  Union Calendar No. 19
  To advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards, and for other purposes.
  April 11, 2013
  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Study of Cuban economy reveals economic collapse is a great way to control public obesity, the obesity rate fell to only 33.5% after collapse of Soviet Union resulted in shortages of food and gasoline
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  Source: 33 World News
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:31
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KOREA PSY-OP
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  Archived Version
  Source: aangirfan
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:26
  South KoreansFrom NPR:
  "International TV broadcasters have been repeatedly showing tanks trundling through Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square in a demonstration of North Korean national power.
  "But when Patrick Thornquist, a Chicago teacher visiting the North Korean capital at the end of last week, arrived in the square, he was surprised by what he saw.
  "This iconic square was full of children rollerblading and shouting with joy.
  "One of leader Kim Jong Un's contributions to the nation has been building roller-skating parks and promoting entertainment facilities.
  No tanks!
  "And Thornquist was struck by the fact that, on watching the news later that day, it was still featuring footage of tanks.
  "'It was definitely interesting to see tanks on BBC in the hotel, as if that was that day, when we'd been in that square a couple of hours earlier and nothing like that was happening,' he says."
  The BBC are shitty liars.
  Inside the evil US Empire: shock photo-shopped photos show true horror of Obama's evil regime
  A photo-shopped child of around 10 sits by the side of the road while just yards away soldiers load enough rice on to trucks to feed families for weeks.
  Wretched: a photo-shopped child on the street is ignored
  The images, manufactured by the CIA, were handed to the Daily Slime.
  Sir Jimmy Savile has warned that unless Britain renews Trident, and, that unless more money is given to the Pentagon, more children will die.
  Inside the US Empire: shock photo-shopped photos show true horror of Obama's evil regime
  Starving soldiers.
Statement by the Press Secretary on S. 716
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:24
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  April 15, 2013
  On Monday, April 15, 2013, the President signed into law:
  S. 716, which eliminates the requirement in the STOCK Act to make available on official websites the financial disclosure forms of employees of the executive and legislative branches other than the President, the Vice President, Members of and candidates for Congress, and several specified Presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed officers; and delays until January 1, 2014, the date by which systems must be developed that enable public access to financial disclosure forms of covered individuals.
CRAZY Geraldo: I Helped Bring Down Communism
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:24
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  GERALDO RIVERA (12 April 2013): You could consider the visit by Jay-Z and Beyonce, maybe, [a] self-indulgent, self-indulgent celebrity field trip, but it's not a crime against humanity. GERALDO RIVERA (6:51): I detest what [Cuba's rulers] stand for, a lot of what they stand for. I think that they are Stalinists and old-school. Fidel Castro should be on the garbage heap of history. I totally get that. But the way to do it is, get 'em cell phones. Get 'em satellite TV. Let 'em see what America is all about. I am firmly convinced -- I mentioned this to you earlier this morning -- that when my talk show went on the air in 1988 in the Soviet Union, before the fall of the [Berlin] Wall, that helped accelerate the process [of bringing down Communism].
ACTION ALERT: STOCK Act Reversal Signed by President
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: OpenSecrets Blog
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:43
  President Obama has just signed a rollback of key transparency provisions of the STOCK Act.Late Thursday night, as we reported last week, the Senate gutted the disclosure requirements by approving S.716, an act amending the requirements of the 2011 law. The House followed suit the next day, and the president signed the bill minutes ago.
  The bill doesn't just eliminate a controversial requirement that personal financial disclosures of tens of thousands of high level federal employees be made publicly accessible online. It also reverses two critical components of the original STOCK act: mandatory electronic filing of PFDs by the president, his cabinet and members of Congress, and the creation of a publicly accessible database.
  The elements of the STOCK Act that were removed include:
  Creation of searchable, sortable disclosure of the information contained in reports even for Congress, the president, vice president, the president's cabinet and congressional candidates. Required electronic filing for Congress, the president, vice president, the president's cabinet and congressional candidates, as well as high-level executive and congressional branch employees. Even images of the staffers' filings will not be available for viewing on the web.Without the provisions, the STOCK act is made toothless. Insider trading by members of Congress and federal employees is still prohibited, but the ability of watchdog groups to verify that Congress is following its own rules is severely limited because these records could still be filed on paper -- an unacceptably outdated practice that limits the public's access.This is not true disclosure.
  Contact President Obama's office today to signal your disappointment, and urge YOUR members of Congress to file their personal financial disclosure documents electronically and to propose legislation reinstating the database provision.
Study reveals GMO corn to be highly toxic
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: USA RSS
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:46
  A leaked study examining genetically-modified corn reveals that the lab-made alternative to organic crops contains a startling level of toxic chemicals.
  An anti-GMO website has posted the results of an education-based consulting company's comparison of corn types, and the results reveal that genetically modified foods may be more hazardous than once thought.
  The study, the 2012 Corn Comparison Report by Profit Pro, was published recently on the website for Moms Across America March to Label GMOs, a group that says they wish to ''raise awareness and support Moms with solutions to eat GMO Free as we demand GMO labeling locally and nationally simultaneously.'' They are plotting nationwide protests scheduled for later this year.
  The report, writes the website's Zen Honeycutt, was provided by a representative for De Dell Seed Company, an Ontario-based farm that's touted as being Canadian only non-GMO corn seed company.
  ''The claims that 'There is no difference between GMO corn and NON Gmo corn' are false,'' says Honeycutt, who adds she was ''floored'' after reading the study.
  According to the analysis, GMO corn tested by Profit Pro contains a number of elements absent from traditional cord, including chlorides, formaldehyde and glyphosate. While those elements don't appear naturally in corn, they were present in GMO samples to the tune of 60 ppm, 200pm and 13 ppm, respectively.
  Honecutt says that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (FDA) mandates that the level of glyphosate in American drinking water not exceed 0.7 ppm and adds that organ damage in some animals has been linked to glyphosate exposure exceeding 0.1 ppm.
  ''Glyphosate is a strong organic phosphate chelator that immobilizes positively charged minerals such as manganese, cobalt, iron, zinc [and] copper,'' Dr. Don Huber attested during a separate GMO study recently released, adding that those elements ''are essential for normal physiological functions in soils, plants and animals.''
  ''Glyphosate draws out the vital nutrients of living things and GMO corn is covered with it,'' adds Honeycutt, who notes that the nutritional benefits rampant in natural corn are almost entirely removed from lab-made seeds: in the samples used during the study, non-GMO corn is alleged to have 437-times the amount of calcium in genetically modified versions, and 56- and 7-times the level of magnesium and manganese, respectively.
  These studies come on the heels of a recent decision on Capitol Hill to approve an annual agriculture appropriations bill, even though a provision within the act contained a rider that frees GMO corporations such as the multi-billion-dollar Monsanto Company from liability. The so-called ''Monsanto Protection Act,'' written by a lawmaker that has lobbied for the agra-giant, says biotech companies won't need federal approval to test and plant GMO-crops, even if health risks are unknown.
  ''The provision would strip federal courts of the authority to halt the sale and planting of an illegal, potentially hazardous GE crop while the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) assesses those potential hazards,'' reads a letter to the House of Representatives that was delivered to Congress last month with the signatures of dozens of food businesses and retailers, as well as interest groups and agencies representing family farmers. ''Further, it would compel USDA to allow continued planting of that same crop upon request, even if in the course of its assessment the Department finds that it poses previously unrecognized risks.''
Wait a sec.... Analytic cameras? "Advanced Software Network"? WTF?
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:23
  BOSTON '-- A series of bombs exploded near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday, leaving two people dead and more than two dozen injured, according to the Boston Police Department.
  A third explosion was heard just before 4 p.m., about an hour after the first two blasts. The police were apparently aware of that device before the explosion occurred.
  The Associated Press, citing an intelligence official, said that two other devices were found at the marathon and were being dismantled.
  People were being cleared from an area near the Copley Plaza Hotel because a package was found on a footbridge nearby.
  The blasts took place about four hours after the start of the men's race, which meant that there were still several thousand runners yet to finish the race.
  The Boston police confirmed they were looking into the explosions, but made no further comment. A senior United States government official said that the Boston police and the F.B.I. said they had received no reports in recent days about a threatened attack on the marathon and that there was no warning on Monday.
  Several news outlets reported that a loud explosion was heard on the north side of Boylston Street, near a photo bridge that marks the finish line. Another explosion was heard several seconds later.
  The Associated Press reported that authorities were helping injured runners leave the scene and that bloodied spectators were being carried to a medical tent that was being used for runners.
  Eyewitnesses said the explosions were about 15 seconds apart. A few runners stopped and turned around after they heard the blasts. Some runners were seen crying and some said they saw limbs on the ground. Runners were directed to the runners' meeting area and hotels several blocks away.
  Bruce Mendelsohn, who was at a party in a building near the explosion, said on Twitter that he saw blood on the sidewalks and about a dozen casualties.
  Authorities in large cities are typically on the highest level of alert for events like a marathon, said Anthony Roman, a security expert.
  ''It is quite the counterterrorism effort,'' said Mr. Roman, who runs Roman & Associates, a New York firm.
  For major events in New York and other large cities, Mr. Roman said the police would typically weld manhole covers shut, while also examining the entire route just before the race. They would also place snipers on rooftops, with helicopters overhead. Analytic cameras in the city would also be used, he said.
  ''They have all the analytic cameras in the city focusing on the race with their advanced software network, reading license plates,'' Mr. Roman said.
  The Boston Marathon is one of running's most storied events, established in 1897 and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The event typically attracts an estimated 500,000 spectators and requires certain qualifying times for runners to compete.
  The course winds throughout downtown Boston as well as several outlying cities, including Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley and Newton.
  Unlike many sporting events that take place in closed arenas, marathons are known and heralded for their sprawl, allowing throngs of spectators to line the 26.2-mile course.
  Within minutes of the explosions on Monday, social media and cable networks projected the images of gray smoke on Boylston Street, with emergency crews on the scene.
  After the explosions, a spokesman for the New York Police Department said security was being increased at hotels and other prominent locations in New York. The Police Department has sent officials to Boston as well.
  Reporting was contributed by Steve Eder, William K. Rashbaum and Mary Pilon from New York, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
Harrison Ford Tells NBC's Gregory Obama Doing 'Wonderful Job'; Blames Media for Political Divisiveness
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:23
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  At the end of an interview with actor Harrison Ford for the NBC Meet the Press web-based feature Press Pass, about his role in a new film about Jackie Robinson, host David Gregory turned to politics: "I know you're politically conscious, politically active. What is your view of the state of things, and the state of the President's performance?"
  Ford replied: "I think the President is doing, you know, all things considered, a wonderful job." He then blamed the media for political division in country: "I wish that the country were not so fractious as it is at the moment. I blame a lot of that on the press and the news business. And I wish it wasn't so. And I think it makes things very difficult..."
  More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
Obama signs STOCK Act modification - The Hill's On The Money
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:21
  President Obama quietly signed legislation Monday that rolled back a provision of the STOCK Act that required high-ranking federal employees to disclose their financial information online.
  The White House announced Monday that the president had signed S. 716, which repealed a requirement of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requiring the disclosure, which had previously been delayed several times by Congress.
  That provision, added to the bipartisan bill aimed at halting insider trading by members of Congress, would have required roughly 28,000 senior government officials to post their financial information online, and had come under harsh criticism from federal government employee unions.Both chambers of Congress quickly '-- and near silently '-- approved the repeal legislation at the end of last week by unanimous consent, just before heading home to their districts.
  The STOCK Act was signed by the president a little over one year ago in a highly visible signing ceremony, where he said the legislation would tackle the "deficit of trust" that exists between Washington and the rest of the nation.
  The new law scraps a provision that had been hotly contested by federal employees, as well as found to be problematic and even dangerous for high-ranking government workers. Congress twice had passed legislation to delay its implementation. Under that provision, high-ranking government workers would have been required to post their financial information on a publicly available online database.
  Under a previous delay, Congress called for the National Academy of Public Administration to study the implications of the requirement. The report, released in March, found the provision should be repealed, having found that it could needlessly threaten the safety of government employees abroad, as well as make it difficult to attract and retain talent in the public sector.
  The Senate advanced the bill Thursday by unanimous consent, without debate or even briefly describing what it would do. The House signed off on the bill Friday using the same approach.
  Under the new law, the beefed-up reporting requirements will still apply to the president, vice president, members of Congress and candidates for Congress. Some presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed government employees would also still adhere to the new disclosure requirement. The new law also delays the creation of that database until the beginning of 2014.
  Versions of the STOCK Act had been introduced for several years, but it was fast-tracked at the Capitol following media reports that suggested members of Congress might have profited from private information obtained during their legislative work. Members singled out in the reports maintained their innocence, but the spotlight spurred quick action on enacting legislation emphasizing that members of Congress be subject to insider trading laws among their disclosure enhancements.
Gold Plunges Most in 33 Years in Record-High Trading
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  Source: 33 World News
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:19
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Boston Marathon Bomb: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | HEAVY
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:17
  UPDATE 4:14 '-- Boston Scanner: EMS found a secondary device.
  UPDATE 4:13 '-- NBC News: Small homemade bomb is preliminary cause of explosion at Boston Marathon.UPDATE 4:02 p.m. '-- New York Post is reporting 12 Dead and 24 injured.UPDATE 3:57 p.m. '-- There are "at least 10" victims with lost limbs where at Mass General Hospital.
  3:56 p.m. '-- MSNBC reports the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Prudential Center ordered to evacuate.
  UPDATE 3:55 p.m. '-- Via CBS: The third bomb has been detonated in a controlled explosion.
  3:53 p.m. '-- Boston.com reports bomb squads are conducting a "controlled explosion" on the 600 block of Boylston Street.
  UPDATE 3:49 p.m. '-- CBS reports "no credible claim" has been made taking responsibility for the bombing.
  UPDATE 3:47 p.m. '-- Boston Globe reports police say they are "still FINDING" secondary devices and are "pleaded" with the crowd to go home.
  UPDATE 3:40 p.m. '-- Lennox Hotel is being evacuated. It's located at 61 Exeter Street.
  UPDATE 3:28 p.m. '-- Fox reports that officials are securing the airspace and all news helicopters must clear the area.
  UPDATE 3:38 p.m. '-- Reuters reports NYPD is sending counterterrorism units to NYC landmarks including hotels.
  UPDATE 3:34 p.m. '-- According to scanner chatter, there's "another possible incendiary device" at the JFK Library in UMass. Students are being told to stay away from the library.
  UPDATE 3:31 p.m. '-- Fox News reporting THREE DEAD.
  UPDATE 3:21 p.m. '-- According to scanner chatter, EMS is reporting the discovery of another device in front of the Mandarin Hotel.
  Via @stackiii
  Via @bostontoat
  Boston Marathon Finish Line
  Two explosions went off today at the Boston marathon finish line around 2:45 p.m. as runners were still competing in the race.
  Boston police scanner chatter has SWAT teams being told to "go back and get their rifles."
  ABC is reporting that cops are telling people to "avoid trash cans."
  It's unknown if this was an attack, but it happened on Patriots Day.
  Listen to the Boston Police, Fire and EMS Scanner HERE.
  Here's what we know so far. This is a breaking story.
  1. Two blasts were heard near the Boston Marathon finish line around 3 p.m.
  2. There are multiple injuries and reports of missing limbs. Bloomberg reports 12 people injured. As of 3:19 p.m., all injured had been transported from the scene, according to scanner chatter.
  3. Photos show smoke, chaos and blood.
  4. The marathon and all local bars and restaurants are locked down. The marathon is canceled.
  5. There may still be another bomb. Cops are sweeping the area for another device. The U.S. Postal service has been ordered to check for unexploded devices in mailboxes.
  Via @Brucemendelson
  Via @Eagleinbrighton
Boston marathon bombing happened on same day as 'controlled explosion' drill by Boston bomb squad
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:11
  (NaturalNews) Two bombs have rocked the streets of Boston and reportedly injured 22 marathon runners (two have reportedly died). It's too early to know the cause of these explosions, but you can rest assured both the state and federal government will try to use this tragic event to blame whatever convenient enemies are most advantageous for the government.No one has yet stepped forward to claim responsibility for the bombs, and the fact that no firearms were used in the attack may indicate this was NOT part of a false flag effort by the government to try to blame gun owners. (But it's still way too early to tell...)
  Here at Natural News, we are horrified at this loss of innocent life, and we are praying for the victims of this bombing as well as their families.
  What's not yet being reported by the mainstream media is that a "controlled explosion" was under way on the same day as the marathon explosion.As the Boston Globe tweeted today, "Officials: There will be a controlled explosion opposite the library within one minute as part of bomb squad activities."
  Bloomberg news is now saying, "This is very likely a terrorist attack."
  The question is: Who are the terrorists? It's far too early to take an informed guess on all this. However, it is indisputable that the FBI is actively engaged in carrying out bomb plots in the United States, then halting them at the last minute to "catch the terrorists." This fact has been covered by the New York Times, among other publications.
  Also read FBI 'entrapment' tactics questioned in web of phony terror plots and paid informants.
  Keep in mind I am in no way blaming the FBI for this. Most men and women who work with the FBI are upstanding citizens who would be appalled at such acts. But it is theoretically possible that one of the FBI's many "terror plots" went too far and turned into a live bomb instead of a dud followed by an arrest for "domestic terrorism."
  For the record, the explosions seemed relatively small for a false flag, and most false flags target children in order to maximize the emotional leverage after the event. That these explosions did not target children is yet more evidence that it may not have been a false flag at all.
  Either way, terrorism always works in the favor of the state. It makes presidents look presidential, and it gives the government an excuse to crack down on civil liberties all across the country.
  Be wary of who ultimately gets blamed for this, especially if it's a veteran or patriot.
  Additional information:http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/04/boston-marathon-bomb-explosion/
  About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has authored and published several downloadable personal preparedness courses including a downloadable course focused on safety and self defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
  people have commented on this article.
26-Mile Marker Honors Sandy Hook Victims | Runner's World & Running Times
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:11
  The 26-mile marker of this year's Boston Marathon has been designed to honor the 26 victims of last December's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
  The mile marker was unveiled at a ceremony on Thursday. It incorporates the Newtown logo and 26 stars around the logo, as well as the Sandy Hook school colors.
  Laura Nowacki, of Team Newtown Strong, was at the marker unveiling. A pediatrician who was called to the school after the December 14 shootings, she'll lead a group of marathoners on Monday who are running to raise money for the Newtown Strong Fund.
  Before the start on Monday, the race will observe 26 seconds of silence.
Chelsea Clinton and More Tech Entrepreneurs - The Daily Beast
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:01
  Riding the tailwinds of the ''lean in'' movement, Chelsea Clinton and a panel of female tech entrepreneurs urged the Women in the World audience to encourage more girls to study computer science'--and take over Silicon Valley.
  While the publication of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's recent tome, Lean In, has focused the national discussion on the diminished roles of women in big business, there still remains a major gender problem over in Silicon Valley.
  According to a study by Catalyst Census, 14.3 percent of executive officers among Fortune 500 companies are women. And yet the number of women in senior-management positions in technology companies has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade, staying at between just 3 and 5 percent, claims a separate study by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
  Recently a string of incidents have stoked the flames of the women-in-tech debate.
  Marissa Mayer, who is simultaneously nursing a newborn baby and defibrillating Yahoo, was raked over the coals for banning her staffers from telecommuting. Female developer Adria Richards was fired after tweeting a photo of two men whom she accused of making sexual comments at a Santa Clara, California, tech conference in an episode now referred to as Donglegate. And Complex magazine got in hot water after publishing a list of the ''40 hottest women in tech'' and omitting whom they perceived to be unattractive candidates'--against the writer's wishes.
  If the tech world is indeed the meritocracy it appears to be, something has to give.
  On Friday morning four female tech executives took the stage at the 2013 Women in the World Summit to discuss how women are ''shaping the future of tech innovation.'' The talk, called ''Grooming Titans of Tech,'' was moderated by Chelsea Clinton and presented by AT&T.
  ''Girls and women have lost ground in the United States'' in tech, said Clinton, introducing the panel. ''What we're doing is not only not working'--it's failing.''
  The panel consisted of Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in the fields of tech and engineering; Leah Busque, the founder and CEO of TaskRabbit, an online mobile marketplace that allows users to outsource small jobs or tasks to others in their localities; Andrea Zurek, the founding partner of XG Ventures, a venture-capitalist firm that invests in burgeoning tech companies; and Esther Lee, the senior vice president of brand marketing, advertising, and sponsorships at AT&T.
  The biggest task at hand, according to Saujani, is changing the stigma surrounding women in technology.
  ''We live in a culture and society that tells us math, science, and computers are not for them,'' said Saujani, whose company teaches girls how to code in 32 different languages. ''This is the most important domestic issue of our time. The train is leaving, and we have to make sure our girls are not left behind.''
  Busque, who changed her major from dance to math and computer science as a college undergrad at Sweet Briar, credited her female teachers in high school who empowered her to love math and science as well as the benefits of going to an all-women's college, which instilled in her the requisite confidence. After serving as a programmer for Lotus Products at IBM, in 2008 she started TaskRabbit, which has grown to become a wildly popular mobile app that's received $37.5 million in funding.
  ''I never think about the fact that I'm a women founder or CEO, I just think about what I have to do each day,'' said Busque.
  Several panel members sang the praises of Facebook's Sandberg, and her book Lean In, for shining a light on the problem of women in tech.
  ''The great thing about what Sheryl's done for all of us is raise the conversation in boardrooms across this country and across the world,'' said Lee, whose company, AT&T, hires 90,000 women, and women hold 37 percent of management positions. ''The first step to finding solutions is to raise consciousness.''
  And Zurek explained how her VC firm, XG Ventures, has invested in 46 companies'--10 percent to 15 percent of which were founded by women'--but it's yearning for more women-fronted startups.
  All the panelists agreed it's an uphill battle for women in tech'--one that must start at the ground level with women required to take computer-science courses. Also needed is more support for the computer-science field, since there are only 1,500 comp-sci teachers in the country, according to Clinton.
  A rousing speech by Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of State'--and potential 2016 presidential candidate'--preceded the panel. In her speech, Clinton discussed how America needs to learn from its women and alluded to recent reports that suggest the country's economy benefits greatly from women ''leaning in.''
  ''If America is going to lead, we need to learn from the women in the world who have blazed new paths,'' she proclaimed.
  Your move, Silicon Valley.
President Obama to Announce New Efforts to Support Manufacturing Innovation, Encourage Insourcing | The White House
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:01
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  March 09, 2012
  Administration Proposes New National Network to Support Manufacturing, Takes Immediate Action to Create a Pilot Manufacturing Institute
  On Friday, President Obama will continue to highlight the successful trend of insourcing '' companies from around the world bringing jobs back and making new investments here in the United States '' at the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe jet engine disc manufacturing facility in Prince George County, Virginia. The President's Blueprint for An Economy Built to Last lays out a number of ways we can encourage insourcing, support investment in our manufacturing sector, and create good jobs here in the United States, and today's announcements build on those efforts.
  The President will announce a new proposal for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, to build a network of up to fifteen Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation around the country, serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help to make our manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States. The President's Budget proposes a $1 billion investment to create this new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.
  The President will also announce that the Administration will take immediate steps to launch a pilot institute for manufacturing innovation as part of its We Can't Wait efforts. The pilot institute will be funded from $45 million of existing resources from the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce and the National Science Foundation, and will be selected from a competitive application process.
  The Rolls-Royce Crosspointe jet engine disc manufacturing facility the President will visit is an example of how insourcing means companies from around the world are creating new, good paying jobs here at home. The company is planning to add 140 new jobs at Crosspointe and more than 100 additional jobs in Indiana manufacturing components for commercial aircraft engines. Crosspointe is a center of advanced manufacturing and innovation that demonstrates collaboration can spur American jobs and competitiveness.
  BACKGROUND ON TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENTS:
  Over the past two years, the U.S. manufacturing sector has added more than 400,000 jobs, the first period of sustained job growth since the 1990s. The President's proposals to revitalize American manufacturing build on that momentum and recognize that a growing and vibrant manufacturing sector is central to our ability to innovate, to export, and to create good-paying American jobs. Over the previous decade manufacturing production and investment stalled, and we lost ground to our competitors. To create an economy that is built to last, we must ensure that the next generation of products are not only invented here, but manufactured here as well.
  To meet this challenge the President will announce a new $1 billion proposal, the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The President's proposal will catalyze a network of up to fifteen Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation around the country. The Institutes will bring together industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies, and our states to accelerate innovation by investing in industrially-relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications to bridge the gap between basic research and product development, provide shared assets to help companies '' particularly small manufacturers '' access cutting-edge capabilities and equipment, and create an unparalleled environment to educate and train students and workers in advanced manufacturing skills. Each Institute will serve as a regional hub of manufacturing excellence, providing the innovation infrastructure to support regional manufacturing hubs and ensuring that our manufacturing sector is a key pillar in an economy that is built to last. This model has been successfully deployed in other countries and represents a gap in the U.S. manufacturing innovation infrastructure that the President's proposal will address.
  The Institutes will each have a well-defined technology focus to address industrially-relevant manufacturing challenges on a large scale and to provide the capabilities and facilities required to reduce the cost and risk of commercializing new technologies. While the Institutes would be competitively selected, several areas of innovation illustrate the opportunities that this proposal could help to realize:
  Developing lightweight materials, such as low-cost carbon fiber composites (CFC's), that will improve fuel efficiency, performance, and corrosion resistance of the next generation of automobiles, aircraft, ships and trains.Refining standards, materials, and equipment for ''3-D printing''(also known as additive manufacturing) to enable low-cost, small batch production using digital designs that can be transmitted from designers located anywhere.Creating a smart manufacturing infrastructure and approaches that lets operators make real-time use of ''big data'' flows from fully-instrumented plants in order to improve productivity, optimize supply chains, and improve energy, water, and materials use.The new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation will work to leverage new investment from industry, state and local government, and the research community. This initiative will be a collaboration between Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy.
  The President also announced the launch of a pilot institute with an initial federal investment of $45 million from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, and the National Science Foundation. The pilot will demonstrate the type the collaboration planned for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The pilot will be selected through a competitive process that uses existing resources and fits within the agencies' statutory missions, using current funding and authorities, while addressing key challenges faced by the U.S. manufacturing sector.
  The pilot institute will address a focused technology area to reduce the risk and cost of commercializing and scaling-up new manufacturing products and processes. At least $30 million in total funding from the Departments of Defense, Energy and Commerce will support investments in advanced manufacturing equipment and research activities, $5 million in funding from NSF will support basic research in advanced manufacturing and the workforce development component of the pilot, in part under the NSF Advanced Technological Education program, and $10 million in funding from the Department of Defense will support scaling-up production of technologies developed from the pilot institute in support of critical national defense needs. This approach reflects a unique degree of inter-agency coordination around a shared goal to promote the President's manufacturing agenda without need for Congressional action.
  Crosspointe demonstrates the potential for supporting U.S. manufacturing through this type of collaboration model. Later this summer, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) will open its doors, an applied research center developed in partnership between eight companies including Rolls-Royce, the state of Virginia, three leading Virginia universities, and an investment from Commerce's Economic Development Administration. CCAM, like the proposed Institutes, bridges the gap from basic research to product development and supports the skills needed for an advanced manufacturing workforce.
Banoosh >> >> Sexual Fetishes Soon To Be Declared As Mental Health Disorders
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:00
  Enjoy a little spanking during foreplay?
  What about being tied to the bed posts, role playing or admiring a pair of stilettos to help turn on that sexual engine? Such sexual fixations may soon land you in the psychiatrist's bible of diagnoses. All the kinksters are saying it can't be, but psychiatrists are now stating that such behavior should be diagnosed as mental illness deserving of pharmaceutical drug treatment.
  ''Understanding peoples' attitudes about whether states of being should be considered diseases can inform social discourse regarding a number of contentious social and health public policy issues,'' says Kari Tikkinen, MD, PhD.
  ''The word disease seems to be as difficult to define as beauty, truth or love, although the concept of disease lies at the heart of medicine,'' Tikkinen says. But why is it that the medical community has no hesitation in defining dozens of new diseases every year, most of which have no scientific justification?
  Most of these nonsensical medical terminologies and inventions seem to be centered around children being children and a society determined to turn our youngest generations into robots. Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder or what about Mathematics Disorder? Yes, these are all real and officially recognized diagnoses by doctors.
  Proposed Changes
  The newest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known as the DSM-5, is due out in May. The book sets the standard criteria for psychiatric diagnoses (not to mention health insurance reimbursement), making its pronouncements crucial to mental health treatment.
  Proposed changes discussed online by the American Psychiatric Association researchers who worked on the new edition suggest that foot fetishists and bondage aficionados who hoped to get out of the book altogether won't see that wish come true.
  Instead, unusual sexual fixations, or ''paraphilias,'' will likely get their own category as odd.
  Psychiatrists argue that leaving benign paraphilias in the DSM goes too far. Sexual fixations that cause harm and distress can be dealt with under other diagnoses, they say, ones that don't stigmatize people who enjoy non-mainstream but harmless sexual activities.
  ''I've heard people at meetings talk about 'those paraphiliacs,' 'those people,''' said Alan Shindel, an urologist and specialist in sexual problems at the University of California, Davis Health System. ''I think that's always a dangerous road to go down when you're talking about othering people in that way.''
  Some psychiatrists and paraphilics even draw parallels between their position and that of gays and lesbians, who were considered mentally ill until homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1974. [The History of Sex in the DSM]
  The proposals and discussions posted online by the American Psychiatric Association suggest the new DSM will take that DSM-IV-TR qualification further. Turned on by obscene phone calls or spanking? You've got a paraphilia.
  The DSM-5 may also, for the first time, clearly define ''paraphilia'' (previous incarnations have simply listed odd sexual targets). They proposed a definition describing paraphilia as ''any intense and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling with phenotypically normal, consenting human partners between the ages of physical maturity and physical decline.''
  In that study, researchers found the most common paraphilia was voyeurism (spying on an unknowing person), followed by fetishism (sexual fixation on a nonliving object).
  Who is Really Crazy?
  Sex has a controversial history in the DSM. Up until 1986 (12 years after homosexuality was removed from the DSM), psychiatrists still had the option of declaring gay people mentally ill if their sexuality caused them distress. Now, people who get aroused by bondage or unusual objects say they're in the same position as gay individuals in the 1980s: stigmatized, with any problems they do have unfairly blamed on their sexuality. The real problem behind the woes of the shoe fetishist or BDSM practitioner is that society judges them harshly, not that their sexual desires are somehow wrong, these advocates say. A similar argument helped to oust homosexuality from the DSM. And many psychiatrists agree that the evidence for consensual paraphilias causing harm is lacking
  Part of the challenge of classifying the paraphilias is that they range from undoubtedly harmful to benign. Sexual excitement over urine (urophilia) may seem icky to most people, but it's unlikely to hurt anyone. Similarly, many individuals consensually engage in sexual activities meant to inflict pain, such as spanking.
  ''The act of specifying particular, sexual behaviors as pathological leads to discrimination against all practitioners of those behaviors, even when their behavioral expressions are appropriate and benign,'' wrote psychiatrists Charles Moser and Peggy Kleinplatz in 2005 in the Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality.
  It's hard to separate value judgments from what's considered ''sick.'' This also applies to paraphilias that typically don't harm others: As long as mental illness remains tangled in cultural ideas about morality and right and wrong, handling sensitive subjects such as sexual desire will remain complicated.
  Health conscious communities have recently bonded together to prevent fictitious medical advances and the accompanying flood of new drugs for a range of ills that threaten to ''medicalize'' every human condition and behavior, according to some experts.
  In addition, they say the advent of genetic screening could eventually mean that apparently healthy people will be labeled ''sick'' decades before an actual diagnosis.
  ''Illness is always a social construct,'' notes Dr. Nortin Hadler, professor of medicine and microbiology/immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of the book ''Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America.''
  ''People have to agree '-- both people, in general, and those in the medical community '-- that a life experience shouldn't be labeled an illness,'' Hadler says. ''For example, the Victorians medicalized orgasm, and we medicalize the lack of it.''
  So who is really crazy?
  Those who they attempt to diagnose or the psychiatrists themselves?
  Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.
  SOURCE:www.preventase.com
Banoosh >> >> Psychiatrist Wants All Unruly Kids Labeled As Having Mental Disorders
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:00
  It's a sign of the times where the medicalization of almost every human behavior is being documented, labeled and categorized as some type of illness or 'disorder.' A psychiatrist who heads the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) wants to broaden the definition of children with mental illness so that unruly and badly behaved kids will soon be diagnosed as having mental disorders.
  It's not terribly shocking anymore to have some so-called expert, academic or psychiatrist label perfectly normal human behaviors as disorders. What a coincidence that this one happens to head the NIMH.
  ''One reason we haven't made greater progress helping people recover from mental disorders is that we get on the scene too late,'' said Thomas R. Insel, MD, director of the NIMH and the featured speaker at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Presidential Plenary during the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.
  What Dr. Insel is referring to is that more children are not being diagnosed with mental disorders at an earlier age, thus decreasing the demographic of available candidates for psychiatric evaluation and pharmaceutical intervention. Dr. Insel discussed signs of mental illnesses in young children and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention in his presentation, ''What Every Pediatrician Needs to Know about Mental Disorders,'' on April 29, in the Hynes Convention Center.
  He insists that as the first line of defense, pediatricians should detect mental disorders early and ensure children get drug treatment as soon as possible. He foresees migrating from the current screening tools involving questionnaires to other methods such as cognitive and genetic testing.
  Dr. Insel is very blunt about diagnosing a child's behavior problems as a mental disorder. It's important to understand that mental illnesses are a developmental brain disorder even though they can look like behavior problems, Dr. Insel explained.
  ''The future of mental illness has to be at the point where we aren't treating behavior separately from the rest of the person,'' he said. ''There needs to be full integration of behavior and medical concerns.''
  All children misbehave''it is their nature. The medicalization of normal these normal behaviors further support ongoing research into the disturbing and ongoing chemical abuse of children by conventional medicine. The prescription of psychiatric drugs to the masses, specifically children, are altering their minds, bodies and entire lives. See A Closer Look At Generation Rx
  Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Mathematics Disorder. If you've never talked to your doctor about these conditions, it should come as little surprise; they are arguably some of the stranger diagnoses floating around in the medical literature. And although ridiculous to any sane person, many medical professionals say that these disorders are legitimate conditions that often warrant treatment.
  ''Illness is always a social construct,'' notes Dr. Nortin Hadler, professor of medicine and microbiology/immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of the book ''Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America.''
  ''People have to agree '-- both people, in general, and those in the medical community '-- that a life experience should be labeled an illness,'' Hadler says. ''For example, the Victorians medicalized orgasm, and we medicalize the lack of it.''Dr. Igor Galynker, director of The Family Center for Bipolar Disorder at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, says that some psychiatric conditions, in particular, tend to be a target of widespread controversy.
  ''In psychiatry, part of a disorder is clinically defined and part is societally defined,'' he says, adding that conditions, such as Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, are particularly contentious.
  ''An ADD diagnosis is very controversial, especially after a recent paper suggested some children with ADD 'grow out' of it at age 25,'' he says. ''That would mean that ADD is a phase in development, rather than a disease. '... It is all fluid.''Recent proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), the bible of the psychiatric profession childhood temper tantrums, teenage irritability and binge eating as psychiatric disorders.
  The DSM is in its fifth edition. It has been criticized for formalizing character traits and emotions into mental conditions and for encouraging their medical treatment, often with drugs that have powerful side effects.
  In addition to serving as director of the NIMH, Dr. Insel is acting director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, a new arm of the National Institutes of Health that has been specifically developed to accelerate diagnosis of mental disorders and subsequent pharmaceutical drug treatment.
  Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.
April 15 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:40
  April 15 is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 260 days remaining until the end of the year.
  [edit]Events769 '' The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.1071 '' Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.1395 '' Tokhtamysh''Timur war: Battle of the Terek River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Volga. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the Golden Horde throne. Tokhtamysh escapes to Lithuania.1450 '' Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.1632 '' Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.1638 '' Tokugawa shogunate forces put down the Shimabara Rebellion when they retake Hara Castle from the rebels.1642 '' Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of the British Army.1715 '' The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.1738 '' Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.1755 '' Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.1783 '' Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.1802 '' William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy see a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.1817 '' Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.1861 '' President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War1865 '' Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth.1892 '' The General Electric Company is formed.1896 '' Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.1900 '' Philippine''American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.1912 '' The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.1920 '' Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. AnarchistsSacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.1921 '' Black Friday: mine owners announce more wage and price cuts, leading to the threat of a strike all across England.1922 '' U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.1923 '' Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.1924 '' Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.1927 '' The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, begins.1935 '' Roerich Pact signed in Washington, D.C.1936 '' First day of the Arab revolt in Palestine.1936 '' Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.1940 '' The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which is occupied by Nazi Germany.1941 '' In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom killing one thousand people.1942 '' The George Cross is awarded to "to the island fortress of Malta '' its people and defenders" by King George VI.1945 '' The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.1947 '' Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.1952 '' The maiden flight of the B-52 Stratofortress1955 '' McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois1957 '' White Rock, British Columbia officially separates from Surrey, British Columbia and is incorporated as a new city.1960 '' At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.1969 '' The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.1970 '' During the Cambodian Civil War, massacres of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong River into South Vietnam.1986 '' The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.1989 '' Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi Final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.1989 '' Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China.1992 '' The National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.1994 '' Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization (effective January 1, 1995).2013 '' A number of explosions occur near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts.[edit]Births1452 '' Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance polymath (d. 1519)1489 '' Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect (d. 1588)1552 '' Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1626)1588 '' Claudius Salmasius, French classical scholar (d. 1653)1641 '' Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician (d. 1722)1642 '' Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)1646 '' Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)1646 '' Pierre Poiret, French mystic (d. 1719)1684 '' Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)1688 '' Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (d. 1758)1707 '' Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (d. 1783)1710 '' William Cullen, Scottish physician (d. 1790)1721 '' Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English military leader (d. 1765)1741 '' Charles Willson Peale, American painter, soldier and naturalist (d. 1827)1772 '' ‰tienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist (d. 1844)1793 '' Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer (d. 1864)1794 '' Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist (d. 1867)1800 '' James Clark Ross, English explorer (d. 1862)1809 '' Hermann Grassmann, German mathematician (d. 1877)1828 '' Jean Danjou, French Foreign Legion officer (d. 1863)1832 '' Wilhelm Busch, German poet (d. 1908)1841 '' Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian politician, philanthropist, and founder of the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)1843 '' Henry James, American author (d. 1916)1856 '' Jean Mor(C)as, Greek poet (d. 1910)1858 '' ‰mile Durkheim, French sociologist (d. 1917)1861 '' Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (d. 1929)1874 '' George Harrison Shull, American plant geneticist (d. 1954)1874 '' Johannes Stark, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)1875 '' James J. Jeffries, American boxer (d. 1953)1878 '' Robert Walser, Swiss writer (d. 1956)1879 '' Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer (d. 1980)1883 '' Stanley Bruce, Australian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)1885 '' Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)1886 '' Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet (d. 1921)1888 '' Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (d. 1904)1889 '' Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (d. 1975)1889 '' A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)1892 '' Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (d. 1983)1892 '' Theo Osterkamp, German fighter pilot (d. 1975)1894 '' Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet politician, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)1894 '' Bessie Smith, American singer (d. 1937)1895 '' Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards player (d. 1980)1896 '' Robert Henry Best, South Carolina-born broadcaster of Nazi propaganda convicted of treason in 1948 (d. 1952)1896 '' Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)1901 '' Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)1901 '' Ren(C) Pleven, French Politician (d. 1993)1902 '' Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)1904 '' Arshile Gorky, Armenian artist (d. 1948)1907 '' Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ethologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)1908 '' Eden Ahbez, American songwriter (d. 1995)1908 '' Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)1910 '' Miguel Najdorf, Argentine chess grandmaster (d. 1997)1912 '' Kim Il-sung, Korean politician, Eternal President of North Korea (d. 1994)1916 '' Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American heir and businessman (d. 1982)1916 '' Helene Hanff, American writer (d. 1997)1917 '' Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)1917 '' James Kee, American politician (d. 1989)1919 '' Alberto Breccia, Uruguay-Argentine illustrator and writer (d. 1993)1920 '' Ren(C) Pleven, French politician (d. 1993)1920 '' Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist (d. 2012)1920 '' Richard von Weizs¤cker, German politician, President of Germany1921 '' Georgi Beregovoi, Russian cosmonaut (d. 1995)1921 '' Angelo DiGeorge, Italian-American pediatric endocrinologist (d. 2009)1922 '' Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor1922 '' Hasrat Jaipuri, Hindi and Urdu poet and film lyricist (d. 1999)1922 '' Harold Washington, American politician (d. 1987)1923 '' Robert DePugh, American anti-Communist activist (d. 2009)1924 '' Sir Neville Marriner, English conductor1927 '' Robert Mills, American physicist (d. 1999)1929 '' G(C)rald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)1930 '' Georges Descri¨res, French actor1930 '' Vigd­s Finnbogad"ttir, Icelandic politician, President of Iceland1931 '' Tomas Transtr¶mer, Swedish writer, poet and translator, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature1932 '' Suresh Bhat, noted Marathi poet from the state of Maharashtra, India (d. 2003)1933 '' Roy Clark, American singer, musician, and television host1933 '' David Hamilton, British photographer, director and producer1933 '' Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)1933 '' Jim Towers, English footballer (d. 2010)1935 '' Stavros Paravas, Greek actor1936 '' Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist1937 '' Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)1938 '' Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born Italian actress1938 '' Hso Khan Pha, Burmese politician1939 '' Marty Wilde, British singer and songwriter1940 '' Jeffrey Archer, British author1940 '' Willie Davis, American baseball player (d. 2010)1940 '' Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)1940 '' Robert Lacroix, French-Canadian professor1940 '' Yossef Romano, Israeli weightlifter (d. 1972)1940 '' Robert Walker Jr., American actor1941 '' Howard Berman, American politician1942 '' Francis X. 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Say! JUMP)1992 '' Amy Diamond, Swedish singer and actress1992 '' Kimberly Dos Ramos, Venezuelan actress, model, and singer1992 '' Richard Sandrak, American bodybuilder, martial artist, and actor1992 '' John Guidetti, Swedish footballer1993 '' Madeleine Martin, American actress1997 '' Maisie Williams, English actress1999 '' Sharlene San Pedro, Filipino actress[edit]Deaths1053 '' Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)1220 '' Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne (b. 1157)1415 '' Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek humanist and grammarian (b. 1355)1446 '' Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)1610 '' Robert Parsons, English priest (b. 1546)1621 '' John Carver, English merchant, first governor of Plymouth Colony (b. 1576)1632 '' George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician and colonizer (b. 1580)1641 '' Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b. 1581)1652 '' Patriarch Joseph, Russian religious leader1659 '' Simon Dach, German poet (b. 1605)1704 '' Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b. 1628)1719 '' Fran§oise d'Aubign(C), marquise de Maintenon, second wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)1754 '' Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b. 1676)1761 '' Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (b. 1682)1761 '' William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b. 1696)1764 '' Madame de Pompadour, French court, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1721)1764 '' Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer (b. 1679)1765 '' Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and writer (b. 1711)1788 '' Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)1793 '' Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian missionary and geographer (b. 1718)1804 '' Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)1854 '' Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist, and writer (b. 1773)1861 '' Sylvester Jordan, German politician and lawyer (b. 1792)1865 '' Abraham Lincoln, American politician, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)1888 '' Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822)1889 '' Father Damien, Flemish missionary (b. 1840)1898 '' Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader1912 '' Victims of the RMS Titanic disasterEdward Smith, English navy officer and captain of the RMS Titanic (b. 1850)Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor and first officer (b. 1873)Wallace Hartley, English violinist (b. 1878)James Paul Moody, English sixth officer (b. 1887)Jack Phillips, British wireless telegraphist (b. 1887)John Jacob Astor IV, American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor and writer (b. 1864)Thomas Andrews, Irish businessman and shipbuilder (b. 1873)Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and mystery writer (b. 1875)John Thayer, American cricket player (b. 1862)William T. 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Boston Marathon Attacks: Islamic Terrorism? ''Four Lions'' Movie Muslims Targeted London Marathon; BREAKING: Secondary Devices Still Being Found
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:38
  By Debbie Schlussel
  **** SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE ****
  Say a prayer for those wounded at today's Boston Marathon. There were initial reports of detached limbs flying, but now other reports from the Boston PD say 2 dead, 22 injured. Two explosions simultaneously from two different garbage cans is definitely planned and coordinated. Probably by more than one person. And reports now say that secondary devices are still being found that have not yet exploded.
  Boston Marathon Terrorist Attacks Mirror Plot of UK Movie, ''Four Lions'' . . .
  It sure looks like Islamic terrorism to me. Is it a nutjob or terrorist group that has nothing to do with Islam? Could be. But not likely. Look at the Times Square Bomber. A similar plan. And a Muslim. And crazies tend to work alone. This doesn't look like a one person thing, though I could be wrong. We shall see. But we may never learn the identity of who did this, since it was clearly well planned and detonated at a specific time. The perpetrator is probably long gone and laughing all the way to his harem, er . . . apartment.
  It's definitely terrorism of some sort and deliberate. You don't have to be Einstein to come to that logical conclusion. And I've always believed that shopping malls and large athletic events, like this one, would sooner or later be bombed by Islamic terrorists.
  What do you think? Who did it? Why? Do you think we'll ever find the perpetrators? I bet not. Look how long it took the FBI to find the Unabomber, and, then, only because his own brother recognized the writing and turned him in. If not, he might still be free and a suspect for this.
  I note that the English comedy movie, ''Four Lions'' (read my review)''about bumbling, stupid Islamic terrorists''involved a plot in which the terrorists targeted the London Marathon for a similar kind of attack as that which occurred in Boston today. As the old adage goes, ''life imitates art,'' and sadly today it did. I noted in my review that I didn't like the movie as much as I might've because it made terrorists look like morons and idiots who couldn't pull it off. They wore costumes in the marathon and drew attention. Real terrorists, such as those who perpetrated today's attacks, aren't morons. They're smart, cold, calculating, and successful in murdering Americans when they want to.
  And you cannot deny that terrorists get plenty of their ideas from the movies.
  **** UPDATE: As I noted earlier, I don't believe they'll find out who did this. And, based on that, here's what I think will happen. Whether or not Muslims did this, public officials will be hesitant to call this ''terrorism.'' We'll be warned that we don't know who did this, even though I think we all know who probably did it. We'll have a new layer of political correctness and affirmative action for Muslims that makes the current level of cosmetics thin compared to the caked on make up that's to come. We'll be told''yet again!''that profiling is bad. And, therefore, there will be stepped up security at sporting events and athletic competitions. No garbage cans, etc. All because we ain't go the guts to take this crap seriously like we didn't after 9/11.
  Political correctness continues to kill and will kill a whole lot more.
FBI locks down Pilot Flying J HQs >> Knoxville News Sentinel
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:32
  Photo by Carly Harrington // Buy this photo
  FBI has Pilot Flying J's Knoxville headquarters locked down April 15, 2013.
  KNOXVILLE '-- The FBI has Pilot Flying headquarters on lockdown Monday afternoon.
  Neither the FBI nor a Pilot spokesman was immediately available for comment.
  Media were barred from the Pilot campus, and the entrance was blocked. Pilot employees were being escorted off the corporate campus on Lonas Road.
  Knoxville-based Pilot is the operator of the largest travel center network in North America.
  More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel.
  Related:Pilot Flying J website
Dutch Finance Minister amends Cork University degree error - Independent.ie
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:32
  Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen DijsselbloemDANIEL McCONNELL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT '' 14 April 2013
  DUTCH Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem had to amend his official biography that accidentally claimed he obtained an MA from University College Cork.
  Mr Dijsselbloem, who gave an address at the college last Thursday, was appointed Finance Minister of Holland last November and his biography was posted on official internet sites of European institutions, including the European Investment Bank, which initially claimed he had received an MA in Business Economics from UCC.
  However, Mr Dijsselbloem never obtained any degree from UCC, as no such degree exists, and his biography had to be amended to say he ''did business economics research towards a master's degree at the University College Cork.''
  It has transpired Mr Dijsselbloem only spent a couple of months at UCC conducting research in the ''Food Business'' field.
  On his appointment, the erroneous biography that he had obtained a Masters in Ireland was reported as fact in the national media, sparking an internal investigation within UCC and also with the National University of Ireland, which confirmed he never graduated from there.
  On November 13 last, Mr Dijsselbloem's appointment as Finance Minister of Holland was reported on the official European websites, which included the biography of his past experience and education, which first indicated he had an MA from UCC.
  It has now been confirmed that the incorrect information had been supplied by his finance ministry in Holland but officials have been keen to insist that there was no attempt to ''misinform about his education.''
  A European Investment Bank spokesman told the Sunday Independent that the matter was as a result of ''translation issues'' and that the error was corrected as soon as it became known.
  He said: ''We receive background points as part of the nomination papers provided for a new Finance Minister. In this case the original education summary was amended to clarify that the time in Cork did not lead to a degree. So there was no wish by the minister to misinform about his education in Cork.''
  A spokeswoman for Mr Dijsselbloem, who was in Dublin this weekend to attend the Ecofin meeting of finance ministers said he did obtain a masters from Wageningen University in Holland, but that information is not contained in his official biography on the Dutch Government website. It only states that he obtained a primary degree from Wageningen.
  Last week, UCC in its promotion of the event claimed Mr Dijsselbloem as ''one of our own,'' and the college authorities said they were delighted to welcome him back to ''renew his connections with his former colleagues.''
  A spokeswoman for UCC said: ''When University College Cork (UCC) becomes aware that former students achieve important roles in society we conduct a review of university records so that our celebration of their achievement is informed by information about their attendance at the university.''
  She added: ''When we became aware of proposals to appoint Minister Dijsselbloem as President of the Eurogroup in January 2013 we noted the comments of Irish Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, TD that Minister Dijsselbloem had studied at UCC. The university records were examined at that time and we found that Minister Dijsselbloem had carried out research in Dairy Economics as part of his academic programme in Wageningen University. UCC has long enjoyed diverse cooperative ties with this wonderful university in the Netherlands.''
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Smack Down Time
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  Archived Version
  Source: Clusterfuck Nation
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:47
  What a humdinger last week was in a money world that is chugging toward maximum velocity and turbulence. Readers know (and may be sick of hearing) that I'm allergic to conspiracy theories, but my allergy is not absolute or total and there are excellent reasons to believe that the smack down of gold and silver was an orchestrated event. By whom? So far, in the opaque realm of paper gold sales, we don't know, except that it was a 500-ton dump that set off the larger skid, and it is even quite possible, as one anonymous wag put it on James Sinclair's website, that the buyer and seller were virtually the same entity -- meaning that the probable naked short transaction only amounted to a mere bookkeeping jot when all was said and done. Anyway, the 500-ton all-at-once dump could only be calculated to drive the price down. Any rational strategic sale of so much gold would be parceled out in smaller amounts over time so as not to drastically impair the sales revenue, as this sale did. And, by the way, who even has the roughly $25 billion holdings in paper gold besides a major government, a major central bank, or one of the Fed's Too Big To Fail handmaidens (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley)? Or who could afford to eat the $billion-plus loss on the smacked-down sales value? In other words, the usual suspects. I hate the term The Powers That Be, with its odors of recycled paranoia and lumpen extremism, but signs of collusion abounded last week. First, on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs issued an advisory to short gold as the price flirted with $1600/oz. Then on Thursday, The New York Times planted a front-page story headlined: "Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster." The story featured a quote by supreme market manipulator and world-class schmikler George Soros: "Gold was destroyed as a safe haven, proved to be unsafe," Mr. Soros said in an interview last week with The South China Morning Post of Hong Kong. "Because of the disappointment, most people are reducing their holdings of gold." Well, there you have it. Soros sez: Gold = shit. If you get some on your shoe, scrape it off. All that set the stage for the Friday smack down. Notice how falling gold and silver prices make the US dollar look good -- it takes fewer dollars to buy more precious metal. The dollar must therefore be sound! And this is in the interest of whom? Say, perhaps, a Federal Reserve busy systematically melting away the value of dollars through so-called quantitative easing (money "printing" or promiscuous credit creation) plus financial repression (interest rate chicanery), and also a US government so deep underwater on its debt obligations that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew shares office space with the giant squid of the Aleutian Trench. To complicate matters, the day of the gold smash, rumors flew of a plan by the Cyprus government to sell off its relatively small gold holdings to pay off its EU debt -- didn't happen -- but the rumor had the effect of further queering the gold price some more by implying that the EU would soon come calling on all the PIIGS nations to settle up their vigs with yellow metal. Thursday, interesting things happened in another ring of the circus. The novelty investment called Bitcoin, having developed a hockey-stick chart profile, shooting up from about $60 a month ago to $260, got smacked smartly back down to $60. It had been attracting a lot of attention as a shelter from international monetary shenanigans -- and hypothetically as an eventual rival to funny-money central bank currencies. Bitcoin is a web-based species of virtual "money" invented by a shady character (or cohort of characters) called Satoshi Nakamoto whose true persona remains mysterious. Bitcoin's supposed virtue is that it can't be confiscated by governments -- though experienced programmers know any website can be hacked -- or otherwise meddled with, making it a more reliable store of value than the traditional "safe harbor" investments such as sovereign bonds and precious metals. Well, okay, but it raises a couple of questions: 1) Does the world need an even more abstract form of "money" than fiat currencies, CDOs, Fannie Mae promissory notes, and JC Penny stock? I don't think so. If anything, the world needs more tangible instruments to represent a store of value, a medium of exchange, and an index of price. Bitcoin is little more than a bundle of algorithms. Granted, math helps with the management of money, but is math "money?" 2) what happens if you can't get online to access your Bitcoin "wallet?" Is Bitcoin, after all, just another example of the techno-narcissism infecting contemporary culture? That idea is just off the radar screens of Bitcoin pimps such as Jon Matonis of Forbes Magazine who said last week that "civilization won't regress to the state of having no electricity." Really? You think so? Just watch. Electric grids all over the world are aging and decrepit -- the USA's in particular -- and the capital is not there to renovate them. And perhaps you haven't noticed the gathering scarcity problem with fossil fuels. You bet society could regress to, first, spotty electrical service and then possibly no electricity at all in many places. But that is an extreme case because in the meantime all it would take is a "denial of service" incident to render Bitcoin useless -- and the mysterious Mr or Ms Nakamoto him/her/itself induced a half-day time-out in Bitcoin last week, taking its Mt.Gox trading platform off-line. The week ahead in world money matters looks bloody and gruesome. Japan is committing financial hara-kiri by central bank desperation. In artificially suppressing the gold price, the American Powers That Be (yccchhh....) give China, Russia and other rivals the opportunity to buy gold cheaply, and to do so by dumping some of their US Treasury holdings, weakening the dollar's international exchange value -- which the gold smack down was supposed to enhance! China and Russia have both been steadily accumulating their gold holdings in plain sight, with the possible motive of backing currencies with more appeal in international trade settlements than the dodgy US dollar. The weeks ahead could be a bloodbath for the four horsemen of monetary apocalypse: the dollar, the Japanese yen, the Euro, and Great Britain's pound -- that is, the core of the so-called advanced economies of the world. What a prankster history is! ____________________________________
DOA America, Long live Birther Amerika
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:46
  I wonder how long it is going to require to filter up that America is dead and that Brither Amerika lives?
  SUPREME COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO NY GUN LAW...
  AMERICA: Californians Move to Ban, Seize Guns...
  I keep telling you not to trust Sarah Palin as she is either a fool or a feudal whore in telling you to wait until 2014, like Mark Levin and the rest of these frauds who keep stringing you along to trust in elections which have been proven to be NOTHING BUT ELECTRONIC VOTER FLIPPED FOR THE OVERTHROW OF AMERICA AND THE WORLD.
  Of course the Supreme Court is not going to strike down unConstitutional New York Laws as it was proven John Roberts is being blackmailed by the regime over his buying Nazi babies from Latin America. That is why Roberts voted for Obamacare and it is why the Supreme Court is going to rubber stamp every feudalcrat law that is unConstitutional.
  They have kept Obama in power and he IS A PROVEN BIRTHER FRAUD.
  The reality is my children, that you are going to get sodomy from this court too as that is the agenda.
  The reality is my children is that Scalia, Alito and Thomas are scared sh*tless of this Eric Holder cell at NSA which will assassinate them just like Andrew Breitbart was terminate for what he had to bring down the Obama regime.
  Why the heck do you think Jake Tapper is at CNN and out at ABC? It is because this blog outed his election theft performance as Sawyer was going gooey in her twat, Tapper was frowning all night knowing Romney had the election stolen from him, and Tapper hated the theater.Tapper was booted and the reason he was booted was because of what was posted here.
  America is DOA, rotting in the ground. The fool looks to elections or courts, as the entire nation is corrupt. Itis one continuous kluster fuk and there are no surprises in this.
  John Hoeven and the McCain mob vote for gun control and call it a victory of gun rights. The RIGHT would be for the return of the RIGHT TO ORDER FIREARMS THROUGH THE MAIL IF ONE PASSES A BACKGROUND CHECK.
  America is so far gone that this cartel will not even bother now to hand out a crumb. They take the whole loaf and then cut off their pound of flesh off of you.
  So as you will not wake up my children, will you at least STOP expecting salvation from these traitors.
  You are Joan of Arc now my children, and the traitorous treacherous powers in the halls of this feudal regime are plotting how best to burn each of you at the stake.
  Let us all at least be honest as we wait to become martyrs slaughtered like sheep.Lame Cherry
  agtG
Afghan opium production increases for 3rd year in a row | Circa News
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:17
  The report suggests that international and local efforts to decrease Afghan poppy production'--and the narcotic trade associated with it'--have failed. Efforts included the destruction of thousands of hectares of the crop there last year, but the size of farms cultivating it grew by about 18% in 2012.
  April 15, 2013, 12:15 p.m.
Israel's Natural Gas Finds Win the World's Notice
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  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:43
  Log in with your social account:Or, you can log in or sign up using Forbes.New Posts+30 posts this hourMost PopularAmerica's Best AirlinesListsDisruptors 2013VideoHip-Hop's WealthiestTry out an issue of Forbes for FREE!Help|Connect
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Ex-NRC Chief's Remarks Over Nuclear Power Reactors
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:35
  The former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is back in the news with a story that's causing a stir in the nuclear industry. At a Washington conference, Gregory Jaczko said all 104 nuclear power reactors in the U.S. are fundamentally flawed and should be phased out. What will be the fallout of his remarks in the industry and the public? Host Bill Loveless will get the views of James Acton, a nuclear policy specialist with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Branko Terzic, head of the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions.
Free algorithm for decoding morse code Download
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:09
  Algorithm for decoding morse codeat Software Informer
  Afreet Software, Inc. 123 Freeware 3.14 MB
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Morse endecoder | raron's blahg
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:06
  Morse EnDecoder
  .
  About:
  This is just a little writeup about a Morse code encoder and decoder I made for the Arduino platform. I spotted someone asking for one at the Arduino forum in november 2010, even offering a reward, but alas I was too late for that. No matter, for reasons unknown to me (I'm actually not that into Morse) this is one of many small projects I have been meaning to get around to, but lacking impetus I hadn't yet done (as with many others). And besides, I would'nt really sell ''my'' morse decoder anyway. So I gave it away
  Here is the project page on google code, with description of how to use it in your own programs: http://code.google.com/p/morse-endecoder/
  What follows is basically just a little explanation as to how it works..
  I even made a little youtube video testing an earlier version of it. I'm almost hesitant to post the link, as the editing leaves a thing or two to be desired'... IE not my best video, but anyway, here it is:
  (At the time of filming this I only had a little keyring camera thing, that I fastened to some safety glasses, but it still wasn't easy to aim!)Link: Morse endecoder video
  .
  A little prehistory (very skippable):
  However the story begins a ''little'' earlier, end of 1991 actually, when I had an Amiga 600 and tried to learn a bit of 68000 assembler. I was into this kind of stuff even then, and had made an 8-bit sampler for the Amiga as per described in an issue of (I believe) Amiga Format. It was, typical of me and my never-really-finished projects, ''built'' into a shampoo tube(!). I have no picture of it atm, and the Amiga and sampler is long since sold. I never really made anything worth mentioning in 68000 assembler either, btw (a half-finished Master mind game comes to mind), nor in electronics really. I remember I managed to mirror the PCB tracks for the connector on that sampler, so I had a nice time correcting that, even bought another one of those ZN448E 8-bit sampler IC's in the process, which I still have! (And remember the name of'...I hope). And it wasn't that cheap either.
  But before I sold it, I did manage to make a backup of a pretty newly installed system on my then-amazing and first-ever harddrive of 20 MB! Yes, twenty megabytes! A mere little textfile nowadays. But a hole system then, and it contained quite a lot too (no movies or such, of course).
  So I fired up the brilliant E-UAE amiga emulator for my Ubuntu box, and had a look at the source code. The program even worked (as it did before, I just never reallyactually used it, except get it to work). Of course I don't have any sampler to test it with on the emulator.
  A little screenshot, just for nostalgia:
  I just wanted a look at the source code, and even found my old paper notes about it (I save a lot of stuff). And I decided to use the same binary tree method I used here. In the process I also checked the wikipedia article on Morse code, and found the method had a fancy name:
  A dichotomic search tree.
  Except that it's really a misnomer, as well as ''binary tree'', because there there are really three possibilities at each node: Go left, go right, or stay. This method was the only thing I used from that code btw, its a complete rewrite for the Arduino. Also, my Arduino classes can encode in addition to decode Morse code.
  .
  Morse decoding method:
  .
  The method used is really simple. Morse code has only two signals, dots and dashes. Begin at the top of the Morse code tree:
  (Picture from the Wikipedia article above '' click to enlarge, then click ''Large'')
  If you receive a dot, go leftIf you receive a dash, go rightIf there is a pause, you got the letter! Thats it!
  Well, almost. There are some different kind of pauses and some rules of Morse code to consider:
  A dash is three times the length of a dotA pause for a dot's time is between different signals for the same letterA pause for a dash's worth of time is between diffent letters in the same wordA pause for 7 dots, or two dashes and a dot, is between words (a space character if you will)Only thing my encoder / decoder does not have those ''non-english'' characters, yet.
  .
  It just so happens that the above binary tree fits perfectly in a long one-dimensional string. The top (''START'') is then in the middle of the string, and the Morse table is stored simply like this:
  char morseTable[] = ''*5*H*4*S***V*3*I***F***U?*_**2*E***L\''**R*+.****A***P@**W***J'1* *
  6-B*=*D*/*X***N***C;*!K*()Y***T*7*Z**,G***Q***M:8*!***O*9***0*'';
  A string of 127 characters (128 with NULL byte). Except I had to split it somewhere in the middle (not shown) to avoid the */ (or /*, I can never remember) comment block since the compiler complained about it (thanks to ''coding badly''s brilliant suggestion at the Arduino forum. His name is a misnomer too btw)
  For the top (middle) of the morse tree I used a ''space'' character, somewhat convenient since the same string is also used for decoding. There are also a lot of asterisks denoting invalid Morse codes.
  Two variables I used in my code for the Morse table is:
  MorseTablePointerMorseTableJumper(''Table'' is kind of a misnomer here, as it refer to the morse tree '' renamed in newer versions but no biggie).Consider this image when starting to receive a new character:
  (Click to enlarge, then click ''Large'')
  Somewhat inaccurate, it wasn't easy hitting the letters right on with the circles (Due to quirky software making it). Anyway, MorseTableJumper denotes the ''jump distance'' to the left or right.
  At each level down the tree (for each signal received), the MorseTableJumper value halves. When it reaches a value of 1, it is at the bottom. If it becomes 0 (zero), there are too many Morse signals in one Morse code ''letter'', and an error character indicates this. The error character I used is the hash symbol ''#''. It's also possible to reach an invalid position while still inside the Morse table, which is denoted by the asterisk character ''*''.
  .
  Example:
  Lets say you receive the character ''U'', which is dot '' dot '' dash (or ''di-di-dah'' in Morse speak I think).
  Then the MorsetablePointer and MorseTableJumper variables in the program gets updated as such, for each received and decoded signal:
  (Click to enlarge, then click ''Large'')
  Then for the next character they are reset to initial values again.
  .
  Timing and Morse speed:
  .
  According to Wikipedia, the time for a dot in milliseconds is calculated as:
  Where wpm is words per minute, and is some word they made up of some standard length. 13 wpm is one standard speed, 8 is another. But there are also other standard speeds. I'm just not sure what they are.
  .
  I always find a drawing, even a little one, helps when coding something. Below are a somewhat more elaborate one than the one I made at the time, also showing an analog input, and a digital one, with an arbitrary example signal, and the three most important variables used to determine what kind of signal it is:
  markTimespaceTimecurrentTimeThey all update continously, depending on the input. For audio (analog) Morse signals there is also the audioThreshold variable, used as a simple signal clipping filter. Analog input should vary around the center value of 512-ish, audio threshold is initially set to 700, which worked well for me in my test setup.
  (Click to enlarge, then click ''Large'')
  The Morse signals (dots and dashes) are decoded during the pause (Space) in the Morse code. I used a generous tolerance for both pauses and signals to ease my own bad keying:
  If the pause is longer than 1/2 dots time, the pause is valid and the previous signal is determined:If the previous signal is longer than 1/4th dot, the signal is deemed valid.If the previous signal also is less than 1/2 dash time, I say it is a dot.Else if instead the previous signal is longer than1/2 a dash but shorter than a dash + 1 dot, I say it is a dash.And I think that is enough said about that. It's all in the source code.
  .
  Morse encoding method:
  As mentioned, the same binary tree (Morse table string)is used for encoding. Thanks to my scanner not wanting to scan for the lack of'... ink of all things, I cannot scan my little drawing for that (which is another little project-to-be, maybe'... thank you Canon MP 610, nice printer, bad printer! Now I get what ''All-in-one'' really means :/ )
  Sorry for the rant, I got a nice camera though, here's my crude drawing:
  Suffice to say I found an algorithm for it, and you can look it up in the code if you are so inclined. In short, it involves scanning for the character one wants to encode. Once found in the morse table string:
  Let position = the string position + 1 to make it 1-basedFirst find what ''level'' in the morse table it is (bottom level = level 1). To find the level:
  for (int i = 0; i
Experiment: Decoding multiple Morse code signals automatically on a noisy RF band
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:04
  While experienced CW operators can easily copy morse code from multiple stations in a pile-up even on a noisy RF band, writing software to enable computers to accomplish similar task is quite difficult. CW Skimmer is an example of such software and it has gained popularity and some good reviews. However, CW Skimmer is not open source software and it has some limitations.Rob Frohne, KL7NA has provided both excellent papers on the topic (1,2) as well as working code examples to create, detect and decode morse code from noisy audio signals. I wanted to experiment and expand Rob's software written for Octave, open source software similar to Matlab. I have been using Octave v3.4.2 on Ubuntu V11.1 running on my Thinkpad T43 laptop.
  In order to do some experiments and learn more how this problem could be solved I decided to break the problem into 4 different tasks, namely the following:
  1) Create a test case with 9 simultaneous morse code signals in different frequencies with noise.2) Create an algorithm to find all morse signals by frequency.3) Utilize Rob's matched filter code to improve signal to noise on selected frequency.4) Apply morse code decoding algorithm to filtered signals.
  1) CREATING A TEST CASE I used Rob's morse.m version to create a test audio file simulating a snapshot from a contest. The code below simulates 9 stations with different call signs in various phases sending "CQ TEST DE XXXXX" with different speeds on different audio frequencies. These signals are then scaled and added up to create roughly S1...S9 signals between 400Hz and 1200Hz. Resulting 10 second long audio signal is then saved on 'cwcombo.wav' file.function morse_file()% create a test audio file with multiple morse stations in a pile-upFs = 48000; % Fs is sampling frequency - 48 KhzTs = 10*Fs; % Total sample time is 10 seconds% create 9 different parallel morse sessions - 10 seconds each at 20-35 WPM speed% TEXT audio file noiselevel Hz speed WPM x1=morse('CQ TEST DE AG1LE','cw1.wav', 0.03125,1200,Fs,20, Ts);x2=morse('TEST DE SP3RQ CQ','cw2.wav', 0.0625, 1100,Fs,35, Ts);x3=morse('DE W3RQS CQ TEST','cw3.wav', 0.125, 1000,Fs,30, Ts);x4=morse('SM0LXW CQ TEST DE','cw4.wav',0.25, 900,Fs, 25, Ts);x5=morse('CQ TEST DE HS1DX','cw5.wav', 0.5, 800,Fs, 20, Ts);x6=morse('TEST DE JA1DX CQ','cw6.wav', 1, 700,Fs, 20, Ts);x7=morse('DE JA2ATA CQ TEST','cw7.wav',2, 600,Fs, 20, Ts);x8=morse('UA2HH CQ TEST DE','cw8.wav', 4, 500,Fs, 20, Ts);x9=morse('CQ TEST DE CT1CX','cw9.wav', 8, 400,Fs, 20, Ts);% weighted sum - merge all the audio streams together % 2x signal strength corresponds to 6 dB (one S-unit)% 9 signals arranged S9 to S1 in frequency order 1200Hz ... 400Hzy = 256*x1 + 128*x2 + 64*x3 + 32*x4 + 16*x5 + 8*x6 + 4*x7 + 2*x8 + x9;% write to cwcombo.wav file wavwrite(y,Fs,'cwcombo.wav');% look at the spectrum of combined signals - display 100Hz...2500Hz spektri(y,Fs,100,2500);endfunction;
  2) ALGORITHM TO FIND MORSE SIGNALS BY FREQUENCYI created a small function "spektri" to calculate FFT (fast fourier transform) and plot the audio spectrum in a given frequency range. The input is the above 10 second combined audio clip. The resulting spectrum is shown in Figure 1. below. The 9 simulated "stations" are 100 Hz apart from each other. Noise level is at around 90 dB and the 1200Hz peak signal is at about 144 dB. The range is about 54 dB corresponding to scale of roughly 9 S units if this signal would be coming from a real ham radio. Signal x1 would peak at S9 and signal x9 would be S1 at almost noise level.Visually it is relatively easy to find the 7 to 8 strongest peaks from the picture above. However, finding those frequency peaks automatically is more challenging due to noise and some splatter components.
  After testing various peak detection algorithms I found the following that seems to work quite well:
  function [maxtab, mintab]=peakdet(v, delta, x)%PEAKDET Detect peaks in a vector% [MAXTAB, MINTAB] = PEAKDET(V, DELTA) finds the local% maxima and minima ("peaks") in the vector V.% MAXTAB and MINTAB consists of two columns. Column 1% contains indices in V, and column 2 the found values.% % With [MAXTAB, MINTAB] = PEAKDET(V, DELTA, X) the indices% in MAXTAB and MINTAB are replaced with the corresponding% X-values.%% A point is considered a maximum peak if it has the maximal% value, and was preceded (to the left) by a value lower by% DELTA.% Eli Billauer, 3.4.05 (Explicitly not copyrighted).% This function is released to the public domain; Any use is allowed.maxtab = [];mintab = [];v = v(:); % Just in case this wasn't a proper vectorif nargin < >1 error('Input argument DELTA must be a scalar');endif delta mx, mx = this; mxpos = x(i); end if this < > mn+delta mintab = [mintab ; mnpos mn]; mx = this; mxpos = x(i); lookformax = 1; end endend
  I created another function that plots the spectrum and detected peaks on the same graph using the peak detection function above.
  function fpeaks = spektri_p(data, Fs, str_f, stp_f, delta);% plot spectrum of data % Fs = sampling frequency (48000) % str_f = start frequency range to plot% stp_f = stop frequency range to plot% delta = A point is considered a maximum peak if it has the maximal% value, and was preceded (to the left) by a value lower by deltaN = length(data);spec = fft(data); % do fourier transformdf = Fs/N; % frequency bin sizeminf = -Fs/2;maxf = Fs/2 -df;i = round(N/2+(str_f*N/2)/(Fs/2)); % start index of freq rangej = round(N/2+(stp_f*N/2)/(Fs/2)); % stop index of freq rangef = [minf:df:maxf]; % frequency axis i.e. [ -24kHz...+24kHz ] y = 20*log10(abs(fftshift(spec))); % dB magnitude[maxtab,mintab] = peakdet(y(i:j,1),delta); % detect max peaks in range w/ delta dB differencenr = length(maxtab(:,1)) % nr of peaks found
  figure(2);plot(f(1,i:j),y(i:j,1)); % plot audio spectrum within rangehold on; plot(f(1,maxtab(:,1)+i),maxtab(:,2),'r*'); % plot found peaks within rangehold off;title('Spectrum');xlabel('Frequency(Hz)');ylabel('Volume dB');fpeaks = f(1,maxtab(:,1)+i)'; % return found frequency peaks within range
  Using above plotting function pks = spektri_p(y,Fs,300,1300,45);creates the following figure 2. Adjusting the last parameter (delta) will increase/decrease the number of peaks detected. Peaks are marked with red stars in the graph.
  Looking at the result with delta = 45 this algorithm detects all peaks correctly within few Hz accuracy.The pks variable contains the detected values, see below:pks = 308.30 400.00 500.00 600.00 700.00 799.90 895.70 999.80 1103.50 1199.90
  If the program would be more interactive this parameter "delta" could be adjustable variable, similar to squelch function in some radios. Lowering this parameter value would work like squelch - more noise peaks would be detected. Increasing the value would allow to detect only the strongest stations.3) MATCHED FILTER TO IMPROVE SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIONow that we have automatically found the peak audio frequencies of the morse signals we can apply a matched filter to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.Below is the matched filter algorithm. The parameters include the audio signal, estimated morse speed in WPM, sampling frequency Fs, and audio frequency of the morse signal.
  % This script shows how a matched filter (dot product) works.% See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matched_filter for theoryfunction x_f = mfilter(x,speed,Fs,codef);%x is audio signal (read from wavfile) %Fs=48000; sampling frequency%speed = 20; morse code speed in WPM%code_f = 440; morse code audio frequencydit_time = 1.2/speed;x_length = length(x);t=0:1/Fs:dit_time;burst = sin(2*pi*codef*t); % template of a "dit"N = length(burst);for k=1:x_length-Nxk = x(k:1:(k+N-1)); % time reversed signalx_f1(k) = burst*xk; % dot (inner) product with templateendx_f = x_f1; %return filtered signal
  Matched filter produces pretty dramatic effect - you can see it from the "before and after" figure 3 below.All the graphs show the actual audio signals - 480,000 samples over 10 second period.
  Red graph shows the original 10 seconds audio clip produced by this line of code:x6=morse('TEST DE JA1DX CQ','cw6.wav', 1, 700,Fs, 20, Ts);Morse signal is barely visible from the noise. Blue graph shows the combined 10 second audio clip produced by this line of code: y=256*x1+128*x2+64*x3+32*x4+16*x5+8*x6+4*x7+2*x8+x9;The strong S9 signalx1dominates and the morse signal is clearly visible. Can you read the morse code produced by this line of code below by looking at the blue signal alone? x1=morse('CQ TEST DE AG1LE','cw1.wav', 0.03125,1200,Fs,20, Ts);As there are 8 other signals embedded in the blue graph it is not as clean as in figure 4 where onlyx1signal is visible.Green graph shows the output of the matched filter: y6 = mfilter(y,20,Fs,700). The matched filter extracts from the combined audio the original noisy S4 level x6 signal at 700Hz and using the morse code template "dit" makes the original morse code visible. Can you read 'TEST DE JA1DX CQ' by looking at green graph alone? There are some extra noise peaks making it more difficult.
  By using the results from section 2 above we can now run the matched filter on all peak frequencies where we found morse signals. This way we can extract automatically each "station" for the final morse code decoding step.
  One area that is still open here is the morse speed. The speed is an essential parameter for the matched filter to create a "dit" template with proper duration for the dot product. In this example above we used a known speed. In real life morse speed has to be estimated. Once a few proper "dits" and "dahs" are received the speed estimation is pretty simple. Speed is 1.2 / dit_time. I have not implemented automatic speed tracking yet.
  Matched filter has also some other interesting properties - more details in here.
  4) MORSE CODE DECODING Decoding morse code seems intuitively a pretty simple task, but when the signal has significant amount of noise present it becomes more difficult to produce reliable results. Rob Frohne, KL7NA provides morse decoding software written for Octave in here.The software reads the audio wavfile, creates rectified and filtered morse signal and then detects short / long pulses, uses tokenized table lookup to decode morse code to text.However, Rob's version has some built-in assumptions about the audio signals. He has a fixed threshold (0.05) and in the presence of noise this assumption can produce a lot of errors. I experimented with the threshold with many different kind of signals and the following works a little bit better.agc = max(y);threshold = agc/2;
  Proper AGC (automatic gain control) would be needed if the signal strength varies a lot over time. Otherwise decoder will use incorrect threshold to determine when the signal starts and ends. This leads to incorrect timing of "dits" and "dahs".
  Rob's slow wave filter (y = filter(ones(1,20)/20,1, x2);) has also a fixed assumption of the window size. If the morse speed is very high the slow wave filter can smoothen fast "dits" too much. On the other hand noise spikes need to be filtered, otherwise decoder misinterprets those as "dits". There should be some mechanism to adjust filter window size based on morse speed. I tried the following code that made some improvement. It requires "speed" parameter though. This is a "chicken and egg" problem of the morse code - you need to receive at least one "dit" and one "dah" to determine the actual speed. Starting from some reasonable default value like 20 WPM is also possible.
  Fs =48000;dit = 1.2 / speed;dit_samples = Fs*dit;
  y = filter(ones(1,flt)/flt,1, x2);With relatively noise free signals this algorithm seems to work OK.See figure 4. below for S9 signal - original x1 version, produced by this line of codex1=morse('CQ TEST DE AG1LE','cw1.wav',0.03125,1200,Fs,20,Ts);The upper red graph is the original signal - 480,000 samples over 10 seconds. The bottom blue graph shows rectified & filtered envelope of the signal, and red overlapping line with threshold at 0.32 level determining "dits" and "dahs". With somewhat noisy signals the matched filter helps - this S7 signal below in figure 5 is extracted using y3 = mfilter(y,30,Fs,1000) - text "DE W3RQS CQ TEST" is still readable from the bottom red graph below. With noisy signals the matched filter helps a lot - this S5 signal in figure 6 below is extracted usingy5 = mfilter(y,20,Fs,800) - text "CQ TEST DE HS1DX" is still feasible to decode despite noise spikes.With noisy signals the matched filter helps but is not enough - this S3 signal below is extracted usingy7 = mfilter(y,20,Fs,600) - text "DE JA2ATA CQ TEST" is missing some "dits". If threshold would be set lower then extra "dits" would be created from noise spikes. This will show up as errors in the decoding process.Finally with signals buried under noise the matched filter helps but is not enough especially in pile-up or contest situation. This S1 signal below is extracted usingy9 = mfilter(y,20,Fs,400) - text "CQ TEST DE CT1CX" is no longer decodeable. Human eye is good for pattern matching but noise distorts the signal below to almost unreadable. CONCLUSIONSDetecting and decoding multiple morse signals simultaneously in a ham radio contest or pile-up situation on a noisy RF band is not an easy task. Even for experienced human operators it is hard to copy weak S1..S3 signals in the presence of strong S7...S9 signals.With some advanced digital signal processing algorithms it is possible to automatically detect multiple stations with S1...S9 signal strengths close to each others on a noisy RF band. The algorithm presented in section 2 above will correctly determine peak signal frequencies for further processing.
  Matched Filter has some unique properties making it suitable for extracting maximum signal-to-noise ratio for the signal of interest. Using the matched filter for peak frequencies found with the algorithm above enables automatic decoding of S5...S9 level signals virtually error free. However, for the weaker S1...S3 level signals the presented method will produce errors.
  On the decoding software some minor improvements were implemented, such as threshold determination based on overall signal level, as well as slow wave filtering using morse code speed dependent filter windows. These minor improvements made the decoding software a bit more robust.
  Experimenting with Gnu Octave software is an excellent way to gain insight on signal processing concepts and also to understand better the limitations of morse code in the presence of noise.
  73 de AG1LE
Iterations: How Five Real Economists Think About Bitcoin's Future
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:42
  Editor's Note:Semil Shah is a contributor to TechCrunch. You can follow him on Twitter at @semil.
  There isn't just a bubble in the Bitcoin economy, there's a bubble in the number of posts about Bitcoin. I'll pile on, even after this week's mini-crash, but with a twist. A few weeks ago, I wrote some brief notes on what I thought about Bitcoin, but the over-arching feeling I had was that I couldn't put my finger on what could become of this currency in the future. Perhaps that's part of the reason this phenomenon is so fascinating to us all. So, instead of trying to determine future scenarios in a world I don't understand and because Twitter has turned everyone into armchair professors, I reached out to a number of practicing economists who were either former professors or classmates, or had friends make introductions, and asked them to chime in briefly on a future with Bitcoin. Please note I requested a rather informal, fun submission from them '-- nothing too serious. Interestingly, most of my former professors hadn't yet heard of Bitcoin and subsequently elected to pass on this opportunity '-- perhaps I'll follow up with them later in the year. Luckily, I was able to corral a few economists to participate, and I've reposted their thoughts below:
  Chris Robert,currently a Professor of public policy and economic development at Harvard:
  It would really be something if intelligent people chose to invest more trust in a currency system built and managed, in large part, by anonymous computer hackers than they did in currency systems built and managed by governments of the people, by the people. Fortunately, we are not there yet. Today, Bitcoin is mostly just a matter of media speculation arising from the continuing financial turmoil and growing distrust in the global financial system. This media speculation may well lead to a protracted period of financial speculation, however, during which techies are joined by increasing numbers of financial sophisticates seeking a new bubble to exploit.
  Compared with corporate securities, futures, or even derivatives, Bitcoin is even less inhibited by any underlying sense of value. The bubble can just grow and grow, so long as demand increases faster than supply '-- and so long as the network doesn't crash, a new cryptographic exploit doesn't unravel everything, the fundamental lack of anonymity doesn't bother anyone, those who lose private keys and thus potentially small fortunes don't complain too loudly, improvements (or hacks) to ''mining'' don't lead to sudden shocks to supply, etc. Profiting from a bubble of any sort can be a risky business, but our global economy is not at all lacking in people willing to give it a go. Thus, as a potentially exciting new vehicle for financial speculation, Bitcoin may be with us for some time.
  Robert McMillan, a former economist with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Stanford economist, currently Head of Portfolio Management and Director of Quantitative Research at HNC Advisors AG:
  Bitcoin is dead. Long live Bitcoin. The value of having an easy-to-store, hard-to-steal, and hard-to-counterfeit medium of exchange is substantial. Especially one which doesn't lead to the extermination of species (e.g. cowry shells, ivory) or direct environmental degradation (e.g. gold). Unfortunately, as those familiar with Paul Krugman's writings on liquidity traps know, Bitcoin's known and finite supply dooms it as a workable replacement currency. Furthermore, as it has no apparent use-value (unlike, say, Platinum), this kills it entirely. Nevertheless, the flaw lies with the implementation, rather than the idea itself. I expect Bitcoin (''BC'') will soon see competition in this space from ''Currency 3.0'" entrants that fix the flaws in Bitcoin and thus have a better (i.e. nonzero) chance of achieving the ''gold standard'' of currency acceptance, namely a liquid market in Forex forwards with another major currency. At any rate, be on the lookout for Awesome Drachmas (''AD'') using newly-discovered prime numbers as units of exchange. They're costly to ''mine'', in infinite supply, and even have use-value (e.g. cryptography). Coming soon to a money-changer near you!
  Matthew Bishop,currently the U.S. Editor for The Economist, where he's been for 22 years:
  As I wrote in my recent ebook on the future of money, ''In Gold We Trust?'', the resurrection of gold and the emergence of Bitcoin are two sides of the same, er, coin. Both are a response to falling confidence in the soundness of government-backed 'fiat' money in an era of quantitative easing. I think the algorithmic approach to controlling the money supply used by Bitcoin and other digital currencies being developed in Silicon Valley could go a long way to creating a sound store of value. The biggest risk to these currencies may turn out to be government action to destroy an alternative to fiat money. But what if a sovereign state was to issue an algorithm-based currency? Would that drive fiat money out of business?
  Brett Gordon,currently a Professor at Columbia's Graduate School of Business:
  There are two scopes for discussion about the future of bitcoin. First, the short-term: if this is a bubble, when will it burst? It's notoriously difficult to predict the end of a speculative bubble. Those lucky enough to time it correctly can make a lot of money, but that won't be true for the rest of us mere mortals. The price chart for bitcoins reminds me of the Nasdaq from 1995 to early 2000. Clearly, these are vastly different, but I think the Nasdaq plot is representative of many yet-to-burst bubble prices. The Google Trends chart for bitcoins is similarly shaped, which suggests that when the media frenzy over the digital currency subsides, so too may much of investors' interest. Second, the long-term: what will the bitcoin market look like in 5-10 years? That's even harder than calling the peak of a bubble. I think a significant contribution of the bitcoin market is that it serves as a proof-of-concept for a decentralized crypto-currency. Two benefits are that bitcoins are inherently deflationary and transactions are anonymous. Given the recent slew of fiscal crises and increasing concerns about online privacy, these are two strong points in bitcoin's favor'--or whatever future crypto-currency arises.
  Peter Rodriguez,currently a Professor at Virginia's Darden School of Business:
  At first blush Bitcoin is nothing special. Virtually anything can be used as a pseudo-currency. And, there is nothing new about a profound fear of fiat currencies and all manner of efforts to avoid the risk of relying on central bankers. Indeed, the prevalence of fiat (paper) currencies in a post gold-standard world is flat-out amazing. But, when the confidence underlying fiat currencies falters folks resort to recognizable and reliable stores of value and it's not that hard to manage in such a world. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russians and others in FSU states resorted to a highly functional trinity of currency substitutes: cigarettes for the small stuff, Vodka for the medium and Cognac for big ticket items.
  In some ways, Bitcoin is just a virtual pack of smokes. But in other ways, it's revolutionary. Cigarettes have inherent value and alternative uses, like cotton and even gold. Bitcoins are valued in and of themselves. They have even less alternative uses than paper currency or baseball cards. So, if they can establish their worth and hold the confidence of investors long enough, the institutions that can eventually convert Bitcoins from a fad-like store of value to a real currency might just begin to develop. And then, Bitcoins could become a reliable medium of exchange and index value that has some real place in the world. Even it they just serve to measure the value of goods ultimately transacted in 'real' currencies, Bitcoins will have become something entirely new: a true, stateless, virtual currency rooted in nothing other than confidence in the set of rules that surround them. It could all implode, of course, and that's not unlikely. But, currencies are always tested and all of them have gone through existential crises. The real question isn't whether Bitcoin will falter, plummet or take us all on a crazy ride, it's whether it will actually survive its inevitable test. If it does, even at very low values, it will change the way we think about stores of value, finance and the independence of the virtual economy.
  Photo Credit:Glen Cooper / Creative Commons Flickr
  Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. The name refers both to the open source software he designed to make use of the currency and to the peer-to-peer network formed by running that software. Unlike some other digital currencies, Bitcoin avoids central authorities and issuers. Bitcoin uses a distributed database spread across nodes of a peer-to-peer network to journal transactions, and uses digital signatures and proof-of-work to provide basic security functions, such as ensuring that bitcoins...
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Driver, 26, dies in car; medical condition suspected
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:41
  10:25 p.m. |
  Police on Sunday were investigating the sudden death of a driver found unconscious in his vehicle at N. 6th St. and W. Locust St.
  The 26-year-old man may have died from a pre-existing medical condition, according to the Milwaukee County medical examiners office. Passers-by called police after the driver's vehicle rolled into the intersection. Lifesaving efforts by Milwaukee firefighters were unsuccessful.
  PreviousFuneral is Thursday for Town of Brookfield officer
  NextFatal crash reported on Capitol Drive
Mohammed Now One Of The Most Popular Baby Names In Minnesota, Cracks Top 100 For First Time'...
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  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:15
  Could be worse, Mohammed is the most popular name in the UK.
  Via Minnesota Patch:
  Mohamed has made the list of most popular baby boy names in Minnesota, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
  Mohamed was the 98th most popular boy's name in 2011 in the state. The SSA says Minnesota parents named 73 boys after the founder of Islam in that year.
  This is the first time the name has appeared on the list the SSA releases each year.
  Mohamed's place on the list is not surprising considering some recent statistics.
  ''The name, in its several variations, is one of the most popular worldwide for Muslim parents,'' according to the Star Tribune. ''It has risen on Minnesota's list as the state's population has rapidly changed. From 2000 to 2010, the number of residents of color grew 55 percent, and Minnesota's fast-growing Somali population is the largest in the United States.''
  Keep reading'...
Lara Logan and 60 Minutes team up with AFRICOM for thrilling Kony episode
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  Source: The View From Falling Downs
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:14
  The first thing that grabbed my attention was the claim that the Lord's Resistance Army represents a significant "emerging threat" to the US.Huh?
  Luckily they dropped that bombshell in the first few seconds, so at least you know you're in Bullshit City right away. Nothing worse than thinking your watching objective news programming for half an hour before you figure out you're being had.
  The Ugandan Special Ops are, according to the program, close enough to Kony that they can track him and his few dozen remaining acolytes by their fresh footprints.
  If these guys are a threat to the US, America is well beyond any hope.
  But we do need to throw a bit of a scary story out there in prime time just to get the idiot public onside for the rapidly expanding role of AFRICOM in the re-liberation of the dark continent.
  Frankly, I thought that from the point of view of aesthetics, Lara's prominent bosoms provided a great visual counterpoint to those folks missing their ears and lips.
  And of course there was not a word about the dismal human rights record of our friend and ally President Museveni.
Kerry ''Welcomes'' Chinese Government Investment In America's Infrastructure'...
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:13
  Really? '-- We want the Chinese building our roads and bridges?
  Via Weekly Standard:
  Secretary of State John Kerry told the press in Beijing that he discussed with Chinese government officials investing in America's infrastructure. Kerry called the security concerns ''very, very few; very, very little.'' [...]
  ''But for true private sector private investment, we have countless opportunities and we welcome that investment. One of the things I've discussed with the State Councilor tonight was the possibility of China investing in infrastructure. We have proposals in the United States Congress to creature infrastructure bank. We have huge infrastructure needs in the United States for a certain series of projects like water projects, transportation projects, energy projects. Those are all revenue-producing projects. So they are projects from which pension funds and other kinds of investments can make a return on investment and everybody benefits. It's a win-win-win. It's a win for the investors, it's a win for the countries, and ultimately it's a win for the place where the infrastructure gets built.
  Keep reading'...
The Antisocial Network of Bitcoins - NYTimes.com
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:12
  Bitcoin's wild ride may not have been the biggest business story of the past few weeks, but it was surely the most entertaining. Over the course of less than two weeks the price of the ''digital currency'' more than tripled. Then it fell more than 50 percent in a few hours. Suddenly, it felt as if we were back in the dot-com era.
  The economic significance of this roller coaster was basically nil. But the furor over bitcoin was a useful lesson in the ways people misunderstand money '-- and in particular how they are misled by the desire to divorce the value of money from the society it serves.
  What is bitcoin? It's sometimes described as a way to make transactions online '-- but that in itself would be nothing new in a world of online credit-card and PayPal transactions. In fact, the Commerce Department estimates that by 2010 about 16 percent of total sales in America already took the form of e-commerce.
  So how is bitcoin different? Unlike credit card transactions, which leave a digital trail, bitcoin transactions are designed to be anonymous and untraceable. When you transfer bitcoins to someone else, it's as if you handed over a paper bag filled with $100 bills in a dark alley. And sure enough, as best as anyone can tell the main use of bitcoin so far, other than as a target for speculation, has been for online versions of those dark-alley exchanges, with bitcoins traded for narcotics and other illegal items.
  But bitcoin evangelists insist that it's about much more than greasing the path for illicit transactions. The biggest declared investors in bitcoins are the Winklevoss brothers, wealthy twins who successfully sued for a share of Facebook and were made famous by the movie ''The Social Network'' '-- and they make claims for the digital product similar to those made by goldbugs for their favorite metal. ''We have elected,'' declared Tyler Winklevoss recently, ''to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error.''
  The similarity to goldbug rhetoric isn't a coincidence, since goldbugs and bitcoin enthusiasts '-- bitbugs? '-- tend to share both libertarian politics and the belief that governments are vastly abusing their power to print money. At the same time, it's very peculiar, since bitcoins are in a sense the ultimate fiat currency, with a value conjured out of thin air. Gold's value comes in part because it has nonmonetary uses, such as filling teeth and making jewelry; paper currencies have value because they're backed by the power of the state, which defines them as legal tender and accepts them as payment for taxes. Bitcoins, however, derive their value, if any, purely from self-fulfilling prophecy, the belief that other people will accept them as payment.
  However, let's leave that strangeness on one side, along with the peculiar ''mining'' process '-- actually a process of complex calculation '-- used to add to the bitcoin stock. Instead, let's focus on the two huge misconceptions '-- one practical, one philosophical '-- that underlie both goldbugism and bitbugism.
  The practical misconception here '-- and it's a big one '-- is the notion that we live in an era of wildly irresponsible money printing, with runaway inflation just around the corner. It's true that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have greatly expanded their balance sheets '-- but they've done that explicitly as a temporary measure in response to economic crisis. I know, government officials are not to be trusted and all that, but the truth is that Ben Bernanke's promises that his actions wouldn't be inflationary have been vindicated year after year, while goldbugs' dire warnings of inflation keep not coming true.
  The philosophical misconception, however, seems to me to be even bigger. Goldbugs and bitbugs alike seem to long for a pristine monetary standard, untouched by human frailty. But that's an impossible dream. Money is, as Paul Samuelson once declared, a ''social contrivance,'' not something that stands outside society. Even when people relied on gold and silver coins, what made those coins useful wasn't the precious metals they contained, it was the expectation that other people would accept them as payment.
  Actually, you'd expect the Winklevosses, of all people, to get this, because in a way money is like a social network, which is useful only to the extent that other people use it. But I guess some people are just bothered by the notion that money is a human thing, and want the benefits of the monetary network without the social part. Sorry, it can't be done.
  So do we need a new form of money? I guess you could make that case if the money we actually have were misbehaving. But it isn't. We have huge economic problems, but green pieces of paper are doing fine '-- and we should let them alone.
MSNBC Marxist Melissa Harris-Perry: ''We Need To Impinge On Individual Freedoms'' For ''The Common Good'''...
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  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:10
  Comrade Harris-Perry strikes again.
  ''This isn't about me wanting to take your kids, and this isn't even about whether children are property. This is about whether we as a society, expressing our collective will through our public institutions, including our government, have a right to impinge on individual freedoms in order to advance a common good. And that is exactly the fight that we have been having for a couple hundred years.''
  HT: Breitbart
US Drone Strike Kills Five in North Waziristan
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  Source: News From Antiwar.com
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:08
  A US drone strike has destroyed a house in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency today, killing the five people within. So far, officials have been unable to identify any of the victims.
  Six drones were involved in the attack, according to locals, and they fired either two or three missiles in the attack, depending on the accounts. The missiles set the house on fire, and the bodies were burned beyond recognition within.
  It is the latest in a long line of US drone strikes against North Waziristan, and the latest in which the victims have been dubbed ''suspected militants'' without any apparent idea who any of them are.
  The US has launched hundreds of attacks against Pakistan in recent years, killing thousands of people, the vast majority of which remain unidentified to this day. Though officials maintain that most of the slain are suspected to be involved in the insurgency, we have nothing but their claims to base that on. The large death tolls have fueled angry anti-US backlashes across Pakistan, and the drones are expected to be a key portion of the Pakistani election.
  Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
North Korea ready to develop relations, ensure stability 'as a responsible nuke state'
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:11
  North Korea is ready to develop peaceful relations with world nations '' but only as a nuke state, the DPRK's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam said on Sunday. This comes as the US, Japan, and China call for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
  North Korea, which, despite tension, is getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, said it was ready to conduct relations ''based on the ideals of peace and sovereignty'' and contribute to security and stability in Asia, and in the whole world ''as a responsible nuclear-weapon state.''
  However, North Korea's Kim Yong-nam pointed out that not every nation is worthy their friendship, saying the country's ''invincible defense forces'' armed with strengthening ''nuclear deterrence forces'' will ''unfold a total fight against the USA, acting in accordance with a wartime scenario.''
  ''We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the treasure of a unified Korea... that we would never barter at any price,'' Kim Yong-nam stressed.
  Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday asserted the United States is willing to ''reach out'' to North Korea '' as long as it ''takes action'' towards giving up its nuclear program.
  ''I think it is really unfortunate that there has been so much focus and attention in the media and elsewhere on the subject of war, when what we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace. And I think there are those possibilities,'' Kerry said during his Sunday visit to Tokyo where he is meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
  Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kishida reiterated the American condition for talks, saying both Japan and the US ''cannot allow North Korea in any way to possess nuclear weapons.''
  North Korea should cease its ''provocative speech and behavior,'' Kishida stressed, urging it to take ''concrete action toward denuclearization.''
  Just the day before, China also said it is ''firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula.''
  ''There is no question in my mind that China is very serious '' very serious '' about denuclearizing,'' Kerry noted after his Saturday talks with top Chinese officials.
  He also warned the North Korean government would be making a ''huge mistake'' if it were to launch a missile as he stopped in South Korea, where some 28,000 US troops are stationed.
  The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday added that North Korea should realize their ''provocative acts do not bring any benefit,'' other than making the situation for them ''more difficult.'' He said that Japan is willing to coordinate with the United States, South Korea, China and Russia to prevent the North Korean missiles from being launched.
  In the meantime, Pyongyang warned South Korea of ''catastrophic consequences,'' should there be a propaganda action during the Day of the Sun '' Kim Il-sung's 101th birthday celebrations on April 15.
  Several South Korean NGOs have recently announced plans to launch air balloons with leaflets criticizing the North Korean regime over the border between the two countries.
  Reports said the South Korean police have already prevented one such launch on Saturday, ''for the first time ever,'' according to activists. The latter undertook such attempts in the past, sometimes also attaching dollar bills to the leaflets. The people living in the border areas have protested the actions, as it inevitably leads to flare-ups with the North, the police explained.
  North Korea itself is responsible for some recent provocative actions '' which are taking place on the cyber-front, Seoul officials have claimed.
  The South Korean nuclear power plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said it had to cut off the Internet access and even seal the USB ports on all the computers inside their facilities for the fear of possible cyber-attacks from North Korea. Such ''preventive measures'' were taken after several other state companies, including banks and TV stations, became subject to such attacks that were officially blamed on North Korean hackers.
  Some 48,000 South Korean computers have been hacked during the recent attacks, leading some of the country's experts to claim the war is already going on in cyber-space. They estimate an army of at least 3,000 'hacker troops' from the North are taking part, according to Itar-Tass.
  North Korea has dismissed the allegations as ''rumors'' and ''deliberate provocations'' aimed at worsening the existing tension.
  It also thwarted the South Korean president Park Geun-hye's recent call for dialogue and ''trust-building process,'' calling it ''a cunning trick to hide the South's policy of confrontation.''
  There would be no negotiation until South Korea and the United States end their joint military drill on the peninsula, the North Korean Reunification committee spokesman said in a statement on Sunday, adding that under these circumstances ''such a dialogue would be meaningless.''
  The statement aired by the KCNA news agency also blamed the South for trying to ''shift its responsibility for putting the Kaesong Industrial Complex into a crisis.'' Some 53,000 North Korean workers employed by 123 South Korean companies were working at the Kaesong Industrial Complex until it closed down due to the recent escalation of diplomatic hostilities.
  The South Korean media is now speculating whether the North will test-fire a missile during Monday's birthday celebrations, some claiming the launch facility is already on standby, RT's Aleksey Yaroshevky reported from the region on Sunday.
VIDEO-Keiser Report: Bitcoin Bubble Buzz (E431) - YouTube
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:54
Obama Shoots Hoops with Reggie Love | The Weekly Standard
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:49
  Just weeks after going 2 for 22 on the basketball court, President Barack Obama went to shoot hoops again -- but this time there were no camers allowed. He was joined by his former aide Reggie Love, who played basketball for Duke.
  Here are today's pool report:
  Sunday morning hoops
  POTUS, wearing baseball cap and casual clothes, trotted down north steps of WH to waiting motorcade at 9:24 am.
  Arrived at FBI for basketball 9:30 am. ...Motorcade departed FBI at 11:36, arrived WH at 11:40 am. Tourists lined road snapping pix at start of trip (10th and E Sts NW) and as we entered WH compound.
  Potus sighted trotting up steps of North Portico, accompanied by another tall man, but WH not revealing identity of hoops companions. ...Some deets on Potus attire from review of cameraman's video: dark Nike pants, dark Secret Service jacket, gray and red basketball sneakers (couldn't tell brand), White Sox cap.
  As he was leaving WH this morning, he had a print newspaper under his arm, unclear which one. (Yay print)
  As he reentered WH after playing, he was with Reggie Love.
  Browse 15 Years of the Weekly Standard
Chad says Islamist leader Belmokhtar 'blew himself up'
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  Source: The Daily Star >> Live News
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:00
  PARIS: Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a one-eyed Islamist militant leader who Chad claimed was killed in Mali last month, died by setting off explosives in despair over the death of another militant, Chad's President Idriss Deby said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
  "We have proof of his death. We couldn't film it because he blew himself up after the death of (Abdelhamid) Abou Zeid. He wasn't the only one. Three or four other jihadists (also) blew themselves up in despair," he told French media outlets TV5 Monde, Radio France Internationale and Le Monde in a joint interview recorded in N'Djamena on Saturday.
  Belmokhtar, an Algerian Al-Qaeda veteran, was the mastermind of the brazen January assault on an Algerian gas plant that left 37 foreign hostages dead.
  In early March, Chad announced that the militant had been killed during fierce fighting in the Ifoghas mountains, on Mali's northeastern border with Algeria.
  But France, which has led the offensive against Islamists in Mali since January 11, has so far only been willing to confirm the death of Abou Zeid, a key commander of Al-Qaeda's North African branch (AQIM), saying it will carry out DNA tests on killed rebels.
  Deby added that he was "perfectly" sure that Belmokhtar was dead. "We identified him," he said.
  Deby also said he believed that seven French hostages taken captive by militants in the region are no longer in Mali. "I personally think that there are French (hostages) alive in the hands of jihadists, but I'm not that sure that that's in Mali".
  In total, 15 French nationals have been taken hostages in Africa, and on Tuesday AQIM said one of them had died.
  The president also said Chad's troops are now being withdrawn from Mali, with some of them having left already on Saturday.
  "The face-to-face war with jihadists is finished. The Chadian army has no real skills to cope with a nebula. Chadian soldiers will return to Chad. They have completed their mission," he said, but without giving specifics.
  Chad has contributed with a contingent of 2,000 soldiers.
  Paris pulled out 100 soldiers ahead of schedule on Monday as part of a phased withdrawal of the majority of its 4,000 troops.
  France has said it will leave 2,000 soldiers on the ground throughout the summer, reducing its presence by the end of the year to a "support force" of 1,000 fighting alongside a UN-mandated army of some 11,000 troops.
  Deby said that "if the UN makes a request, Chad will provide Chadian soldiers to the UN."
Rubio: Jay-Z and Beyonc(C) Should Have Met Imprisoned Cuban Rapper on Hunger Strike
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  Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:58
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
Schumer Refuses to Comment on Weiner's Possible Mayoral Run
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  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:58
  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
San Diego County considers forcing residents to take psychiatric medication under Laura's Law
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  Source: Dprogram.net
  Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:40
  (NaturalNews) '' San Diego County in California is considering implementing Laura's Law, which would give the state's second most populous county '' home to over three million people '' the uncontested right to force psychiatric medication upon its residents.
  Funds for the forced inpatient or outpatient psychiatric incarceration, known as ''assisted outpatient treatment'' are to be provided by taxpayers. Other bills under consideration would extend Laura's Law to schoolchildren, at the discretion of school administrators.
  Laura's Law is heavily supported by law enforcement, the press, the American Psychiatric Association and host of ''consumer and family advocate groups.'' In others words, those who believe the government deserves more control absolutely love Laura's Law. After all, Laura's Law offers those in power the ultimate form of control '' over your brain chemistry.
  What is Laura's Law?Laura's Law is an existing state law, passed by the California state legislature in 2002 and signed by Governor Gray Davis. The law makes it possible for anyone to be ordered into psychiatric treatment if determined appropriate by authorities. Non-compliant ''patients'' are not given a choice, pending involuntary incarceration.
  Each county within the state of California has the option of implementing Laura's Law. Los Angeles County implemented it in 2004. San Diego County undertook a 90-day review of the law in March 2013 as it considers implementation.
  The law is named for Laura Wilcox, who was shot and killed at the age of 19 by a man with untreated, severe mental illness.
  How do you qualify for forced psychiatric treatment under Laura's Law?Authorities simply determine that you meet the state approved criteria. In California, the criteria are as follows:
  Inpatient: (1) Danger to self/others or (2) unable to provide for basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.
  Outpatient: Condition likely to substantially deteriorate, unlikely to survive safely in community without supervision, history of noncompliance which includes two hospitalizations in past 36 months or act/threat/attempt of violence to self/others in 48 months immediately preceding petition filing, likely needs to prevent meeting inpatient standard, and likely to benefit from assisted treatment.
  Glancing over these standards quickly is dangerous because they are written to appear strict and reasonable. If we break them down, however, you can see that the wildly vague language used is open to broad interpretation.
  The bottom line is this: Someone in authority needs to decide that you are a ''danger.'' That's it. Then, they can lock you up and medicate you into oblivion. Case closed.But wait, it says that you have to have a hard history of hospitalization and violence in order to qualify. Not so! All you need to qualify to lose your physical and mental freedom is, at any time during the last four years, to act/threat/attempt violence to self/others. An ''act/threat/attempt'' of violence, by the way, could be ANYTHING. Giving someone a dirty look could be interpreted as a threat of violence.
  Finally, authorities have put themselves in a position to predict whether or not you are ''likely to benefit'' from assisted treatment. And the clause, condition likely to substantially deteriorate, suggests that they can take over your life if they feel you may do something wrong in the future.
  I recently spoke with Sophie Faught at MindFreedom International about Laura's Law. MindFreedom International is a true patient rights advocacy group that believes in mental health freedom. Sophie said the following:
  For over 25 years, we at MindFreedom have argued for VOICE and CHOICE in mental health care. We're against force in mental health care because it's simply not therapeutic. When you're suffering from mental or emotional distress, the last thing you need is to have a technology you don't believe in forced on you. Rather,you need to feel safe and loved by your fellow human beings. It's that human connection, which can be found in peer support and compassionate care, that helps you find the meaning in your experience and your path to a better mental/emotional place.
  Many of our members describe the practice of forced drugging as dehumanizing, invasive, violent, and downright TRAUMATIZING. Because trauma is so often a contributing factor to mental/emotional distress, our first goal should be to provide care that does not exacerbate old traumas or create new ones. Forced drugging cannot possibly meet that goal '-- many psychiatric survivors spend years coming to terms with the violence and violation of that kind of an act.
  Forcibly injecting another human being with a mind-altering chemical cannot be considered therapeutic under any circumstances, but it's especially shocking to think of doing this to a person in his own home, the place (above all others), where he expects privacy, self-determination, and safety. What psychiatry says through this act is: ''There is only a narrow spectrum of thoughts and emotions that are acceptable, EVEN IN YOUR OWN HOME, EVEN IN YOUR OWN MIND.''
  Why limit mankind? Why stop these journeys into the inner world of thoughts and feelings? What incredible discoveries do we '-- as individuals and as a society '-- miss in the process?
  MindFreedom International will always oppose legislation like Laura's Law because we believe that there must be safe spaces for extreme thoughts and emotions. Mankind has much to learn from these experiences. They are a difficult but necessary part of the healing path.
  Psychiatry has no answer to gun massacresAs much as our hearts go out to those who have suffered and lost loved ones to the violent and unpredictable acts of others, we need to face the hard truth.
  Violence is not predictable.
  Psychiatry does not have the answer.
  Psychiatric medication does not prevent violence.
  Stealing freedom and medically torturing innocent people will do nothing to protect anyone. The problem of violence will remain unsolved. The state will continue to gain unprecedented power and an easier path to implement that power. The freedom of the people will continue to vanish.
  Peter Breggin, MD has the following to say about psychiatric approaches to violent behavior:
  The most devastating recent shooters were all involved with psychiatric treatment and evaluation, and it did not prevent their violence. In some cases, it undoubtedly increased it.On the possibility of identifying violent people and preventing violent acts, Dr. Breggin said:
  So many people harbor feelings of violence, and so few perpetrate them, that it is impossible to screen society for violent individuals without untold numbers of ''false positives.'' In a general psychiatric practice such as my own, a number of patients will be struggling to control their violent feelings and usually a few will have acted aggressively or violently in the past. Within society as a whole, there will be thousands of ''suspicious-looking'' people locked up and drugged for every genuine threat.
  Read Dr. Breggin's full commentary on psychiatry and gun massacres here. For an amazing interview with Dr. Breggin about the violent, death-camp style history of psychiatry, listen to the March 13, 2013 episode of Mental Health Exposed. If you think psychiatry is rooted in a desire to help people heal, think again! These are the folks we are empowering with Laura's Law! Ice pick lobotomy anyone?
  There you have it. States like California are using devastating acts of violence to increase their power with ''solutions'' that do NOTHING more than steal freedom from innocent people.
  About the author:Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.
  The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. This presentation will turn your world upside down.
  Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
  Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
  Source: Natural News